They're very pale brown and I've found them on the work surface & in the cupboards despite rigorous cleaning. Are they harmful & if so how can I keep them away?!
2006-09-13 01:13:46 · 13 answers · asked by Lucy A 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Most peolple don't even realise they are there. They are tiny mites under 1mm long, I know the ones you are on about. No amount of cleaning will get rid of them!! And you'll only see one, maybe two of them at a time.
They are harmless, transmit no diseases and are just 'there'.
I've even had one wandering around INSIDE my TFT monitor making a moving dark pixel!!
Only way to avoid them is get a new house, keep the windows closed - block up all the vents & have no life.
Don't worry!!
2006-09-13 01:22:18 · answer #1 · answered by creviazuk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Without a more thorough description, it's nearly impossible to say for sure, but I'm willing to hazard a guess that they may in fact be pharaoh ants.
Pharaoh ants are very tiny, pale brown ants that live in small nests inside homes and buildings. They will often build their nests between sheets of newspaper or even inside electronic devices (they seem to like the heat generated).
They are generalized scavengers, and can survive on tiny crumbs, mites, and other bits of detritus that exist in even the tidiest home. They prefer sugar, grease and other insects, but have been known to survive on shoe polish and even the material trapped in kitchen sponges.
A pharaoh ant infestation can be quite difficult to get rid of because the ants themselves are quite primitive. While most ant nests have a fertile queen served by a host of sterile workers, in pharaoh ants the workers actually have the capability of becoming reproductive females themselves. If the nest is under stress - due to lack of food, or especially if the workers keep getting killed while foraging, the hive will actually split off into several daughter colonies and go off to start several new nests. Because of this, most traditional ant sprays and bait stations will actually make the problem worse.
There are baits that are effective against pharaoh ants, but you have to make sure the ant bait specifically says 'pharaoh ants' on the label. These baits are slow acting poisons that the workers bring back to the hive and share with the whole nest. So they all get poisoned at the same rate, and don't have a chance to bud off into new colonies.
Here's a picture of some pharaoh ants http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/urban/new_urban/images/catina_pics/pharaoh_ant_picture.jpg Note that it is a close-up image, the ants themselves are tiny.
2006-09-13 04:17:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Might be silverfish. Does it look like it has alot of legs that are like hair? Is there a moisture problem in the cupboards? They like moisture, and no they're not harmful if thats what you have. Click on the link and look at some pictures, if that isn't it, that website will help you figure out what you have, good luck.
2006-09-13 01:23:59 · answer #3 · answered by Jamie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think they might be some sort of food weevils. I have found a couple once or twice over the years. They seem to like natural loose food like flour, rice. Although I found one in the cracker tin once. I think the best thing is to ensure that you clean out your food storage cupboards regularly, get rid of out of date packets and make sure you never leave food in uncovered containers. I always keep flour, rice etc in tins, or put the packets into plastic bags.
2006-09-13 01:34:44 · answer #4 · answered by L'il Tree 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Had the same sort of thing in a very large bag of flour, got rid of the flour and demolished the cupboards, that it was kept in, we got rid of them but now we buy small quantities of flour at a time, We were told that if you keep any flour for too long the eggs which are present in most flours will hatch.
2006-09-13 09:23:48 · answer #5 · answered by bo nidle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually, that's too long for me. I consider it depends on the guy as well as his face though. Certain guys can easily pull off long hair and others can't.
2017-02-25 17:54:31 · answer #6 · answered by Jason 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's Dave... Dave the tiny 1mm insect. Honest!
2006-09-13 01:20:30 · answer #7 · answered by babyeddieuk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They sound like biscuit beetles.Do you've pigeons or different wild birds round? Biscuit beetle breed in chook's nests and once you've nests on or round your resources this can nicely be the position they are coming from.
2016-11-26 21:05:02 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have some old boxes of food , like oat-meal cookies ,etc check your boxes for brown spots this is the poop of food weavels get rid of the old boxes spray some bleach or insect spray they will consume all your food if you don,t stop them look in boxesthat are bot open you can see some brown spots on the box
2006-09-13 01:25:06 · answer #9 · answered by cindysmr_summers 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I honestly dont have the patience to keep my curly hair long
2017-01-18 10:37:24 · answer #10 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋