Booklice on Walls: Are They the Tiny Black Dots You See?

How do booklice look like? On a few occasions, a number of my family and friends have frantically rang me on my mobile, looking for an answer to this question: “Do you know what are those tiny black dots on the walls? They move! And there are lots of them!”

Just a tiny squash using one of your fingers is enough to wipe it away. Yet these tiny black dots, they come in hundreds and hundreds of them… sticking themselves to the bathroom walls, the bedroom walls or even inside the wardrobes.

You could not possibly squash them all!

Do booklice really feed on books?

These are actually Booklice.

Booklice? Yes, this is certainly interesting to know, “Are booklice caused by books?” This is in fact, the opposite of what its name suggests; a booklice is not caused by having books around in the home or office.

How the presence of booklice come across is because, they are attracted to places with a high humidity. The high humidity in a room allows moisture, mold and mildew to grow very quickly. And for the booklice, they feed on these mold and mildew to survive. It is food for these pests.

So perhaps if your books start to grow a lot of mold on them, they would then very likely attract booklice to feed on the mold on the books. But for a booklice itself, it does not come from the books. See the difference?

Does booklice bites?

No. Booklice are not biting pests, as opposed to Bird Mites. Booklice feed purely on the mold and mildew at places with high moisture.

Well it doesn’t help that in Singapore we experience a tropical climate all the time, leading to a warm and moist environment at homes and in the offices. These weather conditions make it extra favorable for booklice to thrive on.

Interesting facts of booklice

Booklice are soft and have two pairs of wings with long antennae. They tend to hop around and you may find these tiny dots appearing on wet and moist spaces including crawl spaces, books, tiles and basement. In fact, there are over 3,000 species of book lice and they are also known as Psocids. They feed on fungi and algae found on books, papers or painting that has high humidity. Though these tiny pests do not have a long life span and typically survive a few months, it is important to lookout for their signs and presence as their eggs that lay within cracks and crevices can result in a breeding problem.

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Here are some quick tips to deal with a booklice infestation at home or in the office:

1. Throw away infested items

If you find your books covered with mold and mildew, chances are you are already spotting these booklice clinging onto the edges of the books. To clear the infestation effectively, you really have no other choice but to chuck these books.

2. Start vacuuming

Yes, vacuuming away all these booklice sticking on the walls is probably the best bet you could have against them. Put on that mask and apron now!

3. Wipe down the walls with soap and water

The good old soap and water method not only does good for your hand hygiene, it could be a faster and more economical way to get rid of booklice. Only that is, remember to dry the walls thoroughly after wiping for you do not want to leave moisture behind.

4. Invest in a good dehumidifier

Go get a dehumidifier, on it and place it in the affected room. It helps to bring down the level of humidity in a room quickly. A low level of humidity decreases the chances of mold and mildew growing which means, no more food sources for these booklice!

5. Ventilate and let the sunshine in

A room that is dark and musty naturally invites the liking of various pests to want to live there. Therefore, open up those windows big and wide, and let Mother Nature does its work. The level of good vibrant energy the bright sun lends to your room does wonder…

Read also: When do you need to call for a professional pest control service?

Get a peace of mind and understand the booklice treatments available.

There are different situations whereby certain pest infestation could not have been easily identified and settled over a simple phone call to your nearest aid! The expert in pest control is able to help you with a professional pest survey done by the specialists.

Contact Rentokil at (65) 6347 8138 or www.rentokil.com.sg today.

*Solutions for booklice treatments are subjected to the relevant site survey and professional recommendations.