[rauderce]

Background information: I live in Singapore, a year-round hot and humid environment. 33ºc and 80% humidity easily.

Hi guys. In the past week I've been pestered by a new kind of bug. The exact location that it keeps flying around is under the dining table which serves as my home office desk (which has wood components, but very little). As I've 'hairy' legs the bug seriously affected me and I have spent at least 30 hours around the house to deal with this issue.
I concluded that either the insect is:


1) extremely small or white that i CANNOT see
or
2) it is a quick flying insect that flies to another position each time i move/look down at where my legs are



The features of the fly is that it has a long and pointed end, its wings has black dots and if the wings are removed the fly actually looks like an extremely small prawn (the seafood).

First suspect: Moth flies
Thinking it might be moth flies I cleaned all drains of both of my toilets, I removed the drain covers and gave it a full scrub, removing all of the moth fly eggs, I also sprayed insect repellent, and pour boiling water to temporary control the problem; all areas that might have drain flies I have cleaned and plan to start using D5000 which is the chemical/gel that is targeted at getting drain flies.

However I began to suspect that this might not be the actual problem because the amount of moth flies are significantly reduced in the toilets however my the bugs continue to harass me.


Second suspect: Dirty areas/actual moths
I took 'samples' from the areas that are dusty and left untouched, in my attempt to identify if there are any actual infestations. To no avail I couldn't find any specific fly other than the moth fly that is around. I wiped down all areas that are near the table, and checked repeatedly for any possible cause.


Third suspect: eggs under the table/beside the table/on the table
Wiped it down continually, swept and vacuum continually, insecticide is set and also sprayed continually.


After much frustration I went and bought insect repellent and used it once I feel the bugs start harassing me.


In the end I manage to come up with the insect in the photo and I suspect that it is the main culprit. Thus I really need help identifying this insect,I have googled and think that it might be the phroid fly(?)

Any information that can help identify issues, all of these happened just days to the bug issue i face:

1) I have removed a stack of old clothes that have never been worn from years from my cupboard, and placed it near the dining table (have since thrown it away)
2) Had to move my couch recently, and a lot of the dust particles got blown out (have vacuumed the area, checked for any bugs which there were no indication, and sprinkled Mosquito magic crystals)
3) all around the floor there are small bugs that become powdery when crushed. This also started at the same time as my issues arose, moth flies? (I originally suspected these as the main culprit)
4) I stay at the 12th floor of a 13 floor condominium and have a huge amount of wind (carried in by wind?)
5) Prior to having this problem I just exterminated all ants from my house (possible food chain issue?)
6) I use my laptop on the table, the laptop is a source of light/heat (reduced brightness to lowest possible)
7) Days prior, I had a nervous day and my sweat might have got to the chair (I have since wiped it down fully), I was perspiring continually from the soles of my feet and continually to do so.



I have went from cleaning the drains in my house (suspecting moth flies) to cleaning hard to reach areas! I'm at my wits end because I can't identify my issue!


PS: At the same location I am also pestered by small flies that are just barely 1-2mm in size. I believe they might be newborn insects or mites but I'm not able to identify them(?).

[Catsmine]

With all you have done, which is considerable, have you looked in to Midges? Several in your area look very similar. Here's a link with several species identified that may give you some ideas on where else to look.

http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/61/61rbz779-793.pdf

After all the cleaning and insecticide use, you may need to look into mechanical exclusion such as finer mesh window screens.

[rauderce]

Catsmine,

Thanks for helping out! I'm actually narrowing the cause down to midges or mosquitoes, in fact after you pointed me to midges I found a bug that was extremely similar to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culicoidea

I suspected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culiseta_longiareolata
Which is almost identical to the one in my image, pointed nose with couple o dots on its wings with midge family legs. However I couldn't find any information if it's breeding in Singapore.

Regardless because mosquitoes area really common in the country I'll be looking for stagnant water/breed grounds; clearing them and be getting the plug-in repellent for mosquitoes.

Will try to get at it as mosquitoes first, if all else fails I will know to narrow it down to midges. And get a bug zapper!


I just hope it isn't spider mites or any of that nonsense!


Thanks so much for your help! Will revert to the thread if all gets better!