Bugs On The Wall

[JoT 2]

There's a lot of tiny bugs on my walls. No matter how much I clean the walls the bugs jus keep appearing. Can anyone tell me what's wrong and what can be done? Is it the paint?

[february 0]

Me too.. mine is on the ceiling.

Not sure why also...

Anyone can help?

[terenceY® 0]

Should be aphid.

I used to have many plants in the house but have since cut down. They still appear but lesser.

http://insects.about.com/od/insectpests/ig/12-Worst-Veggie-Garden-Pests/Aphids.htm

aphid - Any of various small, soft-bodied insects of the family Aphididae that have mouthparts specially adapted for piercing and feed by sucking sap from plants. Also called plant louse.

[MarkRobert 0]

Its environmental factor you must keep clean it regularly.

[advancer 0]

i also have all these bugs on my wall, all over the house. kitchen also have.

If i squash it, it leaves a stain on the wall...i am also trying to find out how i can get rid of them. seems like only old house have this problem.

[february 0]

i also have all these bugs on my wall, all over the house. kitchen also have.

If i squash it, it leaves a stain on the wall...i am also trying to find out how i can get rid of them. seems like only old house have this problem.

Do you have plants at your place? Or is your unit near ground or at the top most storey?

[february 0]

Would this be useful?

http://www.listmyfive.com/a535713f/The-Top-Five-Steps-to-Make-an-Organic-Indoor-Bug-Repellent

[oogachaga 2]

They are most likely book lice, or psocids.

They thrive in damp and moist places, feeding off the fungi and mold growing there eg on walls, books, cupboards, etc.

The key is in ventitation and controlling the moisture and humidity.

[february 0]

They are most likely book lice, or psocids.

They thrive in damp and moist places, feeding off the fungi and mold growing there eg on walls, books, cupboards, etc.

The key is in ventitation and controlling the moisture and humidity.

Is there anyway we can get rid of these psocids?

We have been opening up our windows and doors for many months when we are at home. However these bugs still stay.

[Kerio 2]

If they're booklice, you might have a long battle ahead of you. Booklice are all female, and are born fertilised, which means if one escapes, it will reproduce. I've had this problem for an entire year since moving into my new BTO in Punggol Vista and I've only managed to control the population to a certain extent.

To get rid of them temporarily, you need to :

1) Purchase a pyrethroid-based insectide - you can find these in the horticulture section of the supermarkets. I've found a possibly safer and more powerful alternative (i.e. fewer appearances since I've started using it), but it's substantially more costly at $23 - $24. It's called "Bio-X Lullaby", comes in a blue spray bottle and smells of dettol. You can get this at either Home DIY or Self-Fixit. I've researched the active ingredient in this (Etofenprox) and it's a derivative of pyrethroid, but at a higher concentration (2.5%), so it's likely more powerful and has a stronger residual effect. The other one I found is cheap, but it's a powder (found in NTUC, white bottle, called "Anti-Ant", costs $5 or so) and loses its effect in 3 or 4 days. Plus makes the house very dusty. If you are desperate (like me), you could use this in a pinch. There're other alternatives, just do a bit of research before buying. I just saw some alternatives in Giant as well. Pyrethrin/Pyrethroid/Cypermethrin etc should be found in the ingredients list.

2) Spray all the rooms with the booklice problem, making sure the walls, floors, skirting and so on are all covered in a wet mist. If you're spraying the ceiling, protect your eyes with goggles or something.

3) purchase a dehumidifier (when purchasing, pay attention to the surface area the dehumidifier covers). Switch it on in the affected room and close the doors and windows to get the maximum effect.

4) Wait for them to die.

5) Monitor and re-apply the Bio-x spray to the affected areas about once a week or twice a month, depending on how often you see the critters.

Based on the info I found online, booklice have soft bodies, so they're SUPPOSED to dry up and die when the humidity is below 40 (in SG, it's typically above 70, not to mention our weather is also perfect for booklice), but I've found that they're not that stupid - I purchased a Novita 82sqm dehumidifier ($899) and switched it on full blast in our kitchen with the doors closed, and they MIGRATED. I chanced by them when I was looking at the floor directly outside the kitchen and freaked out when I realised they were all over the floor, crawling out of the kitchen.

So far their population is mostly controlled for me, but I'm still having some problems in the main bedroom toilet.

[february 0]

If it is generally due to humidity, can we run aircon for a duration (say 12hrs) and solve the problem? Or reduce the problem?

Another question is why only some premises kanna?

[Kerio 2]

Cannot.. I know because I've tried:(

My wife and I are very dependant on air-con, so all our windows are usually closed and the air con is on in whichever room we're in.

Despite this, the booklice have consistently appeared. One of the bigger problems we had with booklice was in the MBR, and our MBR aircon is on for very long periods usually (more than 12 hours) particularly during weekends. I literally found the booklice crawling all over the floor about 1-2 months ago, and before that, they were hiding along the plaster in the MBR.

I think the dehumidifying effect of air cons is just not powerful enough. Plus, booklice will only Hibernate at 21 degrees and lower, not die. And not to mention, once you switch off the air con, the heat will build up again, and worse, cause condensation which causes mold.

Check your books, clothes and foodstuff as well as any boxes you might have where these critters could originate. I can't find a nest in my house, so I can't exterminate them once and for all, but if you can, it could give you a good headstart.

[Topspin 1]

I have written about mold and these bugs quite a bit last year and earlier this year but not sure why most of the old post is not viewable anymore unless you type out the exact address.

Anyway, I cut and paste an earlier reply to another posting about these bugs:

The tiny wingless insects feed on the mold growing on the wall. I have written quite a bit about my experience with mold and insects in previous replies to others. I suggest the use of Borax solution (mix 2 tablespoon in one liter of warm water). Wet mop the entire wall to clean off any mold first. Change the solution often during the cleaning phase as the water will get very dirty. Once the wall is clean, you may wipe over one last time with clean borax solution and leave it to air dry. The borax residue will prevent mold from growing and thus wipe out the food source for the insect. Repeat the wet wipe once a month at least or until the problem goes away. As the ceiling is very hard to reach, I would use a paint roller moisten with borax solution to roll over the ceiling to maintain a layer of borax crystals on the ceiling surface. You can do this to the upper part of the wall also.

You cannot buy borax powder in Singapore as they are controlled to prevent food manufacturers adding it to the food like noddles and dumpling illegally. I buy them from US websites instead. Don't cost much.

Don't vacuum the mold unless you have a true HEPA vacuum cleaner as they will just blow spores out of the exhaust to other parts of your house. The mold can cause a bad allergic reaction if they are inhaled, such as itch or asthma.

Control the mold early as once they become widespread in the house, it is very very hard to control. The spores find its way into your clothes, curtains, books, furniture, false ceiling, leather, wall paper or anything that the mold can feed on.

If your neighbour beside you or above you is in the habit of switching on their air con full blast for the whole day, it will make your side of your wall/ceiling cool. The coolness will cause moisture to condense on it and promote mold growth. Of course if you also switch on air con on your side of the wall, the condensation problem goes away. If you cannot keep up with your neighbour's air con hours, there is only one solution...go talk to them about your condensation problem on your wall/ceiling.

This post has been edited by Topspin: 14 February 2011 - 10:30 PM

[JoT 2]

Tks for the advice. Jus wondering, will the repainting of the walls solve the problem too? Cause I had some water leakage problem n had to repaint some walls n strangely there's no bugs on these newly painted walls.

[Topspin 1]

From my personal experience, those anti mold properties in the paint don't last very long. If the environment is condusive, mold will grow on it again. I personally prefer regularly "maintaining" the surface with borax. It doesn't cost anything really, compared to having to repaint the ceiling/wall.