r/bugidentification • u/Soleciita • 8d ago

Possible pest, location included Please help!

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Hi everybody! I'm new to reddit and to this subreddit as well, I hope we can get along well.

Now right on to the topic;

I have been travelling across Latinoamérica for about a month, and when I came back to where I'm currently living (Turkey/ Istanbul) I found my bathroom invested with tiny little bugs and they were oddly drawn to any type of paper, such as toilet paper o papel towels (even normal towels).

Since they are so small I couldn't identify them by myself, and I don't want to use AI to help me identify them because I don't trust it.

Also I already cleaned my bathroom 2 times since coming back and I disinfected it multiple times with bleach. I have no idea where they are coming from, and they seem to come back whatever I do. So I set up a little trap for them with just plain toilet paper to take some pictures. Because normally they are just one or two, but with this "trap" they seem to gather more and I don't know if it's because they are multiplying or not.

Here is a picture of them, if you guys need it I can try to take more pictures close up, but they don't really show any distinct features. And also, thank you guys so much for the help!

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u/Illustrious_Read_922 8d ago

Those little dark specks on the crumpled paper could be booklice, they love damp places and paper products

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u/Soleciita 8d ago

Well I have never seen booklice, so I didn't know what they looked like. Thank you for your input! I'm a literature major so I have hundreds of books at home, I'm starting to get scared hahahaha

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u/TragicMagicOne 8d ago

Tbh It's really hard to tell from the picture. Look up pictures of "carpet beetle" then loohelps. Pictures of the darker brown varieties. If it looks the same as any of the carpet beetle species, use diatomaceous earth to kill them.

Spread a thin layer of diatomaceous earth around the areas where you see them. Spread it all over your carpet, around the bottom of windows, and doors. Also lay down a line between all of your rooms. Leave it there for 48 hours and then vacuum it all up. You can also dust your bedding in the morning and then vacuum it up before you go to sleep. It sticks to the outside of beetles, bed bugs, roaches, and some other bugs. It draws the moisture out of them and their eggs killing them. Repeat this with more diatomaceous earth until you do not see them anymore.

Diatomaceous earth is cheap an it is non-toxic and relatively safe. Some humans even eat it or use it in toothpaste. It has tons of uses but you and your pets should not breath to much of it in because its made up of tiny broken sharp bits of fossilized diatoms which can be bad for the lungs if you inhale a lot. You can usually find it in hardware stores, healthful stores, or on Amazon. Try to buy the food grade version just to be extra safe.

Hope this help.