11 Awful Tiny Black Bugs That Look Like Poppy Seeds

I always believed that tiny black bugs that look like poppy seeds are harmless garden insects like moss mites, flea beetles, and aphids.

But I was so wrong.

There are many household pests such as bed bugs and ticks that can appear as poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

I found it out the hard way. But you shouldn’t.

In this guide, I’ll give you a consolidated list of 11 small black bugs resembling poppy seeds.

I dug deep and did my research on which ones are harmless and which ones pose a serious threat.

So, if you don’t want to dismiss potential pests as poppy seeds, and risk an infestation, then this guide is a lifesaver for you.

Keep reading to find out.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are oval-shaped parasitic bugs that feed on human blood. Before feeding, bed bugs are reddish-brown.

After they have their bloodmeals, bed bugs become a bit bloated and turn blackish red, looking like poppy seeds.

Bed bugs get inside homes through hitchhiking.

And they will hide during the day in or near your bed waiting for a host to get their bloodmeals.

Bed bugs are nocturnal. So, they come out at night to feed on your blood while you’re asleep.

Bed bug bites are intensely itchy. And their bites leave behind itchy red welts.

Bed bug infestation can be difficult to spot when their numbers are low.

But failing to eliminate the infestation at the early stages causes the infestation to spike up.

These bugs breed after feeding on human blood. And a single female bed bug can lay hundreds of eggs in her lifetime.

That leads to the infestation spike up.

You’ll need to hire a pest control professional to get rid of bed bugs in your home.

However, DIY ways to get rid of bed bugs might work if you’ve caught the infestation early.

Engorged Ticks

Engorged ticks are ticks that have had their blood meals. They turn brownish-black after the blood meals.

After consuming blood, ticks bloat, and they start to look like poppy seeds.

So, if you’re noticing them in your home, it should be a cause of worry. 

Your pets can be the major carrier of ticks.

They get them from other pets or if they walk through tall grasses in shady and damp locations which are the primary hiding places for ticks.

Ticks carry pathogens that can cause diseases like Lyme disease. 

When ticks are not on a furry animal, then they can bite humans to feed on the human blood.

So, if a tick ever bites you, it’s always best to see a doctor asap.

Also, sightings of ticks in your home should also make you to take your pet to a vet for possible tick infection.

Moss Mites

Moss mites, also known as oribatid mites, armored mites, moss beetles, or beetle mites, are tiny black mites in your garden or yard. 

They are tiny, circular, grow only 1 mm in size, and look like poppy seeds on plants.

But unlike the previous poppy seeds look-alikes, moss mites are beneficial bugs.

They play a valuable role in decomposing organic matter, soil formation, and making the soil rich in nutrients.

Moss mites have rigid, shiny black bodies to protect themselves from predators like centipedes and ants.

The most common places where you’ll notice moss mites are in the shaded areas of your garden. 

They’ll flock underneath the plants’ leaves and are noticeable on the soil and compost piles.

Unlike spider mites, moss mites don’t target fresh and healthy leaves. Instead, they go for the dying leaves.

The best part is that most mites are harmless bugs. 

They don’t damage plants, and neither they bring any risk to you or your pets.

Moss mites could latch onto your dog’s body if your dog were playing on a surface with moss mites. 

These moss mites are tiny black bugs on dogs that look like poppy seeds.

Unlike fleas, moss mites will not go deep inside your pet’s fur to reach its skin. 

Fleas do that to put their mouthparts inside your pet’s skin to draw their blood.

Moss mites will be on the upper layer of your pet’s fur, making it easy to spot them. 

You can effortlessly remove the moss mites from your dog’s fur with a comb or pincher.

Unlike fleas, moss mites won’t bite your dog or drink your dog’s blood.  

Many people confuse moss mites with flea beetles. 

Flea Beetles

Flea beetles are oval and have shiny black bodies.

Their size varies between 1/16 and 1/8 inches and because of their shiny bodies and oval shape, they look like poppy seeds.

Flea beetles are plant pests that feed on the plant leaves and stems. They’re more prone to infest vegetable gardens than ornamental plants.

The flea beetle larvae are also a damaging plant pests. The larvae feed on the plant leaves and their feeding process can create tiny holes on the leaves.

Thick vegetation with flea beetles along your home’s perimeter makes it easy for them to jump and get inside your home through the open windows.

Black Aphids

Most aphids are tiny white dust-like bugs. But there are some species of black aphids on plants that look like poppy seeds.

They’re black citrus aphids and black peach aphids.

Both these aphids overwinter during the winter season. With the arrival of spring, both black citrus aphids and black peach aphids become active. 

As their name suggests, black citrus aphids and black peach aphids infest citrus and peach plants, respectively.

Black aphids are oval and grow up to 1/20″ in size. So, they look like tiny black poppy seeds on the plant leaves.

Black peach aphids feed on tender plant tissue of young plants because easier for them to suck out the sap from them.

Black aphids produce honeydew which can turn into turn into sooty black molds on the plants.

The honeydew and aphids are food sources of ants. So, their presence also attracts ants.

Black aphids can draw the red fire ants to your plants, which can cause more damage to your plants.

Therefore, on noticing these black aphids, it’s always best to get rid of them. 

Soapy water is the easiest solution to get rid of aphids of all types. 

Use 2-3 tbsp of dawn dish soap or any dish soap, and mix it with a gallon of water. 

Stir the mixture well and pour it into a spray bottle.

Then spray the mixture on these black aphids. Soapy water will kill the aphids. 

However, you’ll have to repeat the process a few times because aphids can return.

Continue using the dish soap on the plants for a few days till there’s no reappearance of aphids.

You can also use soapy insecticide sprays if there’s a severe black aphids infestation in your garden.

Black Carpet Beetles

Black carpet beetles are one of the tiny black beetles that invade homes.

The adult black carpet beetles size varies between 1/8 and 3/16 inches. Their hard shell-like black bodies, oval shape, and size make them look like poppy seeds.

Carpet beetles sneak inside homes during the spring and summer months.

These beetles invade homes to lay their eggs on natural fibers like wool, silk, fur, feather, and leather so that their larvae can feed on them.

Black carpet beetles will target woolen carpets and silk carpets, and rugs to lay their eggs. 

They can also target synthetic fabrics blended with natural fibers.

The carpet beetle larvae feed on these natural fibers. The larvae look like a tiny hairy black worm on the carpets and clothes that they infest.

The hairy bristles on the larvae can cause itchy welts and intense skin irritation if they make contact with your skin.

Carpet beetles can fly inside homes through open doors and windows during the peak season. 

The light from your home can also attract these beetles. 

So, during the spring months, you’ll notice the black carpet beetles crawling on the window sills, trying to make their way inside your home.

Carpet beetles invade pantries too. They’ll target your stored food in the kitchen pantry to lay their eggs.

They’ll specifically target protein-rich food like nuts and cereals. But carpet beetles can also lay their eggs on foodstuffs like flour and grains.

The carpet beetle larvae that will hatch out from the eggs will feed on these stored foods.

If there are too many of them, they can also sneak inside your bedroom looking for natural fabrics.

That’s one of the reasons for sightings of carpet beetle larva in bed.

Steam cleaning carpets, rugs, and other soft furnishings like leather couches is a reliable way to eliminate the damaging carpet beetle larvae.

Using an insecticide spray like Raid also eliminates the carpet beetle larvae and adult carpet beetles.

However, it’s always best to thoroughly clean your home, kitchen, and closet to eliminate carpet beetles and their larvae.

Drugstore Beetles

Drugstore beetles are pantry bugs that look like brown poppy seeds.

Drugstore beetles feed on the stored food in your kitchen pantry. They target grains, cereals, pasta, and baked foods.

They invade your kitchen pantry by either being present in the food packets that you buy or by flying inside your home from the outdoors during the spring and summer.

Drugstore are oval-shaped and dark brown with their heads hooked inwards.

So, when you look at them from the above, they resemble poppy seeds.

Cleaning the kitchen and disposing infested foods are the best ways to get rid of drugstore beetles.

However, drugstore beetles are not poisonous and they don’t bite humans.

They also don’t spread any pathogens to the stored food.

American Spider Beetles

Another pantry pest or beetle that look like black poppy seeds is the spider beetles.

But spider beetles are not black. They are dark reddish brown that makes them appear as black poppy seeds at a first glance.

Spider beetles resemble tiny spiders with their hunched abdomen and long visible legs.

But unlike spiders, these beetles don’t feed on insects.

Spider beetles will target the stored foods, especially grains and flour.

They also eat human hair, dead insects, and rodent droppings inside the house.

Spider beetles can bite humans if they come in contact with your skin. But their bites are harmless and feel like a pinch.

The bite is an interrogatory bite to find out if you’re it’s food. So, they bite only once.

Spider beetles are not poisonous and they don’t bring any disease risks despite being present in your stored food.

However, their increase in numbers in the stored food can make the food stale.

Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are tiny black flies with an erratic flight pattern.

These flies look like black poppy seeds but some may confuse them with biting midges or mosquitoes.

In the outdoors fungus gnats breed in the damp soil layers or in decomposing organic matter.

However, these bugs can also lay their eggs in the soil beds of indoor house plants and in the choked drains of kitchen and bathroom.

Fungus gnats are nuisance bugs. They don’t bite humans.

But these bugs can create a lot of discomfort for you by entering dishwashers, coffee makers, and even inside refrigerator.

Fungus gnats are attracted to light. So, if there’s an infestation in the outdoors, these flies can sneak inside the house through the open doors and windows.

You may also notice them gathering on the window sills trying to make their way inside the house.

But the best part is that getting rid of them is easy.

Scatter diatomaceous earth in the decaying organic matter or in the soil beds where they lay eggs.

Another way to eliminate them is by spraying soapy water or scattering epsom salt in their nesting places.

Keeping sticky traps, preferably yellow traps, near house plants and near appliances and water taps helps a lot in eliminating these bugs from your indoors.

Black Oriental Cockroaches Babies

Black oriental cockroach babies have shiny black bodies ant they’re 1/8 inches in size.

That makes them appear like poppy seeds.

The baby oriental cockroaches are a sign of a thriving cockroach infestation in your house.

And they’re visible in places like kitchen and bathroom where the water usage is the highest.

Adult oriental roaches can lay eggs and build their nests underneath sinks and even inside the choked drains of sinks.

Black Vine Weevils

Another species of tiny black bugs that I confused with poppy seeds was the black vine weevils.

These weevils are absolutely harmless to pets and humans, but they’re harmful plant pests.

These weevils feed on the plant’s roots, causing the plants to die if there’s an infestation.

Black vine weevils look like your ordinary rice weevils. These weevils, growing only up to 5/8 inches, are black or dull gray with whitish specks on their bodies.

They also have a snout that they use to pierce the roots to suck out the sap.

Black vine weevils have a pair of developed wings. But they can’t fly.

The best part is that it’s easy to get rid of black vine weevils.

Scattering diatomaceous earth or spraying plant-safe insecticides on them gets rid of them.

Feces Of Bugs That Look Like Poppy Seeds

It’s not only specific bugs that look like poppy seeds, but also the feces of some bugs resemble poppy seeds.

Sightings of bugs’ droppings are a clear indication of their presence in your home. 

There are two invasive and damaging pests whose droppings look like poppy seeds – drywood termites and roaches.

Drywood termites discard their feces through the exit holes they create on the infested wood.

Sightings of their fecal pellets, also known as termite frass, clearly indicate drywood termite infestation in your home.

Drywood termite droppings will look like tiny poppy seeds lying over the floor under the infested wooden structure. 

But termite droppings don’t look clean like sawdust. 

If you see sawdust in your home, there’s a wood-boring beetle infestation in your home. 

Cockroach droppings are mostly in the form of smear marks, especially when they’re of roaches like American and oriental roaches.

It’s because these roaches feed on damp wastes and garbage.

However, German roaches can have dry poop resembling tan poppy seeds.

Their fecal deposits are dry because they don’t live and feed on damp wastes.

Dry cockroach poop looks like poppy seeds, but they’re not typically black. They’re brownish.

Sightings of cockroach droppings are common in places where they’ve built their nests or near their nesting places.

Cockroach droppings in your home signify their presence. 

If you’re seeing cockroach droppings but no cockroaches, you must inspect your home for roaches. 

The kitchen, bathroom, basement, garage, and attic are where roaches hide. 

The plumbing area underneath sinks and the tight places below appliances are also common hiding places for roaches.

Summary Of Poppy Seeds-Like Bugs

Bugs that resemble poppy seeds can be easy to miss because of their tiny size and dark colors.

However, not all these poppy seed-like bugs are black. Some of them, such as drugstore beetles and bed bugs, are dark reddish brown that appear as black.

Dismissing these pests as poppy seeds can be a big mistake.

Many of these bugs are potential home-invading pests that, if not controlled, will demand a pest controller to get rid of them.

So, have you noticed any other bug that look like poppy seeds?

Leave a comment below and let us know.