attack of the booklice!!!!!

[jeanie]

guys/gals,

please take a look at your house walls today.
and i mean take a GOOD look.
when i was pasting some photos on my walls over the weekends , i notice some 'black dots'.initially i thought they were dusts...but when i try to swipe them off, they MOVE!
upon closer scrutinisation, i realised they were all over the walls!

i called up a pest control company and they told me these are booklice.
and they thrive best on singapore's humidity.
for the past few days,(when my dehumidifier was off), the humidity was about 96%!!!

i did a search over internet and this was what i found.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2080.html

they are so small that you can hardly see their shape.i used 60mm macro lens and zoom in and i had to crop to really see their shape.it's exactly like what you see in the link.

just imagine these creatures find their way into your lens, camera.

you have been warned hor!

 

[jeanie]

most of the time my room's humidity was kept to about 50%.
but because other parts of my house were not dehumidified, hence, i suspect they migrated from other sources to my room.
argh!

 

[jeanie]

more information from singapore pest management association.

23. I saw some tiny insects resting on walls next to my air conditioning unit. What are these insects and are they harmful?
These are likely to be booklice or psocids. These are small insects and their maximum size ranging from about 1 – 2 mm. They have soft body and look like tiny termite workers. Some of them have four wings but some may be wingless and possess a chewing mouth part. In the indoors, they prefer damp places e.g. toilets, around air-conditioning, damp wall papers/books and flower beds. They do not damage anything or are harmful but are pests by being present in great numbers. As they feed on mould and fungi, the most effective ways of eliminating them is through effective moisture control and ventilation as well as good house keeping. However, if the nuisance persists, it is advisable to seek help from professional Pest Management Company to check and eliminate the nuisance.

 

[tribal.snake]

part and parcel of being in singapore.
our humidity helps them thrive.
wun worry abt them crawling over cams and lens.
they are not interested in those stuff.
besides u would have kept ur stuff in a dryboz.

 

[jeanie]

part and parcel of being in singapore.
our humidity helps them thrive.
wun worry abt them crawling over cams and lens.
they are not interested in those stuff.
besides u would have kept ur stuff in a dryboz.

ya, i know i'm quite safe cos my equipment are in dricabis.

but i'm quite sure some of the photogs here dont invest in dricabi.
if they get into lenses hor...aiyo....
wonder if they will lay eggs in there...

 

[Canonised]

since schooldays we were being told to live with Nature .....:think:
just keep your place clean and dry, and esp no food leftovers in the rooms... (of course this has got nothing to do with your lices)
most ppl dont know, but you will be surprised if one wakes up in the early morning and one will meet so many uninvited guests in our kitchen as well....:bsmilie::sweatsm:

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

more information from singapore pest management association.

23. I saw some tiny insects resting on walls next to my air conditioning unit. What are these insects and are they harmful?
These are likely to be booklice or psocids. These are small insects and their maximum size ranging from about 1 – 2 mm. They have soft body and look like tiny termite workers. Some of them have four wings but some may be wingless and possess a chewing mouth part. In the indoors, they prefer damp places e.g. toilets, around air-conditioning, damp wall papers/books and flower beds. They do not damage anything or are harmful but are pests by being present in great numbers. As they feed on mould and fungi, the most effective ways of eliminating them is through effective moisture control and ventilation as well as good house keeping. However, if the nuisance persists, it is advisable to seek help from professional Pest Management Company to check and eliminate the nuisance.

should keep some in the dry box... since they like fungus... :devil:

 

[King Tiger]

Hi Jeanie

A lot of my friends' home including mine too, have this type of small insects on the walls.
Strangely, it's occurs most during rainy days. :think:

Let me see if I can take a photo and post tonight.

 

[vespa_bicolor]

I have a thriving population in my place too. Fortunately in Hong Kong they seem to be around only for several months a year, with the other months probably being too dry and cool for their liking. I tried taking a photo of them but failed, even with 90mm macro lens + extension tubes!

 

[jeanie]

I have a thriving population in my place too. Fortunately in Hong Kong they seem to be around only for several months a year, with the other months probably being too dry and cool for their liking. I tried taking a photo of them but failed, even with 90mm macro lens + extension tubes!

it's nice to have weather and seasons like HK.
but in sgp, it's really summer all year round.:cry:

90mm?should be able to.

i used 60mm and zoom in with CS3.can even see the antennae.looks gross.

from now on, my dehumidifier will be on 24 hours.

though they are harmless, the sheer numbers make me shivers.:cry:

 

[jeanie]

Hi Jeanie

A lot of my friends' home including mine too, have this type of small insects on the walls.
Strangely, it's occurs most during rainy days. :think:

Let me see if I can take a photo and post tonight.

i deleted mine already so would appreciate if you can post it for the benefit of all.
:thumbsup:

 

[Deadpoet]

it's nice to have weather and seasons like HK.
but in sgp, it's really summer all year round.:cry:

90mm?should be able to.

i used 60mm and zoom in with CS3.can even see the antennae.looks gross.

from now on, my dehumidifier will be on 24 hours.

though they are harmless, the sheer numbers make me shivers.:cry:

I just need to wipe the infested area clean with a mild clorox solution, and then wipe it dry again.

For long term care, air con or dehumidifier is ofcourse a good solution, but the electricity cost may not make it viable. I use a fan that circulate air throughout my apartment all the time, and make sure there is cross ventilation. The problem over the past few days/weeks is the rain, not so easy to leave windows openned.

 

[jeanie]

I just need to wipe the infested area clean with a mild clorox solution, and then wipe it dry again.

For long term care, air con or dehumidifier is ofcourse a good solution, but the electricity cost may not make it viable. I use a fan that circulate air throughout my apartment all the time, and make sure there is cross ventilation. The problem over the past few days/weeks is the rain, not so easy to leave windows openned.

clorox will corrode almost everything in the long run.especially metals.

yup.a/c or dehu, electric bills will shoot up like mad.

sigh...is there no guaranteed way of removing all these buggers?

last thing i want is to engage pest controller to decon my entire room/house.they said they could do it and they requires my house to be vacant for 5 hours.
not to mention after that, we'll have to wipe down everything as the decon solution leaves residues:cry:

what's worse is ...
they will NOT guarantee they will kill every single bug.:dunno:

 

[Jaycelim]

Don't worry about those creatures. They more of a nuisance than harm. I've leave my cam in the open before, but seems like they like wood and paper more.

 

[vespa_bicolor]

Yup, either way is costly, and unfortunately it is impossible for pest control companies to guarantee against reinfestation, because many times lots of pests are quite resilient and can bounce back in time.

Thinking of one way, but not sure if it will work. Deadpoet's comment about the fan gave me an idea; if these critters are limited to one particular wall or corner, turn a fan on and direct it at that spot for as long as is practical. Maybe that might chase them away for a while? But again in the long run control of humidity is best, which is nearly impossible in Singapore's climate (at least without huge expenses).

 

[nottipiglet]

I have this mental picture of you running all over your room, fussing over your many dehumidifiers, big and small (at least 1 big and 2 small)... Quite funny. :bsmilie:

 

[jeanie]

I have this mental picture of you running all over your room, fussing over your many dehumidifiers, big and small (at least 1 big and 2 small)... Quite funny. :bsmilie:

no need to fuss one mah!
just turn it on and let it do it's work.only setback is, the room becomes quite warm when the novita is turned on.about 5 degrees higher than ambient.

sigh.bloody bugs.

 

[nottipiglet]

no need to fuss one mah!
just turn it on and let it do it's work.only setback is, the room becomes quite warm when the novita is turned on.about 5 degrees higher than ambient.

sigh.bloody bugs.

You mentioned that the bugs are on the wall... I think it may be because there's mould and fungi on the wall. Sometimes the moisture is accumulated in the walls. This is especially true for outer walls where small cracks can cause the moisture to seep through. So, the walls sometimes feel a little damp, especially in rainy seasons.

I cannot see/feel you wall, so only you can assess the situation. If your walls are indeed damp, then the solution would be to repaint your walls. You need to paint on a oil-based sealant before applying the colour paint. It also pays to use good paint.

It's pointless to keep the inside of the room dry when the moisture is seeping through the walls.

 

[hongsien]

ya, i know i'm quite safe cos my equipment are in dricabis.

but i'm quite sure some of the photogs here dont invest in dricabi.
if they get into lenses hor...aiyo....
wonder if they will lay eggs in there...

You wouldn't want to know what is crawling at night, they may even crawl over your face.........

HS

 

[jeanie]

You wouldn't want to know what is crawling at night, they may even crawl over your face.........

HS

ya ya...come scare me!:sticktong