Yesterday I saw about 30 of these on the railing of my wood deck. At first I thought they were ants carrying crumbs, but after looking closer I only see a small black dot on the bottom. They seemed to be wiggling some. Today I found even more on the back deck and some on my wood front railing. I am not sure what they are or where they came from!
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
These are called Hypoaspis Mites- Wood Mites. They are not dangerous to people, but they love damp, moist, often older wood. Here is some history- www.hunker.com/
Could they be larvae? They arent crawling around they seem to move by wiggling back and forth but you cant tell they are moving unless you really stare closely. I dont see any legs or anything. Its almost like a tiny tan cone body and the few Ive smashed I see a black tip and a little black inside.
Do they bite
These are wood mites and they love to live on damp wood. If you've had a lot of rain lately and the wood is or stays damp you can attract these bugs and they are a pain. They do not hurt the wood but they are hard to get rid of and I would suggest that you do this because when they hatch you'll have tons of mites all over your home and yard and then it is a mess to get rid of them.
Im adding a few more photos I tried to take them closer up.
These are really too small to be able to tell unless we had more knowledge about your area and probably your wood.
I would suggest you take your pictures to your local Ace or True Value Hardware store and ask them for help. They should be able to tell you what this is as well as what to do about it.
You can also send pictures to your local county extension office as they will be familiar with your area and can help you find answers.
pickyourown.org/
Thank you for your suggestions! I live in Kansas City and Im not sure the type of wood but our deck was built about 3 years ago.
I ended up emailing an entomologist that was listed and he thinks they are small bagworms. That makes sense because after doing some research it looks like the neighbors behind us have bagworms in their tree.
There are safe ways to get rid of these icky things. People around here burn them, but I find that dangerous because it is a pollutant.
This wiki gives the easiest way...hot water and dish soap:
www.wikihow.com/
Post back with an update.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
