Book Lice
Summary: Book lice populations can build up quickly in stored food products that have been left and forgotten at the back of your pantry shelves. You'll find yourself throwing away a lot of never-used food if you don't use some precautions.
Nathan; BC Canada asks:
I have found tiny bugs in my cupboards so small that they look like dust partials, but they move. I have removed everything from my cupboards and have cleaned with bleach, but even after 5 weeks I still keep finding them on the counter. How do I get rid of these little bugs? I believe they are called Liposcelis bostrychophila but I'm not totally sure.
Nathan:
Book lice are tough little guys to get rid of, but it can be done without pesticides. Somehow, your cabinets have a high humidity level that needs to be reduced. Here's the information you are seeking.
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Normally, control using pesticides is not needed if strict sanitation is practiced. If all else fails you may consider using a product like Tri-Die Aerosol or Tempo 1% Dust.
Liposcelis bostrychophila, also known as book lice, are part of the psocid family. There are small, soft-bodied insects that feed on mold, fungi found in grains and other starchy materials. Book lice usually avoid light and like to live in cracks and crevices where the humidity is fairly high such as enclosed spaces like cabinets. You don't often find them inside unopened packages of products shipped from the manufacturer, but they do have a habit of getting into broken or opened packages and containers.
Reducing the humidity below 50% will eliminate most infestations of book lice. Try to ventilate high moisture areas using a dehumidifier or a fan. Be sure to use a crack and crevic attachment on a vacuum cleaner to remove bits of food from the cracks of storage shelves. Don't overlook spilled foods like cereals and flour.
We are all guilty of pushing containers of food to the back of the shelf and forgetting about it. Foods stored for six months or more sometimes become infested especially in damp, dark, warm, undisturbed places. Try to rotate food products so that older items are used first. Check the manufacturing dates when you are going through your cabinets. Adult book lice populations tend to build up in greater numbers as the infestation ages. Put grain and cereal products in containers with tight fitting lids if the contents are not used within one week after opening. Place infested products inside plastic bags prior to disposal to reduce the spread of adult insects.
Comments
helpme
27 Jul 2009, 01:18
27 Jul 2009, 01:18
I have bugs that I think look like these but they are so small I'm not
sure if that is what they are. I started to notice these tiny bugs on my
walls in my first floor powder room in June. Now I've seen them on at least
one wall in every room of the house, I'v been seeing them on the window
sills and on top of window where the locks are. There is only usually 1-3
of them on the wall at a time, but the window areas have more. Does this
sound like it might be an infestation of book lice or do you have an idea
of what else they could be?
Karisma
04 Aug 2009, 17:29
04 Aug 2009, 17:29
Hello
I dont know what these bugs are but i think their book lice. They usually crawl on the floor on the window sill and i have seen like one or two on my bed. They are tiny and white and im so sick of them. I just recently sprayed bug spray in my room and then they came back three weeks later and school is about to start and i would like to sleep in my bed at peace so can you please tell me what they are. Thanks
I dont know what these bugs are but i think their book lice. They usually crawl on the floor on the window sill and i have seen like one or two on my bed. They are tiny and white and im so sick of them. I just recently sprayed bug spray in my room and then they came back three weeks later and school is about to start and i would like to sleep in my bed at peace so can you please tell me what they are. Thanks
Lori Hamilton
30 Aug 2009, 06:51
30 Aug 2009, 06:51
I have found these very tiny tan colored but on my walls only few at a
time. They were on my curtians and we got rid of that by washing. They
look like a book lice but I only find them on my wall or window sill a
couple in 3 rooms and they squish very easily - non in kitchen. I would
like to see a picture of one on a wall if anyone has one
Lisa
20 Sep 2009, 16:12
20 Sep 2009, 16:12
I put an opened box of pancake mix inside a 1-gallon sized storage baggie,
which I had sealed to store in my pantry. I noticed inside the bottom of
the baggie small tan bugs that looked like "dust". They were so small that
I would have never noticed them, since the inside of the baggie was clean
with no pancake mix at the bottom, except very small tan like things that
were moving! What are they and how do I get rid of them? In the meantime,
I've taken everything out of my cabinets. Please help!!!! (I think they
might be called "forage mites", but I'm not sure)
Thank you! Lisa
Thank you! Lisa
Ava
21 Mar 2010, 01:35
21 Mar 2010, 01:35
I am also really struggling with the exact same issue everyone else is.
I've been sleeping in the guest room for 3 months, because my room was
infested with these bugs. Now my garage has a few of them and my dining
room carpet!!! I don't know what to do...These bugs are soooo small that
FOUR different pest control workers couldn't identify them!!! Now I took a
sticky tape and taped some samples so Massey pest control guy can give it
to an Entomologist. The pest control guy couldn't even SEE the sample
either, because they look like normal dust. I'm stuck PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
help me!!! because its spreading and I'm not happy because I'm paranoid on
everything I touch,. I think I'm going psycho.
Jennifer
19 Aug 2010, 17:52
19 Aug 2010, 17:52
I have these tiny tan bugs on my kitchen counter, that I only see on paper.
everytime I turn a piece of paper over there at least 5 to 6 of them
crawlign around. Now I just found some in the drawer below it on some
papers, please share how you got rid of them.....
Ask the Exterminator
19 Aug 2010, 18:11
19 Aug 2010, 18:11
You need to have them properly identified and I cannot do that from what
you have given me. Take some of the bugs to a local pest control company
and they will ID them for free.
cindy
30 Aug 2010, 03:29
30 Aug 2010, 03:29
I have these same annoyances, i was wondering if the book mites move like
centipedes/millipedes and why they would be overtaking my printer?
Emily
15 Sep 2010, 19:29
15 Sep 2010, 19:29
An exterminator just indentified my "guests" as booklice. They have been
living in my house for 3 months. I have removed all food from my
cupboards, and even bombed my house. I can't seem to get rid of them and
the exterminator who id them would not tell my landlord what to use to get
rid of them. Any advice?
Ask the Exterminator
15 Sep 2010, 23:00
15 Sep 2010, 23:00
The article says it all.
domenica
19 Sep 2010, 12:16
19 Sep 2010, 12:16
i think that i have book lice in my kitchen cabinets ive removed most of
the food and put it in the bin, but kept the tins and washed down the tins
to remove the lice from the tins but can still see some as i go into the
cabinet! should i get a hairdryer to dry out the cabinet plz help i dont
know wat else to do. thanks
Ask the Exterminator
20 Sep 2010, 09:57
20 Sep 2010, 09:57
My question would be "Why are your cabinets retaining so much humidity?"
Booklice need lots of humidity to survive. With so much humidity I would
think your flour would clump. Are you sure they are booklice?
heck im sure ive seen them too
25 Oct 2010, 05:04
25 Oct 2010, 05:04
Lived in the same house for over 15 years, and use to notice them
occassionally. I would see them near sockets, but only one or two at a
time, months apart. Most common place i have seen them (if they the same
thing) is in the bacthroom running around the taps and on walls. Heck I'd
never though to check my cereal cupboard. Am seriously considering having
toast 4 breakfast, with bread from out of the freezer lol
Susan Axtell
31 Oct 2010, 17:32
31 Oct 2010, 17:32
I believe I have these little buggers in my hermit crab cage.They look
nothing like a hermit mite, and I find when I fdeed my hermies a treat of
shrimp pellets, there is hundreds, if not a thousand of these microscopic
little buggers eating in their dish.Are these harmful to my hermit crabs or
are they a living food source for them?
Ask the Exterminator
01 Nov 2010, 09:37
01 Nov 2010, 09:37
White flies or whiteflies. Read about them at
http://www.asktheexterminator.com/flies/White_Flies.shtml.
S. R. A.
11 Nov 2010, 09:55
11 Nov 2010, 09:55
I have reddish spots in many of my book and photo albums. What is this and
how do I get rid of it? Thanks for your help.
Ask the Exterminator
11 Nov 2010, 16:26
11 Nov 2010, 16:26
It could be fecal material from some insect....or not.
Answering S. R. A's Question
25 Nov 2010, 15:27
25 Nov 2010, 15:27
It might be foxing, which is not a bug- just a type of bacteria that
appears on old photos. Are they on the photo itself, or actually on the
plastic of the album?
Ask the Exterminator
26 Nov 2010, 08:51
26 Nov 2010, 08:51
Thanks for adding the comment about foxing. That is an excellent diagnosis.
Foxing, by the way, is said to occur when there is high humidity, which is
exactly the environment required for book lice.
Hate-the-Bugs
05 Apr 2011, 00:19
05 Apr 2011, 00:19
I found these whitist grey tiny bugs (usually 1mm big) on my ceilings and
walls in my bedroom. An exterminator said it could be a booklice. But the
Paint expert called it wall lice. Now I am seriously confused. What is the
difference between book lice and wall lice? and how do I get rid of it?
And if they are indeed booklice, shouldnt they be populating the study
room?
Ask the Exterminator
05 Apr 2011, 09:42
05 Apr 2011, 09:42
Bed bugs are sometimes called "wall lice", but your description does not
sound like bed bugs. Book lice can be present in any room with high
humidity. I've got several other articles on book lice. Use the search box
to locate them.
Hate-the-Bugs
14 Apr 2011, 04:54
14 Apr 2011, 04:54
1) I am sure there are more than 1 kind of insects or mites on my walls and
ceilings. I found some that looks like booklice and others that look
rounded. All of them measure from 1mm - 2mm in length and width 1mm.
2) The rounded ones when crushed appeared to be brown and have 2 feelers. They seemed to know when to come out to play - and that's usually at night whenthe lights are out.
3) I also found some rounded ones 1mm size crawling on the mattress in my guest room which is not being occupied. These little creatures can jump when you try to crush it or catch it.
4) I am getting paranoid now; I also notice a regular bird (a minor I was told) that seems to find it a habit to perch on my window every morning, returning day after day just to have a perch until being shoo-ed away. Could it be bird mites too?
5) The paint expert said the wall lice feed on the porous cement that is being used to build our walls.
6) Wonder what the pest exterminator would advise regarding the above concerns?
2) The rounded ones when crushed appeared to be brown and have 2 feelers. They seemed to know when to come out to play - and that's usually at night whenthe lights are out.
3) I also found some rounded ones 1mm size crawling on the mattress in my guest room which is not being occupied. These little creatures can jump when you try to crush it or catch it.
4) I am getting paranoid now; I also notice a regular bird (a minor I was told) that seems to find it a habit to perch on my window every morning, returning day after day just to have a perch until being shoo-ed away. Could it be bird mites too?
5) The paint expert said the wall lice feed on the porous cement that is being used to build our walls.
6) Wonder what the pest exterminator would advise regarding the above concerns?
Ask the Exterminator
14 Apr 2011, 10:53
14 Apr 2011, 10:53
What I advise is having each pest properly identified before doing anything
else. Having the exact identity of the insect species will make it much
easier to learn where they may be nesting and, of course, how to control
them. Right now, you are only guessing.
john smith
08 May 2011, 08:48
08 May 2011, 08:48
About two months ago i noticed some tiny moving dots that looked like flour
in my kitchen. They were inhabiting flour stored in jars and a jar of
shreded coconut. I chucked the jars out but there were still a few of them
around. I had also noticed a few larger bugs that looked similar to
headlice wandering around. They seemed to like hanging around my window
sill, computer, phone and tv. Recently i noticed that there were hundreds
of the flour like bugs crawling all over my lamp, psp and electronic
drawing tablet. I also noticed some of the larger bugs hanging around. I
think the larger ones laid those small ones in everything i own thats
electronic. I looked up pictures and i can tell they are booklice. its
winter now and my room is damp so would just having the heater on often
solve the problem?
dj
10 May 2011, 18:34
10 May 2011, 18:34
hi, i ordered some books online (batch). One of the books had booklice in
them. This one has been disposed off. There were two different coloured
types, (2 lice in total) one was off-white and the other coloured brown
(latter slightly larger). Shall I be disposing of the rest of the books
(don't see any lice)? Could they have book lice eggs (can't see any, but is
it possible they could be too small to be seen?) and thus need disposing
off? Currently quarantined to a plastic box in cold temperature of car
(cold, sunny but not rainy).
john smith
11 May 2011, 18:17
11 May 2011, 18:17
Its alot worse than i thought. The tiny bugs are on every surface in my
house. I have been cleaning and blasting every room with heaters but i
could do with some advice.
Lisa
15 May 2011, 00:09
15 May 2011, 00:09
I found tiny brown looking mites in clusters on my kitchen counter...what
are they and why did they just appear? They are not in the
cupboards....help!!! - Lisa in California
Ask the Exterminator
20 May 2011, 08:19
20 May 2011, 08:19
Collect some insects and take them to your local county extension agent to
have them properly identified before doing anything else. Having the exact
identity of the insect species will make it much easier to learn what they
are and why they are present.
Ask the Exterminator
20 May 2011, 08:22
20 May 2011, 08:22
DJ:
You can heat the books in a microwave to kill any of the insects.
You can heat the books in a microwave to kill any of the insects.
Deb
26 Aug 2011, 21:03
26 Aug 2011, 21:03
I've been having a problem with book lice for the last 23 yrs. We get rid
of them, but they come back. I vacuum and clean, but still find them behind
pictures on the wall, on the bathroom counter (usually at night) when I
move something. I've sprayed and even resorted to moth balls in the
drawers. I'm going crazy and need some help. Pls advise what else I can do.
We have dehumidifier in the bathroom, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
Ask the Exterminator
29 Aug 2011, 09:42
29 Aug 2011, 09:42
Please read the article at this link:
http://www.asktheexterminator.com/Lice/Get_Rid_of_Booklice.shtml. It goes
into a lot more detail about booklice control.
SB
28 Sep 2011, 17:11
28 Sep 2011, 17:11
we developed a case of booklice in our bedroom in august...we have used a
fan, dehumidifer, air conditioner and cleaned alot...just when we think we
got them, they are back...there is no explaination for where they turn up
and we have not located a source spot...some days we find one and others up
to a dozen...we are down to just empty furniture and our bed...it has been
2 months now and i would like my bedroom back...is there something that we
can get an exterminator to do? i just want them gone...thanks
Ask the Exterminator
03 Oct 2011, 19:24
03 Oct 2011, 19:24
An exterminator will tell you to reduce the humidity. I suppose you can
find an exterminator who will be happy to take your money and profess that
his treatments will fix your problem, but truth is, get the humidity below
50% and you'll solve your own problem. Buy a cheap hydrometer at Home Depot
to confirm your humidity is below 50%.
dixie
13 Oct 2011, 09:14
13 Oct 2011, 09:14
you should remove all cardboard packets and anything else that these things
have contaminated and clean your cupboards.i was recommended to use
rentokil small space fly control .this is a small unit that i hang inside
my carousel unit in my kitchen.it smells a little strong to start with but
this soon wears off this keeps these blighters under control,but you have
to clean everything thoroughly first
