Bed Bugs Support

[marymary1975]

This is a problem that my son is dealing with now. He is a contractor and is staying at a hotel that gives them a weekly discounted rate. They have moved his room five times. He has contacted the dept. of health, and they told him that they treated the room. He still has them!! He has spent over $200 on sprays. He told me that he slept in his bathtub!?

He was continuing to stay there because he had co-workers staying there. They were not bothered by them. My son is polluted with bites. These bugs love him! I am wondering if he is allergic to them, and the others aren’t bothered by the bites. He did not have a car and depended on these guys for getting to work. He came home to buy a friend’s car, so he can move and get himself to work.

His job is fairly new, and he has missed work due to these critters. I hope he gets everything together, and is able to be rid of these. I worry that he may carry one with them and never rid of them.

He took videos of them. Took photos of his bites. He plans on filing suit against the owner once he is settled into new apt. They would not even let him use the vacuum cleaner one night, as another person had it out for the next two days. He asked if he could store his belongings in double bag while he was gone, and they refused to allow him to store them elsewhere in the building. He found another person that lived there and had the same problem. they are filing suit together.

He is seeking reimbursement for supplies and for things he lost due to infestation, which included his mac computer.

I am nervous about him staying here next few days. I hope that he doesn’t have any clothes that have any remaining critters on them. He threw some of his clothes in our dryer.

I read where heat is the best way to get rid of them.

I hope that he gets this new apt. and is rid of them forever. I really feel for anyone that is dealing with these. Watching his videos was horrifying.

Actually heat kills the live bugs but the eggs may survive and the temperature that meeds to be achieved to actually kill the bug is so high that odds are that typical methods wont work. Again the only effective thing against them is Dimatocea Earth.

 

[Elizium23]

Diatomaceous earth (note correct spelling) is a useful tool in the arsenal but it is not a cure-all. When I had my infestation, a friend gifted me a jar of it and I spread it liberally about my kitchen. But the infestation was mostly in other rooms and in areas that were not easily treated with DE. I was merely attempting to contain the scourge and prevent it from reaching my closet of clothes.

DE consists of the fossilized remains of algae (diatoms) and it works because it is microscopically sharp and jagged. Bugs which crawl over this stuff will scratch up their exoskeleton beyond repair and be fatally injured. It works for other pests such as fleas, as well. The best way to apply it is to establish a perimeter with a thick dusting in all the areas the bugs are likely to tread. My exterminator uses boron dust for this same purpose. A useful implement is a little hand-powered blower that can puff this dust into cracks and crevices. In lieu of that, I just used a spoon to carefully apply it to the edge of my floor.

DE is not 100% effective and it will take several days or weeks to show results. But it is proven effective and is not a “folk remedy”, there is widespread confirmation of this.

Actually heat kills the live bugs but the eggs may survive and the temperature that meeds to be achieved to actually kill the bug is so high that odds are that typical methods wont work. Again the only effective thing against them is Dimatocea Earth.

This is incorrect. A dryer on high heat should be close to 100% effective against all life stages of the bug. This is not an optional step in combating infestations! All exterminators will require you to launder all your clothes if you expect to get rid of them.

Another thing that seems to work against the bugs is a contact spray containing peppermint oil. I invested in a bottle of this stuff and it was useful for spot-killing adults I found in the mid-stages of my infestation. But there is no way you will eradicate them with just a $15 bottle of spray. Trust your exterminator to make a full treatment.

 

[marymary1975]

Diatomaceous earth (note correct spelling) is a useful tool in the arsenal but it is not a cure-all. When I had my infestation, a friend gifted me a jar of it and I spread it liberally about my kitchen. But the infestation was mostly in other rooms and in areas that were not easily treated with DE. I was merely attempting to contain the scourge and prevent it from reaching my closet of clothes.

DE consists of the fossilized remains of algae (diatoms) and it works because it is microscopically sharp and jagged. Bugs which crawl over this stuff will scratch up their exoskeleton beyond repair and be fatally injured. It works for other pests such as fleas, as well. The best way to apply it is to establish a perimeter with a thick dusting in all the areas the bugs are likely to tread. My exterminator uses boron dust for this same purpose. A useful implement is a little hand-powered blower that can puff this dust into cracks and crevices. In lieu of that, I just used a spoon to carefully apply it to the edge of my floor.

DE is not 100% effective and it will take several days or weeks to show results. But it is proven effective and is not a “folk remedy”, there is widespread confirmation of this.

This is incorrect. A dryer on high heat should be close to 100% effective against all life stages of the bug. This is not an optional step in combating infestations! All exterminators will require you to launder all your clothes if you expect to get rid of them.

Another thing that seems to work against the bugs is a contact spray containing peppermint oil. I invested in a bottle of this stuff and it was useful for spot-killing adults I found in the mid-stages of my infestation. But there is no way you will eradicate them with just a $15 bottle of spray. Trust your exterminator to make a full treatment.

Sorry for the spelling I am using a phone with autocorrect that sometimes has a mind of its own. You gave the right spelling. In my case I had the experience when my mother moved to an apartment that had them. We were not lucky with two exterminations (and yes we washed all her clothes and everything for her and we steammed all her furniture) and both times, despite a steam and extermination, she had a reinfestation shortly thereafter within days, that is why I didn’t think the whole thing and the heat didn’t work because the bugs came back :banghead:

The peppermint oil is true too we uses that with my mother and they would die right away but I have to say it was a nightmare in my mother’s case as the bugs would come back a couple of days after no matter what, it was like if bes bugs had gained the power of being immortal when we finally defeated the bugs it was after the third extermination we grabbed the DE and spread it on every inch, corner, crack, piece of that apartment. I mean it when I say that we spread it everywhere and not a little bit a lot. I used several bags from home depot don’t remember how many but I used several. After the DE the problem ended so that is why I would go with the DE.

 

[akela135]

Here is the update today. We are still preparing for our treatment. The apartment sent over the carpet cleaners to clean the edges around the wall for us. We’ve now bagged and prepared everything in the master bedroom. Except the clothes, sheets, towels, etc., which are going to the laundromat with me tomorrow, with a new unopened box sterile air tight bags for storage. (They are bagged just not “treated”). We have almost gotten everything together in our office and have a good start on the living room and dining rooms.

When the carpet cleaners were by we didn’t see any bug evidence. The apartment thinks this is evidence that they are only in our unit and no one else’s. I’m not sure what to think? After the cleaners left we did find some bugs in the corner plastic caps of the box springs. When the inspector checked those on Wednesday they were clean, so have the bugs moved or spread? The apartment has agreed to check the other units next week. All though they are still holding us responsible since we reported the bugs. Bug reporter = bug introducer, according to their rules. I’m not sure how this encourages people to actually report or treat the bugs, but okay.

We have taken pictures of all the rooms in the house and are writing down every step we take to clean and prepare and also when, where, and how many bugs we find each day. So far the number spotted has always been countable. We are also communicating with them via e-mail so we can have as much as possible in writing.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Here is the update today. We are still preparing for our treatment. The apartment sent over the carpet cleaners to clean the edges around the wall for us. We’ve now bagged and prepared everything in the master bedroom. Except the clothes, sheets, towels, etc., which are going to the laundromat with me tomorrow, with a new unopened box sterile air tight bags for storage. (They are bagged just not “treated”). We have almost gotten everything together in our office and have a good start on the living room and dining rooms.

When the carpet cleaners were by we didn’t see any bug evidence. The apartment thinks this is evidence that they are only in our unit and no one else’s. I’m not sure what to think? After the cleaners left we did find some bugs in the corner plastic caps of the box springs. When the inspector checked those on Wednesday they were clean, so have the bugs moved or spread? The apartment has agreed to check the other units next week. All though they are still holding us responsible since we reported the bugs. Bug reporter = bug introducer, according to their rules. I’m not sure how this encourages people to actually report or treat the bugs, but okay.

We have taken pictures of all the rooms in the house and are writing down every step we take to clean and prepare and also when, where, and how many bugs we find each day. So far the number spotted has always been countable. We are also communicating with them via e-mail so we can have as much as possible in writing.

Talk to a rental attorney, I’m sure the owners are responsible for that type of service.

Linus2nd

 

[akela135]

Just a quick update. We are at our two week mark following our first treatment. They did a cursory inspection last week and saw no signs of living bugs. We were waiting for them to assist with scheduling our next treatment. This morning however I learned that since they saw no living signs of bugs they weren’t planning to do the second treatment!

All of this is on e-mail and I’m documenting everything still. Hopefully we can get another treatment scheduled before Thanksgiving. I really don’t want to live this way over the holiday.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

Can speak to this as I went through it last year. Orkin charged $500; the guy they sent was certified in bedbug removal, he said that was separate from other pest removal certifications their technicians might have. That seems to be a typical rate. He came once to inspect and to tell me what to do (wash/dry everything, bag it, etc.) before he came back a couple days later to do the treatment. They didn’t come back so he did good.

Some things I learned about bedbugs:
The bedbugs’ only food source is human blood, they don’t eat anything else, hence they can’t be poisoned except by coming into contact via breathing or on their skin with poison. That’s a big part of what makes them so hard to eradicate.

Bedbugs can remain dormant in walls or other safe places for up to almost a year. They are attracted to people sleeping in the room via the CO2 that people breathe out. They lay down a mini-anesthetic agent on your skin before they bite hence you don’t feel their biting while you sleep though you might feel them crawling on you if you happen to be awake. Then the bites take 5 to 8 days to be visible. So by the time you start seeing bites, they may have had at you for up to a week. Time to panic.

Important for travelers (or how not to pick them up):
I’m not afraid to travel, but since I picked them up on a road trip, I now inspect the bedding and the mattress(es) along with the floor and baseboard areas by the bed in every room I check into before I bring anything inside. Doesn’t matter if hotel is a Motel 6 or a 4 Seasons, must inspect. I carry a high intensity flashlight for this purpose. Other tip is to never, ever, ever put any luggage or loose clothing on or near the bed or on the floor. Put the luggage on the rack provided, on a dresser or a counter. That is how bedbugs travel, they hitch rides from the bed or the floor near it into your clothes and your luggage. Don’t give them the opportunity to do that. Also always inspect any clothes you wore to bed before repacking them.

One other tip, rubbing alcohol makes a decent repellent, it won’t kill them but they do not like the smell. Put some in a spray bottle and spray around the feet and the posts of the bed, into the outlets and the baseboards by the bed.

That was one of the least pleasant experiences of my life, took a month for everything to heal. I really feel for people who get these in apartment buildings and have to deal with cheap, incompetent and/or uncaring management. Not to mention angry fellow tenants.

 

[fred_conty]

I heard that another way to kill them is to remove the bed and other items outdoors in the winter for three days. If the temp is freezing this too will kill them.

 

[cazzap06]

I do not want to scare anyone or upset anyone but I do need some support on this subject too

I agree I would not wish this on my worst enemy

After a trip to Italy in a hostel I came home with bed bugs which infested my extremely large and very old ( lots of cracks and crevices ) flat

I called my council pest control dept who were useless , just quick spray of the bed , then off , whole ‘‘treatment’’ took under 10 mins when I asked a professional they said treatment of an average size flat should take 3 hours!

I had him out 5times … 8 months later I still had the problem and was being bitten up to 30 times a night

I went into a depression , felt extremely alone and in despair

No-one was helping me or taking me seriously

I could not afford a professional pest controller so I had no choice but to self treat

I used every powder and spray under the sun including DE , my house looked like an explosion in a powder factory

I got rid of my bed and all my clothes and furniture

I slept on a blow up bed on the floor , felt like a squatter in my own home

Continued to try and self treat which helped…enough for me to start visiting my family and Grandchildren who I had not seen for 3 months due to the infestation and not wanting to spread it to them

I was very careful when visiting and took every precaution and a year later my family were safe from infestation with no signs at their place and my situation was looking alot better but I was not completely sure they had gone , especially in other rooms as they were in my living room as well as my bedroom

Today I got a call from my daughter , she has bed bugs!!! :crying::crying::crying:

My Grandson is Autistic & if he gets bitten he will be highly sensitive to the itching etc

What we think happened is a family friend used to visit me , the only person who did during my infestation , so I made sure they took every precaution as I did not want them to get them but I think they took it lightly and did not follow my instructions about washing their clothes on a hot wash as soon as they got indoors and bagging them immediately if not washing straight away & I later found out their washing machine heater was not even working

They visited my daughter with me a few weeks ago & I noticed what looked like bite marks & they were itching , since then my daughter started getting the bites ( and did not want to tell me ) and since then I started getting bitten again too ( and did not want to tell her! ) so I had to re treat , we don’t know for sure but we think the family friend has them even though they deny it adamantly

My daughter saw a bed bug on her today which confirmed the bites she had 3 in a row so I am paying for her treatment as it was my friend which I brought to her house and introduced to the family etc

I have ended up paying over £300 in self treatments anyway even though one of them worked I have to keep on top of things now by retreating my place

I plan to move to be closer located to my daughters but do not want to take any bugs with me

I am heartbroken that my daughter has them , the very thing I did not want to happen has happened , we have to be careful my other daughter does not get them as she is moving into her brand new home with her husband & 1 yr old daughter in 8 days time

I hate the worry , I hate the affect these bugs have had on my health and are still having 14 whole months later … will it ever end??? Yes I have faith it will , but in the meantime I would value any support as I feel so alone even though I know God has it all in hand and everything is going to be alright it is my natural human emotions around it all and the worry that my daughters place will be hard to treat too as I do not want her to go through anything like the horrendous experience I have gone through and am still going through until it is finally over and they are gone for good , I know they will , it is just the suffering in the meantime which is hard!!! x

 

[Viki63]

Praying for all who are going through this trial.
We have to stay alert against fleas – the animals bring them in, so we have to treat once a month. We thought it was bedbugs for awhile but it turned out not to be, thank the Lord.