[1] The single also peaked at number 88 in the United Kingdom, becoming Regurgitator's first and only song to enter the top 100 in that country.

Nick Stillman from Happy Mag said "'Black Bugs' is the perfect archetype of how to create rock music with a metallic heart […] In a nod to 80s pop, the guitars are wrapped in a sheet of shimmering modulation, and the drums reverberate with digital desolation.

There's a curling keyboard solo too and a persistent sampled drum track that ties the whole song together.

"[2] In 2019, Tyler Jenke from The Brag ranked Regurgitator's best songs, with "Black Bugs" coming in at number nine.

Jenke said "'Black Bugs' was something of a timely anthem about being addicted to video games, backed by a computer-generated film clip that made listeners keen to head home, boot up their Nintendo 64, and blast some black bugs.