Moisture in the house makes your home a magnet for many small insects and flies.
These bugs, which are known as damp bugs or moisture bugs, primarily feed on the molds and mildew that form on the moist surfaces.
But many of these bugs multiply fast and can cause a full-blown infestation in the home.
In this guide, you’ll find 15 tiny moisture bugs that sneak inside homes chasing moisture and humidity.
You’ll find out how they enter homes, what they look like, where they hide, and how to get rid of them.
Keep reading.
Booklice – Little Damp Bugs
Booklice, also known as psocids, are tiny white or light tan bugs that sneak inside homes looking for dampness or moisture.
They enter homes from the outdoors through the small holes and cracks on the windowsills, doors, and walls.
These insects hide in wet decaying organic matter such as leaf litter and rotting mulch beds outdoors.
They’re also known as bark lice because they hide underneath tree barks too.
When the weather becomes too hot or dry, they move inside homes looking for moisture sources.
Booklice are tender oval-shaped bugs growing up to 0.08 inches (2 mm) in size.
Booklice don’t bite despite having the term lice in their name. They’re harmless to humans and pets.
But they bring some serious damage risks.
Booklice are common book bugs that feed on the molds that form on books, cardboard boxes, and other paper products.
On top of that, they can also sneak inside grain storage containers in your kitchen pantry to feed on the molds that form on the grains.
Grains such as rice, corn, and cereals are vulnerable to booklice infestation.
Booklice in the house will look for the damp areas with molds to feed. So, you’ll notice them on the damp walls, floor, and furniture.
Booklice tend to hide in the wet areas of the house. So, kitchen, bathroom, basement, and laundry room are their common hiding places.
But these bugs multiply fast under room temperature and high humidity.
So, if you don’t get rid of them, then they can spread in the rest of areas of your home, such as bedroom, which are dry.
Termites – Destructive Tiny Moisture Bugs
Moisture attracts two species of termites to homes – subterranean termites and dampwood termites.
These wood eating insects prefer damp wooden pieces to feed.
And when they do so, they can spread to other wood pieces that are not wet or moist.
Subterranean termites can enter homes in two ways.
The first way is my attacking the home from the underground. They create mud tubes on the walls and furniture.
These mud tubes generally begin from the ground.
And no homes, including mobile homes, are safe from termite invasion if there are termite colonies underneath the home’s foundation soil.
The second way is by flying inside the house as swarms.
The winged termites, which are also known as alates, are reproductive termites that leave their old colonies in search of a new one.
Termite swarms occur after rains or during the spring season. They enter homes through the open windows and find their new nesting sites and food sources.
Subterranean termites are the most damaging termites in the US.
Their close cousins, the Formosan termites, which are bigger and more destructive, are also present in the US, especially in Florida. But they’re not as widespread as the subterranean termites.
Dampwood termites don’t invade homes much. They limit themselves to decaying wooden pieces in your yard.
So, rotting firewood blocks or dead tree stumps in the yard are their primary feeding and nesting sites.
But you can accidentally bring dampwood termites inside if you bring infested firewood or any other wooden piece indoors.
Termite infestation is a serious issue which you shouldn’t take lightly.
Any signs of termites in walls or windowsills can indicate a termite infestation in the house that can compromise the structural integrity of the house.
Your best option is to hire a termite exterminator for treatment.
Depending on the severity of the termite infestation the exterminator can recommend heat treatment or a mix of both heat and pesticides treatment.
Termites don’t limit themselves to wood. They primarily rely on cellulose and moisture for survival.
So, they can also destroy walls, books, and fabric.
Silverfish – Scaly Moisture Bugs
Like booklice, silverfish too enter homes from the outdoors looking moist areas to hide.
Silverfish invasion mostly occurs during the summer months when the weather is dry and hot outdoors.
But silverfish in the house can remain active all through the year if the home’s temperature is appropriate and there’s moisture.
Silverfish are little scaly insects with long skinny tapered bodies that grow up to an inch in size. They can be dark gray, silvery, and blue.
Other features of silverfish include a pair of long antennae, six legs, and three appendages at their abdomen.
Silverfish are fast crawlers. They crawl in a wiggly motion like a fish.
Silverfish are nocturnal insects that hide in the cracks and gaps of damp areas of the house such as bathroom and kitchen.
They feed on molds, fungi, and dead insects that they might find in their hiding areas.
Silverfish don’t bite. But they can inflict damages on books, fabric, and stored foods by chewing on them.
They can multiply fast in a humid or damp home.
When their numbers increase, they can end up in unlikely places like bed, carpets, and couches while scavenging for food.
Drain Flies
There’s no home that drain flies didn’t infest. These miniature moths thrive in clogged drains, damp wastes in your yard and homes.
Like most moisture bugs, drain flies infestation grows from damp places inside your home.
That includes your bathroom, basement, kitchen, and laundry rooms.
These flies will lay eggs on the gunk and slime of the clogged drains.
The larvae of these flies feast on these wastes. On maturing into adults, drain flies will fly out from the drain holes of your sinks, bathtubs, and toilets.
Fruit flies, too, are moisture bugs. But they rely more on food wastes to thrive than on moisture.
Both drain flies and fruit flies look similar. But these are entirely different flying bugs, and there are differences between drain flies and fruit flies.
Drain flies don’t bite. But they multiply fast.
So, if you don’t get rid of their sources, drain flies will soon become an irritating nuisance.
Drain flies can transmit pathogens stuck on their bodies to your food.
These flies thrive on drain and sewer wastes, so there’s always a chance that pathogen is present in their bodies.
Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats are tiny black flying bugs that can be common most of the year.
They look like mosquitoes and fruit flies, but they’re are much thinner than them.
The source of fungus gnats lies in the moist soil beds of the yard and garden.
Compost piles with organic wastes, trash bins with wastes, and rotting organic debris are also the source of fungus gnats.
Fungus gnats lay eggs on the moist soil beds. The tiny larvae of fungus gnats will feed on the mold and fungi that form in the soil.
There are two most common ways that fungus gnats enter homes.
First is when they fly inside homes through open doors and windows.
Light from the light bulbs draws fungus gnats. So, they’ll fly inside your home through the windows during the evening and early morning hours.
The second way is to introduce potted plants in your home with fungus gnats larvae in the soil.
The larvae will mature into adults within a few weeks and fly around inside your home.
Fungus gnats will target open food, veggies, and ripe fruits to get their nutrition.
These flying bugs don’t carry any pathogens as the drain flies and cluster flies do.
But they’re a nuisance. And the food stored in your fridge can attract the fungus gnats causing them to sneak inside your refrigerator.
And when get inside the fridge, fungus gnats are frozen to death.
That’s why you can see many dead bugs inside your refrigerator if you’ve got fungus gnats and fly problem in your home.
They can also get inside dishwashers and coffee making machines.
Fungus gnats are strong fliers like mosquitoes. They are weak fliers, and they hop more than they fly.
Earwigs
Earwigs are small dark brown bugs with pincers. These insects prefer to live outdoors in areas like underneath pots, rocks, tree barks, and in organic wastes.
But inclement weather can push these earwigs to your house.
Dampness is the primary factor that they look for a place to hide in addition to tight gaps where they can slide in.
So, places like bathroom and basement are their primary go-to places in the house to hide.
Earwigs are harmless insects despite looking scary. These insects primarily feed on other small insects.
Earwigs don’t bite. But they can pinch you with their pincers if you try to handle them.
The pinch is harmless and rarely breaks the skin.
Light also plays a significant role in drawing earwigs to the house because they’re attracted to light.
They’ll sneak inside the house through the window cracks, wall crevices, vents, and through open doors and windows.
Earwigs don’t cause any damage inside the house. The best part is that they do not reproduce indoors.
Outdoors is their preferred habitat. So, despite being indoors, they’ll try to move out of the house when the weather becomes suitable.
However, they can turn into a nuisance in the house if too many of them sneak inside the house.
Earwigs can grow just over an inch in size. They’ve dark reddish-brown bodies with light yellow wings and legs.
Earwigs can’t fly despite having a pair of wings because the wings are short and to an extent underdeveloped.
The thick forewings cover and protect their hind wings. The most prominent feature of earwigs is a pincer-like appendage, which is known as Cerci, at the tip of their abdomen.
It’s easy to evict earwigs from the house. Just remove them with a vacuum cleaner and dispose of them outdoors.
These are beneficial insects that keep control of garden pests. So, I don’t recommend killing them.
The best way to prevent earwigs in the house is to seal the cracks and crevices on the windows and walls. These gaps can serve as their entry points.
You can also use peppermint oil spray on the windows, doors, and patio decks.
Earwigs, like many other insects, hate the peppermint smell.
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are big black household ants that drill into moist wood to nest and to lay their eggs.
Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t feed on wood. They eat high protein foods and sugary items in the kitchen.
Carpenter ants grow up to 1/2 inches in size. The queen carpenter ant can be bigger, growing up to 3/4 inches in size.
Carpenter ants enter homes by crawling through the gaps and cracks on the walls, floors, windowsills, and doors.
Infestation occurs when the ants start to nest in the house and colonies start to grow.
Carpenter ants make multiple nests in the house. These nests all cater to the hidden central nest where the queen resides.
In many cases, different nests can have their respective queen ants.
Finding the ants’ nest and killing the queen ant is essential to get rid of the carpenter ant infestation.
It needs some special skills that only a qualified and experienced pest controller can have.
That’s why it’s always best to hire a pest controller to get rid of bad carpenter ant infestation.
During the winter months, carpenter ants suddenly disappear. It creates a misconception that ant infestation goes away on its own.
But it’s far from true. During the winter months, carpenter ants retreat to their nests and enter a period of diapause.
They emerge from hibernation when spring arrives.
However, in homes with heating, carpenter ants can be active year-round.
Carpenter ant infestation can begin when a random scout ant enters home from the outdoors scavenging for food and nesting sites.
It leaves behind pheromone trails, a chemical that produces a scent, for the other ants to follow.
Infestation can also occur when winged ants, which are reproductives, swarm inside the house.
This phenomenon is like how termites, especially drywood termites, enter homes.
These winged ants leave their current colonies to look for new homes to infest. Attracted by the glowing light bulbs, winged enter homes through the open doors and windows.
These ants mate, lose their wings, and drill into moist wood or wall to lay their eggs and start a colony.
A bad carpenter ant infestation in the house can be risky. Joists, beams, and roofs are vulnerable to carpenter ant damage.
One sign of carpenter ants in the wood is the saw dust underneath holes in the wooden structures.
Springtails – Little Jumping Moisture Bugs
Springtails are cylindrical shaped jumping bugs that live and breed in decaying moist organic wastes.
So, rotting food piles and mulch beds, wet soil beds, decaying leaf litter, and organic matter in garbage cans or compost bins are their primary places to live.
Springtails’ are tiny and their size varies between 0.04 and 0.1 inches. Being tiny, springtails appear as poppy seeds in their habitat.
These insects have a pair of antennae and six legs like many insects. The special anatomical feature of springtail is a spring-like organ, which is known as furcula, tucked in their abdomen.
They use it to push it against the surface to jump to escape predation.
Springtails come in different colors such as white, gray, brown, and even metallic blue and green.
Springtails are harmless insects. They don’t cause any damage to plants or seedlings. And they don’t bite either.
Springtails eat decaying organic wastes such as plant matter. They also eat molds and fungi that form on the damp wastes and surfaces.
Springtail bugs can enter homes by jumping through the windows.
They can use the vegetation such as tall grasses or plants near the windows to sneak inside the house.
Their entrance is either accidental or while searching for moist or damp areas to hide.
Springtails inside the house will look for damp areas. So, bathroom and kitchen are their primary hiding places in the home.
But their search for moisture can lead them to unlikely places such as your bed and carpet.
Getting rid of springtails in the house is quite straightforward. You can use a vacuum cleaner on them to get rid of them.
Mold Mites – Microscopic Moisture Mites
If there are molds in your home’s walls and furniture and you see whitish-brown patches on the molds, then you’re dealing with mold mites.
Mold mites are invisible to the naked eye. So, they’re technically microscopic bugs rather than tiny moisture bugs.
Mold mites can infest any surface that has molds. And molds develop because of high dampness and moisture.
So, books, walls, furniture, floor, and even fabric are susceptible to mold mites infestation if there is high moisture in your home.
Under the microscope lens, mold mites look like oval-shaped off-whitish and translucent shinning mites with hairy bristles on their bodies.
Although mold mites are harmless, the hairy bristles on their bodies can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive people like children and the elderly.
Pill Bugs
Pill bugs are terrestrial crustaceans that spend all their life on the land. They’re also known as roly-poly bugs because of their ability to roll into a ball when disturbed.
That’s a defensive behavior that makes them look like a pill. Hence the name pill bugs.
These bugs hide underneath wooden logs and rocks in damp places.
You can also find them in organic debris like foliage, mulch beds, rotting wood pieces, and even underneath tires lying around in your yard.
Pill bugs are not pests as such. They’re beneficial bugs that break down organic debris into matter that benefits the soil.
But they’re also occasional home intruders. Pill bugs in the house choose dark and damp places to hide during the day.
Pill bugs are also among the common basement bugs because, in your basement, there’s clutter, dampness, and darkness, which makes it a perfect place for them to hide.
Another favorite place for pill bugs to hide is in your bathroom.
The leaking plumbing area underneath sinks and the tight gaps between the wall and bathtub are some of their favorite hiding places in the bathroom.
Pill bugs are also known as woodlouse because they hide underneath wooden logs.
Many people confuse them with sow bugs because both look similar. Both have scales on their bodies, and their body colors are also alike.
However, sow bugs can’t roll their bodies as pill bugs do.
Pillbugs don’t bite humans or pets. Nor do they carry any diseases.
They’re not bugs, so they do not bring any infestation risks.
Fungus Beetles
Fungus beetles is a collective term for different species of beetles that moisture and damp surfaces attract.
These beetles feed on the molds, fungi, and mildew that form on the moist areas.
And they can also be pantry beetles that feed on stored foods in the kitchen pantry.
Beetles such as foreign grain beetles, hairy fungus beetles and minute scavenger beetles fall into the category of fungus beetles.
These beetles are quite widespread in newly built homes where moisture occurs on uncured lumber or on newly plastered walls.
They’re active during the spring and summer months when they sneak inside homes either by flying in or by crawling.
Fungus beetles are attracted by the glowing light bulbs. In the house, these beetles will flock to the moist areas of the house like bathrooms and basements.
They don’t bite or sting. And they don’t cause any diseases either.
Their anatomical features, such as color, size, and body shape vary by the species.
For example, the foreign grain beetles, which are the most common fungus beetles, are brown and grow up to 1/16 inches in size.
Hairy bristles cover their bodies and they’ve four knobs at the four corners of their thoraxes.
All these characteristics are not visible to the naked eye. You’ll need a good quality powerful hand lens to spot these features.
Pseudoscorpion
Pseudoscorpions are small reddish-brown oval-shaped insects with two pincers at the forefront. Pseudoscorpions grow up to 3/8 inches in size with their pincers extended.
These arachnids resemble scorpions, but they don’t bite or sting.
They’re harmless and they sneak inside homes looking for moisture sources when they run out of damp hiding places outdoors.
Outdoors pseudoscorpions live in moist organic matter such as wet leaf litter, moss, underneath tree barks and stones.
When inside, pseudoscorpions gravitate towards damp areas such as the bathroom.
The cracks on the bathroom floors and walls are their common hiding places. They also hide behind or underneath fixtures such as cabinets and bathtubs.
Pseudoscorpions inside the house will look for other insects to hunt and eat.
The best part is that these arachnids don’t reproduce indoors. It means that they won’t cause an infestation.
So, if you see a pseudoscorpion, remove it with the help of your vacuum cleaner. Or take a broom and trash tray and scoop it off the surface to dispose of it outdoors.
American Cockroaches
American cockroaches are reddish-brown inch long roaches that savor filthy wet wastes.
These roaches are heavily dependent on moisture. So, inside the house they’ll hide underneath sinks where there’s ample dampness.
These roaches lay their eggs in the drains. They also feed on the wastes that blocks the drains.
Their babies, which are tiny dark brown miniature roaches, also known as nymphs, pop out of the drains.
And that’s the reason these roaches are also known as drain roaches.
Cleaning the drains with a mixture of vinegar, hot water, and baking soda kills the drain roaches.
But American roaches in the house spread to other areas of your home where there’s dampness and food sources. So, kitchen and basement are their prime real estates too!
Getting rid of roaches on your own can be a tricky affair because these pests are quite tough to remove.
Elimination of roach nests and their habitat, such as damp wastes and drain wastes, are essential to control them.
Therefore, it’ll be best to hire a pest controller if you’re dealing with roach infestation in the house.
Fruit Flies
Fruit flies are tiny tan or yellowish flies with red eyes. They grow up to 1/8 inches in size and they breed in the same areas where fungus gnats lay their eggs.
Many people confuse fruit flies and fungus gnats with one another, but they’re different species of flies.
Overripe fruits and vegetables in the house and kitchen wastes draw fruit flies.
But the standing water near plant pots, underneath refrigerators, and water leaks problem in the house also draw the fruit flies.
Moisture and garbage attract these flies. So, your home can have fruit flies despite no fruits in the house.
Fruit flies feed on the molds and algae that form on the damp surfaces.
They’ll lay their eggs in the potting soil of indoor plants, kitchen wastes, and even on the food wastes stuck in appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers.
Not to mention, the gunk choking the drains are also egg-laying grounds for fruit flies.
The fruit fly larvae, which are tiny white legless worms, feed on the wastes. And they mature into adult flies quickly under room temperature and excessive humidity.
That’s the reason so many homeowners notice fruit flies in the house suddenly in the spring and summer months.
Clover Mites
Clover mites are extremely small, growing between 0.75 and 0.85 mm (0.03 inches) in size and they’re barely visible to the naked eye when their numbers are low.
They’ve oval bodies with eight longs. The frontal legs are longest, so those legs appear like a pair of antennae.
Clover mites are dark red to reddish-brown. So, when they’re on light colored surfaces, they appear as tiny black specks on them.
Clover mites, which are also known as red bugs, live in grass lawns and in overfertilized soil beds outdoors.
Moisture plays a significant role in attracting clover mites to homes. Clover mites, like all moisture bugs, need moisture to survive.
Their molting process and reproduction is heavily dependent on moisture along with the food sources.
These mites are active during the temperate periods of the year, during spring and fall.
When the weather outdoors becomes too hot or cold, they move towards human homes seeking moisture sources.
That’s the time when they appear on places like windowsills, patio decks, stairs, and on the doorways trying to make their way inside the house.
But clover mites can’t reproduce indoors. When they’re inside, these mites are a complete nuisance because they invade homes in large numbers.
Clover mites don’t cause any damages inside the house.
But their search for moisture and food sources can make them show up in places like bathroom and even in your bedroom.
These mites don’t bite. But being dark red many people mistake clover mites as bed bugs if they show up on the bed.
Also, clover mites release a reddish liquid if your crush them. And this liquid creates a stain that can be hard to remove.
So, to get rid of clover mites you’ll need to carefully vacuum clean the entire house, especially the areas where you’ve found them.
It’s always best to wash bed sheets and other fabrics in hot water to eliminate clover mites from them.
How To Get Rid Of Tiny Moisture Bugs?
To get rid of most of the damp bugs from the list, you don’t need any pesticides.
You can do it naturally with the help of some products that you’ll find out soon.
Below are the seven steps to get rid of these tiny moisture bugs in your home.
Step#1 – Reduce Moisture Levels
It goes without saying that if you reduce the dampness levels of your home, then your home will be unappealing for these bugs to hide.
And how do you do it?
There are two ways – by installing a dehumidifier in your home and fixing leaking pipes.
Leaking pipes play a significant role in increasing the dampness of your home’s walls, ceilings, and floors.
That leads to the development of cracks and molds, making your home’s walls and ceilings a home for many bugs.
So, your first step should be to fix water leakages.
Check out the plumbing section underneath the sinks of your kitchen and bathroom.
If there’s any water leakage in those areas, fix them.
Also, find out if there’s any water leakage on the pipes that transfer water to your yard.
Leakages on those pipes always keep your yard and garden damp, leading to an infestation of many types of bugs.
Those leaky pipes also increase the dampness levels in your home’s foundation. That dampness spreads all over your home.
So, if any leaky pipes are causing waterlogging in your yard or garden, fix them.
Many homeowners don’t give much importance to dehumidifiers’ role in keeping bugs away.
A dehumidifier is an essential appliance for your home to keep bugs away if you’re living in a hot and humid climate.
It reduces the moisture levels in the air of your home and hence makes your home less appealing for bugs to invade.
The basement and bathroom can be the two places where you can keep a dehumidifier as most of these tiny moisture bugs infest these places.
Step#2 – Seal Gaps And Cracks
Most of the tiny moisture bugs from the list crawl inside your home through the thinnest of gaps and cracks on your home’s walls, window sills, door frames, and even underneath doors.
Seal those gaps.
You can use a silicone-based sealant to seal the cracks and gaps on windows and doors.
The silicone-based sealants are rugged, durable, and waterproof, and bugs can’t chew through them.
Also, caulk the gaps in your bathroom, basement, kitchen walls, and floors.
The moisture bugs in these areas of your home hide in the crevices on the walls and floors.
Many flying bugs use open windows to get inside your home in the spring and summer seasons.
Use window screens with fine mesh to prevent flying bugs from getting inside your home.
Step#3 – Clean Your Yard
Let’s face it. Your yard is the perfect place for many of the moisture bugs on the list.
Infestation of many invasive pests like cockroaches and termites begins in the yard.
So, after controlling the moisture levels in your yard, it’s critical to clean your yard.
Remove all the organic debris, empty and clean the trash bins, and store firewood correctly to prevent these bugs from taking refuge in your yard.
Also, use wood chips that repel bugs as your mulch bed.
Softwood chips used as mulch beds decay fast and become home to bugs like termites and ants.
Spray a mixture of white vinegar and water or scatter Epsom salt on the soil beds and compost piles to eliminate any larvae of moisture hiding in these places.
Step#4 – Clean Your Home
All these bugs love clutter as it provides them an ample amount of hiding place.
And wastes, including food wastes, along with moisture, draw these bugs too.
So, clean your home, especially your basement, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room.
All these places are high in moisture, and wastes in these places make them more inhabitable for moisture bugs.
You can quickly remove moisture bugs like springtails, pillbugs, earwigs, and silverfish by using a vacuum cleaner on them.
You don’t need any pesticides or insecticides to get rid of them.
However, ensure that you dispose of the vacuum cleaner dust bag with bugs inside it outside of your property.
Step#5 – Use A Natural Bug Repelling Spray
Use a natural spray, like peppermint spray, all your home, especially in places where you use water.
Bugs hate the smell of peppermint. The strong smell of peppermint repels these bugs.
A spray made by mixing equal amounts of white vinegar and water is also effective.
But the acidic smell of the vinegar can be annoying to many people.
Instead of peppermint, you can also use essential oils like lavender and eucalyptus to prepare a spray.
Mix a few drops of lavender or eucalyptus essential oils in a gallon of water and spray it on the damp areas of your home.
The smell of eucalyptus and lavender keeps bugs away and smells nice.
If there are plant pots in your home, you can also use any of these sprays on the plant-soil beds.
It’ll help eliminate any fungus gnats larvae in the plant’s soil bed.
Step#6 – Repair Damaged Walls
Walls damaged by excessive moisture are prime real estate for many bugs like booklice, mold mites, and even rodents.
Many wall bugs live only in walls damaged because of moisture.
So, repair the walls. If the drywall is damaged, replace it or get rid of it.
Check out the ceiling too.
You’ll notice peeling off on the ceiling’s layer and chunks of wet areas if moisture reaches the ceiling.
Moist walls develop cracks that become hiding places for many moisture bugs and critters.
Also, clean the surfaces that developed molds with soapy water or a mold remover.
That is enough for removing the mold mites from damp surfaces.
If there are books, or any paper products, that have molds, and you don’t want to discard those books, then keep the books under the sun.
And then spray a peppermint spray on the moldy areas of the books. Keep the books in the sun again to let them dry up.
Drying the books and paper products will eliminate the moisture in them. And the peppermint spray will kill the mold mites.
Step#7 – Unclog Your Home’s Drains
The final step is specifically for drain flies living and breeding in the sink drains.
Unclog the drains by using a drain cleaner. You can also pour warm water, baking soda, and white vinegar into the drains to unclog them.
The mixture will also kill any larvae of drain flies and destroy their eggs.
It’s also an effective way to eliminate drain roaches.
Many people use bleach to unclog the drains of their homes. However, we don’t recommend it.
Bleach is corrosive that damages the drainpipes from the inside. It’s also harmful to your eyes and skin.
The worst part is that if bleach mixes with other elements like baking soda and vinegar, it triggers a chemical reaction that emits harmful gasses.
Important Note: The seven steps don’t work on termites and carpenter ants. A severe termite and ant infestation needs professional pest control intervention.
Summary
To summarize here’s the list of 16 damp or moisture bugs that sneak inside homes –
- Booklice
- Termites
- Silverfish
- Drain flies
- Fungus gnats
- Earwigs
- Carpenter ants
- Springtails
- Mold mites
- Pill bugs
- Fungus beetles
- Pseudoscorpion
- American roaches
- Fruit flies
- Clover mites
These damp bugs enter homes looking for sources of moisture which is vital for their survival.
For most of these bugs, the dry weather outdoors causes them to sneak inside the house looking for dampness.
Not all of these bugs can cause damages. But all of them bring some risks and nuisances.
Dr. Thomas Orbert is a PhD in Entomology with extensive research experience in ectoparasites and microbials. He has also worked in the spaces of ecology conservation and has multiple years of experience in field research and scientific publishing.
I have tiny flies mostly on counter tops that fold their wings and race about on the tile. They hide in wet items and when I try to kill them they take off. They have even landed on me.
What are they and how do I eliminate them?
Those are phorid flies. They’re also known as scuttle flies because they scoot across the surface before flying. You can refer to our guide https://howtomurderpests.com/tiny-black-bugs-on-kitchen-countertops/ to know more and to eliminate them.