| Subject | Date Asked |
|
| no see em bugs | 11/22/2009 |
Q: i am in ft. myers fl for 5 mo. these bugs are driving me crazy day and night.do they have a season ...
A: Tara, If by "no-see-ums" you mean biting midges I'm afraid they could be around all year in the ...
|
| Tiny white bug infestation | 11/21/2009 |
Q: For the past few days I've been noticing and constantly cleaning up what looks like white powder all ...
A: Laura, These are called grain mites or mold mites and they generally indicate a moisture problem of ...
|
| help with diptera | 11/21/2009 |
Q: I am in need of some help identifying a fly to the species level. I have spent time looking for ...
A: Richard, I have to confess I'm not an expert in Diptera. It looks like a robber fly (Asilidae) but ...
|
| Tiny Reddish Flying Bugs | 11/20/2009 |
Q: I just recently started seeing a tiny reddish (maybe maroon) bugs flying in my bathroom. They seem ...
A: John, "Fruit flies", or vinegar flies, don't nest per se but rather develop in some kind of rotting ...
|
| Tiny Reddish Flying Bugs | 11/20/2009 |
Q: I just recently started seeing a tiny reddish (maybe maroon) bugs flying in my bathroom. They seem ...
A: John, The only small flies we typically see in bathrooms are drain flies, also called moth flies. ...
|
| Bug #3 | 11/17/2009 |
Q: Good Morning Jack, I just typed you a message and lost it so if this is a duplicate, sorry. I had ...
A: The good news is that nest mites don't infest homes but only "invade" from an abandoned nest. We are ...
|
| Please help identify this insect | 11/17/2009 |
Q: I started noticing random bugs about a week ago. I am now noticing they are everywhere around/in ...
A: Kerrie, These are larvae of a dermestid beetle, sometimes called carpet beetles. They are very ...
|
| Bug #3 | 11/17/2009 |
Q: Good Morning Jack, I just typed you a message and lost it so if this is a duplicate, sorry. I had ...
A: Mark, This is either a wasp or winged ant. Either could potentially sting but not bite. I doubt ...
|
| Nat like bugs on lani | 11/17/2009 |
Q: We have swarms of these tiny beige bugs on our lanai. We live in SW Fl. They are defiantly attracted ...
A: Karyn, This is some type of weevil (Curculionidae) but there are roughly 30,000 species of weevils, ...
|
| Picture per previous emails | 11/16/2009 |
Q: Jack, OK, here is pic #2 of bug #1 I am sorry about the large file size, don't know how to reduce ...
A: These are definitely not bed bugs but rather beetles, possibly cigarette beetles (Anobiidae). These ...
|
| biting flying "bed bug" type indentification | 11/16/2009 |
Q: I am an American living on a small island in the Western Caribbean part time. I have lived here ...
A: Mark, A picture would help. You can attach 1 picture to each question, there's a check box on the ...
|
| small black scorpions in the home in Johannesburg | 11/15/2009 |
Q: we moved into a new home a few months ago, and we have already killed 4 small scorpions, size is ...
A: Telmo, If this is a newly-built home it may be that the scorpions and various other critters were ...
|
| Clear bodied insects in my body hair | 11/15/2009 |
Q: In the past week I started itching a lot in pubic and chest hair regions. I found what looked like ...
A: Andrew, This sounds more like pubic lice than fleas. Here's an article about pubic lice with a ...
|
| Cricket like looking insect | 11/15/2009 |
Q: There are these hoping very thin framed, grayish in color approve. 1 1/2 - 2" long, they don't make ...
A: Feesha, I'd need a picture to be sure but you might be describing a tree cricket. If you post a ...
|
| baby scorpions | 11/11/2009 |
Q: We live in Georgia, about 50 miles south of Atlanta. We have several wooded acres and for the last ...
A: Kerry, Could you post a picture? I want to make certain these are scorpions and not something else. ...
|
| small biting insect with wings | 11/11/2009 |
Q: I found a bug crawling on my dining room table that looked like a flea or a gnat. I squished it ...
A: Vinegar flies (aka "fruit flies") don't bite so I think you have at least two different flies. My ...
|
| small biting insect with wings | 11/10/2009 |
Q: I found a bug crawling on my dining room table that looked like a flea or a gnat. I squished it ...
A: Kathy, I can't see the picture clearly enough to be positive but I think this is a black fly ...
|
| Black bug in bathroom | 11/8/2009 |
Q: We found a bug in our bathroom tonight. It was about 1 inch long, about 1/2 wide, plump, and shiny ...
A: Karen, Your description sounds like an oriental cockroach. Here's a wikipedia page ...
|
| a Bug in my apartment? | 11/7/2009 |
Q: I was cleaning my apartment today when I found something on the floor I thought it was a pebble or a ...
A: Brandi, I don't know what kind of bug you found but since 99% of insects are harmless I'm sure this ...
|
| Tiny Tiny white bugs | 11/6/2009 |
Q: I have started a new job and where I sit, I get bitten all day by tiny, tiny white bugs. Nobody ...
A: DS, Is it possible that this is not an insect or mite, per se, but rather some type of allergic ...
|
| Window stains left by dead house flies | 11/6/2009 |
Q: My neighbors and I are curious - what causes the stains left on a glass window when a fly dies while ...
A: Shirley, This is a fungus (mold) and it was responsible for killing the fly. These fungi are ...
|
| Not something i want to keep waking up to | 11/5/2009 |
Q: This morning i found a bug on my bathroom floor. It was ~1.5 - 2 inches long. Light tan color. No ...
A: Amanda, There are not a lot of insects as large as you describe that are commonly found indoors. ...
|
| white worms in bathtub | 11/5/2009 |
Q: In recent days I have been noticing little (3/8-1/2) inch long white worms/larvae with little black ...
A: Angie, I'm afraid I'll need a picture because there are a number of insect larvae that match your ...
|
| Is it a black fly? | 11/4/2009 |
Q: I have been reading your website, http://www.livingwithbugs.com and trying to identify what ...
A: Pam, The Fairfax Co. Extension office site is http://offices.ext.vt.edu/fairfax/ and if you call ...
|
| Going Buggy Over Odd Bug | 11/3/2009 |
Q: I've had a really bad cold or something the last week and was taking a steaming bath this morning, ...
A: Meg, Excellent diagnosis, this is indeed a spider beetle. They are minor stored product pests. No ...
|
| Is it a black fly? | 11/3/2009 |
Q: I have been reading your website, http://www.livingwithbugs.com and trying to identify what ...
A: Pam, This is not a black fly but rather a small wasp. Small insects and mites can be very difficult ...
|
| BUGS KEEP BITING ME! | 11/2/2009 |
Q: I live in an apartment in manhattan. I have these bugs that lovee my white walls every time I find ...
A: Jimmy, Your description does not match any insect I'm familiar with. Your best bet is to capture a ...
|
| overwintering yellow jacket queens | 11/2/2009 |
Q: The house I purchased in August has yellowjackets in the roof of the porch. They are occasionally ...
A: Christine, As you probably know these yellowjacket queens likely came from the now dead nest in the ...
|
| Brown worm / larvae in bed sheets | 11/1/2009 |
Q: I'm really freaked out so i'll get straight to it. Over the past 2 days i've found 2 worm like ...
A: A few sunflower seeds would not support an infestation of meal moths. The actual infestation could ...
|
| what is under my skin??? | 11/1/2009 |
Q: I am being plagued by who knows what and it is making me very Ill. This is under my skin on the palm ...
A: Belinda, I'm not sure what is pictured here but I'm sure it is not insect or mite related. There is ...
|
| Brown worm / larvae in bed sheets | 11/1/2009 |
Q: I'm really freaked out so i'll get straight to it. Over the past 2 days i've found 2 worm like ...
A: Mili, This is some kind of moth larva but I can't identify it further from the photo. There are no ...
|
| bugs on stove | 10/31/2009 |
Q: I have these tiny winnie brownish beige bugs, they only seem to be on the stove, I turned the oven ...
A: Debra, These sound like grain mites, also called mold mites. These mites feed on mold so are common ...
|
| tiny!,tiny!!!! black bugs on ground | 10/30/2009 |
Q: I have spent many hours in the woods in NH and late summer into the winter I have come across ...
A: Roy, These are called collembola or springtails. They live in the leaf litter and organic layers on ...
|
| spider | 10/30/2009 |
Q: What results from the bite of black widow spider
A: Rahaf, Black widow venom is a neurotoxin. This means that the venom is toxic to the nervous system ...
|
| What is biting me and what can I do about it? | 10/30/2009 |
Q: I'm being bitten by something that seems like bedbugs but now I'm not so sure. We moved into a new ...
A: Casey, The "bug" in the photo is a cockroach, probably an immature one. Cockroaches don't bite so ...
|
| American Oil Beetle | 10/29/2009 |
Q: We have hundreds of these oil beetles (varying in length from 1/2" to 2") on the 5 acres of our ...
A: Stephanie, Members of Meloidae, the family to which the oil beetles belong, are also called ...
|
| Bug found on back of Bed | 10/28/2009 |
Q: I found a couple of bugs on the back of the box springs on a bed. They are about a sixteenth of a ...
A: Adam, Could you post a picture? These could be very young bed bugs but I'd need to see a picture. ...
|
| paper bugs | 10/27/2009 |
Q: I recently encountered some bugs that resembled maggots. These bugs seemed to be infesting paper ...
A: Good picture. This is a larva of a moth, probably a meal moth. The larvae are not living in the ...
|
| paper bugs | 10/27/2009 |
Q: I recently encountered some bugs that resembled maggots. These bugs seemed to be infesting paper ...
A: Greg, Could you post a picture? Your description does not match exactly anything I'm familiar with. ...
|
| Strange looking bug? | 10/27/2009 |
Q: Yesterday I was in my bathroom when I noticed something small moving on the floor. At first I ...
A: Dave, I think you are describing a casemaking clothes moth larva or plaster bagworm. I don't know ...
|
| Worms | 10/26/2009 |
Q: We have lived in our home for 15 years and this is the first time I have encountered this problem. ...
A: Sheri, Your description of the size, shape and movement sounds like a small centipede but it is ...
|
| HELP!!! Are these bed bugs? | 10/26/2009 |
Q: Three months ago my two dogs started to get itchy skin with bites on them. They had very few fleas. ...
A: The picture is too small to be sure but it has the overall shape of a psocid or booklouse. Psocids ...
|
| HELP!!! Are these bed bugs? | 10/25/2009 |
Q: Three months ago my two dogs started to get itchy skin with bites on them. They had very few fleas. ...
A: Marie, I can't see anything that looks like an insect or mite in the attached picture. Also, your ...
|
| Little Black Bugs | 10/25/2009 |
Q: I have actually seen 4 little black bugs on my bed and pillows. They are very small oval shaped with ...
A: Thera, I agree with your husband (sorry) that it is premature to hire an exterminator. In fact I ...
|
| Tiny red-brown worms 2 | 10/24/2009 |
Q: Recently my grandmother bought several secondhand clothing items for my children, and gave them to ...
A: Megan, Could you post a picture? Your description does not fit anything I'm familiar with. They are ...
|
| Large grey bug in flower pot | 10/24/2009 |
Q: I found a large grey bug on a leaf in my flower pot this week (mid-October). I am on a 4th floor ...
A: Heather, This is a true bug or hemipteran, probably the family Coreidae. I don't know which species ...
|
| Bitten in a hotel | 10/23/2009 |
Q: We stayed in a hotel and the next morning my 6 year old had several bite marks on her face and neck ...
A: Jane, What you describe does indeed sound like bed bug bites. As far as how easy it is to miss a ...
|
| Bug ID | 10/22/2009 |
Q: I live in Orlando Fl, there are these black slither or slug bugs that crawl from outside into my ...
A: Princess G, This sounds like a small millipede. Millipedes are scavengers that feed on organic ...
|
| tiny worm-like bugs in laundry basket | 10/22/2009 |
Q: I had 3 laundry baskets full of clean clothes (that i washed at the laundry mat) that had been ...
A: Alcohol of some kind would be better. If you have any gin or vodka mix it with equal parts water. If ...
|
| Mystery Insect | 10/22/2009 |
Q: There is a mystery insect in our basement we are trying to identify. We've seen four, and we've ...
A: Ali, The only thing I can think of that's this size, shape and color is the brown marmorated stink ...
|
| Powder Post Beetle | 10/21/2009 |
Q: I found evidence of Powder post beetles in some rough sawn cherry lumber in my garage. Is it true ...
A: Larry, Unfortunately it is not true that powderpost beetles are restricted to cherry. In fact ...
|
| tiny worm-like bugs in laundry basket | 10/21/2009 |
Q: I had 3 laundry baskets full of clean clothes (that i washed at the laundry mat) that had been ...
A: Alicia, I'm afraid I'd need a picture to id these. If you see them again capture a few in a vial of ...
|
| bug ID? | 10/20/2009 |
Q: We are seeing an infestation of small black/brown bugs about the size of seasame seeds in our ...
A: Ben, These are anobiid beetles probably either the cigarette beetle or the closely related ...
|
| small brown bugs | 10/20/2009 |
Q: I have been getting eaten alive at night by tiny small brown bugs. I have researched the bed bug and ...
A: Jessica, Can you describe what these look like? It sounds like nest mites but more information ...
|
| Insect identification | 10/20/2009 |
Q: We live in SW Utah, in the pinon/juniper/sage forest at 5400 feet. Just saw this bug for the first ...
A: Caralee, Excellent picture of a Jerusalem cricket. Like other crickets (related to grasshoppers) ...
|
| Tiny tiny white bugs on mulch | 10/19/2009 |
Q: After having put some mulch on our garden (its like coir, not pea straw, its a red barky looking ...
A: Lise, These are some type of soil mite. There are literally thousands of species of so called "soil ...
|
| Daughters getting tiny bites *URGENT* Please help | 10/19/2009 |
Q: Both my daughters are getting tiny bites all over their bodies.. My 17 year old told me she saw a ...
A: Dawn, These could be from what are called nest mites. These mites normally live in the nests of ...
|
| Toilet Insect | 10/18/2009 |
Q: I'm not sure if you are the right person to ask but the other day I found a creature swimming around ...
A: Jesse, This could have been a house centipede that fell into the toilet. I'm not sure if this ...
|
| Small Black Bug/Beetle with White Stripe | 10/17/2009 |
Q: Good Morning. I found several of these insects on the window sill of my son's bedroom. Can you tell ...
A: Brian, This is an immature cockroach but I can't determine the species from the photo. Here's an ...
|
| flying bug in crete | 10/17/2009 |
Q: i have recently returned from crete whilst there a flying bug went into my ear it started to sting ...
A: David, I doubt that whatever flew into your ear is responsible for your health problems. I don't ...
|
| Cicada bees | 10/16/2009 |
Q: The Cicadas made a large nest in our house between the brick and stucco about 10feet up. Will they ...
A: The large cicada killer wasps don't make big nests with hundreds of wasps like yellowjacket wasps. ...
|
| Little black bugs that fly these are not fruit flies | 10/16/2009 |
Q: i have the very tiny black bugs that are able to fly and they seem to stay low to the ground.They ...
A: Jennifer, These may be fungus gnats. Fungus gnat are tiny, dark flies that develop in soil feeding ...
|
| Biting Mites? | 10/15/2009 |
Q: I live in Atlanta, Georgia and think I may have been attacked by biting mites. While staying ...
A: Sage, I think your diagnosis is probably correct, these sound like bird or rodent nest mites. My ...
|
| tiny worms | 10/15/2009 |
Q: With all the rain here in North Georgia, I've noticed thousands of tiny pink worms being washed down ...
A: James, I think this is unrelated to the tent caterpillar infestation. These are probably ...
|
| Removing hard insect case from stucco | 10/15/2009 |
Q: do you have any advice on how to remove a very hard, mud-colored insect case from the stucco near my ...
A: Mary Anne, I'm not positive but my guess is a mud-dauber wasp nest. The wasps make these mud nests ...
|
| Can you identify? | 10/14/2009 |
Q: On this cool and cloudy afternoon in Nashville, TN as I was sitting outside on the patio, a black ...
A: Diana, Could you post a picture? The "triceratop" ridges could be a wheel bug. Google "wheel bug" ...
|
| Cicada bees | 10/14/2009 |
Q: The Cicadas made a large nest in our house between the brick and stucco about 10feet up. Will they ...
A: Harry, I think these are probably yellowjacket wasps rather than cicada killer wasps which nest in ...
|
| Yellow jacket behavior | 10/14/2009 |
Q: my situation is similar to the gentleman in Seattle with a nest of yellow jackets in his wall, but ...
A: Steve, Social insects like yellowjacket wasps often beat their wings in unison to either heat or ...
|
| tiny fast moving bug | 10/13/2009 |
Q: I am staying at a hotel in Key West, FL. Nice warm climate is great for humans & bugs! I have seen ...
A: Cyndy, These sound like some kind of mite but without more description I can't be sure. Ants don't ...
|
| Bedbug, booklouse or something else? | 10/12/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis, I'm aware that these photos are far from being clear, but their subject was no more than ...
A: Pedro, I can't tell for sure but I don't think these are bed bugs, the overall shape is not right. ...
|
| tiny red flying bugs - what is it? | 10/12/2009 |
Q: My kitchen floor is filled with these tiny red flying bugs with mostly appearing dead (because I ...
A: Freddie, I can't see these clearly but I'm pretty sure they are vinegar flies, sometimes ...
|
| Is it a moth or a butterfly | 10/12/2009 |
Q: On the cartoon Monsters vs. Aliens there is a monster called insectosaurous it is stated a the ...
A: Rachel, I'm not familiar with this cartoon. However, the term "grub" usually refers to an immature ...
|
| bug identification | 10/11/2009 |
Q: i found a six legged grey bug in my car and would like to know what it is. it was about an inch and ...
A: Maranda, I think you are describing a wheel bug. Wheel bugs can bite and the bite is very painful ...
|
| Cockroach? | 10/10/2009 |
Q: This insect was found in my backyard in the area around my pool in northeastern Pennsylvania. It ...
A: Sarah, This is a beetle, possible a carabid beetle (Carabidae). Here's a wikipedia article ...
|
| A mysterious visitor | 10/10/2009 |
Q: You were kind enough to help me try to identify what was biting me this summer, and now I've got ...
A: Becky, This is a stink bug, possibly the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). This is a relatively ...
|
| Brown Widow | 10/9/2009 |
Q: I have found in our backyard and around the house a spider that has the same body style of a black ...
A: Beth, Yes, in fact there's a lot of variation both within species and within the widow spider genus ...
|
| Weird TINY black bug in Virginia | 10/9/2009 |
Q: I live in Southeast Virginia and was sitting at my computer today when I saw something crawl (rather ...
A: Paige, My first thought was indeed pseudoscorpion. There is more than one species and perhaps the ...
|
| Spiders | 10/8/2009 |
Q: I was sitting in my truck with a breeze coming thru one window and out the other. A spider on my ...
A: David, You might be crazy but not because of this :). What you describe is called "ballooning" and ...
|
| yellowjackets | 10/8/2009 |
Q: Last weekend in Portland, OR I was attacked by a swarm of yellowjackets and got stung at least 20 ...
A: Bob, There are several species of ground-nesting yellowjackets in your area and they all look ...
|
| Small Black Bugs | 10/7/2009 |
Q: These little guys are always on my window inside the home. They fly around for a short distance and ...
A: Could be "fruit flies" or vinegar flies but these are generally brownish in color and don't ...
|
| insects in kitchen? | 10/7/2009 |
Q: I hope you can help me identify these little critters and suggest ways to get rid of them. We have ...
A: Moira, I think your diagnosis is exactly right. These are almost certainly psocids (barklice, ...
|
| Small Black Bugs | 10/6/2009 |
Q: These little guys are always on my window inside the home. They fly around for a short distance and ...
A: Jay, There are lots of insects that could fit this description. If they are small, dark gnat-like ...
|
| powder post beetles | 10/6/2009 |
Q: In 2007, upon the advice of a pest control service,my oak hardwood floors were stripped, treated ...
A: Beetles may die as they emerge through the layer of borate but the most important thing the borate ...
|
| powder post beetles | 10/5/2009 |
Q: In 2007, upon the advice of a pest control service,my oak hardwood floors were stripped, treated ...
A: Jeanne, Treating with borate (Timbor or Bora Care) does not kill the beetle larvae that are already ...
|
| Small white 1/4 inch larvae all over kitchen floor | 10/5/2009 |
Q: about once every couple months we have our tile kitchen floor crawling with 1/4 inch white larvae ...
A: Geoff, These are probably meal moth larvae, possibly Indian meal moth larvae. Do you see small ...
|
| white spider looking bug??? | 10/5/2009 |
Q: Today I was in our basement in Ontario. I noticed a white bug about 1/4 inch long that looked like ...
A: Dan, Could you post a picture? What is the shape and can you estimate how many legs? My guess is ...
|
| Flies | 10/4/2009 |
Q: Today i seen a fly that i have not seen before. It looked like a fly, but after it was dead,and i ...
A: Doris, There are literally thousands of species of flies, from tiny gnats to horse flies, and ...
|
| Home Pest/ Orange County CA | 10/3/2009 |
Q: Laguna Woods; and Aliso Viejo)? It seems to live inside homes or garages on vertical drywalled ...
A: Paige, This is called a casemaking clothes moth larva. The larva or caterpillar, your "black worm", ...
|
| Strange Bug | 10/1/2009 |
Q: I am terrified of spiders and insects, all of them. I have this strange bug in my house and I can ...
A: Rebekah, This is called a camel-spider (or camel spider) or sunspider. They are not true spiders. ...
|
| Response: Tiny brown bugs on bathroom floor | 9/30/2009 |
Q: This was written by someone else a month ago. They wrote: Hello, we have been experiencing very tiny ...
A: Emily, This image does look like a silverfish. Silverfish are common pests in homes where they feed ...
|
| Mud structure | 9/29/2009 |
Q: Found a mud structure in my garage that is completely enclosed and is square shaped. It is slightly ...
A: Ed, I think this is probably a mud dauber nest. Moths and butterflies don't make these sorts of ...
|
| What is it? | 9/29/2009 |
Q: I found this little critter on my machine at work. It was already dead but I would really like to ...
A: Tom, This is a house centipede. They tend to occur in older houses or buildings and are often ...
|
| black crawling bug with pointed nose | 9/29/2009 |
Q: We have a black bug about 1-2cm long. It has a pointed snout with 2 antenna coming off the nose. It ...
A: Natalie, You are describing a weevil, a type of beetle. Unfortunately there are about 30,000 ...
|
| small sac with black worm?? | 9/28/2009 |
Q: attached to the walls in my garage i have seen a few small gray things, they are like a sac and ...
A: Jean, Your description sounds like a casemaking clothes moth larva. There are several species and a ...
|
| lobster looking bug | 9/27/2009 |
Q: The following bug has been seen in the vicinity of my house twice. The first time it was crossing ...
A: Elizabeth, This sounds like a true scorpion or a vinegaroon (whip scorpion). Here's a wikipedia ...
|
| Grain Mites | 9/27/2009 |
Q: I am hoping you can provide some help with a problem I am having. I have had a bad of Purina Beneful ...
A: Elisha, This looks like a very bad infestation of grain mites. I think you are correct about the ...
|
| I would like to know what kind of insect is this (picture attached) | 9/27/2009 |
Q: this morning I spotted this insect on the wall, I've never seen this insect before, and it looks ...
A: William, This looks like an engorged (fed) tick. If you have pets I'd guess that it came off the ...
|
| Id our bugs | 9/26/2009 |
Q: I have attached a picture of some worm/bug like insects that we just discovered in our second home. ...
A: Allen, This is the larva of a dermestid beetle. Dermestid beetles feed on a variety of organic ...
|
| Biting bug | 9/26/2009 |
Q: My 4 month old son got bitten by a bug that crawled into the arm of his sleeve while he was outside ...
A: Joelle, I'm afraid your description fits a number of different small bees and flies. Most small ...
|
| Bright Green Bug | 9/25/2009 |
Q: We are in the Pittsurgh PA area and are seein ga large number of bright green bugs inside our house. ...
A: Michelle, The photo is very blurry but this may be a green stink bug. Here's a wikipedia page about ...
|
| found a smaller insect on the same wood pile | 9/25/2009 |
Q: On Sept 11 our discussion was about the "red-ant-look-a-like" on my wood pile in SW Minnesota. ...
A: Craig, The red bug is not a wood-boring beetle but the holes are made by so called powderpost ...
|
| black insect with white wings | 9/25/2009 |
Q: These tiny bugs are all over my backyard. When I go outside they gather on my clothes. At first they ...
A: Charlene, There are lots of insects that fit this description. If you could post a picture I might ...
|
| biting midges | 9/24/2009 |
Q: Is it possible to have biting midges inside a day care center. If so what are the possile ways the ...
A: Ron, Biting midges develop in poorly drained soil or soil that is over irrigated. If midges are ...
|
| weird bug | 9/24/2009 |
Q: Last night while sitting on the couch, I saw this odd looking bug, it had the body of a caterpillar ...
A: Mary, If it had multiple legs it was probably a house centipede. Take a look at the picture of this ...
|
| weird looking bug that seems to be all over my house, Portland Oregon | 9/24/2009 |
Q: So there is this little flying bug all over my house, they seem to want to come inside. They are in ...
A: Paul, This is a stink bug (family Pentatomidae). I can't see enough detail in the picture to do a ...
|
| little white bugs in kitchen | 9/22/2009 |
Q: We had a leak outside behind the kitchen sink, where the outside faucet is. We got that fixed and ...
A: Tala, What you describe is a textbook case of grain mites, also called mold mites, feeding on mold ...
|
| Tiny black bugs in kitchen cabinet | 9/22/2009 |
Q: I hope you can help me, Jack. I live near Miami, Florida & recently found tiny black bugs in my ...
A: The only other thing it could be is a psocid or barklice or booklice. These tiny insects are ...
|
| Tiny black bugs in kitchen cabinet | 9/21/2009 |
Q: I hope you can help me, Jack. I live near Miami, Florida & recently found tiny black bugs in my ...
A: Franny, These sound like dermestid or carpet beetles. These beetles infest a variety of stored ...
|
| glowing blue miiliped | 9/21/2009 |
Q: Last night we noticed many many little spots on the ground that would glow blue and fade. i picked ...
A: Ed, What you are seeing is called bio-luminescence, just like fireflies and glowworms. There are ...
|
| flea larva? | 9/20/2009 |
Q: My daughter found tiny dark brown or black worm -like creatures in a pile of clothes that were on ...
A: Nancy, This is much too large and the wrong color for a flea larva. Here's a picture of a flea ...
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| Identification of mites | 9/20/2009 |
Q: I have tiny mite like insects throughout my house and I don't have a clue what they are! They tend ...
A: Kaitlin, These could be a type of mite called a grain mite or mold mite. These mites are common ...
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| Bug ID | 9/19/2009 |
Q: I've had these in my garage in Barnegat NJ for the past few years. They winter over, jump faster ...
A: Bill, Good photo of a cave cricket. This critters are related to grasshoppers and field crickets ...
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| tiny black bugs | 9/19/2009 |
Q: Two months ago I had an infestation of tiny black round hard shelled bugs in my kitchen. I cleaned ...
A: Barbara, Your description sounds like dermestid beetles, sometimes called carpet beetles. You ...
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| infected with unknown bugs!! | 9/18/2009 |
Q: I'm living in Singapore, it's in Asia, right beside Malaysia. So it's quite humid here. Recently ...
A: Justin, Your description sounds like grain mites, also called mold mites. These mites feed on fungi ...
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| identify small beetle | 9/18/2009 |
Q: This is a harmless beetle, but very annoying. Emerges in July with summer-temps above 95.Is present ...
A: Carolyn, I can't id the beetle from the photo but the only beetles that occur in homes in the ...
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| large 6in or bigger cricket type bug | 9/17/2009 |
Q: We have a large thing jumping around the basement there are smaller ones too. But the large one is ...
A: Cindy, I think you are probably talking about a cave cricket. Take a look at this page ...
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| Is this a poisonous spider? | 9/17/2009 |
Q: I found this spider in my house in New Brunswick, NJ. I had no way to get the scale, but it the ...
A: Kristin, There are a number of different spiders that look like this one so it is impossible to ...
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| Bird Mites | 9/16/2009 |
Q: My wife and I currently are residing in Landsthul Germany at the edge of a forest. We have many ...
A: Paul, I think initially you may been bitten by bird/nest mites but now I think something else must ...
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| thin tiny speck on clothing | 9/16/2009 |
Q: Today I discovered a large quantity of very small bugs in my closet. They are dark brown, very ...
A: Will, I agree. The best thing to do is collect a few in alcohol and take them to a lab for id. ...
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| Fleas | 9/15/2009 |
Q: I hope I have the right Jack, the apartment above mine has fleas and they haave made their way down ...
A: Kim, Fleas don't fly, they don't even have wings. I'm not sure what you are seeing but it must be ...
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| spiders | 9/15/2009 |
Q: I am doing a school project on spider's sense of taste. Do they prefer a taste such as sweetness ...
A: Kaylen, Spiders don't taste the same way we do so I think it would be hard to talk about "sweet" or ...
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| spider bites | 9/15/2009 |
Q: About 3 years ago I was bitten by a spider that mimicked the brown recluse. Since then I have gotten ...
A: Diana, I don't think this is possible. Are you certain that the original "bite" was in fact a ...
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| spiders in dried mud nest | 9/14/2009 |
Q: I found a dried mud nest (2"x2")in the folds of my umbrella on my deck. It looked like a wasp nest ...
A: Barb, I think your first instinct was right. This was probably the nest of a mub dauber wasp. The ...
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| Yellow Jacket | 9/13/2009 |
Q: I live in Toronto, Canada in a condo on the 7th floor of a building, which is also the top floor. I ...
A: Karen, I've not heard specifically of this behavior but it doesn't surprise me either. I suppose ...
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| Insect bites | 9/13/2009 |
Q: My son was bitten overnight at a cottage - when he woke up, the side of his face was swollen, and it ...
A: Christine, I doubt that these are spider bites. First, spiders rarely bite and when they do it is ...
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| pin sized jumping bugs | 9/12/2009 |
Q: I am visiting my daughter and family near Jackson TN and she has these tiny little dark bugs that ...
A: Sherie, I'm not sure what your daughter means by "sand fleas". This name is usually applied to ...
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| Tiny White Clear/soft bodied Bugs | 9/11/2009 |
Q: These mini bugs were first found in my old home around the bathroom sink area, they seem to be ...
A: I don't recommend bleach because it is very toxic, you don't want to replace a harmless insect with ...
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| Tiny White Clear/soft bodied Bugs | 9/11/2009 |
Q: These mini bugs were first found in my old home around the bathroom sink area, they seem to be ...
A: Dot, These are called psocids or barklice, but they are NOT relate to true lice. Psocids feed on ...
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| SPIDER | 9/11/2009 |
Q: IS THIS SPIDER HARMFUL TO MAMMALS? LOCATION: SOUTHEAST WHIDBEY ISLAND; ENTRANCE TO HOUSE, WOODEN ...
A: Case, There are no venomous spiders by that description in your area. If you want to get a species ...
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| Insect damage to stacked firewood | 9/11/2009 |
Q: I live in Southwestern Minnesota. I have some 1-2 year old firewood stacked outside. I found ...
A: Craig, The picture is a bit too fuzzy to id but the holes in the firewood are probably from some ...
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| Tiny Tiny Bug | 9/10/2009 |
Q: I found some tiny, tiny bugs that are about the size of a poppy seed but flatter and brown in color. ...
A: I doubt the dog is picking these up in the woods. Does this dog lay near the others or is he ...
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| Tiny Tiny Bug | 9/10/2009 |
Q: I found some tiny, tiny bugs that are about the size of a poppy seed but flatter and brown in color. ...
A: Lori, This sounds like some kind of mite, perhaps a grain mite or nest mite. How many of these are ...
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| wasp issue | 9/9/2009 |
Q: I'm an American transplanted to Israel. I've managed to grow a beautiful fig tree that produces ...
A: Bill, Excellent picture, thanks for including it. This is not one of the cosmopolitan scavenger ...
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| About spiders' webs.. | 9/8/2009 |
Q: Hey is it the male or female spider that constructs webs? and which one of them is responsible for ...
A: Mazen, Every species does things a bit different. Some species don't construct webs while others ...
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| Spider Identification | 9/8/2009 |
Q: I had to take my daughter to urgent care over the weekend for what we were told was a spider bite. ...
A: Elaine, Except for a few species it is nearly impossible to identify spiders from photographs. The ...
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| bed bug or louse? | 9/7/2009 |
Q: My brother found a tiny bug on his pillow case the other day. And we're not sure if it is a bed bug ...
A: Head lice and bed bugs are very easy to tell apart. Bed bugs are much larger than head lice and dark ...
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| small black bug | 9/7/2009 |
Q: This is the 3rd one today! It is approx. 4mm long. it has 6 legs and a 'characteristically' longer ...
A: Jessica, I'd need to see a picture but I think this is some kind of weevil. If you can't post a ...
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| Mysterious Holes/Bugs... going NUTS! | 9/6/2009 |
Q: Mr. DeAngelis! I am writing to see if you can help in identifying a creature that has puzzled and ...
A: Kelly, You now hold the record for my longest question, of over a thousand!. Congrats. I initially ...
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| Entomology | 9/6/2009 |
Q: I am really interested in Entomology and I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about ...
A: Taylor, Instead of me trying to explain entomolgy in a few words I'd suggest that you talk with the ...
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| yellow flying insect | 9/6/2009 |
Q: I was bitten by a very small yellow bug. It was as small as a gnat. It drew blood and hurt. What ...
A: Pat, I think you may have been bitten by a thrips. These tiny "sliver-like" insects mostly feed on ...
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| moth larvae (?) i.d. | 9/5/2009 |
Q: sorry I have no photo, but here's the situation:I am in San Gabriel, CA, have a small ...
A: Michelle, As you found out insecticidal soap does not work very well on moth larvae, or ...
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| identification | 9/5/2009 |
Q: I found a brown color, hard shelled bug. I first noticed it sticking out of my worm bed looking like ...
A: Dennis, This sounds like a pupa of some kind, probably a fly pupa. The pupa is the stage between an ...
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| Chiggers | 9/4/2009 |
Q: Mr. DeAngelis and thank you for answering my questions: I went on vacation to Tennessee (I live in ...
A: mnorman, Chiggers are the larval (six-legged) stage of a mite. Chigger mites bite causing an ...
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| Small Reddish-Brown Bugs Appear After Washing Dishes | 9/3/2009 |
Q: In the past few days I've noticed tiny reddish-brown bugs that appear after I wash dishes. I don't ...
A: Leah, Except for the color you are describing grain mites, sometimes called mold mites. These mites ...
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| RED VELVET ANT | 9/2/2009 |
Q: We have lived in the S.W. corner of Tennessee for eight years. I haven't noticed this kind of bug ...
A: Donna, Velvet ants (Mutillidae) are a type of wasp. They occur nearly everywhere but they are not ...
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| bites | 9/2/2009 |
Q: for about a week I've been getting mosquito like bites on my body where the skin seems to be ...
A: Chelsea, This sounds like a mite of some kind. There are lots of different mites, in fact ticks are ...
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| BUGS | 9/1/2009 |
Q: At work today I found a black bug about 1 inch long with a sort of fat body. When I went to touch it ...
A: I think the pincers would be obvious if it was a scorpion even in a small specimen. If the body was ...
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| Small White Biting Insect/Bug | 9/1/2009 |
Q: I am getting bit by tiny white things. They look like a lice nit, but they bite and it stings ...
A: I'm afraid I'm out of ideas. Spider mites don't bite. I think you are back to the possibility of ...
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| BUGS | 9/1/2009 |
Q: At work today I found a black bug about 1 inch long with a sort of fat body. When I went to touch it ...
A: Cecelia, Could it have been a small scorpion? There are scorpions in southern and eastern Oregon ...
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| black bug, hard outer shell -insect | 8/31/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis, I do not yet have a picture of the bug in question. I will do my best to describe the ...
A: Jean, I think a better and faster option is to take the sample to your county Extension office ...
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| Small White Biting Insect/Bug | 8/31/2009 |
Q: I am getting bit by tiny white things. They look like a lice nit, but they bite and it stings ...
A: I'm not sure what you mean by "from another country". There are no insects or mites from anywhere ...
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| BLACK BUGS | 8/31/2009 |
Q: LIVE IN MARYLAND - A COUPLE DAYS AGO AFTER DARK THER ARE A LOT OF BLACK ROACH TYPE BUGS ON MY FRONT ...
A: Paul, Could these have been crickets? There are some dark-colored crickets that can enter houses at ...
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| Flying Ant or Wasp? | 8/30/2009 |
Q: We live in South Texas, around the Corpus Christi area. Over the past few months we've been finding ...
A: April, These sound like ants. Whenever large winged ants ("flying ants") emerge indoors the first ...
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| Bug bites | 8/30/2009 |
Q: I am aware you may not be able to answer this question, but I don't know who to ask!! Everyone in ...
A: If you live in the northern part of the state it is possible that these are bites from the brown ...
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| Bug bites | 8/30/2009 |
Q: I am aware you may not be able to answer this question, but I don't know who to ask!! Everyone in ...
A: These don't sound like insect bites and the pus indicates an infection so I think you should consult ...
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| Bug bites | 8/29/2009 |
Q: I am aware you may not be able to answer this question, but I don't know who to ask!! Everyone in ...
A: Kayla, You describe the bites as mosquito-like but also like a burn. Are these two different or ...
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| White Bug On File Cabinet | 8/29/2009 |
Q: Sorry to bug you again, but I am trying to ID a bug I just found on my file cabinet. Please take a ...
A: Allisandro, This looks like some kind of leafhopper, possibly a psyllid. These are plant feeding ...
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| Small White Biting Insect/Bug | 8/29/2009 |
Q: I am getting bit by tiny white things. They look like a lice nit, but they bite and it stings ...
A: Dana, I'm not sure what this is but I am sure that it is not insect related. There are no insects ...
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| slimy pod on my wall and ceiling | 8/28/2009 |
Q: Today I noticed several slimy splotches on my foyer wall and ceiling. To be honest and gross, some ...
A: Sally, I don't think these are insect related. They sound more like some kind of fungus and I'd be ...
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| Bugs found in my home. | 8/27/2009 |
Q: Jack, I found a couple of bites on my arm on Sunday and decided to check around the house to see ...
A: Allisandro, The marks on your arm and stomach probably are not caused by insects or mites. Bites ...
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| Your expertise in bug identification... | 8/27/2009 |
Q: It's the end of summer here in Brooklyn and I've been noticing a certain type of bug in my bedroom ...
A: Ok, post a follow up if you get a picture. My guess at this point is that the bug is not biting ...
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| tiny little caterpillar thingys | 8/27/2009 |
Q: so my mum hangs our clothes out to dry in the summer and part of the clothes line is by a tree in ...
A: Gillian, There are many species of caterpillars that feed in trees so it would be nearly impossible ...
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| Your expertise in bug identification... | 8/27/2009 |
Q: It's the end of summer here in Brooklyn and I've been noticing a certain type of bug in my bedroom ...
A: Becky, I'm afraid I'll have to wait for a photo because the description does not match anything I'm ...
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| Ant ID | 8/27/2009 |
Q: I am looking to find out the name of a strange ant I saw outside my house. Sorry no picture But it ...
A: Joe, What you found was not an ant but rather a wingless wasp. The common name is velvet ant or ...
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| i have a photo this time | 8/26/2009 |
Q: I have been getting bit at night for a couple weeks and we now just started seeing these bugs we ...
A: There are lots of small beetles that look like this one so you'd have to have it identified by ...
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| yellow and black flying insect | 8/26/2009 |
Q: I live in Southern NH near a wooded area and have seen two yellow and black flying insects that look ...
A: Ann, Sounds like a cicada killer wasp. These large wasps hunt cicadas and are not as aggressive as ...
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| blue spiders | 8/26/2009 |
Q: My landlady is totally freaked out because she found three blue spiders on the wall of our brick ...
A: Charlotte, There are no bright blue venomous spiders. In fact where you live there is only one ...
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| i have a photo this time | 8/25/2009 |
Q: I have been getting bit at night for a couple weeks and we now just started seeing these bugs we ...
A: Olevia, This is indeed a beetle but not one that bites. Your bites must be caused by something ...
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| Weird crab-looking bug | 8/25/2009 |
Q: My mother was cleaning out her drawer of clothes that she never wears and she found a black bug ...
A: Sarah, What you found is called a pseudoscorpion. They are not related to true scorpions but look ...
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| tiny light brown bug eggs | 8/24/2009 |
Q: I live in northwest Texas and I have piles of light brown bug eggs appearing in my bathroom. they ...
A: Amy, I don't think these are eggs. These sound more like either sawdust from some kind of ...
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| big striped spider ID | 8/24/2009 |
Q: I stumbled across this zebra-striped spider on a trip through Utah/Oregon. I's rear was about the ...
A: Michelle, This is an Argiope spp. spider sometimes called a St. Andrews cross spider because of the ...
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| Fly Larva | 8/24/2009 |
Q: I raise chickens for fun an I was recently cleaning out the coop. I use a deep litter method and ...
A: Tim, I think you are describing a rat-tailed maggot. Here's a wikipedia page ...
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| spider id | 8/23/2009 |
Q: Good morning Jack, I just moved to Georgia, and at night I see this spider making a beautiful web, ...
A: Jon, I'm not sure of the species but you have only a couple of venomous spiders around you and this ...
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| Yellow and black biting bug | 8/23/2009 |
Q: I was hiking with my friend in Big Basin State Park when he found it in his hair, biting his scalp. ...
A: Helen, Are you sure the bug you describe is associated with the bleeding? The only biting insect ...
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| Larve sealed in wax kills intercom | 8/22/2009 |
Q: I work at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and am responsible for most of the electronic systems in the ...
A: Paul, The behavior you describe sounds like one of the solitary bees. The mason bee is a familiar ...
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| Tiny brown bugs on Bathroom Floor | 8/21/2009 |
Q: we have been experiencing very tiny brown-black bugs that are tear drop shaped in our home. Mostly ...
A: Annette, Your description of color and shape sounds like some type of mite but the description of ...
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| Cicada | 8/21/2009 |
Q: I saw a mystery insect a few days ago that looked quite a bit like a cicada. It matched the size ...
A: Khan, Not all cicadas are the type that have synchronized mass emergences. Look up "periodical ...
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| stinging flying insect | 8/20/2009 |
Q: We live in southern Oregon. My mother was stung by a flying insect. It landed on her while she was ...
A: Brooke, Sounds like some kind of wasp but without a picture that's about the best I can do. If you ...
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| getting bit; can't find source | 8/20/2009 |
Q: the strangest thing is going around my family. we are all getting bit by something, but there is ...
A: Catherine, They are only a small number of insects and mites that actually bite people. Here's a ...
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| ground termites vs ants | 8/20/2009 |
Q: I read an account the other day describing how ant colonies can overrun and destroy colonies of ...
A: Mark, Some ants prey on termites but there are no strategies for using ants to protect a property ...
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| What is killing my trees | 8/19/2009 |
Q: There are some strange bugs that look like a large ant, colored like a bumblebee. They can crawl ...
A: Mylinda, I'm not sure what these are but your description sounds like a wasp of some kind. If you ...
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| Beetle | 8/19/2009 |
Q: We found this beetle in our egress window well and are wondering what it is. It is enormous in size ...
A: Kerri, This is not a beetle but rather a true bug, the giant water bug (Belostomatidae). Here's a ...
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| Water Bugs/Organisms? | 8/18/2009 |
Q: After a hard rain in Michigan, my daughters bucket filled with water from the storm. The next day ...
A: Laura, I think you've drawn a mosquito larva. Mosquito larvae develop in fresh water and are called ...
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| Very tiny white bugs | 8/18/2009 |
Q: I have just noticed thousands of tiny white bugs all over my kitchen faucets & black appliances. ...
A: Mindy, I can't see much detail in the photo but your description sounds like a grain mite. Grain ...
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| stung/bitten by unusual bug | 8/17/2009 |
Q: I was at an outdoor fundraiser last evening in the town of Murphy's in Northern California. ...
A: Susan, I'm not sure what this is. Could you post a picture? You description does not match any of ...
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| Home invasion! | 8/17/2009 |
Q: I have these tiny insects in my home. I have killed about 10 of them. They are in my kitchen, ...
A: Donna, This looks like a beetle but I can't see enough detail to id it any further. However, from ...
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| black bug, hard outer shell | 8/16/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis, I do not yet have a picture of the bug in question. I will do my best to describe the ...
A: Jean, I can't tell from your description what this is (size of a dime and black). Could you post a ...
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| Tiny biting, flying white insects | 8/16/2009 |
Q: "I had a rental car for about a week and continually felt like something was biting me, but I ...
A: Jean, This may not be an insect or mite. There are relatively few insects and mites that actually ...
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| thousands of tiny dead bugs | 8/15/2009 |
Q: I am a clean freak, so this has really gotten me upset! I found THOUSANDS of tiny (dead) gnat-like ...
A: Stacia, This sounds like fungus gnats. If you post a picture I may be able give you a definite id. ...
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| strange oval shaped bug in bathroom | 8/15/2009 |
Q: recently i have noticed these very strange bugs on my bathroom floor they are completely flat,oval ...
A: Alex, The picture is a little fuzzy but it has the overall shape of a casemaking clothes moth ...
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| small red bumps | 8/14/2009 |
Q: We recently had to get rid of our cat who has had fleas before. Now my mother and I are starting to ...
A: Lynn, Lots of different things can cause these red bumps. Some biting insects and mites can cause ...
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| big orange insect | 8/14/2009 |
Q: We live in inland, north San Diego county and we just witnessed a crazy bug. A large (about 4 ...
A: Janet, These large wasps are called tarantula hawks (family Pompilidae). Here's a wikipedia page ...
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| worm-like things | 8/13/2009 |
Q: Since summer started, I have been finding worm-like things in my bathroom and now I'm finding them ...
A: Jen, These sound like some kind of larva, possibly a meal moth larva. If you could post a picture I ...
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| Cricket/Centipede/Mayfly looking bug | 8/13/2009 |
Q: My husband found this bug in our finished basement. We live in middle Tennessee. He found it on ...
A: Amber, Your second choice is correct. This is a house centipede. They are very common in some older ...
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| bug identification | 8/13/2009 |
Q: My daughter hasw an area rug that has many, many burrowing larve-like insects. They are smaller than ...
A: Janet, These sound like some kind of pupa, the stage between some insect larvae and the adults. If ...
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| Help with bug problem | 8/12/2009 |
Q: Need help identifying a bug I found in my house. Its small about 2-3mm,its head is red and looks ...
A: Jane, Unfortunately I can't see enough detail in the photo to id this critter and there are lots of ...
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| Multiple yellow jacket nesting | 8/12/2009 |
Q: The yellow jacket colony ostensibly starts from a fertilized queen each spring and grows as new ...
A: Don, Excellent questions, you've clearly done some homework. I think I can resolve some of the ...
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| possible mites?? | 8/12/2009 |
Q: I have now seen (at first I couldn't find anything) a very small dark, round (like a speck of dirt) ...
A: Betsy, Sounds like you think it might be a bird, or nest mite (or possibly a rat mite). I agree. ...
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| very strange bug | 8/11/2009 |
Q: thank you
A: Julian, I think you are describing a silverfish or a firebrat. These primitive insects are ...
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| Small brown bugs | 8/11/2009 |
Q: Hey Jack, Thanks for your earlier help with the carpet beetle problem. I have another kind of bug ...
A: Mansi, There are lots of insects that would match that description. If you can't get a picture I ...
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| Pill bugs and bedbugs | 8/11/2009 |
Q: Do dead bedbugs resemble pill bugs at all? I've found more than a dozen definitely identified dead ...
A: I don't think you would confuse a bed bug and a pillbug. Bed bugs are mahogany in color and about ...
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| bites and the culprit - earwigs? | 8/10/2009 |
Q: My 20 month old child has been experiencing bites since we moved into a new house approx 8 mos ago ...
A: Dee, Earwigs don't bite. The pincers can pinch but would not leave marks like those in the picture ...
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| insect found | 8/10/2009 |
Q: my 5 year old son and i found a very strange insect today, it is mostly black with VERY red ...
A: Allison, I can't see the picture clearly but from your description I think this is a velvet ant ...
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| house and garden bugs | 8/9/2009 |
Q: I am trying to id a bug that I've seen in the area and arond my house.It is an insect,black in ...
A: Gerald, I think you are describing an earwig. Earwigs feed on plants and despite the look of the ...
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| Celing fan as a habitat? | 8/9/2009 |
Q: Found a tribe of flying black bugs with it's own habitat on a ceiling fan blade(s). Embarrassed to ...
A: John, I'm not sure what these are. If you post a picture I may be able to give you an id. There are ...
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| Locust like insects | 8/8/2009 |
Q: I live in CT and for the past few summers have been bothered by large flying insects that seem to ...
A: Jean, I think you are describing a cicada killer wasp. Despite the name these relatively ...
|
| House Centipede noises. | 8/7/2009 |
Q: Do they make any noises because i believe i have one in my house and i have heard strange squeaking ...
A: Mathias, I don't think house centipedes make any noise, at least that humans can hear. House ...
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| roach? | 8/6/2009 |
Q: Need confirmation on what I think is a roach. I tried all kinds of settings on my digital camera ...
A: Nick, I can't tell you what species this is without a picture but based on your description of the ...
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| Biting Bugs | 8/6/2009 |
Q: I work in a Lawn and Garden area of a retail store. While there are many bugs that I am exposed to, ...
A: Kelly, The only thing that matches this size, shape and color are thrips. Thrips are mainly plant ...
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| What could this be? | 8/5/2009 |
Q: We live in the Hudson Valley of New York State (and have had a wet a cool summer so far. We just ...
A: I can't see any legs in the photo. However, if they have legs then they are probably beetle larvae ...
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| What could this be? | 8/5/2009 |
Q: We live in the Hudson Valley of New York State (and have had a wet a cool summer so far. We just ...
A: Risa, These look like some kind of meal moth larvae, perhaps Indian meal moth. These insects infest ...
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| Biting Bugs | 8/5/2009 |
Q: I work in a Lawn and Garden area of a retail store. While there are many bugs that I am exposed to, ...
A: Kelly, Could you post a picture? Your description does not match anything I'm familiar with. Are ...
|
| Stinging Insect | 8/5/2009 |
Q: This morning my 2 year old son was painfully stung three times by an unknown insect while sitting in ...
A: Kate, This appears to be a reduviid or assassin bug. This one is probably a juvenile (nymph) ...
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| A casing of web filled with worms | 8/4/2009 |
Q: What made this? It is filled with about 100 small, like 1/4" white worms, who are very much alive ...
A: Abbi, This is probably some type of tent caterpillar or webworm (the exact species varies with ...
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| GIANT beetle in Tijeras, NM | 8/4/2009 |
Q: I almost stepped on this huge beetle on my front porch in the mountains outside Albuquerque. It is ...
A: Steve, This is a longhorn beetle (family Cerambycidae) probably the genus Prionus. If you google ...
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| yellowjackets in plant pot | 8/3/2009 |
Q: we have what from your information appears to be a ground nest of yellowjackets in a large (16" ...
A: Tara, The nest should be obvious but it could be buried inside the root ball. The nest will be a ...
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| Barely visible crawling insect | 8/3/2009 |
Q: In my upstairs bedroom where I have my computer I have been noticing VERY TINY reddish ...
A: Donna, These sound like some sort of mite. I'm not sure if the red ones are related to the smaller ...
|
| fleas | 8/2/2009 |
Q: Just got ahold of the husband-he confirms there's a serious flea infestation downstairs and says ...
A: Tell your neighbor that while Frontline Plus will work I think a better approach is to use regular ...
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| fleas continued | 8/1/2009 |
Q: Had to start a new thread as the system will no longer allow me to correspond due to "too many ...
A: I agree it is very unlikely that the fleas move up from below. I think they must have been carried ...
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| What do you think this could be? | 8/1/2009 |
Q: I have been finding these inch long black roach/beetles in my basement and on my wall in the ...
A: Mallory, I'm curious to see a picture. This does not sound like an insect that is normally found ...
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| fleas continued | 8/1/2009 |
Q: Had to start a new thread as the system will no longer allow me to correspond due to "too many ...
A: If they are cat fleas, and not another species, they won't reproduce without a suitable host and we ...
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| tiny, narrow, hard-shelled jumping bugs | 7/31/2009 |
Q: Just in the past week I've noticed tiny (1/16th to 1/8th of an inch in length), black, narrow ...
A: Very unlikely. Flea pupae respond to the vibrations from a new host rather than temperature. They ...
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| tiny, narrow, hard-shelled jumping bugs | 7/31/2009 |
Q: Just in the past week I've noticed tiny (1/16th to 1/8th of an inch in length), black, narrow ...
A: I agree, you would have noticed the fleas if they were around that long. I think these are newly ...
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| Larvae | 7/31/2009 |
Q: I have just lifted a patio slab, underneath was flat smooth sand except for a perfect oval shaped ...
A: Russell, This sounds like an antlion. Antlions are larvae of a predatory insect in the group ...
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| tiny white bug | 7/31/2009 |
Q: for the past two weeks i have been getting bit by a tiny white-grayish bug. normally found along my ...
A: Stephanie, There are a couple of mites that fit your description. One group is the nest mites or ...
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| Beetles found in home | 7/31/2009 |
Q: I've been finding these tiny bugs, maybe beetles, (about 1 cm) around my house the past few months. ...
A: Nikki, I think you are right on all counts. This is a beetle, probably a weevil, of some kind. In ...
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| tiny, narrow, hard-shelled jumping bugs | 7/31/2009 |
Q: Just in the past week I've noticed tiny (1/16th to 1/8th of an inch in length), black, narrow ...
A: Andrew, This sure sounds like fleas. Two possibilities I can think of - if you recently moved into ...
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| Black Carpet Beetle infestation | 7/27/2009 |
Q: We recently moved into an apartment in New York City and have since then been battling black carpet ...
A: Mansi, Sounds like the apartment may be generally infested, or at least was at one time. You may ...
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| ground hornets | 7/26/2009 |
Q: D Can they sting or bite me .I have 2 year old children. Can they sting.
A: Kevin, What most people call a ground hornet is a ground nesting yellowjacket (many different ...
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| insects | 7/26/2009 |
Q: ...I have a huge problem in my back yard. There are insects at least two inches long, they are ...
A: Stephanie, I think you are describing a very large wasp called a cicada killer (there are several ...
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| long dark brwn bug | 7/26/2009 |
Q: i live in central nj. There is a heavily wooded lot adjacent to my property. I recently started ...
A: Ruth, This is not a roach but rather a beetle. It is also not one of the beetles that typically is ...
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| Bugs | 7/26/2009 |
Q: I have a little bug problem, that seems to be in my house they are very very small approx 2/3 mms ...
A: Helen, The first step is to identify these little critters. Because they are so small you'll need ...
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| hornet wasp type insect | 7/26/2009 |
Q: every summer at my home in east texas i see a huge wasp/ hornet like insect. it is mainly the color ...
A: Derek, You are probably describing one of the cicada killer wasps (there are a number of species). ...
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| white bugs | 7/25/2009 |
Q: I'm in the UK and moved into a new build flat about a yr ago, from christmas we've had problems with ...
A: Marianne, You may be describing a grain mite, or mold mite. These tiny mites feed on fungi (mold) ...
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| dive bombing giant beetles while mowing | 7/25/2009 |
Q: I live in Punta Gorda, FL (near Fort Myers) and was mowing today and dozens of beetle (I originally ...
A: William, This is a scarab beetle (family Scarabaeidae), possibly the figeater beetle or one of the ...
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| beetles in house | 7/25/2009 |
Q: Last summer we noticed a few black beetles in and about our kitchen area. They were mostly on the ...
A: Teresa, The picture is a little dark and fuzzy but I think this is a black vine weevil, or one of ...
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| Black w/white spots, orange dot on abdomen | 7/25/2009 |
Q: I live near the peach in the panhandle of Florida in panama city, I just bought a house and see this ...
A: Brian, Thanks for the picture it clears up the mystery. This is the oleander MOTH and the orange ...
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| bed bugs | 7/24/2009 |
Q: I have very small, striped worms under the bed. I have done some studying and read a lot on this ...
A: Alice, The open bowl of dog food may not be the problem. More often these infestations are found ...
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| Dry goods bugs!! | 7/24/2009 |
Q: I live in Central California and our family has recently discovered a infestation of these bugs in ...
A: Adrian, I can't see enough details in the photo to id it but from your description it sounds like ...
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| tiny black beetle in my NYC apt/ do they bite? | 7/24/2009 |
Q: First of all, what a great web site! I'm thrilled to find this. For at least a year we have had tiny ...
A: Jean, Dermestid beetles (there are many different species) feed on all sorts of natural materials ...
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| bee or mosquito? | 7/24/2009 |
Q: ive recently been in contact with a weird insect. its yellow and fuzzy like a bee, yet has the face ...
A: Josh, I think you may be describing a bee fly, family Bombyliidae. These are flies that have the ...
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| ID on a bug found in apartment. | 7/23/2009 |
Q: I have found quite a few examples of this bug in my apartment in the past few weeks. They appear to ...
A: Shannon, This is not the German cockroach and it may not be one of the common pest species. Can you ...
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| bed bugs | 7/23/2009 |
Q: I have very small, striped worms under the bed. I have done some studying and read a lot on this ...
A: Alice, This is definitely not a bed bug. All stages of bed bugs except the egg look the same. ...
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| tiny spiders? | 7/23/2009 |
Q: Lately- I'd say for the past 4 or 5 months- I've been finding these weird little spiders EVERYWHERE. ...
A: Jane, Could be some kind of crab spider which often appear to have the legs extended away from the ...
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| ID on a bug found in apartment. | 7/23/2009 |
Q: I have found quite a few examples of this bug in my apartment in the past few weeks. They appear to ...
A: Shannon, I think this is a cockroach, probably the German cockroach Blattella germanica. I'd need ...
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| Would like to describe bug I found at home-I am getting bitten. | 7/23/2009 |
Q: I have been getting bitten in bed. Sometimes there are tiny blood spots on my sheets. However, the ...
A: Tina, Would it be possible to post a picture of your critter, I'm afraid your description does not ...
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| Carpet Beetle Larva / Woolly bear | 7/22/2009 |
Q: I know this sounds a silly question, but do you know the nutritional value of the Carpet Beetle ...
A: Sue, Not silly but certainly unusual. Carpet beetle larvae would be very similar to other insects ...
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| Response to your response re: obsessing | 7/22/2009 |
Q: Jack, Thank you so much for your candid and well thought out answer to my question regarding my ...
A: Terri, I'm glad you are considering stress as the "culprit" in this case. We actually see a lot of ...
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| "click" beetles - how do I get rid of them? | 7/22/2009 |
Q: these things are VERY annoying! I've read where they are mostly out during the summer & are ...
A: Lilly, Let's try to figure out what this insect is that's bothering you. Can you describe it or ...
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| brown bug | 7/21/2009 |
Q: HELP I have little brown bugs coming in my bathroom window. They're about the size of a dog flea ...
A: Cathy, This sounds like some type of small beetle. I can't tell from your description which species ...
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| Beetle Identification? | 7/21/2009 |
Q: This Beetle(?) was flying around in my window sill the other day. Sorry, yes I did kill him. I had ...
A: Heather, This is called a carrion beetle, family Silphidae (yes it is a beetle). As the name ...
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| bugs on pillows | 7/21/2009 |
Q: I have been house-sitting for my in-laws in Manhattan and have noticed these very small (1 mm) dark ...
A: Lulu, There are many different small beetles that fit this description but I'd guess that these are ...
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| Dragonfly? | 7/21/2009 |
Q: I live in Central Florida and love dragonflies. I recently saw a winged insect that looked just ...
A: Christine, Could you describe these "pod-like appendages" in terms of size, color? How big was this ...
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| Mystery Bug | 7/20/2009 |
Q: I live in the Hudson Valley in New York State. I live on the second floor of an apartment building. ...
A: Christine, These are likely one of the midges (family Chironomidae) that is emerging from the river ...
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| Fly/mosquito type bug that left incision | 7/20/2009 |
Q: I was at an amusement park the other day and I was waiting on line for a drink. While on line I ...
A: Vincent, This was a stable fly. Stable flies look a lot like house flies but bite people and ...
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| Small beetles on my lizard | 7/20/2009 |
Q: i have a fairly large lizard as a pet, and i keep finding these little black beetle-like bugs on ...
A: Jenna, I think these are mites rather than insects. There are many mites that can be associated ...
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| Mystery Bug | 7/20/2009 |
Q: I live in the Hudson Valley in New York State. I live on the second floor of an apartment building. ...
A: Christine, I'm not sure what these are because there are very few flying insects so small they can ...
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| Fly/mosquito type bug that left incision | 7/20/2009 |
Q: I was at an amusement park the other day and I was waiting on line for a drink. While on line I ...
A: Vincent, A couple of questions - how big was this critter? As big as a house fly or more like the ...
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| carpenter ants | 7/20/2009 |
Q: I am beside myself. I am a gardener, and uncovered either a main or satellite nest of carp.ants ...
A: Chris, I think you may be confusing ground-nesting ants with carpenter ants. There's nothing you ...
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| tiny black bugs | 7/19/2009 |
Q: I need some help, I have these tiny black bugs about the size of a flea crawling all over the side ...
A: James, Springtails, or collembola, are harmless to you and your dog. They live in the soil and feed ...
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| tiny yellow things | 7/19/2009 |
Q: I am hoping you can help me identify and hopefully get rid of a problem with tiny yellow bugs in my ...
A: Sacha, This sounds like some type of mite based on the size and number you describe. The only mite ...
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| Please id this Bug.. | 7/19/2009 |
Q: Would you mind finding out what type of bug this is. i have it trapped in the box that you see in ...
A: Matt, This is a Jerusalem cricket, also called sand cricket or "potato bug", and they are ...
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| Possible tick bite | 7/19/2009 |
Q: I found a small bug stuck to the side of my son's neck. It has a white pouch like body and what ...
A: Joy, I can't comment on medical treatment but here's some information about ticks (yes it does ...
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| little brownish black bug in clothes and linens | 7/19/2009 |
Q: I am working on cleaning out my linen closet and cleaning closets and i am finding a fuzzy brownish ...
A: Angela, This is likely either some type of dermestid carpet beetle and carpet beetle larvae, or ...
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| black dot bugs on tomatoes | 7/18/2009 |
Q: We live in Vancouver, WA-thats next to Portland, OR(a better known place)we noticed small tiny ...
A: Olga, These could be flea beetles. Here's a link to a bulletin from Colorado with pictures ...
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| Please help w/ bug ID | 7/18/2009 |
Q: I live in Northern Delaware and found one of these guys in my house. Fuzzy, black/orange, 6 legs, ...
A: Jason, This is the larva of a ladybird beetle (ladybug). Google "ladybug larvae" for additional ...
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| yellow jackets | 7/17/2009 |
Q: I live in the Seattle area and I am pretty sure I have a yellow jacket nest in an exterior wall of ...
A: Larry, You can treat the area where you see the wasps entering and exiting. There's usually only a ...
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| tiny black bugs | 7/17/2009 |
Q: I need some help, I have these tiny black bugs about the size of a flea crawling all over the side ...
A: James, I think you are right about the shade. These sound like some sort of collembola/springtail ...
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| grey insect | 7/17/2009 |
Q: About 3wks. ago I was stung by a strange looking insect that was light grey and at first glance ...
A: Lou, The only thing I can think of is a wheel bug. Here's a wikipedia page ...
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| yellow jackets | 7/17/2009 |
Q: I live in the Seattle area and I am pretty sure I have a yellow jacket nest in an exterior wall of ...
A: Larry, I would destroy the nest now because it will only get larger this summer, by fall it could ...
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| What Bug is this? | 7/17/2009 |
Q: I live in Long Beach, CA about 5 miles inland yet close to the riverbed, a golf course, and flood ...
A: Laurie, I'm not sure exactly what insect this is but here's a couple of things. The "backside to ...
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| beetle larvae | 7/16/2009 |
Q: I have a 1/2 inch sort of transparent long thin insect. It has 6 legs close together, a small flat ...
A: Chantilly, Welcome to the world of entomology, I hope your studies go well this summer. ...
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| Could you identify this? | 7/16/2009 |
Q: It was about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. Firstly could you tell me what species of spider it is and ...
A: Tommy, I'm not familiar with the spiders in Ireland but this one looks like either a wolf spider or ...
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| bugs all over electronics | 7/16/2009 |
Q: In my house I have a half finished basement (exposed insulation ceiling, cement walls) where my ...
A: Anna, These sound like some kind of mite and based on your description I'd guess grain mites, also ...
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| Big weird wasp-like bug in TN | 7/16/2009 |
Q: Last night (near Nashville, TN)as I was going in and out of the house watering plants, I noticed a ...
A: Amanda, I can't say for sure without a picture but ichneumonid wasps look like what you describe. ...
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| ants burrowing in the beam on our patio | 7/16/2009 |
Q: We have small ants about 3/16" long, larger head, thin thorax, black. They are larger than sugar ...
A: Ann, These sound like carpenter ants because they are apparently constructing a nest in the beam, ...
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| What stung/bit me? | 7/15/2009 |
Q: I live in Northeast Minnesota. I weeded my flower bed on Sunday. Afterward I showered and noticed I ...
A: Cheyenne, It is hard to say for sure but this sounds like chigger mite bites based on the symptoms ...
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| bugs that look like brown and yellow corn meal | 7/15/2009 |
Q: We live in San Jose, California, where the climate tends to be warm. On the window sill of my ...
A: Sonia, Thanks for the picture and additional information. Are you certain that these were moving? ...
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| Insect bites | 7/15/2009 |
Q: Dr. DeAngelis, I have been bitten by insects in my room for 10 days in a row, and I would ...
A: Iris, The nests would have to touch the building in some way since the mites don't fly. The nests ...
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| Bed Bug Treatment | 7/14/2009 |
Q: my daughter just moved into an apartment at college and it appears she has bed bugs. She is ...
A: Kathlene, Orange oil spray is relatively safe and effective as a contact spray but it won't have ...
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| Bed Bug Treatment | 7/14/2009 |
Q: my daughter just moved into an apartment at college and it appears she has bed bugs. She is ...
A: Kathleen, The dryer is a good option. Just use high heat for 30 minutes. There are no completely ...
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| Bed Bug Treatment | 7/14/2009 |
Q: my daughter just moved into an apartment at college and it appears she has bed bugs. She is ...
A: Kathleen, The best way to treat items that can't be washed is to freeze them. Put them in a plastic ...
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| extremely small mystery bug | 7/14/2009 |
Q: What a could this bug be from? Its an extremely tiny bug that is visible on my computer screen and ...
A: Alex, Could be a nest mite. Try to capture a few in a small vial of alcohol so they can be examined ...
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| bugs that look like brown and yellow corn meal | 7/14/2009 |
Q: We live in San Jose, California, where the climate tends to be warm. On the window sill of my ...
A: Sonia, The only thing I can think of that looks like this are clumps of grain mites. Grain mites ...
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| Insect bites | 7/14/2009 |
Q: Dr. DeAngelis, I have been bitten by insects in my room for 10 days in a row, and I would ...
A: Iris, This sounds a lot like nest mites, also called bird and rodent mites. These mites live in the ...
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| Strange beettles | 7/13/2009 |
Q: I found 2 strange beettles, wich are blue/grey and black and have very long antenas, and I can´t ...
A: Adam, The beetles are probably cerambycids (family Cerambycidae), or longhorned beetles. I can't ...
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| mystery bug | 7/13/2009 |
Q: I have found two bugs in my house and I haved no idea what they are. It is about a half an inch long ...
A: Laurissa, You might be describing an earwig. Earwigs are harmless but look dangerous. They feed on ...
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| small black bugs in dry food | 7/13/2009 |
Q: We are getting very small 1/16" long black crawling bugs in our dry food. They are relatively soft ...
A: Michael, Your description sounds like psocids, also called booklice (not related to true lice). ...
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| Help- Found weird "bugs'' (I think) | 7/12/2009 |
Q: I attached a picture of what seems to keep re-appearing in the corner of a bedroom in my house.. I ...
A: Anna, I think this material is coming from above, not below. Look directly above where this ...
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| Tiny Black Bugs | 7/12/2009 |
Q: I live Pittsburgh, PA and suddenly started see tiny black bugs(not much bigger than a pinhead), with ...
A: Tina, These sound more like some type of beetle. One that fits this description is the dermestid ...
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| Mexican Bean Beetle | 7/12/2009 |
Q: I'm looking for an organic method to control Mexican Bean Beetles on string beans.
A: Cherri, Depending on what you mean by organic, neem oil might be a good choice. Neem oil is a ...
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| bug on husbands leg | 7/11/2009 |
Q: the bug is dark brown, about the size of a kernel of corn,body shape resembles a ...
A: Bonnie, This sounds like some type of tick, the 'antennae" could be the first pair of legs. There ...
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| red ants | 7/11/2009 |
Q: i live in dhaka , bangladesh. there are half inch long red ants in my house the sting of which is ...
A: Farhana, There are many species of ants that sting so I can't identify which one this is from your ...
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| Tiny black bugs with wings | 7/11/2009 |
Q: I have tiny black bugs, by the hundreds sometimes, with wings in the basement. At first I thought ...
A: Kimberly, I'll wait for the photo. However, a couple of things - you might want to consult with a ...
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| Bedbugs | 7/11/2009 |
Q: I have not yet seen any evidence of bedbugs in my bed, however I am afraid to look more closely as I ...
A: Margene, You could possibly move bed bugs from place to place in the house but I think it is ...
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| Bird mites | 7/10/2009 |
Q: I have been dealing with bird mites for over a month now. There was a pigeon "nest" outside my ...
A: Rebecca, No need to be concerned about bird mites (nest mites) "taking over your apartment". These ...
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| what is this bug | 7/10/2009 |
Q: i found this bug in my house which i think is a type of silverfish but it is over an inch long and ...
A: Kris, Excellent photo of a house centipede preying on a spider. House centipedes are common ...
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| Tiny black bugs with wings | 7/10/2009 |
Q: I have tiny black bugs, by the hundreds sometimes, with wings in the basement. At first I thought ...
A: Kimberly, Are you sure they have wings? Your description sounds like collembola (springtails) but ...
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| household pest | 7/10/2009 |
Q: while attempting to eradicate carpet beetles from my home I came across what looked like 4 eggs on ...
A: Emma, What you describe is much too large to be bed bug eggs. Adult bed bugs are only 4-5 mm. There ...
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| Found a acary bug in my hometown that i couldn't identify. | 7/10/2009 |
Q: I was recently at a park near my local university in Albuquerque, New Mexico when i came across a ...
A: Dorian, You might be describing the wheel bug, Arilus cristatus. Here's a picture ...
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| Florida Carpenter Ants? | 7/9/2009 |
Q: A friend in Blackhawk, Colorado has a yearly invasion into his home every summer. They appear to be, ...
A: David, I've not seen the behavior you describe. If the ants that are being carried are adults they ...
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| one inch long tapered ?worm? in RV home | 7/9/2009 |
Q: I've found 4 of these bugs in the last week or so, on the carpeted floor. Two have been in the ...
A: Teresa, Your description sounds like a black soldier fly larva. Take a look at the picture on this ...
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| Florida Carpenter Ants? | 7/9/2009 |
Q: A friend in Blackhawk, Colorado has a yearly invasion into his home every summer. They appear to be, ...
A: David, Species-level determinations of carpenter ants can be very difficult (the genus Camponotus ...
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| small insects on all kitchen floorboards! | 7/9/2009 |
Q: We recently moved into our brand new home in North Texas. This is a newly built home and we have ...
A: Jamie, New houses often have a lots of bugs in them at first because while they are being built ...
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| Treehoppers? | 7/9/2009 |
Q: Tonight I found small little jumping bugs in bed and I want to know how to get rid of them and I am ...
A: Andrea, Treehoppers are insects that feed on plants and belong to the order Homoptera which also ...
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| Tiny Bugs on my deck | 7/8/2009 |
Q: Beginning yesterday (7/6/09) when I went onto my deck to sit and read a book, I felt some itching on ...
A: Kacie, I think these could be grain mites, also called mold mites. Grain mites feed on mold and are ...
|
| possible bird or mice mite | 7/8/2009 |
Q: We moved into an older home in Feb, and began being bitten within 2 weeks. We cannot find an insect ...
A: Becky, Your description does not sound like a typical bird or rodent mite situation. These mites ...
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| Black Furry House Bug | 7/8/2009 |
Q: Someone posted a message about this in 2006. Her description fits mine exactly. The response ...
A: Christine, Your description does sound like dermestid (carpet) beetle larvae. Not all dermestids ...
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| bug found in home | 7/8/2009 |
Q: I recently purchased a home with a pool in Florence, SC. We have been finding white triangular ...
A: Brittany, Your description does not fit anything I'm familiar with, could you post a picture? The ...
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| Tiny Bugs on my deck | 7/7/2009 |
Q: Beginning yesterday (7/6/09) when I went onto my deck to sit and read a book, I felt some itching on ...
A: Kacie, They look like some type of mite but I can't see them clearly enough to identify further. In ...
|
| how best to get rid of house centipedes | 7/7/2009 |
Q: I guess I had the nerve to fall asleep in my own bed and roll over on one, because I woke up to ...
A: Biff, House centipedes are usually not a problem in terms of bites. They are not venomous and ...
|
| brown worms in compost | 7/7/2009 |
Q: I began composting in a composter in mid-June. I began with garden weeds and leaves and kitchen ...
A: Marlys, These are black soldier fly larvae. They are common in some cold compost piles especially ...
|
| Looks like an ant...kind of, anyway | 7/7/2009 |
Q: Manhattan, NY apartment, 16th floor. About a month ago started seeing these tiny insects, very dark ...
A: George, I'm not sure I can help much. What you describe sounds like an ant. But we'll need a good ...
|
| i found a bug | 7/6/2009 |
Q: i was under my house and i seen a weird bug and i took some pictures of it if you would like to see ...
A: Gavin, This is the pupa of a moth or butterfly. The pupal stage occurs between the caterpillar and ...
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| Identifying Small Red Flying Insect | 7/6/2009 |
Q: I live in Northern Ohio and was recently out in my yard and noticed what at first looked like a ...
A: Brian, These are aphids. Aphids feed on plants by tapping into their vascular system. They produce ...
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| help identifying a bug | 7/6/2009 |
Q: I am in North East Arkansas. I found a bug it is about half an inch in length. And it is flat with ...
A: Daemon, Could you post a picture because your description fits a lot of different insects. Post a ...
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| unknown bug | 7/6/2009 |
Q: i found this very tiny bug on me and i didn't know what it was, after i took a shower and when back ...
A: Tiffany, I can't identify what this might have been from your description. However, there are no ...
|
| tiny black bugs in kitchen on floor, two days | 7/5/2009 |
Q: TINY black bugs, I measured to be about 1mm wide and 3 or 4 mm long, appear to be in two parts, the ...
A: Scott, Sounds like a beetle but there are lots of different small brown or black beetles. They are ...
|
| Help with ID | 7/5/2009 |
Q: Could you please help me identify a bug? I found it crawling on my neck yesterday and I can't figure ...
A: David, This is a mite (the "antennae" are actually the first pair of legs), perhaps one of the ...
|
| Praying Mantis/Mantids | 7/5/2009 |
Q: I'm really interested in praying mantises (ids) and want to keep one as a pet. I can't find them ...
A: Steve, The person to contact is Whitney Cranshaw at Colorado State University ...
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| worm? | 7/4/2009 |
Q: We found a worm like bug in the bathroom crawling out of the tiles. It has a pod of some sort that ...
A: Janie, This is a type of clothes moth larva (there are several species). They can damage ...
|
| neuroparasitism of beetles | 7/4/2009 |
Q: Sir, I'm a veterinary pathologist, and I was just in my garden and noticed that a particular small ...
A: Eric, I've not heard of this behavior before but I'm probably not best person to ask. This is ...
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| Strange bites that look like mosquito bites but indoors | 7/4/2009 |
Q: I have been experiencing bites ( I think their bites because they look just like mosquito bites but ...
A: Dane, A couple of possibilities. There are some mites that bite and produce the kind of itchy ...
|
| Mosquito repellents | 7/4/2009 |
Q: My son along with 15 other kids are coming down to Lous. to work on some Katrina rebuilding from out ...
A: Shane, All of the regular mosquito repellents will work equally well in Louisiana and Washington ...
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| Tiny black bugs smaller then a pin head that under a microscope appear to have 6 legs. | 7/3/2009 |
Q: Lately I have been finding these microscopic bugs floating around my GF's pillow the past couple ...
A: Genesis, These sound like clover mites. Clover mites, closely related to spider mites, are tiny ...
|
| White oval soft-bodied "bug" | 7/3/2009 |
Q: I have been seeing some kind of parasite/bug that would be described as follows: whitish, about 1/4 ...
A: Alec, If you live in the southern US this is probably a plaster bagworm, a type of clothes moth. ...
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| Creepy beetle | 7/3/2009 |
Q: Ive lived in my house just over a year now. I live in western Michigan and I just went out side a ...
A: Julie, Unfortunately I can't identify this critter from your description. Could you post a picture? ...
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| My backyard is crawling with these ants/bugs | 7/2/2009 |
Q: I started seeing these bugs/ants in one area of my backyard a few weeks ago and thought they were ...
A: Kim, Plant bugs are somewhat host plant specific so they probably won't damage your garden plants. ...
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| My backyard is crawling with these ants/bugs | 7/2/2009 |
Q: I started seeing these bugs/ants in one area of my backyard a few weeks ago and thought they were ...
A: Kim, These are some kind of plant bug (Hemiptera). They feed on plants and can be blown around in ...
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| help! | 7/1/2009 |
Q: I have a beautiful 100 year old maple in the backyard of my New York home. I have recently noticed ...
A: Jessica, These are probably some type of scale insect. The insect lives under the cottony mass and ...
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| Ant identification | 7/1/2009 |
Q: I am a Ph.D student working on aquatic biology. Duirng my field visit I came across a ant speices ...
A: Pranav, I'm afraid I'm not an ant taxonomist. You might want to check this site ...
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| getting bit | 7/1/2009 |
Q: I have been looking for a month now on what I am getting bit by. I sometimes wake up in the middle ...
A: Chris, These sound like dermestid carpet beetles. These small beetles have scales that make them ...
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| SMALL BEETLES ALL OVER MY HOUSE!!! | 7/1/2009 |
Q: every year on guam there are little moths that come out of the holes in my sink. when I showed my ...
A: Jasmine, There are lots of small beetles that fit this description. Could you post a picture or ...
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| large terrestrial arthropod | 7/1/2009 |
Q: I was moving my dogs kennel when i saw a huge bug underneath it. It was moving around trying to get ...
A: Jacob, Excellent picture. This is a Jerusalem cricket, sometimes called a sand cricket or "potato ...
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| Bug help! | 6/30/2009 |
Q: I am really not a bug person and I am so glad there are people out there who are! I live in eastern ...
A: Sara, These are excellent pictures, thanks for including them. The "brownish one" is a collembola, ...
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| Bug ID | 6/30/2009 |
Q: I live in Nova Scotia, Canada, and lately I have noticed a mysterious little fly that I can't find ...
A: Ash, I think what you have is a fly with a fungal infection. The "white feathery material" is a ...
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| flying insect | 6/30/2009 |
Q: I live in central Oklahoma. I recently saw a huge, at least 3 inch body, flying bug in my yard. It ...
A: Kelly, The only insect that gets even close to this size that I know of is the Prionus beetle, a ...
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| bed bugs | 6/29/2009 |
Q: I got bit first in Japan, i fear that I might have brought over the bugs from Japan. I can these ...
A: Israel, I don't know what may have bitten you while in Japan but I doubt that these new "bites" are ...
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| Tiny black bugs in windows and backyard | 6/29/2009 |
Q: Good Evening, I have a problem with teeny tiny little black bugs that started on my back patio and ...
A: Vicky, I think you are describing collembola, also called a springtails. These tiny critters live ...
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| Bug Identification | 6/29/2009 |
Q: I have recently found about 3 of these types of bugs in my room. They have a grayish white body ...
A: Caitlin, Could you post a picture? If not try to capture one in a bottle with a small amount of ...
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| large milkweed bug | 6/29/2009 |
Q: Today I found a large milkweed bug on an Agapanthus plant in my back yard in San Diego. When I ...
A: Julia, It is possible that your "large milkweed bug" is a different, related species that occurs in ...
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| after loft insulation | 6/28/2009 |
Q: I recently had my loft insulated again and about a week after i noticed what looked like black dust ...
A: Julie, This sounds like some type of mite and there are only three mites that are usually found ...
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| strange bug | 6/28/2009 |
Q: Within the last couple of days my wife and I have killed two bugs which are nearly the same. When ...
A: Mark, The thin worms are probably horsehair worms. Horsehair worms are parasitic nematodes of ...
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| fuzzy spider? | 6/28/2009 |
Q: I am from Buckeye, Arizona (about 45 miles west of Phoenix--in a mostly desert area). As we were ...
A: Cadi, It is hard to tell how large this is but I think this is a velvet ant (Mutillidae), which is ...
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| small red bug in carpet | 6/28/2009 |
Q: i live in central illinois in a small town surrounded by corn/bean fields. we seem to have an issue ...
A: Ashley, I can't identify these critters from your description. Try to capture a few in alcohol; use ...
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| Identification help | 6/28/2009 |
Q: While outside today, I noticed some tiny specks (about the size of a period or a little smaller) on ...
A: Jen, The only thing I can think of that would behave this way are grain mites (sometimes called ...
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| Tiny insects | 6/27/2009 |
Q: last night as I lay in bed I saw a phosporecent object on my floor. Upon investigating it tured out ...
A: Genevieve, It is a good idea to start a new question, rather than a follow up, when the subject ...
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| Basement bugs... or not. | 6/27/2009 |
Q: I live in a 60 year old rowhome in Philadelphia, PA (19135) zip code. I have a semi-finished ...
A: Beth, I'm also sure this is not fleas because fleas are easy to see and they leave bite marks. In ...
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| reddish-orange bug | 6/27/2009 |
Q: I was wondering if you identify a particular bug for me. It was very hard to get a picture as they ...
A: Peggy, There are a number of mites that are this color. Your best bet is to capture a few in ...
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| jumping eggs | 6/27/2009 |
Q: we have these jumping eggs in our back yard now-they're about 1/8" in diameter and a brown colour.I ...
A: Michael, The only thing I know of that fits this description are jumping oak galls. These round ...
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| Household pest - what is it? | 6/26/2009 |
Q: I found it in my kitchen the day I moved into the house. The largest one I've seen is almost 3/4" ...
A: Karlee, Thanks for the picture. This is indeed a cockroach but it appears to be an immature which ...
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| Household pest - what is it? | 6/26/2009 |
Q: I found it in my kitchen the day I moved into the house. The largest one I've seen is almost 3/4" ...
A: Karlee, I changed the question to public because I think others could benefit and you posted no ...
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| Getting a lot of these in my house (photo included) | 6/26/2009 |
Q: I love in Atlantic Canada and for the past couple of days I have been finding these and trying to ...
A: Krista, This is some type of hymenoptera, the group that contains ants, wasps, and bees. This is a ...
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| Caterpillar | 6/26/2009 |
Q: last night as I lay in bed I saw a phosporecent object on my floor. Upon investigating it tured out ...
A: Genevieve, Sounds like either a glowworm (Phengodidae) or some type of bioluminescent centipede (or ...
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| bug with pinchers | 6/26/2009 |
Q: I found a bug between my daughter's toes! It had bitten her, making her bleed, and was stuck to ...
A: Lindsay, This is a tick. Ticks feed on the blood of mammals, birds and reptiles. Tick bites in ...
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| Small reddish brown bugs in bedroom (Don't think they are bedbugs) | 6/25/2009 |
Q: I'm just wondering what the heck these bugs are. They are very very small, maybe the size of a ...
A: Terri, There's at least two different insects in this image. The one in the upper right with wings ...
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| insect | 6/25/2009 |
Q: Let me first give some info: I live in NJ ....I have a ranch home with a crawl space. we have ...
A: Bill, Unfortunately your description fits a lot of different insects. Your best bet may be to catch ...
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| What is this? | 6/25/2009 |
Q: My dog found this and I went over to see what it was I was very suprised. It was a bunch of brown, ...
A: Gabe, These are insect larvae, perhaps caterpillars (moth or butterfly). I've not seen this ...
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| An odd insect | 6/25/2009 |
Q: Recently, I saw an odd, lime-green, thin, very tiny (about size of a pinhead) insect jump off of my ...
A: Geoffrey, There are not many lime-green insects. They most common insects this color are aphids and ...
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| identification please? | 6/25/2009 |
Q: I live in Brooklyn NY and this is a weird story but may be relevant to ID the bug? So my cat peed ...
A: Jacqui, Excellent picture. This is a spider beetle. Spider beetles are minor stored product pests. ...
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| Small reddish brown bugs in bedroom (Don't think they are bedbugs) | 6/25/2009 |
Q: I'm just wondering what the heck these bugs are. They are very very small, maybe the size of a ...
A: Terri, The only thing that sort of fits your description are nest mites, also called bird or rodent ...
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| Small unidentifiable bug | 6/24/2009 |
Q: I first saw this small, unidentifiable bug around the concrete patio outside my house. I have ...
A: Dennis, Thrips are very common everywhere plants grow and there are many species. Most thrips are ...
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| bugs found in appartment | 6/24/2009 |
Q: Recently I have been finding these bugs in my apartment..They are VERY small, extremely flat and ...
A: Charlene, These are definitely not bed bugs but I'm not sure beyond that what they are. If you post ...
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| long hairy bug | 6/24/2009 |
Q: I live in Kentucky. Recently I have move to the basement of my parents house. I have realized that ...
A: Ann, Your description sounds like a house centipede. Here's a link to a picture (lower picture on ...
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| insect ID | 6/24/2009 |
Q: We have a lot of hardwood floors, so it is relatively easy to spot these very small, ant-like, dark ...
A: Harry, These could be collembola, also called springtails. These tiny critters live in the soil ...
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| 2 different bugs | 6/23/2009 |
Q: I'm living in an old house in Washington DC this summer. The upstairs bathroom seems to be a hot ...
A: Caroline, Your description does sound like a cockroach, specially an American cockroach. There are ...
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| silver insects at home | 6/23/2009 |
Q: I live in Mumbai, India where it is very humid. We just moved into our house 6 months ago, and I ...
A: Priyanka, Could you post a picture? The description does not exactly fit anything I'm familiar ...
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| What IS this biting bug? | 6/23/2009 |
Q: I am a Michigander who has a VERY itchy bite that was caused by a black bug about the size of a ...
A: Susan, Who's Steve? (Not to worry, I've been called worse.) I think this is probably a bite from a ...
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| mystery bug | 6/22/2009 |
Q: I live in the midwest in a small town that is an hour and a half due north from KC Missouri. Right ...
A: Andrew, Sounds like a centipede or millipede. You didn't mention the number of legs but if it ...
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| watermelon seed look alike | 6/22/2009 |
Q: i'm from NW illinois and found this little black bug in my daughter's hair. it so closely resembled ...
A: David, From the description of the pincers it could have been a pseudoscorpion (not related to true ...
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| Found Odd Insects in my room... | 6/22/2009 |
Q: I hope you can help me out... I went into my room today and noticed that there was a small insect ...
A: Casey, Now that you have a fairly clear picture you might want to submit this to one of the other ...
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| Tiny black beetle-like bug in our house | 6/21/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis- We have spotted several very small (about a couple of millimeters in length) black bugs ...
A: Lea, This is the black carpet beetle. The link I sent previously is a different species of carpet ...
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| tiny tan bug - torpedo shaped that bites | 6/21/2009 |
Q: I have felt a sting a couple times in the past month or so and reached the spot and something tan ...
A: c. m., This is a thrips. Thrips normally feed on plants but can bite if they happen to land on us. ...
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| Bugs on wild bird feathers | 6/21/2009 |
Q: I was walking near my Florida home and picked up a 10-12 inch long brown bird feather. I took it ...
A: Joy, These are probably nest mites, sometimes called bird mites. They feed on the blood of birds ...
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| Found Odd Insects in my room... | 6/21/2009 |
Q: I hope you can help me out... I went into my room today and noticed that there was a small insect ...
A: Casey, The image is a little small and fuzzy so I'm not certain but I think this is either a mason ...
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| small black worms? | 6/21/2009 |
Q: Today on the living room ceiling of my Vancouver, BC Canada apartment I discovered some small (1/8" ...
A: Conroy, I think these are newly hatched caterpillars. Moths lay eggs in clusters that hatch into ...
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| Strange Shower Bugs | 6/20/2009 |
Q: Just recently whilst showering I noticed some strange bugs running around all over the tiled wall. ...
A: Jennifer, You may be describing clover mites. The "long antennae" are really the first pair of legs ...
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| an unfamiliar worm like bug | 6/20/2009 |
Q: I have recently been finding these very thin brown and sometimes grey worms/bugs. They are small, ...
A: Karen, I'm not sure what this is but there are no insects or mites that fit this description. It is ...
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| insects? | 6/19/2009 |
Q: i have somtehing in my kitchen that sheds its wings, in the morning i always find these reddish ...
A: Theresa, Ants and termites are the two insects that most commonly shed their wings in the ...
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| little gray bug | 6/19/2009 |
Q: i have recently noticed these little grayish bugs about the size of a flea may be smaller i live ...
A: Becky, Your description sounds like a collembola based on color and size. I'm not sure what the ...
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| Flying bug with weird behavior (now with pic) | 6/19/2009 |
Q: I was able to get a picture. Its not a very good one. so it may not help. Here is my previous ...
A: Cherisse, This is a beetle, probably a chafer of some kind. They are harmless, the larvae feed on ...
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| reddish brown flying insect | 6/18/2009 |
Q: I live in Richmond, VA and saw this winged insect tonight. The body was about 1 1/2 inches long and ...
A: xq, This is a cockroach, possibly the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana). Here's a link ...
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| burning bug - Rasahus hamatus | 6/18/2009 |
Q: My 8 year old son was stung by one of these last night. He was in terrible pain. Do they transmit ...
A: Jeff, The Reduviidae, the group to which these bugs belong, has two main subgroups that bite. The ...
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| Two Identifications | 6/17/2009 |
Q: I saw two insects in my house that I haven't been able to identify. I don't have pictures, but I ...
A: Vicky, The first critter is probably a house centipede. Here's a link to some information and a ...
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| BEDBUGS | 6/17/2009 |
Q: I have bedbugs and I am having them treated by a professional. I was told to clean all clothing and ...
A: Lisa, I don't know your exact situation but eliminating bed bugs from a home should not be a ...
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| egg sacs on evergreens | 6/17/2009 |
Q: My healthy golden-tipped cedar bushes have spittle deposits all over them. I'm sure this is the egg ...
A: Bev, Your description sounds like a spittle bug (or spittlebug) rather than an egg sac. Spittle ...
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| An unknown creature in bathrooms | 6/17/2009 |
Q: I live in UK and I have seen this creature in my bathrooms of the past and present properties (three ...
A: Akiko, I think you are describing a silverfish (sometimes called a fishmoth). Silverfish are ...
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| Tiny black beetle-like bug in our house | 6/17/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis- We have spotted several very small (about a couple of millimeters in length) black bugs ...
A: Lea, Why do you think these are not carpet beetles? They sound like carpet beetles to me. There are ...
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| Tiny bug with red head and black body - biting | 6/16/2009 |
Q: Over the past two weeks I have gotten bitten multiple times by a very small (about 2mm) flying bug ...
A: Andrea, There are a number of true bugs (Hemiptera) that are normally predators of other small ...
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| red and black ants | 6/16/2009 |
Q: My parents bought a new house about 5 years ago and my Brother and I discovered these red and black ...
A: Justin, Ants can be very difficult to identify especially from only a description. I'd suggest that ...
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| "caterpillar" | 6/16/2009 |
Q: Would you please help me identify this critter? I live in Key West, FL and these guys are ...
A: Alex, These are either millipedes or centipedes. Both can appear in large numbers following heavy ...
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| Large Agressive Flying Insect | 6/16/2009 |
Q: I'm not from Texas and when they say everything is bigger in Texas, they aren't kidding. I live in ...
A: Lori, I think you are describing a cicada killer wasp. These large wasps can be aggressive but ...
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| What is this bug? | 6/15/2009 |
Q: I live in Southern New Hampshire and last summer I took a picture of a bug on a tree (see attached). ...
A: Jenn, This is a wasp, specifically an ichneumonid wasp. The long coiled "thing" is an ovipositor ...
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| ENTIMOLOGY | 6/15/2009 |
Q: MY WIFE CAUGHT A FLYING INSECT BUT WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS. IT LOOKS SIMILAR TO A WOOD WASP IN ...
A: Brian, Perhaps it was a wood wasp (Siricidae). Here's a link to a wikipedia page ...
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| Biting flying insect | 6/15/2009 |
Q: I was stung by a tiny (1/8") insect on my knuckle. I brushed it off but it stung and bled quite a ...
A: Donn, I think this is probably a black fly. Black fly bites (they don't sting) are notorious for ...
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| Small Black/Brown Bug in Home | 6/14/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis, We have these very small blackish/brown bugs in our home. We started seeing them a few ...
A: Susan, I believe this is a species of plant bug (true bug) probably an immature because I can't see ...
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| Small black bugs | 6/14/2009 |
Q: There have been small black bugs, I'd say about 1mm in length, coming under the front door of our ...
A: Susan, Could you post a picture. Your description fits a lot of different insects and mites. I ...
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| Identification of a bug in my kitchen | 6/13/2009 |
Q: Hey, my cats found this bug in my kitchen and I am worried it is a cockroach of some sort. It kind ...
A: Helen, Your drawing and the follow up description are more "beetle-like" than cockroach. There are ...
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| Identification of a bug in my kitchen | 6/13/2009 |
Q: Hey, my cats found this bug in my kitchen and I am worried it is a cockroach of some sort. It kind ...
A: Helen, Could you post a picture? Your description sounds like a cockroach but I'd need to see a ...
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| Mud nest on woodwork of housee in Arvada, Co | 6/11/2009 |
Q: I found a mud build up in a corner of the woodwork of an outside window facing west. There is a ...
A: Bob, This is probably a mud dauber wasp nest. These solitary wasps build these mud nests for their ...
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| spider mites | 6/11/2009 |
Q: tiny reddish/orange spider looking,thousands of them all over my brick deck and patio furniture. why ...
A: Fred, These sound like clover mites. Clover mites feed on plants and grasses and can build to very ...
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| Thousands of tiny bugs on siding and deck | 6/11/2009 |
Q: I live in Jackson, OH, and have noticed that there are probably thousands of bugs all around my ...
A: Jason, These sound like clover mites. The long "feelers" are the first pair of legs. These mites ...
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| Identify bug | 6/11/2009 |
Q: Something is creating mounds of fresh dirt in my lawn. In digging into them the only thing I found ...
A: Ruth Ann, This pile of dirt is much too large to be the work of a single insect. The large black ...
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| Bugs In Home | 6/10/2009 |
Q: I recently found a bunch of pin-head sized black bugs on my daughter, myself, and my long haired Old ...
A: Kari, I'm glad you got an id. Bird, or nest, mites come from abandoned bird or rodent nests. The ...
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| Hi Jack - Question regarding a certain insect/bug? | 6/10/2009 |
Q: I am wondering if you can help me please. I have found quite a few of these bugs and cant find an ...
A: Sarah, Could you post a picture? If not, collect a few in alcohol (70% rubbing alcohol) and have ...
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| Bathroom Bug? | 6/10/2009 |
Q: Sorry I do not have a picture as this bug moves wayy to fast for me. But here's what I find. At ...
A: Cerian, Sounds like a silverfish. These primitive insects are harmless and tend to occur in damp ...
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| Bugs In Home | 6/10/2009 |
Q: I recently found a bunch of pin-head sized black bugs on my daughter, myself, and my long haired Old ...
A: Kari, I can't even tell from the photo if it is an insect. However, since you are not experiencing ...
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| Can you ID this (mite?)? | 6/10/2009 |
Q: I exceeded the number of follow-up questions allowed, but you asked about our progress, so I ...
A: Brian, I think 7-10 days is probably closer than 9 months. I'd wash the clothes to be on the safe ...
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| Can you ID this (mite?)? | 6/9/2009 |
Q: Can you ID his critter for me? I think it's a rat mite or bird mite. There were hundreds of them ...
A: Brian, Thanks for the camera info. I'm just guessing but I think the source of the mites is closer ...
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| tiny greyish bathtub bug | 6/9/2009 |
Q: Last summer and now this summer we have had tiny, some the size of sand (babies im assuming)others ...
A: Lacy, These sound like collembola, also called springtails. These tiny arthropods live in soil ...
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| 1mm biting orange bug update on question i asked a few days ago | 6/9/2009 |
Q: I asked you about this tiny orange bug that kept biting my husband and i when we were in our yard. ...
A: Rebecca, How about trying to catch a few and have them identified? Use a Q-tip dampened with ...
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| Can you ID this (mite?)? | 6/9/2009 |
Q: Can you ID his critter for me? I think it's a rat mite or bird mite. There were hundreds of them ...
A: Brian, This is certainly a mite and the overall shape looks right to be in the nest mite group ...
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| tiny black round worm in sugar | 6/8/2009 |
Q: I found a tiny brown worm in an oldish (~2 years?) bag of white sugar. I have read on several ...
A: Casey, Not menial at all, in fact it's a good question. The insects themselves are harmless. In ...
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| Tiny Gray Flea like Bugs | 6/8/2009 |
Q: About a month ago our community, locatated in south eastern Virginia, revitalized the front ...
A: Russ, Excellent picture, thanks for including it. This is a collembola, sometimes called a ...
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| Can you ID this (mite?)? | 6/8/2009 |
Q: Can you ID his critter for me? I think it's a rat mite or bird mite. There were hundreds of them ...
A: Brian, I'm inclined to agree with your id but I can't see enough detail to be sure. This is likely ...
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| Tiny speck size bugs | 6/8/2009 |
Q: I was in my bathroom closet tonight and noticed some very tiny- smaller than the size of a speck of ...
A: Lane, I think these are grain mites, also called mold mites. These mites feed on fungi (mold) that ...
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| Little Black Hardshell Insects | 6/8/2009 |
Q: Jack, We have these really small, black, hard shelled, slow walking, bugs in our house. They are ...
A: Art, These sound like dermestid carpet beetles. These are very common in homes where the larvae ...
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| what is this bug | 6/7/2009 |
Q: Its a little bug about an inch long. It has two long anttenas and a long stinger type thing that's ...
A: Alicia, Good picture. This is a snakefly (Neuroptera). They are predators of small insects. Here's ...
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| Tiny Black Bug ID | 6/7/2009 |
Q: I live in Washington state. My wife and I just bought our first house. I get a call with her ...
A: Brendyn, This sounds like spiderlings (newly hatched spiders) that have hatched from the creamy ...
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| unknown insect | 6/7/2009 |
Q: I have 2 dogs , live in Forest lake MN and on 3 occassions have found what can best be described as ...
A: Chuck, It does sound strange. Any chance you could post a picture? Another option would be to ...
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| Larvae found in/near bed | 6/7/2009 |
Q: I live in Massachusetts. I was at my friends apartment, helping her clean her children's rooms. My ...
A: Serena, Could you possibly post a picture of the worms? Your description does not match anything ...
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| Bathroom bugs | 6/7/2009 |
Q: I have been seeing small, bugs in my bathroom with some inconsistency and would like to know what ...
A: Robin, I think these must be silverfish. Look carefully, you should be able to see antennae and ...
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| Spider identification | 6/6/2009 |
Q: I found this spider while turning on my irrigation for the summer in GA. It had spun an irregular ...
A: Ray, You're correct in everything you say. Black widow spiders make an irregular web, are glossy ...
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| orange bug 1 mm in length with wings that bites | 6/6/2009 |
Q: My husband and I are attacked every day in our yard by a tiny orange bug that bites. I finally took ...
A: Rebecca, This is not a chigger. Chiggers are mites and don't have wings. There are a number of ...
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| unknown insect | 6/6/2009 |
Q: I have 2 dogs , live in Forest lake MN and on 3 occassions have found what can best be described as ...
A: Chuck, What you describe sounds like an engorged tick. I'm surprised the vet didn't recognize it. ...
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| Little black bug in skin | 6/5/2009 |
Q: I had just had a bath, and I noticed a little black mark on my stomach, almost like a black poppy ...
A: Alison, The only thing I can think of would be a small, newly hatched tick (sometimes called a seed ...
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| id. insects | 6/5/2009 |
Q: me and my grandma went to the 2009 corpus Christi air show at the air base we settle down in the ...
A: Zachery, There are a number of small, predatory insects that bite if they happen to land on us. ...
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| cat flea | 6/4/2009 |
Q: how did the cat flea get its name. I know it is both a parasite of dogs and cats..so why "cat flea"
A: DeAnn, This is one of the problems with common names (as opposed to scientific names), sometimes ...
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| Walnut tree leaf bubbles | 6/4/2009 |
Q: We have about 50 Walnut trees that are about 15 years old and producing nuts ok But the leaves this ...
A: Linda, These are probably the walnut blister mite which is an tiny eriophyid mite that lives inside ...
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| Tiny Bug Apartment | 6/4/2009 |
Q: I have a completely renovated apartment. I lived here before the renovations and I have never seen ...
A: Tom, These are called spider beetles and they are minor pests of stored products. They mostly feed ...
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| Insect identification | 6/4/2009 |
Q: I have red insects (6 legs 2 antennae) that are congregating on the brick of my house. They have a ...
A: William, Thanks for posting the picture. These are immature bugs, perhaps boxelder bugs or ...
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| bedbugs | 6/3/2009 |
Q: If the neighbors have bedbugs do I need to worry about the neighbor hugging me? When they put ...
A: Jill, You can't pass bed bugs by hugging. Bed bugs move from place to place on personal items like ...
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| Microscopic Red and Brown Bugs | 6/3/2009 |
Q: Greetings, For the past four days my wife and I have been discovering these microscopic brown ...
A: Kris, We need to get these identified which will tell us where they are coming from. Collect a ...
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| Mosquitoes | 6/3/2009 |
Q: In the past week my husband and I have killed at least 5 mosquitoes. I have lost count how many it ...
A: Rachelle, From your description I'm assuming you are seeing the mosquitoes indoors. It is unusual ...
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| How to rid bugs from clothes/laundery | 6/3/2009 |
Q: I slept in a hotel room bed with bedbugs. How Can I guarentee them not coming into my home? What ...
A: Trica, Bed bugs can be killed with normal clothes washing and drying in a hot dryer. Most often bed ...
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| biting invisible bugs | 6/2/2009 |
Q: I sure hope you can help. My husband and I stayed at a hotel in Austin Texas and have encountered ...
A: Sasha, Your best bet will be the Cooperative Extension office in your county (google "your county ...
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| biting invisible bugs | 6/2/2009 |
Q: I sure hope you can help. My husband and I stayed at a hotel in Austin Texas and have encountered ...
A: Sasha, Sounds like you've been down a lot of roads trying to figure this out. I think it is very ...
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| bites | 6/2/2009 |
Q: For over two months now I have been getting red pimple like bites on my back upper thighs, my arms ...
A: Cece, I also doubt that what you describe are flea bites. Flea bites usually occur around the ...
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| Worm inside a cocoon hanging on the wall | 6/2/2009 |
Q: We have plenty of small cocoons hanging on the walls of an empty house. It is oval in shape and a ...
A: Erika, This is a casemaking clothes moth (sometimes called a bagworm). There are a number of ...
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| Grub identification | 6/1/2009 |
Q: I have attached a picture of an insects that I commonly find in my lawn and garden. I live in ...
A: Marc, This is a crane fly larva, not a grub which is an immature beetle. Adults look like giant ...
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| bit by an ant-like critter: | 6/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Central Maryland. I was reading a book at night in my bedroom when I felt a very painful, ...
A: Nicole, This is certainly a wasp or winged ant. Either of these could, of course, sting. There are ...
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| biting/stinging insect | 5/31/2009 |
Q: I live in Arlington, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC. At about the same time this May and last May, I ...
A: Carolyn, There are other similar predatory bugs that can bite. I'd need a picture to do an exact ...
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| tiny insects on carpet identification | 5/31/2009 |
Q: I am housesitting in an apartment. The night I moved in I saw a very tiny black bug on the carpet. ...
A: Annabella, This appears to be a grain weevil. Grain weevils infest whole grains and can be ...
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| biting/stinging insect | 5/31/2009 |
Q: I live in Arlington, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC. At about the same time this May and last May, I ...
A: Carolyn, There are a number of small bugs that are normally predators of other insects but will ...
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| husbands bite | 5/31/2009 |
Q: My husband was coming in the house tonight and on his way in the door something bit his neck. it hit ...
A: Tamara, I'm sure this was not caused by an insect. I think your idea about a bat is more likely. ...
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| vanishing paper wasp with nest | 5/30/2009 |
Q: For a few weeks, my two year old daughter and four year old son and I watched a paper wasp guard her ...
A: Jennifer, There are many reasons that a paper wasp might abandon new nest, however, she would not ...
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| black bugwith crab claws-not a pseudoscorpion | 5/30/2009 |
Q: I found a black bug inside my house in Arizona. It was approximately 1/4" large. It had no visible ...
A: Tiffany, Other than pseudoscorpions the only thing I can think of would be a small vinegaroon, or ...
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| cant figure out what these tiny reddish orange bugs are? | 5/30/2009 |
Q: we set up a pool and started to finally see what was bitting us , they are little tiny reddish orage ...
A: Amy, There are a couple of different reddish/orange mites that can bite. The most notorious are ...
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| Little Round Black Bugs w/ Wings | 5/29/2009 |
Q: I've have been seeing these little black bugs around for the past couple days. They are about 3mm ...
A: Michael, I can't see much detail in the photo but from your description I think these are dermestid ...
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| Freak insect. | 5/29/2009 |
Q: I need some help identifying the strangest bug I have ever seen in my life. I cannot send in a ...
A: Erin, Sounds like some kind of weevil (beetle family Curculionidae). There are 30,000+ species of ...
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| need to identify flying insect | 5/29/2009 |
Q: Yesterday afternoon our (and our neighbors) backyards was filled with tiny flying insects for about ...
A: Ruth, These were either winged termites or winged ants. Both insect colonies produce winged ...
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| Tiny bugs are in my room | 5/29/2009 |
Q: Recently in my room there have been tiny bugs, I'll go into detail later. I'm not sure how the bugs ...
A: James, I think these are clover mites and they are harmless. The "antennae" are actually the front ...
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| Tiny black bugs that have shown up in my office... | 5/28/2009 |
Q: I work from a home office in Northeast Ohio on a dairy farm. A few days ago I opened my window for ...
A: Laura, This could be either spider mites or clover mites, Are they causing any problem like bites ...
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| tiny dark brown/black bug | 5/28/2009 |
Q: So I have been seeing these small 6 legged with antennae, poppy seed like bugs for about a year now, ...
A: Jonathan, This is a spider beetle. They are harmless but minor stored product pests and can ...
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| Fleas | 5/28/2009 |
Q: Is it possible to have fleas in your house if you don't own a pet? If it isn't possible then what ...
A: Ivana, Fleas can remain dormant for as much as a year in an empty house and become active when the ...
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| Crab-like spider? | 5/28/2009 |
Q: I saw this spider in Eugene, OR around April. It was about the size of a dime or nickel. I'm just ...
A: Danielle, Your subject title is perfect. This is a crab spider, family Thomisidae. There are lots ...
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| tiny dark brown/black bug | 5/28/2009 |
Q: So I have been seeing these small 6 legged with antennae, poppy seed like bugs for about a year now, ...
A: Jonathan, I think you are correct these are not ticks. The six-legged stage of ticks is very small. ...
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| assassin beetle | 5/27/2009 |
Q: I recently found an assassin beatle on my pillow. When I dropped it into the toilet, I squished it ...
A: Patricia, I think you mean assassin bug (Reduviidae). There are numerous species of large bugs that ...
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| Insect eating my pine bed | 5/27/2009 |
Q: I recently had a pine bunkbed and chair made from trees from Macks Creek MO. The bark was removed ...
A: Tamara, Your description of small holes with sawdust is classic softwood powderpost beetles, ...
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| tiny red bug | 5/27/2009 |
Q: This bug is tiny and red it is almost clearish with a tint of red. It does bite. And they are very ...
A: Samantha, These could be chigger mites but I've never heard of chiggers entering houses. Chigger ...
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| buffalo gnats | 5/26/2009 |
Q: I live in central Illinois, can you tell me where buffalo gnats came from or how they got here?
A: Mitch, The common name buffalo gnat usually refers to the Simuliidae family of flies, also called ...
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| Roach with Green Neon light | 5/26/2009 |
Q: These past couple of days it has been raining non-stop. This is evening as I am getting red to go to ...
A: Frank, I think you are probably describing a glowworm (glow worm). There are several families of ...
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| tiny black bugs | 5/26/2009 |
Q: When picking up a load of laundry in the corner of my room this evening I noticed several tiny, ...
A: Lyndsy, I think your diagnosis is correct. These probably are collembola, also called springtails. ...
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| Huge black flying bug | 5/26/2009 |
Q: I live in Southern California. I left my windows down in my car today and when I got into it a ...
A: Amber, Since your initial impression was a "wasp body and big black wings" I think you probably saw ...
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| Garden Pests | 5/25/2009 |
Q: I live in a wooded area, but never noticed these millions of tiny black jumping bugs (thin oval ...
A: Rosemary, Your description sounds like collembola, also called springtails. Collembola live in the ...
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| Paper nest in apple tree | 5/24/2009 |
Q: I live in the UK and have found this nest in my apple tree (photo attached) can you help to ...
A: Andrew, This is almost certainly a social wasp nest (called yellowjacket wasps in the US). There ...
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| Bug Identification | 5/24/2009 |
Q: I found a bug in my kitchen and would like to know what kind of bug it is. It is small, about the ...
A: Joe, Your first description did indeed sound like a beetle but the "jumping" part was confusing ...
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| loud buzzing scares my dog what is it please | 5/24/2009 |
Q: There is this insect in the tall weeds in my backyard that lers out a really really loud constant ...
A: Sarah, This "sounds" like a cicada. Many insects produce sounds but cicadas make a very loud ...
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| Sewer Bug or ??? | 5/24/2009 |
Q: I wonder if you might be able to isolate a search for a insect (?) perhaps 2" or 3" long - Black in ...
A: DJ, Sounds like a millipede. Here's a wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede about ...
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| Bug Identification | 5/23/2009 |
Q: I found a bug in my kitchen and would like to know what kind of bug it is. It is small, about the ...
A: Joe, Your description sounds like collembola, also called springtails. I'd need to see a picture to ...
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| identification and information | 5/23/2009 |
Q: month ago I feel like a invisible flee, I fumigate but always return, seem to be every ware, never ...
A: Jaime, These are called collembola, or springtails (thanks for including the picture). They live in ...
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| dust mites | 5/22/2009 |
Q: What insect eats dust mites? ps. This is not my e-mail address, I just used it because I don't have ...
A: Todd, There are no specific predators of dust mites but anything like a small spider would ...
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| BUGS! | 5/22/2009 |
Q: Recently I noticed we have a TON of baby spiders everywhere. I also noticed these small tiny almost ...
A: Clover mites also have eight legs. If you continue to find these you might collect a few in alcohol ...
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| BUGS! | 5/22/2009 |
Q: Recently I noticed we have a TON of baby spiders everywhere. I also noticed these small tiny almost ...
A: Kristin, I think there may be a couple of different things go on. The "baby spiders" could be ...
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| Tiny Carpet Insects | 5/22/2009 |
Q: I live in an apartment in New York and have noticed on a regular basis these tiny dark brown, hard ...
A: Lisa, This is a spider beetle (good picture BTW). They feed on all sorts of animal and plant ...
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| I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT BUG THIS IS? | 5/21/2009 |
Q: IM SENDING A PICTURE ALONG I CANT FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF BUG THIS IS AND THE ORKIN GUY WAS ALREADY ...
A: Toni, The image is a bit fuzzy through the plastic but I think this is a type stag beetle ...
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| Black and grey insect in backyard | 5/21/2009 |
Q: I have a large infestation of these small black and grey insects in my backyard. they are black and ...
A: Joe, This is a nymph (immature). It is probably not a chinch bug but is closely related. Nymphs can ...
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| Black and grey insect in backyard | 5/21/2009 |
Q: I have a large infestation of these small black and grey insects in my backyard. they are black and ...
A: Joe, Hard to say for sure without a picture but these could be chinch bugs. Chinch bugs feed on ...
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| Very Crazy and Dangerous Looking Insect | 5/21/2009 |
Q: What is 12 inches long, lives in Michigan during the summer and has dragonfly like wings on its head ...
A: Randy, The only thing I can think of would be a pair of dragonflys mating. They mate sort of ...
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| etimology | 5/20/2009 |
Q: I live in Maine and the first week of May my girlfriend and I discovered a bunch of these tiny ...
A: Orion, There are a number of small mites that could be described this way. You'll probably need to ...
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| bed bugs - different effects of bites? | 5/20/2009 |
Q: Four months ago i got bedbugs, and the bites were horrible. They would start to itch and swell ...
A: Lily, It is impossible to be certain but my guess is these are not related to bed bugs. While ...
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| black widow?? | 5/20/2009 |
Q: I'm wondering if you can tell me whether the attached image is a black widow spider? I found it ...
A: Julie, The shape is about right but the markings appear to be on the back of this specimen rather ...
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| Treating bed bugs | 5/19/2009 |
Q: We've found 2 bed bugs in our apartment - we are thinking they came from another apartment in the ...
A: Agnes, Things heated in the dryer should be loose. You don't have to treat everything. Bed bugs ...
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| Treating bed bugs | 5/19/2009 |
Q: We've found 2 bed bugs in our apartment - we are thinking they came from another apartment in the ...
A: Agnes, If you want to use an insecticide use one of the new botanical (plant-based) products ...
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| Treating bed bugs | 5/19/2009 |
Q: We've found 2 bed bugs in our apartment - we are thinking they came from another apartment in the ...
A: Agnes, Bed bugs move from place to place mostly on our belongings (furniture, bedding, clothing, ...
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| flying insect | 5/18/2009 |
Q: Winged insect 3/4" + or - looks a little like a termite but has a longer thin body and head is also ...
A: P.J., Hard to say for sure. At 3/4" it could be either a winged termite or winged carpenter ant. ...
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| 6 LEGGED, BROWN,SMALL,FLYS? | 5/18/2009 |
Q: BUG AS PICTURED,SORRY BEST I COULD DO WITH A SMALL GUY.HAS HARD WING COVERS, BELIEVE THEY FLY BUT ...
A: Randy, This is a small, brown beetle but there are lots of different species of small, brown ...
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| little red bugs - filled with blood | 5/17/2009 |
Q: Jack, I saw your response to Kirstin about the little red bugs. I have just found these crawling ...
A: Dave, Mites (which these sound like) can be very difficult to identify unless you can examine them ...
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| Mystery Bug Bites | 5/17/2009 |
Q: Dr. DeAngelis, I live in Southern California and I've been getting several bites everyday for ...
A: Monique, There are only a small number of insects or mites that actually bite people. If you can ...
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| small (<1mm) brown or translucent bugs in bathroom/bedroom | 5/17/2009 |
Q: i'm in vancouver, canada and i've noticed these little beasties the last 3 years that i've been ...
A: gho, These are mites. I can't see them clearly enough to be certain of an id but from your ...
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| mites | 5/16/2009 |
Q: Just recently I have been having an infestation of what I think are mites. They are very tiny (the ...
A: Britany, These are starting to sound like dermestid carpet beetles which are very common pests in ...
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| small black round bug | 5/16/2009 |
Q: we are finding small round black bugs with no descernable heads in and around the bathtubs and ...
A: Michele, These may be dermestid carpet beetles. Take a look at the picture on this page ...
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| eggs on tree | 5/15/2009 |
Q: I have a redbud tree in my backyard and noticed that the bottom side of all of the lower limbs are ...
A: Tiffany, These are scale insects. There are a number of different species that attack redbud but ...
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| eggs on tree | 5/15/2009 |
Q: I have a redbud tree in my backyard and noticed that the bottom side of all of the lower limbs are ...
A: Tiffany, I'm not sure what these are but I doubt they are ladybug eggs. Ladybugs (ladybird beetles) ...
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| Beetle? | 5/14/2009 |
Q: I have this weird beetle like bugs crawling around my house. I can't provide a picture because the ...
A: Bree, Whatever these are they are not bed bugs because bed bugs don't have wings and are larger ...
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| RED CLOVER MITE allergic reaction | 5/14/2009 |
Q: For about 5 yrs my feet have swollen horribly. Just suddenly one morning I will wake up the ...
A: Pam, I don't know of anyone who studies clover mites. Have you tried Florida State University? They ...
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| Bed Bugs | 5/13/2009 |
Q: I am curious about how long it takes a bed bug infestation to take hold. I traveled to MA a couple ...
A: VR, There are two things you should know about bed bugs - (1) for at least the human bed bug, we ...
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| RED CLOVER MITE allergic reaction | 5/13/2009 |
Q: For about 5 yrs my feet have swollen horribly. Just suddenly one morning I will wake up the ...
A: Pam, First let me say that I can't give medical advice so please don't take this as medical advice. ...
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| Looks like a huge mosquito | 5/13/2009 |
Q: I have many daylilies and each year a tan, flying insect resembling a huge mosquito invades in ...
A: Betty, Are you sure the "huge mosquito" is causing the twisting and deformity? Usually when someone ...
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| Springtails or something | 5/12/2009 |
Q: About a week ago we noticed scores of teensy gnat-like fellows around our house in Las Vegas. Now ...
A: Harmoni, Could you post a picture? Even one from a cell phone might be useful. Springtails never ...
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| Unkown Insect | 5/12/2009 |
Q: I found this insect in my bedroom. its long-oval shaped about 4-5mm long and has a brown head, with ...
A: Greg, I changed the answer to public because I think others could benefit. This is a dermestid ...
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| bugs! | 5/11/2009 |
Q: I have been finding these bugs around my house lately in my bedroom, hallways, and this one was in ...
A: Carey, Please post a follow up once Rutgers has looked at your specimen. I'd like to confirm that ...
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| powerder post beetles in palapa roof | 5/11/2009 |
Q: We live on the pacific coast at latitude 23 degrees in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur. We have ...
A: Tom, Normally Timbor or Bora Care would be a good choice for an existing powderpost infestation but ...
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| cocppn-like sac on branches | 5/11/2009 |
Q: We have two white-siky cocoon-like sacs on our purple leaf plum tree. Yesterday, many 1-inch long ...
A: Karyn, Good picture thanks for including it. These are tent caterpillars. These caterpillars feed ...
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| Do any ticks burrow under skin? | 5/10/2009 |
Q: I have had a lot of exposure to ticks in most of the US, and have seen and removed thousands of ...
A: Judith, I'm not aware of any burrowing ticks. In fact, scabies mites are the only burrowing mites ...
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| tiny little gray jumping bugs | 5/10/2009 |
Q: These bugs are tiny like it near water are hard to see and are spreading to my clean clothes direct ...
A: Olivia, Everything you describe sounds like a collembola (also called a springtail). These are ...
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| bed bugs | 5/10/2009 |
Q: how long can bed bugs live without obtaining blood
A: Brian, I can't give you an exact answer because it depends on a lot of factors such as temperature, ...
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| Strange Tiny Bug | 5/10/2009 |
Q: I found a strange bug crawling on the wall in my bathroom today. It was very small, I would say as ...
A: Kelly, I think you are describing a pseudoscorpion. They are strange looking but completely ...
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| Bee-zilla | 5/9/2009 |
Q: I found this crawling around in my basement (not flying). It is about 2 inches long and looks like ...
A: Steve, This is probably the European hornet, Vespa crabro - basically a large yellowjacket but the ...
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| florida insects | 5/9/2009 |
Q: I have been to Florida twice on vacation and both times I came home with tiny brown bugs that jump. ...
A: Jody, You're not giving me much to work with. "Tiny brown bug" fits a lot of different insects. ...
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| Small red bugs in Las Vegas | 5/9/2009 |
Q: I am hoping you can help me identify small red bugs that have invaded my back yard about 2 days ...
A: John, I think you may be describing a couple of different things that look similar. The ones on the ...
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| tiny little gray jumping bugs | 5/7/2009 |
Q: These bugs are tiny like it near water are hard to see and are spreading to my clean clothes direct ...
A: Olivia, You'll need to be a little more specific but what you describe could be a collembola, also ...
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| unidentified bug | 5/7/2009 |
Q: To Jack, this evening I was about to go to bed when I noticed that there was a bug on my pillow. ...
A: Caroline, Your description sounds like a pseudoscorpion. These critters are not related to true ...
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| insect eggs | 5/7/2009 |
Q: and thanks in advance for your help. In the past few days I have found what looks to be insect eggs ...
A: Anne, Only one picture came through but I have an idea. Do they appear to move? They have the shape ...
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| Minor hatching in house... | 5/7/2009 |
Q: My wife found 15-20 of these little guys (dead) in the bottom of a humidifier. Since then we have ...
A: Steve, I'm not an expert in this group but I'm pretty sure this is a spider beetle (Ptinidae). ...
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| thrips | 5/7/2009 |
Q: Like Samantha I am having problems with thrips too. I am getting bit every where. I live in Folsom ...
A: DJ, Certain thrips feed on plants while others are predators of small arthropods like spider mites. ...
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| killing my leland cyprus | 5/6/2009 |
Q: I have a hedge row of Leyland. Something killed one now two.Its not bag worms. It seems to be at the ...
A: Arthur, There's lots of insects and diseases that can damage plant roots. Even excess water can ...
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| TEENY TINY MONSTERS | 5/5/2009 |
Q: PLease Help Me! I just recently moved into a home, that the landlord exterminated before our ...
A: Tess, I'm not an exterminator. Springtails, or collembola, typically are not described as having ...
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| small brown bugs in my bedroom, hall and bathroom | 5/5/2009 |
Q: In the last two months i have been finding small brown bugs in my bedroom, hallway and bathroom. i ...
A: Kelly, I'm not entirely sure what kind of beetle this is. It looks like a black carpet beetle ...
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| fat gray worm | 5/5/2009 |
Q: over the past 2 days i have found 3 fat little gray worms in my upstairs hallway. they are NOT ...
A: Julie, I'll need a picture because your description does not fit anything I'm familiar with. If you ...
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| bed bugs | 5/5/2009 |
Q: If a person is experiencing a bed bug infestation in an apartment that has not yet been treated by ...
A: Dee, Yes. In fact this is how bed bugs move from place to place - on furniture, bedding (pillows, ...
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| mites? | 5/5/2009 |
Q: I have recently noticed tiny brown bugs on myself when i get out of bed. They are no bigger than a ...
A: JoAnna, These could be nest mites but nest mites usually bite leaving a mosquito-like lesion. I'd ...
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| small black flying bugs that bite | 5/5/2009 |
Q: Mr. DeAngelis, I'm hoping you can help identify a bug that is creating havoc in my neighborhood. We ...
A: Stephanie, These sound like black flies (Simulidae), sometimes called hump-back flies or buffalo ...
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| Safe termite, dry rot and/or powderpost beetle control | 5/4/2009 |
Q: I live in a 250-year old house with cats and a spouse with a progressive neurological disorder. We ...
A: Roberta, There is no real urgency. Whatever damage has been done won't get significantly worse in a ...
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| TEENY TINY MONSTERS | 5/4/2009 |
Q: PLease Help Me! I just recently moved into a home, that the landlord exterminated before our ...
A: Tess, I can't say for sure but your description sounds like a clover mite. Clover mites are ...
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| Brown worm | 5/4/2009 |
Q: I have found two dark brown worms (dead at the time) in my home one on the floor of my washroom the ...
A: Bonnie, Sounds like a millipede. If you post a picture I'd be able to say for use. Can you see ...
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| bugs! | 5/4/2009 |
Q: I have been finding these bugs around my house lately in my bedroom, hallways, and this one was in ...
A: Carey, This appears to be a BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG. This is a new invasive species in the US ...
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| Safe termite, dry rot and/or powderpost beetle control | 5/3/2009 |
Q: I live in a 250-year old house with cats and a spouse with a progressive neurological disorder. We ...
A: Roberta, I'm a little unclear about what Terminix means by a perimeter treatment. Usually this term ...
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| Candy-eating bug | 5/3/2009 |
Q: Firstly, I apologize for how vague/weird this question is! I had one of those oversized lollipops ...
A: Giovanna, You're right, this is maybe the strangest question so far. I doubt that insects did this. ...
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| insect eggs | 5/3/2009 |
Q: and thanks in advance for your help. In the past few days I have found what looks to be insect eggs ...
A: Anne, I'm not sure what these are but I doubt they are insect eggs if they are as hard as you say. ...
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| Green Mosquitoes? | 5/3/2009 |
Q: I live about six miles from Boston and tonight (Saturday, May 2, 2009) we found a bunch of these ...
A: Sarah, Look carefully at the wings. If there are only two (one pair) and the wings appear to have ...
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| Tiny red worm | 5/2/2009 |
Q: I'm hoping you can help me. I went to run a bath this evening and saw what I first thought was a ...
A: Danielle, I don't know what this might have been. The size (3mm) is too small for most insects so ...
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| Tiny worms | 5/2/2009 |
Q: I have a cabinet shop and over the last couple of years I'm seeing in increasing numbers a small ...
A: Larry, I'll need a bit more of a description and a picture would help a lot. These sound like ...
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| mites | 5/2/2009 |
Q: Just recently I have been having an infestation of what I think are mites. They are very tiny (the ...
A: Britney, I'm a bit unclear about what these look like. Look closely (use a magnifying glass if you ...
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| small black bugs in my cupboards in kitchen! | 5/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Florida and keep finding these little black bugs similar to the ones the woman from ...
A: Elaina, That confirms my suspicion that these are dermestid carpet beetles. I thought the tan ...
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| biting insects | 5/1/2009 |
Q: I understand that you cannot diagnose, but I just want to know if this is possible. A male presents ...
A: Carrie, Let me say first I'm not an MD so please don't take this as medical advice but I'll pass ...
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| Tiny red dots in bathtub | 5/1/2009 |
Q: I have these tiny red moving dots in my bathtub. I thought they were coming from the drain but I ...
A: Holly, I changed your question to public because I think others can benefit from the answer. These ...
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| Possible biting bug | 5/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. For about two weeks (since Spring began) my partner and I have been ...
A: Stephanie, I think there's a couple of different things going on. What you describe sounds like ...
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| small black bugs in my cupboards in kitchen! | 5/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Florida and keep finding these little black bugs similar to the ones the woman from ...
A: Elaina, I'm a little confused. What's the relationship of the tan dust and the little black bugs? ...
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| Worm-like bug | 4/30/2009 |
Q: I live in southern Maine, and have been finding what appear to be dead worm-like creatures in the ...
A: Brae, Sounds like a millipede or centipede. Both critters are found outdoors but will occasionally ...
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| biting (or stinging) insect | 4/30/2009 |
Q: I've come across a very small insect outside (Texas City, TX). It's about 1/4 inch long, has 6 legs, ...
A: Claudia, There are a number of predatory bugs (true bugs, order Hemiptera) that bite whatever they ...
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| biting insects | 4/30/2009 |
Q: I understand that you cannot diagnose, but I just want to know if this is possible. A male presents ...
A: Carrie, When ticks are forcefully removed they often leave behind the mouthparts and some legs. ...
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| reddish-brown long bugs with many legs? | 4/30/2009 |
Q: I have been finding lots of tiny reddish-brown bugs around my house. Most recently in the bathroom ...
A: Elaine, If they really have many legs they can be only one of two things, either millipedes or ...
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| small black pods | 4/29/2009 |
Q: I have noticed in my bathroom on the tile tiny black pods all over the floor...they are round, about ...
A: Janet, I'm not positive but the shape and size are right for dermestid carpet beetles. The larvae ...
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| Translucent insect, | 4/29/2009 |
Q: was hoping you could help me out. are these bed bugs? I have recently moved to a new apartment (In ...
A: Tom, Bed bugs are not translucent but a deep mahogany brown even when unfed. Immature bed bugs look ...
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| small black pods | 4/29/2009 |
Q: I have noticed in my bathroom on the tile tiny black pods all over the floor...they are round, about ...
A: Janet, I'll need more information and a picture would be great. Are they moving? If you remove them ...
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| pink fluffy material in window-some kind of ant? | 4/29/2009 |
Q: I live outside of Dallas, TX. I am getting an accumulation of pink fluffy stuff in one window in ...
A: The pink stuff looks like insulation that has been peeled from something - perhaps solid insulation ...
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| Bug Sting | 4/29/2009 |
Q: I was recently at the house of a friend. It was about 9:00pm and we were sitting outside. I felt a ...
A: Ann, If you removed a stinger it was almost certainly a bee since only bees leave their stingers ...
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| In Japan with Clover Mites | 4/28/2009 |
Q: I am currently living in Tokyo, Japan. Overall I live in a neighborhood largely of cement and ...
A: Samantha, These are not clover mites (wrong color) nor are they nest mites, but I'm not sure what ...
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| Flour beetles in my bed? Wtf? | 4/28/2009 |
Q: I'm curious to know if there are any bugs that looks similarly to flour beetles. Ive been waking up ...
A: Ann, Flour beetles don't bite. Are you sure these are not bed bugs? Compare your critters to the ...
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| In Japan with Clover Mites | 4/28/2009 |
Q: I am currently living in Tokyo, Japan. Overall I live in a neighborhood largely of cement and ...
A: Samantha, I'm sure this many mites are not coming from your small houseplants. My guess is they are ...
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| tiny bug | 4/28/2009 |
Q: I found lots of these tiny (about 1 mm long) bugs on my tile and wood floor, counter top, sink ...
A: Kent, This is a collembola, or springtail. (Good picture by the way.) Collembola are related to ...
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| Small white worms on drywall | 4/27/2009 |
Q: I am hopeful you can identify what these white, 1/4 inch long worms are? My wife noticed some ...
A: Mike, There's no reason why carpenter ants and termites could not occupy the same exterior wall. ...
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| insect | 4/27/2009 |
Q: I found an insect in the dirt as I was digging up ground for tile. As I was digging again, I found a ...
A: Sandra, I'm not getting a clear idea of what this critter looks like. Could you post a picture or a ...
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| pink fluffy material in window-some kind of ant? | 4/27/2009 |
Q: I live outside of Dallas, TX. I am getting an accumulation of pink fluffy stuff in one window in ...
A: Darlene, Hard to say for sure but I think the "pink fluffy stuff" is probably fiberglass wall ...
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| Small white worms on drywall | 4/27/2009 |
Q: I am hopeful you can identify what these white, 1/4 inch long worms are? My wife noticed some ...
A: Mike, These are subterranean termites. The "dirt" is called a shelter or mud tube and is used by ...
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| Small round bug | 4/27/2009 |
Q: Recently one of my florescent lights burned out and I needed to remove the glass to get at the bulb ...
A: Andrew, This is probably a spider beetle (Ptinidae). Spider beetles are minor stored product pests. ...
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| tiny dot bugs in tub and bathroom window | 4/26/2009 |
Q: Today I noticed a bunch of tiny dots in the bath tub that, at first glance, looked like dirt specs. ...
A: Stephanie, If they are that small they are not drain flies. I can't see much detail in the picture ...
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| tiny dot bugs in tub and bathroom window | 4/26/2009 |
Q: Today I noticed a bunch of tiny dots in the bath tub that, at first glance, looked like dirt specs. ...
A: Stephanie, I think these are probably drain flies. These tiny flies develop in the layer of "gunk" ...
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| Swarming Gnats? | 4/26/2009 |
Q: We have recently moved to a new area (the suburbs of Montreal) & our property borders some 100 ...
A: Elizabeth, These are tough groups to identify from a picture. You may have to actually put a ...
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| Yellow Biting Bug Smaller than a seaseme seed! | 4/26/2009 |
Q: When I go outside of my apt. I keep getting bitten by these very tiny yellow mite or bug like ...
A: Christina, There are other small predatory bugs that can bite us. An exact id is impossible without ...
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| Yellow Biting Bug Smaller than a seaseme seed! | 4/25/2009 |
Q: When I go outside of my apt. I keep getting bitten by these very tiny yellow mite or bug like ...
A: Christina, It is hard to say for sure but you might be describing a thrips. Thrips feed on plants ...
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| Small beetle found around my window. | 4/24/2009 |
Q: There were a ton of these little guys, and I only noticed them because I was on the phone staring at ...
A: Kastie, This is a dermestid carpet beetle. No direct association with your cats (but see below). ...
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| Digging vespida - looking for ID | 4/24/2009 |
Q: There are dozens, if not a hundred or more, vespidae (wasps? bees?) living in an eroded hill ...
A: KT, I don't think these are vespids. My guess is a type of digger wasp (Sphecidae). These wasps ...
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| Little dark brown bugs!!!!!!! | 4/24/2009 |
Q: For the last week or so now, I have been having a little bug problem. At first it did not affect my ...
A: Ashley, These are probably not bed bugs. Your description sounds more like dermestid carpet beetle ...
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| little gnat flea like insects | 4/24/2009 |
Q: we have thousands of these insects all over the concrete in the back yard and the front porch. we ...
A: Larry, These are not fleas they are collembola or springtails. Collembola live in leaf litter and ...
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| tiny spiders? | 4/23/2009 |
Q: We've been getting hit hard with clover mites the last couple seasons and I have had to spray ...
A: Jesse, The mite in the picture is a clover mite. The smaller, red mite you described is not but I'm ...
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| hair bugs | 4/23/2009 |
Q: About a month ago my 2yr old daughter had some bugs in her hair, i tried to use nix, etc. but they ...
A: Dusti, It is very common for parents and teachers that treat kids for head lice to start to believe ...
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| tiny spiders? | 4/23/2009 |
Q: We've been getting hit hard with clover mites the last couple seasons and I have had to spray ...
A: Jesse, This looks like a clover mite (Bryobia sp.). How does this mite differ from what you've ...
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| hairy bug | 4/23/2009 |
Q: I live in Alaska and found a bug about half an inch long outside today. I thought it was a beatle, ...
A: Brittany, Unfortunately I don't really know what this critter is. Given the time of year and ...
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| subterranean termites | 4/22/2009 |
Q: We have a home in Mexico that is constructed out of adobe and has subterranean termites. We see the ...
A: Jan, There are at least 4 different termite bait systems currently available and at least 1 that is ...
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| unidentified black bugs | 4/22/2009 |
Q: For the past couple of months, I have found 1 or 2 small 1/8"? black bugs ( they look like moving ...
A: This is an adult dermestid carpet beetle. They are very common in homes where the larvae feed on a ...
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| tiny red mite looking bugs around house | 4/22/2009 |
Q: Hey the past week or so me and my boyfriend have been noticing these tiny dark red mite looking bugs ...
A: The legs are too long and it is the wrong shape for a bed bug. Plus bed bugs are usually not far ...
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| strange but | 4/22/2009 |
Q: I noticed a large black spot on the concrete of my drive way.It looked like black paint. I knew I ...
A: Cynthia, These are called collembola or springtails. They are closely related to insects. They feed ...
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| flying bug | 4/22/2009 |
Q: I havejust discovered a flying insect that fly around the light in my house then the wings fall off ...
A: Mark, I can't tell from your description what these are. Termites lose their wings and are ...
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| Tiny Grey Bugs | 4/21/2009 |
Q: I have been searching for two hours now trying to figure out what type of bug has infested my room!! ...
A: Michelle, I think you may be describing a house centipede. Take a look at this page ...
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| Wasps | 4/21/2009 |
Q: I am not sure if I have paper wasps or yellow jackets. I live in the Sierra Mountain range just ...
A: Amanda, There are two good ways to separate yellowjacket wasps from paper wasps. First, the nest ...
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| Tiny Grey Bugs | 4/21/2009 |
Q: I have been searching for two hours now trying to figure out what type of bug has infested my room!! ...
A: Michelle, I'll need more information or a picture. Small and gray could fit a lot of different ...
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| tiny red mite looking bugs around house | 4/21/2009 |
Q: Hey the past week or so me and my boyfriend have been noticing these tiny dark red mite looking bugs ...
A: Jaclyn, I can't identify this critter from the photo. Let me ask a few questions and perhaps we can ...
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| flour beetles | 4/20/2009 |
Q: i made chocolate chip cookies last night, ate the raw dough. After i cooked them up, i was looking ...
A: Susan, While I can't say whether or not you should see a doctor, I can tell you that eating these ...
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| help.. | 4/20/2009 |
Q: I need help identifying a big and bites I have been getting the past few weeks. At first these bites ...
A: Cecilia, Your description sounds like a dermestid carpet beetle. Take a look at this page ...
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| red(ish) spider | 4/20/2009 |
Q: i live in akron, ohio, about 20 mins north of canton, ohio. i have found about 7 or 8 of these ...
A: Rod, I don't know the species but this is not one of the venomous species in Ohio. There are only a ...
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| unidentified black bugs | 4/20/2009 |
Q: For the past couple of months, I have found 1 or 2 small 1/8"? black bugs ( they look like moving ...
A: Meredith, Would it be possible to post a picture of your bugs? From your description it sounds like ...
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| Spider | 4/19/2009 |
Q: Lately, I've killed several of these spiders in my apartment. They are fairly fast. Could you tell ...
A: Dave, Spiders are notoriously difficult to identify from photos. However, I don't think this is one ...
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| bugs in house | 4/19/2009 |
Q: I have found these red bugs with hard bodies in my flour cornmeal cereals and rice. But now they are ...
A: Tonja, These sound like some type of grain or flower beetle, perhaps the saw-toothed grain beetle. ...
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| small (seemingly harmless) bugs | 4/18/2009 |
Q: I just recently noticed this tiny little bugs in my house and are wondering what they are? whether ...
A: Christine, Did you mean 3-4mm, 3-4cm is about 1-1/8" - 1-1/2"? These sound like dermestid carpet ...
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| Bugs on daughter | 4/18/2009 |
Q: In the past month my seven year old daughter has been finding small black bugs on herself. She ...
A: Amber, It could be fleas but you didn't say whether or not you have pet dogs or cats in the house ...
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| mites | 4/18/2009 |
Q: I recently bought an antique couch and now have an apartment infested with microscopic tiny mites. ...
A: Charlie, The first thing to do is get the mites identified so we know where they are coming from. ...
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| Dasymutilla occidentails | 4/18/2009 |
Q: Do these wasp usually live around oak trees? I use to see them years ago until the oaks all of a ...
A: Dewana, I'm guessing you mean the red velvet "ant", Dasymutilla occidentalis. This large wingless ...
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| bed bug bites | 4/17/2009 |
Q: I have been bitten at night by something, the bites do not itch or verry little. sometimes they ...
A: Chuck, If you have eliminated the possibility of bites it is probably time to think about other ...
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| What the Heck is Biting My Family??11 | 4/16/2009 |
Q: My husband and I, who have three small kids (incl. a 9 month-old baby) have been getting bitten ...
A: Shannon, Nest mites are the only insect or mite that I can think of that would cause these ...
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| sand critter bites | 4/15/2009 |
Q: I sat on the beach in Monterey yesterday in my jeans, socks & shoes. Today, I slid the same jeans ...
A: Shauna, I don't think these were insects or mites because there are none that fit this description. ...
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| silver bugs | 4/15/2009 |
Q: I apologize if this is a repeated request, but vets can not answer me, nor can I find online... my ...
A: Yoshioko, I think there's a couple of things going on here. First, I don't think these are insects ...
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| bugs | 4/14/2009 |
Q: My daughter was complaining about something biting her at night. When she went to bed last night ...
A: Barb, If possible post a picture of your critter but it sounds like the larva of dermestid carpet ...
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| bed bug bites | 4/14/2009 |
Q: I have been bitten at night by something, the bites do not itch or verry little. sometimes they ...
A: Chuck, These do sound like bed bug bites or possibly bites from nest mites. They could also be ...
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| House bugs | 4/14/2009 |
Q: I have these bugs that I have found in my plastic bowls in my cupboards and sometimes on my walls. ...
A: Karen, Sounds like the larvae and adults of dermestid carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| Large mosquito like "misquiot"? | 4/14/2009 |
Q: I found a large mosquito like mosquito in the house (around the light) the other night. I went to ...
A: Debbie, Insects that are described as large "mosquito-like insects" usually turn out to be crane ...
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| Cement dust | 4/13/2009 |
Q: I just found about a foot long section of cement dust that looks like it was "sanded" from a layer ...
A: Robert, There are no insects that would normally do this. What happens if you remove the dust? Does ...
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| Follow-up Questions | 4/13/2009 |
Q: I found a blister and four hive-like marks across my upper back just before Christmas - an ...
A: Lois, Yes it is true that bed bugs can be moved between rooms on furniture clothes, backpacks and ...
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| tiny light gray mites in worm bed | 4/13/2009 |
Q: I am concerned. I have only been raising red-wiggler worms and night crawlers since last fall. I ...
A: Rita, These sound more like collembola or springtails than mites. Springtails jump like you ...
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| carpet beetles | 4/13/2009 |
Q: I think I have carpet beetles in my closet and bedroom. (Based on seeing a picture on line). You ...
A: Cecily, Washing is one of the best ways to get rid of carpet beetles. If you completely empty the ...
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| Small (tiny) black insect please identify | 4/13/2009 |
Q: If it is of any significance, i live in England. I keep finding these small black insects in my bath ...
A: Jonny, These are almost certainly dermestid carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| Spider | 4/12/2009 |
Q: I recently killed a spider that I saw in my house and am worried that there might be more.It was ...
A: Roman, There are hundreds of species of spiders but only a very small number are venomous. Venomous ...
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| help idienfy a bug | 4/12/2009 |
Q: found alot of lady bug like bugs in my house they fly,brown and white wave like lines on their ...
A: Jose, These could be dermestid carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| spider problem | 4/11/2009 |
Q: I live in Chelmsford MA and last night i realized that i have these painful but itchy bites on my ...
A: Bobbie, Whatever these "bites" are they are not caused by the small spider you found. There are ...
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| bites found on skin day and night | 4/10/2009 |
Q: I found a blister and four hive-like marks across my upper back just before Christmas - an ...
A: Lois, I'm puzzled by this. This does not sound at all like bed bugs. Bed bug bites only occur at ...
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| in home biting bug | 4/10/2009 |
Q: for the last week or so i have been biting by something, itches to high heaven, the bites just look ...
A: Stacy, I'm not sure. Your description does not exactly fit anything that normally bites people. The ...
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| Unknown drain/sink creature | 4/10/2009 |
Q: I've recently started to notice a creature at a home we look after for friends. After looking ...
A: Jon, I think it probably is a silverfish. Sometimes the antennae can be hard to see and silverfish ...
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| Bugs in my Carpet | 4/10/2009 |
Q: I have discovered small 1-3milimeters long in my carpet they appear to be segmented with lighter ...
A: Candi, Probably not a termite. If the carpet is made of a natural fiber (wool, silk, even rayon) ...
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| 3mm black bugs | 4/9/2009 |
Q: I'm finding a lot of these in my kitchen, mostly on cupboard doors near the cooker. they don't ...
A: Joan, The image is not big enough to identify the species but it is a type of grain weevil. These ...
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| Ticks | 4/9/2009 |
Q: We returned after 4 mos yesterday in Mexico Friends who walked in jungle found ticks on shoes.We ...
A: Marcia, This does not sound like ticks. Could you post a picture? This really sounds more like bed ...
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| Tiny Biting Texas Bug | 4/9/2009 |
Q: I wrote to you previously about this bug and now I have a picture of one. It looks big in the ...
A: Candice, This is the larva of a lacewing. Lacewings (both larvae and adults) are predators of a ...
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| Bugs in home | 4/9/2009 |
Q: I have been plagued with tiny (1mm) beige/white coloured bugs in my new home which seem to develop ...
A: John, I think there is at least two different things going on. The bug in the image appears to be a ...
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| Bed Bugs VS Head Lice | 4/8/2009 |
Q: We have a very clean though, messy, household as there are 6 of living there and I bathe my children ...
A: Jennifer, Bed bugs do not live on us. They hide around the bed, in cracks and folds and seams of ...
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| Bugs in my baasement | 4/8/2009 |
Q: Since spring is upon us and things are starting to thaw my roommates and I have been seeing a lot of ...
A: Laura, Could you post a picture? I'll need a bit more of a description as well such as size, number ...
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| Red tick or mite? | 4/7/2009 |
Q: I babysit for a family and have recently been finding these tiny red bugs all over. They move very ...
A: Kristyn, I agree this does not sound like a tick. Are you sure they are filled with blood? Also, ...
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| moths.clothes moths? | 4/7/2009 |
Q: I have been noticing lately what I believe to be moths in on and around my bed. I have a four year ...
A: Lanay, First of all there are no moths that can hurt you or your child. Since this is the end of ...
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| Bug I.D. | 4/7/2009 |
Q: I have a photo I took on my property in North Carolina of a beautiful bright red bug. My husband ...
A: Debra, Excellent photo of a red velvet mite (not a tick). Take a look at this wikipedia page ...
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| small beetle type insect | 4/7/2009 |
Q: We have noticed a small black beetle looking insect in our basement recently.(in the past two ...
A: The "hooked snout" makes it a weevil. A small weevil found indoors at this time of the year almost ...
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| small beetle type insect | 4/7/2009 |
Q: We have noticed a small black beetle looking insect in our basement recently.(in the past two ...
A: Ivan, Did you mean 2mm because 2cm is almost an inch? There are a number of small black beetles ...
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| Unknown 'worm' Identification | 4/6/2009 |
Q: I live in a city in Northern CA. I have found two 'wormlike' animals crawling up interior walls of ...
A: Mark, This sounds like a casemaking clothes moth larva. These larvae encase themselves in a silken ...
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| tiny brownish pinching and jumping bugs | 4/6/2009 |
Q: my name is Samantha from Marysville CA. i was just wondering if you know what that bug is called and ...
A: Samantha, Your description does sound like a thrips (thrips is always plural). Thrips are small, ...
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| tiny almost floresant bugs on my dog | 4/5/2009 |
Q: what are these bugs THAT ARE ON MY DOG ,they are al ittle smaller than a flea almost a floresant ...
A: Renee, Your description does not fit anything I'm familiar with. However, the description of your ...
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| Crawling Bugs on clothes (closet) | 4/5/2009 |
Q: Almost on a daily basis, we find these crawling bugs on our clothes especially in the closet or even ...
A: Mona, These sound like dermestid, or carpet beetles (Dermestidae). Take a look at this page ...
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| small black beetle bug with a red band | 4/5/2009 |
Q: I've been helping a friend clean out a apartment that he owns and the people that lived there left a ...
A: Jimmy, The picture isn't clear enough to do an accurate identification. You might want to take the ...
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| bugs | 4/4/2009 |
Q: i live in freehold nj. these past two years. there have been these black bugs with orange stripes ...
A: Cheryl, I think you are describing a boxelder bug. Take a look at this page ...
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| yellow flea like bugs | 4/3/2009 |
Q: today when i was walking out of walmart i suddenly got very itchy! at first i didn't see anything ...
A: Mandy, We get a lot of questions about "unknown and mysterious bug bites". There are only a small ...
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| very small biting bug | 4/3/2009 |
Q: about 2 years ago my black lab crawled into bed with me and seems to have given me a type of lice or ...
A: Glenn, Questions about "mysterious and unknown bites" are very common. There are only a few insects ...
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| Long skinny insect with many legs | 4/3/2009 |
Q: I just moved to Georgia and have recently been seeing a bug I've never seen before. It has a long ...
A: Katie, Sounds like a house centipede. Take a look at this page ...
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| small black beetle bug with a red band | 4/3/2009 |
Q: I've been helping a friend clean out a apartment that he owns and the people that lived there left a ...
A: Jimmy, I'm not sure what these are. Can you describe the "red ring" a bit more? Better yet could ...
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| bitting insect | 4/2/2009 |
Q: i live in florida and was bitten by a insrct i have never seen before it has six leggs black with ...
A: John, This is the larva of a ladybird beetle (ladybug). The larvae are predators so can bite. They ...
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| Combo ant/termite? Can't tell what it is. | 4/2/2009 |
Q: I live in Charlotte, NC. This home was treated for subterranean termites in 2004 and has been on a ...
A: Robynn, I can't tell from your description what this is. Could you possibly post a picture? I'd be ...
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| Reoccuring Chicken Mites? | 4/2/2009 |
Q: My wife, three sons, dog and I live in inner-Houston, Texas. There are no chickens or farm animals ...
A: Charles, Chicken mites are a type of nest mite. These mites live in the nests of birds (including ...
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| egg sack or cacoon? | 4/2/2009 |
Q: My daughter found this thing stuck to the side of our apple tree were the trunk splits to two ...
A: Terri, I don't think this is either an egg sac nor a cocoon. It is much too big to be an egg sac ...
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| small biting bug Austin, TX | 4/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Austin, TX and am getting terrible bug bites in my yard mostly. It is a tiny black and ...
A: Candice, Your description does not exactly fit anything that I'm familiar with. However, there are ...
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| bug identification | 4/1/2009 |
Q: The attached picture shows a pair of black headed dark winged bugs that are similar in appearance ...
A: Bill, I don't know this species. They are flies (based on the antennae which I think I can see) but ...
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| Small bugs biting me, please help... | 3/31/2009 |
Q: I am having a severe problem with something biting me. For about 2 weeks now I have been being ...
A: Scott, There are only a very few insects and mites that actually bite people. Take a look at this ...
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| siders that bite | 3/31/2009 |
Q: Are there any "biting" spiders that live in NH? Working in health care many patients say they were ...
A: Maureen, I'm not a spider expert but I believe the only venomous spiders in New Hampshire are sac ...
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| Small oval winged insects | 3/31/2009 |
Q: I found some small winged insects underneath my bed sheets on my mattress pad. They are small and ...
A: Franny, Your description does not fit anything I'm familiar with. Could you possibly post a ...
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| tiny black bugs | 3/30/2009 |
Q: We have an infestation in upstairs bathroom of tiny black bugs. They have 6 legs, pointy heads with ...
A: Kathy, Thanks for the follow up. I'm glad you found an answer. These sound like some type of grain ...
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| Help!! Itchy scalp, loosing hair, and tiny dark "bug-like" things, along with "green twigs" | 3/30/2009 |
Q: I recently moved to a rural area near a lake and in my house, I have noticed very strange or ...
A: Lauren, There are only a very small number of insects and mites that bite people. Once you ...
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| Tiny black bugs found in house | 3/30/2009 |
Q: I have found a number of tiny (about 1mm) bugs in my room the past few weeks. They are round, ...
A: Casey, Your description sounds like carpet beetles. Take a look at the picture of this page ...
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| Unidentified Nest | 3/30/2009 |
Q: I spotted this nest in my house mounted on a wall corner, pretty low. It has a smooth dark brown ...
A: Ivan, I'm not sure but I don't think this is a nest. This sounds more like the fruiting body of a ...
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| mites | 3/30/2009 |
Q: I live in SC and was away for awhile. When I returned I noticed what looked like pollen on my ...
A: Debbie, This sounds like clover mites. These mites commonly enter homes in large numbers. They ...
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| insect in house | 3/29/2009 |
Q: we are seeing these in our living room the last week. We have had a lot of rain recently. Some ...
A: Erik, These are longhorned beetles (Cerambicidae). They are not termites nor carpenter ants. I'm ...
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| Please help!!!!!!!1 | 3/28/2009 |
Q: I found millions of this bug crawling, jumping, on the outside of my new house, this is a photo 200x ...
A: Louis, The image is a little fuzzy but based on your description these are probably collembola, or ...
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| beetles weave cocoons? | 3/28/2009 |
Q: attached is a photo of a cocoon white silk like fibrous material on a brown paper packing pad that ...
A: Robert, This is definitely a beetle but I can't see it very clearly. Did this beetle emerge from ...
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| beetles weave cocoons? | 3/28/2009 |
Q: attached is a photo of a cocoon white silk like fibrous material on a brown paper packing pad that ...
A: Robert, I think this is more likely a moth rather than a beetle. Beetles generally don't make these ...
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| Microscopic red insect | 3/27/2009 |
Q: I have found some very, very tiny red insects that have made a home on a a rock I found. These bugs ...
A: Joe, These sound like a type of mite. There are a number of red mites that can be found outdoors ...
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| brownish bugs with white splotches all over tile floor | 3/27/2009 |
Q: I noticed today around 36 bugs on my small kitchen floor. I'm not sure what they could be. I have ...
A: Your best bet is to take a few to your local Cooperative Extension office (check the phone book in ...
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| Bugs in storage boxes | 3/27/2009 |
Q: We recently brought some boxes home from our storage facility, trying to do some spring cleaning. ...
A: George, This is a classic case of dermestid beetle infestation. Dermestid larvae infest all sorts ...
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| arachniphobia | 3/26/2009 |
Q: this morning i seen the most scary spider in my window by my bed.it was drak brown and the legs had ...
A: Tyna, There are many species of spiders that could fit your description. The good news is that in ...
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| nest identification | 3/26/2009 |
Q: We removed what seems to be an insect nest from the branch of a shorepine in Warrenton, Oregon after ...
A: Kathy, I think this "nest" is much too large to have been made by an insect. Thatch ants make a ...
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| caterpillar? | 3/26/2009 |
Q: i live in the UK and have recently discovered what i can only imagine are some sort of caterpillars ...
A: Liz, Sounds like the larvae of carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| Tiny Brown Bugs in Bath/Kitchen | 3/26/2009 |
Q: In the spring and fall, we get these tiny brown bugs that seem to be attracted to water as I find ...
A: Mandy, Your description sounds like some type of mite. It is much too small to be an insect. In ...
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| black bugs with yellow stripes all over tile floor | 3/25/2009 |
Q: I noticed today around 36 bugs on my small kitchen floor. I'm not sure what they could be. I have ...
A: Gabriella, Your description does not exactly fit any of the common household insects but take a ...
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| tiny dark color bug in bedroom | 3/25/2009 |
Q: There is a tiny dark color bug that I find crawling on my white walls only if light is on. Only ...
A: Christie, Sounds like a carpet beetle. Take a look at this page ...
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| Need help identifying cause of bites. Small black/white bug that looks furry? | 3/24/2009 |
Q: We have been getting bites in our house that look to be similar to mosquito bites. We're in Northern ...
A: MF, What you found are probably carpet beetles. Take a look at this page for a picture of the adult ...
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| bug in my house | 3/24/2009 |
Q: For the last several weeks my children and I have been getting mosquito-looking bites on our legs ...
A: Tonya, Your description does not exactly fit any bugs that commonly enter homes. It sounds somewhat ...
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| Tiny black bug with white stripes | 3/23/2009 |
Q: Just recently, I found some tiny little bugs crawling about my room. They appear to have six legs, a ...
A: Amanda, The best way to get rid of carpet beetles is to find the infestation and remove it. This ...
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| bite or allergy? | 3/23/2009 |
Q: I have been itching at night lately and have bites that resemble mosquito bites on my legs and ...
A: Amy, This does not sound like bed bugs and your description of the bug is definitely not a bed bug. ...
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| tiny black bug | 3/22/2009 |
Q: I live in Northern MI and this morning we discovered black tiny bugs 6 legs they do fly in a ...
A: Sara, I'm not sure what this is but it must be coming from inside the house (given your climate) ...
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| PLEASE help me identify this bug!!! | 3/22/2009 |
Q: lately I've been seeing a bug in my house and I have no idea what it is. At first I thought it was a ...
A: Nicole, Carpet beetles can move away from the source of the infestation so you'll need to look ...
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| Small Round Bugs | 3/21/2009 |
Q: I live in Overland Park, KS, and I've been seeing these small bugs that are a little bit smaller ...
A: Tiffany, These are probably carpet beetles (Dermestidae). Take a look at the pictures on this page ...
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| insect gender | 3/21/2009 |
Q: Are most insects female?
A: No. Some insect populations, like honey bees and ants, are mostly female progeny of a single female. ...
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| Spider Identification | 3/21/2009 |
Q: I am a US Marine stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. I live on ...
A: Joe, There are lots of different spiders and your description does not give me enough detail to ...
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| PLEASE help me identify this bug!!! | 3/20/2009 |
Q: lately I've been seeing a bug in my house and I have no idea what it is. At first I thought it was a ...
A: Nicole, Bed bugs don't fly. Your description could fit a number of different insects but one that ...
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| bathroom "worms" | 3/20/2009 |
Q: I moved into my apartment over two years ago and from day one, I have had 1cm long "worms" in the ...
A: Elizabeth, I'm not really sure what these are because they are so small in the picture. Could you ...
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| need to know what kind of bug is infesting my house | 3/20/2009 |
Q: we have recently been infested by a bug that has a brownish black shell with white spots and wings. ...
A: Cindy, Your description could fit a number of different insects. However, one that is very common ...
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| small bugs | 3/19/2009 |
Q: I live in Charleston, SC. For the past 2 weeks, I have had little bugs walking on my carpet. They ...
A: Rhonda, Your description could fit a number of different insects but take a look at this page about ...
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| carpet beetle | 3/19/2009 |
Q: from what i can gather from internet reasearch we have carpet beetles in our bedroom, they are black ...
A: Toni, It is hard to say what to look for exactly except that I'm sure it will be obvious when you ...
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| carpet beetle | 3/18/2009 |
Q: from what i can gather from internet reasearch we have carpet beetles in our bedroom, they are black ...
A: Toni, The name "carpet beetle" is a bit misleading because these insects feed on a wide variety of ...
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| Microscopic spiders in bath and windows | 3/18/2009 |
Q: For the past week now, I've had tiny microscopic reddish black spiders in my bathtub and all around ...
A: Endy, I can't see much detail in the photo but I think you are describing a clover mite. Clover ...
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| Unknown Insect Mounds | 3/18/2009 |
Q: This came from a co-worker. I tried to check it on Snopes to see if it was one of those kind of ...
A: Jimmy, I'm pretty sure these are mounds made by mole crickets. I'm guessing somewhat but I think it ...
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| Wall Bugs | 3/17/2009 |
Q: I live in central California and I've noticed these strange bugs around my house. They're always on ...
A: Kari, Your description could fit a lot of different things. If you could submit a picture in a ...
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| What bug is this | 3/16/2009 |
Q: Just this last week we have been finding these all over our hardwood floors. They seem to appear ...
A: Melita, These are a type of carpet beetle (Dermestidae). The larvae feed on fabrics of animal ...
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| nest found in ground | 3/16/2009 |
Q: We moved into a home last fall and a large pile of wood left over from construction was left at the ...
A: Brianna, This is a ground nest of a social wasp (called a yellowjacket in the US) not a bee. The ...
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| insect larve in rental unit | 3/16/2009 |
Q: I took several photos but none r really good 2 make ID with. They are segmented and approx .5-7mm in ...
A: I agree, in this image it does look like a maggot. Maggots are generally not described as segmented ...
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| Cloth Moth | 3/15/2009 |
Q: Why do I only see the casemaking clothes moth larva slowly inching along in my bathroom and not in ...
A: Chez, They don't always occur in the bathroom, it just seems that way from recent questions. In ...
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| larvae attached to stucco on our house in southern california | 3/15/2009 |
Q: Recently we have had hundreds of little larvae carcasses (?)attached to the stucco on the outside of ...
A: Kelli, There are a lot of things this could be. It is not one of the few insects that can damage ...
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| Mold Mites | 3/15/2009 |
Q: I have been living in my nice new flat for approx 18 months, I have been complaining about varied ...
A: Col, Mold mites are not directly harmful but some people have an allergic reaction to them much ...
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| Tiny Round Black Bugs | 3/14/2009 |
Q: I keep finding tiny round black bugs in my bathroom, one a time, maybe one a week or every two ...
A: Joe, It's hard to say for sure but it sounds like one of the carpet beetles. Carpet beetles are ...
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| extra small bug | 3/14/2009 |
Q: i live in long beach ca. and i keep finding these little bugs randomly about a month ago i found one ...
A: Jeanette, This could describe a lot of small beetles. One common (and judging by the number of ...
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| Grey Bugs | 3/14/2009 |
Q: I mistook this bug for a silverfish because it was grey and larger at the top with tapering at the ...
A: Victoria, The best way to get rid of silverfish is too reduce moisture as much as possible but this ...
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| small black bugs | 3/14/2009 |
Q: For the past two nights I have seen small black bugs that are very slow moving and easy to ...
A: Anna, The picture helps a lot. This is a beetle but not one that normally is found indoors so I ...
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| small black bugs | 3/14/2009 |
Q: For the past two nights I have seen small black bugs that are very slow moving and easy to ...
A: Anna, I'll need a little more information (and a picture would be great!). A half inch is really ...
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| unidentified "bug" | 3/13/2009 |
Q: I live in So. California and I have an odd insect, for lack of better title, in my bathroom and ...
A: Kelly, The picture is a bit fuzzy but the shape is that of a casemaking clothes moth larva. The ...
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| Grey Bugs | 3/13/2009 |
Q: I mistook this bug for a silverfish because it was grey and larger at the top with tapering at the ...
A: Victoria, I don't know what this is. Your description sounds like a silverfish but if you say it is ...
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| Grey Bugs | 3/12/2009 |
Q: I mistook this bug for a silverfish because it was grey and larger at the top with tapering at the ...
A: Victoria, What you describe does sound like a silverfish or firebrat. Why do you think it is not ...
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| Furry bug | 3/12/2009 |
Q: I live in north-central Ontario near lake Superior. Found an unknown bug this evening in the ...
A: Derek, Usually when someone describes a bug as "furry" and about this size (1 cm) my first thought ...
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| bug in home | 3/11/2009 |
Q: i live in central nh, and we just had 2 days at about 55deg. so i think this bug is spring related, ...
A: Beth, I can't see much detail in the picture but the shape is definitely not a termite. Looks like ...
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| Does a type of bug exist... | 3/11/2009 |
Q: Is there a type of bug that can dig into the skin and "burrow" around under the surface?
A: Karissa, Scabies mites are the only mites (there are no insects) that burrow into skin. This is the ...
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| Insect in the house | 3/10/2009 |
Q: We live in Truckee, CA. We found a tiny insect (body approx. 1/8" across, head was approx. ...
A: Carla, The only other critter that fits your description is a bed bug. The problem with bed bugs in ...
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| bug in home | 3/10/2009 |
Q: i live in central nh, and we just had 2 days at about 55deg. so i think this bug is spring related, ...
A: Beth, I think what you are describing is a winged termite. Termites normally lack wings but at ...
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| Tiny speckled grey and black bugs | 3/10/2009 |
Q: I have in the past and recently found tiny (like the size of a pin's head) in my bed (on the ...
A: Adrienne, Your description of a "grey and black baby ladybug" is a good description of a carpet ...
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| brown lady bug looking bug | 3/9/2009 |
Q: im not sure but i think they bite. they are about half the size of regular lady bugs with a type of ...
A: Chris, You'll probably find clothing (wool, not cotton or synthetics) or food (cereal, dry fruit, ...
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| brown lady bug looking bug | 3/9/2009 |
Q: im not sure but i think they bite. they are about half the size of regular lady bugs with a type of ...
A: Chris, What you are seeing are very likely carpet beetles, specifically the "varied carpet beetle". ...
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| tree eating insect | 3/8/2009 |
Q: My husband went to cut a branch hanging to close and to low to our roof, before he got started he ...
A: KC, This sounds like either winged termites or winged ants. Both termite and ant colonies produce ...
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| Small flying insects found dead | 3/8/2009 |
Q: I have just shifted into my house last October. Till February this year, everything was ...
A: Quek, Your description does not fit any of the small flies that commonly appear in homes. The most ...
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| extremely tiny fly infestation | 3/7/2009 |
Q: We have just discovered thousands of tiny black flies clustering in the mitered glass corners of the ...
A: Susan, These appear to be fungus gnats. They commonly emerge like this in "clouds" from potted ...
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| caterpillar | 3/7/2009 |
Q: i was just changing my 5yr old sons bed and found a whitish/see through caterpillar thing! it is ...
A: Michelle, Your description could fit a lot of different larval insects. However, don't be overly ...
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| Insect in the house | 3/7/2009 |
Q: We live in Truckee, CA. We found a tiny insect (body approx. 1/8" across, head was approx. ...
A: Carla, Your description could fit a lot of different things. The size and shape, and where you ...
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| Black Bug | 3/5/2009 |
Q: I have found about 8 of these bugs inside my bedroom the past couple of days. The look like ...
A: Sue, Your description sounds like a boxelder bug or something closely related. If you can post a ...
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| approx. .5 cm larvae on top of my bed | 3/5/2009 |
Q: I found three .05cm larvae on top of my mattress fitted sheet. Can you identify it & let me know ...
A: Gene, These appear to be some type of beetle larvae. I can't see enough detail to identify but ...
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| Millions of black beetles washed up on beach | 3/5/2009 |
Q: I'm wondering what's up with these black beetles. There are millions of them washed up on the beach ...
A: David, Thanks. This looks like the Black Maize Beetle, Heteronychus arator. One source I have says ...
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| These are appearing in our apartment | 3/4/2009 |
Q: My girlfriend and I have been living in our apartment for about 7 months now. In the last week or so ...
A: Seth, This is a bed bug. You might be getting bites as well that usually look like a bad mosquito ...
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| Millions of black beetles washed up on beach | 3/4/2009 |
Q: I'm wondering what's up with these black beetles. There are millions of them washed up on the beach ...
A: David, This is interesting. Unfortunately I have no idea what's going on here. I can't clearly see ...
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| polyphemus moth | 3/4/2009 |
Q: My kids found a caterpillar last august, put it in their butterfly garden and the next day it began ...
A: Amy, Seems unlikely that a single moth could lay viable eggs. Certain insects do reproduce without ...
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| small black knats in shower | 3/2/2009 |
Q: Recently small black gnats are in my shower. I have poured bleach down the drain and on the built ...
A: Sandy, These are probably drain flies, sometimes called moth flies because of the moth-like scales ...
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| Black flying bugs | 3/1/2009 |
Q: Help! I have these very small all black flying bugs in my basement. They are almost in the shape of ...
A: Diane, Your description sounds like drain flies (sometimes called moth flies because they are ...
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| TINY BUG FOUND ON CLOTHES | 3/1/2009 |
Q: little brown bug found on a wool jacket from our laundry basket. he has white legs with little black ...
A: Amanda, Your description does not really fit anything exactly. However, take a look at this page ...
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| Bugs under the refrigerator | 2/28/2009 |
Q: I have recently noticed (again--these also showed up a couple of years ago then disappeared) small ...
A: Alicia, These sound like carpet beetles. Carpet beetle larvae feed on natural fabrics like wool as ...
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| Bugs that eat sheetrock | 2/28/2009 |
Q: I have gone in my kitchen on several occasions and found what looks like a mud on the wall. I wipe ...
A: Diane, On second thought - if the house is relatively new (say less than three years old) there are ...
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| tiny black bugs | 2/27/2009 |
Q: We have an infestation in upstairs bathroom of tiny black bugs. They have 6 legs, pointy heads with ...
A: Kathy, Could these be ants? There are some very small ants that nest in houses. Other than ants ...
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| HELP - little black flea sized bugs are freaking me out | 2/27/2009 |
Q: I am a bit of a clean freak so I find any bug creates a bit of a panic in me. I have a problem ...
A: K, The only other thing that sort of fits this description are booklice (NOT related to true lice ...
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| ant | 2/27/2009 |
Q: I'm growing seedlings in my kitchen- I live in southeastern Michigan, and out of one of my seedling ...
A: Rita, I'm not sure what this might be. Fire ants are small brown ants that look pretty much like ...
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| HELP - little black flea sized bugs are freaking me out | 2/26/2009 |
Q: I am a bit of a clean freak so I find any bug creates a bit of a panic in me. I have a problem ...
A: K, No need to freak out. These sound like carpet beetles. Carpet beetle larvae feed on both natural ...
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| little yellow and black bugs | 2/26/2009 |
Q: I have found tiny yellow and black bugs in my house. They look like little lady bugs but have a ...
A: Hayley, Your description sounds like carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| Tiny hard shell bugs on wall | 2/25/2009 |
Q: I recently moved into a brand new home, but have been finding very tiny (pencil point size) ...
A: Debra, Excellent pictures. These are carpet beetles. The larvae of carpet beetles feed on, and ...
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| mosquito control | 2/25/2009 |
Q: What is the current state of the art for "least toxic" mosquito spray for outdoor use. With all ...
A: Don, Fortunately there's a lot of choices these days for adult mosquito control that don't involve ...
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| Tiny red bugs | 2/24/2009 |
Q: We noticed some small red bugs in our bathroom sinks. We washed them away, but they came back and ...
A: Meri Beth, I think these are booklice (not related to true lice like head lice). Booklice feed on ...
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| gnats | 2/23/2009 |
Q: I am planning an outdoor wedding in March on the Mississippi gulf coast. This time of year the ...
A: Edward, I'm guessing that by "biting gnats" you mean the tiny biting midges sometimes called ...
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| Identify insect | 2/21/2009 |
Q: I would like to know to which insect group the cocoon in attached file belongs.
A: Philip, These are larvae of the casemaking clothes moth. The larvae are inside the cases. Take a ...
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| Brown bugs/larva in home | 2/21/2009 |
Q: I was hoping you would be able to help me identify these bugs that have been appearing in my flat. I ...
A: Yes, these are dermestid larvae and carpet beetles are a type of dermestid beetle. I can't tell from ...
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| Brown bugs/larva in home | 2/21/2009 |
Q: I was hoping you would be able to help me identify these bugs that have been appearing in my flat. I ...
A: Catriona, The picture is a little small but I believe this is indeed a carpet beetle larva. The ...
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| Small brown Possibly biting insects? | 2/21/2009 |
Q: All right here we go. I live in North west Arkansas Last night, i was watching TV in my room (in a ...
A: If you can take a picture of the bugs it would help a lot but I wonder if the bites are really ...
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| mulch and carpenter ants | 2/20/2009 |
Q: i live in vancouver canada.the strata council where i live plans to put composted bark mulch in the ...
A: Tony, You are right. There's no association between carpenter ants and mulch. This has become ...
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| Unknown bugs in kitchen? | 2/20/2009 |
Q: I just started finding these tiny bugs on my kitchen counter. They are maybe a tenth of the size of ...
A: Saturna, These are called booklice (they are not related to true lice). They feed on mold and can ...
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| I am really concern about this insect i have to small kids | 2/19/2009 |
Q: My sink was leaking water for a few weeks.The wood ended up really wet. I took out everything to let ...
A: Kimberly, Don't be concerned. These are called grain mites, or sometimes mold mites. They feed on ...
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| mystery bug bugging me | 2/18/2009 |
Q: Jack, Hi I have been having a mystery bug pop up in my home for moths he is small, shaped like a ...
A: Stefani, Would it be possible to post a picture of your mystery bug? Your description, the ...
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| Help identify bug found in son's ear? | 2/18/2009 |
Q: My five-year-old came to me tonight and said he felt a bug in his ear. When I checked there actually ...
A: Crystal, Without a picture I'm only guessing but your description could fit either an immature ...
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| Rice like eggs behind insulation | 2/17/2009 |
Q: I was removing some old insulation(Rock Wool, Gold Bond, and some fiberglass based) and found two ...
A: Mark, You might also want to treat the whole house with a perimeter treatment of Termidor ...
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| Rice like eggs behind insulation | 2/17/2009 |
Q: I was removing some old insulation(Rock Wool, Gold Bond, and some fiberglass based) and found two ...
A: Mark, Sounds like carpenter ant eggs or larvae. It is unusual to find these without any ants (dead ...
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| Flying Insect | 2/17/2009 |
Q: I've been seeing some black flying insect's that's red in between the wings flying around in my ...
A: Veronica, I think these are probably cluster flies. Cluster flies are about the size of a house fly ...
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| small apartment bug | 2/15/2009 |
Q: I've been living in an apartment in quebec Canada for over a year and have never seen any bugs until ...
A: Jessica, Your description could fit a lot of different insects. Could you possibly post a picture? ...
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| biting mite? | 2/15/2009 |
Q: I caught this object on my body with a piece of tape after experiencing many bites. I think it's a ...
A: Will, This is indeed probably a bird or rodent nest mite. This image is much clearer than the ...
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| biting mite? | 2/14/2009 |
Q: I caught this object on my body with a piece of tape after experiencing many bites. I think it's a ...
A: Will, I don't think this is a mite. It appears to be an insect of some kind. I see only three pairs ...
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| I cannot figure out what bug this is | 2/12/2009 |
Q: YOu probably get tons of these, but this one stumped me, people say it's a beg bug, but I don't ...
A: Alvin, I have to disagree. This is a excellent image given how small this mite is! This is a ...
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| what is biting me in my house that I cannot see | 2/12/2009 |
Q: What is biting me in my house that I cannot see? I don't have any visible bite marks afterwards to ...
A: Michael, I think your suspicion that what you are feeling is not really a bite is correct. In my ...
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| small brown bugs | 2/11/2009 |
Q: There are very small brown striped bugs in one bedroom of my house. I have seen them on clothes and ...
A: Melissa, It is hard to say for sure without a picture but you might be describing a carpet beetle. ...
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| Un-identified Bug | 2/9/2009 |
Q: I live in Minnesota and this is the first time I saw this bug. It is brown with long legs like a ...
A: Karen, This is not a grasshopper. This insect belongs to a completely different group of insects ...
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| possible bee sting? | 2/9/2009 |
Q: I am wondering if there are any other kind of insect that leaves behind it's stinger after stinging ...
A: Sandy, I'm not sure about this. Bees don't normally fly at night but I've learned that you never ...
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| mystery bug? | 2/8/2009 |
Q: I've got little tiny silver/grey bugs in my bathroom wooden floor and under my bedroom carpet.i'v ...
A: Jason, I still can't say for sure if what you have is a silverfish since you've not been able to ...
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| mystery bug? | 2/7/2009 |
Q: I've got little tiny silver/grey bugs in my bathroom wooden floor and under my bedroom carpet.i'v ...
A: Jason, It would be helpful if you could post a picture of the actual "mystery bug". What you ...
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| Black Widows | 2/6/2009 |
Q: I have heard that if you destroy a Black Widows web it will die before it can rebuild it. Any Truth ...
A: Dave, I've not heard this before and doubt that it is true. Black widows build a fairly unorganized ...
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| What type of spider is this? | 2/6/2009 |
Q: I found this very hyper spider, the body of it is very slender. The spinnerets are about 1mm apart ...
A: Mark, Except for a few common species, spider identification is pretty tricky. I'd suggest getting ...
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| what do i need to do? | 2/6/2009 |
Q: thanks SAM
A: Sam, The study of arachnids is usually done as a specialization after a graduate degree in ...
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| Little black bugs with white stripe in middle and long antennae | 2/6/2009 |
Q: I live in an apartment in Toronto and I have found a few (3) little black bugs with a white stripe ...
A: Greg, These sound like carpet beetles. I assume you found them recently (in winter) and not during ...
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| bed bug or millipede or what? | 2/5/2009 |
Q: I think my daughter has been bitten by a bed bug. 4 times there have been 2 bites on her legs about ...
A: John, I'm going to need a picture to tackle this one. Your description does not match anything I'm ...
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| Wasp nest in winter | 2/5/2009 |
Q: We live in Montreal & have noticed the south facing windows usually have what we assume are wasp ...
A: Donna, The wasps are related but different. The wasp that makes the round, papery nest is called a ...
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| Bugs | 2/4/2009 |
Q: I have had an issue, just recently, with these little black bugs. They appear to have some white ...
A: Caryn, Sounds like carpet beetles. Take a look at this page ...
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| spider bite | 2/4/2009 |
Q: i was sleeping the other night and i must have been bitten by a spider, At the moment the bites are ...
A: Joey, It is very unlikely that your symptoms are caused by spider bites. Bites from the only ...
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| Apple Bug | 2/4/2009 |
Q: I don't think it's a cockroach, A. I've lived with them. B. They don't seem to multiply here, I see ...
A: Claire, Can you post a picture? I'll be happy to identify your critter from a picture. One ...
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| Bugs in my kitchen. | 2/4/2009 |
Q: I live in a high rise in Manhattan and we have a problem with some sort of bug coming mostly from ...
A: Kimberly, I think you are right. I could not see the bristle tails in the first photo; cockroaches ...
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| Bugs in my kitchen. | 2/3/2009 |
Q: I live in a high rise in Manhattan and we have a problem with some sort of bug coming mostly from ...
A: Kimberly, This is a juvenile (nymph) cockroach. Take a look at this page ...
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| Apple scented beetle | 2/3/2009 |
Q: I occasionally see and squish a beetle in my house that is about 3/4" long, brown, long legs and ...
A: Claire, Could this be a cockroach rather than a beetle? Your description of the size, color, ...
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| six legged creature | 2/2/2009 |
Q: I found a round egg-pod thing stuck to a wall in my apt. yesterday and have no idea what it is. The ...
A: Rob, The only thing I can think of would be a spider egg sac. You might google "spider egg sac" and ...
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| Something making a pattern on ceiling | 2/2/2009 |
Q: One of my gardening club friends noted me this morning about a problem she is having with something ...
A: Art, I have no idea what this might be. My first guess is that someone is playing a joke on your ...
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| need help identifying a larvae? | 2/2/2009 |
Q: we have a new worm farm, and have a sudden outbreak of white/translucent wrigglers that look like ...
A: Nadine, Sounds like a rat-tailed maggot. These are maggots of a fly that is sometimes found around ...
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| Strange insect bites and I have seen many. | 2/2/2009 |
Q: I have been receiving raised red bites about 1cm in diameter on my skin over the past 4 months. ...
A: Todd, I don't think these are insect bites. There are a number of medical conditions, allergies, ...
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| Unidentified Bug | 2/2/2009 |
Q: I hope you are able to tell me which bug this is. I am living in Vancouver Canada and this bug ...
A: Nadine, This is an immature cockroach, possibly the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana). ...
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| Collembola? and tiny round things | 2/1/2009 |
Q: In trying to figure out if these white things are some sort of of Collembola / Springback, I found ...
A: Mitchel, I see at least three different "bugs" in the photo. The large grey ball is a pillbug. The ...
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| Little black flying bugs | 2/1/2009 |
Q: I have lots of these little black flying bugs that look like fruit flies all over my house. It has ...
A: Pattie, These are probably fungus gnats; small dark flies (gnats) whose larvae develop in soil. ...
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| Sleepless in Oklahoma | 2/1/2009 |
Q: I have discovered a strange bug infestation in my house. The insect looks like a black/brown and ...
A: Kathrine, This is a pretty good description of a carpet beetle. Carpet beetle larvae feed on ...
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| True size of a baby flea | 2/1/2009 |
Q: One question for you here....is a flea (just freshly hatched from it's cacoon) the size of a grain ...
A: Abbey, Adult fleas are all roughly the same size, they don't grow once they reach the adult stage. ...
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| Bathroom bug?? | 2/1/2009 |
Q: I live in Southern California and just had new molding put in my house. I've noticed since then ...
A: Martha, I'm not sure what this might be. Your description does not match anything I'm familar with. ...
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| what is it??!! | 1/30/2009 |
Q: I'm in S. California and just found the 3rd bug of this description. thin, beetle-like body but ...
A: Kathleen, It sounds like one of the longhorned beetles. As their name suggests they have very long ...
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| pond infestation | 1/29/2009 |
Q: I have a small coi pond and about a week ago i noticed something that looked like dirt floating on ...
A: Mel, This sounds like collembola, or springtails. These tiny arthropods are closely related ...
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| insect in home | 1/29/2009 |
Q: I found an insect in my bedroom in North Texas. It was clear-yellowish, had six legs and looked ...
A: Lea, If by "like a crawfish" you mean it had pincers on the front, there are only a couple of ...
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| See dust mites | 1/27/2009 |
Q: I have read several opinions online about actually seeing dust mites and they vary a bit. One ...
A: Art, Dust mites are a bit larger than 1/100", probably more like 1/50" but of course young, ...
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| Carpenter Bee | 1/26/2009 |
Q: I cannot find this specific coloring, size and look of this insect - does seem to be a tipe of ...
A: Anel, This is a carpenter bee, possibly the genus Xylocopa. If you need a species determination I'd ...
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| New Photos! More water bug photos - follow up | 1/26/2009 |
Q: I got your response to my previous inquiry and took a couple of more photos. These critters are ...
A: Valerie, Excellent photos. These are collembola, sometimes called springtails. They are very common ...
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| Spider | 1/25/2009 |
Q: Years ago in Dallas, my son ran into the house one day excited about a large spider he'd seen in the ...
A: Alan, I suspect you saw a Mexican redknee tarantula which is a very common species used for pets. ...
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| Resending Photo of water bug... | 1/25/2009 |
Q: "It has recently rained here in Malibu, Ca, and the puddles left have all got the majority of their ...
A: Val, I can't see enough detail in the photo to be sure but from your description it sounds like ...
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| Flying fleas? | 1/23/2009 |
Q: I recently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and have found small, brown insects with wings that ...
A: Helen, You are correct these are not fleas, fleas don't fly. The main question is whether or not ...
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| oat bugs --Thrip | 1/21/2009 |
Q: I have been told that my home may have been in fested by oat bugs.It has been sprayed and now I am ...
A: Claire, The term oat bug generally refers to several species of grass thrips. Thrips are tiny ...
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| Insect in shower | 1/21/2009 |
Q: I found a insect the body size of a thick piece of thread, about one inch long, light to reddish ...
A: Cindy, Without a picture I can't say for sure but your description does sound like a centipede. The ...
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| Kitchen bug | 1/21/2009 |
Q: I'm finding very small bugs around perimeter of my kitchen sink. I'm very curious about what they ...
A: Kevin, This appears to be a small beetle of some kind but not one that usually occurs in kitchens ...
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| What are these ? | 1/20/2009 |
Q: I saw them in the summer on my deck. Now I have been finding these insects in my house. They do fly ...
A: Rich, I can't see all the necessary characters in this image but I'm pretty sure this is the brown ...
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| white poppy-seed like flecks in my rug | 1/20/2009 |
Q: I have a rug that was made in a mill in India (or Tibet?) and I found several areas that have white ...
A: Carla, Without a picture I can't be sure but what you describe sounds like the larvae of carpet ...
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| Identification | 1/19/2009 |
Q: Sir,I'm Ahalya.Can u identify this for me?This is an microscorpic image of a spider mite collected ...
A: Ahalya, This is a spider mite, probably an adult female based on body shape. To determine species ...
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| Bugs on walls | 1/18/2009 |
Q: I find them hanging on the walls. They are usually not so dark as this one, and are about 1 cm long. ...
A: Juha, This is the larva of a casemaking clothes moth. The silken "sac" is constructed of silk and ...
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| 'Insect' with tail 'feathers' | 1/16/2009 |
Q: I live in Melbourne, Australia. While I was in the garden filling up the birdbath and clearing some ...
A: Emma, I can't see much detail in the photo but based on your description I'd guess you have a ...
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| Bugs | 1/14/2009 |
Q: There are some little tiny bugs, smaller than a tiny crumb that have pushed their way through some ...
A: Krista, Your description does not completely fit anything that I'm familiar with. The only thing ...
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| unknown bug | 1/14/2009 |
Q: I need help identifying a bug I have never seen before. I am in cape coral, FL staying in a ...
A: Rachel, Without a picture I'm only guessing but except for the biting your description sounds like ...
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| bug i found in my room | 1/13/2009 |
Q: I found a bug in my room this morning, and although i really find them disgusting, it is an ...
A: Justine, Without a picture I'm only guessing but from your description it sounds like a house ...
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| household insects/pests | 1/12/2009 |
Q: I live in Singapore, i keep finding larvea /puppa in my apartment but cannot identify them. They are ...
A: Gareth, That's a pretty good description of casemaking clothes moth larvae. The "grayish cocoons" ...
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| Red and Black Bug | 1/11/2009 |
Q: I live in Antigua, Caribbean and see red, black and white bugs on the edge of the beach. They are ...
A: Stacy, Nice picture. I don't know the species but they are hemipterans (Hemiptera), or true bugs ...
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| invisible bugs | 1/11/2009 |
Q: About 16 months ago I started feeling like something was on my feet and legs. The other members of ...
A: Roberta, I don't think this is going to turn out to be an insect, mite or "bug" at all. In my ...
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| please identify this insect | 1/11/2009 |
Q: i live in south my dad was taking out some equipment from his truck and his whole arm landed on ...
A: Thania, The picture is a little hard to see but this is probably the caterpillar of the southern ...
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| Burrowing flies/insects | 1/10/2009 |
Q: I’m seeking information on the possibility of a burrowing fly in our mountain community of Pine ...
A: Amy, Unfortunately I don't know what this might be. Ticks do not burrow this way but rather stay on ...
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| grey rice shaped insect | 1/10/2009 |
Q: I live in Tampa, FL and have only seen this insect in the past few years. It's light grey, rice ...
A: Cyn, This does not sound like anything I'm familiar with. If you post a picture I might be able to ...
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| bugs in the bathroom and bedroom | 1/10/2009 |
Q: first of all I would like to thank you for making your self available to answer questions. I live in ...
A: Megan, I'm a little confused. Do you think these are, or are not, silverfish? Your description ...
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| insect identification | 1/10/2009 |
Q: This fall several insects I have never seen before appeared near my front door. They appear to be a ...
A: Dee, Your description of the wings definitely sounds like a wasp of some type. Trouble is there are ...
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| Identifying some very small insects on a tree | 1/9/2009 |
Q: My aunt gave me a tree recently that has what looks like a family of very small insects on it. ...
A: Forrest, These are a type of aphid. I don't know the species but if you contact someone in the ...
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| insect identification | 1/9/2009 |
Q: This fall several insects I have never seen before appeared near my front door. They appear to be a ...
A: Dee, Without a picture to work from I'm only guessing, but I think you are probably describing a ...
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| tiny black bug | 1/8/2009 |
Q: I work in a Dance studio and for the past week been noticing tiny black bugs on the walls. I think ...
A: Michelle, What you describe is a pseudoscorpion. Take a look at this wikipedia page ...
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| Tiny furry cocoons adhered to apt wall in corners | 1/7/2009 |
Q: I have an apt with tiny, brown, furry shells/cocoons that are all empty as if something hatched from ...
A: Christine, Without a picture to work from I'm only guessing, but here goes. From your description ...
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| very tiny, look like black specks infesting my clothes, curtains, anything they can and they bite | 1/6/2009 |
Q: I have 2 things going on. My cat(who is an inside cat) starting itching. I thought she had a rash so ...
A: Vicki, I think there are a couple of different but perhaps related things going on here. First, ...
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| Butterfly Wings | 1/6/2009 |
Q: DeAngelis, I'm eight years old and I am doing a big project on butterflies. I have already learned ...
A: Charlotte, The powdery stuff on butterfly and moth wings are called "scales", and scales are a type ...
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| basement drain bug ID | 1/5/2009 |
Q: We have a basement floor drain that has some interesting inhabitants in it. It's a bucket trap ...
A: Brett, I think you are right about these not being drain fly larvae. See this page ...
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| praying mantis | 1/5/2009 |
Q: I was cutting grass in one island in the Philippines when I noticed a rather unusually colored ...
A: Reuben, I'm afraid I can't help you very much. Tropical insects are outside my area of expertise. ...
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| Hair Mites | 1/4/2009 |
Q: Would you please identify if hair mites or some other mite is present in the hair follicles on this ...
A: Denise, I'm not sure what you mean by "hair mites". If you mean follicle mites (Demodex), these ...
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| little black bugs in my apartment | 1/3/2009 |
Q: recently i forgot to take out the garbage in my apartment and i believe there was possibly old left ...
A: I don't know what these might be. The only small insects that would be attracted to garbage are ...
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| little black bugs in my apartment | 1/3/2009 |
Q: recently i forgot to take out the garbage in my apartment and i believe there was possibly old left ...
A: Tim, These are almost certainly not bed bugs. Take a look at this page ...
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| cute wee thing!! | 1/3/2009 |
Q: I live in the North Island of New Zealand and found wandering in my bathroom just the cutest little ...
A: J, Nothing comes to mind from your description. The best I can offer is a site where you can find ...
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| carpet beetles | 1/2/2009 |
Q: I have not lived very long in this apartment. I found small dark bugs crawling up the wall in Oct ...
A: J, Carpet beetles can damage almost any natural fabric that is soiled. From your description, ...
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| strange insect? on wall | 1/2/2009 |
Q: I found these srtrage, i think insect, it climbs up the wall, it´s about 1cm long, i´ve found it ...
A: Alma, Larvae of most moths and butterflies will move away from where they are feeding just before ...
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| strange insect? on wall | 1/1/2009 |
Q: I found these srtrage, i think insect, it climbs up the wall, it´s about 1cm long, i´ve found it ...
A: Alma, I believe the image is the larva of a casemaking clothes moth. Take a look at this page ...
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| fly like termite/ant bug with larva in clothes | 12/31/2008 |
Q: White Egg sacks on clothes, found sock with tons of empty sacks, some tiny black winged bugs ...
A: Linda, I still can't see these well enough to identify them. I'd suggest that you take them to the ...
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| fly like termite/ant bug with larva in clothes | 12/31/2008 |
Q: White Egg sacks on clothes, found sock with tons of empty sacks, some tiny black winged bugs ...
A: Linda, I can't see much detail in the photo. However, from your description it sounds like either ...
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| small oval basement bug | 12/30/2008 |
Q: We have 1/2 inch soft oval bugs, light brown in color, 14 legs and 2 antenna, that we occasionally ...
A: Al, Without a picture I'm only guess but your description sounds like a sowbug or pillbug. Take a ...
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| small droplet red shaped bug | 12/29/2008 |
Q: This bug small droplet shaped tried to bite/suck blood from my daughters leg. She flicked it off ...
A: Jim, I can't tell from your description what this might have been. The only insect/mite that comes ...
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| Identify our cocoon | 12/29/2008 |
Q: We collected a very large (14cm)cocoon south west of Ipswich about 16 weeks ago and were surprised ...
A: Isabella, Thanks for the geo update. I didn't know there is an Ipswich in Australia too. The only ...
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| Identify our cocoon | 12/28/2008 |
Q: We collected a very large (14cm)cocoon south west of Ipswich about 16 weeks ago and were surprised ...
A: Isabella, This one has me stumped. Here's a few suggestions, however. Because you use the metric ...
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| mysterious bugs on moulding wall | 12/27/2008 |
Q: i'm from singapore, which is humid all year round. there's this wall in my living room that is ...
A: Steph, The image is a primitive fly (Nematocera) related to mosquitoes, crane flies, fungus gnats ...
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| so many bites! | 12/26/2008 |
Q: I went to Guyana about a month ago and got about 60 bites on my torso from something the locals ...
A: Erica, The term bete rouge probably refers to the mite that in the US is called the chigger mite or ...
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| unknown coccoon | 12/23/2008 |
Q: We live in central FL next to the Ocala Nat Forest. Something made a hanging coccoon in our ...
A: Charlotte, I'm not sure what this might be. From your description it sounds more like a bird nest ...
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| microscopic bugs | 12/21/2008 |
Q: I have been suffering since September with stinging bites that leave red dots. I spent a great deal ...
A: Debra, Bird or nest mites live in the nests of birds and rodents. They bite the birds/rodents to ...
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| microscopic bugs | 12/21/2008 |
Q: I have been suffering since September with stinging bites that leave red dots. I spent a great deal ...
A: Debra, I really don't think it is chigger mites. I've never heard of chiggers "infestng" a house or ...
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| Insect Nest Identification | 12/21/2008 |
Q: About 20 of these nests has appeared in my yard w/in 100 square feet of each other sometime in the ...
A: Lee, These are not yellowjacket nests. Take a look at this page ...
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| microscopic bugs | 12/21/2008 |
Q: I have been suffering since September with stinging bites that leave red dots. I spent a great deal ...
A: Debra, Chiggers would not stay on your skin that long. Chiggers are easily washed off so most of ...
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| tiny indestructible brown bugs? | 12/20/2008 |
Q: Our house seems to have recently become infested by tiny brown bugs. They are a little bigger than a ...
A: Maria, I don't know what these might be. I'd suggest trying to capture a few in a bottle with a ...
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| attack bug | 12/20/2008 |
Q: what kind of bug is this?
A: Lauren, This is probably the caterpillar of the flannel moth. Take a look at this page ...
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| new bug in our basement! | 12/19/2008 |
Q: We have a strange "new" bug that is freaking me out. It looks like a cross between a cricket and a ...
A: Diana, Without a picture I'm only guessing, but here goes. Based on your description there are two ...
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| whip scorpion | 12/18/2008 |
Q: I have a whip scorpion in my classroom. He (she?) seems to be happy enough for the past 5 months and ...
A: Alison, I'm not sure but I'd guess that you have a female and she is getting ready to either lay ...
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| insect | 12/16/2008 |
Q: is there a type of Arachnid from Africa with the name similar to Solidus( may mean sun loving or ...
A: Martin, I think you are probably referring to a solifugid or sunspider (sometimes called ...
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| Tiny red worms w/ legs on paper. | 12/13/2008 |
Q: My bedroom is in the attic. There's no heat so I use a small electric heater (not sure if that ...
A: Lisa, The only thing I can think of that fits your description is a centipede. Take a look at this ...
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| Bug Bites | 12/12/2008 |
Q: Recently I have found small round bites on my legs which are very itchy. I found a very very small ...
A: Cherise, It is very hard to diagnosis these bites by description only. It does not really sound ...
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| Small bug in bathroom | 12/10/2008 |
Q: I have been noticing these small bugs in and near my bathroom. They are super small and brownish ...
A: Kami, It would help a lot if you could post a picture of your little bug. If you can't I'll try to ...
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| Do you know what this is? | 12/8/2008 |
Q: I found a few of these in my flat in the summer and again last week. They are a little smaller than ...
A: This is a pseudoscorpion and they are harmless. They are not closely related to true scorpions and ...
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| ants and rubber tree sap | 12/6/2008 |
Q: I'm in San Francisco and have occasional black ant invasions when it's cold, wet and food is scarce ...
A: John, I don't know if there is anything in rubber tree sap that would affect ant behavior. However, ...
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| strange insect..........? | 12/6/2008 |
Q: I found this bug on the floor the other day and put it in a jar with no lid. came home and it was ...
A: Pete, It's a bit hard to see but I'm pretty certain this is the larva ("worm") of a casemaking ...
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