Bugger!

If you read my blog, you know me, and if you know me you know I like to scrapbook. The point of scrapbooking is to keep old photos safe from damage in a creative manner, with acid-free stickers and pens and paper and doo-dads. While my pictures may be safe from acid erosion, they are apparently NOT safe from BUGS! While browsing one of my books, Jonathan spotted a little thing wriggling in one of the pages! First off, yuck. Second, get out of my scrapbook, bug! At first we thought they might be silverfish, but they're missing the distinctively long tail of silverfish. With more research (and the discovery of a black beetle in our basement), we think they're carpet beetles.

Adult carpet beetle

We captured it under a glass and Patrick was TERRIFIED of it!

We named it James Castner.

Just kidding, that's some guy who got a good photo of a carpet beetle.

But really, Patrick was terrified of the one we caught.

Some websites have been very helpful in ideas for getting rid of them, while some offer gems like this: "Carpet beetles occur naturally outdoors and come into buildings from there" (bugclinic.com). REALLY? Who'd-a thunk? Anyway, serious down-and-dirty vacuuming is recommended, and then affected items can be put in the freezer for a few weeks to kill any larvae (the ones who do the most damage) and their eggs.

Stupid larvae

LUCKILY we just bought an upright freezer from one of Joe's co-workers! So before we pack it with food storage, we'll be packing it with my scrapbooks - the weirdest little library you've ever seen. In the meantime, if Joe ever gets home from work, we'll be rearranging our basement so we can make sure to hit all the nooks and crannies. I hope you don't think we just have a gross house filled with bugs, I am grossed out, too, and will be remedying the situation STAT. Has anyone else dealt with a similar problem? Any helpful hints? Anyone have room for a few books in their freezer?