Hi U-Spray,
I have a set of old books (around 70) that I have collected mostly online. A few smell like very light mold. Yesterday while I was reading a volume that was particularly beat up, I noticed 1 very, very, small, nearly-transparent bug. It was practically invisible plus tiny but it was walking near the inside binding. I blew it off the page. This gave me concern. I looked through all my books and I couldn’t find any bugs at all, nor could I find any more in the book in question.
So, what to do? I am going to buy a dehumidifier, but is there any chemical agent that I can apply, without damaging my book collection, that will rid me of these pests?
Thanks a million!
Based on where you saw this bug and the description you provided, I’m pretty sure it was a psocid. These are tiny little insects that commonly infest “tight” spaces where there is some moisture and/or mold. You can read all about them on our psocid control article which details everything you’ll need to know should they become a bigger problem.
At this point I would recommend getting the books to the driest location you can keep them in. I would also say to lightly mist them with the 565. It’s a quick killing product that won’t provide any residual but if you use it once or twice a week for a month or so, you should be able to insure they won’t be able to keep reproducing. Since you’ve seen one, there is surely more and you don’t want to give them the chance to start building a large population.
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