Throughout the entire world, there are an estimated 1 million, known species of bugs, with the ongoing assumption that there are millions more.
Of course, it’s highly doubtful that you have that many bugs in your yard, but it does make identifying the ones that make it inside a little more difficult.
The fact is, if you see a little, brown bug with a hard shell, it could be several different bugs. It also matters how you define the word, “small.”
Small, as in its so tiny that you can’t make out any features is very different from the size of a fingernail. Everything from beetles to fleas and springtails makes the list.
So if you see a small, hard-bodied bug that’s brownish and waltzing around your home, don’t fret, as we’re going to work through a list of several bugs that it could be, whether you need to worry about an infestation, and how to get rid of them.
Bugs are simply a part of life and just because you see one inside your home doesn’t mean that you’re subject to an infestation.
As many times as we go in and out every day, it’s just a matter of time before you get a bug or two inside your home.
Identifying Common Household Insects
The first thing that we can do is rule out cockroaches and that includes all four of the most common cockroaches that invade human habitats in the U.S.
They’re generally larger than what would constitute a small bug and, although they have extremely resilient exoskeletons, you probably wouldn’t consider it to be a hard shell.
Not to mention the fact that cockroaches are so well known and recognized, that they’re not likely to show up on a list of unidentified bugs.
However, it is important to identify the bug so that you know both what it is and whether or not it’s a sign of something worse, such as an infestation.
Beetles
You’ve probably heard them slamming themselves—at what seems like 100mph—into your outside light and if they’re inside, you may catch one in the face while watching TV.
They should be known as bombardier beetles but, in reality, they’re just beetles.
Of course, not every beetle is the same and there are a large variety of beetles that are indigenous to most states within the U.S. and some that have been carried over from other countries and have now established themselves in their new environment.
Not all of them are brown, but some have highly reflective, very hard shells, that may seem as if they are reflecting the color brown.
- Carpet Beetles
- CIgarette/Drugstore Beetles
- Larder Beetles
- Triceratops Beetles
- Dung Beetles
- Stag Beetles
Carpet beetles are a known pest in domestic homes and, although they aren’t usually just straight brown in appearance, they can look brown depending on the lighting and the degree of color variations in the beetle’s exoskeleton.
Cigarette beetles are smaller and generally dark brown in appearance. They can easily be confused with drugstore beetles and furniture beetles.
They have a hard shell and a compact body and are often found inside homes, predominately where there is carpeting.
Larder beetles have brown bodies, occasionally with two shades of brown, and they’re hairy upon closer inspection.
They are larger than the above-listed beetles but, as aforementioned, it depends on what your definition of small is.
The same goes with stag and triceratops beetles. They are larger-bodied beetles and have distinct horn-shaped protrusions on their heads.
The stag’s protrusions are mandibles rather than non-functional protrusions while the triceratops beetle’s horns are primarily a defense mechanism.
There are so many beetles out there, many of which are brown or brownish, that we could write a book on it.
However, most of them are very similar in appearance, regardless of size, so identifying any of the above will help you identify any other beetle.
Fleas and Springtails
If the bug you happen to find is very tiny—by tiny, we mean so small that you can’t make out any features—you might be dealing with a flea or a springtail.
Either one is very similar and they don’t like to stay still for long.
If you find one and move your hand towards it, it will likely leap and suddenly seem to disappear. Fleas and springtails are tiny and usually brown.
They have very resilient exoskeletons that could easily be construed as hard shells.
The likeliness that it’s a flea or a springtail increases if you have dogs and/or cats.
You’ll be able to tell the difference between fleas and springtails—if you have pets—because fleas bite and live off of the blood of your pet, causing severe itching, irritation, and dermatitis in several forms.
Springtails can cover your pet just like fleas, but they don’t bite.
Your pet will probably not react to a springtail infestation in the same way that it would fleas and that is the best way to know what you’re dealing with.
Both fleas and springtails prefer to live deep within your animal’s fur, your carpet, bedding, thick sheets, and any other cloth or fiber that gives it a sense of concealment and protection.
Both types are tough to get rid of because they breed at an explosive rate.
A couple of fleas or springtails here or there can quickly become overwhelming, with eggs hatching all over the place. These two bugs are the kind of insects that need to be eliminated in a hurry.
Pantry Bugs, Ticks, and Bed Bugs
Ticks are not insects as they fall under the arachnid umbrella with spiders and scorpions. However, in this context, it doesn’t matter if you have ticks in your home.
Ticks are about half the size of your pinky fingernail or smaller, brown, and hard-bodied.
They have a teardrop shape with the smallest portion of the body right behind the head, widening out into a teardrop shape.
They don’t jump or move fast, but methodically crawl. If you discover ticks, it’s important to check you, your kids, and your pet’s bodies thoroughly.
If your kids are old enough to check themselves, they need to be methodical as ticks love to find the darkest recesses to dig in and feed.
Pantry bugs are small-looking Roly Polys with brown bodies and you will generally find them anywhere that you have exposed, dry goods, such as the pantry.
These bugs are usually harmless and you can get rid of them on an individual basis and permanently by removing their source of food.
Bed bugs resemble ticks but are much smaller, with brown, rippled bodies. As their name suggests, they spend a lot of time inside your bedding material, blankets, and sheets.
Like fleas, they feed on blood by biting and consuming the blood that comes out of the wound.
In fact, most bed bugs are not discovered by sight but by bloodstains left behind on your sheets and bedding material.
An infestation usually comes with a distinct, musky smell that is a result of their droppings, egg sacks, and shed skin.
How to Get Rid of These Bugs
Some of the above-listed bugs are far easier to get rid of than others.
Beetles, for the most part, are not an invasive and infestation-like species and you can generally get rid of them by removing the source of food that they are getting into.
All bug infestations—or even the individual ones that you see from time to time—are in your home for three reasons: food, water, and breeding.
Like any other creature, bugs are attracted by sources of food or water, and areas in which they can breed and spread that are protected.
To get rid of them, you have to both kill them en masse, along with destroying the sources that interested them enough to come into your home.
Leaky plumbing, open food sources such as you might find in a disorganized pantry, open dog or cat food, unclean areas in the bathroom or kitchen, holes in your exterior walls, cracks in the trim or crown molding, and leaky windows are all contributing factors.
Before you begin the slaughter, you have to methodically go through your home and eliminate all areas of ingress and all sources of food and water that attract the insects, to begin with.
There’s no sense in killing the current infestation if another will follow soon thereafter.
Once you’ve cleaned out the pantries, eliminated any leaking plumbing, sealed the trim, crown molding, doors, and windows, then you can begin with the rest.
For fleas, your approach has to be indoor and out, especially if you have pets.
Start from the outside and work your way inward. Rake your yard and clean up all of the leaves that fleas and springtails like to hide under.
Burn or get rid of the leaf piles. Using a spreader or your own hands, spread cedar chips or diatomaceous earth across your entire lawn.
Not only will it kill and run off fleas and springtails, but many other irritating insects as well.
For the inside, use a strong pesticide to cover every hiding spot that bugs can get into, being careful to remove your pets until the spraying is complete. Or, you can hire a professional exterminator.
Clean your bedding, drawers, clothes baskets, sweep and mop everything. Spread a strong detergent over your mattresses, scrub them, and vacuum it back out.
Wash all of your clothing and bedding in hot water, including all of the kid’s clothes and all of the clean clothes in your drawers.
Natural Bug Killers
- Diatomaceous Earth
- Neem Oil
- Peppermint Oil
- Pyrethrin
- Lavender
These are some natural insect-killing methods that you can try as well, especially if you have small children and pets, and you don’t prefer to bomb or spray your home with harmful chemicals.
Diatomaceous Earth destroys insects with hard bodies and is especially terrible for hard-shelled insects.
The grains are razor-sharp, cutting into their bodies and sucking all of the fluids out of them, essentially mutilating and dehydrating them at the same time.
Neem and Peppermint Oil are a great combination. The Neem oil kills while the Peppermint drives insects away while improving your home’s smell. Lavender serves the same function as peppermint oil.
Pyrethrin is a derivative of the chrysanthemum flower, so it’s natural but attacks the insect’s nervous system like a synthetic pesticide.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. The most common types of brown insects or arachnids that you might have unfortunate bad luck to cross paths with.
However, now you also know how to get rid of them and, more importantly, how to keep them from coming back.
Alright, that’s it for this article, here are a few hand-selected articles that you might also find interesting reads:
Small, Tiny Brown Bugs in My House – What Are They?9 Most Common Kitchen Bugs Identified
Tiny Black Bugs on Your Kitchen Counters? Here’s What To Do
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