I have little insects (BUGS) crawling out of my laptop

If you do that, you're going to have a bunch of bug carcases inside the computer. That could be rather bad. Not to mention some of the chemicals in the bug spray could bond to the laptop circuitry and cause problems.

What I would do, is try calling a state university's entomology department. Most probably have some kind of hotline you can call about bug problems. They can consult with the resident IT person if need be.

If live bugs haven't caused a problem, then dead ones won't either. As for smell, sometimes the cure has to taken into account, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. A side benefit if you like the continued presence of bug spray will deter some future bugs. You can use a gas, but most people don't have access to "gases". Get help from an university is very time consuming if they answer back at all or suggest a cost. But, knowing what bug is present will help if possible to reduce future afflictions if the human(s) attributes to the bugs presence(like eating or working in buggy areas).

tada -----Willy

Bugs walking around, and bug carcases decaying inside a system are two very different things. Do you know what kind of chemical compounds will be created by the bacteria living in these insects starts to break down the body? No? Neither do I. Not to mention the damage that could be done by some pesticide to the electronics. Suppose, just for a moment, one of the compounds is electrically conductive enough it creates a bridge between data pathways on the motherboard. It could basically ruin the laptop until you find and remove the bridge, which would be near impossible without special tools.

And personally, I'd prefer to get the help of experts on bugs, rather than just charge in and potentially ruin my laptop. The best thing you could do, is take the laptop apart and used some compressed air to blow the bugs out. But I'm sure people in a university entomology department would have plenty more ideas. I know when I worked at a University, it had one of the bigger entomology departments in the country, and it was only about 150 people or so. When I'd fill in for a colleague there, they'd have two people who did little more than answer people's questions about bugs over the phone all day. One had a PhD, the other was a PhD candidate.

So if like the 4th largest entomology department in the nation can usually manage to get back to people within a day or so, I don't really see that as being terribly time consuming. I would also see it as quite prudent, given the cost of a new laptop should foolhardy actions result in the destruction of the current one.

I've been in the jungles, beaches, wet&moldy areas, the arctic and near food stuffs, the whole 9yds., where insects/spiders of all kinds present problems. I know enuff that waiting isn't an answer and proceed forward with items at hand does well. If a bug decides to decay inside the system, well we'll fix that too. All too often time is critical and waiting again doesn't help. Any human insect repelant is fine for computer usage. Of course, some cures maybe harmful but not enough to the computer but more to the user. This isn't a pissing contest and I know my cure(s) will work and have for a long time.

tada -----Willy

Quote from Mike>>Put it in a good plastic garbage bag and seal it up very well. Wait a week and take it out and use a can of compressed air and a dust buster to remove the dead bugs. Go over the unit several times to make sure you get out as much bugs as you can.

I agree with this fix, it does work!

Try to vacuum them out before you try the other solutions.

my manual says not below 0C (32F). Refridgerator may be ok but condensation may be a problem (especially if in a humid area) when notebook warms back up.

Sounds like to me that it really needs to be disassembled as much as possible and cleaned with compressed air.

Good point, but below is my experience:

I run a nursery and though I have yet to experience such an infestation - I do have several computers in various greenhouses that over the year range from -10 degrees to 120+ degrees. None have had any problems due to temps while stored.

Though I do NOT operate them at the extreme temps - they are just there and I only operate them within manufacturer's' specs. Once I did have an old Sharp Z-50 copier out in one of them and the High Humidity messed with the Toner - it would not copy correctly. Same was true with a printer [bubble jet], though the Panasonic Dot Matrix's worked fine.

Not a thrip. Long legs. Teardrop shaped body.

That's a new version ^^ of an Old John Denver tune......

I have enginieering experience in designing military things that fly.
i.e. hot/cold extremes, pressure changes, extremely strong sunlight at high altitude, etc.......

They can be stored outdoors in hot, cold, humid, salty air, and high shock conditions. I would put the computer into a 32 gallon trash bag. I would crunch the bag down to reduce its volume. Then I would put several reasonably fresh desicant packs into the bag and wait 1 full day. (get the water out) Next I would put a short shelf/ support in the bag so the laptop is off of the floor or table top. Last I would put a large chunk of dry ice under the support but NOT touching the computer or the shelf.... By the time the bag is fully inflated you should be done, but at least 12hrs - hardshelled bugs can go dormant to survive winter temperatures etc. TAKE THE BAG OUTSIDE to open it -- 32 gallons of CO2 in a small room is a direct threat to us softshells.

PS Dgital chips come in consumer (0C to ~ 60C), automotive (-10C to ~ 90C) and military grades (-60C to 100C) for operating temperature.
Mil grade parts are REALLY expensive.......

bye

with the dry ice in the bag. you can get dry ice at most large grocery stores, you just have to ask a manager or somebody for it.

I to have these little critters. I had read on a different forum to put laptop in a vacum sealed bag. You know the type, stick your clothes in it and then get your vacum cleaner and suck the air out thus making it small and easy to store. So i put my laptop in the bag, sucked the air out and waited a day for the little bugs to perish. The next day i opened the bag up and swithced her on. Oh dear! The screen had cracked in various places. She was busted. R.I.P. To be fair it was a very old laptop and on its last legs, but i killed her. So sad.. :o(
So my advice is dont try everything you read.

Now would be a good time to play the PC game Left for Dead...LOL!! Take Care! Paul