What's new

Anybuggy know what this bug is? (1 Viewer)

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
I've been seeing these tiny little monsters in my bathroom this year. I've bombed twice after seeing them, but they're back around. They really creeped me out when I first saw them because I thought they were extremely small roaches, but now I'm not so sure. I just hate the idea of them riding me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Pics aren't great:

008_zpsfa7652fd.jpg


007_zpse69cc319.jpg


They should be clearer if you click, I hope. A search made me think maybe firebrat. Funny thing, when I bought the bombs, they listed firebrats and I thought, "What the hell are those?"

Dang it. They're huge pics on my computer, but photobucket downsized them a lot.
 

TonyD

Who do we think I am?
Ambassador
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 1, 1999
Messages
24,249
Location
Gulf Coast
Real Name
Tony D.
still too small for me to figure out.
Wings, mandibles?
 

Aaron Silverman

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 22, 1999
Messages
11,411
Location
Florida
Real Name
Aaron Silverman
I would show those photos to a local exterminator. I'm no expert, but that doesn't look *not* enough like a termite to me to ignore it.
 

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
You're probably right that an expert is in order, but I forgot one characteristic that I think thankfully rules out termites. These things rarely, but can, pop--leap, jump--like fleas. But they don't look like fleas. A website description of springtails seems possible.
 

Aaron Silverman

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 22, 1999
Messages
11,411
Location
Florida
Real Name
Aaron Silverman
Do they make a snapping sound when they jump? I remember seeing some tiny bugs that did that, but don't recall exactly what they looked like.
 

Stan

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
5,177
Greg_S_H said:
You're probably right that an expert is in order, but I forgot one characteristic that I think thankfully rules out termites. These things rarely, but can, pop--leap, jump--like fleas. But they don't look like fleas. A website description of springtails seems possible.
Not a lot of help, but they're definitely not fleas, one option eliminated. My dog picked up fleas staying in the Seattle area for a week, thankfully she had very short fur, so they were easy to pick off her before they did any damage. Guess with it being warmer and more humid, fleas survive the winter. Never had a problem on the east side of the state with our harsher winters and I've had dogs and cats for 30+ years.
 

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
I didn't hear a sound, but I have had click beetles in the past. They make a loud noise as they spring into the air. I wonder if they start out that tiny.
 

Stan

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
5,177
Greg_S_H said:
I didn't hear a sound, but I have had click beetles in the past. They make a loud noise as they spring into the air. I wonder if they start out that tiny.
I think most insects start out pretty tiny. I found a praying mantis on my screen door a year ago, maybe 1/4 of an inch long, fully formed.

Tiniest, cutest little thing I'd ever seen. Collected adult ones as a kid, but first time I had ever seen a baby.
 

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
Do roaches start out pinhead-sized? I'm used to the baby ones that are around the size of a rolypoly, but thinking of them being almost invisible is really creepy.
 

Sam Posten

Moderator
Premium
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 30, 1997
Messages
33,674
Location
Aberdeen, MD & Navesink, NJ
Real Name
Sam Posten
Stan said:
Collected adult ones as a kid, but first time I had ever seen a baby.
What do you mean collected? There's an urban legend that says they are illegal to kill (it's false, no fed or state law against killing mantises) but they eat the bad bugs so hoping you didn't pin em to a board =(
 

Stan

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
5,177
Sam Posten said:
What do you mean collected? There's an urban legend that says they are illegal to kill (it's false, no fed or state law against killing mantises) but they eat the bad bugs so hoping you didn't pin em to a board =(
No, nothing like that. Collected was probably the wrong term to use. We'd just catch them as kids, sneak up on them and grab them gently from the back of their necks, show them off to each other and let them go. Or we'd find one, and watch it closely to see it try and catch another bug, sadly never happened. Just kids exploring the world, not insect killers.

Even if it were illegal, I think I was 8-10 years old, probably would have gotten away with it.
 

RobertR

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 19, 1998
Messages
10,675
Stan said:
I think most insects start out pretty tiny. I found a praying mantis on my screen door a year ago, maybe 1/4 of an inch long, fully formed.

Tiniest, cutest little thing I'd ever seen. Collected adult ones as a kid, but first time I had ever seen a baby.
I smiled when I read that, because I never saw a praying mantis when I was a kid. I associated them with this image:


the-deadly-mantis.jpg


Great Saturday afternoon matinee stuff. :)
 

Stan

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
5,177
RobertR said:
I smiled when I read that, because I never saw a praying mantis when I was a kid. I associated them with this image:


the-deadly-mantis.jpg


Great Saturday afternoon matinee stuff. :)
Well Sam, they weren't quite that size, but they were pretty big, especially being a kid you see things differently.

We had tan/beige ones and light green ones, it was so neat to see how they'd go to different areas so they could blend in with the plants and not be seen.

Like I said, never harmed them, but would let them crawl across our arms, let them explore. It was amazing, they're very gentle, probably like some people think of tarantulas, but that crosses the line for me. Mantises, okay. Tarantulas, no way.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,687
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
Can help with the bug ID. I just get a kick out of reading the thread title. "Anybuggy" makes me smile every time I see it :)Mantises kinda weird me out. They look like erect bipods, and are creepily alien.
 

Greg_S_H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
15,846
Location
North Texas
Real Name
Greg
It started out as a typo but I left it. :)

I've seen very few to none of these lately, but I've seen a few adults and I'm not entirely sure what they are, but they're not gross like a roach. I do have a cracked pipe joint under my slab, and am waiting for insurance to put together what they'll fix (they did a full system test while tracking down an unrelated incoming water leak).
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top