I've heard ants really love nesting in electronics. Might I suggest a few well placed ant traps, if it is indeed ants?

There are already bug traps on the desk where the laptop usually lives. But I want to make sure that there are no bugs living inside the machine. But how do I do that? Hmmm.... ::smash smash smash::

Submerge in water. All bugs will float right outta there.

Take a photo!

Also, now I have something to contribute to the 'what makes your skin crawl' thread. Tiny bugs that keep crawling out of computers ;)

Why? Are they destroying something? Why not just let them have their home? *confused*

Is this where I get to trot out my favorite roach story? Why yes, it is!

So, early/mid 90s, a friend of mine in NYC has this work at home job whereby he proofreads documents at home and then faxes them to an office. He goes on vacation for a couple weeks. He comes back, people frantically need him to proofread and fax. He does, in the middle of the night, but notices that the fax machine makes a horrible noise and smokes. Hmm, he thinks, that's weird. Then he goes to bed. Only to be awoken at 9:00 by the phone when his boss discovers the fax . . . the beautiful fax of roaches. He had faxed a hundred roaches, or rather, their flattened facsimiles because in his absence, they had totally colonized his fax machine. Roaches loooooove electronics. So warm and dark!

Yes, I had a great time earlier this summer cleaning the roach bodies out of my CD alarm clock.

Why not just let them have their home?

Because one little ant leg on a motherboard will make the tronics not work.

eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww! tho mgl, the Beautiful Fax of Roaches is both hifrickinglarious and absolutely NEEDS to be the name of an indie-pop band.

roaches and ants and bedbugs O MY! (repeat ad nauseam)

did i mention i'm highly grateful that i pretty much live in the desert? about the only thing we can bring to the table here in CO is rattlesnakes, but they're basically fat, lazy, and would rather sun themselves than be arsed to bite someone. plus they give TONS of warning before they strike. in fact, you'd really have to be pretty far out to lunch and/or actively taunting the thing to get bitten by a western diamondback from what i understand.

the same goes for black widow / brown recluse spiders. super slow moving and not very aggro. not like dem east coast creepycrawlies that get all up in yo' shit.

the Beautiful Fax of Roaches is both hifrickinglarious and absolutely NEEDS to be the name of an indie-pop band.

I totally agree with this.

My favourite ever AskMe thread.

Also, there is a spider the size of a hamster running round here tonight and my bug wand is broken. Not that it would even fit in the damn thing, it's far too meaty. Maybe I can use the bug wand to defend myself against it. Even the cats are scared of it. It's hiding now.