Thread: need help worms on a brush

Like it's been suggested by a couple of the guys here, toss the thing.
I have to go check my brushes...

You'll never know if you get all the eggs out. Many things will kill them (the worms) dead but not the eggs. Just think you can be the guy who gets the eggs into your skin and then they hatch and grow and start munching on your innards-Har har.

I would toss the brush-seriously.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Great! I am looking at my brush now, under magnification. Something else to worry about!

"Kill em before they multiply!"

When I read the OP, I then noticed that he lives in Miami. I thought Holy Sh** I live in Ft. Lauderdale, they could be headed this way; only 10 miles to cover.
I immediately ran to the "Shave Den" (small cramped bathroom) and cleaned my brush for over a 1/2 hour.
Re-located the fly swatter next to my strop. Today I went to Home Depot and hung one of those fly paper stickies next to the point of entry.
I didn't sleep well last night.

If the worms live off of Keritan which hair is made of, the maybe they're eating your stubble. Seriously, I lean towards ditching the brush.

this is a wild issue. i am truly paranoid now... i doubt that brush up or down will stop whatever from laying eggs in your brush though..

I think we're missing the bright side again here. These worms are unlikely to be harmful. If they are in the lather when it is applied, the little buggers' movement will churn up the lather into a kind of worm uberlather. Of course, shaving them off the face with the lather will be a little tough on them, and you might be able to hear their little cries for help. Try earplugs.

Originally Posted by ace

I think we're missing the bright side again here. These worms are unlikely to be harmful. If they are in the lather when it is applied, the little buggers' movement will churn up the lather into a kind of worm uberlather. Of course, shaving them off the face with the lather will be a little tough on them, and you might be able to hear their little cries for help. Try earplugs.

That is definitely glass half full thinking

I'd go have a look at your vinegar it might take some looking (they will look mostly translucent) you will probably find little worms. Vinegar worms are nematodes that are harmless and live in vinegar although some of the other suggestions are far more amusing and panic inspiring.

Originally Posted by JohnnyCakeDC

If the worms live off of Keritan which hair is made of, the maybe they're eating your stubble. Seriously, I lean towards ditching the brush.

Not only brushes but worms work on the horn of razor scales.

Brushes are fur, fly tiers use all sorts of fur and feathers so check
the local sporting goods shop for stuff and hints. Moth balls
are used to protect wool and fur. If you store a brush in
a tube store it with some moth balls.

An old time machinist one time B25 WW2 pilot I knew kept moth balls
in his oak tool chest to displace air and minimize rust.

They work well in a shoe box or a cigar box where the
enclosed space is small and concentrates the fumes.
International folk might look at " 1,4-dichlorobenzene"
Cedar repels but mostly does not kill bugs.
There are other products intended to kill or repel bugs
from the pantry where food safety is apropos.

EDIT:
Freezing is also apropos. First dry the brush
then seal it into a plastic bag and place in the
freezer to kill worms and eggs. A descant inside
the bag has value while the contents defrost.

If you can, take good, close up pictures of the critters, or better yet, bring a few of the worms to a local university entomology department, someone there could tell you what it is, if it's harmful to humans, and how to kill them. Otherwise, everything else is conjecture.