I am really hoping someone else has experience dealing with a similar problem…
Recently I rinsed down my Vapor Ki pack after a trip, and set it on the porch to dry overnight. In the morning it was speckled with miniscule white bugs. Turns out our apartment building’s built-in mandatory decorative porch planters have all been infested with these things, after which they took over the whole porch, but they were just too small and light-colored to notice until they were contrasted with my dark-colored pack. They seem to be a type of mealy-bug although that hasn’t been definitively confirmed yet. From what I’m told mealy-bugs are pretty harmless, but I don't want them taking up permanent residence in my pack or home. So instead of just ditching the pack (as I might with something like bedbugs etc), I’d like to try to get the bugs out of it, rather than giving into the temptation to use this as a justification for getting a whole new pack.
I gave the pack a couple more firm washings with my shower, but some of the bugs just keep hanging on, especially around the spongy places like the straps, belt, and whole back panel. It’ll look like there are no bugs left, then a minute later, they’ll emerge from wherever they were hiding during the shower deluge. I don’t know why they insist on staying on my pack, since it’s not a plant.
There are various concoctions with which I can wipe down the pack to (hopefully) kill the bugs. But there are some significant nooks and crannies in the pack which are impossible to visually inspect to see whether I got everything, so I’m trying to figure out additional options. I thought enclosing in airtight plastic and stowing it away till spring might kill them, but some anecdotal accounts on the internet indicate that this doesn’t always work. I don’t have access to a deep freezer, and from what I gather, home freezers can’t maintain the temperature well enough. And I am guessing that heating hot-enough would melt all the plastic parts. (Including possibly the framesheet, which I can’t get to.)
Anyone ever deal with something like this?
Thanks in advance for any ideas!
