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Housekeeping

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Creatures in my cupboards! :o What are they??

41 replies

jamandjerusalem · 25/08/2009 13:37

They are small, maybe 3mm max, tiny beetle-type things, almost clear ie very pale.

Not weevils, I've googled images and ruled them out. These critters look a bit like something that'd crawl out of a dusty book.

What are they and how do I get shot of them?? Yuck

OP posts:
jamandjerusalem · 26/08/2009 11:37

Thanks for the advice, Cyradis

OP posts:
CyradisTheSeer · 26/08/2009 12:07

This reply has been deleted

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ejbab · 26/08/2009 12:16

I live in Australia where all manner of icky creepy crawlies live alongside us. At the moment I'm waging an unsuccessful war against pantry moths. They too arrived in a bag of flour last October when making DD1s birthday cake. The best tip I've had by knowing Aussies since is to freeze all flour, muesli, and other weavil attracting and containing foodstuffs for 48 hours to kill them off, before relocating them to air tight tupperwear. yuk. But just be thankful you don't have cockroaches under your sink and a fist sized huntsman spider lurking somewhere under the fridge.

beanbump · 26/08/2009 12:37

Jamandjerusalem - it is the fresh plaster! We have these in our house (new house) I sent a sample to the council and the came back with psocids! Apparently 60% of new homes will have them because of the damp plaster. They are also worse in the summer time when it is hot and humid and thankfully we haven't noticed them in the winter. We have been in our new house for nearly 3 years and they still appear every summer!! Sorry for the news!!

jamandjerusalem · 26/08/2009 12:47

Hey, that's sort of good news, thanks beanbump! Glad it's no indication of my hygiene habits. On the other hand, every summer?? ] How tedious! Do they just pack up and leave of their own accord come autumn, or do you 'deal' with them?

OP posts:
beanbump · 26/08/2009 13:06

I have learnt not to be so bothered by them as they are fairly harmless!! Got so stressed in the beginning when DS was a baby. And everything is in air tight containers just in case!! Ours are pretty bad around the window sills so I filled in any cracks or spaces and that has helped slighty. The coucil recommended a crawling insects spray to get rid of them and hoovering!! Hoovering is done on a regular bases including window sills but didn't like the idea of the spray with Ds touching window sills. Also stop looking for them!! I used to spend so much time looking to see if I could find them and then get so annoyed when I saw them!! Madness! No matter how clean the house is they are there in the summer months - no idea where they go in winter - somewhere a little hotter!!

chegirl · 26/08/2009 21:26

We had an infestation of carpet beetles in our council flat. Ewwww ewwww ewww! It was the lavae that were horrible.

When I went into the kitchen at night and switched the light on they would all scurry away ICK.

I lived with them for so long I almost miss them.

beatiebow · 26/08/2009 21:28

I haven't seen our book lice for a couple of days-maybe that means winter is on the way?

glitterkitty · 26/08/2009 22:55

anyone know what is a small (like baby ladybird size & shape) black and cream mottled beetle that gives you a nip and appears in bedrooms?

Mummywhereisyourwillie · 27/08/2009 08:28

We had something where we used to live. Different colour and probably flour mites from the links on here, but they got everywhere. Into tins of cocoa, cereals, they had even started eating into a massive basket of dried flowers we had at the opposite end of the kitchen and a dough decoration (ie made from dough and varnished) someone had given me and I had stuck on the wall. There were little holes in everything.

I was working away at the time and each week-end the kitchen would be littered with them - we would then hoover and clean, only for them to be falling out by the next week-end. In the end my parents had to come around in the week and spray for me.

You will have to be very careful to bin everything remotely starchy.

crankytwanky · 27/08/2009 13:30

I have these!
I have a shiney new house too. (Well one year old.)

Touch wood they're just in the bathrooms atm. They seem to be very happy in the weave of a basket that I'm loathe to get rid off.

Blurgh.

TheDMshouldbeRivened · 27/08/2009 13:36

they are only made of flour so you might as well eat them

pollypentapeptide · 27/08/2009 16:18

Stop fussing, have you not heard of sieves?

My DD's now regularly reach for sieves when baking and take the disposal of mites totally in their stride!

BintOfBohemia · 28/08/2009 09:49

glitter - are they carpet beetles? We've had these too.

moosick · 29/09/2009 00:00

I've just discovered I have a booklice infestation yuck! turning my bedroom upside down to try to fight the issue and having to bin loads of stuff, and attempting to freeze the rest. Only guess is they came with a second hand book.. boooo hisss! prompting a good clean out as well as a few emotional outbursts!
God knows how I'm gonna sleep with all these creepy crawly images floating around my head

mummyto2under2 · 12/05/2024 20:42

Did you ever get rid of these? Currently going through the same. :(

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