Is this a Book Lice?

[SuperMinesh]

Hi All,

New to the forum... Over the last few days I've found these tiny little creatures roaming about the skirting boards in my flat and on the bathroom floor on a few occasions.

Not sure what they are or how to get them to move on...

From the reading I've done, they appear to be book lice but just wanted to be sure. Have attached a few pics below and will happily accept advise on removal!

P.S - Its a new build flat, the level of zoom is pretty serious. I was grossed out by the amount of 'xexexexe' on the skirting boards myself and can tell you that they have been hoovered and bleached and now look sparkly!!



Thanks!

[JRsbugs]

Hello SuperMinesh, welcome to WAB.

Yes they are book lice or members of the family Psocoptera, the best way to be rid of them is to prevent damp areas which will provide them with mould to eat. Look at this link.

More info here..

Gordon's Psocoptera (Booklice and Barklice) Page

[SuperMinesh]

Hi JRsbugs, thanks for the reply and links (very helpful!)

Although the bathroom has no windows, its pretty well ventilated but I can still understand the book lice being there as there is always some amount of humidity in there.

I don't understand why they are on the skirting in the living and bedrooms though? Is it the small dirt/dust (and probably other stuff) particles that are attracting them (you can see in the pics)?

The kitchen area does not have a single critter (I inspected for several hours!) so I'm finding that strange too and worried that's their next move

I really don't want to kill them but I cannot see any other way of removing them without doing so? My wife has very sensetive skin and thinks they are giving her some sort of rash so I have no other choice really.

So my plan of action is as follows:
-Vacuum the entire flat 3 times over including crevices and cracks.
-Give the skirting a good rub down with a mild bleach mix (after hoovering), dry them as well.
-Spray the skirting and crevices with dethlac (read in another thread this may work).
-Leave the flat for the weekend and get a dehumidifier in and let it suck the moisture out of the place.
-Put some money in a wishing well and hope it works!

Should I be doing anything else?

Thanks in advance!

[JRsbugs]

It's possible they are feeding on dust particles, which are often shed flakes of skin. They seem to be opportunists and will feed on anything which is organic, as it was said on one of the links they will feed on old book binding and paste (old pastes were made from animal tissue), and even museum specimens. Maybe there's glues around the skirting boards they are interested in?

Animal glue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It sounds as though you have a good plan, I sympathise with not wanting to kill them but perhaps in your case needs must. I read this also from the first link:

many people have found that using mothballs or mould-control products will help clear up an infestation more quickly

[SuperMinesh]

Thanks JRS.

In case its helpful to anyone else, I've done the following:

-Vacuum the entire flat 3 times over including crevices and cracks.
-Give the skirting a good rub down with a mild bleach mix (after hoovering), dry them as well.
-Spray the skirting and crevices with dethlac (read in another thread this may work).

I have not seen a single critter from 5pm onward yesterday - and believe me, I have been looking! So from the looks of things Dethlac seems to do the job (used two and a half cans to do the entire flat - recommend heavy ventilation of the area afterwards).