Going Nuts, Need Help with Bugs!!!
 

I have a lantana and the second bedroom or den has one window. For the past few weeks, at night, there are hundreds of little bugs that seem to come out of the seams along the frame of the window. The window has plantation shutters. The bugs are a mixture of tiny specs to slightly larger. I don't think they fly or at least I don't see them flying but the larger bug has wings because they seem to flutter.

I don't have pest service, I stopped that last year. My husband sprays the outside around the window with home pest spray; he put down pest stuff under the window, he's sealed around the windows.'

Last night I used non chemical insect repellent inside when I saw several scattering about. This works but I just don't want to do that every night. The mixture is lemongrass oil and the smell isn't nice so I couldn't sit in the den last night.

Short of hiring a pest service, is there any other suggestions out there. The bugs seem attracted to the white crown molding because they crawl around up near the ceiling where the molding is. If I shut the light, it doesn't deter them or make them go away.

This is the only window its happening to. We did have new landscaping put in right before this started (stone work) so I been thinking this may have caused it. But we sprayed the stone several times with repellent.

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You need to find where they are coming from. Go outside the window, at night, when they are coming in the window. You will most likely find a LONG trail of them. Follow the trail to the end and you will see the nest. We had the same problem with ants coming in a kitchen window. I couldn't believe how far away the nest was.

My husband did this. He couldn't find a trail but initially there were hundreds on the outside of the window - it's the weirdest thing, it's almost like they are coming out of the solid wood! We are using round up home pest spray - is there anything better that you know of?

you had better get a sample of the winged ones to someone in the know to determine if they are termites. If they are, just like the ants, the nest is not neccessarily any where near where you see them.

If you dropped your bug service and if you do not keep up your annual termite inspection and if they are termites......you will soon find out how INEXPENSIVE it is to keep these services in FL!!!!!!!!!!!!

btk

As our termite and pest control inspector said, "it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when' somebody in a neighborhood gets termites, because they refuse to spend a couple of hundred dollars on termite protection. Then the neighbors will get them too if not protected. I have seen our service co. stand behind the termite damage warranty and it can cost $15-$20,000 to tear out walls and replace them if you don't have these inspections and warranty."

So if not for yourself, do it for your neighbors. When somebody sells their house, the last thing they need is to have everything come to a screeching halt because termites were found to have eaten away huge areas inside walls.

First of all, I have termite protection and will always keep that. And the pests I have are not termites.

I cancelled the pest service because I do not like chemicals sprayed indoors period. I have cats, if the solution is killing bugs, it's not healthy period. I only had pest service for my lawn and outdoor areas.

I let them go because I was tired of calling them for diseased plants (part of the service). I don't think I can mention who I contracted but if others know of a good, reliable service, please pass it on. I had two since moving here. Both were big named services that you see through out the Villages.

Thanks

Our pest control service has never "sprayed chemicals indoors".

Here's a link to some natural pest repellents.

Natural Insect Pest Control: Safe, Non-Toxic Methods & Solutions | Eartheasy.com

Can you tell me who you use?

We have never had a pest service that sprays indoors either.....anywhere we have ever lived in the South. We use Munn's here in TV and they treat the outside quarterly. No bugs in 9 years.

btk

I have absolutely NO bug problem in my Lantana. I use Massey as my bug guy and they do not spray indoors at all.

I would bet they are the swarmers (termites) that come out now looking for a new food source. Have had them in 2 different homes and at one point it looked liked they were dropping right out of the wood - which they were when we found the little opening!Google termite swarmers and see if this is what they look like. Good luck.

We use Massey, too. Never have had bugs inside. They are meticulous about checking and sometimes put granular stuff outside along the foundation. And the price is a no-brainer.

I thought the same thing, that maybe they are swarmers. We had them about once a year in Los Angeles but if I remember right, they had wings but they would show up by the thousands from out of no where and swarm for a bit and then disappear. So not sure those are the bugs she has, but I really think Nanci that its important to get a professional in there to tell you what kind of bug it is. You don't have to hire them to spray, but at least you'll know what they are. It sounds a little serious to me.

Unlike the others, I have had to spray inside my house quite a few times in the past 6 years. I was infested with ticks that my dogs picked up in a boarding facility and it took 3 months of spraying to finally get rid of them. Each time, myself and the dogs had to leave for 4 hours at least, so I put them in day care at my vets to also have them checked for ticks. Not a pleasant experience, but I didn't think it would be prudent of me to try to control this infestation by myself and my doggies were suffering. I use 1 800 PEST CONTROL and I do love them. They are very efficient and thorough.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution to your problem. I hate BUGS!!! UGH!!

I agree with KathieI. Might not be (probably isn't) termites but you do need to find out what those critters are and get them taken care of. There are a number of good companies out there and the really good ones don't need to spray inside the house quarterly or even annually. We bought four years ago, had the house treated (sprayed) inside and out all at once by Massey. Now we just get outside treatments quarterly with a granular product that is safe for plants and animals. No problems at all. Good luck

Pest service will place "traps" for the bugs. We had the ones similar to what you describe, that being said. We had a OTC all-purpose insect spray. We used that, vaccumed afterwards and haven't see any since. In our case they seemed to be coming up through the carpet, then all the way up the wall back down again (????????) As you said very weird. I was told these were a type of ants...but wouldn't swear to it being that.

We are very happy with 1-800 pest control. No spiders or bugs anymore. Once or twice a year, the love bugs stop by for sex, but other than that, we are bug free.

If you do have termite swarmed, the swarmers themselves in this stage are not damaging...BUT having swarmers are indicative of a nearby colony that needs to be professionally treated.

Swarmers typically are found in the spring and come out in a sunny location. They will be flying in mass, and you will see an influx of birds trying to feast on these insects. I have not heard of swarmers comming out at night.

When it happened to us in va, it scared the hell out of us. If these are termites, make certain you get a contract with someone.

Is your lot near any body of water and/or near a golf course? If it is, these bugs could be "blind mosquitos" as was told to me by Massey (my provider) at the time when I also had a similar experience. I lived very close to Kilmangaro Golf Course where they were coming from, especially in the early morning to noontime hrs.. (according to my Massey tech)

Neither has ours. They will if you specifically request them to do so, but they say they prefer not to. We use Dean's and are very happy with their services.

Did you ever find out what those bugs were and are they gone - if so, how did you treat them?

we have Massey for pest control,and they don't spray anything inside the house. They come quarterly and sweep away spider webs, wasp nests and do the outdoor treatment.

Had them in Orlando for 14 years, and then here too.

Yes, I did. I finally called a pest service and they are called moisture ants or something like that. They really don't look like a ant as we know them to look. They look like they have wings but they don't fly. Very tiny to larger. They look for sweets and bring it back to the queen. The pest service put some sweet traps on my window and treated the outside. I won't have any kind of chemical sprayed in the house. It worked in one day. I am now bug free!

i would call the bug guy

For most kinds of ants, Terro ant killer is amazingly effective and cheap and safe. It is basically borax in a sweet solution. You put put a few drops where ants are hanging out. They flock to it and carry it back to their nest and feed it to the queen. In a few days, you will see dozens of ant corpses and NO live ants. As I understand it, the borax expands inside the ants and physically kills them by crushing their organs, as opposed to poisoning them. Gory, but effective-- much more effective and cheaper than the standard ant-motel style traps, which ants seem to ignore.

I have used it in Florida against sweet ants, and up north to wipe out carpenter ants (after an exterminator failed to do so).

Bugs
 

Do you live near a pond ? If they are tiny specs they are probably Blind Mosquitos.

We had these over the winter. We have a bug person come outside but didn't call for inside. We just used an all purpose bug spray...haven't seen them since.

For the money you are spending on different chemicals and sprays, time spent worrying about the situation, you might want to just call a pest control company.. Maybe your best solution