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Does anyone have an idea what this arthropod is? I first found one in the bath but have since noticed them on the walls, ceiling and on linen around the house. They are 1mm long, look brown in colour and I think they have 6 legs. Couldn't get a better pic than the one attached.

Size: 1mm Location: Sussex, UK

arthropod in bath

tyersome
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Ben Davies
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  • Wood framed house by any chance? Sort of looks termite-ish from that angle. I'll let the experts answer though. – Jiminy Cricket. Sep 22 '21 at 11:43
  • It's timber framed, covered with brick. Plasterboard on the inside. Built this year. – Ben Davies Sep 22 '21 at 13:02
  • Looks more like an insect than a mite. – blacksmith37 Sep 22 '21 at 16:14
  • Welcome to Biology.SE. Six legs is inconsistent with mites (which have eight legs) so I've edited your question to use the more general term arthropod. Please borrow something with better close-up capability and see if you can get better photos — the current photo is so tiny and unfocused I doubt anyone will be able to give you a definitive id. – tyersome Sep 22 '21 at 17:38
  • Thanks for correcting my poor terminology! I'll see if I can get my hands on something with better magnification! – Ben Davies Sep 23 '21 at 07:54

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This appears to be a booklouse (psocid). They are tiny, harmless insects that are common in buildings. It is normal to have small numbers of them.

nevillepark
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  • Nice first post neville, welcome to Biology. – Jiminy Cricket. Oct 01 '21 at 17:50
  • Thank you! I have been active over on Reddit's bug ID forums and it only recently occurred to me to check out what's on StackExchange. I am mostly interested in arachnids, but can ID a lot of common insects people find around the house. – nevillepark Oct 01 '21 at 18:02
  • Thanks Neville. Yes that looks spot on! Had rather a lot of them! A few hundred. Think we've got a humidity issue so that would make sense based on what I've just read about them. – Ben Davies Oct 02 '21 at 18:15