Tiny Black Bugs in Shower

June 1, 2013 7:55 PM

I'm finding tiny little black bugs in only one shower in the bathroom. They are hard when I try to squish them. I've tried pouring Drano Gel down the drain, but I'm not convinced they are actually coming from the drain. I see them when I shower in the morning and at night. From googling, they do not look like drain flies. There are usually 5-6 of them. What are they and how do I get rid of them without going to an exterminator?
posted by telsa to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

are they oval shaped? If they are, they might be woodlouses which are generally harmless. I was told to just plug the drain when not in use because that is supposedly how they get in but I never did that and they stopped showing up after a while.
posted by juv3nal at 8:26 PM on June 1, 2013

Response by poster: Nope not those. They resemble tiny flys without wings
posted by telsa at 8:57 PM on June 1, 2013

I would suggest that you pour boiling hot water down the drain every day for a week and see if that removes them. Apparently, at least according to the exterminator that dealt with the drain flies in my apartment, there's sometimes gunk on the walls of the drain that attract all kinds of insects. The best way to get rid of them is to get rid of the gunk and also kill any eggs and larvae. In my case, that took some boiling water and several applications, but it fixed it for good after not having any luck w stuff like drano.
posted by gemmy at 9:11 PM on June 1, 2013

Do you know if your drains are metal or plastic? If plastic, I'd avoid the boiling water because it can deform the pipes.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 12:31 AM on June 2, 2013

Are they super tiny and hop a little? Those are springtails. We get them in our tub drain area every summer. I shoot Tilex around the drain, which kills them on contact and usually keeps them away for a day or so. Regular evening Tilexing seems to keep them gone most of the time.
posted by dayintoday at 6:01 AM on June 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: They are super tiny but don't hop. I can try Tilex. Drains are plastic so I'll avoid hot water.
posted by telsa at 7:14 AM on June 2, 2013

I don't mean to frighten you, but could they be lice? Like, head lice? I've had lice a couple of times over the years (long, curly hair, check!) and they've sometimes appeared on the shower walls during my showers.
posted by Emms at 9:06 AM on June 2, 2013

Response by poster: I don't think its lice. No symptoms on my end and I'm the only one that uses the shower. Also I have very short hair.
posted by telsa at 9:27 AM on June 2, 2013

Don't forget to pour some of your preferred cleaner through the overflow pipe (that keeps your bathtub from spilling). That fixed the problem when I had drain flies.
posted by gilsonal at 6:37 PM on June 2, 2013 [1 favorite]