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I've lived in my apt for about 5 yrs now with pretty much ZERO pest issues. In Dec., I started noticing a single occasional bug that's the same size & dark coloring of an ant, but it's NOT an ant. I notice tiny wings, but it never flies.
The other day, I saw a LOT in the kitchen...several in this one corner of the counter and a LOT crawling on the shelves in the cabinet with all my dry foods. Yuck!
Anyone know what it could be? Oh, & it looks like they leave a casing of their dead body skin.
I tried to take a photo, but it came out too blurry to see. I tried Googling pics and nothing quite matches, but below is what it's NOT because the wings aren't nearly this huge or long past the body at all nor a transparent coloring:
I've lived in my apt for about 5 yrs now with pretty much ZERO pest issues. In Dec., I started noticing a single occasional bug that's the same size & dark coloring of an ant, but it's NOT an ant. I notice tiny wings, but it never flies.
The other day, I saw a LOT in the kitchen...several in this one corner of the counter and a LOT crawling on the shelves in the cabinet with all my dry foods. Yuck!
Anyone know what it could be? Oh, & it looks like they leave a casing of their dead body skin.
I tried to take a photo, but it came out too blurry to see. I tried Googling pics and nothing quite matches, but below is what it's NOT because the wings aren't nearly this huge or long past the body at all nor a transparent coloring:
Possibly, but even in your pic, the wings aren't that long, big or transparent from what I can see.
I'm afraid I'll have to put in the request very soon to my apt's maintenance.
Yesterday's the first time I really saw a bunch of them, so for the first time today, I emptied out 2 shelves, rinsed the shelf liners, sprayed white vinegar/water mixture, AND then this poison-free bug spray. I'm letting it air out. I'm checking back occasionally and it looks like even after I wiped and sprayed, a few new bugs keep coming from somewhere.
They're as annoying as ants, but a little worse since I don't know what kind of bugs these are.
I pay way too much high rent to be dealing with this BS!
I've lived in my apt for about 5 yrs now with pretty much ZERO pest issues. In Dec., I started noticing a single occasional bug that's the same size & dark coloring of an ant, but it's NOT an ant. I notice tiny wings, but it never flies.
The other day, I saw a LOT in the kitchen...several in this one corner of the counter and a LOT crawling on the shelves in the cabinet with all my dry foods. Yuck!
Anyone know what it could be? Oh, & it looks like they leave a casing of their dead body skin.
I tried to take a photo, but it came out too blurry to see. I tried Googling pics and nothing quite matches, but below is what it's NOT because the wings aren't nearly this huge or long past the body at all nor a transparent coloring:
Sounds like you have stored food pests. Cigarette beetles, drugstore beetles, confused flour beetles, or Indian meal moths. Inspect the products in your pantry.
Carpenter ants are big. You might see one in your house occasionally, but that's because it wandered in by mistake. They don't live inside houses, unless there are rotting logs in the living room.
Maybe pantry weevils or beetles in the wall behind the shelves. Did you check out all the contents inside the boxes and packages of dry goods that you keep on your pantry shelves? If not you better do that.
Thanks so far guys! Yes, could be pantry pests or I was also thinking flying ants, (but these don't fly in my case.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoisite
Maybe pantry weevils or beetles in the wall behind the shelves. Did you check out all the contents inside the boxes and packages of dry goods that you keep on your pantry shelves? If not you better do that.
Regarding the pictures, no, they don't look like that. Their bodies aren't that wide or pill-shaped. Also, they have NO kind of long legs, antennae, or pincers. Also, they're NOT any kind of larvae or like worms. Again, they look just like ants, but if you take a closer, more careful look, it's not the usual/average ant.
I have all my dry foods from 2 shelves all out on the counters. I'm trying to see if they start crawling on the bare shelves so I can see if they're dying down since I sprayed & wiped w/ a white vinegar & water mixture, THEN sprayed w/ some non-toxic bug spray.
Maybe I won't have to notify my apt's maintenance just yet...hopefully.
Last edited by Forever Blue; 01-31-2018 at 06:55 PM..
From your description, these insects cannot be ants.
Do you realize that many of the insects in the photos were magnified for the viewer?
My best guess is flour beetles. Have you inspected your boxed and bagged products? The insect eggs are in these products when we bring them home from the market. If the product is not used in a certain amount of time, the insects start hatching. Just bag the offending product and put it in the trash outside.
There are ways to avoid this problem, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
Sounds like what I had years ago. I don't know what they were, but I emptied everything in my pantry and I believe they came from an unopened box of Lipton soup! Once I got rid of it (and anything that was open) I never saw another one again.
FWI.........Most of our dried foods are actually sterilized to rid of bugs and microorganisms. My husband actually works as a Mechanical Engineer for one of the biggest global companies that does this!
I have all my dry foods from 2 shelves all out on the counters. ......
But did you inspect the contents inside the packages? Did you look for tiny pinpoint sized entry and exit holes in the packages made of cardboard, light plastic or tin foil? In all likelihood your dry goods is where the bugs are coming from and if your packaged dry goods are infested you will need to get rid of those groceries. Unless of course you want to eat bugs and egg casings and feces in your food.
99% of insect pests that infest a pantry are insects that a grocery shopper brings home in some dry good that they just purchased at the store. The insects / larvae / eggs get brought home in a single box of cookies or a package of dry pasta or dry soup mix or a bag of flour or cornmeal or whatever. Then hey presto! a couple of weeks later the bugs have multiplied and chewed their way into all the other dry packages on your shelves and are laying eggs in them and eating your dry foods. A few more weeks go by and your entire pantry and all the dry goods are infested with them.
Cleaning and disinfecting the cupboards and shelves is a necessary start but you MUST also thoroughly inspect the contents of all of the dry goods too to find which packages have the insects and eggs in them and then get rid of them. It's the only way to ensure that you've completely eradicated the infestation.
From what you're describing I think you have little pantry beetles but whatever they are you probably brought them home yourself from a grocery store, so they aren't your landlord's fault or his responsibility.
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Oh, & it looks like they leave a casing of their dead body skin. 
