Battle of the Bug!

[siege1863]

I just recently moved into a new house and found that I brought with me a bug infestation. My old place, a small rental, had very little room and so most of my militaria and other collectibles remained in boxes stacked in closets, along the walls, and in remote corners. Some of which had not been touched for years. Moving time did not allow me to go through each box before bringing it into the new house.

 

Well, last night I was taking a WWII letter collection out of a cardboard box and found that it contained a number of carpet beetles and remnants. There were live larvae and empty shell cases. I had seen some in the old house, but it was not until now that I realized they had come with me and are still active. This morning, I was re-boxing another collection of letters and found more. This infestation prompted me to learn more about carpet beetles via the Internet. Here is what fellow collectors need to be mindful of.

 

 

These little buggers essentially eat anything that was part of a living creature. The will attack wool, silk, and fur, so watch the uniforms, patches, etc. My first encounter was when I found one munching on a WWII Navy rate. Did severe damage before I discovered it. They thrive off of hair and lint. This likely contributed greatly to the problem as my daughter had a cat at the old place and hair and dander was everywhere. Both are a main food source, as is pet food itself! It is also said the carpet beetles will eat certain glues. Since I found so many in the letter collections, I suspect they were after the glue on the envelopes. Leather is also part of their diet. They like to live and make "nests" in dark places. I noted many empty shell cases on top of and behind the many books I had in my book cases.

 

I am now having to "quarantine" certain areas of the house, spraying bug killer all along the walls, on the carpet, and across the thresholds to keep any beetles isolated. I do not bring anything into a cleaned and treated area until it has been checked completely. For things such as the letters, where the beetles may be down inside the envelopes, I am freezing entire collections. They will then be transferred to sealable plastic storage tubs. This process is going to take weeks just for what is already in the house. I have nearly as much again in boxes in the garage.

[SGM (ret.)]

A lesson for all of us. Thanks for the information.

 

Good luck! And "Nuts!" to your bugs!

[siege1863]

Here is an example of what was found. The beetles were residing in several volumes of the US Army in World War II series. Some were merely on the tops of the books, while others were down in the recesses of the fold-out maps.

 

[The Meatcan]

those bastards! I hope you get them all! lucky you caught it when you did or the problem could have been a lot worse.

Terry

[tango1niner]

after you freeze them microwave the little buggers

[Misanthropic_Gods]

after you freeze them microwave the little buggers

 

Agreed

 

Kill 'em all, kill 'em all! :packin heat:

[Red Devil]

Glad you caught them before they did more damage. Thank you for sharing this information!

-Johannes