Tiny black bugs in your kitchen could be any number of pests that frequent South Florida homes.

Ants

Ants, especially in warmer months, can be seen trailing in lines, while foraging for food. Sporting six legs and elbow-shaped segmented antennae, ants appear:

Typically black, brown, or red
Usually between 1/4” and 1/2” in size
With a small “waist” and large abdomen

These nuisance ants regularly frequent South Florida kitchens. Fortunately, they pose no health threats and are not destructive, they can be exceedingly difficult to get rid of without the help of a professional pest control service such as Petri Pest Control Services. The ants in your kitchen don’t live there, so spraying them only kills the ants you see. Our credentialed technicians are trained to know where to place baits in your yard that ants will take back to their nests, thus eliminating tiny black ants from your property.

Cockroaches

If the tiny black bugs you’re seeing don’t have the recognizable head, thorax, abdomen, and the six legs that ants can be identified by, your tiny black bugs are likely immature cockroaches. Fast runners that are difficult to catch, one of the most troubling things about seeing small black bugs in your kitchen means that cockroaches are nesting somewhere nearby. It’s important to eliminate roaches in your kitchen as soon as possible before they grow into a full-blown infestation. Cockroaches crawling around in your kitchen, in your pantry, and on your appliances can contaminate food because they can carry Salmonella and E. Coli (Escherichia coli). Also, roaches can cause allergic reactions in some people, especially children. Typically reddish-brown, immature cockroaches:

Have oval-shaped bodies
Are usually between 2/3” and 3” in size
Can move very quickly
Prefer dark, moist areas

Cockroaches like warm, dark spaces to breed, such as under your fridge. While there are a lot of commercially available products on the market to address your cockroach issue, these products, do not contain the materials that licensed technicians use to eliminate cockroaches. You can do your part by keeping all food in air-tight containers, cleaning up all crumbs, and wiping up spills in food prep and dining areas as well as cleaning dishes immediately after meals and snacks. Air-tight trash receptacles can also help make your home unattractive to cockroaches.

Pantry Pests

Also, stored product pests, known as “pantry pests,” can appear in your kitchen, as tiny black bugs. Beetles and weevils can be brought into the kitchen in foods such as cereal, pasta, rice, spices, etc. Female pantry pests, looking for a quiet place to lay their eggs prefer the dark, quiet of your pantry. As a lot of folks only bake during the holidays, food beetles, weevils and moths have plenty of time to take advantage of your flour, biscuit mix, and other baking components. Storing your baking ingredients, as well as cereals and other grains in air-tight glass, metal, or hard plastic containers, in addition to wiping down your pantry regularly can help deter pantry pests and tiny black bugs from appearing in your kitchen. Fruit flies and drain flies can also appear in your kitchen and can sometimes be eliminated with a solution of apple cider vinegar and dish soap. Check out more ideas on how to get rid of fruit flies.

The best approach to eliminate the unidentified tiny black bugs in your kitchen is to contact a professional pest control service to conduct a free pest inspection to identify pests and to determine a plan of action. Petri Pest Control Services, a family-owned local company has been eliminating pests from Palm Beach and Broward County homes for over 60 years. Proactive home and business owners in Broward and Palm Beach Counties can contact Petri Pest Control Services for a free pest inspection. We’ll take care of your current pest issues as well as provide a protective barrier around your property, to prevent future concerns.