Tiny Hard Shelled Bugs on Kitchen Countertops

Hello 'nanakess' My kitchen has those small brown beetles that you uploaded a picture of on 19th september 2010. I have completely scrubbed and tidied my kitchen countless times but they won't go away. I was wondering if you know what they are called or how to get rid of them? Thank you

Dishsoap helps a lot. In the morning when I woke up I have caught a lot, the straglers that get away. They are hard to get rid of. Put the soap in a saucer, you'll find they come to you. Vacuum the cabinates after you go through everyting.

Finally, after months and months of battling these tiny buggers, we have won! They are dead and gone and I now have very well organized cupboards, drawers, and counter-tops. Everything was examined and just about all of it was pitched. Now everything is in Tupperware and I mean everything. We all buy food in boxes and this is how they get in the kitchen and take root. Mine came in the dog's biscuit treats.

Thank you all for your help.

Beth, please what is the name of the spray that you used? I went to E-How and couldn't find the spray.

Moosemom, yes I read that about Bay leaves, they also say to put clove and or bay leaves in the corners of your shelves.

If after you have checked every grain type of product in your cabinets you determine that these are weevils, then I suggest you check out e-how.com for getting rid of them. That is what helped me when I had them. After removing everything from my cabinets and losing a lot of food, I froze everything I had left. They were living in the cabinetry for a while. It took me three weeks of daily cleaning and spraying with a spray made to kill weevils, but I won!

You may want to put bay leaves in your pasta, rice, flour, corn meal, etc. to repel the little critters. I keep my flour in the freezer, just to be sure I don't get weevils, have had them too many times to count! Tupperware is a good storage solution as well.
Good luck!

This is my photo of my tiny buggers, looks like I have my answer now!

This bug question has been asked over and over online. I hope other will see this now and then know just what this mystery bug is ! Besides annoying !!

I now remember bring home dog biscuits and after a while we noticed these bugs where in them. They were covering every biscuit and I threw them all in the trash. But it must have been to late. Because that was last year and I still have them.

It sounds like there is no easy way to get rid of them fast. Clean cupboards and drawers over and over again is the best answer and check all dry goods over and over. Good news is they are harmless, just annoying as heck.

I ordered Tupperware today for all of my dry good foods. These bugs can chew through cardboard and tin foil and they can move about the house into other rooms as well.

Cigarette and drugstore beetles are two closely related species of small, reddish brown beetles that are moderately common pests in Iowa homes. The cigarette beetle was at one time a very important pest of the tobacco industry and got it's named from the damage it did to stored tobacco. The drugstore beetle gained its name because it was frequently found feeding on drugs in pharmacies many years ago.

Now, both insects are customarily found infesting all types of dry stored food products, spices, seeds, grains and dried plant material. We have recently received samples of cigarette beetles found in rice, dried potatoes, paprika, raisins, grain-based mouse bait, dried straw flowers and a table center piece made of varnished bread. Drugstore beetles are known to feed on leather, wool, hair, books and drugs.

For both insects an infested item will contain the 1/8th inch long, reddish brown, oval beetles and small, white larvae. Adult beetles often wander away from infested materials and may be found throughout the kitchen or house.

Control of cigarette and drugstore beetles requires locating and eliminating the infested item(s). All potentially infested materials should be carefully examined, including unopened boxes and packages. Cupboard shelves holding infested items and shelves in the vicinity of where the beetles have been noticed should be emptied and thoroughly vacuum cleaned. Household cleaners containing bleach or ammonia will have no effect on the insects.

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I never saw these before, sorry you have them but glad I know what they are now. Anyway, I buy plastic containers at the store (Dollar Tree, Walmart, Restaurant Supply). I have them filled immediately after going to the supermarket. I put my flour, rice, sugar, etc in them. I do it for organization and easy stacking in my cabinets but you might find it helpful too.

First comes the weevil then this bug. Check your flour and meal for weevils. The best way to avoid this is to place your flour and meal in the freezer when you first come in the house with it. Leave it there 24 hours and you will not get these bugs, but first you need to clean house of them. Then get fresh flour and meal. They were in your products when you bought them.

They look like flour beetles. They get into flour and cereal. Check you flour and cereals for an old package. They come in all flour products, so the best way of getting rid of them is to rotate all products on a regular basis.

I laid a toothpick by this tiny bug to show size. It has a hard shell