booklice-img
Order: Psocoptera
Family: Liposcelididae

Appeared 295 million years ago!

Judging by its name, a question we often get is, “are booklice harmful?” The answer is no. First of all, booklice are not actually lice, and they don’t actually eat books. They are psocids that feed on mould and fungi, as well as starch-based household items like grains, wallpaper glue and book binding (hence the name). Despite their tiny size (1-2mm), booklice live and hide anywhere with easy access to food. Our clients typically find booklice in their bedroom, along with booklice eggs. These creatures are scavengers so you can rest your mind about booklice bites.

This leads to the next question: “How to get rid of booklice?”
By keeping the humidity levels in your house low (<60%).

You can do this mainly by maintaining good ventilation throughout the house. Some simple ways are keeping windows and doors open, or turning on fans. Getting a dehumidifier would be a worthwhile investment considering our local climate and how commonly we find booklice in Singapore.

Booklice mostly live in warm and damp areas like cupboards, storerooms and pantry. Depending on how conducive the environment is for their survival, booklice can live for 2 weeks to 4 months, and are produce 8 generations within a year!

HOSTGATOR, These tiny creatures do not harm human beings and animals, but they do damage household furnishings and sometimes booklice bites cause mild skin irritation. In addition, these tiny, pale bugs crawl everywhere and can be emotionally traumatizing especially when finding on food or food packages. It’s quite disgusting to see booklice in your food and definitely kills the appetite right away! It’s even worst to see a wholesome booklice infestation in your stored grains, rice, etc. High humidity levels promote mold growth in cereals and other stored foods which draw booklice in. A booklice outbreak may occur in warm and humid areas with an approximate temperature of 75 to 85 degrees. These are mostly found in moist areas like basements, attics, closets, etc. Booklice lives anywhere from two weeks to four months depending on the environment they are living in. They can produce almost eight generations worth of booklice eggs in about just a year. Booklice becomes annoying when they are in large numbers in your home and requires professional help. A good pest control company can easily locate the problem areas and administer a suitable treatment to keep your food and furniture booklice free!

IKARI Treatment

After verifying that the pest is booklice, our experienced team will carefully inspect the space to diagnose the extent of your booklice infestation. Based on your preferences (quick-fix or non-toxic), we will carry out superheated steam application, residual spray and/or alcohol spray.

Booklice are unable to survive in temperatures above 40°C hence the superheated steam treatment is a highly effective and non-toxic solution. Our technicians meticulously apply superheated steam across the infected areas to get rid of booklice and their eggs.

If you prefer a fast knockdown treatment, our residual spray releases a pesticide that disrupts the booklice’s nervous system to the point of death. This method leaves a residue on surfaces and is effective up to 1 month to target any surviving booklice. To get rid of mould and fungi, we have our own unique alcohol-based formula. For massive areas like industrial locations, we conduct Ultra-Volume (ULV) Misting that releases the solution in droplets at the optimal size of 10 μm. This ensures consistent and wide hence effective application.

HOSTGATOR, IKARI trained professionals use the latest treatments like steam treatments, residual spray and ULV misting which are currently the most effective and efficient way of as to how to get rid of booklice Singapore. Our technicians first use Alpine Aerosol as an insecticide on surfaces where booklice are present. The pests pick up the insecticide and bring it to the nest and share it with other booklice.This ultimately leads to the death of the whole nest in two to three days. Second, technicians spot- treat places like windows, doors, baseboards, and walls or where they are active with just a light mist or a straw injection into the cracks and crevices where they possibly hide. Third, even if all of the booklice do not get killed at once, they eventually will, as they get some chemical from others present in the nest, once they return to it. This is how our treatment makes sure that your property gets booklice free in a week!

  • Hiding Spots

    • Warm and damp areas

  • Food Sources

    • Bookbinding glue, mould, mildew, dried starchy foods exposed to humidity, fungi

  • Prevention Tips
    • Regularly clean cupboards and drawers
    • Keep rooms well-ventilated by installing fans and leaving windows and doors open
    • Store food in airtight containers
    • Use a dehumidifier

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