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I often hear people talking about book lice. Well, here is the guide from my experiences with infestations!
Identifying them:
So how do you know if they are booklice? Booklice are small, often looking like a piece of sand or even a large piece of dust from bedding. They have tan bodies, ranging from white or beige to brown, even dark brown at times. Don’t mistake these bugs with mold mites- mold mites look like specks of dust and are only white!! A photo of booklice, a picture from a past infestation, will be posted down below.
Why are they here?:
There could be there few different reasons. The first and very common one is an unidentified pee spot from your hammy. The pee could have caused a piece of poo or food from the stash to mold, even a teeny bit. Mold attracts these bugs. The second is humidity. These bugs LOOOVE humidity. The more humidity, the more likely these bugs are gonna seek refuge in the cage. The third is because they were tracked somewhere. Maybe there was a piece of wood with booklice on it, and it was brought into your house near the cage. If your house is humid enough to sustain them, they say ‘yup i wanna stay!’ This is why you want to make sure you are cleaning up all materials you get for your hammy. But dont worry. These bugs, while annoying and icky, aren’t dangerous. They are harmless. Except maybe for your emotional state.
Preventing them:
Okay, maybe you don’t have booklice. But, you want to know how to prevent these common pests. Here you go!
Dealing with them:
So you have booklice. These pests aren’t actually lice. They are small bugs that like to live in humid environments. They feed on mildew, mold, etc. To combat these tiny fellows, we have to combat their preferences. So here is a usual order of action. Everyone’s process is different, though, so some steps can be swapped around!
FAQ:
Q: Will a dehumidifier affect my hamster?
A: Nope! Dehumidifiers are safe and will only affect the bugs and possibly making your nose a bit dry!
Q: Why are booklice called booklice?
A: Well, booklice are commonly found in books because of similar conditions. Since the book is closed all the time and there’s not very good ventilation towards the books, others could find some booklice hangin around!
Q: Are booklice harmful?!?!
A: No!!! Don’t worry, booklice don’t infect your hamster. The bugs will not make your hammy sick or anything! Mainly, the bugs bug us. They may not hurt us as well, but it is a good thing to get rid of them before it could turn into a cause for a respiratory issue. Though that will not happen immediately! I found that the bugs made me paranoid and anxious. But there is nothing physically harmful.
Q: What are items I can freeze?
A: I’m glad you asked! You can freeze the following: Sprays, food, treats, non wood tunnels like hay, woven tunnels, and other non wood or easily shatter-able items!
Q: I trust this brand, do i really have to freeze the products before using them for hammy??
A: Sadly, yes! Even if the product does not had bugs inside when it is packaged, the bugs can be attracted along the journey. Because the bugs are so small, it can be difficult to find and detect. So freezing is an amazing way to prevent infestations!
Q: What about hammy’s stash? Do I get rid of that too?
A: Yes! Along with the bedding, anything not worth freezing or baking should be trashed. Unfortunately, stashes are perfect hiding spots for the bugs. Sometimes the items are sticky or have been peed on or have accidentally been tracked into pee bedding. Maybe hammy’s tummy was hurting and she had a wet poo, that caused the stash to become breeding central. What i’m trying to say is, even if there is a stash, you need to throw it out too. Just sprinkle some food in the same spot after everything is reassembled!
Thank you everyone who has read this far! If there are any questions, I am happy to answer them! I have dealt with these bugs multiple times, so i know firsthand how annoying they are!
Here is the photo from a lil while back from the booklice infestation:
Identifying them:
So how do you know if they are booklice? Booklice are small, often looking like a piece of sand or even a large piece of dust from bedding. They have tan bodies, ranging from white or beige to brown, even dark brown at times. Don’t mistake these bugs with mold mites- mold mites look like specks of dust and are only white!! A photo of booklice, a picture from a past infestation, will be posted down below.
Why are they here?:
There could be there few different reasons. The first and very common one is an unidentified pee spot from your hammy. The pee could have caused a piece of poo or food from the stash to mold, even a teeny bit. Mold attracts these bugs. The second is humidity. These bugs LOOOVE humidity. The more humidity, the more likely these bugs are gonna seek refuge in the cage. The third is because they were tracked somewhere. Maybe there was a piece of wood with booklice on it, and it was brought into your house near the cage. If your house is humid enough to sustain them, they say ‘yup i wanna stay!’ This is why you want to make sure you are cleaning up all materials you get for your hammy. But dont worry. These bugs, while annoying and icky, aren’t dangerous. They are harmless. Except maybe for your emotional state.
Preventing them:
Okay, maybe you don’t have booklice. But, you want to know how to prevent these common pests. Here you go!
- Clean out your hammy’s pee spot(s)! Make sure there are none you aren’t aware of; but don’t over clean (by cleaning parts not needing to be cleaned) or else it could stress out the hammy!
- Get a dehumidifier! These are perfect for reducing humidity!
- Increase ventilation -unless it proves to add humidity!! Ventilation can air out the room and, again, lessen the humidity!!
- Freeze all your new sprays! They may not be there when the box was packaged, but sometimes they tag along for the ride!
- Bake any wood you get - unless that wood is a type that should be boiled!
- Don’t bring in moldy items! In case you needed the reminder… I hope you didn’t…
Dealing with them:
So you have booklice. These pests aren’t actually lice. They are small bugs that like to live in humid environments. They feed on mildew, mold, etc. To combat these tiny fellows, we have to combat their preferences. So here is a usual order of action. Everyone’s process is different, though, so some steps can be swapped around!
- Take the ham out of the cage!
- Sort the wooden items, freeze-able items, and ceramics in different bags or trash bags
- Throw out ALLLL bedding
- Spray down cage with diluted white vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes! But make sure the whole cage is covered in vinegar.
- Wipe down the empty cage
- Vacuum around the cage, under the cage, etc. BUT throw out the collected dust/dirt immediately in case you picked up bugs!
- Freeze the freezeables in the freezer (freeze freeze freeze haha.) for 48 hours to 1 week
- Bake the wooden items in the oven. I do mine at 270 degrees F for 1 hour. I let it sit for 1 hour after i turn off the oven for it to cool off. Temps may vary based on oven and setting.
- Wash all ceramics in warm soapy water and wipe them down with the vinegar (THIS CAN BE DONE IN EITHER ORDER)
- Check for any other sources nearby (or can be done early on)
- Wipe down adjacent areas
- Reassemble clean cage with clean bedding, baked wood, thawed freezeables, and washed ceramics/glass/acrylic items.
- GET A DEHUMIDIFIER.
- Go through the efforts to PREVENT another infestation!!
FAQ:
Q: Will a dehumidifier affect my hamster?
A: Nope! Dehumidifiers are safe and will only affect the bugs and possibly making your nose a bit dry!
Q: Why are booklice called booklice?
A: Well, booklice are commonly found in books because of similar conditions. Since the book is closed all the time and there’s not very good ventilation towards the books, others could find some booklice hangin around!
Q: Are booklice harmful?!?!
A: No!!! Don’t worry, booklice don’t infect your hamster. The bugs will not make your hammy sick or anything! Mainly, the bugs bug us. They may not hurt us as well, but it is a good thing to get rid of them before it could turn into a cause for a respiratory issue. Though that will not happen immediately! I found that the bugs made me paranoid and anxious. But there is nothing physically harmful.
Q: What are items I can freeze?
A: I’m glad you asked! You can freeze the following: Sprays, food, treats, non wood tunnels like hay, woven tunnels, and other non wood or easily shatter-able items!
Q: I trust this brand, do i really have to freeze the products before using them for hammy??
A: Sadly, yes! Even if the product does not had bugs inside when it is packaged, the bugs can be attracted along the journey. Because the bugs are so small, it can be difficult to find and detect. So freezing is an amazing way to prevent infestations!
Q: What about hammy’s stash? Do I get rid of that too?
A: Yes! Along with the bedding, anything not worth freezing or baking should be trashed. Unfortunately, stashes are perfect hiding spots for the bugs. Sometimes the items are sticky or have been peed on or have accidentally been tracked into pee bedding. Maybe hammy’s tummy was hurting and she had a wet poo, that caused the stash to become breeding central. What i’m trying to say is, even if there is a stash, you need to throw it out too. Just sprinkle some food in the same spot after everything is reassembled!
Thank you everyone who has read this far! If there are any questions, I am happy to answer them! I have dealt with these bugs multiple times, so i know firsthand how annoying they are!
Here is the photo from a lil while back from the booklice infestation: