Strangest question ever, perhaps! Help, please!

[dixie.martin]

Hello everyone,

I live in coastal northern France. Hello humidity, rain, etc. I live in a pretty old but mostly well kept apartment: bottom floor of a "maison de ville" style building. We have a very tiny patio that's connected by a door in our kitchen - this same patio also has views from our bedroom and office windows. (It's enclosed, quite small, etc.)

So the main problem is humidity. When we first moved in, I spent weeks cleaning and fixing a pretty severe mold issue in the bedroom (the owner simply doesn't care, and the previous tenant didn't even bother to sleep in there, just used the room for storage). Our bedroom had this issue because the connecting bathroom (shower) has no fan or window, and I imagine prior tenants didn't open the bedroom window when showering, or used a fan/dehumidifier. ANYWAY - bedroom mold issues have been fixed, we have purchased a dehumidifier, and run a fan constantly. I thought the problem was solved. Then I started noticing little tiny booklice in the bathroom medicine cabinet (wood - I've cleaned with mold killer and bleach etc) Gave up, took it down & threw it out, cleaned with bug killer, then reaplced it with a simple mirror - metal, no wood. Next, I noticed them on our kitchen table (old wood, was given to us from my husbands mum), replaced the table. Now, I see the little jerks on the kitchen floor - saw one of the bathroom ceiling, etc. Basically, my skin is crawling constantly.

The kicker is, my husband does not mind. There's definitely not an infestation - just a few here & there, enough to make me always itchy. Is this my Americanness causing such an issue? I'm ok with the occasional spider or ant - but these tiny things freak me out! I get nervous to open the windows or doors for a breeze because of the lack of screens. Unfortunately, I've always had a keen eye for detail - and if I see something tiny moving from feet away, I will ALWAYS see it - always, it's awful lol. My husband, hardly notices, and only when I practically put my finger on one. He also says he thinks it's a common thing, that it's an older building, and that I shouldn't worry about it.

I also have read booklice are completely harmless, just mostly annoying when you see them. (Funny enough, I haven't had the nerve to check our office - where we have SHELVES of books). We are attempting to find another apartment or house to move into - but we're waiting to see if my husband gets a promotion or not first, even then we have to wait three months at least.


Any advice?! Are booklice common here? I see them all the time on wood outside (especially at night) on flower pots and decorative things. Is it something I need to get used to and stop being so American about (that is, if I can ever get over this itching!)

Sorry for the book/rant - but advice, I'd be so so thankful for!

[ello]

I would suggest to find another place and move out. It will not only being beneficial for your health but for your wellbeing. A lot of old town houses have the same problems. I think what happens because there is not enough ventilation. You need to open all the windows, preferably in the mornings for a few hours. Next thing, you need to do some painting and change the old wall papers. Paint the ceilings, walls, doors etc with light colors to add extra light. You cannot overcome this problem unless you do a bit of a makeover in your home. It has nothing to do with cleanliness but rather being the house is so old, it tends to attract molds, insects etc. Another thing, if your home owner is not intended to do any work inside your house is because he think you live there, you must do it. I bet the day you moved out, he/she will do all the necessary or leave it abandoned because nowadays no one will live into a place that they do not feel well into. No it is not you’re Americanness; no woman will feel good into what you describe. Until then, if you can't afford moving out right away, then you must try to do some work inside the house. Go see your home owner and ask if he/she is willing to help you to purchase the materials, paint, wall paper etc. because these insects lived under the wall papers in wooden doors etc. Have a great day.

[-mia-]

If you don't solve the humidity problem you won't solve the bug problem. I hope you have a kitchen extractor fan. So you can keep that running anything you cook (especially boil or steam).

Also, you can wash the black mold in the bathroom and walls with a baking soda solution. You don't need to use expensive cleaners.

Otherwise, personally, I would also look for some place else if at all possible Humidity is difficult to take care of and not good for your health. If the landlord isn't willing to deal with the cause of the problem you are fighting a losing battle.

[relocatella]

We are facing a humidity/mold problem in our apartment in Paris and we were advise to state the problem to the authorities so they can force the owner to do whatever is necessary to overcome the humidity/mold problem.
Good for us, we don't have to face the booklice problem. But since they feed on mold, once the humidity/mold problem is solved at your place they should go away.

The service in Paris is the following Lutte contre l'insalubrité - Paris.fr I am sorry I could not find it in English, maybe not the entire website is translated into English.
Maybe you can download the form an ask you local mairie what is the equivalent for where you live.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

[dixie.martin]

Thank you, everyone. We should find out in 3 weeks if my husband gets this promotion - if he does, we will be offered company housing for a very nice price, and the houses are supposed to be quite nice. If not, we will start the search for a new place in September (the whole, waiting three months thing - which I think is ridiculous when there's health issues going on). In regards to the mold, I am very, very allergic. I also found out (while cleaning the mold), I'm allergic to latex as well, it's been two months and the rash on my hands is just now going away (I've seen the doctor).

As for the wallpaper, etc. - that's what I spent weeks doing. As soon as I noticed the mold issue, I tore down one layer of wallpaper - only to see that that was another underneath that. There was mold on the ceiling, in between the layers of wallpaper, as well as underneath the final layer (on the drywall). I tried to ask the owner to replace the drywall, he wouldn't. So I scraped off the damage layer on the drywall, and bought the liquid drywall to put over it - I then primed and painted. I obviously know the problem is not entirely fixed. However, there is no visible mold. It has all been cleaned with bleach. We knew after we discovered all the mold (as I'm so allergic) that we would not be living here for the entire 3 years - therefore, I only care that the mold issues are taken care of while we still live here - and with the dehumidifier, I believe it is). We bought a dehumidifier - unfortunately, the humidity stays around 50%. (There's an attic above our bedroom - I imagine there is more mold there, as well as more booklice (in fact, I think they may come from there as well as our patio). Also, there's no kitchen hood. When we cook we open a window or the patio door, and the dehumidifier (we actually have it running constantly).

Because of all of these issues - I never unpacked all of my clothes (I've been here nearly 3 months, and my 4 suitcases are still packed, in another room). I don't want to unpack at this point, and I'm hoping nothing has gotten into them.

As for the website in Paris, thank you. I will look at it (I can read French), and I will also mention it to my husband (he's looked for owner responsibilities etc. as in the US, this would never, ever be ok).

Anyway, thanks to everyone. Yes, moving out is the goal, but I must be patient as we don't have the money to allow for it at the moment. Aside from opening the windows in the morning, using the dehumidifier and fans - any ideas to help us survive the next few months?

[-mia-]

Oh. Sweetie. I feel for you. Finger's crossed for the promotion!!

I used to work in a very humid studio and found I was constantly fighting off colds. The quantity of water the dehumidifier would pump out was amazing.

As for the latex issue, if you clean the mold with a baking soda solution you don't really gloves. But try using a plastic bag on your hands. It's not super practical for detail work. But should be fine to hold a sponge and wide down.

[dixie.martin]

Just for an update - my poor husband is STILL waiting to find out about this promotion! (Apparently someone has been on vacation). Only in France! However we've got our finances in order - and we have found a lovely apartment, mold/humidity/bug free. However, I must still be patient - as we don't move until November 1st (thanks to the 3 month warning for leases).

And after asking around with my husbands family - booklice are not extremely common. Especially not in the numbers we have. We do live quite closer to the coast than they do. However, I think it basically boils down to this: the building we live in is very old, and not very well cared for. The numbers went down and I didn't see any for weeks because it was quite cold and the humidity fairly reasonable - however, now it's true summer in the north - heat & humidity galore - and the numbers have been much, much higher.

I'm nervous for taking them with us when we move. Any ideas on avoiding this? I clean so often, I want to cry just looking at the vacuum - and I've recently began mopping and scrubbing with heavy bleach water - nothing helps. Unfortunately, leaving things in the sun (recommended on pest sites) is not an option, as the sun, quite literally, never shines here.

[Bevdeforges]

As far as not taking your bugs with you, it kind of depends on what kind of bugs they are.

Two non-toxic possibilities for getting rid of them before you move: boric acid powder or diatomaceous earth, dusted around the cracks and crevices where they hide or get in. Boric acid powder doesn't work on all bugs. Diatomaceous earth does. But both take time (like a few weeks) to "get" them all.

Boric acid powder should be available at the pharmacy. Diatomaceous earth (terre de diatomée) is harder to find in France (although they mine the stuff here) - try Amazon.fr or other online vendors. Neither is toxic to humans, though you don't want to breathe in the diatomaceous earth dust, since it can damage your lungs. Most sources recommend using a mask while you dust it around.
Cheers,
Bev

[dixie.martin]

They're called booklice, or more properly: psocids. They're common in humid areas :/

Both your suggestions sound great - I will get searching for them and probably start the treatment at the beginning of October and keep it up until we move in November. Thanks!

[lucy1]

Originally Posted by dixie.martin

They're called booklice, or more properly: psocids. They're common in humid areas :/

Both your suggestions sound great - I will get searching for them and probably start the treatment at the beginning of October and keep it up until we move in November. Thanks!

You will not get rid of the insects until you control the humidity. They will get into anything made of paper and can lie dormant for years. I had some paintings shipped from my family home in Dominica to our home in the UK - they were sprayed by an expert before being shipped, 18 years and no problems. This year here in France, we have had unusually high humidity since spring the result is that I can see the insects on the paper board surrounds on the watercolour. Even worse some others on on a painting which was bought in the UK.

Wood lice avoid light and live in temperatures of 25-30 with humidity of 75-90%. The minute you turn on the heating in the autumn they will disappear. They hate English mothballs, no idea where you will get them in France. They also hate air conditioning.

Are you sure they are book lice and not silver fish? Wood lice do not move but silver fish dart.

Good luck.