Wednesday, February 17, 2010
EXAMINE YOUR BUYS FOR BUGS
Examine your flea market or house sale buys for bugs. The bottom of a piece of furniture may have little fuzzy white balls attached. They are spider eggs that will hatch in a warm house. Also look out for spiders and their webs. If you find them, they are easy to wash off.
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Weevils are waaay worse. They can live in wood for many, many years and can continue to eat the wood for that long. They're very hard to eradicate - involving the use of chemicals and complete sealing.
You are so right about bugs is old things. I was so proud of myself for finding an old school desk at a great price. I washed it down good (no evidence of spiders) and gave it to my daughter. Once in her house, the bugs hatched, hundreds of them. Don't know what kind, not spiders. I have been more careful since then, using bug spray before using.
I want to know How i can show a pic of things and get an answer back, if its for free, i am on ssd and like to sell and move away to my moms, shes getting old and sick each month. :( If anyone can show me or what site, or if its on here, thats great to,. thank you. sal c. from brooklyn, ny. 11229
Spiders are not nearly as bad as discovering cockroaches in old radios. I try to examine each piece of furniture carefully outside first. But the horror stories still happen. Thank goodness no cockroaches here, although I understand that may be a definite possibility depending on where you purchase an item.
Spiders are certainly a concern. However even more of a concern to me are roaches. I purchased an older electrtic hand mixer at a house sale in Chicago last October. Upon using it for the first time a few days later I discovered there were roaches living inside the machine. They must have crawled in through the little vent openings and made a home for themselves. When I turned it on the heat build-up inside made them start to crawl out to escape. Well, I killed the ones that escaped and I immediately sealed the machine in a large plastic baggie and disposed of it. I have not seen any strays crawling around the house since then so hopefully they were all thrown away with the mixer. From now on I will stick to buying things like glassware and dishes. Nothing that any creepy crawly insects can hide in.
And nothing beats a "stink bug". DH read somewhere that they are a chinese import, showed up around Allentown Pa. Well they have moved to Bucks County. I got some in a box from a auction in upper Bucks. YUCK! DO NOT TOUCH THEM, they have a substance on their hard little shells and if it gets on you? you're adopted into the stink tribe! Grab 'em with a tissue, smash 'em with your foot and dispose of the evidence.
Roaches will crawl in to the folds between the pieces of corrugated cardboard, inside appliances - they run out when it gets hot (like from the mixer, the radio or tv's. Spray everything at least once before you bring it indoors.
Beth Cherkowsky
http://www.antiquedaze.com
Another truly insidious infestation to be aware of is moths -- not "just" clothing moths but also a very aggressive cousin! They will eat rugs from the bottom up (worst where furniture sits on the rug and you're less likely to notice) and attack wool, silk, fur and other organic materials. You can deter them with lavender/cedar sachets in closets and drawers but the only way to eradicate them is repeated cleaning and, sometimes, freezing. They eat the proteins in the fabric but, of course, bits of fabric go with each bite. If you're diligent and lucky, you may see the actual moths before any damage is done -- they're very small, a pale buff color -- but they effectively disintegrate into powder when "clapped."
Signs of damage. On clothing, the "standard" moth holes. With fur, there's not much to see; the fur erodes at its base. With rugs, because the damage is done from the bottom, it's not noticeable until the holes appear where the warp and weft have been damaged below the nap (it typically become visible when vacuuming).
You can recognize the evidence of these moths on the bottom of rugs by their curlicue trails and by the residue that looks like pinkish-gray dust. Eggs could easily be mistaken for fine sand or grit. If they are there at all, they are there in the thousands! You're less likely to bring them into your home live on clothing but all garmets (and unsewn fabric) should be well shaken and/or cleaned before entering your house.
Carpets (such as Oriental rugs) are the most likely means of travel for these pests. Should you be tempted to buy a carpet that is otherwise perfect but appears to have a hole chewed in it (that might have been caused by a dog), inspect it *very* carefully. These moths can -- and will -- chew away whole sections of carpet. All you need do is examine the back of the carpet for fine grit or the telltale webbing trails. Transport carpets and rugs bagged and have them professionally cleaned before bringing them inside.
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