After moving into a church built in 1917 to restore into a family residence, I haven't exactly been a stranger to bugs. I have in fact, never worn shoes more in my entire life and spend my nights wondering how many spiders crawl in my mouth while I sleep. Although we've taken preventative measures, it's a big place — but I'm drawing the line at my toilet paper being taken over! This means war!
We're sure these are a common bug or insect rather, but we don't know what they are or how to get rid of them (other than bug bombing). They come in from outside and we find them blown against our window screens. They appear trapped and you can brush them off whatever they land on and they don't seem to respond as if alive, but little did we know they were just playing dead!
This afternoon I sat a few yards from my bathroom where I kept hearing this sound. It was like the faint sound of popcorn popping or water running. It was soft and natural and I had no idea what it was. After making a trip to the little girls room, I quickly discovered what it was.
The bathroom, after closing the window last night and bringing in the screen (which had bugs we thought were dead on it) was now alive and crawling — literally. The bugs were on everything, hopping from one thing to the next, they were stuck to the paper shade, the shelves next to the window, the towels and most importantly, the toilet paper!
Now I can handle bugs in the basement, I can handle spiders in the shower, I can even handle wiggly little centipedes in my kitchen, but there comes a line... and this is where I'm drawing it. My toilet paper. Now we don't have a holder for it as we just barely got the walls up around the bathroom itself, so we're still working on that, but apparently we're going to have to work faster on something to contain it.
Do you know what these little bugs are? Or more importantly, how to get rid of them? Flicking the screen doesn't help (that just resulted in a mouth/shirt full of bugs) and each day they just come back with the morning sun. Googling "small bugs" didn't really help (for obvious reasons) so I'm turning to you!
Do you have any advice (other than keeping all the windows closed at all times)? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Comments (59)
get a big bowl with a lid for your tp (or ziploc bag) and take a sample of the bugs to a pro.
Call the Orkin Man
Oh my god...spiders crawling into my mouth as I sleep is one of my top nightmares...
Is an exterminator not an option? I know that isn't the green thing to do, but that looks like a whole lot of insects to me.
I believe those are what are sometimes called "no-see-ums".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratopogonidae
They are a pain in the ass. They can fit through screens and seem to only arrive by the thousand.
You are right to draw the line. A person's TP is sacred, and bugs invading there is a just cause for war.
Sarah, my brother is an entomologist and I just sent one of the pics off to him. He's a desperately slow email-er so somebody here might have a definitive answer long before I hear from him.
We had repeated invasions of ants at our new home the last 2 months. We tried spraying and cleaning it all up naturally, at first and then chemically secondly, to no avail. After the last attack, hello cat food, finally we booked the Western Exterminator man, best 100 bucks you can spend.....its not something you can do yourself......
Those look like Caddisflies. They are mainly attracted to light. Without knowing where you live, it's difficult to identify the insect. I would first try and identify it and then look online for a solution that you're comfortable with. If they are Caddisflies there are both chemical and non chemical controls that are effective.
Um, I'm not a bug expert, but in case those are carpenter ants or some kind of termite (there are several different species)... you may need to look to an expert to come and check your home for you. First, just get the free in-home termite inspection from some big chain pest control business. They may use scare tactics to get you to join some monthly service, but at least you will know if you do have a termite infestation- if your home is being eaten or not. You have no obligation to sign-up unless you feel the need.
we have these on our screens every fall! (they are there right now) my dad said they are "no-see-ums" but i have no idea how to get rid of them. i just keep the windows closed... they bite so be careful! i would love to know if anyone has thoughts about getting rid of them. good luck!
EW.
They look like brown house moths. They hibernate when its cold.
@copling123, they... bite? And they're on Sarah's toilet paper. Time to bring out the blowtorches, honey.
I'd jump on the no-see-um boat, but they really don't bite?
I know they're not brown house moths, they're 1/16 of that size and for sure aren't termites or ants!
I didn't know what Caddisflies were until just now and these are still smaller with no sign of a cocoon anywhere, though it would be the right season for them!
Any other thoughts?
I think they look like leafhoppers. Very common. They are wedge shaped and they kind of "hop" with this sort of snapping noise, but they can fly too. If they are leafhoppers they don't bite and they mostly feed on plants.
http://www.mercurynews.com/home-garden/ci_15460028?nclick_check=1
nice article but I want to see the church!
Oh my god, call an exterminator.
Sorry I can't be any help but still...gross. Good luck to you.
Could be brown lacewings.
Well, having had termites, I can tell you that these don't look like termites. If it were me, I'd spray the screen and the outside of the window with Raid and leave the window shut, but you may want to get an exterminator just in case. And having had assorted bugs over the years, I now buy 2 gallon ziplocs and use them to store the spare TP rolls.
gross.
I can't see it well on the pic but I am guessing that they are either no-see-ums or aphids. We had aphids last Summer and got some spray at the Coop Home and Garden. Sprayed 3 times/week for 4 weeks and they haven't come back. But we were close to insane for a while..
Take a few down to your county extension agency, they can usually tell you anything that is going on in terms of bugs and plant pests. And usually how to control them!
They look like little feet!
Cut off the female side of an extension cord; separate and strip the wires and keep them far apart from each other; plug in; zap the screen. I'm only kinda joking - I was originally thinking you need one of those little zapper tennis rackets. This is also assuming the screen is metal. Or maybe you can cut to the final step and just vacuum them up while they're still too cold to move.
@homebody: just make sure you throw the vacuum bag out ASAP! Just because they're inside the vacuum doesn't mean they stay there. Trust me...
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is a safe natural way to kill all insects in your house. You can get it online. Dust a little around the areas where the bugs are coming in and they will be dead in a day. It works for bedbugs too, of course!
That is nasty! I actually gagged when I saw that photo of the TP.
Poor soul, I hope you get rid of those real quick.
Are they actually eating the toilet paper? I remember a few years back having something of an infestation of those kind of bugs on my window screens in the fall. They didn't really do anything, other than look annoying on the screens, and then winter came and they died. Still stuck to the screen unfortunately.
If they're not destroying anything, I'd just leave them alone. Once it freezes they'll be gone. As for the toilet paper, keep it inside something, like a ziploc bag or something, to keep them off it.
We had a lot of small bugs on windows that are near our outdoor lights. If you've got lights on near the window outdoors or if you leave the light on in that bathroom after dark, try turning it/them off.
Fungus Gnats?
Sorry. I'm not sure what it is but I know what those aren't. I lived in prime no see-um territory and these would have to be the most giant ones ever. There's a reason they are called that:
like this
we had just cut some trees down in our yard and afterwards, we had swarms of insects near all our windows which got in. like hundreds of bugs.. but they would die very quickly on its own. we went to the hardware store and bought some insect killer and sprayed all along our windows and doors and the perimeter of our house and near the trees. It solved our issue but I was very concerned with the toxic/fumes that we were in the air. But those bugs were such a pain that we just did what worked.
close your window.
if you would rather stay away from chemicals (or if you have pets, who will be affected more by a chemical bomb than a person) i would try diatomaceous earth. use it on thresholds, and it forms this barrier that bugs can't cross. of course, you're going to have to close the window....sorry :)
put baby powder around your windows and anywhere you don't want ants. put it on your tp. couldn't hurt. they can't travel anywhere around or over baby powder. it's how we keep them out of our completely unsealed home.
They look like they enjoy hanging out in the "grooves," so switch toilet paper to cottonelle or something.
They look like what we call gnats, but perhaps a little larger? I don't know if the same treatment would work for those that we use, but it's super easy so it may be worth a shot: a jar with a few inches of apple cider vinegar and a couple drops of dish soap. I also have some sundews, which are really sticky carnivorous plants. Might work if your window is particularly sunny! :)
OMG, this can't be real. I am never going into the bathroom at night with the lights out again!!!
I would have to move out. LOL
I hope you find someone that can help you with this problem.
they look like fleas. do they hop or fly?
those look NOTHING like fleas... and are bigger than fleas.
third the diatomaceous earth. And keeping the window closed. :(
They aren't fleas, of that I am 100% certain. They fly and hop, are rectangular in shape, have wings and don't bite. They're bigger than a gnat, but maybe the vinegar trick will work anyway!
(by rectangular, I really meant triangular!)
Wow, I would call an exterminator and be done with it. The last thing I would want is my toilet paper being infested with something that looks like a gnat.
Thanks,
Gill
Do you have a vacuum cleaner? Perhaps just vacuum them from the screen and hard surfaces until you can discover a long term control. Install smaller gauge screening with some weather stripping if there are gaps. Cedar oil spray on and around the window sill both inside and out for repellent, DE (as blueintuit stated) will help with the strays you don't vacuum and is great for most bugs with a waxy exoskeleton but better for crawlers.
You might try to find out if there is something near your bathroom window that is attracting them, e.g. garbage can, certain type of plant, lighting at night, and eliminate that.
i second the food-grade diatomaceous earth. it's an inexpensive powder that you brush on so that you can't see it. when small bugs touch it, it cuts their skin and dehydrates them over a few days. you could even brush it on the toilet paper. like baby powder, it's safe as long as you don't breathe in a bunch of it. a small amount of it will last you forever because you don't need to make piles of it. we used it to exterminate bed bugs. exterminators will just toxify your home at a significant monetary and health cost to you, and bugs could come back, but the d.e. powder lasts indefinitely as long as you don't rub it off. it's not an instant repellant, though...i wonder about electrifying your screens? :)
I think these are hackberry nipplegall makers. No, I'm not making this up. They swarm this time of year. Check for nearby hackberry trees. They are harmless to humans. Close your windows. Vacuum up all the ones inside. Cold weather will decrease their numbers.
Have you tried http://www.whatsthatbug.com/
It's a great website with search features... Good luck!!
Diatomaceous earth, vacuuming - good ideas. I'd try the homemade bug zapper just to see what happened.. lol.
my uncle is an entomologist....just sent him this link. hopefully will get back to me soon. not cool.
annieoneil - Your idea looks like the closest so far and we do have many a hackberry tree! I'll investigate further!
This won't help with the bugs you already have, but... why bring the screen inside? Even without the bugs, it's probably covered in dirt and bits of leaves. I have similar standalone screens and when I want to close the window, I set the screen to rest in the outer "track", so that it is on the outside but still easily accessible. Even once you solve this specific bug problem, I think screens on the outside is the way to go!
joco - We don't have an "outer track" as our windows are original to the structure in 1917... they'll hopefully be replaced soon with something that has less issues, but "soon" could mean next week or 5 years from now :)
I'd put a birght light (utility light, old lamp, something) OUTSIDE but a few yards from the window in question, at night. See if they are attracted to that.
The seem to be swarming white things, so since white things reflect a lot of light, it might lure them away.
They probably aren't this, since the numbers ar so high, but they kind of resemble moths that eat wool... I'm blanking on the name. About the same size and shape...
Try asking the folks at http://www.whatsthatbug.com/
I agree with ksterling. Around us there is a county extension office that can usually help identify and advise about bugs.
We get these all the time, too, but they just hang out on the screens. They don't really come into the house. It might be worth your while to figure out how to open and close the windows without taking down the screens. Or maybe using a finer mesh, like cheesecloth.
The K-State extension site recommends:
Recommendations:
Psyllid control indoors:
A vacuum cleaner with hose attachment may be used to remove invading psyllids. A
space spray may be applied using a household aerosol labeled for flying insects. Use
a product containing synergized pyrethrins or one of the pyrethroids (various names,
but they usually end with -thrin). Note, not all aerosols are intended for flying-insect
control. Read and follow label directions closely.
Preventing entry:
Several steps can be taken during the fall just before frost to reduce entry. Turning off
outdoor night-lights and reducing the amount of light shining through night windows
helps. Consider using fine mesh (18) screens on windows that are kept open. Ordinary
screens are 12 mesh to the inch. Caulk or plug up cracks and crevices. Keep windows
and doors closed when psyllids are active. For temporary reduction, spray exterior
surfaces such as window screens, shutters and sides of buildings where psyllids are
resting. Look for residual insect sprays labeled to use on outdoor surfaces. Examples
of ingredients with residual action include cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, permethrin, Baygon and
tralomethrin.
annieoneil and heatherkay seems to have got it right:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachypsylla
No reason to buy food grade Diatomaceous earth - go to your local pool store. I know a horse breeder who does this for de-worming. There is no difference and it's a lot cheaper - especially since you aren't eating it.