Why is this happening to us? PLEASE HELP

BettyBoop17

I am hoping someone can help. I am terrified and embarrassed to summon help.

I have lived in the same rented property for seven years. I am a clean person. I wouldn't say a neat freak but I clean, however twice a week etc. I've never had an issue. Until now...

It all started with moths. I would go to work and leave my bedroom door closed, windows shut. I'd return home and there'd be five or six moths in the room! This has happened for around the last week. i didn't know how they were getting in, until one night I was laying on my bed when i saw two big moths squeeze through the gap between a spotlight on the ceiling (the attic/loft is above). I killed them all with a magazine, gloves and slipper boots. I was terrified. I sprayed fly killer also. For some reason the numbers slowed. today I found one. But this has worried me.

THE MAIN PROBLEM. READ ON IF YOU ARE BRAVE.
The extractor fan in the bathroom is connected to the loft so I paid attention in the bathroom to see if I could see any rogue moths, particularly any vengeful moths (some got away after I'd tried to kill them). I noticed one black bettle in the bath. Black, small with a yellow stripe. I flushed it away, but later noticed two more. Then the next day one more.

By this time I was having a meltdown. I googled the sh*t out of it and discovered they are larder beetles. The website said they begin in the larder/pantry.

With more gloves and bleach I searched the pantry. And I found one. I pulled everything out and found......

.......I had a bag of ornamental pebbles that I no longer used and had put under a shelf in the pantry and forgotten about. The bag was a clear thick polythene bag. There appeared to be a nest in the bag. White rice things, and beetles. I threw it in the outside bin and then bleached, vacuumed and mopped the entire pantry, threw out the food except tins and bleached all the tins. I bought some diatomaceous earth as I have a chihuahua and needed a non toxic yet deadly solution. I covered the pantry in the diatomaceous earth. I thought I was safe. WRONG.

I decided to deep clean the entire house. I hoovered the crevices of the sofa and pulled everything out and anti-bac sprayed it. I pulled out the dog bed....AND BEETLES WERE IN THERE. Under the cushion (some crumbs from a dog treat had slipped underneath the cushioned bed). I threw it out.

I now can't eat or sleep. I can't eat food in the kitchen. I can't drink coffee from the cups. And there is ANOTHER PROBLEM.

I started noticing, the last two days, little yellow and black ladybird like bugs on my windowsill. A google search confirmed they are carpet beetles. MORE BEETLES?!!HOW COULD THIS BE HAPPENING? I had cleaned and cleaned.

i then noticed my pillowcase had a little hole in it.

My washing machine broke last week and it was a week before the new one was delivered due to the bank holiday. I used all the good linen on the beds (Changed daily because beetles and moths touched the bed) and I had enough of laundry so I changed my bed linen with some older bed sets that I don't normally use and keep in a cupboard in the spare room. Two days ago I changed the bedding.....for two days i have saw the carpet beetles. I realised with horror that they must be in the linen cupboard. Eating their way through. And now I have a new infestation.

I don't know what to do. I want to move but I can't go instantly and I don't want to stay here. I am calling exterminators in the morning. But why is this happening to me?

chrisw

It's nothing personal and nothing you have or haven't done! And nothing to do with cleanliness, it's the luck of the draw.

The moths and beetles fly around outside and can easily enter through on open window, or they might have been brought in in something else. I opened a bag of birdseed under our stairs the other day and it was crawling.

They may be unpleasant but there's no need to be terrified of them and certainly not embarrassed.

Let the pest control person sort it out when they come round and listen to their advice.

rach_k

Please don't stress yourself. They aren't harmful except to fabrics carpets. They're not dirty. They're just annoying! The DE will work eventually but you have to give it time, or you can get pest controllers in.

another_casualty

I feel really sorry to hear of your situation . You have been very brave
I would get pest control/ exterminators in asap.
You may have to change carpets / bed etc.
Hopefully they'll be thorough and find the problem and prevent it returning. I too am terrified of various insects ( sad but honest 6' male )
In future , I'd recommend one of those plugs ( not the cheaply ones that effect cats dogs and birds), that you plug in and leave plugged in all the time . They take a while to work , but api find them effective.

Best of luck,

Sicard

Hitchcock could make a film out of this entitled The Moths.

another_casualty

:

Sicard wrote: »

Hitchcock could make a film out of this entitled The Moths.

:rotfl::rotfl: