Any pest control experts?
Anobium punctatum. The common furniture beetle. Pretty sure this is the beastie we are dealing with, on account of whatever this is leaves a very fine dust behind.
Picture nicked from Wikimedia.
The best treatment is prevention, but it likes damp and it’s in the bathroom, so good luck with that. That’s whar I take muh baths. Fortunately, I don’t see any signs of it in the ancient beams (we call this the Tudor Crapper) but only in one spot in the newer woodwork.
The professionals use permethrin, but I read not to use it in a household with pets, so that’s out.
The safe alternative is apparently boron, but I’m not sure if that’s elemental boron or a derivative like boric acid. I used boric acid as a powder fairly successfully with cockroaches, but I found my cat collapsed and foaming at the mouth late one night and always assumed he ate a boric-acid laden roach (I sat up with him all night and he was better in the morning). This is apparently a powder you dissolve in water and spray – and it has the additional advantage of being a fire retardant.
At least we haven’t heard from the death watch beetles lately. That shit was creepy.
Posted: April 27th, 2022 under animals.
Comments: 12
Comments
Comment from ExpressoBold
Time: April 27, 2022, 8:44 pm
Oh, did you post about the death watch beetle?
That kind of experience does sound creepy.
Comment from lauraw
Time: April 27, 2022, 9:42 pm
Diatomaceous earth? Maybe puff some of that around in their favorite places?
Comment from dissent555
Time: April 27, 2022, 9:53 pm
Had some relatives visit Florida recently where they encountered large numbers of love bugs – mating bugs that hook themselves together and then fly around in enormous swarms, dying in massive quantities but also successfully producing the next generation.
Comment from Some Vegetable
Time: April 27, 2022, 11:39 pm
When we lived in Panama, termites were everywhere and from everywhere. They ate everything and anything except for wrought iron, which rusted.
The only ‘solution’ was to fumigate by “Tenting” the entire building. It was quite a common sight when we lived there; it looked like the circus had come to town.
Our house, which we rented of course, was of concrete construction so that termites were not a problem. However we had plenty of other insect visitors- anything remotely edible had to be kept in tins or jars- and we regularly had to empty the leaf-cutter ant carcasses out of the overhead light fixtures.
Comment from Anonymous
Time: April 28, 2022, 2:57 am
Wordle 312 3/6
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Ha! Wordle in 3 today and from one letter !
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: April 28, 2022, 4:20 am
I’m seeing something that bores holes in the upside of cut logs and leaves a very fine powder behind.
How big are these beasties of yours? Because whatever it is chawin on my tree choppings is teeny tiney corn starch making powder small.
Comment from ExpressoBold
Time: April 28, 2022, 11:39 am
Pretty good, Anony…
I had clues to reorganize…
Wordle 313 4/6
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Whoa!
That’s a different wordle!
This is my wordle # 312 results…
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Comment from Deborah HH
Time: April 28, 2022, 1:23 pm
Maybe your veterinarian can help with an answer. This is probably an ongoing dilemma where you live.
Comment from LesterIII
Time: April 28, 2022, 5:05 pm
I use Diatomaceous Earth regularly (only effective in dry areas, dunno how ‘damp’ will inhibit, but can’t hurt)(wear goggles+mask when applying with a puffing-applicator!), as well as Neem oil (diluted in a pump-up garden sprayer). A friend used Neem oil in varying dilutions to kill/control termites until the main colony heart could be found. Kills them by preventing their molt, but they must ingest it, which is why it works so well on wood boring/munching beasties. Frequently used as a garden (indoor and outdoor) pest control/insecticide. My Mom used it for decades around her orchids and our cats, most of which lived to 16-20yrs old.
Many veterinarian references to Neem oil being safe for pets, and it is even used actively on them to varying levels for pet-health benefits. Dunno about that, but around them should be fine. One warning I found from PetMD βneem oil can interact with insulin, some oral diabetic medications agents, and thyroid hormone supplementation medicationβ
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: April 28, 2022, 7:10 pm
I use diatomaceous earth in the chicken run, to good effect.
I MISSED A WORDLE a few days ago. Six tries, no good. First time ever.
I’m so ashamed.
Comment from homer
Time: April 28, 2022, 9:20 pm
Bacillus Thuringiensis?
Comment from Smith
Time: May 7, 2022, 3:16 am
I had critters that bored little holes and left little piles of fine wood dust under my cellar stairs. Sounds like you’ve got similar; exterminator called them powder post beetles. They told me it was dampness and lowering that moisture will do the job. They didn’t offer any chemistry solution so I opened the basement windows, as opposed to a dehumidifier which costs money to run, and they little piles of wood dust went away. I didn’t know about permethrin then but have used it since. It is used in horse barns and livestock stalls, which makes me think you might want to take another look at it’s safety around animals.
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