My wife is convinced bedbugs live inside her.is this possible?
No. They are small insects that are attracted to blood for food, but they can not tolerate living inside an animal or person. Google them for a lot of info!!!!
They told me to unscrew my electrical outlet covers. Since my bed is a mattress & boxspring on the floor should I lean them against the wall or something?
Get everything off the floor - buy a bed frame or look on craigslist but you are wasting your money paying for an exterminator if you are going to leave the box spring on the floor.
I just got married and we don't have a lot of money. Everything we read tells us to call a professional to get rid of bed bugs but we can't afford it. I just wanted to know inexpensive but effective ways to get rid of them.
You have to call a professional I'm afraid. The sooner the better because they breed like crazy and the problem will just get worse and more expensive. If you are renting just move and make sure you wash everything, take apart furniture and clean every crook and cranny of it that you can possibly get into. One pregnant female in your stuff could bring back your problem.
DDT was the answer and still is the answer, but thanks to some environmentalist named Rachel Carson who wrote a book called "Silent Spring" (and none of the things she wrote about were even factual btw) DDT was banned in 1972. Bedbugs were virtually wiped out by then thanks to DDT. They were actually very common back in the day it was a normal thing to have bedbugs…people just learned to live with them! (How they did that is beyond me!) Since DDT has been banned they have come back in hordes. They're in hotel rooms, airplanes, hostels, everywhere, and it's all hush hush.
I know this because my mother used to run a hostel and it was diagnosed with bedbugs and no matter how many times it was sprayed with insecticides the problem still came back. If your job requires you to sleep in hotels I suggest using their bedding only and washing everything when you get home, clothes, the bag you carry them in etc. Even if you think it's overkill it's the only way to prevent them. Watch the news…they are everywhere.
Anyways one of the best way you can contain the problem is with cardboard. Apparently Native Americans used to do this. Lots of bedbugs end up in your walls in the insulation and everything, so they would stick cardboard against the walls overnight. The bedbugs would crawl into the cardboard when they were done their bloodsucking for the night and the next morning the cardboard would be burned.
Some other ideas which I got from the website below are to :
1. Inspect your mattress and bed frame, particularly the folds, crevices and the underside, and other locations where bedbugs like to hide.
2. Use a nozzle attachment on the vacuum to capture the bedbugs and their eggs. Vacuum all crevices on your mattress, bed frame, baseboards and any objects close to the bed. It's essential to vacuum daily and empty the vacuum immediately.
3. Wash all your linens and place them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes. Consider covering your pillows and mattress with a plastic cover.
4. Remove all unnecessary clutter.
5. Seal cracks and crevices between baseboards, on wood bed frames, floors and walls with caulking. Repair or remove peeling wallpaper, tighten loose light switch covers, and seal any openings where pipes, wires or other utilities come into your home (pay special attention to walls that are shared between apartments).
6. Monitor daily by setting out glue boards or sticky tape (carpet tape works well) to catch the bedbugs. Closely examine any items that you're bringing into your home.
7. Consult professional pest control services and discuss options that pose the least risk to humans and the environment.
The Health Department warns you could still see a few of the pests up to ten days after you take all the steps, but they call this normal. If you're still seeing the insects after two weeks, your best bet is to call in a professional to ensure they've been completely eliminated.
Where bedbugs can be found
* Seams, creases, tufts and folds of mattresses and box springs
* Cracks in the bed frame and head board
* Under chairs, couches, beds, dust covers
* Between the cushions of couches and chairs
* Under area rugs and the edges of carpets
* Between the folds of curtains
* In drawers
* Behind baseboards, and around window and door casings
* Behind electrical plates and under loose wallpaper, paintings and posters
* In cracks in plaster
* In telephones, radios, and clocks
Bedbugs can also travel along pipes, electrical wiring and other openings and come in from other apartments or dwellings.
Make sure you throw out your mattress and if you move…I really just wouldn't risk taking the couches, throw them out!
Hope this helps.
I just found out that we have a small infestation of bed bugs. We threw out our ol mattress and got new ones. I searched online for anti-bed bug covers and they were about $140 for mattress and box spring. I found a vinyl zipper cover in target for only 11.99. Will the vinyl keep the bed bugs out? Also, what can I use to kill them?
Encasements should always be used for non-vinyl mattresses and box springs in bed
bug prevention and management. Special bed bug-proof encasements are made of high
quality cloth material, so they do not tear easily, and they have no folds around the zipper for
bed bugs to find shelter. Cheaper vinyl encasements are available but need to be installed
carefully to avoid tears in the vinyl. If a small hole appears, duct tape can be used to repair it.
Holes MUST be repaired to prevent bed bugs from either gaining protection on the inside of
the cover, or to prevent bed bugs from escaping from the infested bedding. Encasing both
mattress and box spring eliminates the need to discard bedding by trapping bed bugs inside
and providing a smooth simple outer surface that can be inspected, vacuumed and cleaned
easily. It is highly recommended that mattresses and box springs be encased, to
preserve the sleeping area and to make bed bug inspections quick and easy.
I recently had bed bugs and am now having my case in front of the Landlord Tenant's Board. I'd like to present the board with not only my experiences but also studies about the effects of bed bugs. Anyone know of any?
Alternatively, studies on the effects of sleep deprivation may also be appropriate.
Thanks for the help!
yeah, consider sleep deprivation..
and minor injuries from the bites.
thanks for your help in advance
nooooo! bug spray wont do. it wont kill the eggs, anyway bedbugs can live up to 4 yrs without food (i.e blood)
u need to wash all the clothes u frequently wear (bedbugs r easier to deal with malescoz females hav massive mounds of clothes lol)
wash then use the dryer at highest tempreture without damaging clothes. also wash sheets and live with a friends place 4 a few days while u get a profesinal to fumigate the place.
this is not the cheapest but the best way to get rid of them coz other sprays will only work short term and in the long run, u lose money (plus it's bad for ur lungs)
TAKE CARE!
I live in a 3 story place in Dorchester, I rent one of the 12 rooms. Recently, we’ve noticed the presence of bedbugs. We spoke to the landlord and he sprayed several rooms with some sort of spray that he bought from the Home Depot.
It’s not working.
I looked up stuff on google and the Boston Inspectional Services flyer I found says that proper extermination should include inspection by a qualified inspector.
Can I make my landlord hire a qualified inspector? Who would pay?
If you didn’t bring the bugs in, then it would make sense that the landlord should have to pay. I have no idea how you would go about making him do it, other than taking him to court, which would probably really screw up your living situation. Check out the City of Boston’s website, I believe it’s cityofboston.gov or boston.gov or something. I know there used to be a section on there all for renter’s, basically geared towards out of towners coming in as students, but it should apply to you too. I’m pretty sure there should be a “Renter’s Bill of Rights” on there somewhere, I know I remember seeing it…and good luck.