Question

tiny brown bugs   QUESTION: My house is infested with many tiny creatures I cannot identify. I've been getting bites some time back, bites that take forever to fade. So in search of the source, I've identified a few creatures, but am not sure which is biting me. (by the way I have eliminated bedbugs as I really do not see any signs of them like faeces of red stains anywhere.)

Bugs I have identified:
1. small bugs with two segment bodies as shown in the photo attached. I used to find them on my bed, on my clothes, now it's everywhere! The bugs are around 1mm in length. So sorry I cannot take a better picture as i do not have mangnifying items. (any idea how to DIY one would be welcome.) Sometimes they are whitish, sometimes more brownish? Their colour ranges slightly. also, not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I noticed they seem particularly fond of this pvc bound notebook of mine which has a thin surface of mould growing on it.

2. small tiny reddish brown spiders with a body around 2mm in size, rounded with really wispy legs. I could not take a photo as after it was squished, there was nothing left except a brown mess and 8 wispy legs. They were also found around my clothes and fabric items.

3. (previously existing but now gone) tiny jumping insects of 1mm. my online search results seem to indicate fleas though I have no pets. I set down soap water with a tea light but did not attract anything recently, so perhaps either they are gone or they are not fleas.

I cannot find anything else out of the ordinary, so I presume it has to be one of these three (or two or one if these are different stages of the same bug). If possible would it be possible to point me in the right direction as to what these bugs are, and which one could be the culprit.

Thank you so much!

ANSWER: Anna,

I can't see the trap clearly but these look like dermestid beetle larvae (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/carpet_beetle.html for a picture of one species). Do they appear to be somewhat fuzzy? Dermestid beetle larvae do not bite. The small reddish brown spider could have been spider beetles which also do not bite. The tiny, jumping insects might have been springtails, see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/springtails.html for a picture. Springtails also do not bite.

There are only a small number of insects or mites that do bite, see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/unknown_bug_bites.html for a list. Many times "bites" are really caused by allergies or environmental irritants and only appear to be insect/mite related.

If you can get a closer picture of the trap I'd be happy to take another look.

Jack DeAngelis



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spiderlike bug  

other bugs.   QUESTION: Hello Jack DeAngelis,

Thank you so much for your reply even though i realised my descriptions were very brief. I have a closeup of the trap, and one of the spiderlike bugs too. I included a centimetre ruler in the picture so that you can have a gauge of its size.

As you can see the the trap, the bugs have two segment bodies. They are brownish.

For the spiderlike bug, the one I managed to kill looks black, but some that I have seen previously are brownish red.

And lastly there is the hopping insect. Which I havent seen for some time. If they are fleas, perhaps it was due to me doing a vigorous vacuuming of my house 1-2 weeks back which stimulated them to hatch. (according to what I read online.)

Thank you!

Answer
The "spiderlike bug" appears to be an opiliones, a close relative of spiders. I still can't see the other images clearly enough to be certain but they look like carpet beetle larvae or perhaps psocids (booklice). None of these bite. The only insects that jump are fleas and springtails. Springtail are tiny and can range in color from nearly colorless to bright colors to brown or black. Springtails do not bite either.

Jack DeAngelis