Hey folks, welcome to the new whine/general topic thread. Feel free to use this thread to discuss anything that is on your mind. Caregiving- related stuff, life after a loved one's death, your own emotional wellbeing. Whatever..........anything on your mind.
Full Moon
Speaking of cleaning, most of which I will leave for a cleaner after the furniture is moved out, I am very much enjoying the process of organizing what is left in the cupboards. The closets are pretty well done - and no moths thankfully.
I was thinking about this and realized that it is like classification in biology/zoology. Group like things by certain criteria. It's fun! Who would gave guessed and the results are rewarding! I still have to tackle the junk drawer which will not be so much fun. 😕
I know more than I ever wanted to about moth flies now. :O
Frequentflyer, I would definitely check your cat's bed. The majority of the flies we found were in two old cat beds we were storing in our closet. We were only seeing one or two a day until we removed them. Then they all started coming out. I figured if they liked cat beds and fur that I'd better keep an eye on the bed my cat uses now. Sure enough there they were. I think they'd started laying eggs or what ever it is the little buggers do. So off to the washer it went. In very hot water and a very hot dryer afterward. Apparently these things hate heat and cold.
Our place has never been cleaner. We did a deep cleaning and vacuuming of everything I could think of. My hubs thinks I'm paranoid but I don't want to live with bugs. I hate em. We're still waiting on moth traps from amazon and I'm gonna try to stay on top of keeping the cat fur at a minimum. Henrick is mad at me I think but it's either me or the bugs. I'm voting for me.
I could be wrong (as I often am lately), but I think I read in one of Glad's links that the moths (or was it other flies/bugs?) can originate from out of the sink drains.
Penn State Extension:
"Management
Control varies with the origin of the moth fly infestation. The most economical and sanitary way is to remove the organic material in which they breed. This requires cleaning sinks, drain pipes, and traps with a stiff wire brush or by steam. Several new products are now available that contain either bacteria or enzymes which breakdown the gelatinous scum in drains. They are applied as either a pour around the drain lip or injected as foam. Most pest management companies provide this as a service. To determine which drain is infested, place a jar over the outlet or tape a plastic bag over the opening of the overflow outlet. Check the container at intervals for adult flies."
gladimhere, thanks for the link. I have been lazy about dusting, and even vacuuming [becoming afraid of it like the cats do]. I will Swifter :)
A good, thorough grooming of the cat may be in order. I googled "cats get clothes moths"
https://www.themothguy.com/index.php/2019/06/19/3-reasons-cats-attract-carpet-moths/or
Would you please change your name to Gershwin? My spell check wants to correct you to thatl😁😁😏😏
But I am going to be careful bringing home anything from the vet or the grocery store cause I wonder if that's where they came from.
Haven't seen one today so far but I did kill a spider. I guess all our cleaning is bringing out any bugs from their hidie holes.
Golden, no damage to clothing but they have not entered the bedroom at all that I can see. We keep our bedroom door closed though. I had a few workout clothes in the closet where we originally saw these a**holes but they were fine. The two old cat beds were infested. We threw those out naively thinking that would solve the problem. We've spent the week cleaning everything. Afghans on our couches, of course our cats newer bed that he actually uses, under cushions etc. They seem to have been on all those things. We don't see any and then we disturb something and voila, there they are.
Glad, thx for the website references. I've checked a few of those out myself.
Send, I've read articles that say cedar doesn't work but it's worth a try and I did read about lavender as well. In the meantime I wait for the traps to arrive from amazon and kill them as I see them I guess. They are slow and easy to catch. We do have to be careful about spraying and so on cause of our kitty like you said.
This sort of thing stresses me out big time.
Cedarcide has a spray for the home and cedar granules, supposed to be non-toxic.
If there is carpet in the closet, you might need to take it up and replace with hard flooring. If you have vacuumed any up, be sure to empty fully and treat the vacuum inside.
Have you checked the other closets or any other places they may be hiding?
Take all the clothes to a dry cleaner to kill the eggs.
Put some special sceening cloth or mosquito netting across the door to the patio. Buy it online.
Much can be learned by reading some exterminator websites, or DIY pest control online.
With pets, we have to be very careful, and I know you know that.
Whatever you do, don't start naming them like I did with the squirrels. 😊
https://extension.psu.edu/moth-flies-in-the-home
Is that them? I would call an exterminator.
Or these?
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature/common-insect-pest-species-in-homes/clothes-moths-identification-guide.html
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/19/revenge-of-the-clothes-moths-as-numbers-boom-can-they-be-stopped
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG090
https://pestcontrolcanada.com/pantry-pests-2/clothes-moths/
https://terminix.ca/pest-library/clothes-moths/
One more
https://terminix.ca/pest-library/flies/
Again
https://martinspestcontrol.com/blog/clothes-moths/
gershun - the old way was using moth balls. Is there any damage to your clothing?
We noticed these things flying out of our hall closet on a regular basis. Then we saw what we thought was the source of them in two old cat beds. So we threw them out thinking we had nipped it in the bud. But nope. They seem to be attracted to cat hair so we have spent this week really deep cleaning anywhere there is an abundance of that. We do still have a cat so it's ongoing. But they are still here. We've ordered moth fly traps but in the meantime does anyone on here have any other ideas or solutions?
I have two grands there and I will take them out for a meal once in a while. I look forward to my dd and also OS settling down there too. I will miss my visits with dd and hubs and dgs here who are only a few minutes drive away and I know she will miss having me close and also is missing her dd, They (dd and sil) have gone to Edmonton for a visit this weekend and I expect they will do that again once I am down there. Youngest grandson is in grade 12 this year and dd and sil will stay here until he is launched but otherwise are ready to leave this town. Lots of change for everyone.
The electrical work got done. I am slowly getting there and looking forward to this move being over and done with, but I will miss this place.
You are right, I should be focusing on my husband's condition. I am so concerned, that it was a distraction to focus on the words of the doctor.
The thyroid tests were T-3 and T-4. A TSH was not done. But the doctor is a specialist, so maybe he knows better.
Thank you for your support!
I am glad that your DD is being well cared for. There are really good doctors!
Dh has just told me he has been drinking energy drinks-a possible reason he could be losing weight. But he hides this from me. I do think his symptoms could be anxiety, but not the "all in your head" kind. Maybe energy drinks could cause more anxiety.
If a diagnosis is found, I will let you know how things go.
So I chose to address your hub's condition and support your comment about the (in)accuracy of the doctor's comment. I am concerned for your hub's health which may or may not be a thyroid related condition. They are doing the elimination thing, I suppose. Please let us know how things go.
To be fair to the medical profession my dd, for example, is being well looked after in her cancer journey. Maybe you and I have just been unlucky.
llama - hope you and your hub are feeling better. Soup is good!
Hoping you will be fine in time for dinner.
You have a lot going on right now.
Extra care is required.
And [[[[[[hugs@]]]]].
Llama hugs too....🦙️🦙️🦙️🦙️🦙️🦙️🦙️🦙️
There is generally an underlying factor with spiking blood pressure. That physician seemed a bit lack luster to say the least.
Self advocacy is a must these days as you know, Sendhelp. It's absurd that you have to tell the physician what you expect. I am an individual who will avoid confrontation so advocating for myself is difficult.😫
Instead of asking for an explanation on why a doctor would state something so blatantly erroneous about the human body, I am going to just file his statement along with a list of other "Pet Peeves" that doctors say:
"Your thyroid has nothing to do with your blood pressure:."
Another is:
"I have never seen it".
=If the doctor, (or vet). has never seen it, then it does not exist!
Or, how about this one:
"It could be cancer, so let's give you a hysterectomy".
So many tests for cancer, but without enough facts, let's remove a body part.
Or:
"It would be easier to give you hormone replacement if you have both ovaries removed."
A bit heavy on the hysterectomy sale, I think. "Easier" sounds so scientific, doesn't it?
Anyway, I don't expect people to get my point.