Mold is common in many environments, often indicating excess moisture. Certain insects and other arthropods consume mold, playing a role in its natural decomposition. Their presence often signals an underlying moisture problem.
Common Mold-Eating Insects
Several small arthropods feed on mold and fungi. Mold mites are tiny, often nearly transparent, measuring less than one millimeter long. They can appear as white specks or a gray-brown “dust” on moldy surfaces.
Plaster beetles, also known as minute brown scavenger beetles, are small insects typically less than 1/8 inch (3 mm) long, ranging from yellowish-brown to dark brown. These beetles often have distinctive rows of tiny holes on their wing covers.
Psocids, commonly called booklice, are small, soft-bodied insects, usually 1 to 2 millimeters long, and are often pale gray to yellowish-white. Most indoor psocid species are wingless. Springtails are another group of tiny arthropods, rarely more than 5 millimeters long, with diverse body shapes and colors including pale brown, gray, or cream.
Why These Bugs Are Attracted to Mold
These small creatures are drawn to mold because it serves as a direct food source. Mold provides essential nutrients for their survival and reproduction, as many of these insects feed exclusively on the hyphae and spores of molds and other fungi.
Damp, humid conditions, often indicated by mold, are highly favorable environments for these arthropods. Their bodies are sensitive to humidity changes, requiring high moisture levels to prevent dehydration.
In natural ecosystems, these bugs contribute to decomposition by consuming fungal growths. Their attraction to mold is a biological response to an available food supply and suitable environmental conditions. Musty smells associated with mold, caused by microbial volatile organic compounds, can also attract certain insects.
Where to Find Mold-Eating Bugs
Mold-eating bugs are typically found in environments with high humidity, poor ventilation, or existing water damage. Common indoor locations include damp basements, bathrooms, and crawl spaces. Areas around leaky pipes or windows, and attics, also provide ideal conditions.
These bugs can infest materials like damp wood, plaster, paper products, and even stored food that has become moldy. Their presence indicates an underlying moisture problem. Plaster beetles, for instance, were historically named because they thrived on mold growing in newly plastered, damp walls.
Managing Mold-Eating Bugs
Effectively managing mold-eating bugs involves controlling the mold itself. The most direct approach is to identify and fix moisture sources, such as leaky pipes, roofs, or foundations. Improving ventilation in damp areas and reducing humidity, for example, by using dehumidifiers, helps create an environment less conducive to mold growth.
Thoroughly cleaning existing mold from surfaces is important. This can be done using household products like undiluted white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or a bleach solution on hard, non-porous surfaces. For porous materials, careful cleaning and complete drying are necessary. Removing any mold-infested materials that cannot be cleaned will eliminate the bugs’ food source, leading to their natural disappearance.