Steerpike

Oh no. I now have TWO different types of bugs ... . I arrived yesterday after being away for a month, and found about 40 dead specimins (I sprayed before I left with some form of 'Raid' product). Compared to the earlier guys I posted, these guys are bigger (3/16ths inch), move faster, and have wings (but don't seem to fly that often). Photos below. I've seen these guys outside, by the entry lamp at night, but not sure how they are getting inside with such ease. I found three live ones today. I really cannot figure out where they come from - I'm hanging out around the house all day, doing this and that, and suddenly I see one smack in the middle of the floor! The floor is light beige (travertine tile), the walls and ceiling are even lighter in color - so no hiding places other than a few small area rugs, one of which is white/beige in color also! First two shots are of live specimens, so legs are 'accurate'. The last 2 shots are of dead guys, so legs are no longer accurate but body can be seen better. Note the slight red trim ... perhaps a racing model ...

Steerpike

I have emailed him Thanks!

becks_r

I think they are Boxelder bugs, or something similar - they don't live in houses but they come inside a lot in Autumn and spring. They don't do any damage, just annoying

Steerpike

Well I do think you nailed that one - Box Elder Bugs Facts, Information, & Control

https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/boxelder.htm

Interestingly, it's 100+F here, and with no sign of letup so why they would be looking for shelter is not clear. However, I will read on.

So I think I want to re-focus on the original bugs posted

becks_r

carpet beetles will certainly do more damage

uk_grenada

It doesn't matter what the bugs are, I know what the cure is. There's a chemical called demand CS which is extremely effective against just about anything that moves including spiders, termites and Pharoh ants. I didnt say cheap. Just spray it for about 2 m around the periphery of your property every three months and nothing will survive apart from your lizards which will actually continue to thrive and eat mosquitoes. Works here in the tropics.

becks_r

So I think me adding to this thread was tempting fate!! Last night I grabbed the big, supposedly air tight, canister with rice in it and tipped some in a saucepan of water. After I put the canister away, I walked back to the pan to see little black things wiggling on the surface of the water

I still don't know what they were, I looked it up and they didn't look like weevils - more ant shaped. Anyway, the rice in the canister went straight to the bin outside. As for the amount in the pan - well stupidly I threw it down the sink, it clogged the disposal, and water started oozing out of the cupboard under the sink.

It turned out the pipe from the disposal to the U-bend had been badly installed. So I had ricey water seeping into the cupboard, then onto the floor, a sink backed up with black things wiggling at me and it was now nearly 10 pm and I was starving!!!

Anyway, we cleared the clog - tipping everything in a bucket that ended up on the deck overnight. Then we went down the pub

This morning - we are both really busy and we still have to take everything out of our fridge / freezer and move it so a new one can be installed this afternoon. So the repair will have to wait.

As for the pantry - I think we will be eating out the rest of the week

robin1234

We get box elder bugs, as you'd expect as the box elder is the common "trash tree" around here. Cutting down box elders with her chainsaw is my wife's favourite yard activity. They make decent firewood. However, I don't think you have box elder trees in AZ, do you?

robin1234

Oh dear that's a very bad story (entertainingly told, though!)

I'll bet the critters or the eggs from which they hatched were in the rice when you bought it. If that's the case, it may be that all your other dry food (beans, flour etc) is safe.

becks_r

Hopefully you are right because I was convinced the container was completely air tight. I am gradually buying good quality containers for all my dry goods, so in the future I will know that an infestation in one thing won't cause a problem with something else. But now that I have read up on it, it seems eggs from these things are in a lot of dry goods. So much for bulk buying

And thanks for saying it was entertainingly told - I have to admit that if I had written about this last night it would have been in a very different tone! But after a few glasses of wine down the pub I was laughing about it with my OH and even the prospect of more unexpected work in this new house didn't upset us

Now if I could only work out how to stop the wood cockroaches (or are they woodroaches?) from leaving the garden and coming into our house. They at least aren't in any food yet! But they do make me feel very itchy and grossed out

robin1234

At our local food coop, while my wife is selecting veggies etc., I entertain myself by visually inspecting all the PLU bins (flour, oats, lentils, etc.) for weevils and larvae. In flour, you can sometimes spot infestations by the webs the larva form. If it's eggs, of course you cannot see them till later. Never seen any at our coop, so good for them.

Steerpike

Pretty sure we don't have Box Elders here in the valley (can't speak for northern AZ which is a whole different climate). Here, we have things like Palo Verde, Mesquite, etc - whispy things. But the bugs have obviously adapted!

Yikes! I've had that pleasure in the past. I check dried foods regularly now.

becks_r

Well I will certainly check from now on and I think the new fridge / freezer will be used for any new stuff coming into the house - at least for the first few days!

Leslie

Back in the days of the wild west, it wasn't unheard of to intentionally sabotage your competitor's grain stores with weevils.

Lord PercyPercy

The pantry beetles was my first thought. Just had some down here eating their way through cereal and oats. Apparently they often get into your house through the food, via the factory. Who knows how many bugs we're eating without knowing it.