Saturday, July 11, 2009

Home Cleaning Project - Bug Terminator

We found some tiny black bugs on the wall near the roof area. We are not sure what they are but they certainly won't be a good thing. Thus, with the scientific spirit in my blood, I would like to figure it out before it cause catastrophic disaster.

To figure it what the bug is, I will need a microscope. I prefer an USB digital microscope that can connect to my computer and capture snapshots easily. I am using a Mac, so I need one that is compatible with MacOSX too. Buy.com has Carson for $49 which is on sale, but I went to a local Frys to pick up Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope(up to 150x) just for the convenience. unfortunately, Celestron does not have good support for Mac because it require me to find some image/video capture application on my own instead provide a default one in the box. After some researches on the Internet, I ordered a more powerful USB microscope(Veho VMS-004 - up to 400X) from J&R.com.

  • Celestron (up to 150x)

  • Veho (up to 400x)


Step 1: Catch a bug.

Step 2: Take a picture. Say Cheeze!

> Front view: 40x


> Top view: 150x Close up


> Bottom view: 150x


Step 3: Google it to find matched photo. We found a similar match on Pest Control Canada via google image service(thank you, google :-)). We thought that the bug we found was "Carpet Beetles". I was not 100% sure about this, so I sent an email to get the confirmation from Pest Control Canada web site below. However, after we've done the research for a few weeks, we were certain that it was actually a "bird mite".

> Bug list web site: PEST CONTROL CANADA - Pest Information & Control Solutions

Step 4: While waiting for the confirmation, I Googled the solution of how to terminate "Carpet Beetles". Here is a very good source.

> Reference: How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles

Step 5: Based on the reference, I decided to buy "Boric acid" and "Mothball" to kill and keep bugs away. Plus a steam cleaner to deep clean the carpet and put possible affected clothes and sheets to the washer and dryer for a good treatment.

Step 6: Get cleaning equipment ready and vacuum the carpet first.

Step 7: Steam affected areas.

Step 8: Wipe out bug's bodies.

Step 9: Spray "BugOut" to affected areas as the first defense wall.

Step 10: Spread Borax to affected areas too to build the 2nd defense system.

Step 11: Stream clean the carpet to kill any bugs already invaded.


Step 12: Put Mothballs in the closet as a prevention measure.

2 comments:

LY said...

We have a Hoover SteamVac dual-V widepath for 4 years. Overall, I like it and it cleans the carpet very well. I was so glad that I bought the extended warranty from Hoover, because it broke about 4 times so far. The brush pivot broke twice, the engine burns once, and the detergent tank leaks once. With the extended warranty, the hoover store just replaced those parts with no question asked.

-Po

Unknown said...

Actually we returned the SteamVac because it does not heat the water in the tank, so it could not kill bacteria or bugs hidden in the carpet. I saw an infomercial named H2O mop, and luckily my friend had one. I borrowed his and tried it at home. It works much better. Not only it is very light weight, but also it heat the water and make it very hot steam which can easily kill anything living or hidden inside the carpet. I think I am going to buy that instead later.