CuriosityKat9

Teach him braille and things like that now. It is so much easier when you are young, and then the transition won't be so frightening, because he will still be able to help himself.

I am in neuroscience as well but also have experience in childcare and early childhood education:

I saw this mostly with younger kids because they’d get stuck in the artificially high reward system and basically get so amped up that they lost their normal abilities to cope with frustration in daily life. Quitting cold Turkey while difficult short term does actually help the fastest. They have to remember what it’s like to be entertained to a lower degree, such as by reading. This doesn’t happen in a few days, it usually takes a couple weeks. You’d need to give him alternative stimuli for those weeks. For example, a board game night with the family that is superficially similar (like Settlers of Catan if he plays Civ). Or DnD if he likes more in depth narratives. Warhammer is fairly in depth as both a strategy game and as a legendarium (tons of books of various lengths and style). He may need some prompting with the social part too, he may benefit from joining some Zoom groups. Social rewards can come close to the artificial high he gets from his gaming. To some extent it also matters which game he is addicted to. Does he binge even Minecraft in creative mode (a sign of needing escapism), or is it all active super tough games (Doom, first person shooters)? If he needs escapism then he may have worse mental health if he has a lot of quiet time to dwell on what he doesn’t like about his life right now rather than active distraction.

They eat all the other bugs you hate. You can get rid of them but you’d also be getting rid of a beneficial bug. Have you tried sticky traps (not recommended if you have large lizard/snake/woodland creature populations)? They aren’t very humane for small mammals and snakes but they work for bugs. If you have only a few areas you want to ensure stay clear indoors it may work for you. You can also try diatomaceous earth, which is harmless for humans. You’d dust it under any surfaces you are worried about, and it will affect any bug with an exoskeleton.

Since you can’t kill them all off, it may be better to introduce a deterrent so they leave instead of sticking around. Have you considered odor based deterrents like cat scent products?

Lol yes but my husband is allergic.