Last summer I noticed a few very thin spots in the eyelashes of one or my reborn babies. I am really careful and do not change clothes often so found this puzzling. I did not see any moth holes in the wool baby clothing or anything in the carpet, so I assumed the lashes somehow fell out. I just now got the baby out to put her in her Christmas outfit and discovered that almost all the lashes in that eye have been eaten down to where they come out of the vinyl, but I can see the very short stub so they are glued well and did not fall out. I looked over the rest of my collection and found another baby who has the same missing pattern that I discovered back in the summer- thinner lashes but not all gone.
I still cannot find any moth larvae or beetles in the baby room, but I went up to my attic and found beetles. The stairs to the attic are near my baby room so I think that is what has happened. Has anyone else encountered this and what can I do? I read that I could freeze the baby in a sealed bag for two weeks while treating the house, but not sure if this will damage paint or anything like that. So far I do not see any issues with the hair, but its probably a matter of time. I am sick because I paid quite a bit for the babies in my collection.
Freezing will kill larvae and won’t damage paint as long as you seal the bag so moisture doesn’t get in. I would be more worried about the body than the paint in a freezer.
Your biggest problem is finding out what is eating them. Are they rooted mohair or glued on? Is there any hair missing? I would think that they would eat hair also. You need to at least treat the room as if it were infested if you think it is bugs. I am wondering if it could be the type of mohair, maybe it was brittle and they broke off? Are they by the same artist? Has she had other complaints with the same problem?
All of that said, your babies need some TLC! If closed eyes, you can probably root them yourself. Open eyed rooting is a lot harder! If mailing for repair, remove the head and empty out stuffing before mailing. Now I will quit rambling!
No, different artists- the eyes are closed and the lashes according to the descriptions is mohair that is rooted and sealed inside. One has mohair from Slumberland and the other Susan Nagel or something like that. I do not see any indication of hair loss on the heads. One of the babies has been changed twice, the other not at all. I tried to pull on the little stubs with tweezers and could not pull it out so I am sure its glued in both babies. It is so strange. The artists are well-known with fantastic reputations so I think it is something that has happened in the environment, but if not a beetle or moth I don’t know what it could be. I have no pets and live alone. No one has even been in the room except me.
With the eyes being closed, repairs should be easy at least. If you don’t have needles or mohair, I am sure someone will be willing to send you enough mohair to match. I have 40 and 42g crown needles right now. My mohair comes from sugarbabiesusa and I have dark and medium brown I think and blond from someone. I can send for free.
That is super sweet of you. One baby has light brown hair and the other is blonde. I don’t have needles or even glue, but maybe it would not cost much to just send the heads to someone to have the eyelashes fixed? I have not asked the artists yet because I figured unless I addressed whatever the cause is, it would happen again.There was too much ice today to get out but when I can I am going to go get treatment supplies for closet moths and carpet beetles. If it is not one of those then I don’t know what it is. I am afraid it will happen to my other babies. I have two more with closed eyes and three with open eyes. The open eyes two are glued on strips I think, but one has rooted lashes that are mohair.
Same here with Terminus. They also will come back if you have any more bugs. But you have to pay for a year of visits. Other companies will come for one visit.
Found a list of bugs that eat mohair. Identify 8 Insects That Eat Holes in Clothes
Let me know if you want needles and hair!