# Bed bugs?



## millipede (May 28, 2006)

Years of intermittent visiting here, I still often have no idea what the "best" section to post in is. HA. 

So, short story/question is, I need lots of advice on how to deal with bed bugs for they're infesting a house my wife is staying in at the moment.

Long story...
Had a kid come home sick from camp a couple weeks ago. We feel we've had 2 sicknesses pass through in the last 2 weeks as different symptoms showed up at different times and some got better and then got sick again. Combine the fact that the child was sick AT camp with the fact my wife works with the elderly, we had that child tested for covid just to be safe. That has since come back negative(after like 11 days of waiting) but since another sickness started later, we're waiting on the results from a couple more tests. Nobody is dying, we're all okay, but we're being cautious.
So, the first two nights my wife slept out in a tent. After that, her mom moved to town and the two of them went to stay at a house my wife sometimes works at. Eventually I'm told they have bed bugs... and in a bedroom of one of the elderly gentlemen there, they're BAD. The owners have taken a vacation since my wife and her mom are there(don't ask, or get me started) so my wife seems to be in charge of the bed bug situation. I'm not sure how seriously she's taking it. I know she's been washing a LOT of bedding... probably vacuuming, taking stuff outside to sit in the sun(I'm not sure that does anything???), and using DE. Not sure what else she's doing. Just cleaning up the back of this guys chair was a big step as apparently it was covered in them and eggs. blech.

I have family telling me not to let my wife back in this house until that problem is dealt with. She has stepped inside to check on things a time or two. She doesn't seem so worried. Says she put her clothes in the dryer before leaving... I asked, what about things like your shoes and your purse. No comment.  
I'm afraid they might even be in the vehicle she's driving around right now... AND, she works in other people's homes every day.
So, I agree with my family that says to keep my wife OUT... my sister even says she could potentially redistribute those bugs with her hair. She has thick hair. So, I don't want her in here... BUT... I am not my wife's boss. She doesn't listen to me often. 
So... a few questions...
1. How easily are they spread? Will her visiting be a problem?
2. Should she really wait until it's all under control there before stepping foot in our house? I've heard that takes a while.
3. How likely are they to be transported in shoes, purse, or even her hair?
4. What other steps should she be taking at their house??? The owners are out of state (really, a trip to Yellowstone at a time like this?) so I know they're not concerned. And I can't picture anyone paying a large sum of money to hire professionals. There are three elderly people that need daily care living in the home. For a while, my wife naively wanted to believe the bugs were confined to the one room that looks bad. But she has little rashes all over her. In fact, when I saw her yesterday I asked if she had been eating beef or something as she's allergic, and that's what it reminded me of.

All tips welcome. I will find it difficult if not impossible to enforce the idea of my wife not entering the home. She's stubborn and independent and I swear, if I'm against something she'll just want to do it more.  
Our home is cluttered(we're working on it, slowly), very cluttered. IF they get in here, it will be a nightmare to get rid of them. I also have 5 kids that live here and we just don't need anything like this. 
What do I do?
Alternative and not so alternative thoughts welcome here. I want to be confident that we're not putting ourselves at risk... like 100% confident.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I'm dealing with a similar issue in that my son purchased a "used" sleeping bag off the internet. Turns out it was loaded with bed bugs. He took it out doors, hung it in the shed and sprayed it in and out with 97% alcohol which the internet says kills them. After it dried he put it in the trunk of his car. Still I have now found bed bugs in the house; and yes they do get on a person's body and travel to different locations in the house. At this time what we are doing to assure they are gone is take everything out of my son's room (where the sleeping bag had been), place everything out on the front deck and spray it down with 100% rubbing alcohol. Leaving it out in the hot/humid air of this area until all is completely dry. We know of nothing else to do. (Of course washing everything that will go in the washing machine and drying it at a high temperature is a must!)

I do not know what getting bit multiple times by bed bugs does to one's body; but I'm concerned for your wife's safety with that regard. Since you have children in your house, you (and your wife) need to take whatever steps are necessary to assure the safety of those children. I'm not understanding why your wife, being in the medical field, is not taking your situation more serious than she is.....


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

There is a bed bug infestation in the US that is one of those dirty little secrets that people or the hotel industry won't talk about. Heat is the only thing that kills them. Tent your house - Not kidding. Put everything in black bags and leave them outside in the heat for a week. 
Spraying does not kill them or the eggs. They crawl in cracks in wood, in baseboards, etc. very hard to get to. Check the welting on your mattress as they like that area. Put pillows in the dryer on high heat for an hour.
You can tell if you have bed bugs because they will crawl over you at night leaving little red welt bites in a pattern of two or three. 

I used to work in social services, having to go to peoples houses where I would see them crawling across the walls. I would not sit, I would not bring anything into the house except for myself and paperwork on a clip board. At home, I'd go inside through the laundry room door, putting all my clothes in the washer and dryer before entering the rest of my house. Shoes were kept outside as they can be carriers on the soles . 

I worked in a safe house and it was closed down because of bedbugs. When it was reopened, the protocol was everything anyone brought into the house was washed in hot water and dried on high heat. No books, or other personal belongings were allowed in the house - they were black bagged and stored in another building. And the house was remodeled to have a shower off the entry where every client had to shower and was given a set of sweats to wear - before they were allowed into the rest of the house or offices.

search for bed bugs in the archives on HT as there was a good thread about them a couple years ago.

I


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## Deegie (Sep 28, 2017)

Since you didn't clarify that you are against pesticides. We used permethrin powder. I was worried it could be harmful to humans and we did some research. Permethrin is used in lice shampoos for humans and is used in a similar medication to treat crabs. lol - it is also used in flea and tick powders for dogs. So we use it around here. It is awesome for 'poofing' a wasp nest. they don't come back. It kills ticks and fleas in the carpet... though we have not needed it for that and it kills bedbugs. You don't need a lot since the bugs carry the powder to their nesting areas. My friend and a huge bed bug problem. She even threatened to burn her house down. lol - permethrin powder cured her problem. good luck


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## millipede (May 28, 2006)

motdaugrnds said:


> I'm not understanding why your wife, being in the medical field, is not taking your situation more serious than she is.....


Why indeed. Living somewhere else and dealing with those every day is an inconvenience to her. She does not like to be inconvenienced. 
Thanks for the info so far everyone. I have no idea how the battle is going down there. I know when she stops by to visit she still has bites. She did come into the house to take a shower today, sprayed herself with alcohol and such I guess, being cautious. But she also sat on the outside furniture... eh... Myself and a couple of the kids might be toooooo paranoid but my wife is not paranoid enough. I told her if we got a single bug in here we could be in trouble. She replied that if you catch them early they're not that bad. I asked "who says" and her reply was "I do." Okay.

I sure hope they're making progress so I'm not scrambling to save our house from being burned to the ground. This year has been hard enough already...


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Deegie, I have some of that permethrin but it is not in powder form. How would one use it if the house is infected with bed bugs? A spray? Spray where? Around the outside of the house? Everything inside the house? It is listed as a poison.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

My mother in law had bed bugs in her little apartment. It took two complete professional treatments to finnaly be rid of them. We also disposed of and burned her box springs and mattress, and cleaned a whole lot of clutter out of the place in the process.

I can't imagine living with those pests and not dealing with the problem rapidly.
This isn't something you can easily do, half cocked, on your own. Bring in the pros.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Some claim that ozone will do them in. But you would need a fairly large generator and make sure to close all windows and doors. And do not be in the house when the machine is running!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

My son's roommate brought them home from work. The apartment complex where they live brings in bug sniffing dogs that hit on a spot in one bedroom. Their treatment was a heat treatment. But this was not yet an infestation, just a single bug apparently.

I would get bed bug covers for your mattresses asap and at least cover those. I have seen the sticky traps for bedbug detection but I am not sure how they work.

Yes, bedbugs can hide in a purse, backpack, notebook computer, even a wallet.

Have you looked at the EPA bedbug site?








Bed Bugs: Get Them Out and Keep Them Out | US EPA


Prevent, identify, and treat bed bug infestations using EPA’s step-by-step guides, based on IPM principles. Find pesticides approved for bed bug control, check out the information clearinghouse, and dispel bed bug myths.




www.epa.gov


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## Kstar (Jun 14, 2020)

Wow, that's a rough situation right now. I'm sorry to hear things are that difficult at the moment =( I do hope things improve and your wife can be back home soon!

To answer your questions.

1. They are spread extremely easily! Apartment complexes and hotels in my state have huge issues with these little pests. They will spread from one apartment to another easily and before you know it, the whole entire building is infested. Most leases required people to tell them the instant they found it and they would treat every surrounding apartment with the basic commercial pest poisons...ugh. That was a thing of the past, we have our own home now, but they are taken very seriously in most places here. They do and will spread! They often cling onto cloth on pillows, blankets, luggage cases, clothes, and they are so tiny and hard to spot that it's easy to get them from one place to the next. 

2. If it were my husband...I would hate for them to be away for such a long time in miserable conditions. I would ask them to come home. I would take precautions of course...have him take their laundry to a trusted laundromat and wash their clothes on hot and throw them into the dryer for a good while. Toss the luggage bag (unless it can be put in an airtight bag and stored away until the bed bugs die off) and use a tied off plastic bag to transport her belongings home. Small items can be placed in a sealed bag and then in the freezer. If hair is a concern, have a shower cap or plastic bag ready for them to put around their hair and go straight to the shower to wash with hot water (make sure it is not hot enough to burn yourself).

3. Bed bugs are not likely to travel on hair or on someone's skin. They would rather stay out of sight when they are not feeding. This is not likely to happen. As for shoes and purse...yes, and yes! Shoes can be left at the door and placed into a sealed bag and put in the freezer. A purse can be placed in a sealed bag, too. Just make sure if you choose to put a purse in the freezer that all electronics and freezer sensitive materials are out of there and placed in a separate sealed bag. 

4. I'm not sure what she's allowed to do as you said she works cleaning their home and stuff and it's hard to do treatments in their house without their permission, I would think. If the owners are out of state, is she able to get a hold of them? Is she allowed to contact with them and let them know of the situation? Unless they knew and they haven't solved it yet. Is there anyone she can contact about this? It seems important to let someone know or file an incident report or whatever the procedure is for such things in her work place. 


I know that Diatamaceous Earth (most people use food-grade because it's safe for people and pets - just don't inhale the dust as that's never good for anyone) is what a lot of people that don't want the chemical treatments use. It can be sprinkled neatly under bed sheets and in crevices around the bed. Although, the more natural ways to do this get rid of them slowly...it isn't a quick process, I think that's the only downside. There are also C02 traps for bed bugs that are on the market as they are drawn to it when we breathe so the trap mimics that. These aren't supposed to have any harmful chemicals and are often reusable. The C02 powder does have refill kids but tends to last a week or two before needing a replacement. However, I am not sure if your wife is allowed to do this or not.

Another thing is vacuuming with a hose on the crevices of the bed can help and to vacuum carpets and such daily. Wash the bedding daily if at all possible and wash clothes in hot water to kill larvae, eggs, and the bugs. 


Supposedly bed bugs do not like herbs/essential oils like chamomile, calendula, lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus. Getting the essential oils would allow you to put a few drops in a spray bottle of water to spray on beds, furniture, and stuff. Although, remember that with natural repellents, it may keep them from biting you, but they may hate the stuff so much that they will actually move from one place to the another. Another possible downside. 

For bed bug bites, puttin a little bit of apple cider vinegar or witchazel on a cottonball and then on the skin can help. An ice cube on the skin can numb it a little and help. If her reaction is really bad, consider a Benadryl if possible, but this makes most people sleepy.

We never had bed bugs, but I ended up doing a lot of research on it just in case because we did apartment living for almost 5 years.


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## random (Jul 23, 2020)

I fought a year-long battle with the nasty things. My son won't even allow the full "bb" phrase to be uttered in the house due to the trauma. We tried everything, and finally called in a pro, who we had to call back again. He "accidentally" left his empty chemical bottle, and repeated applications finally solved the problem.

First, check _everything_, they get anywhere. I very sadly had to burn several books, including some first editions, due to the infestation. We got the mattress covers, and even threw out much of our upholstered furniture. We spent several months with lawn chairs in the living room so they didn't have a place to hide. ALL fabric went in the dryer, high heat, for an hour. Some books that were not too infested even went in the oven (yes, I literally cooked the books) at ~300 degrees (well shy of the 451 required to ignite them).

A fully systemic approach was required. We did all of the above, and we applied the chemicals. We used Temprid and Bedlam. Temprid comes in a concentrate, you'll need a sprayer for it. Bedlam is in cans. Alternate applications. Spray corners between walls, wall & ceiling, wall & floor. Spray around electrical outlets (not IN them!). Spray bed posts. Basically, spray anywhere they will have to cross to get to you. (Remember to check the bed frame as well!) As I understand it, these chemicals leave a residue that they will pick up and carry back. We did this every two weeks for a little while until we didn't see any more. 

Those two appear to be legal in most states for the general public. I got them from Do It Yourself Pest Control Products & Supplies | Do My Own

They can live up to 2 years without feeding, so you will need to be bb-free for 2 years before you can say you've beaten them. If you see _even one_, the clock has to restart.

They're horrible, and incredibly difficult to get rid of. I wish you the best of luck in your battle.


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## Levisdenol (7 mo ago)

If i have to said the great way then i will say that the heating technology will be a good choice. i use this ZappBug heaters. This is a huge bed bug heater that can feet a whole room. Large capacity. Four circuits.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

This situation has been "surprisingly" (not really) taken care of in my home. What I've noticed is a large supply of "spiders" (and their webs) that have been trying to take over my home. My disabled son and I have felt quite helpless in dealing with these spiders; and since they have shown up, the bed bugs have disappeared. Yes it has been over a year since I've seen any evidence of bed bugs and the only thing that had changed in my home was this intrusion of spiders. My son googled these spiders and, though I forget what he discovered their species/name to be, he did find out they were meat eaters. 

My conclusion is that, since my Heavenly Father knew we were not being successful in completely ridding our home of bed bugs, He sent this infestation of spiders to do it for us....not at all surprising..........


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

All spiders eat insects.

Do your spiders have really long legs and small brown/tan bodies? I have long-legged cellar spiders in my house, everywhere in my house. It creeps me out with how many spiders I have.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Here is the URL that shows what we have and gives information about these spiders. I sure am thankful for them..........









Common House Spiders: House Spider Control & Information


Looking for information on common house spiders and house spider control? If you think you have a house spider infestation, see our pest guide now to learn more.




www.pestworld.org


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I am glad they solved your problem.


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