- This topic has 14 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 9 years, 2 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
Oh noooooo……
Ok, Im posting this here in case anyone else had experience with these? I recently discovered tiny little beetles…. first I only noticed a few in the washroom, usually 1 or 2 a day, and being the nature lover I am, I usually let them live and would even rescue them from the bathtub…. ha ! 🙁 I figured maybe I was just seeing the same ones daily…
Tonight.. I went to get a small box and some packing materials to ship something in… and what do I discover?? Beetles.. LOTS of them… in ALL my boxes, all my Windstone Boxes !! AND inside my packing peanuts… they burrowed right inside the peanuts even, you could see the black spots where they were. Maybe they started inside them as larvae, then became beetles …..
Either way… Im infested !! Now so far I have only seen them in my storage room (with my windstone boxes etc etc) and in my upstairs washroom which is right next to the storage room… I have to call my Landlord in the morning and see if she is familiar with these.. and to possibly arrange for an Exterminator… usually I dont resort to this for bugs… but I have A LOT of bugs !!!
Im so worried Im going to have to toss out ALL my windstone boxes !! I can live with tossing the packing peanuts, but the boxes !??? 🙁 Plus I have all my Christmas stuff and my artificial tree and many other things stored in there !!!
I read they could be either a Drug-store beetle, or a cigarette beetle.. they are tiny little things.
Im kinda freaking out right now… bugs dont normally bug me (HA!), but when I see them in every box of packing peanuts, and even in my bubble wrap… well Im really worried !
……..
Thanks for the reply Kim ! I think a lot of people may have seen these at one time or another 😉 The exterminator was just here… my landlord called him in, my landlord is awesome ! (She lives here in my building just down the hall 😛 )
He says they are very common, and are a common grain or warehouse beetle, found in packing products, and in bulk items like cereal, and grains, and even large bags of pet food. He said I was lucky to have them only in that room, as more commonly they are found in kitchens 🙂 Then I would be really grossed out, and have to toss out a lot of my food ! And I LIVE on cereal, lol ! I have like 10 assorted kinds, lol !
So he told me to toss out all the packing peanuts, as the larvae is likely living inside them. And any boxes that I can part with… luckily upon looking around more this morning, I realized a lot of my boxes, like my cute grab bag boxes etc, are all down stairs behind my table where I do paint-your-owns ! YAH ! And they are all safe ! The ones I have up in that room are mostly boxes from ebay purchases and exchanges with people. They are not the form fitting boxes either.. phew ! Most of my windstones came wrapped in bubble wrap, not the form fitting ones, YAH !
He said any boxes I do want to keep, to leave on the floor in the storage room, as he is going to spray in there tomorrow. He wont spray in/on the boxes, just around them, and it will kill anything that remains. He figures all my other stuff in the storage room, Christmas stuff etc., is all safe 🙂 Phew ! He is going to be spraying the baseboards of the room etc, and that will kill any critters in the room. He is also doing my bathroom just in case.
I do have to get up early tomorrow and leave…. (I was already woken up today at 9am for this)…. and again 9ish tomorrow. I usually sleep in till almost 11am, since I work till midnight, and am up till usually 3am… phew, Im going to be tired out, lol! Im supposed to leave my apartment for 4 hours… but he says if I can be gone at least an hour, then not enter those rooms for another few hours, then I should be ok 🙂 (I have no where to go that early in the morning, except to McDonalds for breakfast, and maybe I will pick up some groceries, lol!)
Im just happy this is all going to be taken care of 🙂 *smiles* Now to go start tossing packing peanuts and destroying boxes…. ! FUN FUN ! LMAO !!
…. and now when I get anything new sent to me, I will be meticulously checking all boxes and packing peanuts, just in case… LOL!
A big, double helping of “YEEERG-ness” for you and a delicate shudder to boot!!! I just don’t do insects. I can handle most other creepy-crawlies but NOT bugs!!! Blegh!!! Nice though that your landlord got right on the problem. Hope it won’t take too long to clear it up! Good luck!
tdm
tdm
That’s good that it will be taken care of. I can relate as I am a night person only. I don’t do mornings unless I absolutely have to. Just make sure after you go back that that room is well ventilated. Does it have a window to open? I have just heard stories about people getting really sick after having an exterminator spray their house so good thing it’s only the two rooms and not the whole house. I would still open windows and turn fans on for a few days as the stuff they spray can linger. I usually use vinegar or green products to clean most things as I am afraid of using anything toxic around my pets.
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
I had little beetles in a previous house I lived in and we thought they came in through either bird seed or food or an outside source and once they get into anything they can eat like biodegradable packing peanuts for example, they can be a pain! I luckily haven’t seen any in a while but in my last house, I put all my boxes in a storage shed and they got infested with mice and there were mice droppings all over my packing peanuts and holes chewed in the peanuts. I had to throw most of the peanuts out but saved the boxes. I am not sure how to get rid of the beetles except to take any boxes outside, dump them out, brush them out and clean the room out with a broom or vaccuum and disinfect surfaces if you have to. If the boxes look like they are free from them, I would flatten them and store them in another room or put them back and try to block any cracks or openings in the storage room if they did come in from outside. Or see if there might be something in there the beetles could have arrived in like a food product. You will probably have to toss the peanuts though unless you find some that haven’t been touched by them. You shouldn’t have to exterminate anything if you just get them out and take away their food source.
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
Thanks for the support guys 😉
And no, no windows in the room Kim… I will turn the bathroom fan on though, and use some standing fans to try and move the air out, with windows open in the rooms nearby 😉
Just yesterday I received a package as part of a trade, and it had beetles too! I’m glad I read your thread, Amstaff, or else I might not have noticed them. That packaging went straight into the trash.
With your beetles and mine, and all the recent trading activity, I wonder if there aren’t more beetles being inadvertently spread around. I think now would be a good time for everyone who keeps a supply of packing peanuts to check for beetles just as a precaution.
Yikes! I hope spraying gets them under control. That’s exactly why I keep my packing peanuts sealed in a Hefty bag as a “just in case” precaution. I suppose they could chew thier way out out of the bag, but I’m thinking as long as they have a food supply they won’t be inclined to escape. I always check the boxes over too because I’m paranoid about bugs. Thank goodness the apartments I live in does routine, preventative spraying. The chemicals they use are eco and pet friendly too.
Have you heard of Diatomasceuos Earth? It’s suppose to be a more eco-friendly bug killer. It works by dehydrating the bugs. They make a food grade powder that’s safe for humans and animals too. Back when my mom had a vegatable garden, she would sprinkle the powder around the garden and on the plants.
@Bullsquid Wow ! Im glad you spotted them ! This was one reason why I posted this on the forum. I initially had no thoughts on bugs ever coming in my boxes, and had no clue they could actually eat and live on packing peanuts. I wanted everyone to be more aware of this, so others dont get in the same situation I was in.
Im almost positive I got this from a Windstone box, I just cant remember from who, it may have even been an ebay buy. All I know is I can remember seeing these packing peanuts and how old looking they appeared, and I never thought anymore of it. But now that I seen my packing peanuts after they had been infested, well they looked like that! All old, deteriorating, with dust residue all over the bottoms of the boxes from the bugs feeding. I wonder if I had paid more attention back then, if I could have prevented this?
Oh well, at least I learned now what to look for! And little black spots inside the packing peanuts… well in mine these were the beetles inside the peanuts !
@Dragoneer_88 , its good you store your peanuts like that ! And great your apartment does preventive spraying, thats awesome ! I am happy though that my landlord did not charge me to get this done, that made me very happy 🙂
And thanks for the tip on Diatomasceuos Earth, I actually already knew about this, and picked up a bottle today just for this ! 😀
Im now bug free ! And plan to keep it that way 😉
I just wanted to put in my report from the Windstone factory that I have just looked at our supply of packing peanuts (we call them foo foos) and I do not see any evidence of bugs or beetles (or anything else). I wanted to make sure! Most of our foo foos are made from cornstarch and quite tasty to critters. Occasionally we re-use styrofoam peanuts that we’ve received so you might get a mixture in your package from us. Although we go through our supply of cornstarch foo foos quite quickly, this is a good reminder to keep an eye out for wildlife snacking on them. If you store them for long periods of time, keep this in mind and put them in something bug and mouse-proof.
If you want to dispose of the cornstarch foo foos – you can dump them in the yard and spray with water and they will dissolve back into the corn starch from which they came. I found this on the internet:
“Starch peanuts can be emptied into a large sink, laundry tub or bath tub and dissolved by running warm/hot water or running the shower. The materials used in this material are not harmful to your pipes and should wash away easily. Any residue left is starch and not harmful to the environment.
In warmer climates, these starch peanuts can be disposed of in compost settings or gardens. If they blow into neighboring yards or outside, simply wait for the next rain and let nature wash them away!
Children can dab the ends on a damp sponge and make creative designs with them. When the fun is done, just wash them away with water.”
How about making some artwork from the peanuts? 😉
:love:Thanks so much Susie for looking into this ! I was kind of curious, since Im sure you guys do have a large supply of the peanuts… foo foos ! LOL! I didnt think that they were coming from you guys, but it was so nice of you to check !
And thank you so much for that info! I had NO idea they were made of cornstarch ! No wonder the bugs loved them so ! And it proved my theory, that they only seemed to like this kind, and not the ones that were plastic or styrofoam based 🙂 I wish I had known they dissolved down the drain in water though… that would have saved me some time in filling 4 X-large clear bags with these foo foos 🙂 That sure is some interesting info, and this will certainly come in handy in the future! Its good to know these ones are environmentally safe also.
Thanks again Susie, for all that you do ! Its so nice to know you and all the other awesome staff at Windstone really care… and its easy to see, as you guys always show it ! 🙂 *happy hugs* !!
I have had many boxes of my peanuts overturned by my cats when I first got in an item and noticed the cats liked to try and eat them too before I could pick them all up. I also noticed that their saliva or water spilled on them would make them dissolve and I think that is great that they are environmentally friendly as styrofoam doesn’t decompose and is bad for the environment!
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
Lots of bugs love cardboard boxes, especially roaches. I keep all of my boxes in trash bags that are taped shut. Kind of a pain if you need to access them a lot but better than having them out for critters to live in and snack on. I’ve received packing materials with bugs in them (NOT anything new from Windstone) and even received a unicorn with eggs on it – almost dropped it when I saw that!
I recently found these same tiny black beetles in a few boxes I had sitting on my dresser. Tan powder at the corners of the box are what prompted me to investigate and I nearly dropped the box when I opened it and saw all the bugs! Both boxes stacked on top of it were infested as well, but the majority were in a box I had received from a forum member several months ago so I suspect that is how I got them. I haven’t dug into my closet to check my other stored foo foos since the infested boxes weren’t near there, but now I think maybe I need to have a closet rearranging day and drag EVERYTHING out just to be sure!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
