HELP!! I'm at my wits end with household bugs!

JCD_Capulet

Lucyeff wrote: »

They're not carpet bettle are they? They are like ugly ladybirds and their babies are wiggly like little grubs which burrow into the carpet. We had these so we got a new carpet (the old one was minging anyway) and then I FOUND SOME IN THE NEW CARPET a bit ago! Aaaargh! We have two kids, one crawling, so I was mortified.

If it is these, the council will spray for you and apparently the spray won't harm you and you won't need to move out, etc (so they say). They can come in from outside and set up anywhere in your house, so don't think it's because you're mucky or anything if it is these you have. They eat carpet and clothes. The grubs are really hairy. see http://www.scambs.gov.uk/Environment/Pestsandnuisance/InsectPests/carpetbeetles.htm

Anyway, the council told us they would come out for about £38 if I found any more, they managed to convince me that two weren't an infestation (childbirth has sent me rather neurotic).

I hope you figure out what they are. We have a problem at the mo of a snail hidden in the house which comes out and leave strails all over then hides before we get up, woodlice, and even more worrying, spiders which keep wrapping up the woodlice and leaving them all over the place! The price you pay for living near fields I guess...:eek:

Good luck!
Luce

Hi Luce. After looking at the link I thought theese could be carpet beetle, but I'm not so sure. I've not seen one of thoose 'ugly ladybugs' ever in here, so if it was carpet beetle I had in the flat, surely I'd see the adult and infant stages. Your snail problem made me giggle (Sorry!) at the notion of the wee critter playing hide and seek with you. At least the spider is ........kinda trying to help, and I've always been facinated with woodlice. They look prehistoric. I hope you get your bug problems sorted too hon x Thanks again.

conradmum wrote: »

It sounds as though they're coming in from somewhere else if you're cleaning up regularly. Do you rent? Have you spoken to your landlord about the problem?
Personally, with a problem as entrenched as this I would get a pest control company in, but make sure that they tell you what the source of the problem is, rather than just spray pesticide everywhere.
Is your flat on the ground floor? Ground beetles could be getting in from outside. You could try clearing any vegetation from around the outside of the flat. The wriggly bugs could be maggots, which means you have something decomposing nearby.
The thing to remember with bugs is that they need something to eat and they need somewhere to live. Eliminate either of these and they won't come back. If they aren't getting these things in your flat they're getting them somewhere else.
Could you describe the size, shape, colour and behaviour of the bugs?

Hi conradmum. Yes I rent, from the local housing association. I've not been on to them yet (this year) but I will be soon. I've tried in the past to have them let me lay laminate flooring to help iliminate this problem, but it's against their housing rules. I'm 1st floor up in the close, but the outside wall is pebbledashed and I know that when I leave the windows open for any more than ten minutes I get a handfull of spiders popping in for a visit, not sure if that's possible with beetles though. OH! It's not maggot maggots, like you'd expect to see on something dead. Theese things are really hairy and have little legs. I've just found a link to exactly what they are. I think I'm even more shocked now http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7q.htm

pukkamum

hmm have no advice but you are not alone we have a slug problem they only show up at night, i am not too bothered by them but my dh has a real phobia so funny the other night he went to use the pc (we have it hooked up to the t.v with the keyboard put under the tv stand when not in use) he put it on his knee, reached down and you've guessed it there was a massive slug on it!!!!! I absolutely wet myself when he told me he said he actually shrieked like a woman and had to have a sit down with a nip of brandy to get over the shock!!!!! I told him thats what you get for looking at adult sites late at night ha ha ha

JCD_Capulet

Hi pukkamum, you're not the only MSE'er with indoor slug problems http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=849482, I didn't realise untill I saw the other thread that this happens! Aparently, if you know where they're comming in, laying down some thin copper (probably available from craft shops/B&Q) keeps them at bay. Awww poor hubby! I bet he really did need the brandy after that one!

Mrs_A_4

Not wishing to worry you unduly, but this week I read in one of those tacky magazines (Take A Break or Woman or whichever) about a woman who had very similar recurring bug problems. It turned out that the old man in the flat upstairs had been dead for months and they were some sort of carrion beetles...:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

JCD_Capulet

Mrs_A wrote: »

Not wishing to worry you unduly, but this week I read in one of those tacky magazines (Take A Break or Woman or whichever) about a woman who had very similar recurring bug problems. It turned out that the old man in the flat upstairs had been dead for months and they were some sort of carrion beetles...:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

That was a thought that crossed my mind when I found out the beetles I keep finding are Dermestids (due to my hobby, taxidermy type things, I encouter theese often.....OUTSUDE the house though). I know everyone in my close, and all are accounted for and still living. It does make me wonder though just why this specific type of beetle are making their way into my house. god help the poor woman who had to suffer the dermestids. On my last roadkill find there must have been in excess of 300 mature and double that in immature beetles on/in it, and that was a small fox! A full grown human would probably play host to thousands in their double figures.

Not pleasant in the slightest.

Rallya

Wish I had never clicked on this thread, I havent stopped scratching since I read it

conradmum

JCD_Capulet wrote: »

That was a thought that crossed my mind when I found out the beetles I keep finding are Dermestids (due to my hobby, taxidermy type things, I encouter theese often.....OUTSUDE the house though). I know everyone in my close, and all are accounted for and still living. It does make me wonder though just why this specific type of beetle are making their way into my house. god help the poor woman who had to suffer the dermestids. On my last roadkill find there must have been in excess of 300 mature and double that in immature beetles on/in it, and that was a small fox! A full grown human would probably play host to thousands in their double figures.

Not pleasant in the slightest.

Sorry, do you mean you have stuffed animals in the house?

If you have, surely this must be what the beetles are living on, according to the link you posted?

JCD_Capulet

conradmum wrote: »

Sorry, do you mean you have stuffed animals in the house?

If you have, surely this must be what the beetles are living on, according to the link you posted?

Not at the moment, no. My experience and level of taxidermy skills only go so far as bone work. I have a fox skeleton, but I've chemically treated it and 90% of it lives in a plastic container whilst the other 10% in my display case (I must stress, it's all clean and museum quality). I thought it might have been something to do with the fur coats I collect too, but again, I take theese out and check them once a month, hang them up for a day for an airing, a quick run over with the hoover attachment to get rid of any dust then they go back into storage. No sign of life on thoose either.

patchwork_cat

Hi
I would suspect that possibly your insects might have something to do with the fur coats or taxidermy - I am sorry, but you have lost my sympathy.

JCD_Capulet

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Hi
I would suspect that possibly your insects might have something to do with the fur coats or taxidermy - I am sorry, but you have lost my sympathy.

Not that I was looking for sympathy in the first place, but I must ask...Why?

As I said already (or maybe I said it elsewhere and this is where I'm confusing myself) I have worked on one piece of roadkill in the garden. My fur coats are kept in plastic storage boxes, aired once a month to make sure they stay in good condition (Furs are supposed to be kept hanging, to stop creasing/hairloss, but to prevent unwanted bug activity on them I keep mine in sealed tubs), then returned to their boxes for another month.

What with having two pets, I am a responsible hobbyest and collector. I wouldn't and don't leave animal carcases strewen across my floor, nor the utensils I use on a subject. I wouldn't and don't leave my fur coats lying on furnature or on the floor either. Some of my vintage furs date back to pre 1940's, I'm very proud of my collection as I see them as items of physical history. I do my very best to keep them in the best condition possible so I can carry on enjoying them for years to come.

Sorry if that sounds like a bit of a rant, but I can assure you that neither my hobby nor collection are responsible for my problem.