Photos Images of Japan: Sugidama (cedar ball) outside Sake brewery, Yunotsu, Shimane, Japan. © Jake Davies I found a bug. A carpet beetle bug. Now I know that not many people know what this is, so I had to do a lot of research and talking to people on the phone to find out how to deal with this bug because, whilst I love nature, I don't like things that could destroy any fabric or timber in my home. So what I did find out was that I had to go through every single piece of fabric in my house (a very big job for me) and "protect it" (put it in sealed containers, drawers, wardrobes) and wash at 60 degrees, freeze for 2 weeks or chuck anything that had the bug in it.
Fortunately, it seems that I caught it quite early because I didn't find many at all. It really only seems to be able to eat through felt or wool and likes to sit in old cotton and then die. I have wiped every surface with lavender and teatree oil, we have vacuumed over and over, then thrown out the vacuum bag. Now lastly to protect what we do have, I am putting cedar balls in every single cupboard, box, shelf and drawer. Obviously not as big as that ball in the picture, although, if that could protect me, I would.
From here, we will continue our once a week (wet cloth dust, vac, and mop), check the clothes, air out the cushions, pillows, doonas, and soft toys (which we do anyway for dust mite protection & it makes them smell better). Every 6 months I will put more cedar oil in the cedar balls to make sure that they are fresh to keep the moths and beetles away. Better than spraying with insecticide. Hooray!
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