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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

My house is full of weird little cocoons - like invasion of the body snatchers but much smaller.

26 replies

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:20

I've not seen them before - they're on door frames and in corners - they were little green catterpillars and they've stuck themselves in awkward places and turned into spiky little grey things.

My question is - are they going to hatch soon into moths or something, or are they butterflies waiting until next year?

I don't want to pick them off if they're going to be something nice, but they won't be hanging around for a whole year will they? How long before the very hungry catterpillar hatched? Why are they all in my house?

That's all, thank you.

OP posts:

ParCark · 17/09/2008 13:23

Message withdrawn

thesockmonsterofdoom · 17/09/2008 13:24

ergh hoover them up now.

nervousal · 17/09/2008 13:24

eww eww eww

Uriel · 17/09/2008 13:25

Be afraid, be very very afraid...

fedupandisolated · 17/09/2008 13:25

and rofl at ParCark

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:27

NOOOOO! NO!

But it was a catterpillar - we watched a couple of them in the garden glue themselves down - they were green catterpillars so it can't turn into spiders - spiders don't come from catterpillars!

Cant hoover them, they're stuck down really really hard.

OP posts:

ParCark · 17/09/2008 13:29

Message withdrawn

psychomum5 · 17/09/2008 13:33

they will be moths......and they will eat your clothes and carpets and flitter flutter around your lights and at you and then scare you with the flittering in the night.

I know....

Cos I had them!!!

hoover them, or squish them and hoover them.

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:34

Eww that's horrible. So they're all going to get eaten and used as a spider vessel?? God.

Oh I don't want to pick them off, they might break up and things come out! Poor butterfly / moths.

OP posts:

ParCark · 17/09/2008 13:34

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:36

I know you're right psycho, but I caaaan't. I can't kill anything, even a fly. Actually nits are the only thing I can kill. I have to hoover around spiders, I even leave them a bit of web because I feel bad after they've made so much effort.

OP posts:

psychomum5 · 17/09/2008 13:36

what is ridiculous??? that they flitter??? they do, I have seen them/heard them.

and please, is that true about the spiders??? cos I hate them worse....

psychomum5 · 17/09/2008 13:37

lol @ leaving them in their webs because they have worked hard on it.

nah, they like redoing webs

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:38

I think that was sarcasm psycho. Because the normal reaction would be to hoover them up, you're quite right.

OP posts:

snorris · 17/09/2008 13:38

Are they very tiny? I think they will probably turn into moths. Our previous house had them and it drove me nuts trying to get rid of them all (adults & larvae). They attached themselves to the coving all round the kitchen and we found them in packets of cereal too. They may be grain moths.

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:39

I meant parcarks bit about it being a ridiculous suggestion was sarcasm. My hoovering disability very real.

I hope they really do like redoing webs, that'd be good.

OP posts:

psychomum5 · 17/09/2008 13:40

go on, you know you want to......

psychomum5 · 17/09/2008 13:41

ah, sarcasm......tis hard to get online...

silly psychomum is probably right tho, flamae would agree!

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:41

No they were bigger than that - the catterpillars were everywhere in the garden, hundreds of them - wonder why they came inside this year. About a cm or two long and spiky and pale greeny grey.

OP posts:

snorris · 17/09/2008 13:42

I don't hoover spiders webs either . Well not unless they're old and dusty .

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:43

Old dusty ones fine, it's the complicated and new ones that seems so rude to trash. And I hate spiders.

OP posts:

odearyme · 17/09/2008 13:47

They sound like cabbage white caterpillars. Try touching them , they still squirm. My kitchen ceiling is covered!!

Original poster

Boco · 17/09/2008 13:56

REally? Cabbage whites - well it wouldn't be nice to hoover them up - but when will they hatch? They're not going to squirm until next summer are they?

OP posts:

marina46 · 18/09/2008 10:00

can i join?

They sound like cabbage caterpillars, they originate from the white moths in the garden. The little buggers ate my whole brocoli and swede crop and now their trying to take over my house the same as boco described. Usually i wouldn't hoover up spiders because they eat flies and i hate flies more, but on this occasion i hoovered/scraped them all off because my gardener freind thought i helps to stop them coming back next year.

My advice is get rid!!

Icantbelieveitsnotbitter · 18/09/2008 10:46

I found DS1 a cabbage leaf with 50 caterpillar eggs on it. We popped it into a jar and he's watched the whole process from them hatching, and eating cabbage, to cocooning themselves up and now, 3-4 weeks later, we're watching them hatch and releasing them outside (did have to explain that now they're butterflies they need flowers and nectar not more cabbage !!)

They can hatch within 2 weeks but, they can also survive for 6 months cocooned - they use the length of daylight hours to judge when it's best to emerge.

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