My husband and I have been seeing a type of bug that we can’t identify. They are black bugs, about 1/2 centimeter in size. We never seem to see them flying, they usually are just sitting on the walls. They sort of resemble tiny houseflies, except that they don’t have large eyes. I have attached a basic drawing of one.
We started seeing these a few weeks ago when my husband was doing some work in the basement. There was an open drain in the floor which was starting to smell. It was at that time we noticed a few of these bugs. So my husband cemented over the drain. That was a couple weeks ago and we are still seeing the bugs. They don’t seem to be attracted to food or garbage or anything in particular. We just see them on the walls. When we go to kill them, they leave a charcoal-like smudge on the wall (I don’t know if that info helps at all – its just something I noticed). Please help us figure out what these bugs are and the best way to get rid of them!
Thanks!
Holly Kramer
Dear Holly,
You have Bathroom Flies, Clogmia albipunctata, which belong to the Moth Fly family Psychodidae. They are small, harmless gnats that are often noticed indoors in damp places, especially bathrooms and more specifically showers. The brown wormlike larvae develop in the sludgy organic muck that accumulates outdoors in shallow lpools and under artificial conditions, in sink traps, drains, and dead-flow areas in household plumbing. Clean out the pipes.