Jeanette from Grand Rapids, Mi. writes
I have repeatedly treated baseboards, trim,furniture, hardwood flrs, clothes, bedding, inside&under; cabinets, they get into sealed pantry jars, plastic sealed unoped makeup inside plastic sealed bins. They like to eat rubber sealing, all my weather proofing seals around windows and windshield sealing even. They are destroying all my plumbing sealing tape and even gas pipe seals. They have penetrated my plaster walls with custom techniques which I have top sealed with flat acrylic finish.they remove paint and even get in between layers of CDs and render them unreadable. Linoleum flrs in bathrms are destroyed as they have penetrated subfloor.Orkin, other Pest company called me crazy, saying no insect can burrow thru plastic, although I showed them eight previously unopened Ziploc boxes with every bag inside slit. Even my dog's fur is under attack. I spend whole day throwing away things and trying to contain damage. They've wrecked every vacuum, including shopvac And 600 dollar Dyson by gummed up rubber sealing, I had to use wire brush on them, but seal is compromised. I have over 200thous.$ damage (not including structural ). Does freezing kill? Help me! ! Thanks.
While we don't think you are crazy we must agree with the pest control companies that the type of damage you are describing does not sound at all like an insect. Carpet beetles are a type of stored product pest that attacks only organic materials such as wool, feathers, hair and sometimes grains. They do not attack wood, plastic or anything on a living creature. We cannot suggest any products for you because we don't know what you are dealing with. What we can suggest however is that you put out some glue boards to capture some of these pests and take them to your local cooperative extension office to get a pest ID. Once you get a pest ID from an entomologist we will have a better understanding of what you are dealing with (perhaps multiple pests?) and will be able to guide you to the correct products for your needs.
Answer last updated on: 01/29/2013
