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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask you what the hell these bugs are and how I get rid of them?!

21 replies

Samaranian · 17/07/2019 17:23

I have found 6 of these and counting in my kitchen, mostly around the sink area. What the hell are they and how can I get rid of them?

To ask you what the hell these bugs are and how I get rid of them?!
To ask you what the hell these bugs are and how I get rid of them?!
To ask you what the hell these bugs are and how I get rid of them?!
OP posts:
UserThenLotsOfNumbers · 17/07/2019 17:27

Sink sprites!
Not sure sorry - how big are they? In my old flat occasionally we'd get tiny little flea type things around the hole in the sink, it was clean though, didn't know what they were.

Samaranian · 17/07/2019 17:30

I went and googled sink sprites 😂😂😂

They are about the size of a moderate sized ant... But obviously they are not any shaped!

OP posts:
DontPanic42 · 17/07/2019 17:32

Could it be weevils? I think that's how you spell it, we had an infestation of them in our kitchen when I was a child.

GimmeBread · 17/07/2019 17:34

I think they're woodworm.

Roomba · 17/07/2019 17:35

They look just like the things I've been getting in my bathroom when I've left the window open. They seem to be attracted to my bright white ceiling. No idea what they are but don't think they are anything awful as clearly flying in from outside?

Roomba · 17/07/2019 17:37

Noooo, don't say its woodworm 😱

DontCallMeShitley · 17/07/2019 17:37

I think woodworm are a lighter in colour.

Could be grain weevils of some kind. Do you have dry pet food or bird seed about?

Mitebiteatnite · 17/07/2019 17:38

Do they just look like tiny little beetles? If so, they're pollen bugs. Really really irritating, but not harmful in anyway. Have you got flowers in your kitchen by any chance? Leave the window open for a bit once it's dark and turn off all the lights, they don't like the dark so they'll fly out.

StarJumpsandaHalf · 17/07/2019 17:41

www.thespruce.com/getting-rid-of-drain-flies-2656670

Check out drain or sewer flies on the link, they’re a type of moth, don’t bite or spread disease as such, but can be very hard to eradicate.

Start by unscrewing and thoroughly cleaning the under sink U Bend and flush the drain.

If it is them they get worse at night.

Samaranian · 17/07/2019 17:45

Ahhhhhhhhh they do look suspiciously like wood worm beetles Envy not envy

OP posts:
GlobalPayments · 17/07/2019 17:47

Woodworm deffo

MitziK · 17/07/2019 17:49

Weevils have long noses like elephants, so I don't think it's those, but there are bunches of little bugs that are perfectly 'normal' to find in kitchens - Biscuit Beetles, Flour Beetles, that kind of thing.

Places to try and find their food source; dry goods (flour, pasta, pulses) in the cupboard, down the back/underneath the fridge, behind a bread bin or biscuit barrel, pet food storage/bowls or under appliances where crumbs have been accidentally spread.

Unfortunately, it means (in my opinion) chucking out all your dry foods - had to do it for moths last year because DP is a dick and left open packets in the kitchen and pulling out all the appliances to clean right up to and under the skirting boards, as they are small enough to wobble about as little caterpillar-like beasties and hide in the almost invisible gap between skirting and floor.

When I had a steam cleaner, I blasted along the edge with it and before that, I used crawling bug spray poison (which I hated doing, but My Food vs Bugs is always going to end in my breaking out the chemical warfare).

Then make a point of vacuuming with a crevice tool behind everything regularly so that crumbs don't accumulate - you'll need to do the entire house if anybody takes food out of the kitchen - and making sure that foodstuffs only go into sealed glass jars or airtight plastic tubs.

Meh. I wish they were sink sprites - I always fancied having the Soot Sprites from Totoro or Spirited Away, as they wouldn't have had me swearing profusely and chucking out so much food.

Roomba · 18/07/2019 06:57

Do they just look like tiny little beetles? If so, they're pollen bugs.

Okay, so in my case this seems more likely than it being woodworm. I'm slightly more relieved now.

Gatekeeper · 18/07/2019 07:03

they look like pollen beetles to me- I've got hundreds of the buggers in my kitchen now as i brought in some flowers from the garden

Mitebiteatnite · 18/07/2019 07:28

@gatekeeper same Blush I got so excited about growing sweet peas this year, brought the first beautifully scented stems in a few weeks ago and there were pollen beetles everywhere. I've heard if you put them in water and leave them in a dark shed with the door open, they'll fly out before morning.

DifficultLemonDifficult · 18/07/2019 07:36

It's hard to be certain from the picture, but they look like Furniture Beetle to me. The adults emerge from the wood in which the larvae have been living. Check your furniture and structural wood for the emergence holes - about 2-3mm in diameter. It's possible that they could be False Click Beetle, which are not a wood-boring species and won't do much harm to your home.

SalemSpellman · 18/07/2019 19:46

They are woodworm, google English heritage "what's eating your collection". In my experience it's woodworm. And despite the worm name, they can fly. You need find where they are coming from my looking for the bore holes and tiny piles of sawdust next to them.

Once you have located the holes, your will know where to pour the insecticide. You might want to call a local pest specialist to get the right stuff.

Alwaysonarecce · 18/07/2019 20:07

Do they move? If not, the look very much like mouse droppings.

Samaranian · 18/07/2019 21:48

Yes they move unfortunately. I think I would rather have a mouse!!!

Who knew woodworm wasn't worms everyone apart from me

I've looked everywhere wooden I can think off and can't see any obvious holes though. I did find two in the bathroom today as well though which is worrying.

Thankfully DP is home tomorrow so he cna go and hunt them... How much does pest control cost?!?!

Can I just burn the flat down and claim on the insurance? Grin

OP posts:
MegaClutterSlut · 18/07/2019 21:56

Definitely woodworm. I have these in my bathroom and they have eaten away at the floorboards

Chwaraeteg · 18/07/2019 22:04

You don't by any chance buy meal worms to feed birds with, do you? They look a bit like the beetles that mealworms hatch into.

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