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Post by Chrysoprase on Oct 14, 2009 22:38:30 GMT -5
I have carpet beetles in my house. They are every bit as disgusting as they sound. I hate them. I've written this post so many times and I've been just too ashamed to send it. I need to get my head out of the sand and deal with it though. I threw out my couch because they were in it. Throwing out the carpets isn't an option at this point in time.
I have been vacuuming them up. I have been trying to root out where they are but I'm worried about them being under the carpet. I often find them on my kitchen curtains. I found some in one of my hall cupboards so undoubtedly they're in the other one too. Now I know vacuum them up is the first way to deal with them. The second is to steam the carpets which I'd rather not do unless it's totally neccessary (due to the not having heat and worried about them getting mildewy if I get them damp).
I've looked at the various ways to kill them and Borax is listed as a non-toxic pesticide as well as having a multitude of cleaning uses. Unfortunately Borax has been reclassified by the EU and it's no longer on sale as a cleaning agent. Does anyone in the UK know where I can purchase it in person? I've found a site that sells it for a reasonable price but there's a £5 postage charge on top of that (which is reasonable since a box of it's heavy but it's still a lot to pay).
Are there any other suggestions for what I can do about these damned beetles and their icky wiggly offspring. They're not in my clothes. They're not in my living room curtains and I've not seen any on my bed, thankfully. I'm worried if I pull up the carpets I'll never get them laid down again. Are there any alternative pesticides to Borax I could use which are easier to obtain in the UK?
Onto the second issue.
It was with horror I saw some beetles up near my sink. They usually aren't there and it severely squicked me out more than the insects normally do (and since I usually find them rather squicky that's saying a lot). It's rather disheartening that I've been cleaning and finally trying to deal with them and they're finding new places to appear.
There's a wooden board that runs between the sink work surface and the wall. It wasn't secured properly so I just pulled it off. Pulling the board off didn't damage the wall since it was stuck on with some foamy type stuff. I found beneath it there's a lot of crumbling and cracked plaster and smallish hole in the wall that goes deeper.
Now this is all next to an electrical socket. It's also next to my sink. I'm worried the beetles are coming in through that hole. There's also a gap between the other board and the wall.
I have two options. The first is that I fix the problem myself. I've absolutely no idea how to do this. Normally I'd have called my father and he'd have either told me or come down and fixed the problem himself. I'm worried about what if I make it worse.
The second solution is I call my landlord and have them fix it. My landlord is the local city council and they have employees for this sort of thing. I could have the tap in my bathroom fixed at the same time. I'm rather worried about the idea of having someone in my house. It's still a mess. I'm even more worried about having them poking about in a place I think insects are coming through. I know it reflects badly on my own hygeine standards that I have insects in my house. I feel awful about it. It's also the same wall where the rats came through. (Though a different point in the wall. They came in through a hole under the sink, this one's above the sink.) I've read that having had rats can be one of the causes of the beetles.
I could also call my landlord and ask them to send someone to deal with the insects. It feels as if it's an admission of what a terrible person I am though. I hate having people in my house and it is still not clean.
The third issue is I have tiny little drain flies in my kitchen and bathroom, occassionally. I might see one of them a day. I've no idea where they're coming from. They did clear up for a while since I started cleaning but now they're back. I've poured bleach down the drains in case that's where they're living.
Fourthly. It's crazy that whilst the insects bother me I cherish the various spiders I have in my house, right? I hate destroying their webs. I see the spiders as my little bug-killing friends. Should I be doing something about the spiders too? There's not many. Do normal people go out and kill their spiders or throw them out? I help mine out of the bath when they get stuck and just leave them to roam the room as they please. Only don't say anything about the poison killing the spiders too. I know that's likely going to be true but I'd rather get rid of the nasties.
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Post by Meme on Oct 14, 2009 23:38:05 GMT -5
do not be ashamed- this is just one of those things that happen - I am not sure but some one esle may know-- there may be a powder that you can use that will kill them-- you would most likely have to lock any pets or kids away from the rug or carpet- I did get a powder here for the drains which you put in dry to begin with and leave for so long before running water down as they are in the dry drain area--(most likely--)
that is all I can say as I live in Canada where products maybe different- also we live in cold Alberta which certainly kills off most bugs over winter- we often get a few during the fall -
the powder will also kill the bugs in the vacuum but you need to dispose of that dirt more carefully if kids and pets are the area-
bugs do not care who you are but food does add to the situation so if folks eat on the rug etc- it does feed the bugs-- when my kids were little we used sheets for them to picnic on and kept the crumbs etc- out of the carpets - takes a bit more work and can be a safey issue if small fry are around-
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Post by ivorytower on Oct 15, 2009 0:44:59 GMT -5
I've had them too. I moved furniture to clean and found a whole bunch of them. I was so freaked out I sprinkled caustic soda which burned the carpet so I don't recommend that. The thing that worked was Raid spray for beetles (sold in Wilkinsons and I've seen it in supermarkets too). I sprayed every room and then went out for several hours. I did this a few times plus vacuuming and washing with very hot water.
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Post by limegreen on Oct 15, 2009 0:45:02 GMT -5
No wonder I can't find borax anywhere. And I had been looking. I have peruvian dermestid beetles. Like carpet beetles but much much bigger. And they're darn difficult to squish as well, they have a crunchy coating (yes, I have gone right of M&Ms in a big way, why you ask?). My little horrors apparently are harmless to humans, and feed on dead bodies. In my case dead mice. Well, I hope it is mice, or I'm gonna have to start questioning the neighbours. They have horrible little larvae that are nearly as big as they are. Luckily, they don't move so very fast, and when I see one, I catch it up in a tissue and squish it. They come out at night and sneak along the baseboards, but have been know to climb the walls and even into the beds. They also had a second home under the old couch, I'm glad it's gone.
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hopehope
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,815 
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Post by hopehope on Oct 15, 2009 1:02:39 GMT -5
I love reading this horrible stuff. Thank you, girls.
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Post by Chrysoprase on Oct 15, 2009 2:19:42 GMT -5
In any other position I'd agree that the beetles weren't coming out of the walls. But the work surface I've found them on, and the location they're in is pretty much inaccessible any other way. Besides I saw one escape back behind the wooden bit. I do think I'd feel happier with it filled in.
I hope I am seeing them because they are poor refugee beetles, cruelly evicted from their homes, scurrying about in search of new dwellings, trying to flee from the evil vacuum monster. I was actually seeing less of them for a while.
Hopefully winter will help kill them off or at least reduce the numbers. I can't really remember last winter too well though and if it reduced their numbers or not. It won't be their friend at least.
I'll do the drains once a week. I need to start working on a list of everything that needs done daily/weekly/monthly to get myself organised.
I've no pets or children, thankfully and once I get my new vacuum cleaner it'll be disposable bags so they'll be going out often enough I shouldn't need to worry if they're dead or alive. Thanks for the suggestions Meme.
Ivory, when I first saw them I squirted them with bleach. I'm thinking that's what one of the spots on the curtains is. I definitely don't suggest doing that either. But thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had kneejerk panic attacks in response. I have seen the raid spray for beetles. I've been a bit wary since it's airborne and I don't tend to go out and worrying what the person at the checkout will think of me buying beetle spray.
Limegreen, yeah I was looking online for Borax and it was quite a hunt. Took me a few hours to find a site that said it was reclassified so no longer available as a cleaning product. I think some people suggested it might be available in hardware stores but well, I've no idea if that's true. Looks like the internet site I found's the best bet. They've all sorts of other nice natural cleaning things too.
Oh! I'm glad I don't have big beetles. Mine don't crunch all that much. Ewww. I don't know if I can look at M&M's either now you've drawn the comparison.
Thanks everyone for making me feel not so bad about them and for the ideas so far.
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Post by bigrae on Oct 15, 2009 7:23:26 GMT -5
I have the little blighters too and see them more when you move the furniture to clean they hide behind skirting boards and in cracks in the kitchen walls they tend to appear after dark and eat crumbs and used tea bags.household fly spray will kill them as will flea spray.you could try flea killing carpet powder or bob martin flea fogger,all these products are available from wilkinsons or pets at home.All of these things work best when the rooms are clear and reasonably clean,i have found that since i have maintained one work top they dont appear there likewise my dds room is bug free since she cleaned it and vacuumed it.
Very good product for sink and bath plugholes is Easy sink and pipe unblocker 99p from Home Bargains i use it weekly to keep them clear no drain flys since its probably available at pound shops too.
If you can get your home ok and clear acess to each room contact environmental health and ask advice they may spray your home for you ,I had to do that some years ago for fleas,the man who came out said i was having problems cos id disturbed them by moving stuff cleaning.The stuff he used killed all bugs and was non toxic to humans and animals once it dried and was not an airway irritant,
hope this is helpful to you Bigrae
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Post by limegreen on Oct 15, 2009 7:34:00 GMT -5
Bigrae, I was rather afraid that "clear" might be one of the necessary condition to use any product to kill them, Clear will be a while yet in coming to this house. Clean-ish, but not clear.
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Post by StuffNoMore on Oct 15, 2009 7:53:43 GMT -5
Chrysoprase - is is possible to have someone from the States get some borax for you and send it off to you? Would it be the same as the 20 Muleteem Borax we have here in the grocery stores?
hugs
SNM
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Post by limegreen on Oct 15, 2009 9:55:15 GMT -5
Hopey, you know we're only here to amuse you,  ! |
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h
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Post by h on Oct 15, 2009 10:33:24 GMT -5
"There's a wooden board that runs between the sink work surface and the wall. It wasn't secured properly so I just pulled it off. Pulling the board off didn't damage the wall since it was stuck on with some foamy type stuff. I found beneath it there's a lot of crumbling and cracked plaster and smallish hole in the wall that goes deeper. Now this is all next to an electrical socket. It's also next to my sink. I'm worried the beetles are coming in through that hole. There's also a gap between the other board and the wall. I have two options. The first is that I fix the problem myself. I've absolutely no idea how to do this. Normally I'd have called my father and he'd have either told me or come down and fixed the problem himself. I'm worried about what if I make it worse." Fixing plaster is pretty easy. There are two ways to do it, depending on the size of the crumbliness. (Unless you really, really want to get into home repair, resist the temptation to take an expansive view of "the crumbliness". I once ended up taking down the better part of two walls because I didn't heed this advice. They're all fixed now, but don't go there unless you need to. What matters is that the plaster you use for repairs have something to grab onto, as opposed to loose plaster dust. It does not matter whether that something is e.g. cracked or in some other way imperfect.) For small holes: knock out the *plainly* loose plaster, so that you have a clean hole that the new plaster can grab onto. Get some plaster - ready-mixed is easiest. Fill the hole with plaster, using a putty knife or some other straight-edged tool. If it's deeper than, oh, 1/4", do this in layers, so that the plaster can dry. On your last layer, make it as smooth as possible, and when it is a little dry (hard enough to keep its shape, but not *completely* dry), smooth it off some more with a sponge or paper towel. When the plaster is dry, sand it until it's smooth; then prime and paint. For a larger hole, you can replace some of the plaster with drywall, rather than plastering it yourself. (Basically, the drywall is like a puzzle piece that you put into place to replace part of the wall; you treat the areas around it, where the drywall meets the plaster, as though they were an unusually long and straight crack. See above.) Here's a good video about how to do this: www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,1631611,00.html Some parts of fixing homes are hard. But fixing plaster really is simple, in principle -- like making mud pies, or frosting a cake. There's this stuff; it needs to be able to grab onto some existing stuff -- the lower layer of the wall, or other plaster; it needs to be smooth; layers that are too thick will not dry well, and may crack, the same way mud does. That's all. |
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Post by disorganizeddragon on Oct 15, 2009 12:05:07 GMT -5
Chrysoprase & Limegreen, First of all, I'd like to thank both of you for helping me to swear off M&Ms forever. Your vivid descriptions of beetles and how crunchy they are or are not--Limegreen, I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat anything with a "crunchy coating" again  --will give me nightmares for weeks to come and make me give thanks on a daily basis for not having carpet. I always griped about not having carpet, but now I know it's probably for the best. As StuffNoMore asked, can someone in the States send some Borax your way? I use the stuff constantly and would have a red-level snit fit if they stopped selling it. It works wonders on so many things. Can we ship you two a box of this wonderful stuff or would we be in violation of some bizarre international law by attempting to send you cleaning supplies that actually work? (Politicians and the other imbeciles that make such stupid laws have never had to clean their own houses, so why should they worry about what works and what doesn't?) |
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Post by StuffNoMore on Oct 15, 2009 12:35:34 GMT -5
I would be willing to donate shipping a box or 2 over to help out. Sound good? I don't know what law it would break. All we have to do is claim it as a gift. If they need specifics we can say it's a little something for her pets.  Hugs SNM |
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Post by Chrysoprase on Oct 29, 2009 21:40:54 GMT -5
It's been two weeks since I made my initial post and I still haven't done anything. I'm caught up in utter indecision. I feel incapable of doing anything.
I kept worrying about buying the wrong size. Of not buying enough or buying too much. I worried so long that I've missed out on the deals on ebay from the company selling off the last of their stock.
I keep worrying that if I use borax I'll breathe it in and it'll poison me and I'll die, all of which is utterly illogical. I know I need to do something.
The website I wanted to buy it from first their shopping system was down. Finally I managed to get through it only I find out they're adding VAT on top of the price of the product + the postage, which makes the VAT almost as much as the borax is. I don't really want to pay £8.50 for it. I know people have offered to send some to me but I'd feel awful accepting.
I know that logically I can go to the local supermarket, buy one of the pesticides they have, I can take it through the self-checkout so no one will see and judge and that will be the end of that.
I just can't seem to make any sort of decision. It doesn't seem to matter how much I vacuum they're still here. I hate them. I'm dreading moving my bed because I know they'll be underneath it. I hate them.
I just want to run around like a headless chicken screaming AGGGHHH!!!!
I know I have options. It's just they seem so overwhelming. I hate making decisions. I hate having to deal with them. I was the exact same with the rats. It's easier not to deal than to deal with them, only it's not really. The exterminator said about the rats I should have just called them first since they did it for free. Whereas when dealing with them first I bought the live traps and had days of stressing about every time I heard the trap go only to find the critter had snatched the food, triggered the trap but there was nothing in there. I then bought the poison which didn't seem to solve the situation so it was only then that I got everything clean enough to have the exterminator.
I just feel so helpless. I hate having to choose what to do so I choose to do nothing.
I can clean the house to the extent I can call my landlord and have the bugs dealt with.
I can buy some pesticide from the supermarket and hope it works.
I can buy some borax online and hope it works.
I can buy some other sort of pesticide online.
I could buy a bunch of those insect repeller things for each room, plug them in and hope all the beasties will move into my neighbours house.
The trouble is I just can't decide what is the best route. My brain spins around and around telling me all the reasons why I shouldn't do each one and I end up doing nothing. It would be so much easier for someone to just say "this is what you do".
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Post by Chrysoprase on Oct 29, 2009 22:35:04 GMT -5
The self checkouts at least mean I don't need to deal with chatty cashiers. I can just take it through there, hidden beneath a magazine. Undoubtedly though it won't ring up, the supervisor will come over and start waving around the poison and then yelling for a price check and the whole store will see my humiliation. Of course even if that happened no one's going to remember who I am five minutes later.
You're quite right. I will feel good when they're gone. I will have to have workmen in to deal with the electrics anyway. Having the exterminator in first will help me feel more comfortable about everything else. I'll try the supermarket first as a stop gap solution.
Thank you.
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