r/okinawa • u/Questionably_Chungly • 22h ago
Anyone seen these before? Been losing my mind the last couple days
Lived here for two years and haven’t seen these bugs before. Out of nowhere I’ve had them swarming into my house the last two days. Very small, slow, don’t seem to fly. They’re not ants, nor are they anything like bedbugs or fleas or anything like that.
Anyone had these, know what they are, and more importantly how to get rid of them?
7
u/crowchan114514 21h ago
phorid flies? ノミバエ
I got my apartment swarmed with them months ago and got rid of them by cleaning out my trash and used fruit fly traps and sprays
3
u/Questionably_Chungly 19h ago
Possibly, but they don’t really move fast or fly. I’m thinking at this point that they might be some form of pantry beetle
1
u/RJ_MacreadysBeard 22h ago
First pic looks like a sea of popcorn puppies, the second of a roman bath’s ceiling. i can’t consolidate the two.
Okay, I zoomed in and found it. I asked my buddy:
>wtf izat?
Well, fuck me humanoid, if you are seeing quite a few of them on your interior walls in Okinawa, that is actually a household casebearer (Phereoeca uterella), often commonly called a plaster bagworm.
While they look similar to a green lacewing larva (family Chrysopidae), commonly known as a "trash bug" or "junk bug" (often called gomi-shoi-mushi or trash-carrying bug in Japan) because they both camouflage themselves with debris, lacewings stay outdoors on plants,
whereas household casebearers are notorious indoor residents in humid, subtropical climates like Okinawa.
Here is what you need to know about them:
What they are: They are the larval stage of a tiny moth. The caterpillar lives inside a flat, greyish-brown, seed-shaped silken case made of dust and debris, dragging it along as it moves.
What they feed on: Despite being called "plaster bagworms," they don't eat your walls. Instead, they graze on spider webs, dust, pet hair, and organic fibers.
Are they harmful? They are mostly a cosmetic nuisance. They do not bite humans or cause structural damage to buildings, but finding them all over the house can drive you crazy.
How to manage them:
Reduce Humidity: They thrive in moisture, so running air conditioning or dehumidifiers helps deter them.
Vacuum and Dust: Regular vacuuming eliminates the dust and spider webs they rely on for food.
Physical Removal: You can easily pick them off the wall or vacuum them up, and they’re great ground up and sprinkled on rice.
>Ewww dude.
God luck!🍀
2
2
u/LastVacation1330 22h ago
Looks like fruit flies to me. Usually they breed in old fridge food or in drains. I would clean out your fridge and dump boiling water down your kitchen drain and that should resolve it.
1
u/Questionably_Chungly 21h ago
Hmm, don’t think so. I’ve had fruit flies before, and these aren’t quite the same. Number one being they don’t…yknow, fly. I did do the boiling water trick just in case, but I haven’t seen signs of them anywhere near the sink.
If you zoom in on the first picture, they don’t quite look like flies. Maybe a beetle of some kind?
-1
u/thed3306 19h ago
Looks like some little rochies surrounded by what looks like some Cordyceps. Not good, couple whiffs of that stuff will have you lose all motor control.