I have some sort of bug infestation in my house and am getting many little bites. What could it be? Here are some things, with a kitty picture.
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posted by liketitanic
on May 7, 2013 -
14 answers
We apparently have bats in our attic. Should we call a pest removal service, or can we put up our own exclusion trap over the attic vent?
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posted by Slap*Happy
on Apr 10, 2013 -
13 answers
I have a serious mosquito problem in my house, there are literally 10 or so in every room almost all the time. Every night before I go to bed I have to lay there and spray each one as it flies by me, it takes about 5 minutes and the spray smell lingers for ages. In the morning they are in the bathroom where the door has been shut and no windows are open, I have no idea where they are getting in. I leave my back door open a crack for my dog at night and I have a mozzie zapper in the laundry where the door is. It doesn't seem to be helping. I also have those plug in mozzie repellers but also not helping and very expensive. I don't have a pool or pond and don't know of any neighbours that do. Please help, this is really getting me down, not only the killing of them but the 30 or so bites I have right now. I am in southern Australia where it's hot now, but not humid.
posted by Youremyworld
on Feb 16, 2013 -
21 answers
Oh no! My winter squash, cucumbers, and peas are failing. Can anybody tell me why and what, if anything, I can do about it? Pictures inside.
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posted by Scientist
on Jan 9, 2013 -
15 answers
The mouse poison we've successfully used for years has run out and is now hard to get as consumers. Is there another brand we can replace it with? Any tips for better sealing our home?
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posted by mccarty.tim
on Nov 18, 2012 -
14 answers
Help! We just found a black widow spider inside our house. They are endemic in our neighborhood. What do we do?
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posted by anonnymoose
on Sep 19, 2012 -
20 answers
My feet are so itchy I could punch someone. What bugs in my house could be biting me?
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posted by mnemonic
on Sep 18, 2012 -
23 answers
How do I rid myself of the white mite infestation in my cupboard? I have cleaned everything multiple times and in multiple ways!
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posted by ElliotH
on Sep 2, 2012 -
5 answers
We're having a dinner party tomorrow night, and now it seems there's a dead mouse in one of our walls. What can we do to mitigate the smell? We can't go into the walls.
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posted by (The Rt Hon.) MP
on Jul 25, 2012 -
19 answers
There are many feral cats in our neighborhood, which is extra annoying because 1) they drive my dogs bonkers, 2) they leave their droppings in our yard almost daily, which are super stinky, and 3) some spread fleas. Do you have suggestions for how to get rid of them? I may get cat traps from the humane society, and someone suggested sprinkling coffee grounds. Are there any other good ways to repel cats with something that is nontoxic for dogs?
posted by lirael2008
on Jun 25, 2012 -
18 answers
How should I clean up after finding mouse droppings in my kitchen drawers? And is this mouse fighting strategy sound?
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posted by Bibliogeek
on Feb 12, 2012 -
15 answers
We have an unknown critter nibbling the fruit and tomatoes on a counter INSIDE our house (in Miami, Fl). It's hungry enough to eat most of the bait on a mouse trap (say, leaving only the skin on a small slice of pear, as it seems to like fruit), strong enough to somehow move what's left of the bait about 1.5 inches away from the trap, but agile/light enough to not be caught by the trap. No vermin poop nearby that I can see. Ideas what it could be and how to get rid of it?
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posted by wordworking
on Nov 14, 2011 -
10 answers
I rent a 50 year old ground level home that has NO pests! This in Hawaii where every home has loads of roaches, ants, etc etc. I have seen one roach in 2 1/2 years. and a neighborhood where they abound!
WE have used no pesticides in the past 2 1/2 years and
the house has not been tented in 5 years
I am worried that at some point in the past someone treated this place with something long acting and toxic: worried for my kids mostly.
Landlord says not to his knowledge. What tests could one reasonably do to see if toxins are a problem? Is this fear ridiculous?
posted by dougiedd
on Nov 1, 2011 -
14 answers
The exterminator says it's a mild case of bedbugs. Is he almost certainly right? I don't have any bites and I don't want to go through an unnecessary fumigation. Could it be lice or something instead?
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posted by toomuchkatherine
on Aug 17, 2011 -
14 answers
I'm looking to rent a studio or one bedroom apartment in Arlington, Virginia within walking distance of the Courthouse or Clarendon Metro stations. After a week or so of pretty intense searching (dozens of calls, two days spent wandering around) I finally found and visited a place in my price range (under $1250) a 10 minute walk from Courthouse. Unfortunately online reviews (20 or so) are largely (80%) negative and frequently mention roaches and bedbugs. How do I decide whether I can look past this or not? How do I broach the topic with the management?
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posted by elektrotechnicus
on Aug 2, 2011 -
13 answers
We're moving in a couple weeks, and we just found out that bedbugs were spotted in our new apartment. NOOOO! What now?
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posted by Metroid Baby
on Jul 28, 2011 -
25 answers
How to DIY or get management to finally get rid of these friggin roaches that come up through the drains?
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posted by KogeLiz
on Jul 15, 2011 -
7 answers
Last year, tiny (moth?) larvae ate all my giant sunflowers. What can I do to prevent this from happening again this year?
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posted by Bardolph
on Jul 13, 2011 -
3 answers
I am terrified of all manner of bugs, rodents, and other creepy tiny things. I just found mouse droppings in my kitchen. What are the steps I should take right away that my panic is keeping me from thinking of? What steps are totally delusional and unnecessary?
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posted by SMPA
on Jun 10, 2011 -
10 answers
Something is eating the plants in my garden. I don't know what it is or how to stop it. Photos inside.
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posted by celerity
on May 28, 2011 -
13 answers
I can hear something scurry above my head. But no signs when I check for evidence. My study has a ceiling, and above that is the loft/storage/attic area. I can hear things scurrying there at certain times of day and night. Sound big-ish to me (rat sized?) but I also know even little things can sound big.
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posted by Megami
on Nov 23, 2010 -
14 answers
I’ve recently, over the course of the last year, gone from being a pretty average person to being a raging germophobe, and I am exhausted. Instead of remaining on constant, high-alert paranoia, I would like to develop a set of rules that I can follow and rest assured that I’m doing what is reasonably possible to prevent germ-related catastrophe. I’m interested in knowing the chances of xyz germ contamination happening, and how to go about reasonable prevention that won’t disrupt normal routines or inconvenience others. What are your cleaning rituals, when do you take calculated risks, and when do you decide that worrying isn’t worth it?
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posted by pluot
on Sep 23, 2010 -
18 answers
I just moved into an apartment which I now think had an existing roach problem. Should/can I break my lease now and recover my money, or should I try to fight the roaches? I'm in PA.
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posted by pilibeen
on Aug 8, 2010 -
12 answers
What is
this insect sitting on my flower? There are four of them that I can see on the plant. I have a cat that goes in the backyard, can these infest him?
posted by BuddhaInABucket
on Jul 29, 2010 -
9 answers
[Waspfilter] Where can I get my hands on some diazon (aka diazinon, aka Knox-Out) insecticide? Failing that, what can I do to get rid of all these wasps?
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posted by Bardolph
on Apr 14, 2010 -
5 answers
Strategies for dispatching the eight-legged bastards that have the audacity to enter my home?
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posted by mireille
on Apr 7, 2010 -
21 answers
I can hear mice in the walls of my apartment building. Is there anything I can do to make them go away?
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posted by ocherdraco
on Feb 26, 2010 -
14 answers
I've spent quite a bit of time and money on making the mosquitoes in my home leave us alone when we sleep. But it now occurs to me to ask -- where exactly are the mosquitoes in my house
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posted by AmbroseChapel
on Feb 21, 2010 -
11 answers
We have spiders and pill bugs in our basement. I want to spray for them, but I also have pet rats that I like to let wander around on occasion, and don't want them to get sick. Is there a natural bug spray that is rodent safe? (I know, our basement sounds like a fun place)
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posted by mecran01
on Oct 15, 2009 -
11 answers
Something strange is going on in the kitchen...What has done this to the label on top of my recycle bin? Went to the recycle bin under the sink. in the picture you can see the lid with the label on it. Is it a mouse, a rat....something else?
picture here
No human in the house has done this!
posted by razzman
on Aug 13, 2009 -
13 answers
I've got a couple cherry tomato plants on my windowsill that have been growing like gangbusters -- there's even one little tomato that's JUST starting to turn red. But -- they're also dropping stems off the main plants at an alarming rate. What's happening, and how can I stop it?
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posted by EmpressCallipygos
on Jul 15, 2009 -
29 answers
