Don't let the bed bugs bite

[commandlinegamer]

Seattle newspaper on the resurgence of bed bug infestations. They may not be dangerous, but it's not pleasant if they decide you're on the menu*, and there's the ick factor of seeing bugs crawling out of who knows where. Mentions the banning of DDT, though of cause correlation is not causation.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/bugs-in-your-bed/Content?oid=3210060

(I have experience of fleas, so I can sympathize. Took months to clear them all out.)

[Tiktaalik]

I stayed in a motel in Rock Springs, WY last year where there were bedbugs. I caught one, and happened to have an insect ID book with me, so I keyed it out on the bathroom sink counter. Bed bug, sure enough. It was a motel near the highway with a lot of truckers staying at it.

Back home, everything I brought went into a hot-water wash if it was washable immediately. I don't seem to have allowed any to live at home...

[jayh]

Ironic because as it happens my step-daughter is staying at my house while they treat her apartment AGAIN. The first time it was a while before she realized the awful (like misquito, but much nastier) bites on her daughter were caused by bedbugs.

This is the third or 4th time, she threw out her old furniture, got new. The apartment managment has brought in professional exterminators, and the bugs seem gone but a couple of months later they are back.

It's seriously freaking her out.

[Roma]

My townhouse has just been sprayed again for bed bugs,
I didn't have them but my next door neigbour did
so every townhouse around her had to be sprayed too.

Apparantly Wal-Mart sells a bed bug spray, it's in a red can, I am going to go there and buy some to use as a preventative measure every couple of weeks.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Ironic because as it happens my step-daughter is staying at my house while they treat her apartment AGAIN. The first time it was a while before she realized the awful (like misquito, but much nastier) bites on her daughter were caused by bedbugs.

This is the third or 4th time, she threw out her old furniture, got new. The apartment managment has brought in professional exterminators, and the bugs seem gone but a couple of months later they are back.

It's seriously freaking her out.Bed bugs have been known to travel between the walls in adjacent apartments. It sounds like the problem is the neighbor's apartments need treatment too and aren't getting it or someone keeps moving in reinfesting the place but I'd bet someone's belongings are not being adequately treated.

The apartment management needs a different professional pest removal company if the one they are using has failed that many times.

I've looked into this writing a bed bug policy for the hospital I consult for. Patients occasionally come from homeless shelters and other seedy places and bring their belongings which can be infested.

[Soapy Sam]

I read a comment a year or so back, but don't recall where, about new low-temperature washing powders. While saving on electricity, it seems the low temperature wash may not kill parasites in sheets.
Do hospital laundries still boil sheets, I wonder?

[GreenLines]

I stayed in a motel in Rock Springs, WY last year where there were bedbugs. I caught one, and happened to have an insect ID book with me, so I keyed it out on the bathroom sink counter. Bed bug, sure enough. It was a motel near the highway with a lot of truckers staying at it.

Back home, everything I brought went into a hot-water wash if it was washable immediately. I don't seem to have allowed any to live at home...

I spent a day with a homeless guy in Rock Springs. Guy liked to drink a lot of 40s. He thought he had lice, he probably just needed a shower. Least out in the sand he didn't have to worry about bed bugs... or does he?

[Skeptic Ginger]

I read a comment a year or so back, but don't recall where, about new low-temperature washing powders. While saving on electricity, it seems the low temperature wash may not kill parasites in sheets.
Do hospital laundries still boil sheets, I wonder?No, they do not, at least not in the modern world countries. And probably haven't done so in a century.

The wash temp standard for hospital laundry is 160F. You can use lower temperatures with bleach disinfectants according to the literature. The dryer cycle also adds to the organism killing process when it comes to things like bed bugs.

BED BUGS; by Michael F. Potter, Extension Entomologist; University of Kentucky College of Agriculture (http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp)Infested and infestation-prone bedding and garments will need to be bagged and laundered (120°F minimum) since these items cannot be treated with insecticides. Another effective and efficient option is to place clothing, toys, shoes, backpacks, etc., in a clothes dryer set at medium to high heat for 10 to 20 minutes. This will kill all bed bug life stages and can be done alone or in conjunction with laundering. According to textile experts at the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (Laurel, MD), most garments designated as ‘dry-clean only’ (e.g., cotton, wool, silk, linen, rayon, nylon, poly blends) will not be harmed provided they are dry before being placed in a clothes dryer at moderate (less than 160?F) settings. While dry cleaning procedures also kill bed bugs, there is risk of infesting the establishment when buggy items are de-bagged, tagged and sorted.

[Skeptic Ginger]

I spent a day with a homeless guy in Rock Springs. ... Least out in the sand he didn't have to worry about bed bugs... or does he?Depends if he has a box or bag of belongings he's dragging along with him.

[GreenLines]

Depends if he has a box or bag of belongings he's dragging along with him.

He said he had an impounded truck because he was drunk driving. Can't remember if he had anything like that.

[Skeptic Ginger]

He said he had an impounded truck because he was drunk driving. Can't remember if he had anything like that.The bugs don't stay on people's bodies during the day. They could conceivable be in a shoe seem or something but it is not likely. And no, they don't hang out in the desert. But they do hang out in homeless camps were people sleep in the same area night after night like under a bridge or something.

[Roma]

There is some disagreement around where I live,
some people have been told that if they put their furniture and belongings outside for two weeks it will kill the bed bugs, (it's very cold up here in Winnipeg).
Others say that the bed bugs will just go dormant and will come back to life when they are warmed up in the house again.

[Skeptic Ginger]

There is some disagreement around where I live,
some people have been told that if they put their furniture and belongings outside for two weeks it will kill the bed bugs, (it's very cold up here in Winnipeg).
Others say that the bed bugs will just go dormant and will come back to life when they are warmed up in the house again.You can kill them with freezing, and you can kill them with heat. Placing items in a black plastic bag and putting that in the Sun for a day can result in temperatures high enough to kill the bugs.

I don't recall how long you need to freeze them for.

[AvalonXQ]

If you spend a lot of time at hotels or have a bed bug scare in your area, invest in a bed bug trap. Put it out every couple of weeks at home and every night while you travel. It lets you know right away if you have bed bugs and what kind.

[Skeptic Ginger]

If you spend a lot of time at hotels or have a bed bug scare in your area, invest in a bed bug trap. Put it out every couple of weeks at home and every night while you travel. It lets you know right away if you have bed bugs and what kind.There's more than one kind?

[AvalonXQ]

There's more than one kind?

I thought so, but maybe not.

[coalesce]

They can live for up to a year without feeding. It usually takes about three treatments spread over a few weeks to get rid of them. You just have to be consistent in washing and treating and NOT take in furniture someone discards on the street.

Michael

[Brian-M]

The traditional remedy for bed-bugs is sulphur-dioxide (burnt sulphur). A smelly, but often effective treatment. (Modern treatments are probably much more effective and less toxic to humans.)