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Bedbug Epidemic

post #1 of 31
9/4/10 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...y-BedBugs.html

I have been reading about the epidemic of bedbugs in the US this year. Other articles I have seen say there have been outbreaks in all 50 states. Now I am paranoid. How can we prevent bringing these little bugs homes from other places. I haven't ever seen one but I want to make sure I don't bring them home from somewhere else.
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post #2 of 31
9/4/10 at 5:14pm
Yeah i read something on this just the other day that these little bugs were making one huge appearence everywhere at the moment I even checked my own bed just to be sure horrible little things
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post #3 of 31
9/4/10 at 7:00pm
Clean. Wash any clothes in your luggage when you get home - straight to the washer on hot. For things that can't be washed in hot you could put them in a ziplock baggie and toss them in the freezer for few days (you'll have to look up the minimum number of days). And take the vacuum cleaner hose to the luggage itself - outside/in the garage. This is actually a good recommendation for anything you bring in that could harbor pests.

..And just imagine it, a guest happens to look in your freezer to see your "delicates" on ice.
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post #4 of 31
9/4/10 at 11:15pm
It,s not just the US - they have them in London, England, too. The local council are fumigating the block of apartments where I own on, rented out. Apparently several tenants in te block have reported them. And once they get into the air pipes etc it is almost impossible to get rid of them entirely.
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post #5 of 31
9/5/10 at 3:01am
^Does anyone do heat treatment there? It's where they close a place up the best they can and use heaters and blowers to get the temperature up over over 120F (49C). No chemicals and it does kill everything - especially bed bugs.
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post #6 of 31
9/5/10 at 6:05am
My sister got them in her home. She's very clean and they figured out that her husband brought them home from his job.

You know what she used to get rid of them? Food grade DE. Yup, the same stuff that we always recommend around here to get rid of fleas. At my advice, she had bought some of it to get rid of the ants on her patio (she has a dog and didn't want to harm him with poisons). Since she bought 20 pounds of the stuff, she figured she would try it on her bed. It worked.

Sister was so embarrassed about her bed bugs, but I called her when I heard about the epidemic on NPR one day. The report claimed that one of the things that is adding to the epidemic is that people are too embarrassed it, therefore are not asking how to rid themselves of the critters properly. They then hitch a ride with the people in the household to public places such as offices and movie theaters.
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post #7 of 31
9/5/10 at 9:39am
I don't think it is anything to do with whether your home is clean or dirty - after all, people get terribly embarrassed when their children get nits in their hair and it is well known that lice prefer clean hair. it is more to do witht he temperature and the comfort (in bedbug terms) of the environment. Bedbugs, by the way, can live without food for up to a year, they go into a dormant mode like flea eggs.
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post #8 of 31
9/5/10 at 9:45am
Bedbugs scare me, too. I've read horror stories about how difficult it can be to get rid of them (it doesn't help that the media loves to play these up).

Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
^Does anyone do heat treatment there? It's where they close a place up the best they can and use heaters and blowers to get the temperature up over over 120F (49C). No chemicals and it does kill everything - especially bed bugs.
I read about this treatment for the first time just a couple of weeks ago. The article said it was indeed effective, but very expensive (?).

Another thing I've read that no one has yet mentioned: Never, ever bring used furniture into your home unless you are sure it is not infested.
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post #9 of 31
9/5/10 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by motoko9 View Post
I read about this treatment for the first time just a couple of weeks ago. The article said it was indeed effective, but very expensive (?).
It probably depends. It can't be more expensive than the chance of having to be treated over and over again with a pesticide that they can build up a resistance to. Plus, no chemicals and literally very little prep work to do it. With sprays you have to prep the area - clean up.
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post #10 of 31
9/5/10 at 4:20pm
Here in the UK we are constantly being urged to wash on lower temperatures. It might be worth noting that bedding should be washed on higher tempertures to kill off nasties. Just a thought....
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post #11 of 31
9/5/10 at 4:32pm
Bedbugs virtually disappeared in the U.S. in the early 60's, due to the use of DDT. When that was taken off the market, the stage was set for a reappearance, possibly coming from elsewhere, but possibly just those that had escaped treatment.

We moved into an apartment in the mid 1950's that my mother discovered had bedbugs. We moved out very fast.

And we had one of our trucks at works that got the sleeper infested. I got bitten by them; very typical bite pattern, three spots in a row. They treated the truck (and I tossed out my bedroll), and it hasn't recurred.
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post #12 of 31
9/9/10 at 12:32pm
I used to have Bed Bugs - the game. I wish I knew what happened to it, must've gotten rid of it. Now I wish I had it. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8486/bed-bugs
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post #13 of 31
9/9/10 at 12:41pm
There's a really weird video on YouTube with Isabella Rossellini that's like a mini bedbug documentary on acid.

You'll have to do a keyword search to find it. I'd post the link, but...
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post #14 of 31
9/10/10 at 2:53am
Exactly right about old wood. They live in cracks in wood floors, and joints in wood beds.

They also live behind old wallpaper. One way to see if you have them is to wrap the feet of your bed with carpet tape, you know two sided sticky. If they are coming up from the floors, they will stick and then you have proof. If you still have them, look at your bed, if it's wood. Start filling ALL joints and screw holes with putty.

Keep beds away from walls and curtains. They can climb, but they cannot jump. Keep bedding off the floors. Keep wood furniture, such as night stands, away from your bed.

Tell tale signs are dirt under mattress and mattress covers. They live in screw holes in old furniture also. Any hole they can get into, they can live in.

You are right, not a reflection of cleanliness of a house. They are everywhere.
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post #15 of 31
9/10/10 at 4:14am
Thread Starter 
One thing I have read is it helps to cover the box spring and the mattress in a plastic cover. I am guessing these can be purchased at Wal Mart. I have these on the mattress in my guest bedroom, but not on the other two beds. Next trip to Wal Mart or Target, I am going to look for the covers. I have wood floors in my bedroom. They are new and there are no cracks. I also have antique oak beds. I will be looking for cracks, farleyv. Gosh, I am so paranoid now.
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post #16 of 31
9/10/10 at 4:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueyedgirl5946 View Post
One thing I have read is it helps to cover the box spring and the mattress in a plastic cover. I am guessing these can be purchased at Wal Mart. I have these on the mattress in my guest bedroom, but not on the other two beds. Next trip to Wal Mart or Target, I am going to look for the covers. I have wood floors in my bedroom. They are new and there are no cracks. I also have antique oak beds. I will be looking for cracks, farleyv. Gosh, I am so paranoid now.
I hear you. I have 100 year old plus wood floors in my house and in my bedroom there are 1/4 inch seams between some of the boards. It is a tough deal. Then we sleep in my grandparents 100 plus year old 4 poster bed.

Welcome to paranoiaville!!
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post #17 of 31
9/10/10 at 7:51am
An interesting interview on the subject on NPR's Fresh Air:

Don't let the bedbugs bite
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post #18 of 31
9/10/10 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
I hear you. I have 100 year old plus wood floors in my house and in my bedroom there are 1/4 inch seams between some of the boards. It is a tough deal. Then we sleep in my grandparents 100 plus year old 4 poster bed.
I doubt you'll ever need to, but like for fleas - dust some DE down in the cracks.
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post #19 of 31
9/10/10 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I doubt you'll ever need to, but like for fleas - dust some DE down in the cracks.
Good idea, being proactive is the key here I think.
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post #20 of 31
9/10/10 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
Good idea, being proactive is the key here I think.
Well... I'm not suggesting you run off to do it right now. There's no need for paranoia.
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post #21 of 31
9/10/10 at 2:57pm
Thread Starter 
Well, do these critters just show up in your house, or do you have to bring them in from somewhere else. We travel very little to I am not concerned about bringing them home in suitcases. My husband does go with a church group to visit in the jail, but he says they sit at steel tables with steel chairs, no carpet. Also sometimes he visits in the nursing home. When I visit thrift stores, I am very careful about what I bring into my house. Anything fabric goes in a plastic bag which is fastened up tight until it can be washed. I went to Wal Mart today and came out with enough of the zippered covers to put on my box springs and mattresses. I have read if the bugs every get in your mattress the only solution is toss it out.
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post #22 of 31
9/11/10 at 7:25am
You can pick them up in hotels, cruise ships, motels, and even on grocery bags (probably only paper ones) or boxes you might get at the grocery store. However, it's not LIKELY for you to get them at the latter.

You should listen to the radio program I linked to. The guy is a real expert, and gives a lot of useful information.
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post #23 of 31
9/11/10 at 7:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
You can pick them up in hotels, cruise ships, motels, and even on grocery bags (probably only paper ones) or boxes you might get at the grocery store. However, it's not LIKELY for you to get them at the latter.

You should listen to the radio program I linked to. The guy is a real expert, and gives a lot of useful information.
I read all the links on the site you posted. One article said you can bring them home from retail stores. I have always been careful in dressing rooms to put my purse on a hanger or shelf and to put my removed clothing on the shelf or hanger also. I was thinking about roaches though, not bedbugs. Is there anywhere that is safe. This makes me think you even need to be sure your purse is closed when you sit it down beside you in a restaurant. And what if it doesn't close at the top. Who knows what crawled in in while you were sitting there. I am still paranoid about these critters. I seldom have anyone who comes to spend the night so I am not concerned about them coming out of someone else's suitcase here. I guess the bottom line is they are everywhere. The one place I don't think I saw mentioned is churches. But people are there too, sitting on the chairs etc.
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post #24 of 31
9/11/10 at 12:46pm
I would think churches are definately a source. You usually sit shoulder to shoulder with others.

Well, I guess I would still rather have a bedbug bite rather than a brown recluse spider bite that we think my BIL just got!!
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post #25 of 31
9/11/10 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
I would think churches are definately a source. You usually sit shoulder to shoulder with others.
What the... Are you people talking about bedbugs or lice? This paranoia while avoiding education is silly. Bedbugs do not live on people! They don't even come out into daylight, they're nocturnal. They don't magically appear in your home. Go research.
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post #26 of 31
9/11/10 at 1:33pm
Bedbugs are not permanent residents in a restaurant, store, church, etc. They would usually end up there from being carried on something that had been set down in a house, hotel, etc.
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post #27 of 31
9/11/10 at 4:54pm
We had them at our old house. I think the previous resident left them and we got them. We have currently invested about $3k in all (between car rental, cat boarding, treatment itself, laundry, purchasing a new bed/box spring, etc).

As far as I understand it, there is absolutely no FOOL PROOF treatment out there. Even the heat treatment previously mentioned.

Just so you know, some other possible places are even laundromat facilities. If someone uses the machine before you and has them -- does not wash on hot -- BAM. Even if they do, if the water does not get to 120+ degrees, you're still screwed for lack of better word.

We have purchased the encasement's at Wal-Mart and they are not worth it. They tore almost immediately. We have purchased 4 encasement's at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $100/each. They are special ones which have special zipper features.

I am clean. Obsessively so. As I previously mentioned, the resident that lived in the house we recently moved out of gave them to us. The only hope for us is that they do not carry disease and do not fester is hair (kitties are safe). We wash our laundry 3x a week and hang stuff immediately but worry we might have brought them here. We are sick of spending money and quite frankly have no more to spend.

:-(
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post #28 of 31
9/11/10 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
What the... Are you people talking about bedbugs or lice? This paranoia while avoiding education is silly. Bedbugs do not live on people! They don't even come out into daylight, they're nocturnal. They don't magically appear in your home. Go research.
Actually bedbugs feed from warm blooded animals, primarily human blood. They are easily transferred through clothing, laundry, furniture, pets, any other item from an infested home.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug
http://www.badbedbugs.com/
Maybe you are free of this infestation, but know your facts before you attempt to correct others...........
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post #29 of 31
9/20/10 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
We purchased the plastic zip up covers for our beds and box springs. I am glad to know my beds will remain clean. I am trying to be very careful about what comes into our home. Yesterday I was in Penny's trying on clothing. I hung everything on the racks in the dressing room, even my purse. I didn't let my clothes touch the floor when I removed them and I hung them up too.
I heard on the radio that some of the military bases are infested with them now. I guess they are everywhere.
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post #30 of 31
9/26/10 at 4:40pm
I live in NYC and am constantly paranoid about bed bugs! I have even found out after the fact that I worked with people who had them in their home!
Here are a couple of other informative sites....
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...ng/dk1022.html
http://www.bedbuginfo.com/how-do-you-get-bed-bugs.php
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