Booklice in new build

[Emmyyyx]

We moved into a new build January 20 and over the last week found booklice all in the main bathroom and then my sons room which is the room next to it!

Went on a hunt around the house and found multiple in all rooms - I’m killing loads every day, hoovering all the time, bleached all skirting and bathrooms!

It’s making me ill as I’m constantly on the hunt for them and constantly crying about it (I am pregnant so hormones won’t be helping)

Bought 2 plug in dehumidifiers and hygrometers and loads of disposable dehumidifiers and whacked the heating up the last 3 days but it’s not something I can do constantly!

I know they are harmless but it’s the fact they breed so quickly I feel if I’m not constantly on the go getting rid of them then my house will be over run.

Anyone had these in a new build and managed to get rid of them??? My partner tells me when the house dries out they will go but I can’t cope with another year of this!!

Yes I'm in Scotland. So far I've found the booklice in bathroom and upstairs hall cupboard. 2 or 3 make them downstairs into the kitchen through the floor boards and the light fittings but the problem is definitely upstairs. Sometimes I admit defeat and say to myself, live with it, other times I say I qpnt be defeated!

Asheee I have pmd u 👍

If anyone is interested in starting a whatsapp group for this issue then please pm me. This forum was a good starter but not the most accessible and I don't generally like forums!

Hello, staying away from forums etc. is a bit good, I'm trying to stay away from things that remind me of them, I don't even want to enter this forum anymore. I'm trying to live with them, I've accepted some things, I realize that the warriors inside me have started to lower their swords, just go with the flow, everything will be okay one day...

Fair enough
how are you getting on with springtails

They appear when it gets dark, I don't fight them, the medicines don't affect them, I can see hundreds of them when I turn around. They usually occur on outer marbles. I don't keep soil, flowers, etc. so they can't live in groups. How are you?

Yeah a few outside
odd couple wander indoors fed up really
do any come indoors for you?

I guess they can't live inside, it's impossible for them not to be inside when there are so many springtails outside, I'm not at home right now, I've been away for 2 weeks, I don't know what happened. I don't know what awaits me when I return, I'll be back in a week, I'll write here again.

Has anybody got any update on this :( I moved into a new build in September 2023 and have got them in every room at the moment (only a few in my kids rooms) but I see lots in the bathrooms as they have no windows and the kitchen. I have been ventilating also got some moisture bags and I’ve brought a dehumidifier! Also caulked loadddsss of cracks in the house which helped. I’m going crazy about them I can barely function!!!! I constantly feel like there on me! Can you all please recommend me sprays to help with them? That is also safe for dogs and children? thanK you!

Hi o don’t know about sprays suitable for pets but dethlac helps and zero in from screwfix
are you getting a lot numbers wise?

Everytime I go in the bathrooms I kill atleast 2/3. Kitchen varies throughout the day might see none when I go in then when I next go in 1, same as my bedroom which is connected to my ensuite which has some. I have mould behind my shower in the ensuite which I’m awaiting being fixed next week and also mould in my kitchen which I’m having viewed tomorrow. But I never noticed them till recently I guess it’s a new build thing? Some of my neighbours also have them. So don’t know if this counts as a lot of numbers? How are yours now do you still have them?

Hello, I've been home for a few days and I guess it's raining so I can't see the springtails. I first noticed them when sunny and warm days began to arrive. I haven't sprayed for book lice for a month. I still come across a few dead bodies in the bathroom and toilet. I check the rooms of the house from time to time, but I stopped checking as before. I don't know why I come across it in the bathroom and toilet, I always see it in the same place. What is your situation? I am aware that your concerns are at their peak as the weather gets warmer.🥲

I'm having a terrible day... Unfortunately, the number of lice that have been sporadic so far is high. I wanted to look at places in the house that I hadn't checked before and I always found them. I did not stop spraying, but this only prevented them from being seen in my eyes, I am very sorry... I could not find a solution in any way, today I am back to my old self again, that constantly crying state.

I am going out of my mind at the minute in regards to booklice! I’m 7 months postpartum and I’m honestly so worried about my MH. I noticed book lice on 3 of my interior upstairs doors about 20-30. Then read all the comments, noticed them in old cereal boxes from a few months ago, then in baby’s room, then living room, kitchen, bathrooms the whole bloody house.

We had a pest control person here who sprayed the entire house and I’ve been running a dehumidifier every day, alternating between each room.

I’m going round with a magnifying glass and torch checking every fleck of dust to see if it moves, I’m still finding a few moving ones and I’m honestly going round the bend. I sat today for 10 mins when DS was napping looking at what turned out to be a bit of fluff. It’s become my entire personality all I can think about, all I talk about.

I know I’m being dramatic but I’m so close to packing up me and baby and moving out. I’m already dealing with PP anxiety and this has just made things so much worse. I keep trying to tell myself it’s not bed bugs or a rat or something and I know people are going through so much worse and this makes me feel guilty and pathetic but I can’t help it. If I wasn’t on maternity I’d probably never have noticed to be honest.

Do I just try and forget about them? I’ve read every website and forum post, called various pest controllers and it doesnt seem like this will ever end.

We have had similar issues since moving to a new build 18 months ago. Once you start looking you can find them in most rooms in the house. After a few months we noticed lots coming out of the bathroom door. It was a hollow type door made up of cardboard honeycomb structure. Despite drilling holes and spraying inside it with insecticide they kept appearing, initially we sealed the entire door with polythene sheet to contain them. Eventually we had a new door fitted. On dismantling the old door it was absolutely infested. Since then we are still finding a few of them but much reduced numbers, perhaps 1 or 2 a day in various rooms.

We now have a daily routine to do a complete check of the house a couple of times a day so that we can relax in between times and assume some sort of normality.

If we find them in regular places then a closer inspection of the area usually shows up a small crack or hole in the woodwork or plaster. This can then be opened up slightly to allow a good spraying inside with insecticide before sealing up with filler.

Yes it feels like this will never end but looking back to when we were getting loads of them every day the situation now is much improved and maybe one day soon they will be gone. But it may also be unrealistic to expect a completely bug free house.

I can’t tell if I’m relieved or horrified to find this unofficial booklice support group :)

I feel so much less alone in my distress knowing that many of you feel similar.

I have both the black booklice and the transparent ones. The black ones are in my kitchen mainly and live off the mold I think is hiding behind my cabinets, but they also like food mold.

The transparent ones are mainly in my lounge on my book collection, and apparently like the mold on book glue. But I’ve begun inspecting other rooms and found them elsewhere too.

Google searches and pest control people I’ve spoken to say to reduce humidity to 45 degrees and they will go away eventually.

is that not true? Have you kept your humidity at 45 and they have still stayed?

im not cleaning too often as I know the moisture attracts them. I’ve removed mold where I can see it, hoovered lots, locked away all food, started putting my books in my freezer, sprayed bug killer in houseplants, put lavendar and peppermint oil around the house, put hanging disposable dehumidifiers in wardrobes and storage cupboards, and when it’s dry outside I open all windows and when it’s raining I shut windows and have two dehumidifiers running which are getting down to around 45 - 52 each day.

does the dehumidifying not get results?!

I’ve had the humidity at around 40 in my whole house and have had the humidity at 33/34 in rooms I’ve been running the dehumidifier i usually leave it running for 12 hours per room but have had it going 24/7 for the last 3 weeks.

windows open in rooms the dehumidifier isn’t in. Fan in bathroom running for hours and window open after showering.

have put diatomaceous earth around the house in places where I’ve seen them but where I know my baby won’t crawl.

fixed a small leak in a tap and resealed my shower. House is really dry and no mould present. Had pest control spray the whole house with insecticide.

BUT I am still finding them. Nothing stops them.

Are you in a new build?

how long have you had them for?

do you see hundreds of them or just one or two?

I can’t believe I’ve gone my whole life without hearing of them or hearing of anyone else having them and now they are with me for life, it seems.

I think I got mine in Brighton. I lived in a grade II listed building that had damp, mould and mildew. I was a lodger and on top of existing damp and mold issues, my landlord had works done which caused a pipe to burst, and everything got wet.

I remember seeing two black mites on my chopping board when I lived in Brighton but assumed they were weevils. Then when I left Brighton and moved into my current flat (built in 1970s) I soon noticed the black weevils again (actually black booklice) in my kitchen. Almost certain I brought them with me and pretty sure the transparent ones came along too.

I’m a little bit phobic about chemicals - I get paranoid about them being harmful to me.

i bought some Raid, but not used it yet. I keep spotting the black booklice in my kitchen. Particularly around the sink.

I’ve emptied the cupboard under the sink - am I safe to spray raid in there? I was thinking of spraying it under the sink and along the skirting boards of kitchen.

just feels counterintuitive to spray poison where I prepare food…like it might harm myself unintentionally. But feel like what with the number of eggs they lay, I need to just kill them asap after all I’ve had the bottle of Raid unused for several days now.

what’s your thoughts?

It’s a new build but we’ve lived here for 4 years and only just had them this spring. I don’t know whether drying a lot more clothes indoors over winter has caused this for us, we also had a humidifier running when we brought baby home and I think that increased moisture.

Three weeks ago there were a lot on our bedroom door, Hotpress door, and our dry food cupboard (my fault for leaving boxes of cereal in there for a few months) then odd ones on skirting boards around the house.

now it’s maybe 5 a day but I fear if I don’t keep on top of it it’ll get worse. I know this sounds weird but I actually wish they were bigger so they’d be more easily spotted it’s the fear that there’s places I haven’t found them.

as a previous poster suggested, I go around first thing in the morning and last thing at night, sometimes in the middle of the day and remove any that I see. I’m trying with all my might to not let these things ruin my day everyday!

I’m not expecting to live in a bug free house, I know opening windows I’ll get the odd spider or whatever but it’s the way these can so quickly repopulate. I know I’m being a bit irrational as there is a lot worse going on in the world but it makes my skin crawl!

In all honesty, I don’t think Raid will work, I would even go as far as saying it won’t work. It might reduce numbers temporarily but it wont eradicate it. I’ve read this entire thread and every page on the internet about booklice. Spoke to several pest control companies and it is a moisture thing so you will need to get rid of any damp or mould and get a decent dehumidifier. Dry clothes outdoors and ventilate at every opportunity

Thank you :) it’s hard to have faith as many here say dehumidifying doesn’t work. What’s the best way to approach ventilation? I’m happy to have all windows open, but when, in that case, should I turn my dehumidifiers on? I have two of them.
I don’t seem to be over run yet…although I’ve not yet checked my three dark storage cupboards.
I want to get on top of this so I don’t get hundreds. A few here and there I can live with but I don’t want to let them get out of control

So I’d recommend opening all your windows around your house. Choose a room where you’re going to run the dehumidifier and don’t open the windows in that room, keep the doors closed in this room too.

Thank you, that’s helpful. Online I’ve seen it written a few times that “almost all houses have a few booklice” and even “if the numbers are low, ignore them”. But a female can lay 100s of eggs even without a male, so surely it can’t be the case that a house has just a few?
Or is it that it’s possible to live with just a few, as long as the environment remains unpleasant for them ie not humid? Maybe they live in small numbers in non-humid houses?
Just wondering if I can ever relax at the idea of just a few always being in every house, and having faith that can be true.

Hello we had a leak which was identified and cleaned
we are still getting the booklice 6 months later
they had reduced but feel
like they’re picking up again
black booklice mainly downstairs they’re on skirting boards and downstairs bathroom x
fed up will they ever go?