Our dog sleeps on a few towels in a box and I have noticed that there are always a few black bugs about the size of a small ladybug crawling around in there that can easily be crushed and emit a strong, putrid smell like stinkbug.

I don't think that fleas can are this big and can not be smashed between ones fingers. Could they be bed bugs?

Does anyone have any idea what they are?

Edited July 31, 200916 yr by Ulysses G.

Our dog sleeps on a few towels in a box and I have noticed that there are always a few black bugs about the size of a small ladybug crawling around in there that can easily be crushed and emit a strong, putrid smell.

I don't think that fleas can are this big and can not be smashed between ones fingers. Could they be bed bugs?

Does anyone have any idea what they are?

Sounds like bed bugs to me, Ulysses. Best nip that in the bud, once they establish themselves....

This is a bedbug.

These are dark black , oval shaped and look like small black ladybugs.

The strong smell emited when they are crushed seems like it would be a clue.

Edited July 31, 200916 yr by Ulysses G.

You have any red spots on your body in the morning, like a mosquito has bitten you?

If you have, then it's bedbugs.

Get processional help, you can not get rid of them on your own. (eggs in ceiling cracks, in the floor, the walls etc.)

Edited July 31, 200916 yr by PoorSucker

No bites and they don't look like any pictures I've seen of bedbugs. I just can't figure out what they are.

Do they look like black sesame seeds? If so, you are looking at young ticks. If they are a bit rounder with their legs up front then it could be adult ticks, as yet unfed. When they are young you can pop them, when they are a bit older, they have an exoskeleton which makes it difficult to crush them. Unfortunately, they can give dogs quite nasty diseases - mine ended up with tick poisoning which damaged the nerves in her legs. Her back legs are still occasionally a bit wobbly. You'll need to get to the vet to apply some spot-on tick killer.

Or you could have carpet beetle, which is harmless to the dog but will eat your textiles.

Edited August 6, 200916 yr by pongosnodgrass

No bites and they don't look like any pictures I've seen of bedbugs. I just can't figure out what they are.

post a photo on here?!

Do they look like black sesame seeds? If so, you are looking at young ticks. If they are a bit rounder with their legs up front then it could be adult ticks, as yet unfed. When they are young you can pop them, when they are a bit older, they have an exoskeleton which makes it difficult to crush them. Unfortunately, they can give dogs quite nasty diseases - mine ended up with tick poisoning which damaged the nerves in her legs. Her back legs are still occasionally a bit wobbly. You'll need to get to the vet to apply some spot-on tick killer.

Or you could have carpet beetle, which is harmless to the dog but will eat your textiles.

When removing ticks make Certain you get all the tick, because they bury there head,If you pull the tick off and leave the head in it will cause infections , the same goes for humans

Usually end up with blood stains on the bed linen. If you dont have that prob not bedbugs.

We finally found a picture that looked like them, but brown instead of black, so we are still not sure. Anyway we sprayed the entire building several times and they seem to be gone and the spray guy said that if they return we can "gas" the room where the dog was sleeping and that should do it.