These bugs appeared last year in most holiday homes here on a riverside site in Northamptonshire, UK. They're back this year in hundreds. They appear on ceilings, walls, windows, cills etc. and prefer to live behind any crack or crevice. Fly spray doesn't seem to affect them. Poke a finger at them and they simply fall off onto the floor, look like they are playing dead for a while then crawl away to find a crack to hide in.
My initial thoughts were carpet beetles but they're the wrong shape and don't have hard shell wing covers. They do fly but not so much that you see them flying around the place.
Anybody got any ideas on what they are and how to get rid of them?
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I believe you might have identified your bug - Elm Seed Bugs as pictures sure look the same especially the sides of the bug and the head.
The problem with identifying bugs from homeowners pictures is that usually pictures are not clear enough (maybe taken too far away) but I found the problem with your pictures was that it appeared all pictures were of turned over dead bugs so you could not see the top side of your predictor. Then I noticed the last picture was dark but did appear to be the top side of your bug.
Glad you were able to identify this bug.
Now, does that mean that you have a lot of Elm trees in your yard or neighborhood?
They do appear to be mostly harmless but definitely a nuisance.
It appears these bugs have landed in parts of the US but originally came from Europe.
Some information from University studies:
"Apply a band of insecticide at least 1 foot wide all the way around your elm tree's trunk. Spray just below the point where the lowest branches meet the trunk. The chemicals kill the larvae when they crawl down the tree to pupate near ground level.
Unlike other insects, elm seed bugs can live a long time, usually around five years."
Here are some sites that might help you deal with your lingering bugs.
www.bbc.com/
homeguides.sfgate.com/
utahpests.usu.edu/
This is a species of the cockroach. The cockroach has a hard body shell on the outside and also has wings that allow the roach to fly. They come out during this time of the year and they can live in the walls of your home. I would set out some roach traps and also some sticky fly tape in order to trap these and get them out of your home.
This is Hermetia Illucens- better known as Black Soldier Fly. It mimics the fly, and has a long wasp like body. They are not dangerous to humans or animals. They like nectar from flowers, In fact this insect has often been used as feed to animals.
Following further research we now believe these to be Elm Seed Bugs. Photo comparisons are almost identical.
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