Tiny Bugs In Basement
Tiny bugs in basement. Many homeowners overlook getting rid of bugs in their basement and other less critical rooms for pest control.
There are many places like the basement, attic, and garage that commonly experience infestations from roaches, fleas, mice, and rodents.
In this guide, we’ll bust a few common myths about what you can do to prevent bugs like that from invading your home or business.
We’ll be showing you how you can get rid of these nasty nuisances right away through methods including how to safely kill them with homemade traps and use chemical treatments that are safe for the environment!
Our goal is to provide information on keeping your kitchen free of pests and all areas of your home.
Tiny Bugs In Basement
Small insects such as earwigs, pill bugs, stinkbugs , brown mites and centipedes make their way down to the basement.
These are moisture – and darkness-seeking creatures that seek shelter in tight spaces, gaps, and cracks.
Mold mites also find their way into basements but unlike the other bugs mentioned above, these creatures are parasites of fungi instead of plants and animals.
1. Drain Flies
The drain flies are tiny black flying bugs that congregate together in a swarm. Typically, this type of bug is found in basements but can be found elsewhere.
These bugs initially start by hatching from eggs laid by adult drain flies but grow at an alarming rate. Houseflies and mosquitoes can also reproduce at a similar rate.
Yet, you won’t notice it quite as much because they aren’t located where you live unless you have another fly problem to deal with or if they follow one of those insects above down into your cellar area.
Although these other insects may not be considered pesky problems compared to drain flies, their presence will smell bad whenever they lay eggs anywhere near the house.
Drain flies and their cousins aren’t dangerous except for their tendency to annoy residents at home through the persistent buzzing and feasting on food intended for consumption.
2. Sow Bugs
Sowbugs love to live under the damp leaves in a garden or yard and will gravitate toward your basement exactly where you’ve got a garden or yard on your property.
These aren’t just any bugs that you might find throughout the year. Sowbugs are nocturnal, which means they’ll hide throughout those lovely gaps and cracks near the damp places of your basement at night when everything is quiet.
In the basement, sowbugs will eat moulds and other dead insects to survive, but when the humidity levels get lower, these little guys die off because, for whatever reason, this is their comfort zone, and as soon as it reduces, they cease to exist.
Sowbugs can also cause extreme damage to any shelving in your basement if they manage to get there while they’re still alive, so be sure to seal them off quickly before you have an infestation on your hands.
3. Ground Beetles
Ground beetles are tiny black bugs that you will often find during the summer months. Some are brown, and they enter basements through cracks and gaps found on the home’s foundation.
With a maximum length of ⅛ to an inch, they hide under piles of wood, in outdoor leaf litter, and even underneath stones.
During the hot, dry summer months and the subsequent lack of dampness in your backyard or front yard garden, ground beetles will begin looking for a new habitat in your home’s basement to survive in.
Once inside your basement, they can often be found beneath small pieces of the clutter piled up inside corners or underneath various boxes throughout the area.
4. Silverfish
Silverfish are known for their love of dampness. They constantly look for dark, poorly ventilated areas in your home to hide out and nest.
So they live most often in basements, crawl spaces, closets, bathrooms and laundry rooms.
It appears as though they have a carapace (like an exoskeleton) and wings that resemble bristles. The antennae on the head of a silverfish bug also mimic this appearance where it protrudes from its body like long bristles sticking out.
There’s a reason why silverfish are called bugs because their bodies are covered with scales that give them their silver or greyish hue common to all insects.
Silverfish will devour paper goods and other organic materials such as cardboard boxes and pieces of clothing.
They feed on carbohydrates predominantly found in these types of products ready-made from our homes within our households.
5. Black Ants
Black carpenter ants are one of the most commonly encountered subfamilies, and they can easily blend in with soil and mulch by their colour.
Black carpenter ants also tend to be very small in size, so they are often seen after they have burrowed into your home.
The nest of black carpenter ants will typically be located in a moist or damp location and may communicate with other nests through tunnels called galleries that can be up to 200 feet or more!
Treating an infestation of this ant can sometimes require assistance from a professional pest control company to ensure the problem is taken care of properly.
6. Crickets
Crickets are tiny minor black bugs with big jumpy legs. They have a particular fondness for damp and moist areas and dark and cluttered ones.
Ideal places to set up shop in your basement, indeed! Since they so enjoy dark spots that aren’t found above ground (you may catch them scurrying around your carpet), crickets like to feast upon a range of other things you might find lying about the basement.
Such as dead insects which they can chew through, pieces of clothing and paper if there happen to be any lying around from past moves or the like, or even fast food containers that may have been discarded thoughtlessly once their contents had been devoured.
It shouldn’t surprise then that this variety of food comes together at times to lay the foundation for breeding crickets in the weather-proof basement.
Indeed, once this creepy crawlies get going in your home, it can almost seem like their mileage is unlimited.
7. Oriental Cockroaches
Oriental cockroaches love damp and moist places and will make the most of any opportunity to feed on wet waste.
They are often found in water leakages, drains, and near pipes in the basement.
Their bodies create a strong odour that can be pretty disgusting, and you might even find that they carry these odours with them.
The squishy feeling they leave behind when they’re crushed also leaves another annoyance – an unpleasant scent that lingers for days!
Because Oriental roaches prefer to live close to water or areas where liquid accumulates, you’ll find them feeding not only on organic garbage such as food crumbs or dead insect parts but also on the moisture collected inside sump pits or drain gratings.
Ways of getting rid of Bugs from Basement
- To control basement moisture, fix water leaks in the basement.
- Remove the clutter from the basement.
- Lay traps in the basement to lure bugs out.
- Gaps and cracks on basement walls and floors should be sealed.
- Control the humidity levels in the basement by installing a dehumidifier.
- Basement corners should be stuffed with cedar balls to deter bugs.
- To prevent bugs from entering the basement, install weatherstripping wherever possible.
Conclusion
There are seven tiny black bugs in most basements – and you’ll probably have them too if you live in a temperate climate. This guide explained why they sneak into the basement and then provided you with an extensive plan of action to keep these pests at bay. It all comes down to ensuring no dampness lingering around; basement bugs will leave you alone without water.
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