Small Flying Insects. Congregating. Everywhere.

[thedude110]

So, the woman and I are in the process of moving out of our apartment. And it's hot. So we had the windows open, right? We have screens in the windows, bugs have never come into the apartment in a significantly problematic way.

So I'm happily packing, I look up at the ceiling in our living room, and I see a bunch of insects. Then I look around -- at the rest of the ceiling and the wall by the window -- and I realize that these things are everywhere. Everywhere. I look at the window, and sure enough, the insects are small enough that they're coming through the screen in droves.

Long story short -- our living and our bedroom were overrun with nuisances so small you could more easily identify them by their shadows than their bodies. I started whacking them with a catalog, but that only did so much good. I got the vacuum, but it didn't make a significant dent in the population.

So we decided to go to Wal-Mart (I know, I know -- I hate Wal-Mart too. But when it's midnight and you're overrun with winged insects and it's the only store open ...) to buy a bug zapper. But Wal-Mart, which is a mile long and sells everything from watermelons to carpets, doesn't sell bug zappers. So we bought a bottle of aersol insecticide and a broom. We got home, moved all of our furniture out of the bedroom and sprayed the room with Bugout (product review tomorrow!).

This left the problem of "where the hell are we going to sleep." So, I used the broom we bought to stab the hell out of the insects on the walls and ceiling of our living room. And it worked like, really well. I was able to take out entire swarms with a few, swift, upward stabs of the broom.

So now our mattress is on our living room floor (surrounded by boxes) and most of our insects are dead.

Moral of the story: Either A.) Brooms are sharper than you think or B.) This is a convenient way for me to complain about moving. This is the seventh time I've moved in ten years, and I think I'm about done with it.

Two pics for evidence -- first, a remaining swarm of insects (the original swarms must have been ten times this big -- no big white gaps like in this pic) that I'm about to attack with my broom:



And the tip of my broom (you can see the corner of our mattress on our ... ahem ... pristine, dog never peed upon living room rug, too):

 

[CompUser]

Wow, that is really, really, disgusting.

I was out cleaning the cars for 6 hours today and I only got 2 mosquito bites and there were very few gnats. I did find a bug on one of our cars, it was about 2" long, 1/4" wide, and it had antennas that were like 2" long. I whacked it off the windshield with the blunt end of a windex bottle.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Yecch.

The $64 dollar question is...where did you suddenly get a swarm of bugs that are small enough to get through a screen window? The only standard bugs I can think of that might be that small are fruit flies.

Have you checked outside your window for a box of old bananas?

 

[thedude110]

It's a good question!

The apartment we're moving out of is basically "in the woods," and these little buggers are everywhere when we walk our dog, too.

They're drawn to light -- it's one of the few ways we were able to keep them contained.

Done some poking around on the web and think they were some type of gnat -- so the Bugman would suggest, anway.

8/4/02 What is the tiny fly type bug that comes in through the window screens and hangs out on the window glass or ceiling. They almost look like a small fruit fly but they are not. They hang out in the grass as if you water your lawn or walk through it they disperse. Just tons coming in the garage screen door. I've been swatting them for almost a week now. Live in NY state and it has been dry and hot. Thanks

Dear R.
Any number of gnats are small enough to enter through the openings of window screens. The Black Gnat (family Sciaridae) is tiny, about 1/16 inch, and often flits in one's face while watching television or gets caught in fresh paint, or causes despair when they appear in bowls of breakfast cereal. The larva live in decaying plant material, often being numerous around compost piles, and they are also known to infest the roots and stems of various herbaceous plants. Since you haven't complained of itchy bites, you can be thankful that you aren't being plagued by nasty no-see-ums, so count yourself lucky that you just get benign gnats.

Edit:

Put my light on five minutes ago, and you can see they've already penetrated the screen. Not dumb enough to open my window this time, though.

 

[SamIchi]

Eh that's nasty, I ate bugs. I can't stand them.

One time there were a bunch of fliying insects, on the side of my house. It was covered. I think they were termites or sumthin' I dunno, but we used some bug spray and they would fall dead instantly. Hundreds of dead bugs on the side of my house. One time they got in my house I don't know how. It was wierd, did the same thing and sprayed every last one dead.

 

[Ashley989xoxo]

So, the woman and I are in the process of moving out of our apartment. And it's hot. So we had the windows open, right? We have screens in the windows, bugs have never come into the apartment in a significantly problematic way.

So I'm happily packing, I look up at the ceiling in our living room, and I see a bunch of insects. Then I look around -- at the rest of the ceiling and the wall by the window -- and I realize that these things are everywhere. Everywhere. I look at the window, and sure enough, the insects are small enough that they're coming through the screen in droves.

Long story short -- our living and our bedroom were overrun with nuisances so small you could more easily identify them by their shadows than their bodies. I started whacking them with a catalog, but that only did so much good. I got the vacuum, but it didn't make a significant dent in the population.

So we decided to go to Wal-Mart (I know, I know -- I hate Wal-Mart too. But when it's midnight and you're overrun with winged insects and it's the only store open ...) to buy a bug zapper. But Wal-Mart, which is a mile long and sells everything from watermelons to carpets, doesn't sell bug zappers. So we bought a bottle of aersol insecticide and a broom. We got home, moved all of our furniture out of the bedroom and sprayed the room with Bugout (product review tomorrow!).

This left the problem of "where the hell are we going to sleep." So, I used the broom we bought to stab the hell out of the insects on the walls and ceiling of our living room. And it worked like, really well. I was able to take out entire swarms with a few, swift, upward stabs of the broom.

So now our mattress is on our living room floor (surrounded by boxes) and most of our insects are dead.

Moral of the story: Either A.) Brooms are sharper than you think or B.) This is a convenient way for me to complain about moving. This is the seventh time I've moved in ten years, and I think I'm about done with it.

Two pics for evidence -- first, a remaining swarm of insects (the original swarms must have been ten times this big -- no big white gaps like in this pic) that I'm about to attack with my broom:

View attachment 48780

And the tip of my broom (you can see the corner of our mattress on our ... ahem ... pristine, dog never peed upon living room rug, too):

View attachment 48779

[doublepost=1507520543][/doublepost]Sorry, I'm new to this. Not sure if I just posted a blank response or not. But, I just wanted to tell you thank you for posting this. I know it's been over 10 years lol. But STILL VERY helpful. We just discovered these little suckers in the kids room when we're already running 30 mins late for bed

We did our best with a notebook, wet washcloth & lots of man power ( all 4 of us). Hundreds above their light and even 40-50 over in the corner opposite of the light. I knew they were smaller than fruit flies but still pulled the kiddos bed out to make sure no food, just in case. That was fun! Lol. (Not!)

Glad to know it's just a nuisance & nothing that has breed in their room or became an infestation. Still lysol in the walls tomorrow & hoping it gets cool enough to shut the windows ASAP.

Thanks again for taking the time to post. Definitely eased my mind.

 

[Huntn]

[doublepost=1507520543][/doublepost]
Sorry, I'm new to this. Not sure if I just posted a blank response or not. But, I just wanted to tell you thank you for posting this. I know it's been over 10 years lol. But STILL VERY helpful. We just discovered these little suckers in the kids room when we're already running 30 mins late for bed

We did our best with a notebook, wet washcloth & lots of man power ( all 4 of us). Hundreds above their light and even 40-50 over in the corner opposite of the light. I knew they were smaller than fruit flies but still pulled the kiddos bed out to make sure no food, just in case. That was fun! Lol. (Not!)

Glad to know it's just a nuisance & nothing that has breed in their room or became an infestation. Still lysol in the walls tomorrow & hoping it gets cool enough to shut the windows ASAP.

Thanks again for taking the time to post. Definitely eased my mind.

Any idea what they are/were?

 

[Arran]

One time there were a bunch of fliying insects, on the side of my house. It was covered. I think they were termites or sumthin' I dunno...

I remember looking out the window into my backyard a few years ago. The ground was 'smoking'. (yeah, exactly.)

Went outside to find bazillions of tiny winged insects emerging from a hole in the ground. Either flying ants or termites.

 

[0388631]

Yep, see them during the summer. Usually warm and humid nights.


This is how we lost Renz. He had some hive outside his window. Went to investigate. Poof! Nowhere to be seen again.

 

[chown33]

I remember looking out the window into my backyard a few years ago. The ground was 'smoking'. (yeah, exactly.)

Went outside to find bazillions of tiny winged insects emerging from a hole in the ground. Either flying ants or termites.

Or worse: termantnators. Leaving their underground birthplace to reach their network in the sky.

And I don't mean scuzzy termantnators, either, though I can understand how they might be a bit creepy.

 

[LizKat]

Yep, see them during the summer. Usually warm and humid nights.


This is how we lost Renz. He had some hive outside his window. Went to investigate. Poof! Nowhere to be seen again.

Still with that version of how it went down, eh? Rural legend #47839b.2? Can't even get @jkcerda to refute it for us from memory at the moment, not that he would dare. Things are getting tough around here.

On topic: yeah the bugs are usually gnats. I have one cat who likes to enlarge a few holes in windowscreens to just to be helpful... $#&^&S !!

 

[0388631]

Still with that version of how it went down, eh? Rural legend #47839b.2? Can't even get @jkcerda to refute it for us from memory at the moment, not that he would dare. Things are getting tough around here.

On topic: yeah the bugs are usually gnats. I have one cat who likes to enlarge a few holes in windowscreens to just to be helpful... $#&^&S !!

I think you can get metal screens these days.

Gnats are the bane of any human being. They usually crop up during humid weather, not necessarily dry hot weather. I've rarely seen them in Arizona, but they're a dime a dozen in the south in the summer. Setting up a fruit trap helps a lot.