What are Psocids? (pronounced So sids)
Psocids are commonly known as Booklice and are quite often associated with damp areas. Why are they known as booklice? That was historically because they were found on the spine of books that may have been stored and become somewhat damp. The spines of books used to incorporate a glue that had a high content of flour, it was this glue that became a great food source for these tiny creatures. There are a few different types of Psocids but the common one is generally around .8 of a millimetre long, hard to see until there are numbers of them. The black specs around the microscope at the right are Psocids.
Psocids come in various sizes from less than 1mm long to around 5mm long. The Psocid in the video to the right is in fact around.8 of a millimetre long.
Often people only realise that they have Psocids when they see a large number of them together which can look like some spilled pepper which starts to move as you look at it.
Because they are a very small insect many regular pesticides do not have the desired effect and a specialised product is necesary to acheive control.
When a large infestation of Psocids is found a multi pronged treatment regime is necesary, Often Psocids are found in the thatch of grasses particularly after extended periods of wet weather. In that case a treatment that takes in the lawns, both horizontal and vertical building elements around the exterior, treatment of the wall cavities and an internal treatment.
As you can see in the image on the left, the microscope is in a laundry cupboard where the lady had found an infestation of Psocids. This indicates that there is an excess of moisture in the laundry allowing fungi (that is not visible with the naked eye) to grow on surfaces. Psocids feed on fungi and detritus and excess moisture allows the growth of fungi.
In some cases it is simple to ensure that there is no excess moisture like in this laaundry where the dryer needed to be vented to the exterior of the home. In other cases it is more difficult where ventilation and drainage under a home may need to be improved.