Treat Bed Bugs

CHECK with your local fire dept. I think arson is illegal.

I am really scared of getting bed bugs. I have a very small apt and the bedroom is cluttered and I heard you can get them from a cluttered bedroom. Does anyone know if it is true?
really, what if you have stuff under your bed and don't vacuum can you get bed bugs?

My bedroom is also cluttered and I don’t clean that often (I’m a guy).
I don’t have bed bugs.

If you do have them, buy cleaning sprays or whatever from the store. Move everything out of your room into the living room…. clean it all up and put everything back. Get rid of the junk you don’t need. If you need new carpet, ask.

Take showers, change clothes, change sheets, etc will keep them away.
You never can get rid of all the bed bugs, but don’t fear them.

so i found bed bugs in my daughter mattress and i have termex coming tomorrow to do a free inspection. and a appointment wed to have this problem treated i have done as much research as i can handel before being grossed out. the company told me to bag up all the toys clothes kitchen stuff bathroom stuff everything!!! if i do still have them what if the things i am putting in garbage bags have the bed bugs? not only this but what about the suit cases and plastic totes? should i leave the stuff in the totes in there? my daughter has been chewed to shreads with the bites but i havent nor has my one year old not even touched! we all sleep in different rooms, does that mean just my oldest room have them???? please help im going crazy! ( after finding them in just her mattress i threw the darn thing out and havent found them in any other bed or the couch)

What an awful problem!! : ( I've had similar trouble - a misfortunate encounter with lice when I was in elementary school. I think a lot of the proceedures for eliminating lice and bed bugs are the same.

As to your first question about the plastic bags - these help ensure that any bugs living on the toys/pillows/clothes/etc will be trapped inside the bags, so they will not come into contact with humans (they need human blood to survive) and will eventually die. Suitcases and totes are not airtight enough, and the bugs may escape from them when they start to starve, so use Ziploc bags and garbage bags. As you are bagging your items, try using a strip of duct tape to pick off any visible bugs before you bag the item. This is a trick I use to thin out aphid infestations on my household plants. Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding, so keep these items sealed up for a long time, and launder anything you do need to use.

You're lucky that so far, the older daughter is the only one in the family experiencing the bites, but don't think it will stay that way. The more contact she has with people at home and at school, the more likely they will be to spread. I highly suggest informing her school administrators and/or teachers. Keep it a little quiet since you don't want the other kids teasing her, but definately inform someone at school. When my sister and I had lice, the school nurse did a hair check for all the kids in our classes to isolate any other cases, so your daughter's school might be interested in doing something similar.

Perhaps you have already done some research, but other steps to take include the elimination of crevasses and crawl spaces for the bugs to hide in, since they have flat bodies. Seal up any holes and cracks with hot glue or caulk. Places to check for such cracks include floor boards, wall mouldings, bed frames, etc. Also clear up any clutter on the floor, bed, desks, and so on, so it will be easier for you to spot any bugs. Make sure to keep family pets out of the infested areas, and check them since they might have brought the problem into the house to begin with. Make sure you disposed of her mattress in a sanitary way - leaving it out on the street may only spread the bugs further.

Here are some more tips from a Harvard site:

· Thoroughly clean the infested rooms as well as others in the residence. Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs, and use a powerful vacuum to remove bed bugs from cracks and crevices. Dismantling bed frames will expose additional bug hiding sites. Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.

· Mattresses and box springs can be permanently encased within special mattress bags. Once they are installed, inspect the bags to ensure they are undamaged; if any holes or tears are found, seal these completely with permanent tape. Any bugs trapped within these sealed bags will eventually die.

· To prevent bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won’t contact the floor, and place the frame legs into dishes or cups of mineral oil.

· Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove moldings to further reduce harborages.

· If you are a tenant, contact your property manager or landlord to discuss your respective obligations, and to agree on a plan to manage the infestation. Generally, landlords are legally required to contract with a licensed pest control operator.

· Request a written integrated pest management (IPM) plan from the pest control operator. This plan should detail the methods and insecticides to be used by the pest control operator, and describe the efforts expected by the building manager as well as by the tenants.

· Because bed bugs and other pests may spread through cracks and holes in the walls, ceilings and floors, it is wise to inspect adjoining apartments on the same floor as well as those directly above and below.