Can anyone help me identify tiny bigs coming from my sink drain? I was treating the drain with like 1T of bleach every day and they stopped, but after I stopped treating it they came right back.
They are NOT drain flies. These are like 1/10 the size of a drainfly. I'd say about 1/16" of an inch long and super short/thin. Easily mistaken for a fleck of facial hair or something until you realize its moving. They do not fly. They have antennae that are large in proportion to their body.
More importantly, how do I get rid of them?
What I have done:
Drano followed by a very hot water flush
Bleach treatment
They are coming from a sink and a tub drain in the same bathroom (furthest drain from the septic tank/house exit if that matters)
I tried to get a pic, but my phone can't focus on something that small. Best shot:
Did you also hot water and draino the "overflow" drains on the sink and tub?
Easy to hide in there.
The sink doesn't have an overflow.
The tub does, but you can't just pour water into it. I'm guessing I can remove the cap and get somewater in there somehow. Worth a shot.
Might seem like an odd question, but are your drain pipes at a proper angle all the way down to the main septic tie in so that there's no chance of standing water?
edit: Also, possible grease build up?
Remember that episode of the X Files when Mulder and Scully are out in the woods and find that fella cocooned and desiccated? Then they discover it's a bunch of little bugs doing it, but the bugs are repelled by light for some reason?
Yeah, don't turn the lights off.
Brett_Murphy (Forum Patrón) said:
Might seem like an odd question, but are your drain pipes at a proper angle all the way down to the main septic tie in so that there's no chance of standing water?
edit: Also, possible grease build up?
I don't know, they aren't exposed from the underside.
This is the first time it has happened in the 7 years I have lived here.
I supposed there is possible build up of something, that's why I ran some drano/hot water through the pipes a few times.
bigdaddylee82 said:
Remember that episode of the X Files when Mulder and Scully are out in the woods and find that fella cocooned and desiccated? Then they discover it's a bunch of little bugs doing it, but the bugs are repelled by light for some reason?
Yeah, don't turn the lights off.
I have only seen about 5 minutes of xfiles in my life, and it was the last 5 mins of this episode.
ProDarwin said:
I have only seen about 5 minutes of xfiles in my life, and it was the last 5 mins of this episode.
Coincidence? Or something else....?
They may be getting in from the vent pipe. There might be some debris in there that is attracting them.
jgrewe
Reader
7/10/20 8:54 a.m.
Roach nymph? I can barely see a shape in the picture but most roaches will stay within about 6' of a water source. Babies aren't as cautious as adults.
Gross story; I have a sewer snake that is powered by a pressure washer. Long flexible hose with a head that has 4 jets facing backwards, one jet forward. It will feed itself down a vent stack and into the main line. Once a year I run it down all the vents on my apartment buildings just to keep things clear.
I fed the hose into a vent by hand about 15 ft and hit the foot pedal that controls the water flow. A bunch of dead ficus leaves come blasting out of the vent. I'm thinking, "Cool, got those before they caused a problem. Wait, this is a two story building, how did they get there?" Then the leaves started running around on the roof. WTF? I had just blown about 100 palmetto bugs( American Roaches) out of the vent.
Roaches love sewers.
It is roach-shaped. But so small. There are small ones, and incredibly tiny ones, but the biggest ones I have seen are like the one in the photo.
I guess I'm calling bug control :(
Your picture is pretty bad, but it looks kind of like an insect we get in our house. They look like tiny roaches, but I'm not sure they are. I've never noticed them coming out of a drain. They just appear at different places in the house.
spitfirebill said:
Your picture is pretty bad,
This. If you can get a proper photomicrograph of the thing, we can get a positive ID. Calling in a professional might be, well, overkill.
It it pecker gnats? It might be pecker gnats.
I'll dig out my old SLR tonight and see if I can get a good photo. My phone will not focus on something that small.
I have never seen these anywhere in the house except around the 2 drains in this one bathroom.
I have these as well but only in the master bath. I thought they were some sort of small ant? Like tiny. I squish them with my thumb as I brush my teeth.
If they are roach nymphs, I'm burning this motherberkeleyer down.
I tried all of the lenses I have but this is the best I could do.
jgrewe
Reader
7/10/20 11:53 p.m.
Looks like a cute little baby roach to me.
I dunno. That thing is tiny, and already well-colored. Not sure how good the info here is,
https://pestcontrolhacks.com/baby-roaches/
but the size seems too diminutive for a baby roach.
Have we got an entomologist on staff here?
Speaking of tiny bugs that hang around wet areas, anyone know what little gray bugs are? They can jump once but not far and then you can easily squash them. Usually 1/16" long or less.
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
I am (or was) an entomologist, but I need to get that puppy under a dissecting scope.
im pretty sure that is what we have been having in our house.
My dad is a retired entomologist. I sent him your pic. Waiting for reply.
jgrewe
Reader
7/11/20 11:10 a.m.
1988RedT2 said:
I dunno. That thing is tiny, and already well-colored. Not sure how good the info here is,
https://pestcontrolhacks.com/baby-roaches/
but the size seems too diminutive for a baby roach.
Have we got an entomologist on staff here?
Its hard to tell the scale but that picture with the sticky trap show some small ones that look like the livestock ProDarwin has.
