Beat The Winter Blues With An Indoor Bug Hunt

Are you tired of waiting for spring to bloom? Snowed in for yet another weekend? You can find a surprising number of creatures without leaving the comfort of your home. Just how comfortable you will be after your indoor discoveries is another question, but most of your home's biodiversity will be benign.

The variety of insects in one light fixture:dark-winged fungus gnats, carpet beetles, a weevil, aphids, thrips, gall midges....

Before you begin your indoor expedition, you might want to read Rob Dunn's Never Home Alone. The book is an excellent primer for a home bioblitz (inventory of a given taxon of organisms in a short period of time). It can give you a good idea of what to expect, and calm any potential fears. Indeed, the thesis of Never Home Alone is that the more biodiversity in your household, the better. At the end of the day you will be discarding pest control products and harsh cleaning agents....or buying more.

Web of a funnel web weaver spider in kitchen ceiling corner

Instead of being embarrassed by the cobweb in the corner, recognize the industrious nature of its maker. Compliment yourself for preserving a living pest control agent. See if you can find evidence of the insect victims the spider has trapped. Examine any shed exoskeletons to help you identify the spider itself if the living arachnid is not present. Dusty webs, unable to snare prey any longer, can be safely cleaned. Spiders will change "web sites" if they go long periods without success.

Indian Meal Moth, Plodia interpunctella

Don't forget to check your pantry. You may need a snack midway through your hunt anyway, but flour, rice, and other grains may hold unexpected insect surprises. Drugstore Beetles, Cigarette Beetles, Meal Moths, and spider beetles may be feasting on neglected stored products of vegetable origin. Dry animal-based foods can attract the Larder Beetle and carpet beetles, all members of the family Dermestidae. The wool garments in your wardrobe, and wool blankets, furs (but you have faux furs, no?), and silks are vulnerable to clothes moths and carpet beetle larvae, too. Try storing them in a cedar chest when you are not using them regularly. Cedar has proven repellent qualities and is not toxic to people or pets.

I spy some insects in there....

One of the most rewarding sources of insect diversity is a light fixture. The other day, one of our bulbs burned out and it gave me an excuse to see what insects had found their way into our home over the past several months. In our case, because we actively blacklight for moths in the backyard, we inevitably carry other tiny insects back inside after the night is over, so we might have a greater diversity of fauna than average, but probably not.

Dark-winged fungus gnats are often abundant indoors

You may not want to wait for a light bulb to expire before you examine a ceiling fixture or lamp, though. These days, the lifespan of the new generation of electrical bulbs is ridiculously long. It can be years before you have to install a new one. Further, insect specimens quickly die in the hot, dry conditions, become brittle, are eaten by carpet beetle larvae, and gather dust that makes them difficult to identify later. Best to check the lights often.

A lace bug in the light fixture?! Yep.

Last, but certainly not least, you will want to inspect for bed bugs. Adult bed bugs are small, no larger than the average apple seed. Immature stages are smaller still, some nearly transparent. You will likely see other signs of bed bugs before encountering the insects themselves, though. Should you find some, resist the temptation to blame your spouse, roommate, visiting guest, or tenants of the nextdoor apartment. Some authorities believe that one out of every four U.S. residences has bed bugs or will have them. Cimex lectularius thankfully poses no health threats that modern science is aware of. The biggest problems still stem from litigation over infestations, and the costs of eradication in a given dwelling.

Adult Bed Bug

Our home list of domiciliary creatures, including people and pets present and past, is approximately forty (40), over the last seven years or so. Clearly, we have more work to do. We do take comfort in the notion that we are providing homes for a broad spectrum of creatures, the great majority of which enhance our lives rather than detract from them.

Don't Try This (Pest Control Method) At Home

The news is replete with stories of people who have accidentally destroyed their homes, workplaces, and other structures in an attempt to kill a spider or insect. These are the sensational and drastic results of misguided intent, but there are many other negative consequences possible from do-it-yourself pest control. Do not be a sucker, a law-breaker, or the next headline.

A Word About Spiders

At this time of year, spiders venturing indoors is a top complaint of many homeowners. Please understand that if you notice a spider in your home or office it is an indication of....absolutely nothing. It is not out to get you. It is not a sign of an "infestation." It is not a sign that there are more to come. Male spiders of all kinds are on the prowl for females, and even those species that normally spin webs abandon them to look for mates, mostly in autumn. There are also plenty of spiders that never spin webs, like wolf spiders, jumping spiders, and longlegged sac spiders. Both males and females traverse large areas in search of prey. Occasionally, they will find their way indoors. Simply coax one of these spiders into a container and escort it outside to a log, stone wall, brush pile, or other place it can easily find cover. Thank you.

Foggers

Foggers are also known as "bug bombs," and can live up to that name if you fail to follow the deployment instructions to the letter. Forgetting to extinguish a pilot light on the water heater or furnace before detonating a fogger can result in burning your home to the ground, or blowing it to bricks and splinters. Moreover, as with any general insecticide, you are killing beneficial insects, and spiders and other arachnids, along with whatever pest you were targeting. Yes, those cobweb weavers in the corner are already controlling pests like carpet beetles and fungus gnats, and other household nuisances.

Read the Instructions!

Use a DIY product if you must, but be aware that improper application of that product is a violation of federal law. That is correct: You are subject to prosecution for misusing pest control products and devices. Yes, we do have to make a federal case out of it because the consequences of your ignorance can be far-reaching. This is especially true of lawn and garden chemical treatments. There is a reason that commercial landscape services are required to post those flags and signs after they poison, err, "treat" your lawn.

One of the most common mistakes with over-the-counter products is the assumption that using a greater quantity than prescribed in the label instructions will be more effective. The "more is better" philosophy can compromise the health of yourself, your family members, guests, and pets. Furthermore, some people may be hypersensitive to chemicals in the product, even if they are "inert" ingredients and not active compounds.

Don't Fall for "Harmless" Alternative Products

Say you do have the best interest of the environment at heart. You want the most benign, but still effective, "green" alternative. Good for you, but tune your scam senses to high alert, then. Among the most popular and well-advertised devices are those ultrasonic repellent thingies. They have been scientifically proven time and time again to be essentially worthless. Do not fall for it.

Consult the Proper Authorities

"Bug Eric" is not an expert on pest control. When in doubt, ask unbiased professionals about pest control products and strategies. Look for resources and agencies that do not have an agenda and are unaffiliated with either industry or non-profit organizations. The Environmental Protection Agency has a web page on the Do's and Don'ts of Pest Control that is a good place to start. Use your local branch of the Cooperative Extension Service for recommendations specific to your geographic location. The National Pesticide Information Center, headquartered at Oregon State University, is a wealth of factual information and additional resources. Subscribe to Consumer Reports magazine, a product of an independent product-testing institution that enjoys a stellar reputation in matters of consumer awareness and public safety.

Did I Mention Prevention?

It bears repeating that taking measures to prevent pests from gaining a foothold indoors or on your property, is the best solution. I will continue to post on this subject, but you can do your own research, too. Remember your neighborhood librarian is your best friend, and your library a wealth of information now networked with other public libraries, university libraries, and other resources around the world. Maybe you will begin with books like Tiny Game Hunting or The Humane Gardener.

Be In It For The Long Haul

Above all, understand that pest control never ends. There is no permanent solution. As the authors of Tiny Game Hunting write, "Thinking we can get rid of our pests permanently in one fell swoop is like taking a shower and believing we will be clean for the rest of our lives." Patience, persistence, and vigilance is necessary to keep the upper hand. Altering your mindset, your level of tolerance, and understanding of your insect and arachnid "enemies" is also key. We may need an attitude adjustment before we do anything else.

Why I Don't Give Pest Control Advice

Casual visitors to my blog often seek pest control advice in the comments of posts about insects or spiders they themselves have encountered. There are several reasons why I do not discuss pest control, and it is probably high time I outlined them here.

Liability

Commercial insecticide manufacturers and pest control companies ("exterminators") have entire teams of lawyers to prevent, fight, and settle litigation filed against them when customers misuse or fail to fully understand their products or services. Indeed, the public regularly misapplies over-the-counter products resulting in poisoning of family members or pets or, in the case of foggers ("bug bombs"), fail to extinguish a pilot light and set fire to their property or blow their house up. Besides the injuries and/or damage, misapplication of insecticides is a federal offense.

Meanwhile, there are also the pest control equivalents of snake oil salesmen who promise "organic" controls that are ineffective at best, or outright fraudulent at worst. Products such as ultrasonic repellent devices are known by entomologists to be useless; and "bug zappers" kill far more beneficial insects with next to no impact on mosquitoes.

As a writer who is essentially a sole proprietor volunteering factual information, there is no way I can possibly absorb the financial impact of a lawsuit should someone misinterpret pest control advice or product endorsement.

My mission is Teaching Tolerance of Arthropods

Those who follow this blog know and understand that the entire purpose of the content here is to educate the public and foster an appreciation and tolerance of insects, spiders, and other arthropods. Focusing only on the negative impacts some species sometimes have on humanity would not accomplish that goal. There is enough misinformation and media sensationalism already. It is a tide I can barely swim against. Some people I will never "convert" or even reach, but I like the idea that I can provide ammunition for others to argue the overwhelming benefits of arthropod diversity and healthy ecosystems, be they natural, agricultural, or urban or suburban.

"I got you a gig at Al's Produce and a world tour with Union Carbide"

I Do Preach Prevention

Those rare posts I devote to household and garden pests usually include tips for preventing pest issues. Pests are largely our own creation. We provide them with their favorite foods. We give them shelter. We collectively import them accidentally or intentionally from other parts of the world in commerce, including nursery stock (plants). We apply pesticides to which they develop resistance. We compromise native habitats and ecosystems through use of non-native plants in landscaping, overuse of herbicides that destroy food plants for beneficial insects, and insist on large areas of sterile lawns.

It is only by altering our own mindset, or at least our behaviors, that we can coexist with other organisms, and discourage visits by species that can cause us harm. Prevention is the act of executing those proactive, low-cost or no-cost strategies, in contrast to being reactive, at a high financial and emotional cost, when a population of insects or arachnids gets out of control.

There Are Other Sources for Pest Control Information

The smart consumer looks to unbiased sources of information for pest control, as they do when purchasing any product or service. Online, you should be consulting ".edu" websites that originate at colleges and universities. They have no stake in the stock of a company, and because they are educational institutions, they are mandated to provide information to the public. The Cooperative Extension Service has long been a leader in urban and agricultural pest management, but has fallen on hard times with funding cutbacks from the government. Still, pursue that option. There is usually an extension agent office located in whatever town serves as your county seat.

Remember the public health department is a valuable resource for control of insects that affect public health, such as mosquitoes, other biting insects, filth flies, and cockroaches. Contact them, and take them a specimen of the organism that is problematic for you.

Pest control technicians are the last people you should trust for making an accurate identification of a troublesome insect. I cut them a little slack because their first, and often only, priority is to comply with state and federal regulations in chemical pesticide application. Few technicians are properly schooled in entomology, and that is a disservice to the consumer.

#$%!* termites!

Social media outlets vary widely (and wildly) in terms of legitimate, educated advice and identification of insects and spiders. Some Facebook groups are better moderated than others.

Use the "Forum" Tab on This Page

You are certainly welcome to click on the "forum" tab at the top of this page and ask questions and upload images of your mystery "bugs." I'll do the best I can to identify your creature, and direct you to additional informative resources. Thank you.

Silverfish and Firebrat

Among the more unusual insects to be found in the average home or workplace are the Firebrat and various kinds of silverfish, order Zygentoma, family Lepismatidae. They barely resemble insects, and are so primitive in their supposed evolutionary origin as to qualify minimally as part of the class Insecta.

Four-lined Silverfish, Kansas

Siverfish and firebrats were formerly classified in the order Thysanura, along with jumping bristletails, but due to the confusing nature of Thysanura (at one time it even included springtails), the order name reverted back to Zygentoma, as originally established by Börner in 1904.

Members of the order, and the family Lepismatidae, are easily recognized by their flattened, torpedo-shaped bodies, with long antennae, and three long filaments issuing from the tip of the abdomen. The long appendages often break, however, and specimens without the hallmark "tails" often confound the homeowner who finds one. The bodies of these insects are covered in short hairs and scales, which make them as slippery as a fish when a predator, or person, attempts to grab one.

There are nine genera (plural of "genus") with about fourteen species, in the family Lepismatidae in North America north of Mexico. Some domestic species are cosmopolitan in distribution, having been carried to the far corners of the globe in international commerce.

Among our common species are the Silverfish, Lepisma saccharina, Four-lined Silverfish, Ctenolepisma lineata, and the Firebrat, Thermobia domestica. Collectively, they range from 8-15 millimeters in body length. The rear-end (caudal) filaments and long antennae make them appear even larger.

Firebrat from Arizona

The Firebrat tends to prefer warm, dry situations, such as around furnaces and the insulation around water pipes; silverfish enjoy more humid surroundings.

Lepismatids are typically nocturnal, hiding in nooks and crannies by day. They can run nearly as rapidly as a cockroach when startled. They feed on all manner of carbohydrates, with a particular fondness for starchy materials. Among their favorite meals is the paste used in bookbinding. Consequently, they can be an occasional pest in libraries, warehouses, and storage facilities, especially those without climate control. Got wallpaper? Maybe not for long, as the paste adhering it to your interior is fair game. They also eat starch in clothing, particularly when on silk and rayon fabrics. Oatmeal, damp wheat flour, and cereals are also on the menu.

Silverfish and the Firebrat live a surprisingly long time: at least two years under laboratory conditions. They go through incomplete metamorphosis, the young stages resembling the adults but not being sexually mature. They molt a number of times to reach adulthood, but then they keep molting the rest of their lives. At least one specimen in the lab molted over forty times in a 2.5 year lifespan. Perhaps the molting replenishes the scales lost in the course of squeezing into crevices or slipping through a predator's jaws.

Because of their ancient lineage, lepismatids do not mate with internal fertilization. Instead, a male lays down a packet of sperm called a spermatophore when near a female. He then binds her loosely with strands of silk spun from glands in his mouthparts. Thus restrained, she has little choice but to pick up the spermatophore and insert it into her genital opening. I know, it sounds like a sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey. She eventually lays eggs singly or in small batches in cracks and crevices.

Four-lined Silverfish, Massachusetts

Thankfully, silverfish and the Firebrat are rarely abundant enough to be more than a novelty or a nuisance in the average dwelling, office, or other building. Should you feel compelled to control them, there are plenty of ".edu" websites that offer cultural, non-chemical, and chemical solutions. You might simply prefer to let predators like the house centipede do that job, though. What? That freaks you out even more?

Sources: Berenbaum, May R. 1989. Ninety-nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 263 pp.
Von Frisch, Karl. 1964. Ten Little Housemates. New York: The MacMillan Company. 146 pp.

Merchant Grain Beetle

Even entomologists are not immune to pest insects in their homes. We are just a little more fascinated than we are revolted. So, when I found a tiny beetle crawling on the bathroom counter of my Tucson apartment on October 20, 2010, I naturally wanted to know more about it. I thought I had a good idea of its identity, but I was wrong about the species.

Among the more common “stored product pests” found in the average household are silvanid bark beetles in the family Silvanidae. I know! What would a bark beetle be doing in the pantry? Well, while most species live under bark on trees, logs and stumps, other species are pests of stored grains. They are tiny, prolific, and hitchhiking on commerce to all corners of the globe.

The specimens in the images here are about three millimeters long. I thought they were the species Oryzaephilus surinamensis, the “Sawtooth Grain Beetle.” The common name comes from the tooth-like projections on the insect’s pronotum (top part of the thorax). It turns out there is a nearly identical species, the “Merchant Grain Beetle,” Oryzaephilus mercator, and if I am correct, that is what my specimens are. The Merchant Grain Beetle has slightly larger eyes than its counterpart, such that there is scarcely a “cheek” behind each eye. The Sawtooth Grain Beetle has much more prominent cheeks.

Adults and larvae of the Merchant Grain Beetle occur mostly in cereal grains like oatmeal, rolled oats, and bran, and also brown rice. Great, they get more fiber than I do. Oilseed products like nuts and shelled sunflower seeds are also prone to infestations. At optimal temperatures and humidity, these insects can go from egg to adult in three to four weeks.

Adult Merchant Grain Beetles can live a surprisingly long time. Their average lifespan is six to ten months, but they are known to live as long as three years. They are strong fliers, too, which allows them to wing their way to new food sources and locations instead of relying on human transport to exotic new locales (the Sawtooth Grain Beetle is flightless). Females of both species deposit between forty and 285 eggs in their lifetime.

I still don’t know where my beetles are coming from (I found a second one on December 20), and I’m kind of afraid to look. Thankfully, they don’t pose any outright threat to human health. I suppose you won’t want to come over for breakfast now, though….

Sources: A great resource for images of stored product pests in general is the website of the Stored Product Insect Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. The entomology departments of many universities produce very helpful online fact sheets about various insects through the Cooperative Extension Service. I found this one from Penn State in my research for this blog entry.