Want to know how to get rid of bed bugs without reading this entire site or without spending a fortune on pest control? I'm going to explain how you can do this yourself using natural products found at most stores.
- Perhaps you live in an apartment complex and the owner feels it's too expensive to hire a pest control company;
- Perhaps you want to erect a barrier that will prevent bed bugs from entering your apartment or condo;
- Perhaps you have been bitten, are afraid that your brought them home with you and want to prevent them from spreading?
- Perhaps you have no idea what is biting you, but want to put an end to it?
How to get rid of bed bugs is as simple as spreading around a power called Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (also know as Silica Dioxide or Silicone Dioxide). This is non toxic, can be purchased at just about any feed and supply store and as you can read from visitor comments, works great!
Some people have had luck with flea and tick power which does the same thing as Diatomaceous Earth; that is, it dehydrates the bugs and causes them to die.
You spread this around your room (create a perimeter) and when the bed bugs cross the dust / power, they coat themselves and become dehydrated.
That is exactly how to get rid of bed bugs and prevent them from entering your rooms, etc.
Just this week I read a report where a team of scientists have found a way to scare bed bugs.
Bed bugs usually don't come out to feed until humans are in a deep sleep which seems to be around 4am. They don't usually appear in the day and can be very hard to spot (they are good at hiding!).
By spraying an area with a synthetic version of a bed bug's alarm pheromones, bed bugs were found to start moving within five minutes after the application regardless of the time of day!
Diatomaceous Earth works great as long as the bed bugs walk through the power; with this new discovery, the bed bugs become so agitated, it's almost guaranteed they'll cover themselves with dust (provided it's applied in the right locations).
There needs to be more testing before you'll be able to buy Diatomaceous Earth mixed with these alarm pheromones, but if all goes well, you should start seeing products very soon.
For now, the best way to kill bed bugs is by applying Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth in the right locations. There are a ton of comments from visitors from around the world explaining how they got rid of bed bugs using this natural power found on our bed bug treatment page.
Warning! Make sure it's FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth - if it isn't, it's dangerously unhealthy!
Diatomaceous Earth (aka Fossil Shell Flour) is sometimes found in amorphous form, which can cause silicosis; it should NEVER be mentioned without a safety warning near enough so it can't be missed. On the other hand, food-grade DE is considered a safe additive in foods and feed, and regularly used to prevent digestive infestations. In livestock.
If you would like details on the study I refer to above, visit the Journal of Medical Entomology's article on how to get rid of bed bugs.
where can you get food grade DE i went to pathmark,target,and pet smart and they looked like i had two heads where can i find them i live in the city
Can anyone tell me exactly what to do with the DE and the orange oil spray for the best results including the couches ??? I will appreciate any and all feed back THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH :)
We live in the suburbs and My brother brought home bed bugs after sleeping over at friends house downtown Toronto. We believe it was a small infestation. We very lightly dusted diatomaceous earth (bed bug dust) into bed, bed frames, box spring and along the base boards and perimeter of the room.
After 1 week we were bite free. Cleaned up the dust and applied again for safe measure. We have cleaned up the second application and happy to say bed bug and bite free for 5 weeks. We were apprehensive at first that it would work, but luckily proved wrong.
Professional treatments and extermination were out of our budget and this worked just as effectively and much more budget friendly. Make sure to wear dust masks when applying and buy mattress covers and pillow covers. We didn’t end up buying the “bed bug” labeled covers as they cost $45 each at walmart and opted instead for the vinyl mattress zippered cover and pillow zippered cases that were $12 and $4, respectively. And your furniture should be 6 inches away from the wall during the application.
Your room will feel messy for a bit, but it ended up working out. I would also recommend purchasing the poly duster as it will make the application much easier, than using a flour sifter. As well, I had ordered 2 4lb bags, but only ended up using 1/2 of one of the bags. This stuff goes a long way and you must apply it in a thin layer barely visible to the eye, otherwise it wont work. Only downside is you must clean the dust thoroughly afterward. I’m talking wiping down the floors and furniture on your hands and knees at least 2 times and vacuuming the box spring and mattress.
We also took all of our sheets (bed skirt, duvet cover, comforter, sheets, pillow cases and pillows) to a laundromat and used their super large machines and their very hot water option to was and used the hot dryers to dry our linen. The hot water and dryer will kill and potential bugs or their eggs and by going to a laundromat you won’t break your machine.
DE works like a charm for do it yourselfers!
Joanna, Bedbugs don’t come from being dirty, you can pick them up on the bus, airport and even hospitals! You can wash yourself all day and it won’t help to get rid of them or prevent them from spreading to others; however, having them and a lot of clutter around the house can make killing them a lot more difficult! There are some great successful do-it-yourself stories on this site giving details on how to go about this – most important is time and patience – you can’t give up!
The only way you bring them to your boyfriends house is by transporting something they are hiding in, like clothing, furniture, etc. Check your car to make sure they are not in there as well!
I am devastated. I thought bed bugs came from dirty people. How did I get them? My Mom’s room doesn’t have them. I discovered them tonight in my bed. One was crawling on me and I woke up at 1:30 am and killed it. looked around and there was a bunch more under all the blankets I sleep on… I have a futon.
I am washing everything in hot water and drying hot. Now I am going to get the diatomaceous dirt as suggested and some bed bug sprays. Does alcohol really work? I appreciate all the suggestions. I guess I am not too tasty because I don’t have bites just the bugs. ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so worried about getting them in my car or my boyfriend’s house! Will just being clean when I go over there be good prevention for spreading them? Every little thing makes me think there is one on me. I feel so sorry for those being bitten especially the kids.
I am terrified of the bugs and the expense of getting rid of them. All I receive for income in SSI. I hope the DE helps me get rid of the bed bugs!
i never knew what a bed bug looks like until a few months back. i got severe itchiness around my feet and i went to the doctor, and the problem resolved. i didn’t think much of it at that time, until when i woke up one morning and found a weird looking lice-like thing getting half squished near my bed with blood around it. i was scared wondering if that thing bit me.
I’m a medical student so i did my own research and found that it was indeed a bed bug. i didn’t know what to do. that was my first encounter. i read about DE but i couldn’t find it anywhere. i study abroad so it’s much harder, i don’t know where to get it in this country. one day i went to a mart nearby and saw some kind of chalk used to kill ants, cockroaches and bugs.
I decided to give it a try. i drew around the perimeter of my bed. so far i found them dead whenever they tried to crawl up my bed. served them right! ohh and the chalk is really cheap! I’m so happy because well, I’m just a student. i couldn’t afford all the professional service thing. thank god i gave the bed bug chalk (DE) a try :)
good luck to all you guys!!
I can’t get rid of them… I paid over $2,000 on professional thermal remediation treatment. They heated my house up to 140 degrees for 8 hours after significant prepping.. . I bought the zipper covers for every bed in my house ….I went straight to the professionals…and they even came back a second time 1 month later to retreat my bedroom when I found a live bug in my room. …my body is covered in scars and… fresh bites…they had said my room was the initial source and the chance of eggs hatching was possible so they reheated just my bedroom..I have just discovered they have disconnected their phone.
My husband took my living room furniture to the dump today … see I thought I was home free for about 2 months until three days ago when I noticed the breakfast, lunch, and dinner bite pattern on my left arm and then realized my whole right hip was covered in bites. I had fallen asleep on the couch.
Today we found 1 on our outside patio furniture. I was sitting outside since we don’t have a couch anymore. I am the only one in my house getting bit. It’s hard to understand how crazy this can be if you are not a direct victim. My husband was not convinced it was a problem initially… now he is ready to move and leave everything behind. Every time I start to get comfortable and think they are gone… they aren’t. I can’t sleep. I work a lot, and I miss my bed… at least just being able to get in it and relax… I threw out all my favorite pillows. There’s no where to go that just says “homme”.
It always feels like something is crawling on me… I can’t tell people. It’s like I have herpes or crabs or lice.. pure humiliation. I’m so exhausted. I’m so afraid to have people over. I don’t feel like going anywhere. This said speak your mind… I’m speaking my mind.
I am moving in a couple weeks and have already planned on destroying all my current furniture and washing all clothing that I am taking with me so I am not going to bother constructing this but I thought I’d pass it along to everyone and see if it helps.
Bed Bugs are attracted to humans by our exhalation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and heat. CO2 is also a byproduct of fermentation. The basic plan is to put a fermenting bottle in the middle of a piece of poster board covered in DE so that as the bugs are attracted to the fermenting bottle, they will have to cross the DE and die.
To construct the most basic of bottle:
Equipment:
2 liter bottle with cap.
Duct tape
about 1.5 feet of flexible fish tank tubing.
2 liters tap water
½ pound sugar
dry yeast (available from the baking section of grocery store)
Calk, (Or Elmers glue will probably work too)
Dissolve sugar in water completely. (heating may speed up this process, but you MUST allow it to come back to room temp before using.)
get warm tap water and dissolve yeast in it.
Fill bottle about 75% full with sugar water.
Add the yeast water.
drill a hole in the cap and insert a small length of the flex tubing.
Seal any air gaps around the hole with calk or Elmers glue.
Put the cap on and seal the hole around the tubing with the tape.
Tape the other end of the tubing near the bottom of the bottle.
Place the bottle in the center of a piece of poster board and secure double sided tape (or glue some duct tape upside down) in a square surrounding the bottle. As the bed bugs try to make their way to the bottle, they will get stuck on the tape.
Known Issues:
I do not know how the CO2 rate from this fermentation compares to a human’s exhalation. If you are in the same room as this device, you may still attract them to you with a stronger scent.
I do not know how long the ferment will last, and with the above method I don’t know how to measure it, but if you live near a home brew store you can buy a water seal that includes a ball in it*. This ball will click letting you know the progress of the ferment. (also consider picking up some Champaign yeast while there, it will last about 4 times longer than bakers yeast from the grocery store)
Lastly, bed bugs secrete an “alert” pheromone, I don’t know the range, or how long it lasts, but if enough gets on the poster board and its persistent then you may have to replace just to eliminate the warning to future bugs.
*If you decide to get this there are some size issues with the exit side of the CO2 monitor and the fish line tube. These can be managed by cutting the ends off small balloons and using a rubber band to secure to both ends. Be sure the rubber band on the hose side isn’t so tight that it clogs the airway. This can be identified by the balloon having an internal air pressure.
Hope this helps. If some DIY’er out there decides to build & test it, let us know how it goes.
Gary
Hi, I’m posting again because I still have bedbugs. My apt mgmt sent out an exterminator to inspect, and he swore up and down that I don’t have any, despite me showing him the fecal stains on my boxspring, and bites on my body. So now, my landlord is off the hook for footing the bill. They told me I’m welcome to break my lease and move out, without any consequence.
I was so disappointed to hear that I’m again on my own to rid my apt of this problem. I have done extensive research, and I will be purchasing Phantom today and distributing the pesticide myself. I emptied out my dresser and closets, washed, and bagged everything. I still have not seen any bedbugs. But my son and I continue to get bit every night. I’ll post again after I exterminate.
I will be moving out in April when my lease is up, and I pray that I don’t take them with me. I’m not keeping anything except our clothes, electronics, and my son’s toys (which I will be freezing for a few days to kill any bedbugs hiding inside).
Good luck to everyone who’s battling this issue, it SUCKS!
hello. I’ve been dealing with bed bugs in my house for some time now. I’m almost 19 and still live with my parents and little sister. I recently found this site… maybe two days ago, and we’re trying some of the things that y’all have said. Today, we have started vacuuming up their nests and I have tried the baking soda treatment on my little sister.
The problem, though, is that we have absolutely /no/ money. We’re even on food stamps. Neither of my parents, nor I, can get a job. Is there anything anyone can suggest that is super cheap, or maybe doesn’t cost anything that can get rid of them?
They’re in every room of the house, and we don’t have the money to replace furniture or beds.
If you know anything that can help, please e-mail me @ notsoeasyzz@gmail.com I would appreciate it so much. In the mean time, we’re going to try and get DE, and hopefully tax returns will bring in enough to get heat treatment.
You don’t have to put the books in the microwave, you can visually inspect them. It’s the books that have bindings which open that you need to be concerned with, but using a flashlight on one end and inspection the other end for bed bugs should do the trick.
A lot depends on the place you are staying at! For example, an apartment complex that has an infested unit can hire an inexperienced exterminator who ends up drive the bugs into the next apartment; if that’s your apartment, then you’ll end up with the problem again. So make sure there are no complaints, ask management directly about previous infestations, and take measures listed on this site to ensure you don’t bring them with you. If you stay, get some type of guarantee from the exterminator if you can!
Please let me know how this works out for you!
We just discovered our bedbugs. I have had bites since before thanksgiving but two doctors said that it was an allergic reaction probably from my detergent since i also have seasonal eczema. We came back home from a month long trip (where my bites disappeared!) and the next morning I was once again covered in bites.
I looked down at my comforter and saw two huge bedbugs! I caught about four bigs ones and put them in a ziploc for the exterminator to see. He sprayed today and is coming back next week. The problem is that we live in a small studio, with tons of books and movies. We had to take everything off of the shelves and bag them along with our clothes and shoes. Now we are living in a tiny apartment chock full of bags waiting to be put in the dryer. How though, do I make sure that these bugs are out of our books?
The exterminator told us to microwave them but everything I have read online says that’s a dangerous idea and could ruin them. Should I put them in the oven? We are thinking that our books are fine and that we should leave them alone, but we want to move next month and REALLY don’t want to take these bugs with us. This is the pits! I feel like we have to leave this city or we will for sure get them again (There are a lot of cases here!) Thinking of trying DE if the exterminator doesn’t fix the problem.
To whomever posted about using the orange oil, the stuff you use to polish wood furniture, that’s a solid tip, thanks! We got to test that one right away, and it kills them on the spot, not even a death gasp.
We just discovered our unwelcome guests 3 days ago. I’m a flight attendant and thought I was beyond vigilant with checking my many hotel beds, but apparently I wasn’t vigilant enough. Looks like one hitched a ride home with me in my suitcase (despite never putting my bags on the bed, EVER. Worst passenger EVER). Sad thing is my boyfriend and I started getting bites months ago, but were told by the dr that it was allergies probably caused by our laundry detergent or the like. We were checking for bedbugs all the time anyway, like the paranoid entomophobes flight attendants are, and still missed them.
Our apartment building just treated the whole apartment with no cost to us yesterday, thankfully. We’ve vacuumed everywhere repeatedly, to the point of overheating the vacuum cleaner, and I’ve been liberally sprinkling diatomaceous earth everywhere like a bed bug fairy of death. We also bought bed bug covers for the box spring and mattress ($45 each at Wal Mart). Maybe this is insane (or unhealthy? I don’t know), but we sprayed DE all over both sides of the box spring and mattress before putting the bed bug covers on.
I know that throwing away furniture is supposed to be a big no-no, but we tossed our bed frame and bedside table after it was all treated, and then vacuumed the hell out of the apartment again after transporting them into the bin outside. After everything I’ve read, a good majority of people have said they inevitably throw out their bed frames and furniture. We just decided to eliminate one for-sure issue, after unearthing live ones chilling in the wooden slats holding up the box spring.
After every vacuuming session, we suck up a boatload of DE into the bag to ensure they are suffering til death in their dark, blood deprived hellhole. God, I hope this all works.
We came home today to find a few dead ones. Miniscule triumph after an 8 hour duty day at the laundromat and still unknown scale of infestation.
I have no idea how our wool uniforms are going to survive a dryer for 40 minutes, I’m hoping a Dryel bag will protect it from shrinking. I’d throw it all away, except we still have to work and it will take 2 weeks for new uniform pieces to arrive. The whole lot is currently quarantined, tied up in double bagged heavy duty garbage bags. From now on, my (new) bags will be living in the hotel bathroom.
There are so many things I’m unsure of. Like the closet is across the room and I have a filing cabinet in there.
Are they laying eggs in paperwork I can’t throw away?
I also have a 4 tier metal basket system that sits on the floor that houses my purses and belts. Are they in there???
Since they leave bedrooms to hunt for their meals and we are away from home at work half the month, is our living room just as screwed as the bedroom is, just because they are trying to find someone to bite?? Or are they on flight attendant schedule too, endlessly lay eggs to pass the time and (god forbid, I hope not!) attempt to investigate the neighbors, then celebrate by biting us more when we are home in our own bed? We haven’t seen any sign of them in the living room really, just one dead one today hanging out on the zipper of one of my work bags… but that speaks for itself. My psyche cannot grasp the potential scale. Also, speaking of bags, I live in Vancouver and I haven’t seen the sun in days, so the “keeping them in the car with the sun roasting them” trick won’t work here. How should I treat our work bags?? Vacuum and DE?? I feel like the bags are ground zero here! Again, we still have to work, and getting new company luggage won’t happen in a day.
On top of it all, we found out the same day that all this started that I’m pregnant (a surprising, but much much more welcome guest). The information sheet we were given advised us to leave the apartment for 12 hours if there was someone pregnant living there. We were gone for 24, but my god…I’m exhausted, at my wits end, and scared to death over whatever fumes I’m inadvertently huffing, and I feel like this is only the beginning. At least I have a good excuse to cry.
I will update our trials and tribulations as they happen. I am crossing my fingers for everyone.
This is my update. Today is Wednesday morning. Last Tuesday we discovered bed bugs, which were confirmed by an exterminator who wanted $1250 to treat. Pretty sure we got them from a mattress purchased at Ikea. Though we purchased a book case from there as well and during his search husband found them there so they could have been in the case.
Steps taken have included throwing out our bed frame and head board, spraying the mattress and encasing it in a bedbug mattress cover that we purchased from Walmart. Throwing out the pillows, purchasing new ones and encasing them in pillow covers from Walmart. Steaming the carpet with a bissel carpet steamer. Steaming the sofa with a shark cleaner. Husband used the heat gun on all of the baseboards, we threw out half of the stuff in our closets and washed the rest and put it in plastic bins, which were also sprayed. Sprayed everything and put down DE.
First we put the DE right on the carpet, along the baseboards going out about six inches into the room. We picked it up at Granger and I don’t know if we got the wrong kind or if I just got sick from something else but I got sick. So three days later, husband vacuumed that up and re-did it by pulling up the carpet and putting the DE between the baseboard and the nail tac. Things were good for what seven days? This morning I woke up with new bites.
Going to throw out more stuff tonight and do everything all over again. The Shark steamer didn’t work that well, didn’t get that hot, going to go to Home Depot to purchase one that heats up to 200. Exterminator told us the bugs don’t die until the heat gets over 115. Will keep you posted. Good luck everyone!!!
So, Lord willing, this story will be a positive one,now and in the future. So far, it has been six months since we got rid of our bb infestation
It all started in early July. I found a bug, and then another one. A nagging suspicion drove me to the Internet, and a check of my bed sheets confirmed. However, I didn’t really believe it until I found another bug. I killed it, and kept it, looked it up, and confirmed my fears. I had had no itching, and little to no bite marks, and the visible ones were hidden by freckles and mosquito bites.
There were no bedbugs in or on the mattress, we put a cover on that, and immediately began washing and drying my blankets, pillows, clothes, curtains, etc. we found an infestation in my wooden bed frame, in tiny cracks and nooks. The most popular places were the knots in the wood, we’re I didn’t find some for weeks. We eventually got rid of the whole frame. That was the turning point for the battle. We put my mattress on the floor, with de all around it, like a little perimeter.
So, I figure that all the babies and adult BB’s that were left hid in the wood floor. And baseboards. They were confined to my room by a diatomaceous earth (de) border, and when they tried to get to my bed to feed were stuck in de. We put de in all cracks and caulked everywhere too.
After two weeks with no BB’s I got a new metal frame. It had wooden slats, so we caulked all cracks before putting it in my room, and used de in every step. Gradually we vacuumed up the de. We put de in Tupperware containers surrounding each foot of my bed, the only way to get to and from my bed is to go through de somehow.
I feared going to bed. Reading helped me to go to sleep, but willpower was what made me stay in bed. Our first inclination had been to bomb the house with bug killing gas, and sleep somewhere else. NO. Don’t do that. It’s not easy that way, but it’s better than spreading the problem to other parts of the house.
I still freak out at little itches. I still don’t bring my purse to the movies, and seeing this website again makes me want to go check my bed with a magnifying glass. My pajamas are dark colored, and create dark fuzzies, which freak me out. I dry everything before and after I go on a trip. It gets better, but I will still be on guard it’s normal,
and for everyone out there, don’t feel alone. These evil little monsters are killing themselves, because by increasing and becoming more prevalent in our society, we can help each other more and more, and find new ways to kill the little suckers. We aren’t alone. Just look at this site.
So the most important things? Find the place where they are coming from. If it is your bed, I strongly recommend trashing it (or buy a mattress cover that covers the entire mattress), if financially possible. It’s easier in the long run. Place a perimeter of DE around your bed. It might not kill them all in one day, but in a few weeks, it should. It took us five weeks. A month later, we had a scare, and found one single adult in my brothers room. We took apart his room, and found nothing. Nothing since then either.
Good luck to you all. And no, you aren’t going crazy. :D
So were pretty sure we got them from American furniture warehouse. my boyfriend 3 yro and myself were living with my dad sleeping on the living room floor. my father decided it was a perfect chance to buy a pull out bed couch. we paid $500 for this really nice couch.
1st night we slept in it i was sleeping with my hands in between the couch and the bed. when i woke up i had 100′s of lil red itchy bumps all over both hands. figured i was sensitive to the fabric it was a cheap suade. they kept coming back every night. my son had his own room n was starting to get them on his back and hands. we looked every were not even knowing what we were looking for. one day my son and i were playing in his room.
when he saw this red bug crawling on a shirt hanging in his closet we caught it and searched the web right away. fount out it was a BB. we told my dad and began searching the entire house they were in my dads bed, the couch, my sons bed and all of our clothing. we did the first 3 things we read online.
Bought 2 $45 steamers and like 3 gallons of alcohol. Cleaned the house top to bottom steamed the whole couch along with my sons bed washed and dried on high heat for 1 hour all of our clothes and bedding. the very next night i was eaten alive. it was heart breaking. anyway, we lived with the problem everyday cleaning spraying.
putting on nasty smelling tasting lotions at night. nothing helped. well we moved outta my dads and took crazy measures to make sure we didn’t bring them to our new home. and of course 2 months later my son wakes up with some bites on his hand. we got crazy with the alcohol and steamer. then i was getting bit and my son was not.
My boyfriend prefers to sleep on the couch due to the television. so hes not getting bit at all. found 1 in my bed and flipped out. googled how to get rid of Bed Bugs fast and this page came up read the thing on the top. and all of the comments, went out and bought some DE very happy with the product so far 3 days into covering my walls under my mattress and bed-spring. and no bed bugs! so very happy with it! really hoping its not another failure. so ready to stop constantly thinking of these damn bugs!
Thank you!
Bedbugs are little Draculas i mean for real like vampires. they wait till ur asleep as soon as the body temperature rise they bite. they track humans by their blood & gas they exhale carbon dioxide. im from the getto in CAPE TOWN & have been targeted by these insects for up to 5 years now. we had rent to kill here thumbs up to them no signs of roaches anymore but the vampires seem to be immune to whatever you do. we aint untidy people we vacuum every single day and deepclean Saturdays it should be generally important to do so.
Bedbugs smell awful when they’re killed and they lay eggs in huge quantities. i noticed these eggs are white and extremely small and when it survives its a beginning of a new bedbug chapter. i haven’t slept for 6 nights at least few hours during the day i cant stand these insects. as i’m typing this post i’m on the watchout for them and i’ve killed up to. i don’t know at least less than 20. my pillow and bedding is filled with blood spots really looks disgusting.
it has been away for months due to a chemical i used. when i threw it on them cause i found a spot where a lot of them were grouped like a family gathering planning tonight’s outbreak the lamp oil killed them immediately. it dries the bug and bends it like a banana. my only concern was the eggs i don’t know how to destroy them and i know revenge is taking on me and family for destroying their forefathers.
this is serious and i’m honest about everything i’m posting. i sat in the taxi on my way home when the guard shouted at me saying. “Bru, sit still, there’s something in your neck”, he took the bug which were probably hidden in my jersey and said please keep these dangerous creatures to yourself. people enjoyed the good laugh i could feel the heat in my face as a result of the embarrassment. i asked the driver to stop the taxi got out and walked with tears filling my eyes.
I cursed these nightmarish bedbugs they’re ruined my life. i don’t sleep over anymore and i spend less time in other peoples homes coz my friends and family do not deserve this infestation. so today ill get some lamp oil which i know will work for the next couple of months and ill pick up some DE. thanks for reading people good luck to yall. i have posted this with the intention to share my experience and without prejudice.
I’m 16 years old and I’m been dealing with bedbugs since July. First time i told my mother she didn’t believe me. i let her see the bugs she didn’t believe they where bed bugs. she bought me a mattress protector and the bugs got threw it we threw my whole bed out mattress and all( because it got very bad) now sleeping on a blow up bed (we thought getting rid of the bed would help) and i keep complaining and complaining and complaining and complaining that the bugs are crawling on me and I’m still getting bit. and she start to scratch a week ago and today she saw two bugs in her bed. and now she starting to believe me.
And now we are going to get some foggers Friday we was going to DE but people say it don’t work. today got some bed bug spray. and wash all the sheets in the house.
If somebody your house say they scratching alot or getting bit or saw a weird little bugs in there bed listen cause best to treat early as possible. i been living with the bed bugs for like 5 months and its a nightmare but your not sleeping. And also effect me at school im sleepy the whole day of school or i fall asleep in alot of class. scratching myself to sleep everyday from 1am and waking up at 6:30am is not helping. I hope us people with bed bugs can find a cheap solution because these bugs are drive me crazy.
Against my better judgment I purchased a futon style mattress from Ikea’s As Is section just before Thanksgiving in anticipation of holiday guests. The mattress was wrapped in plastic with only a small opening and I figured someone must have returned it because it was the wrong size or something. Boy was I wrong!!!
Shortly after placing the mattress in our Ikea sofa-bed in our den where we were sleeping, I began to experience bites. First one, then two, until I finally caught a two adult sized bugs. An exterminator came to our house and confirmed that they were in fact bed bugs.
I threw away the sofa and the mattress and steam cleaned the carpet and washed to curtains on high heat. For weeks it seemed as though he problem was solved, until Tuesday night.
This past Tuesday we were sleeping in our master bedroom, which shares a wall with the den. For several weeks I had noticed bites but naively thought they were from this Fall’s round of Asian Ladybugs. We had gone to bed early and around midnight I awoke to that painful itching sensation and quickly turned on the lights. We caught four bedbugs.
A different exterminator came and confirmed that they were bedbugs. The price quoted to treat a two bedroom condo is $1250. We are going to treat with diatomaceous earth and other online remedies first because that is a lot of cash.
Last night husband sprayed and put a casing on the mattress. We through out the headboard and bed frame. Tonight he put diatomaceous earth all around the room. I’m a little nervous about the impact that breathing it will have on our lungs.
I will keep you all posted on our success. Best of luck to all of us.
My boyfriend and I moved into his grandmother and sisters apartment back in May. Everything was great until about August. That was when I started getting a lot of bites that I thought were from mosquitoes since there are always a ton of gnats and other flying small bugs down at the secluded park where we would walk the dog.
All my life I got bit more than most people just like my mother. She always said we have “sweet” blood. This is why I was not really concerned. After about a month it was starting to get colder and we were both working full time and took less and less trips down to the park, yet somehow I was getting bit more than ever! My body was covered all the time and even my boyfriend started getting a few bites. His sister didn’t say anything.
After another month of the torture, I showed his sister my millions of bites and scars one night and she told us it was probably the bedbugs. We had not heard talk of this in the apartment and were confused. She initially lied and said it was in the furniture her mother had given them from storage. She gave us a spray she had and she complained when we finished the half-filled bottle. While we were spraying, we saw all the evidence and even found a ton of the bugs sleeping. I was already skeeved. The spray worked for about a day or two but then I started getting many bites again and saw dozens more bugs.
Eventually the we lost hope in the pull out couch and threw it away. We began sleeping on the couch where I got bit a lot less but was still getting a few bites now and again. His sister abandoned sleeping in her room, threw out her bed and began sleeping with her grandmother. Soon enough grandma was complaining about bites and itching and they were in her room as well. My boyfriend and I tried EVERYTHING to at least keep the couch safe for us, but with them not caring and refusing to do anything or even tell the landlord, there was only so much we could do.
We just got our own apartment and were thanking God we would finally get some sleep. We washed all the clothes, bagged them up and put them right into the truck. Everything we couldn’t wash we put into the drier (pillows, dress clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, etc) and super dried them for an hr. we shook everything out and wiped everything down and vacuumed like CRAZY! Our new mattress and box spring have bedbug covers.
We have been here 5 days today and our new furniture set comes tomorrow. The problem is, I woke up this morning with 9 new bites; 2 on my neck, 4 on my stomach (2 sets of 2), and a row of 3 down my side. I am FREAKING OUT! I called my boyfriend at work crying and I don’t know what else to do. I went through everything on the bed, sprinkled DE everywhere and still feel totally helpless. I leave for work in 20mins. I cant go back to not being able to sleep through the night. With 2 jobs and a new apartment, I can not handle that. Please let me know if you can give me any other advice.
STOP!!!! All of those over the counter methods do not work! They actually make the problem much worse and makes it harder for us, the professionals to get rid of them. I understand if you cannot afford treatments, but you cannot afford to try and self exterminate either. Would you try to rebuild your engine if you don’t know how? These are pesticides, no matter how safe they say they are. The simple steps are using a vacuum. Clean all the cracks, screw holes, gaps, everywhere with the WAND of your vacuum. If you only took 10 minutes to vacuum a room, you didn’t do it right so do it again! Wash all of your clothes, linens, teddy bears, whatever you can in hot water and then dry them. Do NOT let the dryer go to the cool down cycle. Also, do NOT take your clothes to the laundromat. You aren’t the only person to think of that and you will bring home someone else’s bed bugs with you. Get you mattress and box spring off of the floor. Put them on a frame. Take double sided tape and put it around the bed rails. If a bed bug tries to climb up, it will stick to it. Finally, get bed bug mattress covers for your mattress and box spring. Don’t be cheap, this is actually part of a treatment. Last but not least, do NOT switch rooms to sleep. They will find you. When they do, they will set up shop in another room. I am so tired of people giving bad advice because of their ‘opinion’ like this website. I’ve seen people spread Diatomaceous Earth everywhere and the bed bugs were swimming in it have a great time. It does nothing to them but makes them develop another gene to become more strain resistant. We are busy enough and know that these things will never go away. But we can keep them under control as long as people stop with the do it yourself treatments.
I will never forget the day I saw my first bed bug. It was last night at around 2 a.m. Over the past few days I have been noticing bites and major swelling. I was immediately concerned and started my research. I came across bedbugs. I was not totally convinced and had to do some investigating. So that night i stayed up waiting and waiting….. Nothing. As I’m getting ready to call off the bug hunt… There he freaking was. Coming right at me… This confirmed it… I have bed.bug. I literally took my lighter and burned him alive.
Took my mattress and threw it out.. washed my sheets. And pulled everything out of my room. Ended up sleeping on the couch. I had no new bites when i woke up this morning which was nice after getting about 10 over the last 5 days. I ended up going to home depot and getting the DE made by safer brand. It says organic but I’m still concerned about having it so close to where I sleep. I basically set up a perimeter around my bed and used a glove to fill every hole and crevice in my bed frame. Not sure if this is even gonna work but, for the time being, it is giving me what little peace of mind I have left.
I feel so bad for all the parents having to deal with this. I am currently single and living on my own so it is not really effecting anyone but me. I would not wish this on anyone and I believe my journey has just begun. Good luck to everyone dealing with this. It is not because you are unclean or have bad hygiene, it could happen to anyone. Try to keep a positive mind about this whole situation and with hard work and persistence, there’s proof you can get rid of em.
So apparently there has been a huge outbreak of bed bugs as of lately. I didn’t think those things were real! I thought it was just some made up bug in that little goodnight saying.. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’ve had this problem way longer than I realized. My daughter is 9 mo. now and I’ve been getting bit since I was pregnant and actually broke out in a bad bad rash due to allergic reaction I’m sure.
The rash was a total nightmare and I was sure it would stop once I had the baby. I even went to the emergency room because the rash had spread all over my body and it was diagnosed as pitiriosis rosea; some random rash that occurs 3 months at a time and there’s nothing you can do about it but wait it out and apply tons of hydrocortizone cream on it.. Don’t think they diagnosed me right, i believe it was just a low immunity due to the pregnancy combined with the bed bug bites (allergic reactions).
So anyway, I finally know what the problem is: bed bugs. I had been getting these huge bites all over my body and face. Terrible! I was in constant fear or getting bit and a goodnight’s sleep was impossible.
I have since bought Diatomaceous Earth and sprinkled it EVERYWHERE. I have done my research and these things hide in all places, including behind picture frames on the walls! I had to powder up the whole bed in and out, take it apart, dust the box spring (which they love to nest in), the mattress, sprinkle this stuff all over the carpet and along edges.
I had to wash anything fabric in hot water and dry it for a few hours to kill any bugs. This worked, I found a dead bug in the sheets when I finally pulled them out. I also dusted the couches and rugs.
Having white powder all over everything is annoying, but I have not gotten bit since. And according to my research the bugs should ‘dehydrate’ in about 48 hrs (assuming that all the bugs came in contact with the powder).
I have heard that steam kills them, rubbing alcohol, boric acid, and heat. But I would go with natural remedies like heat, steam, and diatomaceous earth because it is perfectly safe -nontoxic, and have personal friends who had gotten rid of the problem with this stuff. You just have to put it everywhere.
Had the house treated with heat 1 week so far no new bites and old bites are going away
Soooo, I posted a few weeks ago about my bedug problem and how I’d gotten rid of them. Well, ther are back. I found one bedbug under my bed, and it was dead. I saw their feces (dark spots) on my boxspring. I put DE all over my boxspring and mattress again, and put a bedbug proof cover on both my boxspring and mattress. This past weekend, I was in bed all weekend, and I noticed new bites. I’m confused as to where they are hiding. If I protected my bed, then they must be hiding somewhere else in my room, like my son’s bed. I saw bloodspots on his pillow abd mattress this morning. I can’t take this torture anymore. I let my apt mgmt company know I have bedbugs, and I’m waiting to hear back from them. I hope they can do some kinda extermination that will actually be successful. I’m so stressed out. I feel like I’ll never get rid of these bedbugs.
PLEASE HELP!
im 17 and my sister stayed over recently. i knew she had bed bugs at her house but i didnt worry about it, well anyway she slept on my bed, and everything, when she left i laid my head on my pillow for about 5 when the itching occured i looked in the mirror and had about 10 bites on my face! since then on theirs been many more bites, on my chest, and legs i told my mom but she doesnt care, she said it is not her concern, so i am left to deal with this alone, HELP! what do i do?!?!? my mattress is outside covered in bleach and lysol, i have no money for DE ! i havent slept in the longest time i live in fear and sleep in my living room!
Ok, so I’ve heard of bed bugs, never in a million years would I think the infestation will happen to me! Starts out in june 2011, my husband and I went to new york to get his family to come down for our wedding, they came down June 10, June 19th, our wedding day, husband had bite marks all over his back, face, arms, it was horrific. We immediately thought wow, a mosquito tore him up! But until it start happening quite often, and often, and often, and he was the only one getting bit. Then I start getting bit, then it became often.
I never saw a bug, we searched and searched for the bugs, or whatever we thought could be in our beds that is biting the crap out of us. I start googling pics of pest bite marks when I saw very familiar bite mark patterns that resembled ours. Immediately I declard we had bed bugs! (The worst feeling ever) :( long story short, his family we here until late July and along they brought bed bugs with them! I hate this so much, our kids room is infested, they moved to our room, they are in our living room, closet, laundry room, and bathroom! Its so embarrassing, it makes me cry, I’m so angry, I have so much resentment built up.
WE are trying to buy so next year, we are getting rid of everything, we are not taking anything to our new house. I feel its impossible to get rid of these things. We are living our best and are trying to get rid of them as best as we can. I just hate it and it sucks so bad :^(
So I saw a bed bug about 2 months ago immediately pulled all bedding vacuumed etc. I didn’t see any sign of them. I have a old water bed frame with a specialty made regular mattress to set inside of it. (got sick of the water bed) Anyhow those little bugger were in the wood of the frame and the under-drawers. I got a steam cleaner steamed all that couldn’t be washed. Went to laundry mat (most home dryers do not get hot enough to kill bugs you may want to check yours) And did all that could be laundered Bought this stuff called stop bugging me sprayed my bed down and surrounding carpet. Let that dry overnight. The next day put down some DE (in hardware store found it but do not think it is food grade quality). So far have only seen 2 bugs and they were not healthy. Hoping this works best of luck to all.
I never thought i would have to deal with bed bugs. But unfortunately i saw one one me after waking up a little over a week ago. I wasn’t sure at first if it was a bed bug and googled images of them. I then knew that yes the bug i saw looked like a bed bug. I started to gather information on bed bugs. The main things i got were: I would have to keep sleeping where they were because if not they would follow me to other rooms, De-cluttering is helpful to eliminate them, Heat kills them, they can live for up to a year without feeding.
I was crushed, my apartment has always been cluttered. I had no money for an exterminator and I wasn’t sure I could even get any sleep knowing they were there just waiting to crawl on me and bite me. I threw out my box spring. I wrapped my mattress in heavy duty plastic and duct tape. I don’t have a bed frame. I moved all items in my bedroom and vacuumed everywhere. I heard about Diatomaceous Earth after researching how to get rid of the bed bugs. I put DE all around the room where the carpet meets the walls. i got some in the electrical outlets and all the way around my mattress on the floor so in order to get on the bed they would have to walk through DE.
I have been de-cluttering the whole apartment and putting DE around the perimeter of the rooms. I did also dust the furniture even though the bugs have not been spotted in any room but the bed room. It appears that the bugs are becoming less present since i started using the DE. I have still seen a couple. After waking up today I shook the sheet i was using and found 2 dead bugs and one alive bug that didn’t really “squirt” blood out when i smashed it.
I hope i caught the problem in time for DE to eliminate them. It has been extremely hard because all the bed linens have to be washed every day and I have to use the laundry-mat. I am out of money and had to wash my blankets yesterday in my tub. (which, on another note, i think gets my clothes cleaner than the laundry-mat) our water gets REALLY hot. so i put the sheets in the tub fill it with burning hot water and laundry soap, swish the sheets around a little bit and let them soak for at least 20 mins. I then empty the tub and refill with hot water only and swish the sheets and soak. Only problem is trying to wring out queen sized sheets and comforters. not to mention it takes at least a day with space heaters pointing on them to dry.
I guess on the positive side getting bed bugs was really a swift kick in the ass to de-clutter my whole apartment. already gave away a box of stuff i don’t use and threw away 2 giant bags of old papers, mail, misc. stuff. my apartment is spotless and looks great except for the bed bugs.
I am going to continue to vacuum wash bed linens and use DE. Oh, and kill all bed bugs on sight.
gook luck to everyone else who has lived or is living this nightmare. Like i said before, I never thought it would happen to me, but it can happen to anyone and it doesn’t mean that you are trashy or dirty. It really does mess up your life due to many sleepless nights and constantly being distracted because all you can think about is bed bugs. every time i lay down i think i am feeling them crawl on me.
I thought I had scabies or some other mite problem, have been battling this for 10 yrs, now I realize all I needed was DE.. going to buy some tomorrow. Thanks.. : )
OMG!!! I am so glad I found this site. I was dating a guy, and the first time I slept at his house, I notices a few itchy bumps along my jawbone the next day. I thought nothing of it first. The next couple of times I spent the night at his house, I would wake up the next day with what looked and like mosquito bites on my arms and legs. It’s November, so I knew it wasn’t mosquito bites. That’s when I got the thought that he may have bedbugs…but I still didn’t do anything about it because I wasn’t 100% sure.
So days go by…and I awake in the mornings, at my house, with more bites. I googled bedbugs and researched a little bit, and I came to the conclusion that my ex did in fact have them, and that I’d brought them home with me. I told him about it, and he said he hadn’t felt any bites at all. I had to do something. Getting bit every night was becoming torturous. I read so much about DE and figured I’d try it and pray for the best. So I bought some for myself, and my ex. I spread the powder all over my boxspring, all along the sides of it, and did the same to my mattress. This was about 2 weeks ago. I still continued to get bit every night after doing the DE treatment. But I read that it takes about 10 days for it to kill the bedbugs, so in the meantime I just tried to be patient.
I was sitting on my couch one night (leather), and my buttock started to itch like crazy…another bite. I don’t know if I got bit while on the couch, but that’s where I was sitting when the itching started. So I was all paranoid that the bedbugs were spreading to the rest of my apt. I put DE all over my carpet, under my living room furniture, in the folds of my furniture, etc. I vacuumed up the powder from the floor, but left it around my bed posts. Oh, I forgot to mention that I never actually saw a bedbug in my apt, nor did I see any evidence of what they leave behind. But I knew I had them because over the last few weeks, I have been bitten on LITERALLY every part of my body.
My ex saw one at his house, and we saw little blood spots on his mattress and boxspring. I washed my bed linens and clothes in hot water, and dried them. After a couple of days, I couldn’t take getting bit anymore. And my 3yo son getting bit on his little feet was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I placed DE on my boxspring and mattress again, and bought a bedbug proof mattress cover. I was unsure if that would help but I had begun to get desperate. That was a week and a half ago and we haven’t gotten bitten since. I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t have to suffer very long at all. I feel so bad reading these posts from people who have had to endure this torture for months or longer. I’m glad that I noticed the problem early on, and got a hold on it before they reproduced and began to infest my bed/house. Keep trying people, I feel your pain!!!
I am currently fighting this problem with bed bugs in my college dorm and these bugs are almost impossible to get rid of! It takes multiple times for them to go away. I don’t recommend exterminators, they aren’t worth it.
I only had them in my room, I had to isolate my room,put a rag under my door because they due try to escape. I had to wash all my clothes in hot water, I had to take down all curtains and cloth in my room, slowly clean my room out little by little (I am warning you , every time you go in your room take a quick bird bath with water because one may be crawling on you.)
I put them outside including my bed bug infested mattress and box spring, then but DE on it and bagged it with the bed bug cover, I scrubbed my room from top to bottom, they climb walls. I took apart my bed set due them hiding in the cracks, took my dresser apart, and vacuumed everywhere. the most important thing is to seal everything because the do hide in the light switch. Then I put DE everywhere, and clean it every 3 days, I’ve only seen one bed bug since then.
We found bedbugs and not sure where they came from. We had recently moved and they are known to travel in the moving vans or they could have already been in our new place as they like to hide in the outlets and cracks and don’t come out in the daytime. I watched an episode of infestation and heard that bed bugs are hard to get rid of on your own, I was determined to due to me having small children. I did the sprays and was getting burnt out due to me finding more.
On the show they had said that they can’t withstand heat. I got up the next day went to Walmart and bought a Shark hand-held steamer for $89. Best 89 dollars spent. I steamed the inside of the couches, mattresses, baseboards, curtains and outlets. I did this twice and haven’t seen any bugs or bites. THIS REALLY WORKS AND I PROMISE IF I CAN HELP AT LEAST ONE FAMILY RID OF THESE NASTY LIL CREEPY CRAWLERS, I’LL BE HAPPY! I stand by the Heat method it cuts out all the chemicals and really works.
I live in a state where bugs of any kind are rarely a problem. When I discovered last year that Denver is one of the most bed bug infested states, I was surprised and alarmed. So when I began noticing an itchy bite or two on my leg in the morning, I thought I was paranoid about bed bugs. But the mosquito-like bites couldn’t be from mosquitoes since it was fall, and past mosquito season. Plus, my ankle and calf and covered the entire night–not accessible to mosquitoes.
Anyway, the first couple times I was bitten (about two months ago), I didn’t think much of it. And the bites were spaced many days apart, so I’d forget about it. But one night I was reading in bed and my calf began itching like mad. It was a raised itchy lump like a mosquito bite, and it had to be recent. This set off all kinds of alarm bells in my head after reading about bed bugs months before. In the morning, I had three little red bites, all in a row about an inch apart.
I began researching bed bug bites, and the very first website I came to said they commonly feed in a “breakfast, lunch, dinner” pattern, with three bites in a line We’re clean and tidy, and I felt dirty, itchy, and embarrassed. I thought I couldn’t tell anyone (we have many visitors, mostly family and kids) but realized I would have to do the opposite and fully disclose the problem. We keep a nice guest room because we love to have friends or family stay the night with us, especially my mom and stepdad, and we miss having them!
So, after I found this website and realized I very likely had bedbugs, I immediately began stripping my bed. Everything looked spotless until I found some evidence betwen the fitted sheet and mattress cover (on my side only, and right below where I was getting bitten). I saw some black spots, possibly some eggs, and a large cast skin. I cannot even describe what it felt like to confirm the bed bugs. I was teary and distracted all day and had difficulty working. During that day I stripped all our bedding and washed it in the ultra-hot cycle. I washed the dog beds too. I sprayed and washed the bed frame and underneath the nightstands, and scrubbed the entire bedroom down. But as I realized all the places bed bugs can hide, I felt totally deflated, like there was no getting rid of them.
The next day we bought bed bug mattress encasements. We bought two–one for the box springs and one for the mattress. A few sleepless nights later, it seemed to work. But now I’ve had two more “feeding” sessions a few days apart. I should *NOTE* here that I am the only one being bitten. My 6-yr-old daughter comes into our bed every night and snuggles next to me most the night and has not yet been bitten. Nor has my husband. But we have not, and WILL NOT tell her of the problem, and I hope I can get rid of them before she ever knows or gets bitten during the night. I know how sleepless my nights have been the past few weeks, and I would never wish it on her. Ironically, her dad has always tucked her in with the old “good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!” She’d ask if there was any such thing, and I’d tell her “NO! Of course not!” Then scold him because what kind of thing is that to say to a child when you tuck her in??!!
So I’m glad I found this site. I now have a list of things to get tomorrow (including DE) and a new game plan. Right now, my infestation seems to be very mild and in the early stages (in fact it seems to be only one bug–is that even possible?!) and I want to fix the problem before it gets worse, and before my daughter ever gets a bite.
Thank goodness I don’t have severe allergic reactions to the bites like so many photos you see online. But I’m so afraid I’ll wake one morning to dozens of bites instead of only two or three. Or worse, that my daughter will suffer bites and find out we have bed bugs. I feel so badly for the parents whose kids are suffering from bed bugs.
Wish me luck as I begin my battle. I will dust and spray and clean like mad every couple of days for the foreseeable future. When my daughter asks what I’m doing, I will lie my ass off. I need only to think of a good, believable lie…..
I will update you all on my progress, and hopefully, ultimate success. And I wish you all a good night’s sleep, and your children, too!
No need to panic. You should not be using foggers or spray cans of pesticides because they are very harmful to humans and pets and do nothing to harm the bed bugs. Pyrethrins and pyrethroids do not kill bed bugs. They have developed immunity to them. You do not need to use pesticides or to spray or cover everything in the whole house with powder to get rid of them. You do not have to throw all of your possessions away.
Use these steps and be amazed:
Vacuum your house thoroughly, including your mattress.
Put a dust mite cover on your mattress. Bed bugs are bigger than dust mites so they can’t get through a dust mite mattress cover. You might want to put a dust mite cover on your pillow as well.
Here is the most important part. Get Climb Ups for your four bed legs, or however many legs your bed has. Also install them under the legs of your sofa, and other upholstered furniture. You need to put a fine layer of talcum powder in the Climb Ups, but that is all.
By excluding the bed bugs from their food source (you and your blood) they will fail to reproduce and then the whole population in your house crashes and you are free of them.
Be careful that nothing from your bed hangs down to the floor, and move your bed away from the walls.
Wash your bed linen and your clothes in hot water.
No matter where the bed bugs live in your house, they only come out after midnight to feed on you in your bed. They are attracted by carbon dioxide and heat. By making sure they can’t climb onto your bed, you have solved the problem. Climb Ups are available Bed Bath and Beyond; the legs of your bed sit in them and prevent the bedbugs from climbing up your bed.
You can also use a plastic container like you get at the deli, cover the inside with diatomaceous earth, put fly trap tape around each leg inside the container and you’ll have a bed bug free sleep (make sure you have a dust mite mattress cover that completly seals as well!). Good luck!
Hello, I noticed some of you are spending a LOT of money on Diatomaceous Earth.
I also see some stores selling a small amount for a lot.
Find a local feed store and you will be able to get a large 25lb bag for about 11 dollars or so.
even if it’s pool grade it will be safe and effective. you will have enough to cover your entire house and it works.
I put a small sprinkle in my hand and shortly there after my entire hand had loose skin hanging off of it. It really does kill bugs without being toxic
Someone asked about finding blood and wondering why there was no squished bug close by…it appears that after a feeding, a few drops of blood leaks out of them, I think also that if you are getting bitten often, some of the blood you find on your sheets may be yours–eek.
My sister and friend came to visit for the summer and brought the pests with them. They were here for three months. Somehow the infestation has been confined to their guest room for the whole time until recently. I had no idea what these things were until I started doing some research. Now, they’ve spread to my room and the living room. I’m not sure how to get rid of the or if there is even hope for me because they are everywhere…. you see I work a lot so I haven’t been home to notice… I’m going on month 5 with these things… for the last two months I’ve been trying sprays and alcohol…. nothing works long term. Is there hope for me with DE? Or should I call a professional?
I never believed in buying used furniture especially a box spring or sofa /chair against my better judgement I let a friend convince me to buy a sofa from an associate of hers. Low and behold that jerk sold me a sofa with residents aka bedbugs.
Not even three weeks later I started seeing bites on my 2 yr old and myself no one else was getting bit so I thought it was mosquitoes. I took my daughter to the doctor and was given a cream for the itch. We had fresh bites everyday so I started reading up on bug bites, I was praying it was not bedbugs bites b/c I never saw any eggs, nest, bedbugs etc.
On Sat 9/10/11 I got up at 5am checking the sofa and my daughters bed I found nothing. I decided I was going to a 24 hr CVS to get several bottles of rubbing alcohol just in case we had mites which would be cause by a bird making nest outside the window or rats even though I never saw any signs before. I went in my daughters room to check on her and saw a bug filled with blood on the sheet. Man, I freaked!… that confirmed my suspicions especially since everyone else in the house though I was paranoid.
My spouse went out and bought Hot Shot foggers and a gallon of Ortho bedbug spray (total $48) we treated the room immediately threw out the sofa and another small piece in my daughters room. I spent $143.00 buying plastic zippered cover for both the box spring and for all the mattress in the house; in addition I bought zippered plastic covers for all the pillows.
On 9/11 I vacuumed the entire hose and at around 11pm I was checking the sheet and pillows when I found a 2nd bedbug attached to the outside of the case I sprayed again and went out and bought more foggers( 32.00) for the entire house. I was reading other testimonies about how to treat bedbugs effectively without using a Professional b/c I don’t have the money to pay $300 per room. So I ordered food grade DE $64.00 w/ shipping. I spread DE all over dusting it in carpets etc and saw one bedbug trying to get away I caught it and put in in a container it struggled for several hours several hours later it was dead and crisp. No one has gotten bitten since.
On 9/23 my oldest daughter found a bedbug crawling on her carpet (the same room we found the other 4 bb). This was her 2nd night in her room since 9/10. I told her, need to stay in the room so the bed bugs stay in that space and be killed by the DE but she refused. So far no other room in our home is affected by BB so I am hoping we caught the infestation early. But the DE gave us piece of mind.
do i need to throw my box spring away is still covered in the plastic since i first got it
I have a positive follow up to share so I’m hoping it will bring some hope to all of as well so you can get back to your normal daily lives without these things forcing you to wake up early or stay up at all hours of the night just so you can catch them because believe me, when they sense movement, it’s not as easy as it seems to catch them that way thus you end up losing tons of sleep and end up like looking like a total mess.
1. Buy DE or anything that has silicone in it like crystal cat litter will help plus tick and flea powder, anything that dehydrates bugs that are bent on sucking your blood; i.e. ticks, fleas, lice, and bedbugs.
2. Spray a bedbug spray (I use Ortho Home Defense MAX that kills bedbugs where they hide) all along the perimeter or your mattress and remove any effected furniture ASAP and fast (I removed my effected box spring and bed frame). (Keep in mind, you gotta act fast because they move fast. faster you act, the better chance you have at ensuring yourself they ARE ALL GONE. Maybe not for good but at least by then you’ll know what to do to prevent them from re-infesting new furniture.) After the you spray and it dries, vacuum really, really (I cannot stress that enough if you want to feel secure in your own home again especially at night when they feed) good. You’ll have better chance at vacuuming dead and dying bed bugs including their eggs if there are any in the mattress (bedbug eggs hatch withing 7 – 10 days, gotta act fast before a new recruit awakes). You can however to feel more safe, spray the bed mattress again and on the carpet again (which is what I did, have to go back and vacuum today and re-spray since I’m taking fort in the front room for the time being or at least ’til I can get a new bed.) I’m slowly getting my sanity back, not imagining them crawling on me anymore because like they say, “out of sight out of mind.)
3. If you plan on getting a new bed all together and have had to get of both the mattress and box spring. Spread DE all along both box spring and/or mattress. Reason why I say you can just do this to a mattress because I know since this epidemic is going on, a great majority of the human population will sleep on roll away beds for the time being since bed bugs love to nest in box springs the most plus bed frames. They only spread to the mattress or other furniture if the infestation gets out of hand from what I’m viewing plus I caught them in the early stages of infestation. If that happens, I suggest calling in professionals but it’d be good to do that too to ensure they are all gone and won’t come back for awhile because I can’t promise they won’t come back ever. So far, I only found one dying one on my blanket in my room ever since I got rid of the box spring and sprayed plus vacuumed like mad. I know I will have to run all my bedding again through the dryer and washer on high heat to ensure I won’t get re-infested. Also investing in a mattress cover is great way to go. If they were still on my current mattress, I’d see dark spots of their poo but they are gone so far, so that’s a relief. I think it was just the lagers who didn’t get to the box spring in time when the sun was coming out and I was getting up.
4. Spackle up any cracks on the walls and floors (those who have bare floors), get rid of clutter and prevent your home from getting re-cluttered (doing this too); trust me, you’ll have better control the more cleaner and de-clutter you stay, being a complete neat freak in your home is the best way to go ’til they are ALL gone again from the U.S. Vacuum like mad each day too to ensure you won’t be getting re-infested for a long time.
That’s about all I have to say from my experience, about all I can say now is don’t worry too much about them (you know, don’t let them rule your life because that is pretty sure what they want, don’t let them scare you into not getting your good night’s rest, just stay aware that they are here again and be on your guard into making sure they don’t come back into your home.) I’ll keep you all posted if what I am doing works effectively as how it seems to be working so far for me. I wish all of you the best of luck. Just like they mysteriously came into all of our homes mysteriously, they’ll be gone just like that mysteriously. Just gotta stay at the top of your game and don’t give up even when you think you don’t see any for days or weeks or months. They’re still there, lurking in the dark.
Me again with a follow up report,
my box spring was infested in the corners and in the folds which I took care of but still I got rid of it plus the frame. Now it’s just me and my mattress along with my bedding. So far so good, I sprayed all and up along the crevices near the bottom and top of the wall, near the window pane and on it, up above the window pane, etc. We’ll see how this go.
I am taking my uninfested bedding out of there and sleeping up in the front room with my mom and kid sister leaving the mattress alone with the sheets on it to see if any other show up. I am going to however clean the area and place the mattress back but now at least I have better control of the situation if they were *god willingly* just in the box spring and the frame that I got rid of. But you know how they say “better to be safe than sorry.”
Either way I am feeling a tad bit more relieved each day that I straightened out this problem and prevent it from reoccurring since I will most definitely getting a new bed, roll away preferably since those are easy to master control the problem. If I’m right and my mom is too, they’re most likely coming in from a nearby apartment. We’ll see. I’ll double check my room and the mattress(especially the mattress to make sure I eradicated them all). *crossing my fingers I did* We’ll win this war, these things will not take over my life!
Ok, it’s about 5 in the morning and sure enough those nasty pest seem to be gone so I say home Defense MAX for bedbugs is most definitely a good buy in pesticide control. I’m gonna try the DE if I anymore pop up so thank you and good luck to anyone else in defeating these nasty bloodsucking monsters.
Third time posting, so far it’s 3 in the morning and no signs of further infestation on bedbugs except one I found alive on the curtain. Like I said, I’m gonna buy two more cans, one fore my mom and one for me to spray as according to where I see them, where they may harbor their eggs, etc. This time I’m gonna focus more on the bottom of the box spring and the crevices around the carpet and ceiling, plus change my curtains and bag up the pink one til I can destroy whatever eggs may be there but yet still no bed bugs yet which is good. I’ll probably make one more post if I don’t see any while staying up to make sure I got rid of the main adult infestation for good so I can focus on the eggs that are either
A) hatching already or
B) getting rid to hatch in about 7 – 19 day.
You can do this Henrietta, just be persistent and read up whenever you may find something.
Oh hey, it’s me again, did another check up in the wee hours of the morning today since it’s Tuesday now where I live, only found one live one bed bug (YIKES!) on the curtain and another dead and dehydrated from spraying. It’s working so far so I am most definitely gonna get some more after school since I am in college and need a good night’s rest top function properly and despite the fact I am heavy sleeper, it’s the paranoia and having horrible nightmares of these things being larger than life eating me alive that’s keeping me up.
The bites are the least of my worries since they don’t itch but they are there which is even more proof that I have to act fast and stay at the top of the game of ridding my bed of them. I am making plans in getting a roll away bed but for now I think I can sleep in more comfort than before since I got rid of the small cluster under my mattress. Thank God.
Hi, I had just noticed the bed bug infestation in my room about a month and a half ago after my mom had been noticing them in her couch where she sleeps in June. At first I was dismissing the tiny little pests as some kind of other bug or little roaches since that’s pretty bad where we live as well and mind this, we live in Texas.
When I found a bed bug under my pillow, I flattened it and then taped it to a piece of paper and looked it up via Google and sure enough it was a bed bug alright. I took immediate action then because at first they were biting my dog who was waking me up in the middle of the night in the early morning hours whimpering big time (also I had been dismissing the situation as fleas). I have NOT bought the DE stuff yet, want to but so far when I found a small cluster of a nest up above the top of my box spring under my bedskirt and mattress (assuming that’s where they had been at the whole time I had gotten them in my room but to be better safe than sorry later, I sprayed everywhere of my sleeping quaters with Ortho home Defense MAX for bedbugs (Kills them where they hide!) and sure enough after spraying, vacuuming dead bed bugs/some that might of still been alive/dying, and re-spraying it showed signs of it working in killing them.
Double checked under the box spring and mattress, vacuumed, re-sprayed while I was running all the bedding I had put into bags to dry on high heat in the dryer. Sprayed good sized layers along the sided of the bed boards, small crevices, headboard, foot board, etc. Gonna see how it goes on when I sleep and see if I wake up to see any of them crawling about in the wee hours of the morning about 4 – 6 am. But none the less, the stuff does kill them and I just found out about them today after keeping them at bay with some crystal cat litter which has silicone in it too plus spraying RAID for fleas and ticks.
Keeping your sleeping quarters free of clutter, constantly washing clothes and bedding, vacuuming like mad, etc. does play a big part into defeating these nasty little critters once and for all. Luckily I caught them before they could get out of hand and I would have been stuck at getting rid of my bed all together. Gonna get more of this stuff since so far it works wonders, way better than the hot shot stuff and respray crevices I might have missed since I went crazy with this stuff and sprayed everywhere I saw them coming which was good, getting rid of the adults and their little cluster nests on contact was a good thing.
Really glad those little suckers got cocky and only moved from the folds of the box spring up to folds of the bottom of my mattress near my foot board, saw some at the headboard too but not as many as saw at the foot board and luckily when spraying them when first saw them it killed the little suckers all together at once! Double checked them with my witnessing eyes after spraying and vacating the room for about 30 minutes to an hour and checking every 15 minutes.
I know for fact they were dead on contact with the stuff since when I picked one up in my gloved hand, in my palm. it’s little legs weren’t moving and it was lying still. Also when I picked up the mattress after turning it on it’s side to spray all around and ensure I got every square inch of the mattress plus box spring I found some more lying flat and still plus stiff as a board when touched. Didn’t move like they did before when I picked up the mattress the first time. So yeah, I highly recommend Ortho which you can get anywhere they sell pesticides and insecticides. I wish you much luck as well in defeating these things because the war is not over just because some people get rid of them and prevent them from coming back.
About a month ago I discovered I had bedbugs, I had an exterminator who works for my local housing come out who charged me $200 w/ a 30 day guarantee, haha the bugs were still here after 2 weeks, so he came back and he gave me a can of spray he was using (bedlam) so I googled it $17 on the Internet, wow! I was shocked.
So I bought a steamer and de from amazon. Also hot shot bed bug and flea spray. I steamed my walls, baseboard furniture, everywhere the I sprayed everywhere than I put de everywhere. My house looks crazy. I’m living out of bags I already threw my mattress away. I don’t go any where. I am going crazy. I did everything 4 days ago, I felt good about it all until an hour ago when a bug crawled beside my arm. This is craziness, I will keep you posted on the bb status.
I need some advice, I got bed bugs in my bed and my husband used boric acid in the bed, in the carpet and in my children’s room too. And now I don’t want to go into those rooms because I think that is dangerous for us to smell, I am 7 weeks pregnant and I don’t want to risk my unborn child. also I haven’t let my children sleep in their room because of this boric acid in their bed. Am I correct or we can sleep in the beds even though they have boric acid powder??? Please help!!!
A couple of years ago my son and I developed a bad case of bb. Shortly after it spread to my daughter’s house. After a lot of research I decided DE was the best choice — but couldn’t find the product. So instead I bought silica cat litter, ground it to a powder and spread it around and over the beds and couches, vacuuming and respreading every few days. I did nothing else. Within 2 weeks we had stopped being bitten. I kept spreading the powder for another 2 weeks just to be safe. We have never seen a bug or been bitten since.
Then I took the powder to my daughter’s house and told her how to use it. She slacked off and only spread it once … yet her bugs disappeared too, never to return.
It’s a good idea with both the powdered silica and DE to wear a mask while dealing with it, but once the powder has settled there’s no need to worry.
One other thing … if you spread the powder too thickly the bed bugs will do their best to avoid it (they’ve been known to climb up walls, walk across the ceiling and drop onto the bed when other routes have been hindered). A fine dusting is all that’s needed.
I have tried diatomaceous earth and I still have a bed bug problem. I check my kids beds and rooms every night for them. I thought I had finally gotten rid of them and then my child wet the bed the other night and when I went to change the sheets I found 2 of them. I have found them sitting right in the DE and they had layed eggs there too. I have found some that looked like they were slowing down because of the DE, but I was really baffled by the one laying eggs while sitting in the stuff. I am just going to keep trying to be deligent, and maybe try the Dry Ice thing that someone else suggested. Supposedly they can find you by your body heat and the CO2 you put off.
Oh my! I am so going to buy this product as soon as the local feed store opens!! The reviews are jaw dropping and easy. I wish I knew about his before I wasted 400 bucks on a bad “DIE” job.
Thanks everyone!! :)
I was wondering after how long did everyone notice their “BB” issue end once you realized you had it? I noticed about a week ago I had the issue after 3 months of crazy itching. My Apartment complex is known for spiders and that is what we thought it was. I have used the DE/Steam Vac defense every 2 days by steaming the entire bed frame, box springs and mattress. We also lay down the DE powder around the whole bedroom, bed and entry ways to other rooms.
I stopped getting bit since we have moved into the living room area and not taking all the washed blankets into the infested rooms. This morning was the first morning nothing was found going through the mattress although I did not go through the box spring were we have found some as well.
I will still continue the process untill we go about 2 weeks with out finding anything. How long did it take others to get rid of the BB and once getting rid what did you do to prevent anymore coming back?
Bed Bugs Australia Melbourne – August 2011
Is there anyone else in Melbourne, Australia that has/had Bed Bugs?
I’m fairly certain that’s what’s been biting me for the last 6 months (possibly traveled in an overnight bag), I have no evidence except the bites (not unusual). I long to see just one, think I’d burst into tears! Any other bug would be dead by now! My bites are often the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner, they bite in a row/cluster (Google it).
Below is how I would handle the situation knowing what I know now… DO NOT PANIC!
NOTE From Bed Bug Girl: This was such a fantastic comment that we dedicated an entire page titled How to Kill Bed Bugs to it. Check it out, it details how to get rid of bed bugs yourself.
Hey Jc,
The bed bugs follow your carbon dioxide (what you exhale), this is why a bed bug trap using dry ice works so well (see http://www.badbedbugs.com/bed-bug-traps/) for details on how to make your own.
This is to tell everyone how sneaky bed bugs are. One night I moved to the floor to get a break and they moved down the comforter to where they could watch me the whole time! I believe they are confined to the bed and they are not bad every night. The landlord is cheaper than heck and handed me some spray that doesn’t work.
Diatomaceous Earth works! But it takes anywhere from 12-24 hours to kill them – we tested it on a couple bugs we caught and put in a glass jar with some of the powder on them.., and they have to come into contact with it.
Today is my day 14 of battling bed bugs and they are almost all gone! It is not a, “spread some powder and then they are gone”, deal. You have to dig in and be diligent about cleaning them out!
We bought the DE from Lowe’s in a 4 lb bag for like $9, mine was not the food-grade, so I used gloves and a face mask. This size has worked fine for 3 full bedrooms, my entire 2nd floor. We got a shop-vac, because you probably do not want to then clean it up with a regular vacuum-plus once you vacuum some of the DE into it, you can vacuum any live bugs up and be assured they will die!
We stripped the beds, box springs and all..they hide in EVERY small space! We vacuumed, dusted, sprayed (Hot Shot Bed Bug and Flea Spray), vacuumed, dusted, sprayed, etc., etc, etc, for the last 14 days!! The large ones can lay up to 5 eggs a night, and those hatch within 10 days..
We also heard from a friend that watched a Bob the Exterminator show, and said they set up several space heaters in each room and heated the rooms up over 120 degrees and it kills bugs and eggs all in one swoop-we do not have space heaters..! We put every bit of bedding-including pillows, and clothes through the dryer on High heat, everyday. We were blessed to be able to contain them to the second floor, so our family has basically lived in the downstairs living room and kitchen/dining room for two weeks.
The bugs are most active in the middle of the night, so I would stay up late hunting them, then set an alarm to get up in the wee hours of the night to hunt some more. We put the DE in every crack and crevice, along the floor to baseboard areas, around the bed legs (bugs have to climb up somehow), we put that DE EVERYWHERE, and sprayed cooking spray on the legs so they couldn’t climb up.
By the way, we found them in my little girls room nesting in the top of her curtains! Her bed is a metal frame kids bed with no real box springs, so they found a place close by to go! Once you destroy all the nesting places on the bed and box springs (remove the cover at the bottom of box spring-they get into the little place in the wood framing of it), they will start scattering to anywhere they can get to. I would find them on the walls, in the drapes, in door crevices, behind picture frames etc..but that was actually a good thing, because it meant they were on the run!
We bought bed bug proof box spring and mattress covers-but should say, we just got them today, so everything else we’ve done was killing them off. We covered our bed as it was where it started, and if anymore eggs are in there, they aren’t coming out!!..
We just moved into our townhome a couple months ago and had been itching in our room from day 1!! Go figure! Anyway, they can be wiped out without paying a ton of money to exterminators, you just have to read all you can and find out their habits etc..then be absolutely determined and diligent to get them out!!
Move in hard and fast on them, and you can get them out, it takes a little time, but at least you know you won’t be still fighting them 6 months to a Year later! I praise God they are being wiped out! I’ve been praying and spraying!!! Today on day 14, I have only had to kill 3 of them! I’m taking my house back!!
Thank God I hope I stay BB free. I caught BB problem very early. Saw 2 baby bugs come out in the daylight. Tried to catch one and it spurted blood. After seeing news and Animal Planet I realized what it was. I believe I transported it from my cousin’s house via car who had BB’s.
I researched this problem on the Internet and decided the best solution was to seek a Professional Exterminator. I think the best solution is to use ambient heat, but I couldn’t afford $1,600.
I decided on Terminix $800 and a 90 day plan. Terminix only discovered a few bugs but learning the procedure, BB habits, and other BB info. was worth the cost because as a LL now I have tenants that have got BB’s.
Cleaning the clutter, using plastic bags, plastic bends, thorough cleaning and a precise methodology are the keys to eliminating an infestation. Since I caught the problem early did not have to dispose of any furniture.
My Bed and livingroom couch was sprayed with Co2 (freezing). Carbon dioxide is what the bugs are attracted to, the human breath. Exterminators spray CO2 throughout the house and the bugs will come out to be frozen. The most important key to eliminating BB’s is the prep. work before the exterminators arrive. Still have most of household small items in the garage such as books and med. supplies.
I’m afraid to bring some items back in because BB’s can live without feeding for 1 year. Often vacuuming was also another key to win. I understand the anxiety of having BB’s. I hate the idea of sleeping with bugs and awakening with severe itching. I still research the cheapest and most effective way to eliminate BB’s in the event that this problem recurs.
Here in Michigan most stores don’t sell pyrethins regularly but DE and other chemicals are available. Haven’t discovered how effective Bedlam, DE, and other DIY remedies are, but if this problem recurs, I cannot afford to use a Professional Exterminator again.
After using Terminix I have knowledge on how to solve this problem DIY. I have to say that I really think that Terminix and other Pro companies should perform their services for customers on an installment plan. Also state or federal governments should get involve in helping people considering this is an national epidemic. For instance many states were request that the EPA approve more chemicals to be available such as propoxal.
I personally would risk health problems down the road to be able to sleep comfortably at night now. Good luck to everyone. And prayer helps also!
I keep hearing from alot of people on this site.Where can I get DE? You can go to Home Depote and buy it for around $9.00.The product is called CHEMFREE INSECT KILLER.read the the label and it has DE in it.They have other brands but this one is the cheapest.
Let’s hope that bed bugs in the end are defeated by the internet! Getting everyone’s great comments and suggestions to go along with this sites information shows the real power of it.
No you don’t have to worry about your computer vent. & wet Diatomaceouse Earth does not work!!
I’m wanting to use DE preemptively on an apartment I’m about to move into since I had noticed a complaint about bedbugs online from a year ago and I have two questions. One I’m wondering if I decide to use it again after I move all of my stuff in should I be worried about it getting in the vents of my computer? From the sounds of it this stuff gets everywhere. My other question is about a mixture of water and de I’ve seen some people mention. Does this work? Since the point of de is to dehydrate them won’t mixing it with water quench the powder and make it ineffective?
I am sooooo happy i found this site. Like many of you, I was sooo embarrassed when I finally figured out what was wrong. It started getting bit middle of July, dismissed it as mosquito bites because it’s summer and I was outside a lot. Then began the 3-4 am wake ups because my arm was itching out of control and “burning” sensation. Week 3 of incomplete sleep and I was a nut case. I woke up to the itchy arm and was upset, turned on the lights and was about to start crying because I was soooo frustrated. Moved my pillow and something brown moved. I jumped off the bed but then came back to investigate. Google is my best friend. I found out it was a bed bug… No, not happy it was a BB but at least did not feel insane.
Let my landlord know and they called out the exterminator. It only appears to affect my bedroom, but we bagged up everything in my room and my kids room. Exterminator came in and sprayed. I also bought a steamer. People at the laundry mat thought I ran a shelter I had so much stuff.
Of course Landlord holds me responsible for reimbursing the fee to have treatment done, but can “pay as I can”.
When i came home after the exterminator was here, was not sure that much was done. It took me a few days to go back to my room, but did and it felt great to sleep in my bed….straight up until 3 days ago.. It’s only been 3 weeks since the exterminator came in. So I am happy to have found this site. I will try the DE, Vacuum, steaming, mattress covers solution. Even thought my couch is “heavenly” i prefer to sleep in my bed, that way the kids can get up and enjoy the living room and i might get a few more minutes of sleep,.
Hey guys..ok I live in a 4000 sq foot house and a few months ago my son started complaining about “tics” in his bed and he had rashes that looked like chiggers before (something he got frequently from playing outside). I chalked it up to fleas b/c at the time I had NO IDEA BED BUGS WERE REAL!
Anyhow..he has been staying with his mom lately and a few weeks ago I started noticing my arms were covered in bits when I awoke. I chalked it up to mosquitos since I’m very allergic to them. Just a few days ago a friend told me about Bed Bugs so I went home and inspected my mattress. Sure enough..tell tale blood stains that I researched. I found about a dozen of the frakkers in the seems of the box spring and immediately got a jar and captured 2 of them.
That night I went out and got hot spot foggers and 2 5 lb bags of DE and spread LIBERALLY (problably too much) around the house especially in the two known infested rooms. I also decided to do an experiment…I put dust into the jar with the bugs to see if the claims were true. NOTE about the foggers: I read bad reviews of this product and what not but after I fogged the room I found 2 dead bed bugs so it works somewhat at least.
I have researched and researched and it does seem DE was a great choice. Today a pest guy came in and said it would cost me 2-4k to treat it twice and only have a 30day warranty. He said on a scale of 10 my house was about a 4 in terms of infestation level since I really don’t have all that much clutter. The pest guy said that DE would NOT work and infact BUILD their resistance. I sniffed BS b/c its a physical killer not a chemical type killer. It physically messes them up so there should be no resistance. He said it doesn’t do a thing…while I smelled the BS this scare tactic frightened me.
When he left I checked my jar and at day 3 one of the bugs is dessicated..the smaller one. The bigger on is still going but it can take up to 10 days from all I heard.
I found a scientific study where mortality rate for bed bugs is >90% by 4 days and 100% by 10 days. Now keep in mind these bugs were exposed to it..we have to get them to walk through it.
But from what I read and the experiment I am running so far the evidence suggests it definitley works!
Now in a few days I’m gonna vaccum everything up, use a specific vapor steamer all over the house, zip up my mattresses and then reapply correctly to the right areas. I am now far more confident that I can handle it. My ex has a pesticide license and has a friend that has one too and they offered to come out and treat it with some chemicals before I do all that. Hopefully this works.
I know you are SUPPOSED to use a pest guy..but honestly I don’t trust them in this matter. Their incentive is to make money so they are gonna do everything they can to trash a wonder product like DE (again based on my evidence thus far).
I tried the food grade Diatomaceous Earth. So far so good. I used about 25lbs of DE. I think I went overbaord, but it seems to be working.
A couple of suggestions when using this:
I also found out by getting upset and thinking I have to have something in the house that will kill them, I found these items work:
Furniture polish, foaming carpet cleaner(the only one I found that worked was the Dollar Tree Brand,works well on bedding and walls, it melts them into a goo and then it is easy to clean up and smells fresh too), Hairspray(at least they can’t move anymore), rubbing alcohol.
Give the DE time to start working (about a day for the bigger ones)
I spread DE on a Saturday and started cleaning on Sunday. (total time about 12 hours)
As I have read in other articles on this site: Use the food grade DE and you can powder up your pets too.
Great all around pesticide, flies, spiders,fleas, misc anything that crawls,— lions and tigers and bears —OH My
I bought my DE at the local garden center. A 50LB bag was $49.95. I’m sure you can get smaller bags.
Hope this helps someone.
Just remember when you start with DE, your house will look like an illegal lab of some sort went totally wrong………….
Let’s bring back DEET.
Good luck
I got bb’s from somebodys house & its been the worst time! I put DE everywhere & about 2 weeks later I saw 2 bugs at different times on my couch so hopefully those were just ones that haven’t died yet. I found a cpl dead dehydrated ones too. I put more DE in case!!
hi,
before i come to know about DE powder. i thought that i can not control bed bugs. i live in apartment i do 12 hrs work shift so i must get enough sleep in remaining 12hrs to do next day work without any problems.but this bed bugs never let me sleep i got itchy feeling even though i was so tired. i suffered for 6 months. i lost my body weight remarkably my co-workers and my friends asked me about this. finally i used Google to find out this website. i bought this powder and simply spreed it all over the room. with in four days i got deep sleep and i never get itchy feeling. now i gained my body weight and i am so happy. if anybody is suffering from bed bugs just use DE powder. it is effective than costly pest control agency. use it one time then you will enjoy your sleep .
So a few days ago I discovered bedbugs in my home. I’ve heard that the plastic covers don’t work, and I can’t afford to buy new furniture. I have a child with severe asthma, and don’t know what to do, because I fear that any sprays or dusts will have a bad affect on his breathing. HELP!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad I found this site, I have read and took down notes to help me fight these nasty little creatures. We moved into our new place about 7 months ago and soon after I noticed little red spots appearing on my legs, they didn’t hurt or itch or nothing like that, but now they hurt and itch like crazy.
Me and my bf have bites but our daughter wasn’t really getting bit until a couple days ago. I have previously had to deal with bed bugs but moved out of that place and took nothing, that was the end of that; but now, I still have 5 months left on the lease so I am going to try remedy this situation myself. What I was doing was staying up real late every night so that I am so tired I just fall asleep right away and have no time for paranoia… but that is not working anymore.
Today I am getting (demanding, actually) the help of my bf and our roommate to use DE and all the other tips people on here have tried and worked for them, so hopefully they work for me, until this 5 months is up and we can move out of here.
I have a fear of bugs and one of my friends has bed bugs so I go crazy every time they come over. I vacuum, I spray I dust with diatomaceous earth when they leave in fear of getting them. I can’t sleep at night afraid that I have them. I’m going to try your dry ice bed bug trap and see if I can’t catch some.
Bed bugs are one of the worst things to deal with. It harms you psychically and mentally. Here is how To Keep Bed Bugs Out.
What a simple, harmless solution!!!
DE definitely works! to distribute DE around your house get a Pest Pistol /Duster. if the infestation is pretty bad, first try to remove all bed bug “pieces” that may be laying behind your headboard, under your bed, spring-box, on or under your mattress etc… inspect your bedroom thoroughly!
*now, put DE into your Pest Pistol and apply DE EVERYWHERE on your bed, spring-box, frame, headboard, footboard, everywhere around your bed… now leave the room and let the DE settle down – no matter what kind of DE you got it is not ok to inhale it. once DE settles down, you are ok to live in this room… :)
**also get four bed risers and turn them upside down. now fill them with DE (1/3 or 1/2). place each of your bed feet into bed risers filled with DE… you don’t have to use bed risers, you can use pots, buckets… but make sure your bed feet are surrounded by DE. (you can easily hide these if you have a bedskirt)
***if you got Food Grade DE I suggest you don’t vacuum your bed or around it… put two fitted sheets over your mattress. I am allergic to all kinds of stuff and this thing didn’t bother me… in case you can’t stand it while sleeping, vacuum only your mattress
****now that you are done with your bedroom you can move to other places in your house. start with areas where you spend lots of time sitting, lying down… spread DE using your pest pistol until you get your entire house covered…
WARNING:
DE won’t work if you apply it to wet surfaces or if you let it get wet after you applied it… wet DE does not work….
REMEMBER:
you can’t give up or do the job partially and expect this to work! so please do your best before you decide to call an exterminator.
ALSO:
this method will not only help you with bed bugs but also with other bugs. pretty soon you will notice dead bugs, spiders, flies laying around… yaaay! :)
Garden Safe Cawling Insect Killer Containing Diatomaceous Earth works great and kills bed buggs on contact you can buy it at Lowe’s for about $9.00 for a 4lb bag Good luck!!!
DE works man! Dont let exterminators try and con you into using their services.
Just put DE around your bed or the affected areas and the bedbugs will disappear. As far as itching, put saliva on the bite and I guarantee the itching will stop in about 5 minutes. I have lived through the ordeal of bed bugs and trust me DE works.
I have lived with bed bugs for two months that I know off. I thought I had become alergic to my fabric softened but soon realized that the bite marks were bed bug bites. My apartment has been sprayed twice and has had liitle effect. I believe that they are comin from my neighbours, which makes them especially hard to get ride of. I have found that using deep woods off on my self just before I go to sleep helps, but when you shower the nest day your tub will be full of dead bugs. They seem to be dried out. DE works but only up to a point, it will not get ride of them. I thought I managed to keep them off my bed at night by putting two sided carpet tape on my bed legs, but the little suckers climb the wall and then the ceiling and then fall on the bed. I am wondering if the extermonators are really trying to get ride of them(they have to be making a fortune).
Good luck
I have been living with these nasty, vile, spawns of satan for almost 6 months. I knew exactly what the bites were when I first starting seeing them and immediately started investigating. Looking for any possible signs of the things. I found nothing!!! No fecal matter, no eggs, nothing!! I live with my 3 year old daughter and my disabled mother. I am currently on unemployment and just about to finish up school to become a medical assistant. I am so worried about this because going into the medical field I don’t want to spread these bugs. My landlord is a young guy in his 20′s and I told him about our problem so he brings me ONE areosol can of HOT SHOT BB SPAY. Like that is suppose to do anything…when that didnt help I called Terminix on my own to come in and while the guy was here inspecting we found one on the floor and it was bright red so I know it just fed. He quoted us about $1600 just to do 4 rooms in my house. When I told my landlord he flat out said “THAT’S NOT GONNA HAPPEN” So I set off some foggers (i knew it wouldn’t help but i was desperate) I told this guy it did not work and what does he do??? Goes out and buys about 30 cans of the same foggers claiming he was gonna do the entire building well that is all fine and dandy but how are you gonna get in the walls because that is where they will hide until the fog is gone. Then they will come out and tear you up with vengence!!!!
I went to a local feed store and purchased a 40 lb bag of food grade DE for $20 and immediately. I wash clothed EVERYDAY in extremely hot water and do my bedding every two days or so. I went and bought covers for all the mattresses and boxsprings but they are vinyl and have already ripped or got torn. The major problem I’m having is my landlord is a “slum” lord and has done NOTHING about the repairs this building needs. There are cracks in the walls all along the doorways and window sills…hell the light fixtures weren’t even installed correctly!!! He had what we call a “backyard” maintence guy come in and caulked the huge gaps in the light fixtures!!!! Not only that but we have hardwood floors throughout the house and a disgusting carpet in the kitchen (my landlord is Polish….literally!!) I do my rituals everyday….wash clothes and bedding, vacuum the floors and wash with Pine-Sol ( seems to repel them) after that dries I lay down a dusting of DE around the beds and along the molding and baseboards of the floors. My sister gets me alcohol from her job because it has a higher percentage of Isopropylol than what you get in the store…over 100% and I spray my beds down. The other two apartments in the building have the bugs too and since the landlord doesn’t want to take the correct steps to eliminate these pests I have to put my house on “lock down” EVERYTHING I buy for this problem I save my receipts and deduct it off my rent!! YOU CAN DO THIS IT’S LEGAL!!! I purchased those “Space saver” bags online and put all my clean clothes and linens in them and vaccuum seal them. They are defenitely worth the money!!! It’s an ongoing battle but please don’t get discouraged and DON’T let them beat you. You can win if you have the right mentality and KEEP UP WITH THE TREATMENTS!!!! If you miss even one you have to start all over again….BUY DE IT WORKS AND PINE-SOL EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!! Good luck everyone!!!!
I have been bed bug free for a year I moved and left everything except toys n clothes….yesterday my child was eaten up from head to toe with bites I thought it was allergic reaction it was so bad well my other daughter says mom there is something that just bit me n I was on the bed. I go in pull her bed away from the wall and there was plenty of evidence of bed bugs but only around where the bed was
I threw the bed out and packed a 4 inch wide 2 inch thick barrier of DE all around where the bugs n eggs were. Left it for 24 hours went in vaccumed up all the powder then took the vacuum dumping in a tied trash bag toook it to the dumpster cleaned the vaccum outside n left it there. Then I took good night bed bug spray and sprayed where I had the DE and all the rest of the carpet. I then blocked off the air vents with plastic bags and closed them then I closed the door to the room and sealed it with duct tape n plastic all the way around in 10 days I will go in there and see if all this effort worked.
I haven’t seen them ne where else n I checked all over furnishings bed walls cracks I even went out n look for ne crawling on my kids cause they r sleeping in the living room didn’t c nothing. But now I am itchy and irritated I am highly allergic to all kinds of bugs. I have had sleeping problems for a year now since the first infestation. I really hope this works.
Any words of encouragement for me. I know I sealed that door up good I just went out there its 3:33am here and saw nothing with the lights out n I used my phone as a flash light. PLEASE SOMEONE ANYONE TELL ME DO U THINK THIS WILL WORK . I’m so drained from no sleep my kid now I am itching our skin off. Please any one?
Bed bugs!! OMG!! I’m going crazy!! The itching is the worst ever and have tried Vicks Vapo-rub, Chigger ointment, etc. The best results for the itching thus far is rubbing alcohol applied several times a day. I must be having an allergic reaction to the bites because they are feverish and now turning into red sores. Where the cluster bites are on my arms i can feel a small lump or egg under the skin and these bites happened over a week ago!! Do I need to see a doctor?
I was recently diagnosed with diabetes and also have very sensitive skin. My husband rarely gets bitten and they don’t drive him insane like they do with me. What a nightmare!! Right now we are vacuuming the bedroom carpet (we live in an apt. and told manager about the bed bugs) and taking apart the beds to distribute DE. Question—not sure we bought the right DE!!! Home Depot carried two brands and one said toxic. The only warning on the bag we bought said, “could cause irritation to eyes on both people and pets”. Is it safe to use this on our mattresses and box springs? Too late to return it because hubby is using it already!! UGH!
I should also let you know that this bug problem has been going on for over a month now. We thought it was mosquitos until we actually caught a couple of the adults on our recliner. Hubby had been swatting them off but finally squeezed one in a paper towel and blood squirted. We Googled it and found that indeed they were bed bugs! Niece admitted that while storing a great deal of our belongings, including furniture that a friend had moved in and brought the critters with her which in turn infested our furniture. Of course she thought they had gotten rid of the problem before returning our items to us!! Now we have the infestation too!!
I just need a good night’s sleep without worrying about being eaten alive! Just the thought of these critters crawling on my skin is making me paranoid. Hubby also bought the purple can of Hot Shot for bed bugs! How safe is it to use on mattresses, etc? We don’t have children living here, but do have our little dog who happens to sleep in the bed with us! Sorry for bouncing around from subject to subject, but haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in several weeks. Apartment manager plans to do his own spraying of insecticides over the next few weeks, but can’t guarantee that the spray will work.
Any ideas on what to do next? Thanks for hearing me out…….I may post more later……so tired right now……
I have noticed that the bug bites look different on and between my fingers and toes compared to those that bite on my arms and legs. Why is that? The ones on my fingers look like tiny pin prick pimples, but itch LIKE CRAZY!!
The bites on my arms and legs are larger welt-like marks, very similar to that of mosquito bites. They drove me nuts last night so scratched as hard as I could until the area actually bled. I then applied rubbing alcohol!! Was hoping to burn instead of itch!! Weird I know, but this is literally “insane itching”!!! Now my skin feels sun-burned and very sensitive and sore, so don’t recommend doing what I did. UGH!
I’m afraid to go to the doctor for fear he’ll freak out and fire me as a patient. I mean what if I infest the doctor or his office or other patients? Yes, I’m getting paranoid. Have contemplated throwing absolutely everything I own in the trash and burn it all. Maybe buy some cheap new clothing, give the dog a bath and just leave with the new clothes on my back and seek shelter somewhere that is BUG FREE!!
Would I still take these little demons with me???? ANY IDEAS would be greatly appreciated! Right now we are barely able to afford rent as hubby lost his job due to budget cuts. Our income is slim to none, so cannot afford professionals to come in and fumigate. We are using DE and Hot Shot (purple can for bed bugs). We’re vaccumming the mattresses and box springs, etc.
We are both disabled, so can’t physically go to the extent that others are capable of doing, so worried that we’re going to be living with these demons for a long time!!! This is why I’m thinking about discarding everything we own and just start over again somewhere else. Please help!! THIS IS TOTAL INSANITY!
We r winning the battle…and we r not using DE yet….
I want to warn everyone about these pests and they r worse then that…there is so much knowledge that I have now about what works and what is working and also about how bad they can get and also small lil notes that people here r failing to tell….so let me get started and yes this will b long due to me battling this for a year now and not a sole believing me….
So 1st of bites…
I have an allergic reaction the second they start to bite me…it burns like hell and itches like crazy…over time I have gotten better about waking up and killing then and also not scratching them til they bleed…I am scared up I have dark spots on my hand forearms calves and feet…so imbarrassing to wear anything that shows my legs…but I live in Texas and u have no choice…now I have a husband which finally he is on board with me about these bugs…b4 he thought I was crazy and being a hypocondriac cause of the news and whatever…he and all 3 of my boys can sleep through the nightly feedings…and also not have any marks of bits or itching…so I was alone on this having my husband get mad at me that I was still up at we hours in the morning and i mean til 4am or longer…now on weekends and some night my husband is up with me watching for them to come out of hiding…
Now off to hiding places
I have eead and read and read about where they can hide and I have to say its anywhere…I have a single wide mobile home the biggest u can get…we have wood floors in the whole house 2bedrooms with carpet and 2 bathrooms with laminate and no baseboards…but we have crown molding and trim from floor to cealing every few feet…I have found nests which look like black specks and if course during the day bed bugs and then eggs r nasty looking they pile up on each other…kinda clear with the tint of brown…please look for that and its a nest…ok on subject again (sorry lack of sleep) curtains mattress in any seam it can even b the stiching on the whole mattress…zippers on during mattresses couch love seat frame door frames even just so random as along the baseboard…dog beds kids stuffed chairs like the ones at Walmart for the lil kids…desserts…and I had a treadmill and they were anywhere on the frame of that that sat on the floor also had a blanket under it so cotten they love it…crib…I found a huge nest after I already removed my son from it but it was on the skirt and under the mattress and it was very light weight so I was surprised…hmmm also cab me in ur car…oh and on ur kitchen table…
Now poisons
I forever used hot shot bed bug and flea spray by the gallon…my husband hated the smell I was fine with it…it got a lil strong but its more floral then like bug sprays so guest r ignorant to it…I did not like the hit shot bed bug and flea spray that was in the arosal can…I think it sucked and for the price didn’t last long but it does kill the eggs so it says and has worked for me…now here resently like 2weeks worth I have had this powder all over my house and on my bed and bix springs…its NOT DE…I can’t find that stuff anywhere here in my small town…its called MANY PURPOSE DUST its by GREEN LIGHT…it does not list bed bugs but it dies list fleas and ticks which is y I tried it…I put it all on my box springs baseboards whatever even walls and its working…but is not safe so it says for skin and stuff but I have put it in my hair long story on our skin and I have small dogs and we r all fine…bombs do not work well…they kill some but the smart ones crawl up the walls away from the foggers…and everything has to b cleaned up and off the floor and if u have mattresses and stuff it does not kill those bugs…pretty much waste of money unless u just want to cut the bugs down…
Now I have all our furniture outside on this over 100degree weather for a month now and it seems like they r gone but so don’t trust it…now for those that r trying to freeze them…remember that it has to b at least 2weeks of below freezing continusly and that’s all the way to the core…and heat in the dryer I hear everyone saying 20min or 30 but I read an hour so b safe do an hour…also I am reading about DE not working well its not gonna work if u just sprinkle it it has to b a dust or the bed bugs will not cross it…and it doesn’t work right away either it can take up to 48hours…and all it takes is one feeding for them to b able to reproduce…also the adults cab live up to a year old with one last feeding…and I am at the point where the eggs r hatching and I just read that they can live for months without a feeding…and trust me abandoning that room or whatever does not work they will leave that space and go hunting…I know I haven’t defeated these bugs but i know so much now that I know what to do and expect and when u r the only one fighting them its hard and even harder if u can’t find the right poisons…also the hot stuff gallon spray works on contact but will not keep the bugs away just by spraying it…it has to stay wet and I have watched bb crawl right up to it and go around it…them smart lil things they r…also I have noticed most r active starting at 11pm to 6am and trudging me they r day bugs too…they cab feed off ur animals and when they get a host they keep it marked some way some how cause I am it and I swear they sniff me out…
Oh also for those that say u can c bed bugs u can they look like rice almost but the babies if they come bite u I swear they will blend on ur skin and u can’t c them well I have put white sheets and blankets on my bed and threw out all brown stuff…just warning
Scary stuff
Just recently I ended up with bed bugs in my hair…its been 2weeks since and it was the worst thing ever…they don’t want to b there so when they become active they try crawling out and bite u as they leave ur body…my poor head face chest back legs and feet I was in so much pain and struggling to get them out…I almost shaved my head…and I have very thick long brown hair…I destroyed my hair and scalp cause i didn’t have money at the time and I was deprate so I used hand sanitizer alcohol and the powder poison it worked some but not compleatly so then i used a comb and my hair srraightener and that worked some thought it was better til I went outside in the head and it started all over again…needless to say by that evening it was shampoo shampoo shampooing that got them all out…and for the week I freaked out everytime I had a tingle or itch or anything…
Watch
I don’t sleep at night anynore due to all the bites over the year I have gotten so I have learned if u stay up to kill them sit in one spit and area to watch after awhile of watching u can c where or area they r comming from…this can help u find their nests…I spent a couple of days with the hot shot in hand and made a wet barrier all around my mattress which i moved to the floor cause it was easier to control the bugs once I found them infested in the box springs…I sat at the edge of the bed and with tv on and my phone in hand with the bright flashlight on going through sections on the floor when I found one I killed it S the night goes on it gets busy but by morning u can tell what areas they were comming from…by me doing this I found 5 nests in my bedroom…and trust me they don’t stay far from where u sleep…and yes u can have more nests then that if u don’t pay attention…and when it comes to carpet I recament tare it out but i rent so I got my gallon of hot stuff in hand and drenched the floor and then let it sit til dry and vacuumed…dye to this I got my sons room bug free again…and the foggers did not kill them in the carpet…I swear it helped cut bugs down but left the strong smart ones to deal with…
Plastic
I 1st did the plastic even vacuumed out the air it half assed worked due to kids company animals and just normal sitting…it helped stop the biting though but not if u don’t get all nests takeb care of…I found it easier to throw the stuff outside…
Company
I told my family and close friends about the bugs after I realized what tarrors they r…I don’t even wish it on my worst enemy and if I was told about them from either it was my step dad or a neighbor about them I would have been more aware and probably prevented this…but I was ignorant and thought it was a cute funny saying my grandpa said to me and i used to say it to my youngest til I got them and now biting them back is harder then ever…all I can say is please suck it up warn ur company and yes u can have company without them getting them…I always pretreated when i knew someone aas commjng and my husband doesnt let his friends and family know due to worrying what they think and say but i told mine and not a single person has gotten them thank god…
Hope
I hope what I have shared has helped anyone cause I have found out a lot from these things and kbow what works and doesnt work…my body is scared for a long time and i am mentally having problems…I’m depressed can’t sleep at night have a major anxiety disorder I won’t lie here recently I have been doing uppers to help sray awake and keep my family from getting bitten and to fight them…my marriage had struggled due to the point of my husband cheating just cause he couldn’t deal with me anymore and the non believing me…me r doing better now cause finally he sees…we still fight due to the fact that his boss is our landlord and he refusses to mention anything about this cause he doesnt want to b the talk of the work place saying we r dirty or something…bed bugs don’t mean ur dirty now if u dont keep things cleaned it will help with the spread but its not due to that…I also don’t allow my kids to have friends stay the jight due to the fact that I dont want them bite by chance and I don’t need them to go home with a bug or just to tell their parents about it and never b able to have my kids b friends with them just cause of them being scared of the hugs ….I will say when they go to a friebds it i go to stay out of town I make sure the clothes r freash out of the dryer and the bag is too…very important…ok if anyone has any ?s email me please like I said I’ve been fighting and learning for a year and i am down to having the last of the eggs hatch and they will b dead soon and I will b free of bb finally.
I did not know about this until i saw lots of these red itchy spots on my hands and legs. My friends could not believe it,but i tried of complaining about mosquitoe bites when it was really not it. I am a Nigerian and i do not know how to find these cures mentioned.please help me,its so discomforting and embarassing
I’m glad I’m not alone in this. Two years ago i was living with my boyfriend and i kept on feeling something bite me during the night. I figured it was spiders or something. A few days later my bf dad woke us up showing us this blood sucking bed bug. We lost a lot of sleep just staying up trying to catch them in the act. We caught A LOT!!!!!! We had to finally throw away all of our furniture!!! We had nothing to sit on or sleep on.
We had lived in some apartments so we got them to bomb and spray in there. Yet nothing worked. So we ended up moving. Its had been 2 years free without bedbugs until about a month ago. We just got this new house about 5 months ago and everything was fine until a month ago i started getting the bites again. So we sprayed the house YET AGAIN and they were still here. I spray this bedbug spray every night cause im so scarred of them. Last night i got bite and i jumped up and it was right there next to my arm. I have caught about 20 of them in my bed. I put them in a bag and burned them.
I have lost a lot of sleep. I have been sleeping on the couch every night and I’m not feeling safe in my own home. I have only seen them in my room but my boyfriends dad has seen 2 in his. I’m only 18 and i have never thought there was such a thing. I thought when my mom used to say, ”Goodnight sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite” it was just some stupid thing she came up with. Well i guess not cause i have been tormented by them. I wanna just throw my bed away but im scared if i do they would just get in my new one.
I need something that actually works. I want them out of my life!!!! If anyone knows anything to help me out please tell me cause im losing alot of sleep and i cant live like this in fear anymore!
OMgoodness, first of all skunks, now bed bugs…….I am so frustrated…..here it is around 3:00 am and I just woke up to something crawling over the top of my sheet by my upper body….yes, now for the past few week I have been finding these bugs in my bed….I am now freaking out, I run to the restroom and put them in a plastic baggie and low and behold, if you squeeze them out shoots blood……..ugh…..
I am sick to my stomach, same thing yesterday morning and one was so full of blood he felt like a tick……anyway have to share my story as I feel like I should move out…..I own my mobile home in So. California and really cannot afford to have an exterminator come in. Don’t know where they came from I have not been to any hotels……I do have a bed that sits on a platform so I guess I will take it apart now for the fourth time and use a steamer first and then purchase the DE from the feed or pet store……..
I get sick to my stomach when I have to pick the bed bugs off my bed……I just purchased a mattress protector to the tune of $100 but the problem seemed to get worse…OK so do these bugs infest the whole house?….OMGosh that is freaky……are they in my carpets etc.,? could they come from dead animals? last year I had to have the under side of my mobile home treated for skunks and rats, oh yes I know, I’m ready to run away…….everything underneath is now completely enclosed, however still can smell the residue of the skunk spraying…..sorry for rambling on and on, but I am at my wit’s end……..
I am scared to sleep now in my bed for fear of them going inside my mouth………I did take a bag of them to my doctor’s office as I had a really bad pain in my ear, not all the time and thought that perhaps one got in my ear…..he said no, but i still have the pain my ear even after a serious of antibiotics and pain meds….I don ‘t know….anyway I will share more of my story if I am successful……thanks for reading
I got bedbugs a while ago and have been living with them for the longest time, and I have to say: it’s getting old… i need to be able to sleep again, i threw away my bed and am sleeping on the blankets because of bed bugs, and simply because the bed is old. Then I still had the bed bugs so I threw away this old chair I had. I have no more old furniture, but still have bed bugs. Where are they hiding so I can set up the powder? In the new furniture too? or are they hiding in the walls? I live in an old building.
HOLY SMOKES I FEEL LIKE I’M LOSING IT!!!
a few weeks ago i was at the grocery store and my back was itching; it wouldn’t stop itching so i had my gf scratch it for me…i thought nothing of it like maybe a mosquito bit me or something. got home went to bed. woke up the next day with bites all over my stomach. red pallets that look kind of like spider bites…i still just figured they were nothing…(had no idea that bed bugs actually existed)
next morning i woke up with even more bites except they were all over my back and on my gf’s wrists and arms….she told me that we might have bed bugs but i kinda laughed it off like yeah right! but then i decided to look on google and see what bed bug bites look like…to my surprise the bites all over peoples’ bodies resembled mine pretty much identically…i showed my g/f and we started freaking out! got up and started try and figure out how to get rid of the bed bugs…i went and got some rubbing alcohol and poured it all over the mattress then got the vacuum & started vacuuming the mattress (at 1:00 in the morning) then shut the door put a towel under it and we slept in the living room..
I’ve read that the tell tail signs are brown blood droppings little white eggs and the hiding places are the box spring light socket thingy base boards and wooden stuff the next day we decided to boil hot water pour it on the bed and scrub the crap outta the mattress! we vacuum the mattress again, cleaned the base boards and vacuumed the floor just to be sure that we killed all those blood sucking bed bugs!!! we told my roommates that we thought we had bed bugs so she gave us some spray she used on her bed called good night bed bugs or something like that….i sprayed the bed, all along the seams and on the baseboards even on the bed posts ( iron posts i have no head board) even came out into the living room and sprayed every base board the walls and the couches…shut the bedroom door put on the fan and fell asleep in the living room again!
we really didn’t know if we officially had bed bugs cuz i never seen any droppings on the mattress or eggs on the floor…all we have are relentless bites all over our bodies! i have it the worst though…she only has a few on her wrist neck and face…i have em all over my legs arms back thighs and bottom! so we thought we probably killed those little devils but nope! woke up with a couple more bites this morning! we took every case off of the couch, every pillow case, all our blankets and shrink wrapped em in plastic & threw em outside…we even shrink wrapped the mattress and found one bastard tryna get out of the plastic!! we vacuumed the carpet really good again and jumped in the shower! i got in and my gf found 2 ON MY BACK!!! apparently the little demon was dead while on my back!!!!!
i don’t really know what to do my gf wont sleep in the room and so were stuck in the living room! cant call an exterminator cuz were dead broke plus our lease expires in oct. so were gonna move out…i really don’t wanna take the bed bugs with us so i think I’ll just throw every single thing out and start fresh at the new place we get! but i feel like i’m loooooosing my mind! i keep itching!! i cant sleep cuz i think they’re biting me its really a nightmare to live thru!!! its just crazy cuz it went from nothing to bites EVERYWHERE!! and i still haven’t seen any droppings or eggs!! just one little nymph!! hopefully this hell ends well!!! i’m gonna get FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH WHEN I GET PAID!!!! i hope it works!!
I know all you guys are from the US, but let me tell you that the problem has CRAWLED all the way to northern Ontario Canada. We have increasing bed bug infestations all over Canada and wish that governments would think over their decision to ban DEET.
Bed Bugs will die within 10 days of walking through DE if it is used PROPERLY. Make sure you have it applied where or near to where they are hiding. If you don’t have it where they’ll all walk through it, then you could have them for a long time. If you have attached neighbors and they got bed bugs thats not treated, they will keep coming. DE needs to applied consistently and combined with other professional treatment. DE used alone will create a longer time to get rid of bed bugs.
BBG: Thanks for the info on Mother Earth Dust! I feel at least relieved that I’m not harming my animals. Another question: As MichelleP asks, must one wash AND dry on high, or can I just do a cycle in the dyer on high and skip the hot-water wash.
Thanks again*
Melissa
Mother Earth Dust is also called Bed Bug Dust which is Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth which you can pick up at just about any pet store. Buying Food Grade DE from a pet store is a lot cheaper than buying Mother Earth Dust from a specialty store. Check out my page on bedbug dust to see what they are selling it on ebay for – a lot cheaper than buying it at a store, and free shipping!
I had bed bugs before, i washed all my stuff, all my clothes about 4 times and got the house treated all 4 times, i was bug free for about 4 mo now they are back :( i dont sleep cause i have severe allergy of any kind of bites. I am going to call my landlord again so we can do the treatment again, I was wondering if i wash all the stuff and put on a plastic container would that keep bugs out or do i have to place them inside plastic bags? and can i just put the clothes in the dryer for 20 minutes or do i have to wash everything again? I am sorry its a lot of questions :( i am desperate please someone help
or we leave in a studio how about toys? do you think they would hide inside toy box?
thank you anyhelp would be great
Hello.
Just beginning my second battle with bedbugs. We successfully (?) defeated them in my apartment ~ 2 years ago and I recently found another. We’re using the same company as last time to come in and spray. The problem is that we have cats and I’m very paranoid about them ingesting the spray and powder. I’m told the spray is all plant based, and we’re not allowed back in until that is dry anyway, but the DE powder they use is not food-grade. It’s called “mother earth dust” and it’s 100% DE and “amorphous silica”- natural diatomite. The man at the company tells me it’s safe for pets. Any experts/chemists out there that can help? Anyone have any experience with this product?
Many many thanks*
I have been suffering through the ‘bed bug epidemic’ for the last month and a half! I have resorted to sleeping on my balcony because it is the only place that they aren’t. All I have to worry about out there at night are the spiders. I prefer them over the bed bugs! I have found that they ‘slow down’ around 3:30 a.m. and that’s when I get the nerve up to get in the bed to get about 3 hours sleep so I can go to work the next day. I can’t afford an exterminator ($400.00 for the first room and then $200.00 for each additional room, I have a living room, bedroom, kitchen & bathroom and I’ve seen them in EVERY ROOM). I will try the DE. I’ve already tried Harris bed bug spray, and Bed bug and flea foggers but neither one of them worked. I even tried spraying them with rubbing alcohol but it didn’t kill them on contact as I had read on another site. It just slowed them down for a few seconds. I have bites behind my ears, on my chest, between the top of my breasts, all up and down both arms, on my calves and on my ankles and the top of my feet. I can’t take it anymore! Some of them are almost invisible!
so the home depot bed bug flea killer sucks if you direct blast these nasty critters it works but other then that it does nothing but stink up my house, we had a local exterminator come 6 times but other then minor short term relief it was a waste of money, i told him about the spray i bought at home depot and he made the mistake of telling me it wouldnt work unless it has permethrin in it. we then had griggs and brown come we had to work for 4 days moving everything we own in to a uhaul so they would spray but nothing not even a slow down, we have been fighting these critters for 4 1/2 months we have now purchased a 50 pd bag of diatomaceous earth and we then ordered permethrin all on amazon.com usually in the retail sprays there is .03 % permethrin in it the stuff we bought is 40% so we are gonna exterminate every week until they are dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK EVERY ONE
I found a one bed bug in my bed. I killed it. but after week I found a eggs in other bedroom, What to do and how get rid of the bb eggs. Help me.
I live on the first floor of an apartment building. One afternoon, my sister and I saw something walking across the foot of the bed so we caught it, googled, and yes, it was a bed bug. I immediately ran to Target and bought mattress covers for my and my oldest son’s bed as well as pillow covers and a new vacuum. We vacuumed EVERYTHING but 3 nights later, my sister felt something bite her. She used a flashlight and caught the little sucker in the act (we caught and killed this one too). We saw one more the following afternoon.
I caled the management company and the exterminator can 2 days later. People, if you rent, LEGALLY YOUR LANDLORD MUST COVER THIS EXPENSE if not you can report him or her. The exterminator told me that it could take about 2 weeks before they are gone for good. I bought a steamer for the couch and also some diatomaceous earth. I have been sprinkling the stuff everywhere, and hadn’t seen anything until tonight, when I found one clinging to my son’s mattress cover! o one was bitten except for my sister that one time, but I hope that catching the problem early made a difference. I have become so paranoid that I’m losing sleep. I hope never to see ne of these things again!
i am going out to buy food grade diatomaceous earth. but the itching please help!!!!!
i have been itching and sleepless for about 2 months didn’t know why just thought i have a reaction to the new soap i was using so i switched the detergent and body soap to find i was still itching and having little welts and bumps all over my body. i have scracthed myself up so bad i have sores on my body. it feels like they eating me from inside of my skin. and i think its much worse on me because i have a condition where i think everything is crawling on me. i am so sick and so sad and i dont know what to do i moved to these stupid apartments and now this cant afford to move into another place so i dont know what to do. i am currently sleeping in my car or at a friends and praying we not transporting these things to friends and family. what can i use to stop this terrible itching? omg i cant stop crying i am making myself sicker and sicker these little blood suckers are evil….
Anastasia,
I am moving too and these suckers TRAVEL!!! Make sure you don’t bring them learn how to get rid of bed bugs the right way!!!! I only found 1 bedbug and I’m about to charge $1500 on my credit card for a full treatment. I’m taking no chances. I stayed in a hotel last night just to get some sleep….welcome to misery!
=(
I am just traumatize this will leave me scar forever I keep my home Immaculate I have O C D and I can’t help myself but clean clean clean……….. and here I am thinking what the heck are BED BUGS??? Like the lady stated I thought it was a saying, I know there fleas, dust mites, all other kind of insects but these little blood suckers I never heard of….
I have not had a good nights sleep in a week exterminators can be expensive, I am just freaking out to think that when am sleeping I have these animals on my body all over sucking blood from me. its an eerie feeling am paranoid……..please if any one has more ideas leave a comment
I’m going to try food Grade Diatomaceous Earth, am so ashamed to go purchase this right away people think you live in a pig stock……………..I live in fear in my own home its bad enough I have a fear of insects this really did for me, someone please help…. thank GOD am selling my home and getting out of here after this experience I would not want to live here…….. I also have my Teddy my baby yorkie he slept with me and now he is confuse, I check him everyday is this a life to live???
I am so, super, tired =(
I refuse to sleep. I feel like I’m prisoner in my own home. I contemplating going to a hotel just to get some sleep. Good news is that no bugs are attacking me while I’m awake. Bad news is that I am super-sensitive to everything. I wish I could be off-guard for just a moment.
I found ONE nymph on me yesterday (I was on my couch). Got an estimate for $1480. Tomorrow I have another company coming. Hopefully it will be cheaper.
After seeing only 1 bug and not seeing any in the crevices of my mattress or just walking around, do you think I should spring for the $1480 just to be safe? I just came back from a vacation in Miami, went straight to my parent’s house for 1 week, and then came home. So I’m convinced it was in my luggage and terrified that my parent’s house is also infested (they don’t seem concerned though). I prayed that there was only 1 baby in my luggage, but I think I saw some very small white things crawling in my bathroom and in my luggage. I’ve put all of my luggage and its contents in bags outside.
I don’t think I can handle a home remedy on my own. I’m single and it’s easier to have a team come in to do this then try to lift furniture myself.
My heart goes out to all those that cannot afford to get an exterminator =( After reading these posts, I really can’t complain.
Best of luck to all of you. All I keep on reminding myself that I still have all of my senses and limbs. It kind of helps.
Hi!
I am a 15 year old girl and I woke up from a nap with tons of bites on my legs, arms, and feet. I thought it was just mosquito bites and didn’t think much of it. So I googled bed bug bites and symptoms and it is exactly what I have; itching and red spots on my body. There are 3 on my leg and they are the “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” for the bugs. I have no idea what to do because I am only 15 and HATE bugs especially ones that bite you while you sleep. I have never before had a problem with them and wonder why they just decided to pop up. I may try the DE and wash my clothes in hot heat. If that doesn’t work then I am at a loss on how to get rid of these bed bugs! If anyone has any tips or suggestions please respond! Thanks, gina
I love this page but as a chemist I must point out that Silicon dioxide is in DE but not the product itself. Keep up the good work and thanks!
I had these pests for about a year and a half. Started with red welts on parts of me and then soon after my son. I later found a dead bug and took it in to an exterminator and found out it was a full grown bed bug. I had my house torn from head to toe for 5 months, living out of bags and spraying constantly with a chemical I got from the exterminator. I also got a bed cover from them.
Well the bed cover and the spray did not work and I’m sure they knew that but wanted me to pay the money for them to come in to get rid of them. I was constantly looking for information about these things and finally I came across a website for people with bedbugs and 3 different people said to use the food grade diatomaceous earth. I figured I already have my house torn apart and went broke on chemicals and the DE was very cheap.
I pulled every thing out of my sons room, threw out his mattress and filled it with the powder. Started to wash everything AGAIN and as i finished washing I bagged and put in my sons room. I moved on to living room. Went around the whole border, cut the couch underneath and put powder inside and all over it. Then I moved onto my room. Took all dressers apart and covered with powder. Covered my mattress with the powder also and put the sheets on them so me and my son could sleep on it.
I had a white powder over everything in the whole house for about 2 weeks. You have to make sure it stays dry because if you get the DE wet it will not stick to the bug. After 2 weeks I vacuumed every room and crevice. Washed the walls and hard floors. I then just put a thin line around the borders of the rooms and on the box-springs and mattresses.
I have been free of bed bugs for 2 years now but I still powder our beds and keep a little along the borders. Living in a extremely powder/dusty place was horrible but not as bad as having bed bugs. Get FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH and put it in and on everything and leave it there!! They will be gone soon:)
This is Madness! Insanity!! Sickness!!! I am 44 and promise I had NO idea that the “Sleep tight ,Don’t let the beg bugs bites ” wasn’t anything more than a “saying” … I have not slept for over a week now and especially NOT in my bedroom!!! How can we let a CRITTER
We live in an apartment complex with eight units per building. Our building was inspected for bed bugs and ours was the only apartment that didn’t have the problem. Strangely enough, before the owner hired an exterminator we had a “fire” which caused all eight units to be empty for one month while all the carpet was replaced and all units were painted. Now, guess what, WE HAVE BED BUGS. We see them on the bathroom and kitchen tile floors.
After carefully inspecting the mattress and box spring, (we only found them on the box spring) we wrapped them each with Saran Wrap which sealed itself well enough to create a bubble when we got on it. This seal lasted about two weeks. Then I started getting bitten again and was losing sleep.
I vaccum the floors twice a week and wash the two vinyl floors twice a week and noticed that I would see them on the vinyl floor soon after washing them. I believe the Pine Sol was driving them out.
We see a few during the day and manage to kill 8 out of 10 we see. We tried 90% alcohol and this seemed to only stun them for a bit. What absolutely does work for me for killing them on contact and seems to keep them away is Pine Sol. I fill a spray bottle with this and spray the cracks and seams on all the wood furniture and floor under the computer desk and bed and on the box spring and mattress sides. It smells a bit better than alcohol. Also, before I go to bed I wipe myself down with baby oil and rub it in a little bit. I’ve used the baby oil for the past four nights and have not been bitten in bed.
On the first I am getting a bag of the Diotomaceaus Earth and will sprinkle that around the place and do expect to be rid of them within two weeks.
Ok we had bedbugs for 2 yrs. Drove us crazy and had a newborn in the house. Used DE butbit wasn’t very effective. Spent thousands on exterminators but it didn’t work. Finally had to move, only to be reinfested. Finally came onto a product called drop dead. And had the idea to use saran wrap. So we vacummed like usual and then sprayed the drop dead and fhen saran wrapped our box spring and matress. The effect was immediate. I could believe it. We r now bed bug free for 2 months now.
After spending so much money (you don’t wanna know) and sleeping in my kitchen during winter, in my car (van) during summer, lost my job when I, naive of me, told a co-worker my problem, (2 days in the hospital due to bites, developed stress and had to be on medication etc ) finally my nightmare was over by doing this: filling ALL holes, from the walls and from the (wood) floors with wall putty, wood putty or wood filler. Long job, I was on my knees for weeks, also I COVERED all the electric outlets not in use, with a lot of (Scotch) Transparent Film Tape, it doesn’t look pretty, also I plugged an electric extension cord or power extension cord and taped all around it for my electric items, like TV etc, that way I don’t have to be worrying about uncovered outlets — bed bugs traveled from the other apts to my apt through all these holes, after taping the outlets, I found them stuck in the tape (in the bubbles) and they even made babies there, stuck in the tape, yuck! I changed the tape of the outlets often and made sure that there were no “bubbles” in the tape. My lil dog was the one that discovered them coming in and out the holes. After that I started to use alcohol everyday, in the morning, I sprayed every morning as soon as I woke up! around my bed, my pillows and the WHOLE bedroom, also, every nite, sprayed alcohol on my body, on my bed, on my pillows, did this ritual for months, I have been FREE at last for the past 2 years. Counting my blessings! Please, do my rituals, don’t dismay one day! you will win!
I had my house sprayed twice after 2nd time I found an adult bb in my bed I went the grocery store and bought pronto bb spray I sprayed it on a baby bb n it died instantly unlike the spray the exterminator used. I’m buying DE today n a steam cleaner I believe that this is a plague from hell I hope the DE works cus I’m about to jump off the roof. Moving will not help for Nhone who’s thinking of doin so. They will only follow u there throwing out it furniture does help but they hide everywhere n will only reinfest any new furniture just vaccumm clean n wash m dry all clothing n then bag it all up it’s alot of work but what other choice is there . Good luck to us all.
I am so thankful to have found this page. I have been traumatized by these wicked little things to the point that it is affecting every aspect of my life. I believe we moved into a house that had bedbugs, and with my severe allergy…. well like I said, I am traumatized.
I have read many great comments and learned alot here. I am praying the home treatments work because I can’t afford to get ride of everything and the exterminator (who works for my property manager) was the biggest jerk ever.
Any more advice please let me know. I have a feeling I will need counseling after this experience. Also, I am the only being bit, so no one can relate to what I am going through.
I am going to start with the alcohol, vacuuming and DE. As someone else said, I feel very shameful and ashamed talking to others about this. I feel, even though I knew it wasn’t me, that it was my fault. I desperately need sleep.
Wish me luck.
Kryssy
Has anyone had this experience: I am in NYC and there are a few contractors who say they get rid of bed bugs. They also say they have sniffer dogs. I called them and they admitted, yeah we have them but the advice is always the same anyway so they don’t seem to use them: bag everything up, spray inside the bags and then spray all over the apartment. (Then the bit they don’t tell you, – hope for the best!)
The one which doesn’t say this says they use a machine instead as it is ‘more reliable/accurate’. So I called them in (NYPestpro), telling them that I seem to have a small problem on one section of a wall and the occasional bug which we can see and apparently nowhere else. A guy arrives WITH NOTHING WHATSOEVER. He looks at the wall I had identified over the phone and tells me that i have an infestation on the wall. I therefore need to bag up everything in the room (a gigantic amount of work), and then he will come in and ‘do’ the room.
He also implied strongly that he won’t warranty anything unless I bag up everything in the whole apartment and we do the same at enormous expense and time/trouble and let him do the whole apartment!
Last week, my offspring came home from school (a clean school, whatever that means) with a bug on his shirt. I suppose it may have been there when he left this morning but equally it may have come home with him. So after we spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars doing whatever it takes to get rid of this problem, it could re-surface within minutes? In fact we can re-paint the whole apartment, tear down all the walls and spray inside them, concrete up all cracks and crevices which appear in any apartment the minute it is built, there can still be no guarantee about these things.
One of the things I wondered was whether they have stopped using dogs (etc?) PRECISELY BECAUSE they might identify that the problem is limited to a certain area? And they wont be able to charge a fortune for the cleaning out process? After all, our problem does seem to be limited to a certain area AND we have all new bedding all new sheets and I have checked all over those items and there is no evidence whatsoever of infestation anywhere except on that wall (yes, I can identify where they are and/or where they have been)
The second thing I wondered was whether under these circumstances, the problem can be kept at bay where it seems to be? By spraying the relevant areas (and of course kids teddy bears) with contact sprays (which don’t seem to have much effect as the most you ever see is ONE bug here and there every week or so) and residual sprays which either kill them as they crawl across a sheet or deter them from going onto the sheets? Is keeping these things at bay the only real solution until someone develops a fogger which works?
Or are all the OTC sprays too weak to have much effect? The one I have been using to no particular effect seems to have a heavier concentration of the active ingredient than the one which everyone seems to think works??
i have four children including a premie baby girl and i first saw these tiny little white bugs crawling in my window sill and my fiance and i killed them and i sprayed all in the cracks of the window with bleach. Didn’t think anything about them at all and that was months and months ago.
Just a couple days ago my 8yr oldest daughter grabbed her guitar and keyboard from under my bed and they were both just crawling with these tiny white bugs so i googled bed bugs and all i seam to see is talk about brown cockroach looking things and eggs so i looked all over and under my mattress and box spring and see stuff that looks like it could be eggs and that it’s nothing else so i soaked my bed and floor and window with bleach water and opened my window to let it air out but i still see what looks like maybe eggs.
Is it bed bugs and if so how do i get rid of them without hurting my children because I have not even a penny to my name and am behind in rent so i am afraid to call my landlord and i cant sleep now for 2 days because i am afraid that the bugs will get my baby who already has had tons of little red bump things all over face and head and not just baby acne.
It goes away when i wash her face multiple times and watch her when she sleeps but i don’t believe I can take much more of the not sleeping and i am afraid to even go in my room or wear any of my clothes that r in there and i don’t have even enough money to do 1 load of laundry right now. so my only option is hand wash and hang dry but that isn’t hot enough to kill anything so i am sitting here ready to cry!
If anyone has anything that could help please let me know i will have my e-mail alerting on my phone. Even just a prayer would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! Thank you and God bless u!!
DE Works…but only if you use it correctly. Here’s how. You have to place the DE in CRACKS, CREVICES, HOLES, FOLDS, PERIMITERS. The biggest problem with bed bugs is not the ones you see…but the ones you DON’T SEE. They eat you and then hide. If you put DE on your bed only, you aren’t stopping them from coming out at night. Remember, YOU are the dinner. The bugs want YOU. The bugs have to come from somewhere. Check your matress and box spring for HOLES. If your mattress/boxspring is ok, then vacuum, spray the DE bed bug killer (you want to kill the EGGS with this), then get vigilant with the DE. Remember, put the DE in the cracks where the bugs HIDE. That stops them from even coming to get you.
Meesh what are those little creatures called. Please fid out and tell us PLEASE ITS HORRIBLE TO LUVE BED BUG INFESTED. We found bed bugs in our house one week ago. We threw nearly everything away, then we sprayed rubbing alcohol all over our house. Then we called an exterminator, and he came to spray. Then my mom found this spray called SLEEP TIGHT AND DON’T LER THE BED BUGS BITE, we sprayed it everywhere, it has been 2 days without bites. Since we have a wooden floor my mom is going to buy a product to treat wooden floors, and hope that all of that works. It has already been two days without bites, but we are still afraid to buy a new bed frame and bed furniture and a new mattres until we are sure we are bwd bug free. PLEASE HELP ANYBODY OUT THERE PLEASE HELP. I WOULDN’T WISH THIS ON MY WORST ENEMY. The treatment is working but you never know. We are 2 days without bites .
Man I am both glad and terrified after reading about half of the posted comments on this site. I recently moved in to a place with a roommate and thought I got the good end of the deal by getting the bedroom until I broke out in scores of red welts that appear in clusters. I had them on my face too and was starting to resemble the elephant man and hated going outside. Now I stay awake as long as I can and dread laying on the bed. My girlfriend won’t allow me into her place unless we can’t handle the time apart it’s still early spring and sleeping outside isn’t much of a thing to look forward to. And she won’t set foot in my place.
And when I do go to her place I strip naked and have a bath before I sit on any furniture just in case they are hitchhiking on me which i know they are because this extra paranoia started with the sight of one bedbug on her bed and she also immediately either bags my clothes then puts them through the washer then dries them for an hour more than necessary. I have tried various chemicals and even resorted to dousing my room with Raid Max insect killer but the slight relief from the bugs is offset with the toxic effects and allergic reaction to the chemicals it contains. i thought it was all the bugs till I looked up raid on the net and realized the numb tongue and lips was due to the RAID and not sleep deprivation related. I am glad I tried the term OFF in the Google search this time as I found this site.
I am getting some of that DE and off spray as I have noticed darkened erm poop which I know is liver related and that is another yummy side effect of RAID exposure. So if the bed bugs don’t send me totally mad and I keep RAIDING myself the liver failure will but I will make damned sure I take those dang things with me. lol
Sorry about the craziness they seem to have that effect on people. I hope they work. The bed bugs seem to love my blood more than anyone else that has come into contact with them since I have been around hey I am a great bed bug solution for others lol only I get bit.
My girlfriend didn’t get one bite till I wasn’t around. And man I seem to have a really bad reaction to the little monsters. Oh and as far as RAID MAX goes I saw one taking a stroll on the mattress and I covered him/her good and it stopped moving then I left it alone and a minute later he started walking around again so I really let him have it he looked like a Christmas cake and all he did was turn bum end in the air and buried his head into the mattress tape and tried to get away I was thoroughly discouraged by this and stopped using RAID after that as it had little effect other than annoying him and poisoning me and probably my poor cat even though I keep her way after I spray everything.
Anyway I will post my results after I get the OFF spray and DE combo going. Bye for now I am having a bath and am going to drop various cloth based items into near boiling water to see if i can see a few die horribly. I love slicing them in half and spraying them with my cologne then lighting them.
Man I have to get a grip. All I can say is take whatever steps you have to before you get driven crazy by them. I think i will try staying a a homeless shelter till i can get another place and am going to sterilize everything I own except my laptop but I hear the hate plastic and metal or at least don’t live on it. Oh and someone said to have the bed away form the wall and put the legs into containers of oil to stop them climbing into a new bed. I am going to look into a metal cot type bed and do that. bye
Food grade diatomaceous earth did NOT work for me. I live in nyc and as a PRECAUTIONARY measure used DE around apt because of all the media coverage I’ve been scared. I live in a beautiful doorman building, I am a vacuum and windex freak and….I GOT BED BUGS. It is a devastating thing, my apartment is a disaster, I’ve had the exterminator come twice and still getting bitten.
I actually went to a dr cause I was having hives. She correctly told me what it was and one day later I found a bug. I am finding feces and shells in my pristine cabinets.
It’s just a gigantic nightmare and no end in site.
Joanne, thank you so much for your quick response.
So my question is if the DE is food grade, can I place it under my mattress which lies on top the platform? There’s no box spring just my mattress on top the platform bed.
Once again, your prior response it tremendously appreciated, and I’m looking forward to this next response.
Hello Deann A,
You asked what could be causing you to have the sensation of something crawling on your skin but being unable to see anything. Here are my answers to your questions in the order you asked them.
The most common medication used to relieve the itching from bed bugs or other problems is a prescription of Permethrin Cream 5%
PLEASE CAN SOMEONE RESPOND…I would tremendously appreciate a response to the following. First, I am not sure if I have a BB issue. Here’s a few questions:
I’ve found the solution for killing and getting rid of bed bugs!!!I never in my life experienced bed bugs until recently, They bite you in your sleep and they hide at the corners of mattress its gross .Any ways i remember one time at camp i used this repellent mosquito spay( OFF) BELIEVE IT OR NOT IT REALLY WORKS! Just spray all over on your mattress and in corners , by the time you know it your sleeping good again so remember its OFF to keep the bed bugs OFF!!
I bought DE on Ebay (a 6 kg bucket full of brownish powder), sold as “red mite powder” but no result so far. Today, after suffering extreme shortness of breath for 6 days, I had to remove most of it and immediately they attacked me. I found at least 10 series of bitemarks on my legs, I guess out of revenge or maybe they were just hungry and glad that the powder was gone. At least one serie of bitemarks was from an adult.
I built me a kind of island in the middle of the room (the table upside down and the edges covered with ratglue) where I can sit in peace on a plastic camping chair. This, and also the bathtub and my bed, are the only bugfree places in my apartment.
Disappointed, and thinking what to do next…
Before you leave your house, put your clothes in the hottest dryer setting for 20 mins. to kill anything that might be on you. Don’t put you purse or shoes on the floor. You really don’t want to spread this nightmare to anyone else.
I have been suffering with the unwanted quests for 3 months. For the first month I didn’t know what I was dealing with, so of course they had lots of time to multiply. I identified the problem by my search on the internet.
I took the advice from Jim and must say; it took a while but I believe it finally worked; bug bite free for 20 days. I am a bit nervous about putting my house back before bed bugs. I vacuumed, steamed, used D.E. ( must be food grade for safety) I a 50lb. bag for 25 dollars at a feed store. The reason you find it in the feed stores, is because D.E. is given to animals to control parasites. like worms , etc.
I believe they were living in my recliner because that is where I have been falling asleep for years. I also sprayed my chair with ALL NATURAL BED BUG KILLER I got from a Ross store and also Rest Easy, I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond. Of course I vacuumed the chair very thoroughly and in every crack before I sprayed the D.E. and the sprays on and through out as well.
Over the counter anti-itch cream did not work, what did work was Vicks Vapor rub. I what to thank you for your comments ; The advice was so helpful. Unless you going through the same thing, it’s not fully understood. NO SLEEP> CREEPED OUT BY THE THOUGHT OF THESE BUG CRAWLING ALL OVER ME COMPLETELY STRESSED ME OUT. I noticed in most of the comments—– Doctors didn’t identify the problem and the exterminators charge a lot but are pretty useless as well. IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE THAT THOUGHT THEY GOT RID OF THEM ONLY TO SEE THEM RETURN, PLEASE POST A COMMENT, THANK YOU.
Hi everyone,
I don’t know if I have bed bugs yet, but they are ruining my life. I saw a trail of tree bites and blotches from my ankle down the tops of my foot. (Not the part you walk on). they have around 3 fangs marks each in there and the bumps were slightly raised. I can’t find any on my bed. Yet again, I haven’t slept in my bed in 2 days nor have I slept in 2 days.
Everywhere I go I see bed bugs. An extermination is just way to expensive for me to pay for, as I’m a student in so much debt already. I also have an indoor cat but he never goes outside so that eliminates fleas. Every black or red thing I see anywhere I instantly start screaming. I itch for no reason, I can’t get my work done.
In a few I’m about to throw out all my stuffed animals, card board boxes, pictures on the walls even magazines that I don’t want anymore. Putting all my clothes into garbage bags for them to be washed and dried a billion times on high high. Cleaning out all my closets emptying drawers, gonna vacuum the bed and wash the curtains. Then I’m gonna call and see if I can get an exterminator to come and at least see if I have bed bugs or if I was bitten somewhere else.
I have a horrible fear of all bugs, I’m terrified I’ve locked myself in the bathroom plenty of times. I fear I’m going to run myself into the ground bc I can’t function..
I have moved from apartments to town-homes to homes and some had roaches and the last home I thought I had bedbugs and roaches. My husband is Native American and he went out an caught these little tiny creatures that looked like gila monsters, but they are not. He brought two inside my home and released them. I do not see them to this day but thank goodness all the unwanted bugs are gone too, including the roaches, spiders, and the bedbugs. He has told me about these little creatures, but I do not remember the name. He says they are safe among babies and pets but not chickens.
Hope this helps some of you that don’t mind living with a looking like a monster.
m
Sorry to hear this Karen! I hope the last treatment does it!
Are you treating a house, apartment or room and does that $1,400 cover all three treatments? Did they move you out of your place and for how long?
Thanks!
I picked up a couch from a thrift store and it had bed bugs – never knew anything about them before. Tried everything – sprays, bombs, powders, dryer, etc – nothing worked for long.
Got heat treatment – after a month they were back – 2nd heat treatment took care of them for 3 mos – now finding them again – they are coming to do last heat treatment – don’t know how we’ll get rid of bugs if this doesn’t take care of them – very expensive ($1400) and we are on social security only.
This is horrible – you can’t talk to anyone about it because of shame factor-I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
Man i have been reading the stories and i feel a little better knowing that I’m not alone! I have used orange citrus spray, boric acid, 99per cent alcohol, dryer sheets,bed bug spray,bed bug foggers, and known of these have worked did the dryer didn’t work,real hot water I’m trying now i will let u know. Also the DE (Bed Bug Dust) I’M TRYING.
I understand those people who don’t sleep – you try and you feel them crawling even when there not there! I hate this! please feel free to contact me
i need help im 12 and i went to a motel in oshawa came back to my house and woke up with bites and i showed them to my older sis and so i looked up bed bug bites on google and they look the same as the ones i have.how can i be sure thst they are bed bugs and how can i get rid of them
Hi, DE??
I bought Food Grade DE and put it all around my house. I am still geting bit and my poor cat and dog are just as miserable even with Frontline, that I was trying to avoid using?? What am I doing wrong? Oh my house is completely white since I dusted. Are these super bugs I have?
Please advise. Thank you.
H..
A lot of people are saying that if you put infested furniture outside in the cold, that it will finish the job. I don’t think this is necessarily true, and the reason for that being the girl who originally brought the bugs here laid her infested baby crib beside the back of the building next to the dumpsters. Less than a foot away from my bedroom window. She also laid her queen size mattress against the side of the building next to another bedroom window of mine.
At first, I thought they traveled down the dozen stairs that lead from that girls unit to mine. Or I thought that by her dragging the mattress down the stairs may have given the bugs a free ride down to my floor. But my landlord insists that he treated her apartment twice and was completely rid of them, and also there are two other tenants in the building who don’t have the bugs. (yet) One of them live below her, and the other lives directly across the hall. That’s why I’m wondering if they came in through my bedroom window. It’s winter here too.. (midwest) but I wouldn’t bet on the cold making much of a difference.
Thank God for this site! It is helping me tremendously but I think I’m slightly obsessed. My landlord is coming out Friday to spray the entire building. How effective is spraying???
I’m going to buy some of that food grade DE tonight to sprinkle around my room since Friday seems so far away. (I just found out last night that I have them, and I didn’t hardly sleep at all!) So I read to form a perimeter around the edges of my room. Should I also sprinkle some of it onto my mattress? Is that even safe? Any help would be appreciated.
Plz to all those who used diatomaceous earth Does it trigger asthma my son has asthma and i am just so much scared of using it..However want to get rid of bedbugs.. once you clean up white powder do they come back?
thanks
monica
Am new to the bed bugs. Live in town houses that have been battling them for over a year. And have now crept into my place. As soon as I saw the first one I started making arrangements to move. And have bought all new furniture that will be directly delivered from store to new home.
You may say say that is drastic but I have seen for the past year all the families around me have to throw everything away. Move them selves. Exterminator after exterminator come in to try and get rid of them. It is truly. An infestation. Chemicals won’t work on eggs. Heat however will kill eggs and adults. So with new furniture and every thing washed and dried at high heat problem solved.
For those who can’t afford all new stuff HEAT HEAT HEAT 120 degrees HEAT. What I spent to get rid of these nasty vampires is minimal compared to what the landlords are spending on exterminators that are not working.
try using a blow dryer on the mattress. Use it every day. It helps alot. Also Tea Tree oil seems to repel them.. It worked for me.
I live in a building that is infested with them. Sadly, my mother is also a tenant and had them in 06 she is blind and has diabetes needless to say the bites turned septic and she had tissue the size of a lemon removed from her chest! At the time the Manager refused to spray and I contacted our board of supervisors and they put the pressure on and she had her place sprayed after throwing away her bed and going into debt having to buy a new one-luckily the infestation stayed in her bed!
Over the years I have heard of other tenants in our 10 floor building getting them and finally nearly 5 years after my Mom I got them!
Lucky me I knew the signs and found them before the infestation spread past my bed and there weren’t many. The management is now versed on protocol after being reported to the Dep of Public Health and I have had 2 sprayings over he last 20 days but I did throw out my mattress. I am going to buy diatomaceous earth asap to prevent the suckers from coming back. They don’t like heat this is true but the heat has to be over 150 degrees in a house or car people keep that in mind-I really feel for all of you this is a terrible infestation in the West!
I live in Alaska and ended up with a bed bug infestation. For 2 years I thought I had allergies because I would wake up with hives on my body. I would end up missing activities because the whole side of my face would be swollen. The way I found out that it was bed bugs is that in the winter in Alaska you NEVER see bugs inside in the winter. About 1 am I woke up and saw what looked like a beetle on the wall, I thought “Hhhmmmm, that’s weird”. I had the though cross my mind that maybe it was a bed bug, looked it up sure enough it was. I think I got them from the neighbors who had returned from overseas and my dog would visit and bring them back.
This is how I got rid of them…100% orange oil which is a natural insecticide, it can be found in the hardware or automotive store. I sprayed my mattresses and encased them in a vinyl cover, I sprayed all along the wooden baseboard crack, window trim, tv inlets any place I thought they could hide. I then boxed up all the small stuff in plastic containers and sprayed orange oil on a paper towel and then sealed the containers with tape. The couch we pulled outside, sprayed with orange oil and left it outside for two weeks at below freezing weather. Then two weeks later I sprayed again to make sure that we got any eggs that may have been left behind.
I am more than happy to say that we have been bug free for 4 years. Orange oil when sprayed can be overwhelming so you may want to make alternative sleeping arrangements when you treat.
I just wanted to add to all of the wonderful comments here that the bites may look different on different people. My family (myself, husband, and two sons) have been suffering through this for awhile. (I would like to say that it’s over but I am extremely paranoid and after getting bit after extensive home and professional treatment I finally threw my couches and mattresses into the unattached, unheated garage to allow the Nebraska winter finish the job.)
My husband and older son would break out in large hives when bit, but the baby and I get pink dots on our skin. I took the baby to the doctor in the beginning, thinking it may be an allergic reaction to something. It was, but the doctor had no idea that it was bedbugs. I have battled them for three months and have still seen less than ten bugs in total.
They are very sneaky little monsters and I wish anyone who has need of this site the best of luck. I appreciate the commentary on here. It is very alienating to go through this and it is nice to know that there are still more solutions for me to try and many kind people who understand what my family and I have gone through.
Sincerely,
Itchy and Scratchy.
my father in law had a bad case of bedbugs and he used an exterminator and bought all new furniture .. but my father-in-law asked the exterminator who did the job what chemical or spray he was using and the man told him SUSPEND SC insecticide .. so my father-in-law ordered it off the computer and uses it every now and then jus as a prevention .. well my family just moved into a new home and after 4 months being here we realized we had the same problem .. well we started using this suspend sc and it hasnt worked one bit .. so i came on here hoping to get some advise and im glad to see that so many people have agreed that this food grade diatomaceous earth is the best for the job .. so im going to try that n hopefully its true cause i cant stand this .. its so hard to fall asleep knowin once u do some little bloodsucker is comin for ya .. thanx everyone n wish me luck
Double sided carpet tape works well around where your bed meets the floor. Also enables some time for payback.
If I use Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) will it harm my puppy?
So i work at a shelter and we’ve also had a problem with bedbugs here. We used to have an exterminator come in and spray each room which has literally cost us thousands upon thousands of dollars. It also took us a year to get rid of completely (might have been from ppl continually bringing them in).
Also recently i found out that i have bed bugs in my home. I don’t have the money to get an exterminator and found out about Diatomaceous Earth. I’m not sure how much you’re supposed to use (i went overboard with it) the stuff works though!
It has to be FOOD GRADE as the other type for pools is hazardous to breath in, I’d also recommend using a mask even for the food grade. You need to put DE literally every were. Electrical sockets must be taken apart and sprayed or put in too (turn of power of course). You also might want to take apart your base boards if you cant sprinkle some in between.
Do your carpets ( If your going to vacuum you need to put Diatomaceous Earth inside the vacuum also if you don’t put it on the carpet) paintings, books, dressers, everything. They can even be in the wallpaper. If you have anything that’s card board you mine as well throw it away. If your blessed enough to live in New England or somewhere cold (below 32) in winter you can put your furniture outside although it has to be for weeks if not longer, Away from the sun, it really needs to be consistently cold.
You also need to buy bed bug covers for your pillows and mattresses. All clothing and things that can be put in a dryer at high for 30 mins will kill them. To get rid of this problem you need to be very vigilant, its going to probably take months to get rid of this. Either that or hire a professional (make sure their a professional) and it might still take months because you need follow ups too.
Bed bugs can live up to a year and a half without feeding… p.s. Lysol spray also offers some temporary relief on your bed if you cant do this right away
@yawness, two letters, DE (Diatomaceous Earth [food grade])
I had them and they were biting me, but not my family! I washed all linen and put everything in hot dryers, also all my clothes were washed and put in bags. I lived out bags for 6 weeks – vacuum, vacuum, vacuum and throw the vac bags away! DE all around the edges of rooms put DE in containers and place under the legs of bed.
My friends, it takes work and a lot of patience but I haven’t been bit by bed bugs in 2 months now!
Good luck
I have been getting bit for about a month and seem to be the only one affected in my family of seven. Bits started on my shoulder in a horizontal and vertical pattern, on the elbow, and each thigh which all were over looked because the itchy sensation started while working around the house or doing other activities outside of being in bed.
In addition, my husband and five year old son who likes to jump in with us has not had any bits appear on them. It just seemed that I was stressed out and maybe breaking out in hives so I went to the dermatologist who said the marks were bits. She couldn’t classify the type of bits but prescribed a topical cream and benadryl.
I went out of town for a week but still broke out in itchy bumps while shopping and cite seeing. Could these have been breakouts from bites received at home? After returning home and getting the kids settled for the nights I sat up watching some DVR program past midnight when to my dismay I noticed a small round shaped bug crawl on my brown comforter which was laid across my lap as I sat in bed with only the light from the TV. What in the World! how can this be? we purchased a new Beautyrest mattress just this spring! All I could do was gently get out of bed with hopes of catching it but as I call for my son I just had a breakdown and began crying.
My husband is tending to family out of town and doesn’t believe that it could be bed bugs because he hasn’t been bit. This is so frustrating and stolen my peace to the point that I don’t want to come home. I’m so worried that my kids will be attached next and both of my ankles are surrounded with bits that have left scars that will probably take years to clear up.
This morning I set off five Bed Bug Foggers in my house and evacuated my pets, God knows I need some relief in this problem. I keep searching for the evidence of dead bed bugs but can’t find much. Please pray for those inflicted with this problem as it is extremely disturbing.
I will definitely be purchasing the food grade diatomaceous earth to see if the bits will stop.
Thanks….
to anne w.—consider scabies. hard to diagnose, you should see a infectious disease doctor. important not to be treated with steroids which can make it worse.
how can i get rid of these pesty bed bugs…. went to the emergency room they gave us a cream but seems like its getting worse.. what can i do??? PLEASE HELP
Here’s what you need: Portable steam cleaner, mattress & box springs cover, Food Grade DE, bed bug spray, and four cups.
Note: vacuum everything prior to starting these steps!
It takes persistence, but you can beat them. The traps on the bed posts will at least allow you to sleep well without getting bit provided you cleaned the bed and frame well enough. Also every time you do this run all your clothes in the closet and towels etc through the dryer. It took me about 7 weeks to eradicate.
One additional note: Once you place the mattress and box springs into the cover, do not open it up on subsequent cleanings, just steam clean it and wash and dry your bed linens and dry your pillows etc.
Had bed bugs don’t know how i got them but I did god bless DE it works let me tell u I spread it all around the bass boards and would vacuum and reapply every 5-6 days vacuum vacuum vacuum I have not been bit or seen a bed bug in 6 weeks .don’t get frustrated it takes alot of patience but the end reSult is worth it I can say I’m bed bug free thanks to DE!
Hello Tiara,
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear DE does the job!
I can personally testify that DE (Diatomaceous Earth) works like no other chemical can. Has worked on both fleas and bedbugs. I had spent $$$ prior to trying it and nothing worked because these critters develop resistance to chemicals.
I buy the St. Gabriel’s brand from either Meijers or Ace Hardware for around $8.00 for a 4.4lb bag. You can also buy it online from St. Gabriel’s organic company. Tell the kids to go to a friends for a few hours, don a face mask, and sprinkle it all over using a kitchen strainer. Then, take a broom and sweep it gently over every inch of flooring.
This is messy dusty job but it does work. Leave it on the surfaces for three days. It spreads everywhere AND WORKS. Vacuem up and repeat if necessary. You can even sprinkle it on your mattress before sealing the mattress with a plastic cover.
I swear by it.
Good luck.
Hello,
I’m doing an article on bed bugs for my newspaper class at school. If any of you guys could help me out and answer a few of my questions that would be amazing. If you had bed bugs that would be even better.
What did you do when you had bed bugs?
Why do you think bed bugs are making a come back?
What do bed bugs do to your skin?
Whats the best way to get rid of bed bugs?
I know it seems like a repeat of some of the things in the article. I just need quotes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I saw a bedbug on the internet because a few ppl in class were talking about it and thought ugh!!! then a few days later saw a bug that look like it on something i borrowed from someone… then saw one on my curtain… i went to walmart bought some the 20 mule borax detergent spread it all over the room took the curtains down washed them about 3 or 4 times put in dryer about 3 or 4 times and then but in plastic bag and sealed it up… began washing everything up several times.
Got dawn dish-washing liquid in a spray bottle with water and began spraying everything… got some food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) from the feed store and put it everywhere my apt looks like a white palace of dust… and i mean every where… i set off 3 bengal foggers says it kills up to 20 types of insects including bed bugs on the back of the box… i spent over $10 on 3lbs of DE and spent about $15 on the foggers, i bought black flag bug spray to kill any eggs laid, i bought disinfectant spray to kill germs, i bought dawn dishwashing detergent mixed with water in a spray bottle (heard that it works) and spray it in the crevices and hard to reach places.
I will bomb again after the exterminator leaves on Monday… i will reapply the DE and leave it down for 3 days… and do this every week for 6 weeks… i have a mattress pad on my bed but it does not encase the mattress… I’m going to go buy me one that zips the mattress up and still use my mattress pad to soften up the encased mattress cover.
I have not been bit and only saw the bugs… i saw then “thank you Jesus” with in hours of having the item in my apt… I’m just so stressed about this and feel that this is horrible as all of my things are brand new from my bedding to my curtains and my bed and my headboard and footboard of my bed… everything is new couch and all and the thought of having bed bugs is a nightmare!
I i saw one on my body lord help me!!! Jesus, in the name of the lord. i bind them in Jesus name!!! amen.. hope something i said helps someone… I’m serious about killing them… i don’t ever want on to survive in her or live to bite me or anyone else… I’m not bringing anything in my house again from others house that have had a bed bug problem… these pests can live in anything! i mean even a vinyl or plastic case and can live for up to a year without ever biting anyone so … be aware of buying used things! if you do wash in hottest water and dry then for over 30 minutes… i am washing up all my bedding but I’m washing them 3 x and drying them for 3 hrs… I’m just not taking any chances… id rather have a high electric and water bill for a month or two than to have an infestation of bugs that live on human blood!!!
HEAT kills bed bugs. In the summer or on sunny days, put your belongings in your car, roll up all the windows, and leave your car in the sun. Get a thermometer to check, but you want the temperature to rise over 120-degrees for a couple of hours.
Also, take all your clothes and dry them — the clothes you can’t dry (spandex, coolmax, silk, wool), put in a hot car for a couple of hours or have it dry-cleaned.
My dad said as a child growing up he remembers his mom used to put a mayo lid full of Karosene under the bed to keep the bedbugs away. There is also Bedlam Professional Bed Bug Insecticide – Eliminates the Pest as well as their Eggs. Aerosol-17 Oz. and it will kill the bedbugs, lice, any type of insect it comes in contact with. But you have to spray it on everything and then let it dry before you let your kids, animals or yourself on it.
A friend of mine gave me a can of it and it really works on the lice, haven’t had the bedbugs. But with school age children who are forever and always sharing hats, brushes and other things we’ve had the lice. Bedbugs and/or lice are not just attracted to nasty filthy people either, they are attracted to all people who have blood in their bodies, the bugs feed on the blood. So whether you are the cleanest or the dirtiest doesn’t matter they are not after anything but the blood. And besides it is not a shame to get them it is a shame to get them and do nothing about them, whether it be bedbugs, lice, or whatever there is treatment and you should do whatever it takes to get rid of them.
If bedbugs are anything like lice you have to retreat every 7 days until they are completely gone, it is aggravating and very time consuming but they be exterminated with persistence.
It’s me again, still not sure if i killed all of my bed bugs i put the DE down left it for 2 days and then vacuumed it up i also washed all of my clothes in my closet although i don’t think they were in there just a precaution it has been 3 days no bites, but i have also gone 6 days with no bites before. i am not getting to excited yet.
It took me 2 days to fully clean up from the mess that the DE made which will be worth it if it did the trick. i am so hoping this has been a nightmare. it all started about a month ago i started being bite had no clue what it was just like everyone else i passed it off as a mosquito or spider bite. i guess about a week later my dad told me that he had an infestation where he lives he had spent the weekend at my house and right after that weekend i started being bite, i freaked when he told me, that’s when i started bombing like crazy, cleaning washing, burned my mattress, bought mattress covers bought hot shot bed bug spray, sprayed every inch of everything.
Still this did not work all the while never seeing a bed bug just going on what my dad had told me. then after i would say the third week i woke at 4 in the morning itching like crazy, looked at my sheet didn’t see anything, went to the bathroom came back said let me look 1 more time and there were two bed bugs about the size of periods at the end of a sentence crawling. i woke my boyfriend up told him to kill them, and was a little relieved bcuz this whole time him and my son was telling me that i was crazy bcuz they were not being bitten. so now i had the proof.
I then taped my bed legs, bought lots of 91% alcohol kills on contact, got the DE put it everywhere . now i spray my sofas, beds pillows everything w alcohol 2 or 3 times a day. hoping i win this battle i am told only after going 55 days without a bite that i can assume that they are gone. i really just want to get a good nights rest again.
Hi everyone I’m new to this and here is my story.
I moved into a new apartment about month ago. I used to live in Public Housing. So as everyone knows or should know they have exterminators that come every 3 months and do inspections for any and all bugs. So for 4 years we have never had a problem with any bugs (ever). Now after being here the first 2 weeks we started getting bites.
We first thought it was fleas. Then a week later a little bed bug crawls out on my couch and I had no idea what it was. I had to google it just to find out what kind of bug it was. I called my landlord who called the owner of the house. He came yesterday and he bought Hot shots bed bug and flea foggers. He told us that we had to have brought them and that before we moved in there was an inspection of the apartment.
I know for a fact I have never had them before I think i would have noticed them. He also stated that the if the foggers didn’t work that we would have to just move and make sure we take all of our furniture.
What can I do to kill the bbs I have 3 kids and they are all getting bites as well as myself and my fiance. Can the LL just ignore this problem and what else can I do to get rid of them that isn’t very pricey as we don’t have a lot of money to spare…….
Thank you to all who read this and have any information or advice.
I have used foggers, not a good idea, also have used countless sprays with no avail. i just got DE put it all over room hope this works i am so tired of cleaning am a clean freak nyway. will post again if this works will say this it makes a huge mess hopefully it is worth it.
Oh just so ppl know I got Diatomaceous Earth from Lowes, went to home depot they only had pool grade. hopes this helps ny1 looking for it!!!!
I’ve been waking up with litte red bumps all over my feet legs and arms and i think it’s bed bugs. I stayed @ a hotel in goldboro, north carolina and didn’t seem to be getting bit when i was there. i bought the hot shot bed bug and flea fogger will it work?
I am also very scared of going back 2 new york this weekend bc I’m staying at a family members house and don’t want 2 bring them back with me! I have an exterminator coming Thursday and i already sprayed my luggage down with insect killer and left it outside in the sun. and i have been sleeping in tha living room until the exterinaters come.
Is there any thing else i can do? please write back with question comments and advice. thankss
My daughter brought home bed bugs when she spent the night at her friend’s house. We had Orkin Pest Control spray 4 times. It did not get rid of the bed bugs. We threw out mattresses, clothes, books, etc… Nothing worked until we found the right pest control company.
They sell an Insect Killer (food grade Diatomaceous Earth) which kills bed bugs. You must carefully follow the directions. We dusted our carpet with the product then vacuumed it up hours later. We encased our new mattresses and box springs with mattress protectors and pulled our beds away from the wall. Make sure blankets don’t touch the floor. Make sure bed frames are bed bug free. We purchased steel frames and threw out our wooden ones. Put the powder around the legs of the bed. When the bugs crawl up to bite you, they have to go through the powder to get you. The powder kills them. Keep applying the powder once a week for 5 weeks. Eggs hatch. The insects will then want to feed. It took 4 weeks to completely rid our house of the bed bugs. The product really works. Nothing else worked. We have been bed bug free for 3 years now.
Warning the powder is hard on the vacuum cleaner. We eventually bought a shop vac from Sears to vacuum the power.
Good Luck.
Hi, I have living with bed bugs for over a year. I have tried everything to get rid of them. They are in my scalp, my hair, they created a hole in my left leg. Jim, I’m telling you that bed bugs can come out during the day, not just at night. I have seen them biting me during the day, and I have to pull them off me!
The diatomaceous earth stops working after 2 weeks. You need to vacuum and re apply. This is an epidemic that needs to be addressed. I am tired of them living on me. I will continue to fight to kill these pieces of scum that serve no purpose. THEY CAN GO BACK WHERE THEY CAME FROM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The people that have bed bugs you are being tormented by the devil. Need to read the bible. Me too. God will deliver me from this !!!!!!!!! Trust in God
We have been suffering with Bed Bugs for quite a while now….we’ve tried practically EVERYTHING short of a professional exterminator (which they will be coming out early next week). Unfortunately, everyone BUT me in my family is getting bit, or as I read somewhere, I’m not having an allergic reaction to the bites, I have no bit marks or red spots, so I’m a little hesitant to believe that, but whatever.
My husband and 2 children are practically getting eaten alive….We used diatomaceaous earth and as much as I would LOVE to say it worked, it didn’t…it did not get rid of them completely, but I will say that I think it helped for a while.
We put carpenter’s tape (double sided tape) and wrapped it around a plastic container and put the legs of our bed into them and then poured DE into the containers. We also poured the DE around the perimeters of our room and parts of our apartment and then put mattress covers on. This helped for a while, but drove the bugs into our other room and into our sofa looking for blood…..
I’ve never encountered bed bugs before and I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy! I did read that putting your bed legs in cups of mineral oil would help….I’m going to try that next!
Oh and by the way, with the exterminator….we have to clear out our ENTIRE apartment and just leave the furniture…..the sprays will be every 10 days! Good luck to EVERYONE who encounters these little devils!
Hello,
It has been day 4 since my daughters have been waking up in the morning with a trail of bites in their arms n legs…..first thing came in my head was bed bug. After seeing the bites again i moved my bed and back spring and vacuumed around. I found 3 bugs…..does that mean there are more?, should i throw away my mattress? Please give any advice..thx
i got diatomaceous earth (bed bug dust) and put it all around and me and my famliy are still getting bit sombody help me. I need to find somthing that works i have seven kidsand im on a fixed income and im tired of seeing the bites/and bugs. does any one have a solution.
Thank you Jim! I am having another company come out tomorrow to check for bedbugs. The guy from Terminix said I didn’t have them, but something is biting me. Orkin supposedly trains other companies on how to treat bedbugs so they are coming in the morning. If I do have them what treatment would you recommend. I don’t want to say money is no object, but I am willing to pay more for whatever works best. From what I’ve read heat seems to be one of the best and I don’t’ have to go through the process of washing everything, because the heat kills it. Do you agree?
If I do have them what about the clothes that I’ve been wearing to work and to my friend’s homes. Could I have carried them there? I have visited my grandchildren and my grandson has spent the night. He usually sleeps on the floor in my room in a sleeping bag. He hasn’t been bitten, but could he have taken them home on his clothing that he is wearing? I’m just a wreck about this. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some answers. I’m also going to see my dermatologist.
God Bless you for this website!!
Hi Ann,
You can’t bring the bed bugs with you if wash the cloths you’ll be traveling with in hot water (see our bed bug treatment page) and make sure that your luggage is free of any bed bugs (you would see them). The eggs are hard to spot, but most likely they are not in your luggage (wipe it clean).
Did you check to see if the hotel you stayed at has had bed bugs in the past? If not, visit our page on hotel bedbugs and leave a comment with the address of the hotel and your request.
You’re not going to like this, but a single bedbug can produce 5 eggs a day up to about 300 eggs. These little guys hatch in about 6 days and are very hungry. Once the nymphs feast on your blood, they can then start molting and grow into adulthood (takes about a month). Once the adult bed bug has had a good meal, they can live up to a year without feeding again if they have to!
So, yes, you could have brought a female bedbug home with you and ended up with a whole family. But, let’s hope this is not the case and it’s something like seafood (let me explain : )
From time to time I get the same red blotches, about 11:00pm, they cover my chest and shoulders and like yours, they itch like crazy! A long hot shower does the trick, and it’s not bed bugs at all, it’s seafood that is not cooked well. I love calamari and found that if it’s not fried enough, I’ll have a reaction later that night.
In your case, you mentioned red splotches, did you mean red splotches of blood? If so, then something is biting you and my case would not apply.
Last Sunday I started itching on my chest, arms, legs, stomach, pretty much all over my body. I had changed by bath soap and thought maybe that was it. I was also taking Cipro for an infection and thought maybe that was it. So on Monday the Cipro ended and I went back to my old soap. The itching continued.
On Thursday I woke up with these spots / bites all over my upper chest.. I’ve notice more mostly on my chest, stomach area. I thought maybe it was a spider bug bite, Then I was wondering if it might be bed bugs. I was freakin out. I tore my bed apart didn’t find anything. I called Terminix and thank God they had someone who came out yesterday. He couldn’t find anything and said most likely it was spider bites (see BadSpiderBites.com)
Oh I forgot to mention last weekend I took down some wallpaper in my bedroom and he said maybe that disturbed them. He asked me if I had been anywhere lately and I told him no. He said I didn’t have bedbugs. Then after he left I got to thinking I did stay at a Courtyard Marriott the 4&5 th May. That would have been a month ago. Would it take that long for the bedbugs to bite me. I didn’t get any bites at the Marriott.
Last night I put the tape around my mattress like some people had said and nothing was on it this morning. I again tore my bed apart and nothing. I have one of those Select Comfort beds so there is no typical box spring/mattress. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much. I had the TV on most of the night until around 4 this morning. I dosed on and off and kept checking for bugs through out the night and nothing. This morning when I got up around 5:30 I was itching like crazy on my upper chest. Rubbing my Tshirt over the area. Then a short time later I looked in the mirror and there was bright red blood splotches on my Tshirt. It was fresh not dried blood. I took it off and there was nothing nor nothing on my bed. I don’t know if it was from rubbing my self raw or a bed bug????
I don’t know what to do? I’m going to be gone for a week on vacation and I’m concerned now about staying with family. If I have bedbugs (even though Terminix says I don’t) could I bring them to them?
Also, I just thought of. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a new bedspread. It was in a sealed zipped plastic bag. It didn’t look like it had been opened…could bed bugs had been on that.
Will your body itch or only where your are bitten? Also if the blood spatter on my Tshirt was a bedbug wouldn’t I have seen the squashed bedbug? If I do have an infestation, how do I get rid of the bed bugs?
Any suggestions would be appreciated…or comments. Do you think I have bedbugs???
I’m the only person in the house. If I don’t know where they are what can I do. I don’t care what it costs I’ll do it. Please what is the BEST recommendation? …heat, steam, fog, spray. HELP PLEASE!
My husband brought bed bugs home in his luggage from a Comfort Inn hotel. He was bitten but got hives instead of bug bite marks, so it took us some time to realize they were bed bugs.
We hired an exterminator to treat our furniture, carpets, outlets, etc. We were instructed to remove everything but furniture from the second floor of our home, bag it tightly, wash all clothing in hot water and dry on high heat. The extermination was $700 for 3 treatments one week apart. We have had second treatment and are still being bitten.
We take our bed apart every morning and find them in the wooden slats where the bed side rails connect. Turned our furniture on it’s side and found them in the legs and small spaces under the furniture.
Harris Bed Bug killer from Ace Hdwe. works on contact, but not to eliminate completely. Purchased a Shark steamer to steam edges of carpet, blinds and bed mattresses / boxsprings. Definitely worth purchasing ($80 at Walmart) because it gets in small spaces and kills them instantly. Purchased carpet steamer to clean carpets which killed some also. Purchased sealed mattress/boxspring covers.
Most effective was this weekend when we sealed off our bedroom, turned on the heat, and placed many heaters in room to temp. of 115 for 2 hours. Monitored heaters every 15 min. for fear of fire. Found dead bed bug nymphs and adults and this temperature which also kill eggs. Didn’t get bitten that night.
We are now doing same to all bedrooms and bathrooms on 2nd floor. Good luck to all – this has been a nightmare for our family.
I went to get some DE didn’t find that, I found the organic crawling insect blocker, It said to use out side, I have put all around my bed and in all of my crack. This is my second go around with annoying little bugs, the first time I had no ideal what they was.
My grandson told me and I thought is was just saying because he heard the say of don’t let the bed bugs bit. Noooo it was, out all my 49 yrs. I have never experience anything like this. It actually scary to know that these bed bugs can take up to 120 degrees in heat or 32 below before they die!
All I do is worry about bugs now, I don’t want to be there meal. think the government or politic should have a grant for people who cant afford to have them kill, really there is going to be a epidemic around the world and people losing their minds like me.
Man, I never thought I would see the day that I would be eaten by anything. At first when I would see these bed bugs I didn’t think nothing of it that was in Aug 2009. I would just switch them away, thinking they was little lady bugs that would eventually go away. Then one day my grandson was laying in my bed I said what are these little bugs n where r they coming from? He said r they little I said yes, he said that a bed bugs.
I still thought he just heard the saying about bed bugs. Because he is nine n he shouldn’t have known what a bed bugs was I sure didn’t and I’m 49. Anyway, time went on and one night I thought i kept feeling something crawling on me. I get up turn on the light and pull me sheet back these things get to running crazy probably 3 of them.
This time I kill them nothing but at the time i didn’t know what it was, but it the blood most likely mine n my grandkids. Still not being aware they were a problem I thought that was no big deal. I finally looked under my mattress one day n there they was that when my maddness began.
My boyfriend said that I was crazy every night around 2 or 3 in the morning I would call him, he trying to slept get mad because i’m waking him up yo kill bugs n then wouldn’t go back in the room. He didn’t believe it was bed bugs either, like me as old as we are we have never once seen a bed bugs.
Then I start googling how to get rid of bed bugs n find out that where all my bites been coming from. They was tearing me up. I got rid of everything in my room the bed, boxspring dresser,clothing everything. I thought I was bb free, got me a new bed everything change out couldn’t afford exterminator.
I really thought I got rid of them. Nope 9 month later I start to see one haven’t been getting bitten,or it just wasn’t bad as the first case. I knew what it was I had my boyfriend to tackle that little guys and crush him n throw it in the stool. I’m tearing my bed up now. didn’t see any bugs. I’m pleased!
In for a rude awakening, start itching seeing little bites, I’m in denial now I didn’t see anything so they are not there wrong end up seeing babies not that many, start killing them, thinking ok i got them in time, i’m on top of this not da. The bed bugs are bad, I didn’t get rid of them!!
This time I’m going to get them for they get me Call exterminator, told me to keep spraying alcohol in holes n everywhere I might think they are at. Going to Walmart tomorrow and get DE also I pray to God it work this is terrible!!!!!!
OMG i just moved in to this wonderful house with my 3 boys and there are bats in the attic crawl space that gave us all bat bugs “just about the same as bed bugs but they prefer bats” says pest control expert my baby started to get a few bites then my other son. The landlords are putting me up in another place until taken care of but this is awlful! i cant eat or sleep. I am an ICU nurse and very use to high stress situations but this is WOW a mother. I found 2 in my mattress and i made them come and take it out. they put it in a garage behind the house I am obsesed im on the computer all night looking up more info i feel like i cant take it anymore!!!!! I put duct tape around the beds and caught a whole bunch ewwww. i think am bout to lose it raising 3 boys on my own without any support is hard enough this is so off the hook i think iam going loose it!!!
Can I put DE on y body not to get bit? And WHAT IS the hard beige substance BB leave behind? It looks like a sliver of a broken peanut or potato chip crumbs. I have DE I dusted a bowl and put a BB inside (that I caught BTWN my top sheet and comforter) covered w/ many breathing holes and the BB died in Approx 2 days and 4 hrs. I caught 1 that looked kinda gray/dusty put it in a separate bowl w/o DE. I was thinking it must have walked through the DE that’s why it’s Gray! and it died also. SO this was 2 days after putting it down.But I noticed after putting it down that’s when I saw them. I’ve never C N them just walk out like that . I’m picking up some “Bayer Advanced Home Pest Plus Germ Killer” I have a friend who used it and claimed that + mattress covers and (BORIC ACID) did the trick. I know BB won’t willingly just eat BA but may not have a choice if it’s cleaning itself or just it’s face being buried. So has any 1else tried the “Bayer Advanced Home Pest Plus Germ Killer?” I think I’ll continue w/ DE and the Bayer. Thanx 4 ur help.
I found that applying selsun blue shampoo to my bedbug bites, it will relieve the burning and itching; simply put a drop on the areas bitten.
Another great home remedy is mixing a bit of tidy cats litter to create a paste, then apply it to your bug bites to get rid of the sting. The trick is in the clay once it drys on the skin.
You can also reduce the itching by mixing a Rolaids tablet with water to form a paste. Put the paste on the bite and relief should be instant.
And last but not least, the most popular, baking soda and water to make a paste that is placed on the bite to let dry.
Okay, so i noticed a few months back waking up to a small bug on me but never knew what it was. this morning i had woke up and went to brush my teeth and there was a bug crawling straight across my white t-shirt. i asked my fiance if he knew what it was before we killed it he had no clue either. so we picked up the mattresses and found about three of them on the corner of the mattress. so he killed them and now have googled pictures of bed bugs out of curiosity (thank god for internet by the way) and YUP there it was the same bug that was on me this morning.
I have been on line all day and noticed that the NIX lice spray says kills bed bugs too. just curious if anyone else used it or not before on them to see if it really works or if I’m wasting my time on it? since i had some left over from when a friend needed a place to stay but her daughter had lice i went to the store to buy it immediately. so just didn’t want to waste more money if i had the “cure” here at home?
My 3 yr old daughter woke up with welts all over one side of her body. It looks like a mosquito went crazy. I gave her benadryl and put hydrocortizone on the welts. I sell used stuffed animal toys on the internet and I bring them home all the time from the Goodwill and other thrift shops. I never thought about bedbugs until today. It may be too late. I use the income from the sale of the toys to get nice things for my kids. I don’t want to stop selling. Any ideas on how to treat the stuffed animals so I can still sell them?
gosh, i slept at my brothers apartment on Friday, he was telling me that there was this one lady who had bed bugs at her apartment and then asked my mom if they could spread to apartment to apartment. so then my mom said i don’t know. then i was itchy all night, and today is Sunday. I have red spots on my face, arms, and feet. makes me look awful. I hate it because they are red, itchy and they feel hot. but then I washed myself with Nix. Head lice shampoo & I also washed my clothes twice with hot water and Nix. But idk can bed bugs live in your head too?
Honestly without using DE I would recommend a qualified professional to spray for them.. I work out of Phoenix for an pest control company, and unlike other pests, bedbugs have been more of a pandemic throughout the U.S. And like someone mentioned earlier even though DE is safe for pets and humans, don’t breath it in.. 100% organic DE is fossilized animals and can affect people who have breathing problems.
Thank you Randall. Do I just ask his doc to do a blood draw? Is what he’s looking for EG Rickettsa and coxiella? You’ve got my brain wondering and I think I’ll do a little google searching.
You may want to have autisic son checked by Infectious disease doctor. It is evolving thought that Lymes or lymes like diseases can cause autism. The increasing presence of these bugs could herald a return of some old diseases in a younger population set. While not lethal something chronically disabling may be there. For autism they speak of mitochondrial dysfunction when they should give greater consideration to infection by intracellular organisms.
EG Rickettsia, coxiella, just to name a few
Its more than the bite its whats in the bite. Good luck!
Bad news…. I just found this info about the DE made for swimming pools…. “make sure you don’t get the stuff that’s designed to be used in swimming pools. That isn’t appropriate for your bedroom even though it’s called the same thing. You also shouldn’t breathe it in directly if you can avoid it (the pool kind is bad for that, but “food grade” has a lower silica quantity and isn’t as big a risk).”
Not sure if I’m even allowed to offer this but will put it out there, I feel so bad so I will put this out there, they can delete this part of my post if it’s now allowed…. if anybody needs DE and can’t find it, I’m willing to have you mail me a money order for the DE plus shipping only and I will mail you how ever many bags you need. I can get 4.4 pound bags for $10.99 plus 6% sales tax. I’m in Mass and the tax just went up from 5% to 6%. :o( And here I was, soooo excited to find out that they use DE in pool filters, an easy find. Pool places everywhere. Sigh. I’m very honest and will mail you the receipt for the DE and for the mailing so you can see you paid for ONLY that, not even my time and gas. We got to get rid of these darn things and I’m willing to do my part.
BIG Bravo Zulu for Diatomaceous Earth(DE for short)! There is more info on this short post located at the bottom of this page, there’s two posts written by me on today’s date, 8-14-09.
http://www.badbedbugs.com/bed-bug-faq/
Here’s the short and sweet of it…..as I said, if you want to read more, click the link above…..
I know a lot of people have been having problems with finding DE since we have been told here that it is found in feed stores. I even had quite a bit of trouble #1 finding a feed store since I live in the city then #2 when I would find a feed store, they didn’t carry DE. Well in mentioning the DE to my mom, my dad said that they is what he uses in the pool filer system. I haven’t looked at it but make 100% sure that somewhere on the containor that it says that it is NOT TOXIC and if you have a pet/s that it says PET FRIENDLY or PET APPROVED. That bag I got at the feed store says Pet Approved. It also says ORGANIC, so that would be something else to look for if you buy the DE used for the pool filter. Since the DE my dad uses is for the pool filter is for the pool and not used as an organic bug killer for plants as the ones in the feed stores are, not sure if it is safe for humans and or pets to breath. So if you can’t find DE where you live, go to a POOL STORE and check out their DE. Read the containor and make sure that it is DE only with nothing else added. I just thought that this would be interesting info for those of you having trouble finding DE. :o)
Jennifer, how long does it take to work? Knock on wood, I’m 99.9% sure that they bugs are out of my son’s room as I have the mattress and boxspring double covered(long story). I got the DE, I vaccumed everything then put the DE around the corners of his room, under his whole bed, around all four legs of his bed, along the rails where you fit in the box spring, and between the boxspring and mattress. Anyway, the bugs seem to be in the couch where I sleep.
I only figured it out when I was waking up with bites, this was before I got the DE. Anyway, as I said before, I’m disabled and can’t pull the couch out from the wall to vaccum behind there. I pulled out all the cousins, inspected them, saw nothing but still vaccumed the heck out of each cushion and all parts of the couch I could see.
I put the DE under the cushions, as much under the couch I could get, under my entertainment center as much as I could. I also put it in every doorway in my apt. I then covered my couch with sheets as I thought it would keep the bugs in and make them go through the DE but NOOOO. Every night I try and fall asleep around 9 or 10 then wake up around 2-2:30 as the bugs seem to come out around 3-4. Although, after 4 one morning, I had fallen back asleep and woke around 5 as something was itching around my cheek.
I lifted my head to 3 yes THREE bed bugs running around on my pillow. :o( Everyday I seem to add more DE and another sheet, blanket, or comfoter over freshly laid DE on my couch over the last thing that covered it. I know I read the bag and it says that it takes the bugs 2 days to dehydrate after coming in contact with the DE so I thought that by now, they would be mostly gone but daily, even during the middle of the day, I find new baby ones. Every one I find, I kill and put down the toilet.
I did remember yesterday that I forgot a major thing that I was supposed to get and do. I forgot to get the steamer thing. I don’t have the money right now but will get one when I get paid my disability on the 1st. I’m gonna try and get the couch away from the wall best I can and stick the steamer behind the couch and hopefully can get a small enough one that I can steam under my couch too.
I just can’t wait to be rid of these darn things. :*o( :*o( :*o( I NEED SLEEP!
The Diatomaceous Earth works! It didn’t cost much and the dust isn’t harmful to people or pets because its all natural. I treated my apartment for bed bugs but i covered my mattress after that because i wanted to prevent future bed bugs. You can get it at your local pet store.
Jen, I’m willing to live with white dust over bed bugs any day. I live in the city and am having a VERY hard time finding Diatomaceous Earth or any of the spays with it in it. I went to a place today and they told me of a place not to far away that should have DE and I am going there today. I don’t have much money as I’m a disabled veteran and single mom to a disabled child so I don’t have the money to have an exterminator so I’m just going to put the DE everywhere til the bugs are dead and gone dust and all.
I did get the tea tree oil that was recommended and I put it on my son and myself every night; I think it works ok…. better then nothing at all. I think I have gotten one bite on my forearm and my son on his thigh since I have started using the tea tree oil. Actually, I’ve been up all night lately as
I can’t sleep thinking of these bugs crawling on my son and myself at night. I kill approx 5-10 bugs a night (those lil buggers are fast), all different sizes. I check my son through the night too with a flash light but haven’t seen any on or around him. I do have a mattress cover on his mattress and box spring that I clean and vaccum every 3-4 days. I kill my back doing it but I can’t have these vermin crawling on my “baby”.
I will write back after I get the Diatomaceous Earth and spread it around. Oh and just to be 100% sure, does anybody know for sure that this stuff is NOT piousness? I have an 8 year old son with autism and 2 cats; I don’t want to get anything that will hurt them in any way.
I dunno about DE…not a lasting treatment, unless you’re willing to live with white dust everywhere. I spread a ton of it in every nook & cranny of my room & furniture, plus Borax. Made a huge mess, but I lived with it for a week before vacuuming. As soon as I cleaned, the bugs were back with a vengeance. Just had Terminix come & spray, but not sure the guy spent enough time spraying every crevice…Got rid of bed (even though no visible signs of bugs) Afraid to sleep back in room. I am so drained, I hate the previous tenant (I know I didn’t bring it from anywhere) & the dufus landlord.
Thank you Jim. You are so kind. I will try the Diatomaceous Earth and let you know how it goes.