What’s This Bug? Tiny Brown Flying Bugs In Car

tiny-red-bugs-in-car
tiny brown bug in car
They are the size of a gnat and resemble the beetle
They are the size of a gnat and resemble the beetle

 

tiny-red-bugs-in-car1
car invested with tiny flying bugs

What:

“My husband and I both have little tiny brown flying bugs in our cars. We are actually infested with them in our cars.”

 

Where:

We live in South Florida and have tons of Palm trees in our yard that we park under.

I suspect it is related to the trees considering both of our vehicles have been invaded. These little critters are entering the cars in the little holes where the dash meets the hood.

 

Do you know which bug this is?

Help Shannon and her husband identify this pest.

Drop your comment below.

 


 

Got an ID request yourself?

Are little insects bugging you? Are you itching to know which bug you are dealing with?

  • Send a clear picture to dd2 [@] live [dot] nl.
  • Mention size. For instance 2 mm.
  • If possible with something for scale in it. Or something on the background. A remote control, a coin, or a banana if  you must.
  • Mention where you encounter the bugs. For example; in your living room in Carlsbad, California.
  • Mention characteristics. Do they fly? Do they bite?

 

We will post your pics here and help you determine what you’re dealing with.

65 thoughts on “What’s This Bug? Tiny Brown Flying Bugs In Car

    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate your time and effort.

      I’m not too sure if this is my bug or not. I just sent two more closeups of better quality for detail. They are the size of a gnat. They do resemble the beatle.

      We live in South Florida and have tons of Palm trees in our yard that we park under. I suspect it is related to the trees considering both of our vehicles have been invaded. These little critters are entering the cars in the little holes where the dash meets the hood.

      I appreciate your help.

      Thanks again!

      1. I am having the same issue! These things are horrible. I have bombed my car 3 times and have been using spray. It has helped a lot but I still see stragglers every so often. Have you been able to figure out what they are?

        1. Hi Amanda, I’ve asked a friend who lives in Florida too and he also thought they are Cigarette Beetles. You think it’s another species?

        2. I have the same problem. It started in my car, and now they are in my house. They are so annoying. They bite. I find them in my bed, on my bathroom sink. I am so sick of them. I hate bugs. I am going to try lemon pine sol. It got rid of my roach problem fast.

        3. I have them like even here I found them flying around my room and little tiny black poops on my bed! Sleeping under my blankets when I’m not!too scared!

      2. I have these bugs too!!! I got in the car after work today and literally had like 50 of them. Today was by far the worst I had to immediately go vacuum them up. Help!!!?!!

      3. Did u ever find out how to get rid of the brown flying bugs ,I live in houston tx. And they’re in my house. Please help.

    2. I have them too. Trying to find answers. Also live in central Florida. Did a lot of travel on road, in and out of hotels, just before discovering these in my car. I thought it was bed bugs, but now think they are drugstore beetles maybe. Mine look Exactly like your picture. I sprayed and vaccuumed yesterday and saw 2 crawling this morning. May try to repeat or bomb the car. I also park under oak tree, maybe the travel was coincidence. Wondering if it hitched a ride on my groceries or clothing as I saw one on my sons bag. Worried they could end up in the house.
      if anyone found something that kills them let me know.

    3. Kill it it’s bad for you and your pets and if you have it in your house or car everyone within 1mile from you probably has to. It’s a new kind of breed of the bedbug. It doesn’t have a name yet and it does not need a bed to stay alive. It can live in just about any in invirment as long as it has people or animals to bite. It drinks blood from animals and people and will eat plants. it can go from your car or house to your neighbors car or house in just hours.
      The government accidentally created this new bug when trying to genetically engineered one. but the bug escaped and has ben moltiplying and spreading across the United states. It is not poisonous but it does bite and it will drink your blood just like any other bed bug. Freezing temperatures will kill it and slow it down.

      1. I have these and I’m in Virginia. Do you know how to kill them!?!?! please help. I must be allergic to anything I have marks all over my body !!!! I’ve been dealing with it for 3 years and its like I haven’t been living or not me. It’s changed me in every way you can think of.

  1. I have had these for a couple of months in y car too and I park under trees in Tampa FL. I think they also will bite because I thought I had fleas in the car but I do not. I do not have pets in the car so fleas would have been from feral cats outside sleeping on the car.
    How do I get rid of them as tjey have been here for a while and I see there are quire a few. I am going to get car detailed but don’t want to until I have rhis under control. Another FL bug to worry about!!

    1. I have the same problem!! Just bought my car about a month and started noticing these little critters recently! Anyone found out how to get rid of them??? Help!

    2. I wonder if this is what I have! I live in Tampa and have to park under a tree. I am being bitten in my car but I can’t see what’s doing it. I got home today and I have 12 bites on my shoulder. I’m going to clean and spray my car tomorrow. I am really at my wits end. I’m sure it’s in the car because no one else is being bitten.

      1. Kill it it’s bad for you and your pets and if you have it in your house or car everyone within 1mile from you probably has to. It’s a new kind of breed of the bedbug. It doesn’t have a name yet and it does not need a bed to stay alive. It can live in just about any in invirment as long as it has people or animals to bite. It drinks blood from animals and people and will eat plants. it can go from your car or house to your neighbors car or house in just hours.
        The government accidentally created this new bug when trying to genetically engineered one. but the bug escaped and has ben moltiplying and spreading across the United states. It is not poisonous but it does bite and it will drink your blood just like any other bed bug. Freezing temperatures will kill it and slow it down.

  2. I have this issues as well right down to them coming I from where the dash meets the hood but I am in Houston. I really need to know how to get rid of them.

    1. Omg..i live in houston as well. I have a giant crack in my dash that conects to steering column. I used to park under an oak tree. I literally moved bc i think one got in my ear. I thought i was crazy but spiders i think are in there as well. There are always cobwebs around my car and now..im finding them on me or around me. I never knew bugs infested cars! But i think they are in electrical too, bc it gets weird. What to do???

  3. I have this issues as well right down to them coming I from where the dash and the hood but I am in Houston. I really need to know how to get rid of them.

  4. I’ve seen what appears to be the same or similar pests, in a package of Asian noodles.
    They must have arrived as larva in the product, eventually maturing and even eating holes in the clear plastic packaging before moving onto other nearby package food sources. Now I believe that I have seen them again, not on any food but a small window without any food sources near it.

    1. Hi Patsy, this sounds like it might be a type of weevil? I’m not sure of the bug type and would like to know too. I had seen these around windowsils, an old school projects of dried macaroni, a box of little chocolates that were stored with kids memorabilia, an opened box of pasta and a bag of flour that were not sealed. They are fairly slow-moving when they walk, small, spotted, and they fly. I hadn’t experienced any bites. Annoying. This was years ago, and I rarely see them anymore after sealing the gaps in my windowsill, after ziplock bagging the pasta & flour, and after finding the old forgotten stuff. With open doors and windows sometimes, I wonder if they’ve come in that way, or if a group had originally come in through some kind of dried food packaging.

    2. Thank you for the post Patsy. These things have been annoying me for awhile in my apartment in Hawaii and I was catching a lot of them on my hanging fly/gnat trap. After reading your post, I raided my cupboardsand low and behold a disgusting infested bag of dry Asian noodles. Threw out everything on that shelf and anything nearby I that thought was infested. Hopefully this mitigates the issue. But I would’ve never found it, if it wasn’t for your post. So thanks again!

  5. I have tried everything to get rid of them even professional pest control have sprayed my car, they continue to multiply. If someone finds a solution please let me know!!

  6. Yes! I went into my friends car today and their was millions of them! I thought they were ticks or fleas or something, but it was disgusting. Not to mention that they were crawling front the insides of the seat into my clothes! Ugh! Btw: we live in Florida

    1. Let me take your car to Michigan for January and February.The little sombitchrs will freeze,problem solved.

  7. i just discover one a week ago im my car n killed it, then with days another one and another one. also crawling on dashboard i just spray my car need yo vacum it now. i live in san diego ca. and park my car in an open old garage ..

  8. Have same problem; live in south Florida. Have a bout 10-15 per day. Haven’t seen any solutions posted. Any ideas?

    1. Have you found any suggestions to the problem? I have the same bugs and I get about 5-10 per day as well! Super frustrating.

  9. We have them in our bathroom and bedroom, and they are annoying. Does anyone know how to get rid of them?

  10. I am in south carolina and now have them in my car. They are so annoying and I don’t know how to rid my car now.

  11. I also park under a palm tree (south Florida) and had an infestation of these little bugs. I noticed them yesterday, and once you see one, you see a hundred crawling around everywhere. I sprayed my car with Ortho Home Defense spray and waited until the next day to drive again. As of today, the bugs are gone. Hopefully that means it is a solid long term solution. I sprayed the floors, seats and in the nooks and crannies, as well as along the exterior window seals and door cracks. I didn’t bring my bag into my house because the insects were also in there. When I went to wash it I noticed that there was another infestation right where i had left it in my garage. Ugh. Disgusting. DON”T bring anything in your house that could have larvae on it from the car!

    1. Hi! So I just notice these evil things in my car, did the ortho home defense work and did it keep them away? I went and vacuumed the shit out of my car and they were gone, even vacuumed the vent where I first saw them, go into the store after I’m done and go back into my car to find some hanging out on the dashboard again!!! Please help ! I want to cry!!!

      1. I couldn’t wait, so I called my mom and luckily she had some ortho defense, just sprayed every crevice down from my car specially in between seats/under seats, dash board where I first saw these evil critters the floors . I hope and pray when I wake up in the morning they are all dead!!

  12. So we had the same problem but we got rid of them with leather cleaner, scent clips that clip onto the ac, and by cleaning out out car. We also wiped the car down with lysol wipes. I hope this helps! 🙂

  13. Did anyone figure out what these are? I have treated my car three times and I still can’t get rid of them!!

  14. In Dallas…have them
    In my car. Had them last fall and they stayed away throughout the cooler weather. Now it’s warming up and they are back. Anyone figure out how to get rid of them?

  15. I have had this problem as well. But I noticed that I would only see them after visiting my moms house in Houston. I would always park under this ugly tree that covers her driveway and I would start seeing those bugs. But when I would go back home I would bomb my car and they would be gone the entire time until I go back to my moms months later and park in the driveway. It took a few times for me and my husband to catch the pattern but the only solution was to cut the tree down because those bugs are a pest! My mom didnt want to but it was either the tree or I wasnt gonna visit as often anymore(was pulling her leg) but it work! Tree down no more bugs in my car. Not really sure what kind of tree it was but happy to see it go! So my guess is that they live in the trees but not really sure why they like to get in cars or even where they come from. Very strange! Hope someone can figure this out.

  16. I think this is definelty a cigarette beetle. It’s the right colour and size. As for getting rid of it, I suggest diatomaceous earth. The bugs inhale the powder and suffocate. Very effective.

  17. Two years later from the original post, in Normal, IL and I have the same problem. Thanks Maddie. I will try this TODAY. My bugs are small black beetle looking. They fly, but not when you try to smash them, in fact they sit there as they get smashed. They are on the roof of my jeep. There were like three in my mirror visor on both sides! I kill them, get in the car an hour later after lunch and there are more!!! I am hoping by no one’s reply after Maddie, that her suggestions are the CURE!!!

    1. Hi Nicole,

      Did Maddie’s suggestion work for you? My fiancé and I hopped in my car for a 10hpur road trip and started noticing these little pests EVERYWHERE. We are slowly going insane. I regret to say, I left a box of unopened dog bones in my back seat for several months )I do not use my car often) and am afraid that may be what triggered these pesky little bugs. Any advice is much appreciated! We live in South Florida, FYI.

    2. Hi Nicole,

      Any luck with maddie’s Suggestion? My fiancé and I hopped in my car today for a 10 hour road trip and started noticing these pests EVERYWHERE. I regret to say I left an unopened box of dog bones in my backseat and I am afraid this is what attracted them (I do not use my car often). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. They are driving us insane!!

  18. Omg,,, I live in Los Angeles California. I have them in my apartment and they drive me nuts. I’m constantly killing them.i just smushing them with my fingers. So annoyed by theses brown bugs. HELP!!!!!!

  19. I have same in my house.. secaucus New Jersey, they started from my little room which we use as a walking closet.
    they don’t come out much in Winters but they will be out mostly when its hot outside.

    Terminix has tried but no luck any suggestion how to get rid of these bugs…

  20. Same problem, when I turn on my car air contioner, they come out of the vents. Started about three months ago. I tried using apple cider vinegar in a bowl on the passenger side floor board because my Mom used this for fruit gnats and it worked…..Nothing for these large gnats in my car, they just keep coming out of the air vents. Some days are worse than others. I don’t see them around the outside of my car, only when I turn on my air. I park under numerous oak trees. Parked under these trees for 20 years, no bugs during that time until this year. I live in Fort Worth and it has been super hot this summer….don’t know if maybe they seek water or condensate water around the air conditioner vents on the outside of the car…..I thought the air system was a closed system…so where are they coming from if being blown out of my vents everyday. VERY FRUSTRATING AND ANNOYING. Still looking for a solution. Will post is I find anything that works

  21. Check your seals around door hinges and windows… afterv2 yrs I found nests of bugs n beetles cacked in the seals. It was from a dying oak I parked under. NEVER park under trees or sick trees. It brought mites too. Had to suction n scrape clods of beetle nests…n use rubber seal cleaner n then reseal the loose gaskets n rubber molding. They look for overwintering in cars. Good luck!! N yes, vacumme everywhere!! Don’t ever eat in ur car! If u spray or bomb ur inhaling all that n it leaves moisture in ur car…heat activated poisons? No thanks!! Borax muleteam on carpets is good n vacummme up week later!!

  22. I’ve also been finding these annoying little bugs in my room! I’ll just be sitting on my bed and out of nowhere 4 or 5 will pop up around me. At first, I just ignored them but tonight it’s 1:15 am and I got bit super hard by one of them and I’ve had enough!! I really just want to get rid of them I’ve killed so many. We do have some old trees in my yard after the hurricane last year in Florida. I live in central Florida basically in the woods and I am so tired of these bugs helppp

  23. Hello,

    Long shot looking at the age of this thread but has anyone figured out a solution for these critters? I moved from Texas to South Florida and my car got infested somewhere along the way. Im having to literally drench every crack and crevice in my car with peppermint oil to kill them and this only provides temporary reprieve.

    1. Rubbing alcohol with essential oils kills them, but does not prevent new ones from coming. I use 70%-91% rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and add essential oils, like peppermint, orange, lemon, lavender, eucalyptus, camphor, really anything I can get my hands on. It kills them immediately but I haven’t figured out what’s attracting them. They are not in my pantry, they mostly fly on to the walls, lights, furniture, people, but I haven’t found any signs of damage on my furniture. My daughter’s car was infested but with continual cleaning and spraying, she only sees them on occasion. I can’t seem to completely get rid of them but there are way fewer than before after I started spraying them and spraying daily everywhere I have seen them congregate to.

  24. I’ve had the same issue in my car for three years!!!! Thankfully they haven’t gotten into our home. We were living in Tampa FL and there was a crack in the ground with an infestation of these diabolical bugs where I would park my car. I NEVER thought they would invade my car. One day I opened my car door and there was an infestation in my car. Since then I’ve sprayed it, bombed it, and keep it super clean, but they are still in my car. I’ve looked in every crevice, opened every compartment inside my car but I’ve never found the nest. I assume they are living inside of the body of my car somewhere? Now that it’s “cold” in florida I don’t see them as much. But once the temperature starts going up those little shits are back in full force bitting the crap out of my kids and I. If I ever succeed at getting rid of these little fucks I will let you all know.

    1. Please let me know if you figure out what these are! They’ve been driving me insane for 8 months now I don’t even feel like a real person anymore I’m constantly dealing with this shit in my car and my house. they used to bite and wake me up, but now I just notice bruises when I wake up (maybe cuz I have been so stressed I don’t eat as much, and sleep a little heavier) thank youu, I appreciate it!

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