I have been plagued by these pests at three different locations now. I first came across these bugs in an apartment in east Hollywood, CA. They were never a big problem there and I soon moved into a new apartment in West Hollywood. Apparently a few of them made the move with me, and over the past 2 years they became a near infestation. I had terrible landlords who were reluctant to do anything about it. I have now moved into a house in Temecula, CA, and once again a few of these bugs hitched a ride in some of my moving boxes and I am now finding them in every room in my house.

They congregate mainly in my kitchen, primarily the sink area. I have never found them in my food and they seem to canibalize each other regularly, as I have found a number of dead ones dismantled with live ones in close vecinity. They like the dark and scatter when I turn a light on. In my West Hollywood apartment, their main hideout was the gap between my kitchen cabinets and the wall. They also hide in the cabinets, under appliances, behind hung pictures, and even in electric sockets. Wherever they congregate in large quantities, they leave a big mess.

They are extremely resiliant. I have taken to washing them down the sink whenever I come across them, but I'm afraid that they reproduce much too quickly for me to keep up with.

Keeping the area clean or dirty doesn't seem to make a difference. A couple of months ago I was away from home for 3 straight weeks. I had hoped that without me there to provide a water source and food crumbs, their numbers might deminish, but they survived without me just fine.

They are starting to get out of control again at my new home (one just scurried across my desk while I was typing this) and I need to know what they are and what to do about them.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! In the photo, the one on the left is nearly full sized and approximately a 1/2 inch long. The one on the right is, in my estimation, a "baby." The adults appear to have wings, but none of them fly. They don't bite. The most striking feature is the pair of "racing stripes" on their heads, which are dark brown/black in color.

I have never come across any of their larve, but they do occasionally deposit a shell-like sack and I suspect that this might be linked to their reproduction.

PS - Sorry my bugs aren't as "sexy" as some of the more interesting photos on this site. :)