Tiny Black Bugs in Bathroom NO WINGS: What They Are and What to Do!

Finding tiny black bugs in your bathroom can be uncomfortable, to say the least. Especially if they are persistent, or they appear in very large numbers, which they often like to do. 

When it comes to bathroom bugs, the most common occurrence are drain flies. These are harmless but a sign that the conditions in your bathroom drains might not be very hygienic. But, they very obviously have wings, considering they fly around.

Are you seeing bugs in your bathroom that have no wings? Well, that’s a bit more of a mystery. Here are some ideas on what they could be: 

Beetles 

When you hear the word beetle, you might be thinking about the large, shiny beetles that can often be seen in gardens or in the wilderness when the weather is warm. However, the order of beetles (Coleoptera) includes about 400,000 species. Some of those beetles are huge, but others can be very tiny (under 1 mm long). So, if you are seeing tiny black bugs that do not fly in your bathroom, there is a chance it could be a type of beetle. 

Tiny beetles are more commonly found in your pantry or kitchen, since they are attracted to foodstuffs like flour, rice, or pretty much anything else that’s edible. But, sometimes, these bugs can appear in the bathroom too. 

One of the tiny beetles that might appear in the bathroom can be the drugstore beetle. These beetles are pretty small (up to 3.5 mm in length) and they are technically brown, but might appear black to the untrained eye. 

The interesting name of the drugstore beetle comes from the fact that historically they liked to feed on pharmacological products. In fact, they might even do so today if they can get through the packaging, especially on supplements containing plant matter. 

If you have any of those in your bathroom, this might be attracting the  beetles, but it could also be something else. One drugstore beetle can lay 75 eggs at a time which explains how one bug can quickly turn into an infestation. 

Of course, if you are seeing tiny beetles in your bathroom, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are drugstore beetles – they could be any other type of beetle, but identifying the exact species is not that important – the steps to get rid of them are the same 

What To Do

• Try to identify the food source. Beetles only multiply if they have something to eat. If they are consistently in your bathroom, there must be something they are feeding on. Medicine? Health supplements? Any kind of plant matter? Pet food?
  
• Vacuum & clean regularly. Beetles are typically not terribly hard to get rid of, as long as you get to the bottom of things. Simply vacuum them up and repeat as needed. In the beginning, you might need to do this every day, but after a week or so all the bugs should be gone

• Try diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is an easy non-toxic way to get rid of most insects. If the above mentioned steps don’t work, try sprinkling some DE in the corners of your bathroom. This should help kill any remaining beatles. 

Ants 

One of the tiny black bugs that could get into your bathroom but do not fly are ants. You probably know what an ant looks like, but haven’t thought about the possibility of them being in your bathroom. Some ants can be very tiny, so take a close look at the bugs you are dealing with. 

Ants might start invading your bathroom simply because they live nearby, but they can also be attracted to many things a typical bathroom offers: moisture, interesting scents, and sources of food (including hair and skiing particles on the ground – you might not be able to see them, but ants can) 

What To Do

• Eliminate food sources. Do a deep clean of your bathroom. A food source for ants doesn’t need to be literally food. Open trash can? Potential food source. Grimy drains or bathroom tiles? Also a potential food source. Open toothpaste? Tasty! 

• Find out where they come from. If you can identify the source of the ants, or a single entry point they are using to get in (might as well be the window or the air went), try to seal that up. Might just stop the ants. 

• Try white vinegar. White vinegar is one of the most common natural remedies used for fighting ants. It is believed to mess with their pheromones, which stops the ants from coming back to the same place. Simply wipe all the surfaces in your bathroom (especially those where you’ve seen ants) with white vinegar. 

Roaches 

Did you know cockroaches have wings? Yes, they do. Some use them to fly why others mostly avoid flying, but adult cockroaches do have wings. But cockroach nymphs – in other words, baby cockroaches – do not have any wings (or their wings are not fully developed). 

There are many types of cockroaches, so the size and color of their babies varies too. But, for example the baby of a German cockroach can be only ⅛ inches long (about 3 mm). They are also very dark brown, so might appear black. 

Cockroach babies go through a number of molting phases, growing bit by bit during each phase. But during the first phase, just after they hatch, they can appear as tiny black bugs. 

Now, if you are seeing baby cockroaches in your bathroom, this means there is a cockroach nest somewhere around and you might have a very icky problem (in other words, a cockroach infestation). 

What To Do

• Get rid of food and water sources. Just like any insect, roaches need something to feed on and they need water to survive. Do a deep clean and try to eliminate any food source for the roaches (they love to feed on decaying matter). 

• Clean the drains. If the cockroaches are coming out of your drains, try to clean them on a regular basis. But just regular cleaning won’t do. Try pouring boiling water along with bleach OR vinegar down the drain every few days until the bugs stop coming. 

Important note: never mix bleach and vinegar, this creates toxic fumes. Use only one of those at a time. 

If the cockroaches keep appearing:

• Try natural pesticide methods, like diatomaceous earth or boric acid. It’s not guaranteed this will work, but it’s worth a try. 

• Try cockroach baits. This is the easiest DIY solution to get rid of cockroaches 

• Call pest control. Cockroach infestations can be very difficult to get rid of. If you are not seeing success with DIY methods, contact the professionals, it’s definitely worth it. 

For more on getting rid of cockroaches, check out this guide. 

Mites 

If you are seeing very tiny (like, barely visible) black bugs crawling around your bathroom, and they don’t jump or fly, there is a good chance they are mites. Now, there are thousands of different species of mites, but not all of them will end up in your bathroom. 

The most common mites to be found in bathrooms are bird mites. This is a special type of mite that lives around birds and their nests and feeds on their blood. But what are they doing in your home, especially if you don’t have any birds? 

Well, if you are indeed having bird mites, it means there are some birds around. For example, if there is a bird nest outside your home, the mites might end up migrating into your home through the air vents. 

Now, bird mites are actually a bit scary since they do bite people. The good news is that they aren’t known to transmit any diseases. Also, bird mites cannot survive by feeding on human blood – they will die after a couple of weeks at most if there are no bird hosts around. 

What To Do

• Vacuum up the mites. Repeat as often as needed. Also clean all the affected surfaces with a disinfectant. Bird mites aren’t difficult to kill. 

• Try to identify the source. The mites must be coming from somewhere. Look for bird nests around your home (they might be in any small hole or crevice). Or perhaps there is a dead bird lying around somewhere. 

• Apply insecticide around the perimeter of your home, especially around windows, air vents, and other possible entry points. Not everyone will be interested in using chemicals, but if you don’t mind, insecticides like permethrin do work against bird mites.

Final Thoughts 

Having tiny little bugs crawling around your bathroom is definitely uncomfortable! No matter if they are in the shower, the bathtub, or all over the floor, it’s not something most of us want to see in our own homes. But, as you can see from this list, many of these bugs are fairly harmless (with the exception of cockroaches), but they can (and will) get into your stuff or even onto your skin, so it’s a good idea to get rid of them ASAP 

But what’s even better than getting rid of bugs? Not having any bugs in the bathroom in the first place. To prevent bugs from coming in, try to make your bathroom as unfriendly to bugs as possible. This means making sure they don’t find it a comfy place to live. 

And what do all bugs need? Food and water! So, make sure that any sources of food are safely stowed away. And don’t think just about human food – drugstore beetles, for example, can feed on medicine and many bugs will simply feed on what looks like dir to use. So make sure to clean often. Additionally, many bugs love moisture, so making sure that the bathroom is well ventilated (especially after a shower) can help. 

In any case, I hope this guide has been helpful!