Janina Kraus::

I discovered my BB problem in Early January. Seems I inherited it from my recent next door neighbor whom after 5 months has moved again. Obviously, though he blunted denied it, he has been transferring it all over the city.

His bed was adjacent to mine, and only divided by a wall. They came through the floorboards or outlets. I have had an exterminator in to treat all furniture, baseboards etc. with pyrethoid and have since discarded the bed, moved to the coach which he previously treated and 2 weeks later I have re-treated with a bottle of the same which he left me as well as treated around every floorboard, outlet and pipes (kitchen and bath), under all furniture and sporadically through out the carpeting and floors with Mother earth/DE.

It has only been 2 more weeks since, and I have noticed a marked improvement. By the way, I took a few days off work, and on my hands an knees, brushed all carpets and picked up eggs (though I don’t know if they were spent) and steam cleaned most of the carpeting.

Hoping this will eradicate the situation and murder the bed bugs once and for all!

Please let me know if you think I have done enough. I too am terrified to sleep at night!

Janina (Mississauga/Ontario)

James::

Hi all i see a lot of people having problems with bed bugs.We had the same problem i freaked out so did my wife but after reading up on these thing, i manage to be bed bug free. I try to be straight to the point with steps that can help you guys like it work for me.

  1. first thing is bags all your clothes only if there close to your bed or under your bed nightstands etc.
  2. vaccum take your time vaccum everything once that done empty the bag seal it then threw it out of the home or apartment. vacuum the light switch anything a credit card can slide threw vacuum it. if you have the vacuum with the canister, was it with hot water for 3 min depends on how hot your water is.
  3. rent your self a hand held steamer there not that expensive i brought mines online make sure it can get to 120 degrees.steam your mattress,box spring, cracks. again take your time.after that open your windows to air it out to prevent mold or use a fan.
  4. get your self some DE is diatomaceous earth food grade one it epa friendly make sure to get a mask the powder can cause tightness in the lounge and lung damages. don’t go crazy with the powder just apply it with a small paint brush to the folds of your mattress head and foot border and around the bed frame pretty much make a road block for those critters.they have to cross it to get to you. you will still get bite but in 3 to for week you will be bed bug free. do not apply it to the pillow or underneath you on the bed. if you cant find DE in the supermarket get it online it really cheap.
  5. every week you will rinse and repeat the steps trust me if you don’t have the cash to spend 1200 on professional follow those steps. there a lot of other stuff on the market but don’t waste your time there like diet bills. people are making money off these things. If i missed a few step I’m sorry it late for me took me 4 weeks to get rid of these critter.
  6. also if your going with professional make sure they have the dog humans have a 30% of detecting them, dog has 99.9% of finding them.

Good luck let me know if this help some of you folks.

mohammed::

The way I get rid of bed bugs is to use any spray that has alcohol content and find it kill’s them instantly. Start by spraying the bugs slowly since the pressure may move them and then try to cover them with the liquid.

jeni::

will a home fogger kill them

Jim::

Hi Jeni,

They say insecticides with “d-Phenothrin” as an active ingredient are most effective on bedbugs, but make sure the product is made for ‘household’ use or you could end up damaging the items you spray it on!

No matter what the product says, always use care when around children and the elderly, especially people who are immunocompromised or sensitive to products such as these.

When heavy infestation, you probably won’t get rid of all the bed bugs at first and will have to hit them again in 10-14 days. Also, be aware that pest control companies are the best bet at dealing with heavy infestation of bed bugs. Failed attempts at do-it-yourself pest control means that bed bugs have that much more time to multiply.

Note: The general consensus are that insecticide sprays are not the effective. Unless it specifically states that it’s safe to use on your mattress, don’t use it. If the product does not guarantee it safe and danger free for humans, then I’d stay away from it!

Best regards,

Jim.

Bob Henry::

I recently moved into a subsidized housing unit and made the mistake of leaving my bed flat on the floor, without the legs; there is no infestation, but they are lurking. One easy method of preventing bed bugs from climbing onto your bed is to put a plastic Tupperware container under each leg of the bed; as of yet no bug has climbed the smooth plastic and over the lip of the container. If you have further doubts as to whether they can climb over the containers, fill them with water.

Kiran::

I just bought a new mattress and a bed set. Bed Bugs appear a lot and I tried to use a spray to kill them. I was panicked and did not know what to do as this is the first time in dealing with pest control. It started from the new set and then to master bedroom and other rooms.

Singapore only sells the dust mite protectors for mattresses with rubber bands and not with a zipper. Do you sell it? Please let me what can I do to prevent the bed bugs.

Thanks and much appreciated.

Meagan Boykin::

I am pregnant and just found bed bugs in my bed. I live in an apartment and I need to know what I can do to get rid of them? Are the owners responsible to getting rid of these?

Alexander::

The only way to keep bed bugs from infesting your home is to avoid buying second hand furniture, books, clothing, etc… be informed of your friends and family who are infected so that you may protect yourselves and your home.

Do not over crowd your home with items, clutter is their hide out. Room to room carpeting is a no, no. Bed bugs can breed in the fabrics of your carpets, especially where there is an opening where they can hide underneath. When cleaning your home, don’t do it half way.

Make sure you use citrus or citronella cleansing solutions mixed with rubbing alcohol, but make sure you do not mix chemicals which might harm you in process. Keep it natural as possible. And yes, use Diatomaceous Earth in all corners, cracks and openings in your home. Make sure you use it on your carpets, under your bed, around your bed, anywhere there is a hiding place. Even in your closets and drawers.

Check for blood spots and wash your fabrics as suggested according to the label of your fabric. And keep checking for signs of them anywhere you look, and spray some of that powder on them and their eggs.

Keep the temperature of your home on the cooler side, for these bugs thrive in warm temperatures. In winter time, leave your windows open and your air conditioning or heating off to freeze the bugs to death, if you can afford to.

All the best

Matt::

I was able to vacate my house with the heat off during a cold night and freeze my infestation out. I saved hundreds on an exterminator with this technique!

Jim::

Hello Matt,

To kill the bed bugs in your home by turning the heat off, you would have to get the house down to about 5F for a day and if the infestation is heavy, you’re going to need a few days at -5F. Just turning off the heat and an outside temperature of 0F doesn’t mean the inside of the house will be 0. Insulation, length of time, size and more are all factors you need to consider.

I’m guessing you live in a very cold area?

Best regards,

Jim.

Janice::

I have just returned from Mexico. I have 3 bites. One on my jawline, one on my collarbone and one under my armpit. They are red, with a raised center and tiny white center. They are incredibly painful, but NOT in the least itchy……I read that if you have multiple bites, it is NOT a spider, but rather it is likely bedbugs….has anyone ever heard of bedbug bites that do not itch, but instead are just intensely painful?

Evan::

I returned home from traveling recently and brought bed bugs home with me. It was a nightmare! No matter what i did i could not get rid of them. After getting the pest controller back 3 times he that they were probably under the carpet and it needed to be ripped up which was going to cost me a lot of money.

Then I came across a low cost bed bug barrier that fit onto the bed legs with a special glue that traps Bed Bugs. The glue lasts over 1 year so will protect from any eggs that hatch later no. There were no chemicals needed and was so much cheaper than using a pest controllers. I simply moved my bed away from the wall, applied Bed Bug Barriers and have never been bitten since.

Thank you!

Wndey::

Hello,

I live in 4 plex and have found 3 bed bugs in my bed. I found them behind my headboard and have put that in the trash.

I’m araid to buy a new bed and have no idea how I got the bugs in the first place. I’m stressing out here and hope to find a solution on your site. I’m so afraid that I can’t even sleep at night!

Thanks

Krista::

Just a comment, when I went to the exterminator to buy the insecticide to kill the bed bugs, they told me that cold will not kill bed bugs. That like most other bugs, bed bugs will just go into a hibernation state and once it warms up, they will be on the prowl again. They said that the only thing that will kill them beside chemicals is extreme heat…high setting on a dryer…for 40 minutes.

Also, bed bug barriers on the bottom of your bed legs will not always work as bed bugs have been known to crawl up the wall and fall on their prey if they cannot get up the bed.

Maria::

We found bed bugs in my son’s room, we treated his room and now we have them in the master bedroom. We are going to treat the entire house, which means to pack and bag everything!!!

We have hardwood floor and we have been told that the bed bugs could be living in some of the cracks in the floor. It was suggested to us that we should do the floors to cover every single crack, meaning, hiring a flooring company to put a clear coat on the floors all over the house. This represents a monumental job, not to mention how expensive that would be.

Are we really at risk to get them back if we don’t do the floors?

Kelligh::

I cannot get rid of these dang little bugs! i am on a tight budget and all of the things that i have seen to kill bedbugs cost a lot! Please tell me what i can do to get rid of them!

Kristen::

I am wondering if that diatomaceous earth is safe around pets. I know you say its natural but I want to be sure. Will flea powder do the same thing or does it have to be diatomaceous earth?

I have never dealt with this before. I am very frustrated by the fact that I have bites all over my body seemingly overnight. I got a mattress cover and vacuumed… do I also need to treat my curtains? This is so frustrating. I can’t afford an exterminator.

Paul::

Hello Kristen,

Try ‘food grade’ diatomaceous earth which is EPA approved against indoor and outdoor crawling insects and is also FDA approved for internal and external use and has a rating of Food Chemical Codex Grade.

Krista::

Hello Kristen…

You can also go to your local department store, find the section that sells bug killer and look for ChemFree Insectigone. This stuff is silicone dioxide (present as Diatomamaceous Earth). This stuff is safe for pets. I have first hand experience with it due to an ant invasion last year and than bed bugs this year! The only bad thing about DE is I find it clogs your vacuum cleaner.

kari::

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that our house has been infested to and right now we are having a hard time with pest control.

I thought that if we get the beds out we would be good. we don’t have a bad case of it but well enough to where we just don’t want them. So we have found more eggs and treating for bed bugs in every room.

So far I have heard getting some chemical and spraying works and that dehydrating them works. Well, let’s hope so because I cant take these nasty things anymore!

I just don’t understand? Our house is always clean.

Well, I’m praying this bed bug treatment really works!

Rebecca::

Hi,

I noticed bed bugs in my studio 3 years ago when I woke up with what seemed mosquito bites and then thought it was a spider bite I cleaned my sleeping area and didn’t find anything and then my neighbor complained her daughter had bites and my mother in law was the one that told me they were bed bugs.

I threw my mattress away because I kept spraying it with Raid and they just did not seem to go away, I moved to a 2 bedroom in the same complex and the same night I moved I had a bed bug on my new bed and was so disappointed because I had threw most of my furniture including sofas, beds and had washed all my clothes.

I now keep waking up with bites every other day and plan on getting one of those products I read from the comments “Diatomaceous Earth” I personally think the complex I live in was where I got infested from, I plan to move soon and disinfect everything and throw most of my furniture away and hope they don’t follow me to my new place!

Andy::

I think Many people has missed what Mr.Keith Gordon said.

I did pass my license as an exterminator for NJ but never started a business; but i can tell you that a proper management program should easily get rid of the bugs.

I got them on my property; beds you can get zipper covers in Walmart for less than $30 for queen size, they are dust mites covers, as well as go to home depot they do have a great spray safe for beds called goodnite sleep; and treat the mattress with steam first. After the steam treatment, put it inside the pillow and spray it with the insecticide before you close the zipper; just steam the room and then apply the spray; give it 30 days and spray again it should get rid of them; you will have a good sleep from the first night.

A good steamer is any that can reach 180 f and have 35 psi. I had used a McCulloch mc125 and was not to expensive, less than a $100 dollars.
Just be very careful with the spray and always make sure of reading the labels (where it says caution) and follow instructions it will work.

as Keith said it is not too hard to deal with bed bugs; read his comments.

Val::

Hi………I am developing a phobia of bed bugs, even though I don’t currently have any. I just ordered new bed covers, and my husband travels once a month. We try our best to put his clothes right away in the dryer, and I spray his luggage.

I am now so scared, I am becoming afraid of buses, cabs, restaurants, etc….this is all I think about. Can anyone tell me something positive (I live in NYC!!!!!), like, the majority of people do not get this? We have millions of people here.

I would like to ask Keith Gordon if I could speak to him via e-mail or phone, or right here, as to prevention methods, if he would be so kind….or anyone else who can tell me SOMETHING positive!!! I am scared to death of getting this……

Thank you!!!

Pat::

So i had a situation where i had bedbugs living inside of my mattress. I have no clue how they got there but as I checked other beds in my home i found 2 more infected beds where they were living. Automatically I threw out the infected beds and ordered new ones. That all happened at least 3 or 4 months ago.

I have now been sleeping in my new bed but I’m finding that there coming back. Is it a possibility that getting rid of the infected mattress and boxsprings wasn’t just the solution to my issue? Would it be smart for me just to call an exterminator because i don’t want to wait too long and have 3 brand new beds become infested with these creepy crawlers again. I also noticed that somehow they get under my sheets?

I’m personally not an insect person and it creeps me out to the point where every night before I go to sleep i take off my comforter just to check for those damn bed intruders….If anyone can please get back to me quickly on this because THIS NEEDS TO STOP…I hate having to wake up and see blood on my sheets which I don’t know if its either mine or there’s because i have figured out that sometimes i’ve squashed a couple turning in my sleep…SO Please, any help with bed bug treatment would be greatly appreciated!

Jonathan::

I work at a large apartment complex where we have had four cases of bed bugs in some of the apartments. These were not just normal cases. When we entered the units they were on the walls and in the corners of the walls behind the electrical outlet plates.

Bed bugs were even found behind the blind brackets. What I am trying to say is they were hiding in the smallest places. We had to remove everything in the rooms and pull back the carpet. We treated with pesticides (Suspend SC liquid and dusted every crevice we could find with Delata dust. There was a 100% success even in the occupied units. The key is to not to bomb the little bugs it drives them into places where they can hide from the gas.

GRETA WILLIAMS::

I have surfed the internet for two days regarding bed bugs. I live in an apartment, which has very high turnover and recently found a bite on my arm, which became inflamed and swollen. I went to the emergency room due to the itching and swelling where the doctor said he cannot diagnose the problem and referred me to a pharmacy for cortisone etc. cream.

I was sitting on my couch, around 6:30 and felt something on my leg. I had socks on covering my pull ups and as I looked down and there was a little bug. I swiped it and it tried to get away, but I killed it. Bed bugs do not only bite at night, this was in broad daylight! Besides this I kept lights on in my home for days, because they say they bite while we are sleeping, this was not the case in my experience and so i wanted the experts to know what my happened here.

Thanks!

Dan::

First of I had no idea about bed bugs! I started breaking out in hives about 3 months ago. i did wake up once or twice to use the restroom over the course of the last month or so and had a bug on me but assumed it was because my window was open. Well needless to say I couldn’t understand what is going on, I’ve gone to the allergist and everything.

Tonight, just about an hour ago, I had what i thought was my worst “allergic” reaction to date…It was SEVERE. I got up and then as I was going back to bed…WOW…there was no less than a half dozen of these buggers on my mattress, I went on to inspect further and its a full on infestation! My mattress is 6 years old and its a top notch 20 year mattress..very expensive and comfortable? Can I keep it??? I need to resolve this tomorrow, I live in San Diego, so I’m hoping i can find someone that has good experience in removing these.

Hi Dan,

You can save the mattress by treating it, then enclosing it a dust free mattress cover; it has to zip up and cover the entire mattress. It will take time for the bed bugs to die but it can be saved. If it’s that bad with the mattress, then you’ll find bed bugs in the rest of the room as well. When you do your search, let us know what you find out and if you can, PLEASE, take some pictures and share with us so that others can better understand.

Thanks!

Jim

Suzanne::

Our friend had bed bugs in his car. He said this is about the 3rd time in 4 years. He took everything out, vacuumed, then treated it with cedar oil spray from the pet department at Walmart. It took several treatments (cars have a lot of hiding places) but the bugs are gone. He didn’t really like the smell, but he didn’t like the bugs either.

“Diatomaceous Earth” seems to work wonders on everything!

Cockroches, fleas, dust mites. It is very gentle and you can even put it on your pet. Cedar Oil for pets is safe on animal, & people. I like the cedar smell. Please don’t be afraid of these little bugs … they will go away if treated. If the bites really bother you, talk to a doctor. Stay calm, treat your home and your bites and you should be just fine.

Melanie::

This question is for Keith Gordon or anyone else that knows; We live in a house, we are tenants. We have had bedbugs and did a lot of the things that have been said. There is a one bedroom and a bachelor downstairs used for storage. Can bedbugs go down there and make or start a nest when no one ever goes in those apartments and come back up to feed (feed on us) ? does harborage mean nesting?
I’m sorry if my English is not that good, i’m french

tracey::

up until yesterday i had not thought about bed bugs.. yesterday morning i noticed two small welts on my arm, then again yesterday as i lay on my bed i get some more of the same welts. last night i could not sleep and each time i got up i had more but never saw the bug nor felt the bite.

I got up and removed the sheets off the bed and i did see a bug on my mattress but he didn’t look like the pictures I’ve seen out here. My question is now what do i do. i just got laid-off and can’t afford to hire someone to come in, is there something i can try to stop this problem before it gets bigger?

Money::

Man these things suck. I cant see them, I cant hear them, but these little bastards keep biting. I am going to buy the mattress covers and that dimetrious earth stuff and go to town. If it works I promise I will come back and post again. If not I am going to come back and tell all of you how wrong you are.

Love from Texas Ya’ll.

Mike::

After living with bedbugs for over a year and combing the internet to find some way to get rid of them the only thing that remained constant was the professional (and expensive) treatments. My problem may not have been a full blown infestation (compared to things I had seen on TV) but was still pretty bad.

My girlfriend and I woke up every morning with lines of bumps up and down our arms, legs, back, and neck. I had even taken to setting my alarm for predawn hours so I could turn on the light and catch them on the walls and squish them. Of course I took to vacuuming the room, especially the bed area and bed its self quite extensively making sure to take the canister out to the dumpster away from the apartment.

I was trying to save enough money to have a professional treatment, but in the meantime tried everything I could to diminish their numbers.

One day in the grocery store (Giant or Safeway, I forget which) in the pet aisle I came across a flea/tick powder and thought “what the hell, can’t hurt”, so I picked it up. I was amazed that within a matter of days the number decreased dramatically and within a week they were gone! Thinking this may have been a temporary fix I have waited several months to post this just in case it didn’t last. Well, I am proud to say that for 4 months now we have been bedbug free!

So, anyone with a bedbug problem I strongly suggest this powder called Nature’s Guardian made by Sergeant’s. Do a through vacuuming of the area and bed and then apply the powder along the baseboards and sprinkle under the bed and between the mattress and box spring. Also be sure to change your sheets just before applying and be sure your old ones are washed just in case there are any bugs hiding in there.

I HAVE BEEN BEDBUG FREE FOR 4 MONTHS NOW AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT. I don’t work for the company or stand to make any profit or anything. I’m just someone who knows what it’s like to live with bedbugs and wants to help others so that they don’t have to go through what I did.

NOTE:There are a number of sites posting some very scary information about sergeants nature’s guardian and I can’t verify the accuracy, but do your research before using it around your pets – having said that, it seems that the ingredients include Isopropyl myristate.

Isopropyl myristate is used as a pesticide free treatment against head lice; it erodes the other layer of the head lice exoskeleton and causes them to become dehydrated and die.

This sounds exactly like the effect Diatomaceous Earth has on bed bugs, which is not associated with one company, is chemical free, all natural and can be picked up at just about and pet or feed and supply store.

Just a heads up on the product and an alternative use for bed bugs.

ConsumersAffair shows only 1 star based on 32 ratings out of 695 reviews! Does not look good!!!

David::

I know someone who manages a large hotel. They have no bed bugs, but all the other hotels in their area constantly battle them.

What do they do differently?

They go down to Mexico and buy ddt. They spray the rooms with ddt, and then call in an exterminator to cover the trail. ddt is illegal. He said its harmless to humans but horrible for birds – but since they use it only indoors….

Is there anything at actually works and is legal?

Darrie::

U R not ALONE! Bed bugs are popping up all over and they aggravate us all. I am so paranoid and every time my hair tickles my neck I throw a fit. The worst part, I have an infant son to worry about. So far he hasn’t been bitten.

I inspect him all the time and so far we’ve been very fortunate. But enough is enough I’m not going to wait until he has a trail of bumps. I will be getting that “D… earth” stuff tomorrow! I’ll be back to tell u how it went.

Thanks for the advice!

Hi Darrie,

Please let us know what happens AND make sure to double check this you are buying the right stuff and that it is not harmful to infants, etc. Many visitors post it is safe, but make 100% sure :)

Best regards,

Jim

bugwar::

I discovered BB about 2 weeks ago, i am positive we got them from my mother-in-laws house who has them and cant get rid of them because they are not treating them, they just keep throwing out some of the furniture now the bugs have move downstairs.

I was sleeping getting ready to get up fo work, i turned on the light but laid back down well when i opened my eyes, it was as if a bug was looking at me although it was very very tiny but red and i jumped and moved the pillow and looked closely and picked it up with a piece of paper and flushed it in the toilet then looking again, another one and another one flushed again.

Thinking okay, this cant be, heck no! I picked up the pillow where i was laying my head and several more i thought oh my god no please no, i lifted the sheet and walked around the whole bed looking closely, i see nothing, so i said let me make sure looking again closely lifting the mattress; something said check by the head board because i have a huge bed and head board to where once you set the bed it cant be moved. Ii didn’t see anything still, i checked in between and everything until i lifted the mattress tag, lo and behold there they were in a group very tiny, I panicked.

Right then, i used all my force to push and move my bed that i never move to see behind it, nothing back there but i did see dark spots but not real sure because some wood is spotted. Now I’m upset, my husband doesn’t even move the bed, (and when he noticed he said did you move this i said yes. I’m real upset because we spent so much money and it took us so long to purchase this bed, blasted bed bugs).

I rolled everything up trying to be careful and not spread them, sheets, pillows, comforters curtains everything and set it out for trash. My husband and I then carried the mattress out with the infected side up that we could see carefully, we showered and went to work knowing we have a war when we get home.

I searched the internet for more information on bed bug treatment and after work we went to home depot and bought some home indoor insect killer for bedbugs and sprayed everything, baseboards, my very very expensive bed frame, cracks, screws, everything.

The next day we bought a gallon of Bonide for bedbugs. i took every piece of clothing out my closet and saw one early stage of bed bugs on a pair of pants, okay fine, right there i sorted what i would keep and throw the rest away, bagged everything threw out and the rest i bagged for cleaning. I washed them in hot water dried on super hot and bagged them while my husband used the whole gallon on a 12×10 bedroom taking the bottom bed frame 3×4 wood off and spraying them and in the closet.

We also searched the other 2 rooms and mattress finding nothing and I was sure i wouldn’t because those mattresses and bed frames were just bought in March and April and we put mattress covers on them and just painted one of the rooms as well so i knew they were okay, but check to be sure.

I even threw out curtains and shades, the desk, the broken TV leaving the bedroom bare except my expensive bed frame that i want to keep, my bedpost pretty much stands 7 1/2 ft tall, my husband took the top of the bedpost down which he thinks they may have crawled up there because it is wood.

Every night since, we check to see if we see any more bed and in the morning only saw a few. One bug on the post, wall, closet and 2 dead ones, so far the bed bug treatment seems to work.

Friday we vacuumed really good then arranged to have it cleaned but later decided to take up the carpet upstairs carefully rolling it up taking it to the trash then spraying, we did not want to take any chances since it was in that one room.

We think we found the host on the mattress before taking it out because that was the only place they were in, one area, but i knew probably they were at the other end as well. we tend to think we got most of them, it was not that bad or many maybe we caught them before it got so bad, no bites or anything.

Question about bed bug treatment: what can i get to truely kill bedbugs? I don’t want it to reach the other rooms. How long will it take for them to be gone and spraying. I don’t have money to afford the professionals. I don’t plan on moving back in there until i know they are gone. I even planned to set a tester to see if they are still there by laying some sort of pad down to see if they attack it.

I’ve heard people use a hot steamer, drione dust. Will the drione dust really work and how do i apply it to my bed frame, and can i mop the floor with any thing to kill them as they crawl. we are now sleeping in the spare room that has not been used , we just furnished it. we did not move anything into the room just our bodies that we cleaned before moving in there and as i said we washed everything, really my clothes were the only thing ever in there and those have been cleaned or thrown out and now I’m living out of a bag.

Should i go over the whole upstairs with the drione dust even the other rooms and bathroom. one mattress still has the plastic on it and mattress cover. We even bleached down the garage. that was a lot of work and we are still not done. Sometimes i am scared to go to sleep and i always think they are on me even though i know they are not.

what do i do next.?
BUGWAR…..

Ryan White::

I t is a terrible and embarrassing situation, my life has not been the same since the invasion of the bed bugs! I thought that they were just a fairy tale I did not know they were the real thing. I have not had a good night rest in about eight months. I did not even know that they were in the house.

One early fall day I noticed that my daughter’s arm had a lot of bug bites on it. I thought they were mosquito bites from playing outside. She kept scratching and itching and I also was doing a lot of itching at night while trying to sleep. I asked myself what’s really going on, just like everybody else; I started lifting up mattresses and there they were.

It’s a $181.00 to exterminate the house and $75.00 every two weeks. Who has that kind of money laying around in these tough economic times? I live in Ohio and they are closing up companies left and right! I am going to Home Depot! Is it really something out there that kills these bugs?

Hi Ryan,

There is, check out our bed bug treatment section for details.

Best regards,

Jim

Carmen::

I buy a set of mattress reconstructed and i bring bedbugs home with them. I call a company call vikings and they charge me $600 for 3 rooms ,, i threw away the mattress … But now they are in other rooms. There very ugly and nasty. Any help please!!!

Carmen::

I can’t find the Diatomaceous Earth in any pet store , someone can help me and give more ideas,,, I live in Pennsylvania!! thanks

Melissa::

I recently found several bites on both of my arms. I thought it was an allergy to a cat I just adopted (it started a week or two after I got the cat). I found a bed bug 3 weeks later on my light colored sheets.

I completely stripped the bed, and all clothing and curtains from the room. I purchased some bed bug spray, but notices that even a direct spray would not kill them. I used two full bottles of the spray any way. I finally resolved to spraying Raid for flying insects (it mentions bed bugs on the label), it kills on contact.

The treatments seem to be working so far, although I was concerned that I have found a couple live bugs since the treatment, but feel better after reading here that it can take up to 30 days to kill them all.

I have also discovered that my infestation was not on my matress (after a very close inspection (not to mention zippered mattress covers for box springs and mattress) but appears to be at the crease between my wall and ceiling above the head of my bed. I stand up a couple of times a day, and inspect the wall. Thankfully, I haven’t been seeing them lately, and the treatment was almost 2 weeks ago.

An FYI for the bites, when I thought it was an allergy, I started wearing a long sleeve shirt to cover my arms, it helped. I then read where they seem to only attack exposed skin. I started wearing gym pants with socks covering my feet and hem of the pants, and the long sleeve shirt. I used my so called “battle armor” while waiting for the treatment to take hold. I had no additional bites while wearing my gear..lol.

Good luck all on this hard won battle!

tansy::

hi there! i am confused! why? I am living in Spain, and the other night, i slept in a bed, in a cave (temp about 15 deg C), and my body was being bitten regularly all over (except for face and exposed arm) by something. i looked, and could see nothing …. it was semi dark, but i could see nothing on the bed and bed linen the next day, nor could i smell anything unusual.

I put the mattress and bed linen outside in the hot sun for a few hours, thinking this would kill them, though i haven´t been back there to sleep yet. i´m basically very confused because, though i was bitten many times, i have no red or raised or itchy bite marks on me! this seems to contrast with others experiences of being bitten.

What were they if not bed bugs? certainly not mosquito, which i experience a reaction to, and would have been bit the parts of me outside the bed. they felt as if they were fleas, the way they jumped around my body …. so no pain, and no evidence of bites ..-.. well lucky me, but i don´t want to sleep back there until i’ve treated the place with the silica dioxide. can someone give me some advice, were these bed bugs or something else. thanks

Lois::

I live in an 3 story apartment building and recently found out the the first floor tenents have bed bugs. Unfortunately they had received a used living room set already occupied unknown to them. It’s been approx. 5-6 weeks now.

We’ve had a professional in twice now once for the building and found nothing. 2nd time to inspect the apartment and found the critters in the childrens beds. The building will be professionally done but I was wondering if there was anything I could do now to prevent getting the little buggers?

I do have pets and I have grandchildren that come visit so chemicals are really not an option. The building is old but the apartment themselves have been remodel. However I have the old wood floors with some gaps between the planks. Also, Do you have any idea of what the preparation will be for me for them to come in and exterminate? I’m painting my bedroom and really don’t have a lot of space to be tearing this place apart.

sleeplessinnyc::

I moved into a gorgeous place last summer and my roommates told me the day I was moving in that they were spraying for bedbugs. (Thank You!! What wonderful people!) I was devastated because I had saved so much money to move. I make 30K in NYC… its tough. Our apartment cost 2300 a month split between three people.

The landlord sprayed twice, two weeks apart to try and get all the eggs. They were back 3 months later. The worst part was I kept all my packed stuff in boxes, and then in plastic bags and didn’t open them until after the second spraying had been done. Bought the bed covers, diatomaceous earth… etc.

The second time, when they came back we sprayed again and I caulked the spaces between the floorboards and walls and every crevice of the apartment. That seemed to help in two of the bedrooms because my roommates didn’t have anymore problems. I did though because I hadn’t noticed my bedcover had ripped. Blast!!!!!

This time around I made the landlord remove the outlet covers and light switches when he sprayed. That was the only other place they could be because we emptied the bedrooms. I spray the floors down with 70% isopropanol every couple days and I plan on filling cracks in the outlets with insulation foam after the second spraying.

I also bought two mattress covers, and put them both over the mattress in opposite directions (zippers) in case the outer one rips. At first I bought the 90$ allergy luxe one, but the bedbugs I found last had been living on the cloth like outer surface of the cover and on the metal (yes! metal) bedframe. Go with the plastic kind. I think they work better because they are slippery and hard to climb.

I now put my clothes in large plastic bins immediately after I come back from the laundry mat. I also wash my blankets every week religiously. This has helped as well because they have no place to hide. I threw out every piece of furniture and now just have a bed and kitchen table. I am going to wait another year before I buy any furniture. It is just too difficult to get them out when they have places to hide.

There really is no point in moving because if they are in my stuff I will just be taking my problems to another building of people. When they are gone or when I’ve saved up enough money (which ever comes first) is when I will make a clean break. I have decided to only bring my clothes the next time I move.

It has been a year and they are slowly being eradicated. They have come back slower and I rarely wake up with bites now. We sprayed three times (twice each time two weeks apart). Be prepared to have a lot of patience and not get lazy about cleaning. Get down on your hands and knees and scrub the floorboards with a brush.

At this point it has become a blessing to be poor and not have any possessions. Imagine that.

Good luck to anyone who has this problem. If they don’t come back this time consider this my road map to bedbug success. I will post again in six months if they are gone.

Tashi::

For months I have been waking up with massive welts, painful, warm, and itches like crazy. Nothing seemed to help the itching, the pharmacy suggested cortisone but that did nothing for me. It was so hard to function, I spent all day itching all over, so uncomfortable. For the longest time my husband and I thought I was having allergic reactions to something because he didn’t share the same symptoms.

We finally decided to go to the doctor because I was having a hard time sleeping and doing day to day stuff because of all the itching. The doctor was puzzled he had no clue what was wrong with me, he said I feel so sorry for you I have never seen this before, so he ordered blood tests, that was about $2000 worth of blood work, but nothing came back out of the ordinary except that I had a blood inflammation, so he suggested I see a dermatologist.

Right when we were getting ready to make an appointment, my husband saw a little bug on the wall next to the outlet, neither of us knew what it was so i went online and started researching and since my welts always appear in the mornings I thought well I must be getting these bites at nights, so I looked up bedbugs and a chill just went over my body when I found the picture of the very bug we had in the container.

After reading up about them we started to search everywhere, we didn’t find a lot on the mattress and there was not a lot of signs they were on the mattress so we figured they must be living somewhere else, like in the wall. We bombed the room, we strayed the bed with t-tree oil, we washed everything in hot water, and that took care of them for about a week or so then, we started getting bit again (my husband bites ate just red marks on his back, previously we thought they were just hair bumps). I started sleeping in the sofa trying to avoid them, when I do sleep in the the bed, I wake up every couple hours checking the bed, I even started wearing insect repellent to bed.

The inspect repellent helped, then last night I decided well not to wear any, and I work up itching all over so I took a flashlight and check the bed trying not to wake my husband, and I found 3 fat ones, I immediately put the repellent on.

We are now planning to move, but our landlord told us we need to give one month’s notice or pay August’s rent. So we are thinking well we have medical record, blood work, evidence in a container, not to mention the many scars I have all over my body from the bites, welts, and itching ( I don’t even dress the way I use to I have to be fully covered before leaving the house), which means this is a real emergency that we have to move, so if they give us a hard time, we are going to report them to health department.

My mother-in-law was saying considering how much money we have been spending over the past months because of these bedbugs, the landlord should pay over moving costs, that would be nice, but doubt they will go for it, doesn’t even sound as if they want to give us our deposit back.

Bottom line, I really feel for all of you, because I know what it is living in fear, waking up throughout the night checking the bed, I literally don’t want to fall asleep because of fear of been bitten.

That’s my story and hopefully when i move it will be the end of it. We have a new bed, but we not taking any chances, we plan on getting rid of the bed and sofa, all the bedding, mats, anything they could live in, and searching everything else before moving, and washing all the clothes. We do not want to take these things to our next apartment.

aye::

Hi,
I have been experiencing bed bugs for months now and still trying to find a way on how to get rid of them. They seem to grow in numbers each day. Is it true that alcohol could eliminate them?

Ayen::

im sick and tired of it. how can i get rid of it. somebody help me please!

Mer::

I’ve had four different exterminators treat for bedbugs over the past year. In all my experience, this is what I can tell you:

1 – Hire a GOOD exterminator. He should come wearing serious protective clothing and a mask. If he doesn’t have that, send him home and call someone else. The exterminator should do the following:

* A thorough inspection of the mattress, bed, headboard and all wood in the room, including furniture, floorboards, baseboards, outlets and light switches.

* Spray all the wood in the room with a mixture of a growth regulator (IGR) and a Pyrethroid, such as Suspend SC. Make sure you get all the cracks and crevices. Allow the room to air out and dry.

* Spray the mattress, boxspring, bed frame, and also any living room furniture you have (as the bugs travel with you and infest elsewhere).

* Once dry, dust the cracks and crevices of the room in a light (very light) dusting of diatomaceous earth. Get a simple manual duster to spray the area with. Be careful to get the organic kind, not the crystalizing kind that his highly dangerous and cancer-causing. (I had an exterminator that used the later kind, which got all over my skin and face, and caused my skin to peel and a sunburn sensation for two weeks afterwards!)

Note that you can do all of this yourself, but it’s best to have an experienced exterminator do it for your first round of exterminations, which should be a minimum of 3 over the course of 6 weeks. (This is because there is absolutely no pesticide that can kill an egg. Eggs hatch in 7-10 days, at which point a new round of exterminations will be necessary to kill the bugs.)

2 – Sanitize your place. This is very time consuming, but you must be diligent in your effort.

* Wash and dry all of your clothes and any linens, bedding, curtains or other fabric in HOT water and HIGH heat. The dryer heat must reach a minimum of 120 degrees (140 is better). I dry my clothes twice in this heat, just to be safe. Immediately after the dryer is finished, fold the clothes and put them directly into a sealed plastic bag. Keep all your clothes in plastic bags until after the first round of exterminations, although I recommend waiting until after the second round to really re-settle into your wardrobe and closet. (Make sure your wardrobe is treated as well during the extermination.)

* Anything that can’t be laundered, you can put in a black plastic bag and sit in the sun on a very (VERY) hot day. Again, you want the temperature to reach 120 degrees for an extended period of time.

* Encase your treated mattress and boxspring in a bedbug-sealed mattress cover. These are essentially dustmite covers, but with a special sealed zipper closure to make sure nothing can escape. This does two things – it prevents any surviving bugs from getting out, and thereby allows you to starve them to death, and helps protect your mattress from future infestations. They generally run about $100.

* As bedbugs can live in nearly any wood or warm place, they have been known to breed in furniture, books and other clutter. Go through everything with a close eye. Clean up any eggs or bugs you may see, again throwing them out immediately in a sealed bag. Anything that you can’t examine closely to be sure it’s safe, put into a sealed bin (I prefer clear ones so I can see what’s inside!). Keep those items sealed for AT LEAST 18 MONTHS! Bedbugs can survive without feeding for up to 18 months. If one little guy escaped the pesticides and found his way into one of your books or other items, he can start the infestation all over again.

* Once a week, be sure to sweep up the diatomaceous earth and any dead bugs and throw them out in a sealed bag. Then re-apply the diatomaceous earth in a thin layer. Repeat this process until all the bugs are gone. Also repeat the liquid process every 4-6 weeks, either by yourself or via an exterminator.

I, personally, find that the best way to treat the bedbug problem is through preventative care.

~ Avoid clutter.
~ If you wake up with a bite that you didn’t have the night before, you should be wary and examine the problem immediately!
~ Do preventative treatments regularly throughout the year. Just as most city buildings have monthly exterminations, you should do a monthly treatment of the IGR and Pyrethrins, as well as regular crevice treatments of diatomaceous earth. Also, spray in the walls when possible. (This can be done by turning off your breakers, removing the light and outlet covers, and spraying into the openings. Or you can drill small holes into the walls, spray through the holes, then patch them up.)

Most importantly, though, EDUCATE YOURSELF. The more you know about the bugs and their habits, the more power you have to fight them! And don’t listen to what the exterminators tell you – do your own research. I’ve had at least three exterminators that told me variously – “No bug can live for more than a few months without food,” “If the bug’s living in the wall, then you’ve got bigger problems,” and “Don’t worry – this pesticide will penetrate the walls and will kill any eggs out there.” All of those are FALSE. Bedbugs live up to 18 months without food, they DO live in the walls frequently, and there is no pesticide that can kill an egg!

The good news is that if you educate yourself, follow the instructions above to a T, and are diligent about this, you can overcome the bugs!

bilbob::

My opinion is, if you have a couch in an infested apartment, get rid of it. If you have a wooden bed frame- get rid of it and buy a metal bed frame. Get a new mattress and box spring. With the metal bed frame- get a pack of fly paper, unravel one, wrap each bed frame leg with fly paper, make sure it doesn’t curl back up- you need to check this daily. Fly paper was designed to catch all sorts of flies large and very tiny, it will catch and hold the bed bugs. Place the fly paper several inches above the base of the frame, make sure you don’t bump into it and replace every 6 months to one year- the glue starts to lose its stickiness about that time. I’m Bed bug bite free for two years and probably bug free in my apartment too. The only real way to get rid of them is to starve them out. It takes time but it’s worth it. Also check your purse, backpack and day packs on a daily basis and wash often if possible- that’s how they often get into apartments- we carry them in. Good Luck to All!!

Mylin::

I would like to know if you have any suggestions. I am moving out in my current condo. My roommate happens to have bedbugs in her room and I am sure that they have traveled to my room but since I have had experience from these creatures, I have been lucky to not have it in my room.

I will be moving to a new place and will not be bringing any of my furniture and bed. I will only be bringing my clothes, books, luggage and kitchen appliances. I would like to know if you have any suggestions to prevent me from bringing these bad creatures to my new place since I will be buying a new bed and furniture. Please advise.

Thank you.

margaret::

I bought diatomaceous earth at Lowes

kat::

I think I have a bed bug problem, it is very embarrassing to acknowledge it or even to ask the store person to help you diagnose the ‘bedbug’ problem.

It has been months since I have a good night sleep, yet my fiance persisted that it is all in my head. He says he’s okay most of the time, only occasional bites here and there, and explains that it might be due to mosquito bites of hot summer months. I have had not had a good sleep in three months, and i am disturbed with these so-called ‘invisible’ mosquitoes. I swear i can feel the crawling under my mattress at night time, and I can’t stand it anymore. I know it is bed bugs though I have no evidence or any dead insects on my mattress that is visible to human eyes. Despite the fact,

I am taking the drastic measures. It will take a while until I can get my hands on the online-ordered products to prevent bed bugs. My question is, “Is it okay if I use the flea killer powder for my mattress now until I can get the proper material?” It says on the label that it will kill ticks, fleas, lice, ants, and roaches. “Any products anybody can recommend?”

Jim::

I was at Home Depot looking for some degreaser when I came across this bed bug spray by Sprayway.

Each can of bug spray was $6.48 and claims that you will have a good night’s sleep without being bitten by bed bugs.

Here is what they state:

A spotless home? Bed Bugs used to be associated with unclean dwellings, NO LONGER TRUE! The population of the little “bloodsuckers” is increasing each year. With drastic increase in travel, your suitcase could be transporting them home. You don’t know who stayed at the hotel you were at last week, last month, or last summer!

Don’t sleep with the enemy and don’t let the bed bugs bite, use GOOD NIGHT! GOOD NIGHT is registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

and here is the State Right to Know section:

FEDERAL:
Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA):
Exempt.
STATE RIGHT-TO-KNOW:
Pennsylvania/New Jersey Right-To-Know (Chemical and CAS No.):
Deionized Water 7732-18-5
Petroleum Distillate 64742-47-8
N-Octyl Bicycloheptene Dicarboximide 113-48-4
d-Phenothrin 26002-80-2
Liquefied petroleum gas mixture (68476-86-8)
Propane 74-98-6
n-Butane 106-97-8
Isobutane 75-28-5
CANADA:
Domestic Substances List:
Ingredients of this product are not listed: d-Phenothrin
Non-Domestic Substances list:
Ingredients of this product are not listed: d-Phenothrin

Seems safe and not a bad idea to prevent bed bugs from hitching a ride home with you, however, I doubt this bug spray will kill the population.

xyz::

I saw 2 bed bugs in my bed….i recently moved into a new apartment…did not see them since 3 months …were in my previous place…..

I just have my bed and table and clothes,,,,,seems they keep following me…my apt complex is getting an exterminator tomorrow…
can i get rid of the …should i throw away the bed….?
I washed all my clothes and bedsheets…..
since house is empty with barely any furniture….do you thing the bugs may be gone in one shot?

Judy::

I recently stayed one night at a local hotel & have what I believe to be BB bites. No one else that stayed in the room has any symptoms. How can I be sure that I haven’t brought any of them home with me? I don’t see any, but want to be sure. What should I do with my luggage? I read about freezing things. Do you actually put stuff in the regular freezer along with your food?

Anna::

I found bed bugs in the apartment. I have complained them about these bugs. Will the owners take care of these? And, I am upset mentally because of these bed bugs, because i can hardly get any sleep at nights. Can i transfer to another apartment. Is it a good idea to do it?

sarah::

I’ve had bed bugs for 6 months and can not get rid of them I’ve tried everything except an exterminator. Don’t know for sure, but may have came though the floor from the neighbors house. Is it the landlords job to get rid of them?

I am sick and tired of these blasted bugs!

Aaron::

Before you have furniture in the mattress covers or in plastic be sure to go to your local dollar store and buy 90% rubbing alcohol and spray your furniture with it. Then set your furniture in the sun for 24 to 48 hours. Note that you don’t want to spray near flames and some plastics and finished items may be damaged by this… Fabric should be fine!

Sewgirl Judy::

Dear xyz,

We found a bedbug near the suitcase that my husband took to Boston with him. I panicked, looked on the internet until I found a site that let me identify them with certainty. Had to use a 10x magnifier to do so and count the hairs on the bug’s head shield, but sure enough it was a bed bug.

: ( Got to thinking, Diatomaceous Earth!! Yep just like the suggestion left by Leanna, except I wore a dust mask and only put the stuff around the perimeter of the box springs (under the mattress) and around the legs of the bed for each bed in the house.

Have NEVER been bitten or seen sign of another bed bug. The stuff I got was agricultural from an organic farmer in the area, you can probably get it from the farm feed store, or elevator, or check the internet for local organic farmers.

Hope this works for you.

MK::

I live in NYC and bed bugs are an epidemic here. We currently have an infestation in out small studio apartment. We had pest control do an inspection and they could not find anything. I put the mattress and box spring inside dust mite covers, and while peeling back the cloth on the box spring I noticed one. The next day I saw one on the side the side of the bed sheet, and then found another on the bathroom wall.

The Sleep Easy spray only seems to aggravate them more, and I usually wake up with multiple bites on my neck face and arms. I have resorted to sleeping in long socks and long pajamas tucked into the socks to keep them from biting my legs. I sleep with the lights on, and sleep lightly in hopes of catching them, but they are extremely clever at hiding and not being seen.

The specimens that I did find looked like flax seeds. Same size and color. I noticed that they can flatten their bodies out, almost to the thickness of a sheet of 20 pound paper, in order to access tight spaces like cracks and crevices.

I have been bitten close to 100 times, and this really starts to take an emotional toll, making me afraid to go to sleep, and or afraid to go home. I am unemployed and live on a fixed budget and cannot afford an exterminator, or afford to buy a new bed. We are trying to move and find a new apartment but we cannot afford the current housing market here in NYC. These bed bugs really are a living nightmare.

My next step is to try and put the legs of the bed in plastic containers and fill them with water. I have also heard that sticking double sided tape onto the bed frame can help in catching them when they crawl onto the bed. My one fear is that will just simply crawl onto the ceiling and drop down onto me though. These bed bugs seem highly evolved and very intelligent. I really think that the government should intervene and create some sort of program to eradicate them for good.

Lisa::

I read about the cold treatment with CO2 but I’d like to suggest another way that CO2 could be used.

A technique used by some to store grain and keep it from being infested by bugs whose eggs were present already is to place the grain in a bucket, put a chunk of dry ice on top, loosely place the lid on top, wait for the CO2 to sublime and then snap the lid on the bucket.

The CO2 is heavier than the air and so displaces it out of the bucket and bugs cannot survive because there’s no oxygen. You’d still want to leave it in the container with the air tight lid for several days. It could also be done with bags rather than buckets but it might be trickier as it would need to be in a walled container to support it while the CO2 was sublimating.

If you close the lid from the start pressure will build and it may pop off. Very large buckets with tight lids are available for under $20 at home brewery stores.

Note: If the lid is too tight, it may explode due to the increase in pressure, so make sure that the lid is tight, but not so tight it won’t pop off under pressure!

This method would be useful for things that can’t go through the wash easily or items that water will damage such as stuffed animals, pillows, books, dry clean only items…

1 pound of dry ice is supposed to fill 8.3 cubic feet.

More useful- 1/4 pound will fill a five gallon bucket.

amron::

I’m amazed at the damage these insidious creatures can inflict in such a short period of time. My son was bitten 400 times in a two night feeding frenzy by the bed bugs that came with a used bed. My husband and daughter had no visible bites, and I was bitten 60 times.

We’ve had the exterminator in twice, and I’m praying that the pests are gone. We’re not even living at home because my son’s reaction was so bad that he had to take prednisone. It is interesting that some people have huge itchy welts, and others have no reaction whatsoever.

I am not a pesticide user indoors and even garden organically, but I’ve made an exception for these little buggers. It’s really like a plague from the ten commandments days-I pray that God will free me from the pestilence.

tmarie in Denver::

Amen Sister! I feel the same about the plague. These things must be of the Devil. They come out at night, suck your blood, go back to their nest and crap then their babies eat that. From hell I tell you. Crazy like a bed bug?

These little monsters are eating me as i type this. My husband thinks i am crazy. This is my 2nd go around in about 3 weeks. Hugh welts and tracks that look like a constellation. Will try dusting them. The alcohol spray. I feel as if I’ll never really get rid of them.

This site has been really informative; maybe they will inherit the earth!!!

melissa::

We have been seeing bed bugs on the ceiling. Has anyone else seen this?

maggie anne::

Aaron had mentioned that it was a good idea to put furniture out in the sun in plastic bags- be careful with this if you live in an infested apartment complex: the bugs aren’t just inside! Be sure that the plastic bags are completely sealed so more bugs can’t hitch a ride back to your apartment and DON’T bring the bags inside with you.

Philippe::

I have been dealing with this problem for about a month and a half now. Though I keep hearing all of you talk about how you can see the bugs, I have only seen two bugs during this time.

The thing that is bothering me is not the bites, but the feeling of them crawling on me at night. It is really ruining my life considering I am a full time student and have to work to support myself.

The bites aren’t bad, as a matter of fact, they seemed to be just like mosquito bites. I threw away my bed, and that worked for 2-3 days then they were back. I bombed my apartment 3 times, washed all my clothes in hot water countless times, cleaned my apt top to bottom, ect, ect.

Bought the BB powder, and it seemed to work but I feel sick in the morning after breathing it in… Anyone else have this problem? God this is really ruining my social/love life as well… A nightmare!

I talked to my landlord and they are willing to pay the exterminator, lets hope this works….

What can I do???

Patsy::

Hi,

I have just moved into an apartment complex and within two weeks I had my first bite. I had pest control come since I thought it may be from ants I had around my window. Within the next week I got so many bites, but I then thought they were flea bites. I had them come back and spray again and it still continued.

I did find small black thin dead bugs in my bed and some brown bugs that I now think are bed bugs. I think I have both since I found two different looking bugs. The management is doing the pest control, but I have been treated 4 times, not for bed bugs but for fleas. I did show samples of the dead bugs to the guy but he never indicated that they were bed bugs. In fact he said they were not.

I now have new samples and I am certain I also have bed bugs because one is very large and some have left spots and larvae looking material. This is my first time with this and I am freaked. I live in Florida. The apartment had new carpet installed before I moved in and they think it came from that or from the truck the carpet came in. Has anyone had this problem with new carpet?

Thanks so much for all the posts. They are helpful.

Bugged out::

Waging war is what I’m doing.

I have a nephew staying with me and he brought bedbugs with him. I have only seen them in my daughters room, which he was using for 3 weeks. Now he is staying in my basement apartment, so I’m sure he has introduced them there too.

Over the last two days I have been throwing out everything that I don’t need. This is a lesson in living with less, for sure.

I have purchased vinyl bed covers as well as dust mite/allergen covers, new metal be frames that will serve as boxsprings( throwing away my old boxsprings). I will be spraying Pro B1 Home and apartment insecticide (propoxur 1%) as well as dusting with Pro Ant and Roach Pyrodust (Pyrethrins 0.2%, Piperony butoxide 1.0%).

All laundry will be done at one time at the laundromat and double bagged. Anything that we don’t need over the winter will go in the garage.

Every corner, crack, crevice and surface of my 3 level, 3 bedroom house will be treated.

It’s been difficult convincing my 11 year old that the books have to go away. I found a dead bb on one of her pieces of art!

Nothing is coming back in this house (from the garage storage) for 18 months without a very careful inspection. I hope that our cold temps will kill them over the winter although from what I read that doesn’t seem likely.

This is a battle I plan on winning, although I know it’s going to be a long course.

I wish all of you battling this, the best of luck in eradicating them.

Toronto, Canada

DD::

I’ve lived in my apartment a little over 3 months and recently discovered that i have bedbugs in two bedrooms. I know that bedbugs are a traveling bug, but I don’t think we bought them into the apartment. I feel that it is a pre-existing condition. I reported the problem to the apartment manager and they said I’m responsible for the treatment. Is there anyway I can prove that we are not the cause of this problem. I know this may sound ignorant but i lived at my previous residence for 7 years and never had a bedbug infestation. I’ve called several pest control businesses and they said I would have a hard time proving that we were not the cause. We have several nest in our walls and it’s just hard for me to believe it was us.

Jim::

Hey DD,

Can you call the city or county and check for complaints of bed bugs? If there are no complaints, perhaps now would be a good time to file one so that the next person has something to show the landlord. Note that the landlord may contact your previous landlord to see you had issues as well.

Have you searched Google for history of bedbugs with your landlord / address?

Local pest control companies can also be helpful – when asking for a extermination quote, ask them if they have had to treat your address in the past. They may give up the information voluntarily.

It is very rare that the landlord will take responsibility for the bed bugs!

Good luck and keep us up to date!

MissKitten::

This is disgusting. I am so freaked out. We have been sleeping on the couch for 5 nights. The exterminator isn’t coming until Tuesday, and that’s just for the inspection. I know we have those sneaky nasty bastards- I want these bed bugs gone! I’m afraid they will come out to the living room, but I cannot sleep in that bed.

My boyfriend went to the ER THREE TIMES due to boils/blisters/sores. Diagnosed with Cellulitis, MRSA, and shingles. Did I mention he has no insurance? And spent god knows how much and took both antibiotics and antivirals. Several months later, I’m realizing that the bed bugs affect him far worse than myself. They are like a cross between a mosquito and flea bite for me.

However the mental part is making me crazy. I’ve suspected bed bugs for a while, and pushed it out of my head. Then, we were lying in bed, I felt so creepy-crawlie, and saw something move beside my face. I pushed down and blood spurted. Got up, told my boyfriend to change clothes, and we went to the couch. I still avoided calling my landlord for a few days, just trying to process and absorb it… Did I mention I am an adult who is struggling with severe adult add (unmediated/untreated). I am the queen of clutter. I’m not DIRTY, but I have piles of clothes, piles of books, papers, ect… I keep the living area tidy but my room is all over the place.

I’ve got some ideas on how to treat the bed bugs, trying to figure out if I should buy a mini steam thing or a mini vacuum. I have 2 rugs, one in the bedroom (where they are) that I could throw away and not care, and one in the living room that is fairly expensive and Turkish.

Before I realized what was going on, I was ALREADY pushed to the point of basket case. Everything in my life is snowballing, my finances are out of control, I can’t afford to live on my salary, and I CANNOT afford this. Emotionally either. I truly am a HOT MESS right now.

Regardless, I don’t have a choice. The blessing is that I am forced to clean. But I don’t want to be in my bedroom. I am so grossed out by those f***ers.

Did I mention I have a miniature cat? She is a 3lb runt and full grown. She is also truly psychotic. I cannot put her in a kennel… when I took her to the vet she turned ferrel. Is this bed bug extermination going to poison her?

Nice to read other peoples stories, takes a little of the shame away. But it’s an epidemic. Sometime over summer the city paper had a front page article about them… too bad it wasn’t informative, but about one dudes story (Baltimore.)

Just thinking about bed bugs makes me want to throw up.

Wish me luck. When I go in to bag up clothes (throw away, wash, and cannot wash), what should I do if I find eggs or their nesting place? I don’t have a vacuum or a steamer… although was thinking of returning something to Walmart and getting a mini vacumn. I am so broke i don’t even have change to cash in for gas.

Sigh… Ick…. This SUCKS!

Donna::

My son just informed me that night before last he slept on a friends couch that they found was infested with bedbugs. Do I need to worry about him bring any of them into my home on the shorts or t-shirt he slept in? He just put the clothes in the hamper when he got home yesterday morning & I am worried about infestation now. Should I be?

MeeShee::

I live in North Dakota, i think i got them from a stupid hotel i stayed at this summer. I couldn’t find any of the stupid bugs on my mattress or my boxspring (brand new)but i found a bunch of them on one of my gym bags and another camp of the bugs on my bedskirt, so i threw them out

Here is what i have done so far:

– Vacuumed my mattress and bed frame
– Sprayed the heck out of my mattress with rubbing alcohol 90%,
– sprayed the heck out of my mattress with HOT SHOT bedbug and flea killer
– sprayed the heck out of my carpet, closet with the hot shot and the alcohol.
– washed all my bedding in hot water and dried them in the highest temp.
– i bought three HOT SHOT foggers and set em off before i went to work… (i live in a one bedrm apt )

i sprayed myself with rubbing alcohol and now i hope the biting stops.

Any other suggestions i don’t think they are too bad but i know i got them and i am trying to get rid of the bastards before it gets too bad..

ANY OTHER IDEAS?

Also… I’ve heard these bugs cant stand too cold or too hot weather… Could i just leave the window and balcony door open?( it gets to -20F and lower in the winter here?

Ruth::

I was thankful for Keith Gordon’s comments about bedbugs. The place I am living has had quite an influx of bed bugs in several apartments. I have been reading all these different things and heard different things and it gets confusing. I will share his article with the people who run the place. (It is a senior center)

ml::

I got bed bugs from my apartment-we has a large influx of new tenants. The landlord says it is our problem. It is an old building, and all that is being done is herding them from one apartment to another and back again.

Right now I’m sleeping on an air mattress. I’m moving to a house and am afraid I will bring them along. Any advice? I’ve bombed and used lawn and garden spray which seems to control them in the apartment, but still get bit up as they get sent back to my apartment.

hatebb::

Any one know where to get the food grade diatomaceous earth? I live in Michigan. thanks. I can only find it in Ace, which is a non-food-grade big bag.

Bed Bug Victim::

I am currently dealing with these Bed Bugs who are living off me and my children but are sparing my boyfriend. We had been dealing with bites for over two months and one finally appeared to confirmed what we would have never guessed; BED BUGS.
We rid ourselves of our sectional which was infested, our mattress and boxspring which we found a few in, soaked babies playpen which was also infested in boiling hot water which worked found the nasty critters at bottom of tub. Steamed the floors sprayed with a Home Depot found insecticide (didn’t work) and rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol definitely is a temporary relief.

Currently ordered 2gal of SteriFab and the Diatomaceous Earth with bulb to disperse the dust and will let you all know if these team of defense against the blood sucking vermins is effective.

The Home Depot brands and rubbing alcohol cost $33 plus laundry $50.
Online products 2Gal STerifab, 1bottle of Diatomaceous Earth, and bellow bulb duster $114 plus laundry $50.

Will return with update, stay tuned!

Bed Bug Victim::

OH and for those of you questioning of a possible bed bug problem don’t waste time for answers just take Precaution and action of a “possible” infestation.

My local Environmental Health Dept advised it can take up to 6wks before you get bit in numbers and a family of bed bugs so the sooner you treat your home the sooner to rid yourself of a “possible” or “future” issues with these little critters.

Trust me I originally thought my bites were of mosquitos, then it changed to fleas, after two months one appeared on my arm after i felt a burn which then confirmed the beginning of the end of these critters.
So take ACTION ASAP!!!!

Please let your neighbors know or have no visitors while treating or you will just allow these critters other “possible” victims and NONE OF US deserve having to live with these BB’s so why continue the spread EVEN if you “THINK” you might have them tell others…. Also I found my bugs with thorough inspection with flash light and peeling back and looking in little cracks and crevices… but still missed some probably in the outside lining where my carpet and wall meet up…

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE COMBATING THESE VERMINS!
LET OTHERS KNOW WHAT WAS MOST EFFECTIVE FOR YOUR HOME… DON’T BE SHY!!!!!!!!!!!

Loopylung::

I recently moved into an apartment. I bought a new mattress and plastic cover for it day one. I was fine for a while but one night I fell asleep on the couch, woke up at 3 in the morning and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning covered in massive welts that looked almost like the beginning of chicken pox. I had no idea what they were, and the next day they were worse. After searching around on the internet, I came to the conclusion they were bedbug bites.

The third day, my hands were so swollen I could not even bend my fingers and they started getting little pus filled lumps. I had to have someone drive me to an ER. They looked at me, laughed, then gave me a steroid shot and a prescription of Prednisone. I started taking it and all the bumps dissipated.

I cleaned all my bedding, hoping that it would work. Now my Prednisone is out and the bumps are showing up again. I have no idea where they are hiding, because my mattress has always been in a plastic cover.

I am a poor college student, any ideas?

Ronald Ruppert Jr::

I read about bug bombs and everyone said it just made the bugs scatter. I then read about Diatomaceous Earth, so I mixed the earth with roach proof and spread the earth all around the perimeter of the room then around the Bed then I set off the bomb. It’s one day later and I’m not finding any bed bugs I think I may have to set off another bomb in two weeks if they left eggs but I’m ready.

Also, I had to use a hot blow drier to kill the bugs in my hair then shampoo them out.

ash::

We first came into contact with the bed bug situation while I was seven months pregnant in a large apartment complex. I had been getting bites for two weeks, and even though I checked multiple times every night- everywhere, could never find a single one. The first night I saw one, we found several- it was like they just decided to make their presence known.

We had the complex bring out an exterminator, bagged and washed everything, steam cleaned every night(!), and thought we were clear. What we went through was a good week followed by a bad for two months! We then moved to another apartment off the complex, and found them again! We threw away everything, and because we had no furniture moved in with a relative.

We literally just finished moving the few things we have into my mother’s basement and guess what? She’s found them in her upstairs! It’s a horrible thing to go through- especially over and over again, but we will definitely use all the resources on this website and let you know how it works out… together we can beat them!

Timothy Williams::

Diatamacious earth is the way to go! It’s totally organic, safe for people & animals and the nasty little bugs can’t develop a defense against it…it scrapes the wax coating that coats their bodies…they then die from dehydration.

You can also kill them by spraying with isopropyl alcohol…but the eggs hatch every day! Move your furniture away from walls and anything that bugs can crawl up, dust heavily with diatamacious earth, cover your mattress and box springs with bed bug covers…remove bed frames and ornate beds, spray with alcohol and store until the problem is gone.

Buy cheap metal bed frames and coat the legs with petroleum jelly..they can’t cross it…and don’t forget to put DE between the mattress and box springs…your goal is to break their life cycle. BB’s have to feed between molting and before laying eggs. Nymphs are hard to see, but 2nd, 3rd & 4th stage bugs are easier to see…if you see one, you probably have hundreds…it’s war…don’t be shy!

If you choose chemical’s for bed bug treatment, spray/fog every few days for a few month’s because the eggs are hatching every day and the BB’s will feed on whatever they can, including your pets! Buy pet beds with a separate mattress or pad and sprinkle DE between them.

What is most disturbing that 3/4 of most people have no reaction to bites, so have NO symptoms! No welts, no itching & no marks…DE is the way to go!

You’ll have to live with dust everywhere, but that’s much better than the bugs!

oscar brown::

i went to the movies yesterday and my hand started itching, I’ve been scratching since my hand is swollen and my chest haves red patches. when i got home i noticed my hand and chest was swelling fast i went to take my shirt off and there was a bedbug in my shirt it was small i tried to kill it, it didn’t work so i flushed it in the sink. am worried cause am still swelling what can i do to reduce the swelling with the itching.

susan b::

We have been dealing with bed bugs for almost 2 months. At first, we were told my bites were a rash, MRSA etc. It was so frustrating. Finally, I found one crawling on my bed as I was making it one morning and sure enough, Bed Bugs.

We had to dry on HOT all of our clothes, empty out all drawers/ closet and they sprayed the other day. We have encased our mattress / box springs in BB proof covers. This is costing us over $1000. I am finally able to sleep. They will come back for another treatment in 30 days, and every 30 days for 4 months. I’m told that this is the only way to get rid of them and that you can not do it on your own. The eggs STICK and they multiply quickly….just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

This is a nightmare and I wish everyone the very best!

melitza luna::

I have been dealing with bug bugs for almost two years now. I have had professional people come and treat for bed bugs but they keep coming back. I live in a duplex and my neighbor won’t get their place done so they keep coming back. I cant afford to pay someone again; is there anything i can do it control them or stop them from coming back?

Please help, I have a 6 year old son that has bad asthma.

brandi::

I just discovered that I have bed bugs. I’m not sure how long that I have had them. From what I could tell we had both adult and small bugs. There appeared to be maybe approximately 30 to 50 visible on my bed. Have I had them long? I didn’t see them in any other room. Can I keep them from spreading and will it be hard to get rid of them?

frantic in az::

OMG!! i first noticed bedbugs 3 months ago and have had an exterminator come out 3 times now. did everything they told me to and 2 nights ago moved back into the room with new everything and this morning woke up with 3 tiny bites…really, i cant believe these pests don’t go away!!!!

what now????

Bed Bug Victim::

Well i said i would return…. Ok so ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL really works on the critters but you have to see them and spray them good because i saw one hiding on our sheets and BAM i showered that vampire with the alcohol and it died immediately…

DE powder works extremely well and I put it all around where wall and carpet meet as the little critters hide there and under our bed on the carpet and in between mattress and box spring… I also purchased Sterifab and so far bites have been very minimal and far in between… What a relief! Although I think they have moved into my hair..

I saw a couple of postings that said they can so i did treat my head with lice shampoo and that seems to only be a temporary fix because again my head itches extremely bad and get bites all down my neck so I feel they did get in my hair. So I will look forward to any postings as how to get rid of them in your hair.

As far as my house goes I think with PERSISTENCE, DAILY follow up and treatment, thorough inspection you can get rid of them. But one thing I can say is fogging doesn’t work and for us the best thing was to throw out our sectional, matress and box spring, no visitors or traveling prior to treatment. I know it seems drastic to throw out your furniture but if that is where you find the abundance of them why not get them out IMMEDIATELY. But make sure to wrap or mark furniture when you dump it so that way you don’t allow someone to bring them into their home.

Knowledge is power and I thank all the websites and postings that took a major part in us battling the bedbugs. It saved us from having to deal with an exterminator and costing us a whole lot more but one thing i can say is if you are to treat them on your own be ready to fight them on a daily basis and be persistent with treatment… it is extremely tiring and repetitive but if you truly want to get them out of your life you need to do just that.

So remember ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, Diatamacious EARTH, STERIFAB, and discard of furniture (optional but your best alternative) with persistence and daily treatments this will do the trick.

Please note wherever in your household you have slept after finding a infestation, any clothes or items that are around or near an infestation and moved be aware you probably moved it to that area as well you should continue to stay in the same location to avoid spreading them to another part of the house but you should still inspect and treat other areas of your household for prevention. I found some newly hatched nymphs in my daughters room hidden in the fur of stuffed animals slowly making way to her bed so they will hide in the least places you would think but they are always near their food source.

For those postings that are looking for treatment of the bites there truly isn’t one however I was a statistic of allergic reaction to them and I found hydrocortisone was not that effective but this will sound funny but true HOT water seemed to soothe them if you can withstand that and the most effective I found was allergy medicine worked extremely well but I also read that lavender is like a force field to the bed bugs. I did try that and I didn’t get bit but I can’t say for sure if that was the cause but worth a try.

Good Luck everyone and hope my experience will help others in their Battle.

O BTW—- if an exterminator tells you you can not do it on your own think about it why would they tell you otherwise they want the business but I can’t stress it enough that if you are going to treat on your own its persistence that counts so if you can’t then an exterminator will be your person.

I have to warn you though I have done A LOT of research and read A LOT of postings with that said the majority said exterminators don’t work but one exterminator did post that this is true and continued to say when he first got a call he himself didn’t know how to handle them but with more calls he finally figured it out, and, that if done right they shouldn’t have to come back more than 2-3 times due to hatching of eggs but remember if your neighbors are infected you are wasting your time unless they are ridding them themselves the bed bugs will just continue to come back.

Lou Range::

Why don’t you provide instructions on creating a Bed Bug Barrier so that bed bugs can’t climb up and bite you? Not really a treatment, but something everyone will find useful.

Keshia Johnson::

I’d like to try the DE treatment for bed bugs, but where can I buy the DE Powder from?

Catherine Claybone::

Please provide a quote to my center for the bed bug treatment. The dorms are having a major issue with these pests and we are looking to have the hot treatment done.

Kate::

I am pretty sure I was getting bitten by bed bugs, but have never been able to find anything. I did find though that putting Peppermint Oil on the bites helped more than anything else I tried. It relieved the itching for over 24 hours.

marie::

I work in a hotel, and we have had problems every now and then with bed bug bites but i work at the front desk and don’t go to rooms very often. I have had these bites for months now, It started with a few bites on my legs that itch so much i bruise my skin from scratching.

I haven’t pursued an answer for what it was but in the last two weeks I have been getting increasing number of bites. One of two new ones a day and I now have about 18 spots some are close by each other but they range from neck to legs. They take weeks to heal and continue to itch. My boyfriend sleeps in the same bed and has no bites.

I haven’t seen any bugs or eggs or anything, I was wondering if they could live in my car? Does it match bed bug characteristics to bite one bite a day only? Under a magnifying glass it looks like the skin rises almost like a boil or wart and after i have scratched even a little, the top breaks and it looks like the center is a thin scab or blister.

They are tiny dots smaller then mosquito bites and they bleed easily. It doesn’t seem like bed bugs but i don’t have a clue?

torie::

I just moved into this apartment building in Washington DC, and only been here for seven months and i got all these bite marks on me found out that this was bed bugs never had them in my life so please help me to get ride of them thank you! need to know where to buy the cleaning supply to kill theses pests!

ann davison::

My house was totaled in a spring storm, I was homeless, had to stay a in transitional housing, in was my first encounter with this problem – BED BUGS! What was the solution, because there were other people sharing this place, I cleaned House, started with bleach, pine-sol, wiped every thing down, then get a gallon of ammonia, either one works, lemon scented or plain, get a funnel, spray bottle, a mask, rubber gloves and go spray every where, it kills them right then!

Beds, floors, couches, walls, rugs, cracks! Just Open Doors &windows for ventilation! The situation was Bad, I had no money, disabled, but this was what I had to do in order to get to sleep or sit down in this place!

These bed bugs were eating me alive face, back, legs, arms, it was a nightmare! There is a God and believe me my prayers were answered! after spraying the fist day I could sleep a lot better, but you continue the treatment everyday, until you run them out, Kill Them!! this is also good, for those nasty Water-Bugs, Roaches, spray on your bed, bedding around floors carpeting daily they will die! it is strong smelling but after it clears it has also been disinfected! GOD IS Good! Sweet Dreams!!

Rita::

Bedbugs, what Horrible, Nasty little monsters they are, we ‘got them’ somehow after moving to a new apartment about 2-3 months after moving in ,we got rid of our matresses and the landlady had a, in my opinion, fly by night guy come, we seen one here nn there for a few months, after we ‘thought’ we were clean, our church got us new matresses, now here we are a couple months later and we have found bedbugs on our new matresses!

Dear God, this is like a Biblical curse of some kind, we thought we were clear, but now we find out, NO, we are not we still have the little monsters, i have put down Delta Dust after the exterminator was here i thought that would keep us safe, i am going to put some Delta Dust on the box springs under the mattress and use some kind of a spray and check Every DAY for the bugs.

I don’t know what else to do, the exterminator stole from me while in my apartment, so i don’t want to go back to the landlady because she will call him back and i don’t want that thief back in here again, i am 55 and have Never come across Anything like this creature before.

I have the greatest amount of sympathy for Everyone that is going through this terrible ordeal, i want to move but am on a limited income so moving is not an option at this time, i hope to somehow get rid of these critters, it is just going to be a matter of time, i hope.

denise::

Hello,

Back in October me and my family move into our new home. well about two weeks later one of my daughters came to me me and said something was biting her, not thinking about bedbugs because she has a infant and she was getting bit we threw out her bed and that was it.

Well, about two weeks ago i noticed bumps on my arms and they were itching like crazy! I just thought it was from something that i ate. It wasn’t getting better and there were more bite marks. It’s now January 20th 2010 and i couldn’t sleep well so I pulled back the covers and there it was! At first I thought it was a cockroach so i killed it then i saw the blood started checking the covers. Sure enough, there were many more and decided to get on the internet and look up bedbugs, found your site and they match exactly!

I put all my blankets in the trash, I’m calling my doctor in the morning for treatment and i will be calling the landlord! I think that this house was already infected because the people that lived here before me were very dirty! I am terrified to go to sleep and want to move!

brenda::

I have lived in many places, NEVER have I had to deal with these horrible creatures before!

They tell me my sister brought them to my dads apartment inside her stereo speakers and she had done it before to someone else’s home…shame on her.

Anyways, I came to stay with dad and to get rid of these things. I bought the Bayer spray from Lowes and spayed and sprayed and sprayed (always use a respirator/face cover, do not breathe in the vapors). It seemed to work some but the temperature in this house is 86 and I cannot use the spray anymore because I cannot take Dad out of the house. The bugs are EVERYWHERE!!!! Its horrible day or night all over! My son had one on his lip when he went to take a drink! My grandson had one on his finger when he was at the table eating!

##BTW SPECIAL NOTE: Bed Bugs DO drop from the ceiling and walls ##

I will go today to get the natural products you have listed and get some storage bags and a steamer. I will let you know how I make out .

Mohamed::

I use steam cleaner with 1500 watts + vaccum cleaner and it reduces them. Is there any way by which I can detect their places?

Dear people, please avoid chemicals as much as possible.

Jessica::

Hi, before I share my story I’d like to make a suggestion. I haven’t read every last post yet so I don’t know if anyone has already mentioned this but there is this product called “Miraculous Insecticide Chalk” otherwise known as “Chinese Chalk.” It is mainly used to kill cockroaches but its supposed to kill bed bugs also. It used to be sold back in the 70’s but it was banned because children were mistaking it for regular blackboard chalk, swallowing it and having seizures.

Chinese Chalk looks like regular chalk so if you have children you MUST keep it out of reach. You can order it on Ebay or across seas like I did and it is very inexpensive. I used it for roaches and it was a MIRACLE, got rid of my roaches in ONE night and I haven’t seen one since. It affects insects’ nervous system and basically makes them go crazy and die.

The directions say that if you’re using it for bed bugs to take your mattress and put it on the floor and draw a circle around it and leave it there for a few days so when they come out they have to walk across it. I would, for extra measure, also draw lines around the rest of the bedroom or whatever area is infested and leave it there for about a month.

When you draw your lines you have to make sure they are thick so that when the bugs walk across it they will get the chalk dust all over their body. Also, remember not to draw lines in places that children or animals will come into contact with. Clean up is also a breeze, you just use water. I hope this helps some people.

Now for my story…There are 3 different sites for my job and I have recently become the floater so if someone calls out at any of the sites, I fill in for that person. Well, I had been covering in this particular location since last Thursday. I was there Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday. I had been working with one other guy (an old man who refuses to retire), who’s not the cleanliest person in the world. I had been hanging my coat next to his each day I was there.

Wednesday I saw a bed bug crawling out of the pocket of his jacket and I freaked. I left everything there in the office and went home with the t-shirt on my back. Now I am really paranoid that I may have already brought a bed bug home with me as our jackets were touching each day I was there.

I haven’t seen a bug or noticed any bites but I fear that my infestation might be in its infancy. For anyone who knows all about bed bugs please tell me what are the chances that I probably brought a couple home with me????

Thanks

——–
Hello Jessica,

I think you’ll be fine with the bed bugs not jumping to your cloths, but if I were you, I’d would not wear you work cloths home and instead bring a clean pair to change into, or sweats, etc. Use a plastic bag to put everything into and seal – you want to isolate your work cloths from home, then when it’s time to clean the work cloths, make sure to wash in hot water – take some time and read the comments here – you find some great ways to make sure you stay bed bug free.

*** WARNING: DANGER ***

Miraculous Insecticide Chalk

Here is information from the government on Insecticide Chalk that is illegal in the United States! In a nutshell, they say:

“These products are deceptively dangerous. Children could easily mistake them for common household chalk,” said State Health Officer James Stratton, M.D., M.P.H., “Consumers should avoid them.” “Obviously, making an insecticide look like a toy is dangerous-as well as illegal,” said DPR Chief Deputy Director Jean-Mari Peltier.”

The products – sold under various trade names including Pretty Baby Chalk, Chinese Chalk, and Miraculous Insecticide Chalk – are hazardous for two reasons. First, they can be and have been mistaken for common household chalk and eaten by children, causing several illnesses. Second, the products are unregistered, and the ingredients and packaging are unregulated. These products are typically manufactured in China and illegally imported. The packages instruct consumers to draw chalk lines on the floor to kill insects that crawl over the pesticide.

I also found this statement from:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1026725/pdf/westjmed00130-0076a.pdf

“Miraculous Insecticide Chalk”- An Unregistered Household Insecticide:
The California Department of Health Services recently has received numerous reports of the sale of an unregistered insecticide for use against cockroaches and ants. This insecticide is prepared as a white stick simulating common blackboard chalk, and lines are drawn where the insects are to be controlled. It is manufactured in China and is not registered with either the US Environmental Protection Agency or the California Department of Food and Agriculture. This product is being sold to the public primarily through flea markets and Chinese import stores, with its use most often being reported in Asian restaurants and migrant labor camps.

Samples of “Miraculous Insecticide Chalk” submitted by the public have been found to contain 0.71 % of a synthetic pyrethroid compound called deltamethrin. Deltamethrin is mildly toxic, with the most likely toxic manifestations being irritation of the mouth if ingested by a child. Ingesting small amounts-one piece of chalk or less-should require no medical therapy. Ingesting larger amounts should be managed supportively; no antidote is known. Since the product has not gone through the proper regulatory channels, we have no assurance that either active or inert ingredients pose only a minimal health hazard.

The sale of “Miraculous Insecticide Chalk” is illegal in California, and its use in restaurants is a violation of California’s Health and Safety Code. Use of the product should be reported to local public health officials or local county agricultural commissioners.

KENNETH W. KIZER, MD, MPH
Director
JOHN H. POORBAUGH, PhD
Senior Public Health Biologist
Environmental Management Branch
California Department of Health Services
714 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

For those of you reading, please beware of these warnings. Consider using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth instead – there are a number of comments on this page with more information about this all natural product!

Roxanne::

I have read on several sites that have information on how to get rid of bed bugs that they recommend using diatomaceous earth. It is a natural, inexpensive, non-toxic insecticide. You want to be sure you don’t breath it when you are applying it, and don’t ingest it, but other that that it is very safe. Just dust it on the floor under your bed, on your box springs and on baseboards. You can also dust your mattress & box springs with it and then enclose them in plastic covers that are made for them to reduce allergens.
I have not used it for bed bugs yet, but I have used it to get rid of aphids on my tomato plants in the summer and it works very well.

Note: Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth

mel::

FYI folks:
Bedbugs do not live only in the beds or mattresses, they hide out, especially during the day, in walls, furniture, carpets, floors, wherever….then they come out to feed in the bed at night.

If you are trying to get rid of them, throwing out your mattresses and blankets and sheets won’t do it, you have to eradicate them from the entire room.

good luck!!

Derrick::

After finding a bug crawling on me in just before dawn it became clear to me that these weird red patches I’ve had on my arms and legs in the past couple weeks must be bedbugs. I caught the blood filled critter and bagged him, researched and confirmed my suspicion.

I studied up a bit on here and some county extension sites and decided that I needed Diatomaceous Earth and some spray of some sort. I did not disturb where I thought the most likely places they would be but took off to ACE hardware once they opened. I bee lined for the chemical aisle and already had the Diatomaceous Earth in hand when I was approached by a clerk asking what I was wanting to kill.. told him I had the bedbugs. (they are apparently very common in my area) He advised that I did have the right thing in hand and also suggested a bottle of JT Eaton bedbug spray, (label says it lasts for up to 16 weeks)

There was a huge display of several bedbug choices right as one walked in the door, so I felt a bit better knowing I was not the only one facing this embarrassing situation. I took the spray containing Deltamethrin .03% and the Diatomaceous Earth bottle (Safer Brand) home and formed a game plan.

I have an upholstered suede headboard from floor to almost ceiling with lots of tufts, buttons and folds so I figured that’s probably a favorite hiding spot. Sure enough, after noticing some poop marks and trails, I was sure of it. I started checking it out and there were about 10 creepers that I caught and bagged. I wanted to make sure the spray killed the suckers so I gave them a dose in the bag and they were all incapacitated immediately and died soon after.

I then took the vacuum hose and sucked in every crevice in the headboard and then took the bed apart, loaded up the washer on hot and threw in the sheets and mattress cover and bagged the wool blanket. The bed springs of this king bed sit directly on the short tight woven carpet so I figured I would find a bounty there, but did not. The mattress showed no signs of infestation, whew….. I sprayed the headboard, I don’t care if it kills me or not!! I spayed around the bed, under it and inside the box springs. I then caught a couple more adults wandering around in a stuper.

I vacuumed the entire room at least 12 times over, cracks, crevices, mattress, box springs, headboard EVERYTHING!! I sprayed around all the base, door entries, bathroom and closet. Then I dusted all the door entry ways in case some tried to run out, they would be coated in the dust. I set the box springs and mattress up on edges and let everything dry. Then I laid out lines of the dust and since it only made heavy lines, I took a broom and went back and forth to throw it all in the air- I stuck my face in my shirt since the whole room filled up like smoke. This coated EVERYTHING with the dust, which was my intention.

I then laid lines along the baseboards and swept it up under all the base, put some in the air returns and also turned on fan on the HVAC unit and pumped some of the dust in there in case they were hiding out in the vent system. Everything I have read and trust me, I read all day, states that this Diatomaceo Earth dust is really effective in long term due to its action of dehydrating the bugs and killing them naturally within a short period. This would include the new hatches as they come along, but I plan on vacuuming it up and re-applying in 2 weeks.

I don’t care what they say, I am not sleeping in that room for at least a week. I am in the spare bedroom which someone had recently been sleeping in with white sheets and there is not one single sign of a bug anywhere in there. I figure if they are going to come after me in that room, they are going to have to go through A LOT of the dust to get at me so this might actually work in my favor, making them chase me down thus making sure they get a good dose of the dust on the way.

I am now off to scrub the headboard with hot water and laundry detergent and am going to use a scrubber brush. Will report back with my results. I really appreciate this forum and thank you all for your contributions. I really couldn’t afford to get an exterminator and I feel good about my decision to take this on myself, but couldn’t have managed without help from you all. !! I am in Denver, by the way! Thanks..

Michelle::

In February 21st I went to a birthday party of my niece, the next day i had 8 bites around my neck. I was allergic to it and my neck swelled up. I went to the Dermatologist that Wednesday and she said she wasn’t 100% sure but considering i had three bites in a straight line (breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) she gave me a cream and allergy medicine to take the swelling down.

Next day I placed my sheets and clothes in plastic bags and went to wash them. I sprayed the room with 90% rubbing alcohol. My boyfriend didn’t get a single bite and thought i was over reacting. I taped all the electrical outlets and any open area in the walls and floor. I placed my pillows and mattress in a encasement and checked my mattress before this and saw nothing at all, even tried using my blow dryer on high and let it blow on the cracks of the wood furniture. Nothing.

I slept on the sofa and my boyfriend slept on the bed, and still no visible bites. On Feb 28th we went back the apartment that my niece had her party at. we found that one of the other children has a bed bed problem at home. I didn’t know they could travel like that but i really didn’t know much about bed bugs anyway.

My boyfriend was convinced it was something else because he had no bites. when we got home that day I noticed him scratching like crazy and he lifted his arm and he had three bites. WE then again washed all our clothes and sheets. Since then i have been sleeping covered from head to toe except my hands and head is uncovered. No, bites on either of us.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day i opened all the windows, at night I closed them and when i went to fix the curtain I saw a adult bed bug. I squashed it and placed it on a white tissue then placed them into a sandwich bag. To say the least we slept on the sofa. Could this mean we could have eggs or smaller ones? Is there a way to tell in the bites if they are from an adult or smaller bug? If they are in my bedroom and we are in the living room, do you think they will come to the living room?

Because i don’t see so many i am assuming we are not infested. I am freaked out and tired, we plan to clean tonight and over the weekend. Is there anything else we can do, besides call exterminator?

Please help!

abie::

All i can say is that its so irritating, I’ve got my legs swelled up and i don’t know how I’m going to treat these bed bug bites and solve this itch problem… i really hope i could figure this out asap because I’m telling you its not looking good…

crystal::

hi i found out we had bed bug back in november and they (landlord) sprayed the apartment and three weeks later they were still there my landlord toke two mths before the sprayed again well to my surprise there still here were completly fed up so now were trowing out the mattress’s my question is can i use bleach on the bed frame and head board would that kill any remaining eggs adults feces ?
to be honest were tired of sleeping in the living room on a blow up mattress .

SHIRLEY::

I WAS plagued with these horrible insects for 1 year… i tried everything…. i spent so much money on stuff that never helped then one day my moms friend who considers herself “oakie” suggested we use BOROX 20mule team mixed with salt…. so we used an seasoning container for the holes at the top and mixed 1/2 borox and 1/2 salt…. we pulled out mattresses to garage and started sprinkling boroxsalt on top and you just seen them pop off instantly…. then sprinkled carpet house tile anything everything especially between cracks…. thoroughly vacuumed and left another round of mix all over house for the night….. we brought our mattresses back in and finally had a good nights rest…. then a couple weeks later repeated the sprinkling of mix and haven’t seen 1 since. borox and salt and a sure solution for bed bugs hope this helps!

Erica::

Just got these creatures after a visit to New York for vacation. They hitch hiked on my luggage. I have had 6 estimates $700.00-$2500. First thing cover vacuum your mattress and box spring. Then cover them with a mattress cover on both parts. You don’t have to buy the expensive ones, the vinyl ones will do. Duct tape the zipper all the way. Put your sheets and blankets in the dryer for 20 minutes on high every night before going to sleep. There is a cheap way to detect how bad they are and you can make the detector yourself. Take a dog food bowl put painters tape all around the bowl and scuff up the tape with sandpaper. Turn the bowl upside down with the rim facing up. Dust the bowl with cotton balls filled with baby powder. Fill a 1/3 gallon jug with 2.5 pounds of dry ice, leave the jug slightly open and place on top of the inverted dog bowl. Good Idea to put a towel under jug so the moisture will not go into the bowl. The dry ice will attract the bed bugs into the bowl and the powder will kill them. This way you can see how bad it really is invested. There is a website with a video showing you how to make this trap.

Nique::

OMG!! I think i just figured out that I have bed bugs. However I have not found one. But I do have the symptoms. I’m not sure how I got them exactly which is pretty scary, and I just don’t want them to be traveling around my house and into my daughters room…..i hope i can overcome this very quickly :(

Pendevu::

Found that Borax works well to kill bed bugs in clothes. Add 1/2 to 1 cup to wash water. Wash on hottest setting twice then dry clothes on hottest setting for at least 2 hours. Having clothes cleaned at the cleaners does not necessarily work. Also found that Eucalyptus Oil (the primary ingredient in Listerine) kills bedbugs and will keep them off you. Off Liquid Spray does nothing to stop bed bugs so don’t waste your money. The Off aerosol spray did work to keep bed bugs off me while I was driving and being attacked under the steering wheel. There is a commercial chemical preparation called SUSPEND that was recommended by the hotel manager where I am living.

I was forced out of my apartment by bedbugs. The best advice is take swift action. I have had terrible experiences with bedbugs including having to throw away all of my personal possessions ($40,000). Now, after starting over, I am under attack again. I have put Borax under the steering wheel area of my car. I tried “Hot Shot” spray in the apartment, it helped the bugs live. However, when I sprayed my car and left it overnight with all doors and windows shut, it worked. It is easy to transfer bugs from your home to your car so be careful and act swiftly to eradicate. The manager of this apartment just sprayed this suite and because of the transfer from car to suite, I’m going to buy Diatomaceous Earth today – but where to get it? There are almost no choices in Vegas.

The spray “GOODNIGHT . . . kills bed bugs and dust mites” is not effective. I have sprayed so much of the “Good Night” and “Hot Shot” that it is coming out in my skin and my face is now hard with a rash. Be careful. You get desperate for relief and will do anything to stop the bugs.

Thanks for all your sharing.

Be careful when purchasing clothing and bedding. I have found it is possible to purchase these items already infected with bed bugs.

Beverly::

I read that Eucalyptus Oil would kill bed bugs. I finally went to GNC (General Nutrition) and bought some Eucalyptus oil ($5.00). I tried it on my car seat and it seems to work.

The guy at GNC suggested that I put my clothes in a tub, boil some water and pour it on the clothes. It worked on some of the clothes but not on others. I’ve been throwing away all my clothes if I put them on and get stuck or bitten. Now, I’m boiling them before I throw them away. If it works – fine. They would go in the trash otherwise.

I’m wondering if anyone else feels a type of “slime” on their skin, floors, carpets, bedding, or elsewhere where bed bugs have been? I feel this some time. It’s like something invisible is crawling on me. When I put either Listerine or Eucaluptus oil on the affected part of my body, the sensation goes away.

I’m sick of dealing with these bed bugs. Seems the only real way to get rid of them is to throw away everything and start over.

Beverly::

Glad to hear about mixing salt with the Borax. Will do that this week and see what happens.

Both of my feet became swollen. I think something happens to our bodies once the bugs insert their saliva into us. Anyone know about that?

Sid::

I live in a small low rise building. My neighbour in the apartment underneath of me let everyone in the building know they had bed bugs last summer, subsequently the landlord had the exterminators come out and spray all the ajoining apartments. Then in March of this year I started getting unidentified bites. At first I thought it was a spider, but when it kept happening I became suspicious that the bed bugs had somehow made their way into my house. The exterminators came out again and sprayed very thoroughly again. For a couple of weeks I didn’t seem to have any bites, but then they started again. It could have been because the exterminators didn’t come back after 3 weeks this time, or because the landlord is using a sketchy exterminator.

A couple of days ago while reclining on my sofa I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye, it startled me and I immediately jumped up. It was a bed bug trying to make a meal of me, I cornered it on a cushion and trapped it in a ziploc. I was sure it was a bed bug but I double checked online to confirm, luckily it was still thin and hadn’t had a chance to bite me.

I’m a little more freaked now though, I assumed I had, and I guess knew I had bed bugs, but since I’d never caught or seen one it made it less real. I hoped that it was just this one lone bed bug since I’d only been getting bites about once every 7 days. I got another bite tonight though, again while one the couch I think, so I’m really pissed and worried now. Tomorrow I’m going to head out first thing in the morning to find some DE and dust my entire house with it. I don’t really have faith anymore in the exterminators and feel like I can do a better job myself at this point. I’m crossing my fingers that this works.

mike::

god am i glad i found this site! i went through a recent separation and all my stuff was stolen by my ex. well anyway i needed to buy a new couch. so i was on a budget and didn’t want to finance a new couch so i bought a used one from craigslist.

The couch was a sleeper sofa, well i have a one bedroom apartment and was sleeping on the sofa pullout because i wanted to get used to so when my daughter would visit she would sleep on my bed. Come to find out the sofa was infested with bed bugs, i have a ton bites!!!

I threw the sofa in the trash and i was moving my blankets back and fourth from the sofa to the bed. so i through my bed away as well. i only found one bed bug on the mattress of the sofa but i was bitten all over my body except my face.

I have now financed a new bed (thank god for 90 day same as cash) and bought a futon for the living room. i tore my place apart and swept like crazy. anything that was in contact with the couch or bed is washed or being washed. i didn’t find any traces of them besides on the couch but through the bed away anyway, i wont take any chances with my daughter visiting shes only 2!!!

I had a exterminator or the complex i should say had one come and he was a fly by night. he had a maglight and that was it! he flashed it around like he was going to see these things in plain view at 12 pm and said i don’t see anything. so he was a joke. well today i bought Diatomaceous Earth and some bug insecticide.

I put the Diatomaceous Earth on everything! it was like a volcano went off in my house! i haven’t been bitten since i removed the couch and bed but its only bed two days so i don’t know.

I only had the couch for 8 days as well so i’m hoping i caught them very early! by the way everyone if you cant find Diatomaceous Earth that’s because your not looking for it correctly. DE is the actual scientific name of it. you cant just go to walmart (where i bought mine) and ask for DE (Diatomaceous Earth) you have to know a brand name with Diatomaceous Earth in.

You can buy DE at walmart its called nano d the d has a _ or underscore under it. and it says organic crawling insect killer. its in plastic round bottle the top is green the d in nano is yellow and the bottom of the can is black. it also has a yellow pinstrip in it.

I am disgusted with this!! if anyone can’t find the de write back and i take a picture of the bottle to show you.

Sid::

Sooo I wanted to update on my progress with the DE. I found it in 200g bottles at the local hardware store for $8.99, I also found it afterwards cheaper at Wal-mart, but the brand from WM had an attractant mixed in for ants, etc., where as the one I found locally did not, so I continued to purchase it. I’m on my 3rd bottle, it has a little nozzle, but I ended up for the most part mixing the DE in water and painting it where I wanted it.

I painted it around the floor boards and the moulings by the ceiling, I took apart all my dressers and painted lines on all sides of the drawers as well as the frame. I dusted inside and all around my couch, then I made DE barriers around every door and window in the house (just in case).

I live in an older building so there are a lot of crack and crevices, when the exterminator came the one time, he said they could even be coming up through the floor boards. I removed almost everything from the bedroom and then dusted the floor in there and painted the walls, boards, and moultings. I have an Ikea metal bed frame, so I lucked out there, but the boards that hold the matress up are wood, so I painted all of those as well as the matress and pillows themselves before putting their respective covers and bedding on.

The good news is that since I’ve done the bed I haven’t gotten another bite. The bad news is that early last night I caught another bed bug. I noticed it while trying to catch and remove a spider (don’t want to kill those), I saw it wandering about the mouldings by my desk where I’d been working, I bagged it – it was a not quite full grown bed bug.

I’ve washed and bagged up all my clothes, they’re back in the dressers, but just bagged up. I’ve also bagged pretty much everything else in the apartment. The things I can’t wash on hot I’ve been submerging in water and soaking for extending periods ( not sure if this works for eggs), I’ve also been steaming what I can with a clothes steamer (I’m sure an iron would work too).

I’m going to try one of those DIY C02 traps with dry ice to get an idea of what I’m dealing with in here, I feel that the DE is working, but it may be too soon to say, I don’t think my situation was too severe. I am able to sleep a bit more than before, and I’m getting more comfortable, and feeling safer in my bed etc. I imagine I will still have to move if my neighbours cannot get their situations under control.

Thanks for all the DE info everyone posted here, I’ll update on what happens in a month or so.

Carolyn::

I found bed bugs just before Christmas, when the superintendant told me the man that moved out upstairs was infested with them. I have sprayed hot shot spray and scrubbed the rug with hard scrup brushes to get rid of the eggs, because i have done research on this digusting topic. The other night after all my spraying I saw two bugs in the apartment. Other tenents are not cleaning or keeping up with spraying. I live in a one room studio and have mostly everything in bins and i want to move, but can’t find a place yet and want to leave bug free. A saleslady in home depot told me to get a steamer because her niece suffered terribly with bedbug bites and ended up on antiobiotics. Please tell me what type of steamer should i get. I am loosing sleep. I am not infested with them, but this whole floor is now throwing furniture out and i just don’t want any more of them. Carolyn

freaked out::

Ok so im glad i found this page it was very helpful, the information given by everyone…and just knowing that im not the only one with these creepy bugs!
I JUST discovered them, and i dont know how i didnt notice them before…my mattress was infested with them. I dont have a light or lamp n my bedroom so when i go to bed its completely dark so i never see them nor did i notice bites or even have reaction to the bites. however, the other day i went in the AM to sleep and was lying there for about 25 minutes and happened to open my eyes an see a bug, not realizing what it was i went to kill it and as i moed i saw another and another and so i jumped up and OMG they were scattering all underneath where i was lying i started screaming and lifted up the blankets and they were there too tons of them…omg, it was a nightmare come true! it was DAYLIGHT and they were all over my bed. once i realized what they were i pulled the fitted sheet off the bed and saw all i nthe seems…more big juicy ones and shells or something. … i freaked and cried and freaked somemore! i called every exterminator in the phone book and all were soo expensive, and i have no money. finally i found a guy who only charged $300 and guarentees for a year. …and maybe sensing my panick , he offfered to come and inspect for free, and he came in 20 mins to my door. so he inspected and was amazed that it was as bad as it was and i had not known, he inspected my kids bedrooms also and said that they were not to bad which he was also shocked because of the amount i had in my room he assumed they would have travelled to the other rooms too. any way he came the next day and did the whole house. he did inform us to bag everything which i am going crazy …i have taken everything possible out of dressers and closets and gbagged them, and have been trying to wash and rebag them, we wrapped the mattress and box spring and threw it out the window lol, ( i refused to bring it threw the house) the guy did warn us that we will still see some until he comes back in 2 weeks then we should be i nthe clear, but now after reading im worried that this is gonna be hell. we are tearing out the carpets in every room too, and baseboards.. i dont care, i wil llive like that if it means getting rid of them. but just like a post i read on heer i feel like theyre all over my scalp and in my hair, i feel so itchy on my head and it s driving me insane… twic e ive broken into tears and had to have my kids check my head to see if there were bugs …the man assured me it was psychological but i feel it and it s freaken me out!!!!i have big thick hair and i know that if stuffs in their it wont come out! I hope this works, i hope the exterminator works…i have seen 2 today …he sprayed yesterday…but again he said that would be the case for now…. i think i might just go get that DE that everyones talking about just to be sure…but what to do about my head/hair aside from shaving it off? I wish everyone on here and every where else all the best in dealing wit hthis bed bug issue!!

CIN’DEE::

Hi Guys,
First of all I want to thank everyone who has shared. I started getting bedbug bites the first week of May. I have not found the nest, but have found 3 of those bastards! I to am going nutz, the last two weeks I have been bawling like I found out I had Cancer or something. I pray myself to sleep every night, and I am at the end of my rope!
First of all I have a slum lord (landlord). I moved in here because the property we were renting was sold and we had to leave immediately, so we took the first thing we could find. Since then its been hell! First maggots, then mice, then we found 1 roach (haven’t seen one since). It’s just been one thing after another. Last May we finished our 1 year lease now we are month to month. The landlord called his personal exterminator (who is not from a company. He showed up at 1:30pm came in looked at my bed and says I don’t see anything. I then showed him the bedbugs that I froze and my bites, and he goes O’ yeah you got em. NO KIDDING! He did a quick spray and I’m still getting bit. He didn’t inspect anything! He told me he’s charging my landlord $150.00 for treatment, which to sounds way to cheap!! I live in Easton, PA. From what he said my case is mild, another family he had seen across town had bedbugs so bad that when he picked up the cushions on the couch they were all over. I don’t want mine to get that bad!!
I hear everyone talking about DE. I went to Walmart, because someone said its name there was Nano. WHERE CAN I BUY IT ON-LINE or IN STORE???? I also hear some places are just buying it and repackaging it. I don’t want to get something that doesn’t work> PLEASE HELP!
Please forgive my spelling errors and again thank you to all !

jden::

I got them when my landlord used a bug bomb in the apartment above us, which had apparently been infested for at least 8 months… I tried using DE, as I am chemically sensitive, but it didn’t work. At the 7 month point, the landlord came and sprayed in our apartment, so I couldn’t be in my home for a week (tried on day 3, but it shut my lungs down.) He sprayed the same pesticide again at the 8 month point. We’ve been fighting bed bugs for about 8 1/2 months now…

We can’t afford to hire a professional bed bug exterminator ourselves! I’ve done research and found a couple products that sound promising: it’s just a matter of scrounging up the cash so we can try them, and having my brother or nephew come in and do it for me.

Becky::

DE works excellent as a pesticide and has one of the best success rates around, not to mention it is environmentally safe and not harmful to us! You can buy DE (Diatomaceous Earth) in almost any feed and supply store for cheap. Are you sure you applied it the right way?

NJ::

Keith Gordon –
We just had our second treatment done by an exterminator. Early April, we realized we had a big bed bug problem on one of the two couches in our living room. We threw out the couch and had them spray (Suspend SC and Sterifab).

Mid-may (about six weeks later) a friend stayed over on the OTHER couch and was eaten alive. Since then, we have noticed that the couch was covered in them. However, we did watch the PCO treat it.

Today, we threw out couch #2 and were treated again. This time, PCO did not find a single bug, but sprayed all over anyway.

A few questions:

  1. He gave us no instructions on keeping our clothes in bags after returning them to the apt (washed and dries on hot, of course). Is this advised?
  2. You said no pesticide kills the eggs. Should we get more bugs or see more bites?
  3. I have food grade DE. My roommate is worries that it will bother his lungs as he has asthma. Should we put it on our mattresses? Baseboards? And how soon after treatment?
  4. When is it safe to have friends over or visit family without spreading the bigs to them?

This has been a trying experience and I want to be cautious, but I want things to go back to normal asap!

Deborah::

This summer will be two years since we noticed we have bed bugs. We have tried a powder that drys them out, but when I tested the theory and put some bed bugs in a glass jar it took 7 to 10 days for them to die. We figured we had them when I was getting bit sitting in the upstairs living room wearing a sweat shirt, and finally my mom found them. My father who is a hoarder brought them in on something from a thrift store, even though he tries to say it was from his brand new bed from the mattress company. Well because of my dads hoarding, his room is so infested that they are living in colonies on the ceiling and he tracks them through the house.

I live in the basement and spray 3 times a week on all my furniture. I use Rest Easy spray from Bed Bath and Beyond. It kills on contact, repels, and is all natural. I am allergic to the bites, they will cause me to break out in hives near the site so I am obsessed with getting rid of them. My father on the other hand wears them in his clothes and we can’t take him anywhere, we have tried everything our house and the only thing that has seemed to work is constant cleaning and de cluttering around the rest of the house. But we can’t do much with having animals and my dad not doing his part.

We called a few exterminators and was quoted $200 just for his room cause of how cluttered and infested it is, but there is nothing from keeping them from spreading even more. I will be moving next week into my place and plan on steam cleaning my furniture and then spraying while they sit out in the heat all day.

With my dads room, we literally have to throw everything out the window and put him in a nursing home. So try Rest easy, vacuum, de clutter, and hope for the best. Oh and get rid of the pest who brought or keeps bringing the pests in.

Ann W::

I’m considering having my house tented by Terminix for bedbugs. I know its expensive but it is worth my sanity!!!!!! They tell me that it will kill the eggs. Does anyone know if this is correct or not? Please someone respond ASAP!!!!

Ann W::

I talked with Terminix and they are using Vikane Gas Fumigant. He said it will kill anything…including the eggs. Has anyone know anything about this product or had any experience. The house will be tented for 3 days. I’m suppose to sign the paperwork tomorrow for them to tent on Saturday. Please if anyone has had an experience with Terminix or Vikane Gas please, please tell me. Thank you

Jim::

Hi Ann,

Vikane (made by DOW) is really sulfuryl fluoride which replaces methyl bromide (harmful to the ozone layer) and is for serious infestations; your place will be tented, every living thing removed and then it’s treated with this deadly gas, and it takes three times as much to kill bed bugs as it does termites! The tent remains in place for about 18 hours, then must be ventilated for 6 more hours. Many pest control companies claim that the Vikane Gas Fumigant will kill 100% of the bed bugs and any eggs.

Ann, will you do us a favor write back and let us know exactly what they did and how much they charged? If possible, pictures would be great, but certainly not necessary.

Good luck – this should do the trick.

James::

Replie to Ann W

annW i wouldn’t go threw with it the problem with that is bed bug will run too the walls ask them if there going to get inside the wall if they say yes. if your going to shell out that kind of money go with the therma treatment, it’s new and they come to your house, see the video at the top of this page. I would go with these guys Ann w

Alex::

Make your bed an island!!!! These words have changed my life (ok, maybe not my life, but my sleeping experience)! I had (have…) bed bugs. The trick is this – make sure you have a bed frame (initially I didn’t – so the box was right on the floor) – cover the spring box and the mattress with a good quality mattress cover (you can get the type which is actually rated for bed buy infestations). It’s CRITICAL that you don’t rip the cover when you put it on and that you DO NOT cross contaminate by re-using the same covers, etc.

Now – here comes the most important part which almost everybody is unaware of: make your entire bed an island, so the bugs cannot climb onto the bed, do this: get 4 (or 5 if your bed frame has 5 legs) plastic containers, or glass jar lids, and place them under each leg – and fill them with oil! so this way, if the bugs even manage to climb the plastic containers/lids, they will just fall into the oil almost eliminating the chance of them being able to climb the frame and getting to you. Good luck!!!!

sue ebright::

my BROTHER brought me bedbugs! will the cedar oil work like they say?

Abel Grey::

Sue,

i believe the oil is a repellent. it hasn’t worked for me, but you could try lavender oil instead. it has many benefits. it can help keep the bugs away from you as they hate string smells. it also helps you sleep more relaxed. and you could also mix it with you laundry if you really like the smell.

but you should really try to kill them instead of helping them migrate to another room or perhaps another house. you could start by vacuuming you bed, floors, and baseboards. then spray rubbing alcohol in any opening near your bed. alcohol dries them out and kills. then you could do what “alex” suggests and turn your bed into an island. i tried this and had great results, but i uses mouse traps under my bed legs instead. it did work tho.

i hope you can rid yourself of these modern vampires. the world would be a better place without them.

sue ebright::

thanks, abel. we have already moved the furniture out, and treated the area with 3 kinds of bedbug spray, used poison on the couch, soaked it with Cedar Oil, and covered it with plastic, in the sun. we have not had any in the bedroom, and when we moved the furniture out in the heat, the only thing the bugs came out of was the couch. we are treating all of it though, anyway. i also got some DE, and am going to use that. all the items that we think may be infested is in black plastic bags in the sun, and the furniture is soaked with cedar oil in the sun. my fingers are crossed!

Shirley::

BOROX AND SALT are the CHEAPEST MOST EFFECTIVE way to get rid of bed bugs…. you mix half and half and sprinkle everywhere…. read below for more directions…and for your clothes stick them all in plastic garbage bags , black ones and leave them in the sun for a day then wash completely in hot water….we have not seen any since and glad someone listened on this page Borox (its laundry detergent) costs like 2 dollars at the store

dbullemer::

How do you get rid of the bite scars? My daughter’s bites don’t itch anymore but scars have formed.

R::

I’ve had bed bugs for maybe 2 months now. They started in my bedroom. We treated it and seemed to have contained it but the problem is.. they are now in my mother’s bedroom and my living room. This is enough to make me sick. I really don’t know what to do.

I’ve been using the DE powder and every spray imaginable. I’m about ready to just move and leave everything behind, not that I really have the money to do so. I really cannot afford an exterminator as they cost up to and over $1000. I simply don’t have that money.

Are there any success stories out there to make me feel positive about this? I’m getting knots in my stomach and losing my appetite because of this. Can I really get this matter taken care of in my house on my own without spending an extreme amount of money? Or will I have to move?

Also, I read about washing your clothes in hot water and drying them as the bugs can’t live through the heat. I have no dryer at the moment, is washing them in hot water enough? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

sue::

sorry, r, but we finally had to call the exterminator….. i just can’t deal with them. we had to borrow money, but to get rid of these things, i’ll do anything! we moved everything out except the furniture and pictures, and they spray next week. it is costing us 500 dollars and a storage. good luck!

cindy::

Can bed bugs live in TV’s. The apartment was treated by an exterminator and the TV is in the living room. The bugs were found in the bedroom. Also does freezing the clothing work? Or maybe drycleaning?

Abel::

okay guys i too have been battling these spawns of Satan for 4 months now. (long story short) I’ve done everything i can to get rid of them but there’s always one that comes back for me.

Well the reason why I’m posting this is because i found a link from random net surfing and i found a bed bug fogger for $450.

its supposed to be a recent addition to the do-it-yourself arsenal against bed bugs. the site seems credible enough to try it out as i and many of you guys are desperate for a fast an inexpensive remedy. i bought mine today and i should be receiving it on Friday. so I’m going to go nuts with this thing and pray that they die as advertised. i will also post my results of the product each day after. i hope I’ve helped someone take that step towards riding themselves and others of bed bugs.

…lets all pray that it works because if it does, it will be the best product for combating bed bugs without question.

Andrea::

I have had bed bugs for a few weeks also and found a powder that I just sprayed around my house, bed mattress and other places that they may be. its the same as diatomaceous earth but this powder is for inside and out and gets rid of all crawling bugs. it was really cheap for a big bottle. i have heard many suggestions on how to get rid of them but am hoping this helps. does anyone have any other suggestions? that is also safe for young children?

james::

hey r read my post don’t give up these things are hard to get rid of but if you follow those steps it should work. get yourself a portable steam gun. not sure where you live but home depot have them for rent. another thing i notice home defense by orthon kills them. Also vac everyday and empty the bag outside seal it if you can. keep your clothes bagged. only the clothes that are by your night stand or around your bed.

To that other person who said fogger will work, it won’t, they will just run in the walls. R, I posted the steps a few months so you back you should be able to see it. Good luck buddy don’t give up follow those step and you should be free these bed bugs. haven’t had a problem since. also read up on them no need to spend money on these crazy products. let me know if you need further help i could email the list to you or post my email.

R::

James, I found your post and read your suggestions. Other than putting DE down, there’s nothing else I should use? Someone suggested borax and salt, does that work? How much does Home Depot charge to rent a steamer? Is steaming once enough? I’m pretty sure my neighbors have them, does that mean I’ll never get rid of them?

Jim::

Hi R,

Comment clearly state that DE (Diatomaceous Earth) is by far the best solution – I’ve seen the borax and salt mentioned, but not sure how well this works. Not sure on the rental price of the steam cleaner but I doubt that one cleaning would be good enough, more like three over a few week period but here I’m guessing.

If your neighbors have them (as in apartment neighbor) then chances are real good you’ll get them again. They love the electric sockets and other tunnels that connect rooms. You could always do the DE on your place, steam cleaning, etc and when they are gone, then do a DE Perimeter ever week, but what a pain that would be when the management should be taking care of the neighbor (if they know and are not doing anything about it).

Do us all a favor will you? Whatever you end up doing, let us know what and how it works. There are a LOT of people who would be very appreciative!

Best regards,

Jim

Candy::

I recently discover that we have bed bugs we have tried everything from sprays, fogers and even threw away the bed and all wood in my room, nothing seems to kill or get rid of those sob’s I am tired of waking up every morning to the cry’s of my two year old baby. Going to bed has become a nightmare.

I never thought this could happened to me. I am so desperate and like many of us am living paycheck to paycheck and already having to spend money we don’t have. I have been reading everything I am able to get my hands on, including this site.

So I have ordered the neem oil and diatomaceous earth once I try it and if they work and I pray that they do I will post my update. I was unable to find either of them on any of the local stores so I had order them online. This is out of control.

babe::

my son started getting bit we thought they were spiders we had just moved in .while gathering dirty clothes to wash we seen one just appear on the heap of clothes these things are a nightmare! we fogged with bonide total release fogger they live in the carpet. we killed a lot, even pulled the carpet back and found dead and alive ones sprayed alcohol. the fogger worked and killed a lot of bed bugs, but it also chased some off now everyone in the building is gonna bomb because they came back after like 4 months so hopefully this time we can send them right out the building!

william::

HI ! I would like to ask if anybody has used Shirley’s formula and I would like to ask what type of salt do you use. Is it table salt , kosher salt, Iodized salt or coarse salt.

I ask this because , I have been told to not use a vacuum to pick up the salt and borax , because it will ruin a good vacuum.

I would like to also, know if anybody knows , how long would use leave this solution on. And if instead of a vacuum, you can steam vac this solution up.

Help ! inquiring minds want to know.

sue::

do bedbugs bite dogs? my little dog is itching terribly, and she has advantix on.i’ve heard both yes and no

chuck007::

Since last November I’ve been dealing with a bed bug problem. I kept waking up with my feet feeling like they were on fire till one night I threw back the covers and there it was a bed bug full of blood. I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. I don’t have roaches or ants. I’m a fairly clean bachelor so I don’t feel bad about having this infestation. I notice my neighbors will get strange looks when I ask if they have them as if only the unkempt would.

Don’t waste your money on the regular sprays these little suckers are tough. I have family staying with me now which is why I’m limited in the action I can take. I did get rid of the mattress and box springs and put everyone on a air mattress including myself but since mine is on the floor I don’t dare sleep at night even in the daylight one or two will creep.

I found the Diatomaceaous Earth by calling around and good thing I did Home depot does not carry it but OSH garden and supply does and its cheap and it works though rather slowly because I’m still get bitten. This stuff does not puff out but comes out in clumps so I used a new paint brush to help spread it. I went around the base boards and under the dresser. I know there are other areas because I found a bug in the wheel of my office chair. My apt manager said if i take out all my furniture, yes move out, she will have the whole place treated but I’m unable to do that so she has an excuse to pass me over.

Like I said I have not found a quick knock down spray which I thought I had when I bought Hot Shot bed bug and flea spray it does NOT work! For what I spent on that I could have gotten more D E. I’ll be back to post updates on what works and what doesn’t.

chuck007::

Here I sit unable to lay down and sleep . The stress is over whelming .I have missed Doctors appointments because of my sleep pattern. Today I took apart my leather office chair I was being eaten alive .I found seven large bed bugs and maybe eggs and after all that I did get bit once tonight . Tomorrow I going to stock up on rubbing alcohol and petroleum jelly . Another solution I came up with is to seal all crevices with Elmer’s wood glue . I had to do this when I took out my mattress and box springs, the air mattress I replace them with required I use wood slats where the wood overlaps I sealed with wood glue .I notice I have cracks where baseboards and electrical outlets meet the wall . I think the DE works but gaps are in my defense .

Donna::

I have a neighbor that had bed bugs…most likely brought them home during recent travel…as she is really clean. She was freaked out, as she did not want her kids bitten. She borrowed my Hahn Steam cleaner and used a new product I gave her….manufactured by the Airosol company..Bed Bug treatment. She sprayed her mattress, luggage, and surrounding area. She is so relieved ….she hasn’t seen any since.

scaredandcan’t leep::

Who is Keith Gordon and is he for hire? I live in NYC

I spent the night at someones house and woke with 3 welps on one arm, a big welt on my jaw line, 3 welts on my temple and a big welt on the corner of my eye in addition my ear is turning purple and extremely swollen-all of these itch and are huge I look like an ulgar!! they didn’t tell me they had bed bugs ! When I woke and moved the sheet there were 2 black bugs. I woke them up they came in and saw the bugs on the couch-well one of them the other ran I must admit they are pretty fast.

Ammonia works best for the itching, yes ammonia. I am scared because my head itches can they nest here even though I washed my hair? I’m such a scary cat i brought one of those traveling bed bug bags, work long Pj’s put the legs in sweat socks and had on a long sleeve stuff and scarf and they still got me. i plan on some of these items below just to be sure I didn’t bring anything home. (Although I had the bed bug bag I put my clothes in plastic and put on the terrace spray my bag bed bug bag and the plastic bag holding my clothes with hot shot bed bug and Flea spray. (9.95 for a gallon with a spary nozzle from home depot) I also sprayed my house (all the rooms ) and around my bed.

A dog come to my job today to check for bed bugs all was clear including my area bags etc. I jump at noices and check everything. Feel itchy and jump at the feeling of air touching the hair on my airs. Do you think I am taking this to far!!

Diatomaceous Earth JT Eaton bedbug spray, (label says it lasts for up to 16 weeks)
Deltamethrin .03% and the Diatomaceous Earth bottle (Safer Brand)
Paint brush borax and salt Chinese Chalk IGR and Pyrethrins Bonide for bedbugs
Goodnite sleep and a good steamer is any that can reach 180 f and have 35 psi. I had used a McCulloch mc125 and was not to expensive, less than a $100 dollars.
‘food grade’ diatomaceous earth which is EPA approved against indoor and outdoor crawling insects and is also FDA approved for internal and external use and has a rating of Food Chemical Codex Grade. citrus or citronella cleansing solutions mixed with rubbing alcohol,use Diatomaceous Earth in all corners, cracks and openings in your home. Make sure you use it on your carpets, under your bed, around your bed, anywhere there is a hiding place. Even in your closets and drawers.

Annie::

I am currently bagging everything I own into plastic bags. I just moved into this apt. 2 weeks ago. Bought all new furniture, including a brand new mattress, with the exception of one chair from salvation army. Well guess what? That chair has created an entire infestation. Luckily, I figured out it was bed bugs very quickly.

Since I live in an apartment building, I called maintenance and they had pest control come over. Let me tell you guys what the PCO told me. He told me that this is not a problem that you should try and fix on your own. If you spray chemicals on them, it will kill the ones you see on contact but it will scatter the rest into other places, like your walls. What he is going to do to treat it is with a chemical in the mattress, then sealing it with a special cover. You can’t take this cover off for at least a year and a half. I am probably going to get rid of it when I leave here. Then he is going to spray into the crevices of my furniture, the walls, floor, outlets, any space they can be hiding. Then he is going to use a freeze treatment on the entire place and on my personal items.

What I am having to do now is bag all my clothes and I have to take them to be washed tomorrow. Then every other object that I have I must put into plastic bags. I have to go through every single book and flip through them to make sure that there aren’t any in between the pages or binding. Those will go into a bag too. Any bug that I miss, he is going to freeze to death.
This problem has caused me so much anxiety. I’m having problems eating and sleeping(obviously) but you mustn’t let them win. For those who live in an apartment complex, you need to be tough with your landlords. They need to understand that the problem will be the whole building’s problem if they don’t treat right away. I had to stress that many times and the sooner it is taken care of, the better.

This is a horrible epidemic and my heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with this. I never thought in my life I would have to deal with something like this. I will never look at public places or used furniture the same again.

james::

hey, I’m sorry for the late followup on my story, I was helping a friend with bed bug problem. DE is more like a deodorant, it will keep them away. But if they cross it they will dry out within 12-13 days. tested this myself. follow those step i posted. do a border of the DE, no need to go crazy with it. vacuum everyday and repeat with DE. after a week you will see less of them. if your local home depot doesn’t have the hand held steamer you could rent the commercial one. also keep your clothes bag if you want.

Lys::

Almost six months ago, my family and I moved into a new apartment. We brought all our old furniture with us, and had no problem with bedbugs before moving in. Within days of moving in, I began to get little bug bites that had us puzzled.

After two months of getting the bites, I went to the doctor, thinking they were spider bites and worried about staff infection. My bedroom was the only one not sprayed for spiders when the landlord called in an exterminator, so it seemed logical.

My doctor told me that my bites looked like scabies and prescribed a cream to cover myself in before going to bed. The morning after doing so, several bedbug bodies were found in my bedclothes. The poison in what doctors prescribe for scabies does kill any bug that crawls on you. Also, boric acid powder, a common bug treatment, dehydrates them.

When we told our landlord, we were told that the bed bug infestation was our fault, and we would have to pay for the exterminator. We hadn’t the money, so we are still trying home treatments. Nothing seems to work conclusively, but a combination of treatments at the very least, keep them under control.

These seem to have worked:

  • Bleach
  • Bedbug foggers (flea foggers)
  • Lice treatments
  • Alcohol, as pure as can be found
  • Vasaline on bedposts (bugs get stuck in it and can’t crawl over it, so they can’t get on the bed to the food source)
  • Keeping bed and bedclothes away from walls and off the floor
  • Bagging anything and everything that might contain bugs for at least 8 weeks, airtight

What makes our situation with the landlord worse is the fact that we have friends who knew the previous resident of the apartment, and know for a fact that the previous owner had a horrible infestation of bedbugs.

The only thing standing between us and a professional is the landlord forcing us to pay for it. Does anyone have any idea how to get the apartment complex to deal with the problem at their cost?

Diana::

To Lys, Not sure you will get this, but thought I’d offer a helping hand to your situation.

I’ve been dealing with bed bugs for over 5 months now and through extensive research have found a regimen that works in slowly eliminating the bugs while keeping them under control through this time. It does take more than once or twice of course, like any pest control has to do a follow-up and/or multiple sessions to eliminate the bed bugs.

Here is what you need:

  • Mattress Covers: I’m not sure on brands to buy since I am currently waiting on my shipment from a brand that seems to have the best reviews for not tearing or stretching which allows bed bugs to come through seams. I do know that Protect-A-Bed is known to tear easily and/or stretch or melt in dryers.
  • Steamer: Since bed bugs are sensitive to heat and 115 degrees is their death point, its important to make sure you purchase a steamer that heats up to that range. Steam kills all bed bugs on contact and effectively kills eggs since the high heat and moisture breaks apart the cement-like saliva adhesive used to attach eggs to surface. That is why is it important to vacuum afterward as well to catch any eggs loosened that may not have been killed. Make sure to dump vacuum bag/cup immediately after every single session, outside away from door and clothing. I suggest theSteamfast Handheld Steam Cleaner which runs about $42 and gets up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Diatomaceous Earth (a.k.a DE): Is natures form of pesticide made from siliceous sedimentary rock, a hard shelled algae that dries and cracks insects (including bed bugs) shells. You can fill up an empty plastic ketchup bottle like those used at the burger joints with food grade DE and use 1 bottle per room. If you buy a big bag of DE and use it to fill your container, you’ll save a ton as opposed to buying a 16oz Bed Bug Powder / Bed Bug Killer at $13 each.
  • Floor Steamer: Such as Rug Doctor or another brand will do. If you do not own one just rent one for a night or two depending on how many rooms you have, you will want to go over the floors a few times, at least twice to be sure.

With all of this, clear all clutter off of floors and make sure to bag all clothing, linen and any other fabric on floors in infested areas (that means if room is infested, everything on floor is to be bagged) seal it up, I used 2 garbage bags a piece counter facing each other to make sure nothing got out, but that may be over kill just a bit. Bag up all pillows and covers/linens of beds and wash/dry all linens off of floors and beds in dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes at a time.

Vacuum all floors, take attachments/hoses and run it along the sides of beds and furniture, may sure to look for cracks, move all furniture out piece by piece as you vacuum it. Dressers,night stands, etc all need to have the drawers pulled out and tipped over to look underneath for nests.

Once all furniture except for bed is out of room start steaming mattress, go over at least 4 times all sides running steamer slowly across surface, you want to make sure steamer is touching surface for top and bottom of mattress to get all eggs as bed bugs burrow inside of mattress (that is the reason it takes more than once or twice). Once done, move on to box springs, make sure to pull covering off back of them and use pressure attachment on hand held steamer to get in between springs and wood frame.

Once mattress and box springs are steamed move out of room and steam floors. Run over floors at least 2 times if not 3. Take hand held steamer and run along borders of wall and doorways, make sure to run close to carpet edges for deep penetration into carpet for best results. Once floors are dry move furniture back in room and sprinkle DE powder on top of box springs before laying down mattress, once mattress is down cover top and creases along edges (and buttons if you have them on top of mattress) along the edges of box springs, along carpet edge entire room and in and around furniture to create a barrier.

For the following 2 to 3 weeks you will need to vacuum once a day including hoses/attachments ran along sides of mattress and box springs to catch the babies and any left over adults as they come out of bed. If you have mattress and box springs covers on already I would suggest still checking and running vacuum along edges to make sure none escape. Remember, ONE ROOM AT A TIME, they travel fast, it also would be advantageous to tape over outlets in rooms to prevent them moving out of that room to the next or back to the one already treated, don’t want to back step your progress.

Just steam edges of room along carpet edge once every other day or once a day if you have the time for the next 2 to 3 weeks on top of vacuuming to ensure they are taken care of. If you mattress/box spring covers tear/rip/stretch or come apart in any fashion you will need to do this over again, though you may be able to skip the complete floor steaming and just vacuum those areas very well, but you will have to steam with hand held steamer and lay down DE (if DE gets wet it is no longer effective).

And that’s it! Not fool proof, no guarantee they wont come back again, but will definitely put a HUGE dent in the infestation and in some cases (if not too severe) will work after 1 time. In moderate to heavy infestations this will be an ongoing battle between you and the bugs, if you continue this regimen, which i know is both time consuming and tedious, but is completely worth it and WAY CHEAPER than calling a pest control company, you will eventually be rid of these pests, but nothing good ever comes easy.

So, if you want a solution and willing to roll up your sleeves and work for your home and welfare of you and your families help this may be the right choice for you. Its helped me, though I still have scars and I can sleep in my bed again. Hope it helps a person in need, I know the desperate feeling :).

chuck007::

I come here and read the post , I thought I was the only one .I’m going crazy . these bugs are in my office chair even after I took it apart and dusted with DE they were eating the back of my thighs (I’m wearing shorts) I just killed one 15 minutes ago. I’m feeling things all the time now. this does affect you mentally. I sleep during the day. I’m about ready to splurge and get that spray that’s advertise here $23. that steamer sounds good also I just hate having to move all my furniture

james::

it is 105 degrees outside, I was told by an exterminator that if i turned my heat on all day and covered the attic vents from outside that i would essentially bake them. it takes 115 degrees for 30 minutes to kill them, but if i left my heat on at 105 outside all day, that would kill them as well don’t you think?

Jim::

Hi James,

The places that these bed bugs hide can sometimes be protected from heat depending on where they are hiding. It may be 115 inside a room, but what is it behind the insulation of the wall or inside the mattress? Personally, I don’t think that’s going to work, but if you do it, find a way to measure the temperature at multiple spots.

james::

I can wire my thermostat to keep on heating my house up to 150 degrees, I know that it would be an increase in my electric bill, but better than $1,200 dollars for an exterminator or $100 plus dollars on chemicals ,I also have a thermometer that will read my house and I can carry it to each room to gauge how hot it is…Do you know if this would probably help my situation…

james::

I understand that bed bugs can hide,but they would not be in my attic or where there it hot already,I know they hide in cracks and crevices and in matresses,ect,but if I wire my thermostate and it reaches over 120 degrees for a few hours then they should bake to death so to speak,115 degrees is what it needs to kill them and it takes 30 minutes of 115 degrees,but at 120 or more my chance of killing all of them is very good,just wondering if anyone else has ever tried this technic,or heard of anyone doing this???

James H.::

Ok, tomorrow is the day that I by-pass my electric thermostat to heat my house up to 150 degrees. I have talked to a licensed electrician/a.c. & heating expert and he said, that i could by-pass my thermostat so it would stay on and heat my inside of my house to 150 degrees, in which the mattresses and everything else would be over 115 degrees that is needed to kill the bed bugs.

If this does work I will let everyone know, so as they would not have to pay up to $1,000 dollars for pest control to come and put heaters in their home to heat there house up to 150 degrees, when you can do it yourself, but am just wondering if anyone has ever tried this or knows anyone how has tried this technique before???

Linda::

Very cool James! If this works for you, I’ll do that myself! Please let me know if it works and also the info on how to modify the thermostat will you?

James H.::

well I bypassed my heater and it got well above 120 degrees, I found a couple of bed bugs dead and when I picked it up, it just crumbled under my fingers. I did buy mattress covers that is bed bug certified, I will let ya’ll know how everything goes in the next couple of days to couple of weeks…

James H.::

So far, night two, at staying in the house, since I have bi-passed my thermostat to heat the house over 120 degrees and so far no bed bug bites as of yet,will keep ya’ll informed as days go on…

Ceajae::

Had a daycare kid spend the night 3 weeks ago, went swimming, ( saw nothing) a few hours later mom calls and says “what bit my kid” she had TONS of bites.. it was horrible.
We thought it was fleas and got rid of all pets, treated and sprayed as if for fleas.
Fast forward 2 1/2 weeks.. hubby and I get in an argument and I sleep on the couch.. I wake just fine, then by 3am I am covered with TONS of bites.. Fleas are back I think?

so we start treating again.. in the process… we discover on our couch bed bugs.. like 15 or so.. Aughhh!! we toss couch out. go crazy cleaning and running the vac. 2 days later ( a weekend) hubby goes to get commercial grade spray, we bag up the whole house, processing anything cloth ( toys bedding ,clothes, towels, sheets, EVERYTHING) and ran it through the dryer on HOT. Hand washed and inspected everything else. Basically packed it up like we were moving. Kids and I left and took refuge with family while hubby sprayed everything.. floor boards, bed frames, dressers, behind appliances EVERYWHERE. We came home next day, cleaned again ( small children won’t due to have posion on the ground) and unpacked..

Was getting ready to get a couch brought in when i saw a small movement by the window sill.. I went over to investigate and just so slightly was a movement again.. It was a bed bug.. AGUHHHHHHHH called hubby banished kids to the far room and we removed EACH piece of trim board..Window sills, tops bottoms EVERY piece of removable wood.. Poured boiling water on each piece and then re-sprayed one board at a time.( to prevent spreading them) . Re attached the boards and caulked around each piece as we attached. awhhh.. I really hate these guys.

Never did see them in any area other than the couch, and window sill ( in living room by the couch) any chance we have gotten rid of them in 18 hours since beginning to treat them I would really like to start working again.

Kelley::

I’ve lived in a student apartment with roommates for a year now. I all of a sudden started noticing bites, after research I am certain that it is bedbugs that are biting me! The bites are horrible and leaves a scar. Surprisingly my roommates are not getting bit.

I got a new mattress, washed my sheets, declutered my room and left baby powder along with carpet powder around the legs of my bed. I also pulled my bed from my wall so that it wouldn’t touch the wall preventing the bedbugs from crawling up the wall and onto my bed, basically I tried creating a barrier so that bedbugs could not get to my mattress again. This worked for a month…now the bedbugs are back! HELP!

Also is there any repellent that I can use to keep them from biting? Or how can I prevent the bites from scarring and turning into noticeable spots?

Lois::

Cedar Oil is advertised as a safe, effective insecticide for controlling a variety of public health pests including Bed Bugs. Cedar oil was chosen due to the claims being made by the manufacture, to the public for use in controlling bed bugs.

Research examined the effectiveness of the cedar oil product on both bugs and eggs that were treated directly with the product as well as the residual effectiveness of the product once dry.

The product tested was our cedar oil and hydrated Silica formulation (Best Yet)

felix atlasman::

I own a store in nyc and lookibng to buy bed bug treatments wholesale…Do you sell wholesale to stores?

Jeff::

Please note DE should not be put in open spaces and floors, etc. Many people talk about spreading it around.

Can bedbug nymphs _INFEST_ an apartment with only 7 full adults and no nest with blotchy spots? There are black bedbugs in my apartment, why do I never see pictures of those? They are slow and look spider like and fat in the middle. I have vacuumed, bagged stuff, sprayed the floors by the walls, and the infestation of nymphs keeps coming. I don’t think they’re book mites. Any suggestions?

Longer story:
I’ve had bedbugs twice since ’03, and this makes the third time. They were gone for a while and came back. I think they were gone for a couple of years at a time different times. They seem to come back in warm weather. The kind in my apartment weren’t red, they were black with fat bodies when they are full.

They don’t seem to be fitting what I know of bedbugs. The last two times I got rid of my bed and sprayed and it seemed OK. This last time, I felt like something was biting me, but I showed no marks on my body, and there were no signs of bugs in my bed. However, every six months or year, etc, I would find a bedbug. I found one in my kitchen, one in the bathtub, and one in my bedroom. I thought they were coming in from somewhere else but my land lord says I am the only one with them. I did bring an almost new couch from the alley about a year before they started the first time so this could have happened. And how can they be gone for 2 years and come back? It sounds like they can only live 18 months without food and I don’t think eggs can lay dormant that long.

This last infestation I was in graduate school and had books on my floor as I had tons of books for my thesis work. I found a bedbug under the books. As it was only one bug I underestimated it. The bugs are now everywhere. I also later found one grown adult across the room by another pile of books, one in my bookshelves in a spider’s web, and two in my bedroom. I have only found about 7 large bedbugs, and did not see dead bugs after I sprayed by the corners of the walls and floor.

***What I don’t understand is how they have infested my whole apartment!!!! Not the big bedbugs, but the tiny nymphs. With finding 7 grown adults, I have had my dresser, book shelves, chair, closet, desk, night stand, etc., TOTALLY infested with Nymphs. I have thrown out much of what I own, yoga matt, luggage, meditation cushion, etc., etc. From the books that were on the floor if I opened one there would be 5 or 6 nymphs on the first and last couple pages, and ALL over my closet, and many, many other ones throughout my bookshelves. How can 7 bugs produce all those nymphs? I found one in my desk as I was recently getting rid of it, and for years before this infestation I would occasionally see nymphs on my paperwork, but didn’t think they were bed bug nymphs as I had seen no adult infestation.

How can *1* bed bug hang out in my desk for years churning out occasional nymphs and not infest my couch? And I only found adult in the closet, and everything on the ground was infested. I thought I might have book lice, but they are not in most of the kitchen or on the walls (I just found some in my silverware drawer yesterday and cleaned it immediately.) They still seem to be on my floor when I leave something down like my Birkenstocks, and yet I have thrown away most of my stuff, have plastic trays with pesticides under my bed and couch (I think that is how they have not gotten a foothold on those. I have seen NO bedbugs on my bed or couch), and have vacuumed thoroughly.

How is it that I have not found the standard blotchy blood spots with nests, and have all these nymphs????? Also, I have chemical sensitivities and will not spray something and sit on it. I was reticent to spray my apartment but as the infestation grows I spray more and more. My landlord had an exterminator in who knew nothing of bedbugs and less of chemical sensitivities. He sprayed something incredibly toxic I had to carefully clean up to stop my headaches.

And one last thing, even when I was infested I didn’t show bite marks or had small marks. Just recently I had my Birks on and I think I was bitten repeatedly, I saw tiny red marks, but they went away shortly. I am afraid to set anything down in my apartment for fear of cross-contamination and have many things in bags.

I forgot to add, the guy in the apartment below me is a hoarder. His apartment smells absolutely disgusting, like open cans of garbage. My landlord tells me the guy below me has no bugs, but I find that hard to believe as my apartment is clean and absolutely infested. I am looking to move.

HELP PLEASE, Jeff

chuck007::

I sleep during the day so I’m up all night . I think the DE is working I killed a lot of large individual bugs who look dried up, but bad news is I’m starting to see small bugs what I guess would be called nymphs that means eggs are hatching.

I get paid once a month so anything I want to do has to be within this time frame. My apt manager has me over a barrel she says she cant spray my unit until I move out all my furniture I think this is BS why move out untreated stuff that’s coming back in.

Jeff::

To me, bedbugs are like a cross between Mao Tse-tung and Satan. Mao writes, “The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.” I dare you, tell me bedbugs haven’t been studying with Mao. (I know, I know, Taoists studied animals.)

Lee::

I am renting an apartment and have told the manager about bed bugs that have recently come out. He said that he is not going to spend $500 (on this small studio) for bed bugs extermination. Can’t a renter force the apartment management to call and pay for pest control?

chuck007::

Its beginning to be physiological with me the least little twinge and I jump out of my skin and my clothes not a pretty site. because of this infestation I sleep during the day and stay up all night.

Tonight I was being bitten by nymphs I think are living in my leather chair unbelievable the changes that are happening I have not seen an adult BB in days only bugs about the size of the dots on this page. tonight like I said I was being eaten alive my only recourse was to spray this product which seemed to work. I have ordered the stuff that was banned in Ohio tomorrow I’ll get more DE and do a thorough vacuum then get rid of the bag. I’m making plans on what pieces of furniture I’ll get rid and what I’ll keep. I have a studio apt my heart goes out the people with multiple rooms .

Tim M.::

James H,

I am anxiously awaiting a follow-up on your Aug 24th post where you were bed bug free two days after heating your home to 120 degrees. Now that it has been two more weeks, how are your results?

Tim M.

Pat Cashin::

Diatomaceous earth (DE) can be found at a pool store also BUT MAKE SURE it is FOOD GRADE DE!
if you were to look at DE under a microscope, it would look like tiny razor blades. Since insects have an “Exo” skeleton, skeletons on the outsides of their bodies. Covering their exo-skeleton is a waxy layer that holds moisture in the insects body. If the insect was to come in contact with the DE, it would cut the waxy layer, and therefore, the insect would dehydrate, to the point of dying. This is also a great treatment for flea infestations.

Ceajae::

2 weeks later and not one sign of the monsters. No new bites, all crevices and beds rechecked ( we have 6 of them) we finally are ready to bring furniture back in the living room. I really feel it was a combination of cleaning, boiling water, removing the trim boards and window sills to identify infection, then treating the whole area with not only insecticide but actually physically pouring the boiling water on everything. Then after the trim, sills are replaced, caulking around them. Very grateful for all the information on this site!

spicey::

Will putting my suitcases (that have all my vacation clothing in them ) in plastic bags and leaving them in the car work? And if so, how long do I need to do this for? What about bottles of shampoo, all the items you use daily? Will that work for them too? We were in the hotel room for 3 nights total when I found them. I will check mattresses before moving into a hotel room again. Is that good enough? I hope I don’t have to fumigate my home because of this. I am new to all of this. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Tony::

So, I’ve been getting bitten for the past couple of nights now. I just moved into an apartment in Toronto for about 2 weeks now and i’m almost 100% sure that they’re bed bug bites. I have the “grouped” bites on my arm and my back, but i have yet to see any sign of bed bugs or anything else. The “grouped bites” are few and small but they have the hard white welt on them. My girlfriend has bites all over her without hard white welts, but they are insanely puffy and swollen. Can anybody help me with this? If they are bedbugs, how would i get rid of them without knowing where they are or how many there is? I’ve checked literally EVERYWHERE. Well the only thing i haven’t checked is behind the floor board heaters, but my landlord won’t let me rip them off so i can kill those blood-suckers. I don’t care if i have to kill them all by hand, i NEED them gone because i haven’t slept for 2 days now and I’m going insane. I just can’t bear the thought of having things crawling on me and sucking my blood whenever they want without me knowing. Well like i said, Any help would be Greatly Appreciated!

Thanks.

Tony. S

Ceajae::

Tony S.
I would suggest renting a steam cleaner or borrowing one of those shark like hand held steamers and steaming everything you can’t throw in the dryer. The rest.. throw in the dryer. We also boiled water on the stove then poured it over baseboards ( used towel below to avoid any major mess then tossed the towels!) then when the wood dried ( a couple hours) we caulked every meeting.. wall to floorboard, wall to window, floorboard to floor we used clear caulk and the added benefit is we have used air conditioning less. :)

Bed bugs are easy to kill. But hard to find. Get a mattress cover for this and use it. We found our bedbugs in the couch.. not a ton of them but WOW what feisty eaters they were. We got lucky and only had them in the living room.. But we treated the WHOLE house in order to be sure. We aren’t sorry.. we haven’t had one sign of any bugs since. Word of advice.. be very proactive.. leave no stone unturned.

Tony::

Thank you very much! I talked to a guy i work with and he said he had them Everywhere. He told me to go to a home hardware and buy this $16.00 can of insecticide. He told me he bought everything trying to avoid asking the landlord to get it done for him because he knew that it wouldn’t get done. He said he finally tried this and it worked. I just sprayed everything i have that bugs could be living in, all i need now is the matress cover! Maybe a couch cover too because i believe i’ve gotten bitten from there. I turned up my boxspring and found 3 bedbugs crawling on the bottom side of it and i sprayed he bugs right away. They all dropped dead within 5 minutes. Lets hope it kills them all! Thank you Very much for all the help! If this stuff works, then I’ll write back and let you know the name of the product, etc.

Tony. S.

scott::

It’s important to treat bed bug infestations the day you discover them or you run the risk of them multiplying and infesting the entire house!

Bed bug bites themselves can not only be irritating but can become infected and cause serious problems in some cases. At first, the bed bugs bite may not even be noticed, bit over time, people become sensitive to the insects’ saliva which can result in a allergic reaction leading to red, itchy, welts!

The best defense is a product called Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade) that you spread around and will kill bed bugs dead!

jessica::

Good afternoon. I have finally beat the bugs!! These are relentless little creatures! I’ve been battling with them night and day for about a month. I start my day at 5 am and found an adult cruisin across my bed one morning. I thought it was just a regular bug and tossed it out the window without a second thought. Two days later, another one. I heard all the hoopla about them on the news and decided to look at a pic on the web. Sure enough, bed bugs. Mental note: No matter how cool, don’t take tables from the alley into your home.

I looked at my bed, found a small huddle of them against the slats and killed them (so I thought). Two days later they were back. I went out and bought a cover for my mattress and pillows, tore my bed down and vacuumed everything. Washed all my bedding and thought they were gone, nope. I had put white sheets on my bed so I could spot them easier (just in case) and the next morning I had over twenty little blood splatters on my pillow and surrounding areas. Eeewww and unbelievable!!

I did some more research and read about the eggs. Oh, I forgot to mention that my discoveries were made while performing sneak attacks during the night or early morning , lights off with a flashlight. Yeah I felt like a weirdo. Anyway, I noticed little white things in the cracks of my bed frame. That weekend I tore my bed apart again and scrubbed every inch with soap and a brush, vacuumed, sprayed “Hot Shot”, washed my bedding and then put it all back together, AGAIN. Two days later they were back and laughing at me.

At this point I’m starting to act like Howard Hughes. Not sleeping, sneak attacks, washing, filling in the cracks of my bed slats, the flashlight, paranoia and becoming a recluse. I decided to buy a hand held steam machine because I have cats and didn’t want to spray anymore.

I bought a Shark portable steamer with attachments for 70$ at Walmart and it’s the best thing I ever bought. I used the brush to steam and dislodge the eggs from around my frame. I also have old untreated wood ammo cases and crates in my room (where I found an arsenal of eggs). I went against the recommendations for the steamer and used the brush on those also. No damage. I steamed my mattress, pillows and washed the protected covers. I steamed my rug, the base boards and the hardwoods. The cloth on the attachment for the floor picks up the dead bugs as you go along so you can monitor your progress and it’s very satisfying. I bought new slats for the bed and filled the knot holes with wood filler and left the room. That night I performed more sneak attacks and found nothing. The next morning, still nothing. I steamed the floor again for piece of mind and the cloth was free of bugs. It took a weekend to get all this done but a week later I’m still bug free and crossing my fingers!!!!

Good luck and thanks for reading.

tiffiny::

i have just experenced the whole bed bug thing i have to say EEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!! i’m not sure what i am doing but i say throw your old bed in a bond fire and buy a new one. treet ur house, if that dosent get rid of them i dont know what im gonna do

Nicki M::

Ok I KNOW I there is a bed bug problem where I am staying. My fiance and I are staying with friends who have noticed many bed bugs in their bed. They sprayed some sort of can at their doorway and around their bed but nothing more. Their house is extremely cluttered with books and clothing surrounding their bed and throughout their room. We stay in the living room on an air mattress covered with many layers of blankets (we have a kitten that uses his claws to climb and run all the time). We have unfortunately had a few bad turns within the last three months. I am pregnant, we don’t have orientation to our new part-time jobs until Wednesday, our “friends” want us out by the end of the month, we do food stamps and Medicaid, and have just managed to borrow enough money from family to get a new place this week.

Now our better named roommates don’t seem to be doing much about this infestation (perhaps they want to wait until we leave or something I don’t know). We don’t have a whole lot of money and we were very frightened of getting them. At the time the best we could think to do is spray a barrier around their doorway with 100% deet (it was all we had). So we crossed our fingers hoping we could treat our things when we left. Not a chance. I noticed the cat pounce at something on the bed and quickly eat it. I asked him if I even wanted to know what that was…. he stared at me silently as if to answer that I did not. The next time he pounced the bed I caught him and stashed him away while I examined it. I determined it was a bug and quickly scooped it into an airtight, clear plastic container. Upon close inspection I am 99.9% certain it is a beg bug. It does not appear to be engorged by blood but when looking closely at where I found it I found several tiny black dots that I, with my previous paranoid searching with a flashlight over several days, could have sworn were not there yesterday.

So here is the deal…. we cannot cure this apartment. Most of the clutter is not ours and our roommates seem in no rush. They certainly don’t seem to care about the prospect that we now have these bugs as well this which is highly foolish. We would never have their permission to sort/clean any of their room or anything in it. EVER. Our best bet is to make certain our new place has no bugs and properly treat everything (including ourselves and our young cat) before it goes to the new place.

-So we have an air mattress (how would you treat that exactly? That dawn stuff sounds like a good idea).
-Several blankets and a large pile of clothes (would simply washing and drying them in the apartment complex’s units work? Speed Queen brand dryer I think does 45 minutes).
-We also have a few vacuum sealed bags of clothing that were sealed long before we got here but have puffed back out though there is no visible rip anywhere that are stashed in the food pantry (could bed bugs get into that? They are not stored anywhere near our bed but were a few weeks ago).
-A pair of caterpillar with some fabric on the inside but rubber and leather on the out (even if the dryer thing would work I seriously doubt the poor dryer would appreciate these heavy weighted and seriously heavy-duty boots with metal buttons and metal hooks for laces).
-We also have a tower computer and monitor not plugged in next to the clothes which are next to the bed (do they need cleaned? How would we clean delicate computer equipment without possibly damaging it? -We brought these with us because they were our most prized and expensive pieces of computer equipment and we would like to keep them that way).
-Two books as well (one hardback one paperback).
-Some cat things including a scratching post, plush toy mouse, cat carrier made mostly of cloth (can that go in the dryer too if dryers work?), and of course the cat dishes and litter box (worry not that is getting a scrub down anyway).
-Finally we have the cat and ourselves (we have to fight with him regularly to keep him out of their room. More so lately possibly because he wants to chase the bugs :( We do not always win this battle and must frequently fetch him from their room as quickly as possible).

All of these things are close around our bed other than the vacuum sealed clothing. I may have only seen two (if that was what he swallowed… probably) but common sense says where you see two multiply them by a hundred so you can underestimate them properly. I have no bite marks and neither does he plus still no bits of blood on the sheets but that isn’t complete evidence of anything. I do know I have a bed bug infestation. How bad it is and all of what it is in I do not know nor do I see that it really matters. I need to make certain they don’t come with us to the next apartment. We don’t have alot of money (make that almost no money) so penny saver ideas that have worked for you are much appreciated. Good solid advice (knowing full well we cannot afford hundreds of dollars of equipment or exterminators) would be a boon. Please help me and thank you so much in advance for even trying.

sherri oneal::

we didn’t have any problem until new people moved next door..we also had some of my sons friends spend much of the summer with us..we have found 3 bugs in my bed..have been bitten at night..since i am disabled and don’t feel one leg i really didn’t know what was going on..i need help in cleaning the room..no other room in the house has any..and since i cleaned he carpet in there with hot water i haven’t seen any more..did i clean them out or do i need to do more to make it stop..it takes forever or me to clean anything because of my bumb leg but i try..

as an add on i bought a new mattress that is special for my bad back..will be getting plastic cover for the mattress and will take all bedding to laundromat for washing in hot water and drying..with the dawn solution do i spray the furniture an then wash it down..or leave it to dry..on fixed income and can afford exterminators..have a bissell steam cleaner with heat and used that in bedroom..have not seen anymore since..do i need to do it again..

Tony::

Hey guys, a couple of days later and so far completely bed bug free :D that stuff works great! I sprayed it on every window sill, the door frame, under the wall heater (which isn’t on, so it won’t explode XD), on our mattress, box spring, corners of walls, and anything else i saw that could have been a haven for bed bugs.

We left the apartment for the weekend and came back after spraying, there were about 15 dead bugs on the floor and in our mattress. We sprayed again that night and slept on the couch. No bites from the couch :D And when we slept in our bed last night, absolutely no bites and one hell of a good sleep :D The landlord told me that if they come back, he will deal with them by calling an exterminator, so at least we have him on our side =) But once again, the spray that i used is called “PRO Aerosol Insecticide” it has 0.5% Pyrethrins, and 4.0% Piperonyl Butoxide.

Here are the details:
pro aerosol insecticide
pro aerosol safety
pro aerosol label

You can purchase it at any Home Hardware that sells insecticides, and I’m sure Canadian Tire would have it too. Its $16.00/can, but when it comes to not getting sleep and waking up with red welts on you that look disguising that itch like crazy, its most likely the cheapest way to go. I just have to remember to spray in 2 or 3 days so that if there were any eggs, the spray will kill the nymphs!

Thanks again for you help guys!

Tony. S

jill shure::

Another easy way to get rid of bed bugs is one that worked extremely well for fleas years ago. It’s called 20 Mule Team Borax and it’s sold as a laundry additive in your supermarket. It also dehydrates the eggs killing the cycle of fleas and any other insect through dehydration. It smells nice and doesn’t have harmful insecticides in it. Years ago, after dozens of pesticide treatments, a friend from Miami read an article about pest control. The big pesticide companies won’t tell you about this. But it works. You just sprinkle it around any area which might breed an unwanted pest – roaches included. It may take a few days to work. Because you are not only suffocating the living pests, but you are also dehydrating the eggs.

Why must we get so complicated when this is a wonderful solution?

c. soto::

I have been dealing with bed bugs now for at least 3 to 4 months. Not knowing it was bed bugs at first. My oldest daughter was getting bit and had a bad reaction to the bites on her arms.. I inspected her mattress and saw nothing.. she went to the doctors and they said she had blocked pores.. ya right..

A week later she came into my room late at night saying she was itchy and saw a brown bug on her.. I went to her room, started to take her bedding off to wash it.. and there they were, several bugs crawling.. The next day I went to the store .. bought products to spray.. specifically labeled for bed bugs.. steam cleaned her carpet took all clothes out and washed them all.. threw out her wood frame bed.. bought box spring and metal frame and encased her new box spring and mattress..

Within days my youngest and me started to see bites.. so the following weekend I started to spray everywhere.. removing clothes out of the rooms as well.. for 4 weekends straight that was my life..cleaning spraying..vacuuming.. we still had them.. had no choice but to hire an exterminator..

Two treatments into a 3 treatment process.. still having bites.. don”t know what to do.. exterminator says it is nearly impossible for anything to survive his treatments..and that maybe it is psychosomatic.. really? anyway so for the long post.. I am just sick over this .. in 2 months I have lost nearly 20lbs.. and have gotten less that that in sleep.. I am emotionally, physically, and financially exhausted!

c.soto::

So here is my follow up.. exterminator came saturday.. finished the 3rd treatment 3 in just under a month.. I have found dead bed bugs hera and there.. but the worst part is htere must still be live ones because at least me and 1 of my daughters have gotten bit.. I think my other daughter too.. but she is in denial.. 2 of us even slept on the living room floor last night seeing as our bedrooms are upstairs and it was way too hot to sleep in our beds.. we got bit.. not a lot but a few 3 to 4 bites at least.. does anyone know how long after treatment it takes before we don’t have any bites.. haven’t seen any live ones.. but have killed 3 live spiders.. 1 each after every treatment and they were are all the living room floor.. did I mention the whole entire house was treated for bedbugs.. fumagant.. grow inhibitor..and dusting.. I am soo tired still don’t get much sleep and emotionally drained.. starting to effect work.. this is terrible.. does anyone have any suggestions.. also how much longer before be are bit free?

Gordo::

I fought this battle for over a year in Edmonton. It didn’t matter what I tried, they came back. What a nightmare. I found out later that my 95 year old widow neighbor had a massive infestation and her son was treating it with sprays that caused them to migrate to my apartment. I had beaten them hands down with a steam machine and lots of hard work, only to have a new group move in. The infestation was discovered when a my neighbor went in to hospital. When I found out about it I promptly sealed off all access points to the adjacent apartments and had my apartment professionally treated. Probably not required as I have developed a very thorough regime for executing these little buggers.

So, I move to Vancouver where my wife’s aged parents live. They are old and bored, they spend their days buying junk from Value Village and the like. No big surprise then that they have a pretty good infestation. The building manager hired some local goof to come in and spray, what a joke. The main infestation was entirely missed, on the back of the headboard! How much more obvious could they be? I have been treating the apt with steam and pyro dust. Lots of clutter, informed residents and still bringing crap in from the junk stores. I am doing one more round of treatment, paying a respectable licensed company to come in and treat after I prep everything. I will do regular followups, however the first time I see them bring any junk in to the place, I am out of it.

I found one crawling across my bed a week ago. Brought it home with me from the in-laws. Multiple bites. My wife freaked. Here we go again.

Jennifer::

I just bought RID spray its used for head lice. it has Phenothrin in it. Its safe for mattresses as well. I have sprayed my entire mattress, and put all my linens in the washer and dryer. When I was putting my comforter in there was a male bedbug literally starting walking towards me. So gross. I also moved my mattress away from the wall and saw what I thought were baby spiders with little dark pinned shaped bodies and clear legs. After doing some reading I now know they were nymphs. (I killed them immediatly). I am having pest control come buy and search my house as well with me today. I got my first bite 8 days ago. I am hoping to catch this in time. Will keep you all posted.

Amber in GA::

Yesterday we found bed bugs, on our mattress’, & furniture. There is 5 people that live here and only 2 of the 5 had bites. But I know all of us have been bit, just didn’t show up on everyone.

So we started thinking of ways we could get rid of them without hiring an exterminator (we don’t have the money to do that). I looked on the internet and it said that heat would kill them (120 degrees and higher). Since there is a baby living here, we knew chemicals was out of the discussion.

Then I remembered the commercials for the SHARK STEAM MOP. So we went to Wal-Mart, got the cheapest one ($59.95 it was on sale) one sided, and it wasn’t the vaccum and mop, just the steam MOP. And it seems to be working, only time will tell, and its a hell of a lot cheaper than an exterminator. We can ALREADY SEE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!

Lyn::

OK, so now I’ve joined “the group.” Question – has anyone tried a hot hair dryer on the mattress/box springs instead of a steamer? Don’t have a steamer, and since I’ve read that the water vapor itself doesn’t do anything positive, and I’m thinking it can cause other damage, I’m wondering. Thanks. I’m at the beginning of this adventure, so…

Brandi A::

Me, my brother, my mother, my brothers girlfriend have been battling bed bugs for the past few months or so. We try so much and it isn’t seeming to work. We cleaned up clutter. Put all our clothes in garbage bags. Took all our blankets to the laundromat and washed with hot water and dried.

I have read a lot of solutions for killing bed bugs and we are now going to try the dawn solution and also steamers, ect-. We do not know where these hideous bugs came from, as well as we don’t know how long it takes for them to fester and populate.

My brothers girlfriend came back from Israel a few months back. we are starting to think maybe the bed bugs came from there because the news , ect- is mostly saying travelers are picking them up and bringing them back. Also a few people and their children stayed with us. They have left and fortunately have not brought these pests to their new home.

We have just called a pest control company and are already seeing a difference. All the big bugs are mostly gone. and here and there we see a few babies. To give you a hint or an example of ways to keep from getting so many bites is you could wear pajama pants, tucked in long socks. a tight shirt and then a tight long sleeved shirt-turtle neck. whatever you would like. and also then gloves with the shirt sleeves tucked in.

Does ANYONE have any remedies to keep from them biting you? Or from getting worse? And i think I’m doing a great job considering i am 15. thank you

Brandi A

Jeff::

Note to readers:

Diatomaceous Earth is harmful if inhaled. Commonly available at pool stores as a filter medium for “DE” Filters. This is NOT the stuff you want to use! Look for FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth!

As with anything, be careful with any product you are using. Always read the label, and be informed.

Annie::

This is our second time – first was an expensive trip using professional pest control and three visits to get rid of the bed bugs. We washed, dried and bagged everything in our bedrooms. This time one female adult was found Sept 9. 2010 full of blood, running across a pillow in the middle of the night. No obvious bites. No other signs of bed bugs. Since then only one possible bite about two weeks after the first sighting in another bedroom. Then nothing.

I used the internet to try to find a trap that would attract the bugs, which are very hard to find. Found one you can make at home, tested in conjunction with Rutgers U in NJ. Use a stainless steel dish with Diatomacious Earth in the bottom and place an insulated jug in it, with dry ice inside. Open the spout a little. It emits carbon dioxide and attracts the bed bugs. Place a paper towel from the floor to the top of the dish and over the lip so that the bed bugs can climb into the dish. Leave for 12 hours. Use about 2 pounds of dry ice. I didn’t have any DE at the time and used talcum powder in the dish. I also put two sided tape around the inside of the dish so that any live ones couldn’t climb out. This worked. It showed me that even though no more bites, there were several tiny nymphs and one larger bug dead in the powder and/or stuck to the tape. Then I ordered DE and followed with treating the door sills, baseboards, and other places in both rooms. I haven’t really emptied the closets or the dressers in the second room.

By the way, I used Benedryl to relieve the sensitivity to the bite I had. The itch was gone very soon and didn’t return. I’m not sure the bite I had was from a bed bug. It could have been a spider bite. By the next day the welt was gone and the site had a tiny center which looked white and like pus. Even thought the welt disappeared, the site itched when it was washed but didn’t itch if not touched.

I’m following the instructions that came with the DE. It’s time for another round of dry ice to determine whether there are any living bed bugs around. They might just be in hiding or trapped by a DE barrier, just waiting for a chance to feed again.

I’m also quite concerned that no one seems to know whether these things can get a blood meal and the person not get a reaction. It seems unlikely that no one in our household has visible bites, even when the first living one was found.

Time for another test with dry ice. Dry Ice, at this time of year, is difficult to find and a little costly. I had to pay a minimum charge of $15 for the few pounds I bought. Still better than paying for exterminators.

We have also put vaseline on the legs of the beds, and tape, sticky side out, around the legs of chairs and beds wherever possible.

Shirley::

THIS IS MY LAST TIME POSTING A SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR BED BUG TREATMENT – STOP WASTING YOUR TIME AND JUST DO IT. IT IS A LOT OF WORK BUT ITS WORTH IT!

When i had these no exterminator would do it because there was no way to get rid of them so they said. The bed bugs are the demons from hell.

I tried everything you can think of, spent over $200.00 on chemicals and still there. I know this worked quickly and slept so good the first night we did this. Until I am fortunate enough to have a very dear friend give me a solution of borax 20 mule team detergent and salt.

First you get an empty large hole size shaker of any kind ( i used an old garlic powder container it wasn’t empty but I sure emptied it)

Then use 1/2 borax detergent & 1/2 salt and sprinkle everywhere… All over, I took mattress & box spring outside sprinkled all over left all day.

vacuum everything up including electrical sockets, every nook and cranny the bed bugs hide; I taped up sockets and me not ever wanting these things back taped up along baseboards.

wash everything in hot water.

non washables in black trash bags baking in sun for 3 days

repeat 3 months later

I had a couple boxes under my bed so i sprinkled in there also. very important things but anything to rid of bed bugs. I also, to this day, vacuum my mattress. all the time
3 years later no sign of them!

20muleteamlaundry.com/about#laundry
mortonsalt.com

All treatment products can be found at your nearest store such as Walmart.

** VERY IMPORTANT TO SPRINKLE EVERYWHERE…. YOU CAN’T BE LAZY. YOU HAVE TO VACUUM EVERYTHING AS WELL!

This works! Good luck!

Tabitha K::

I recently have been invaded by bugs and at the point that it is bed bugs by similar experience as those posted!! I am about to use the Borax and salt treatment. I got rid of my mattress and box spring. Clothes all to the dryer in black bags. But my question is I share a room with my 1 and a half year old so we have many books and toys that are electrical how do i clean those because you say everything needs to be sprinkled and sprayed????? PLEASE HELP

c.soto::

So here I am with a follow up….another one.

It has been just shy of a month since the 3rd treatment for our bed bugs with the exterminator.. I still get bites.. and I think my daughters do to.. these bites are so tiny..little red dots at first kinda sting..and get a little bigger after a day or so.. don’t itch terribly like the bigger ones.. but I am pretty sure they are from nymphs that may have hatches.. going crazy..

I called the owner of the exterminator co.,,, he is coming out himself with the guy that treated this Sat to inspect.. treat again (with a different chemical) and to leave traps designed to lour those little bed bugs, hopefully .. I don’t know what to do.. still haven’t put the clothes back in the rooms yet.. living out of storage containers and trash bags in the garage sucks..

Why are these things so hard to get rid of? I even had a carpet guy out to treat the carpets almost 2 weeks ago to steam them and treat for these buggers.. also steamed the mattresses and box springs.. have caulked all baseboards and window sills … am waiting on mattress / box spring and pillow covers to come up.. they are poleypropelyne ones designed to keep out dust mites..bed bugs etc… does anyone know how well they will work… willing to do anything at this point..tires of the bites.. even the little ones scar like you wouldn’t believe…. going insane!

B. Nelson::

Well, they’re here in full force in Regina. I live in a seniors high-rise and the landlord started inspections in the summer. The exterminators came September 15th with chemicals and killed most of them. After they left I found about 20 dead ones and 2-3 live ones on the mattress and box spring. I had to leave the apartment for 2 days, because the chemicals stink (perfume!) and I have asthma. Thank goodness the bites stopped, they were driving me insane.

I had two kinds of bites – little hard white ones, particularly on my hands, and big red puffy ones on arms and legs. They itched like crazy. After the chemical treatment I lived with all my clothes, towels, blankets etc. in glad bags and slept on the couch for two weeks. Since the fumigation I haven’t noticed any bites but I found a large adult tonight., full of blood. YUCK!!!!

The exterminator is coming again Wednesday the 27th with a heat treatment. I have to remove all my paintings, and anything that would melt like candles and toiletries from the apartment before they come. All medicines and vitamins have to go in the fridge. The exterminator said the heat won’t hurt photographs, but I’m removing them anyway.

The landlord has become more aggressive lately and is inspecting all 155 apartments in the building for bedbugs. The residents here like to go to value village and other places and drag junk home. I’m moving as soon as I can afford to, and throwing my bed away before I move. Thanks for the tip about Dawn. I’ll try it on the next one I see, I’m going to Walmart tomorrow to buy a steamer.

John::

We were itching a lot and having bite marks after getting up in the morning. A friend of mine mentioned bed bugs were in San Fransisco and New York. I am in Orange County, California. I realized we were likely infested with bed bugs. It made sense to me. My girlfriend found two after I text her and asked her to look around the bed.

It has been over a month and we are in a battle here. We have two large beds in an apartment. I have some ideas where they came from but it doesn’t really matter. First thing I did was fog. I did it twice and maybe 3 times. It was Hot Shot fogger available at The Home Depot. Even though the store is large and has a massive pesticide aisle it only offers the one brand that lists bed bugs for the stores here in California.

I purchased the aerosal can of the bud killing product and that wasn’t fun spraying and I think did very little for the fight. I purchased a hand held spray product from Ace Hardware that is for bed bugs. It was very strong in odor. I think it worked better then the Hot Shot but the room was not habital for almost a week due to the chemical odor.

At one point in the battle I removed the webbing material that covers the bottom of box springs because I found them hanging out there and also spotted some eggs there along the edge of this material. Removing the webbing also allowed for me to spray the underside of the box springs thoroughly and limit where they can hide. They seemed to prefer this material! Around this time I had purchased the 1 gallon Hot Shot Hand Sprayer for Bed Bugs. It is very easy to use, covers a lot of area and doesn’t smell bad after an hour or so.

We still get bit to this day and I go on the attack again. We are finding them in the mattress seams along the edge now. I could be mistaken but my reasoning for this is because I have been spraying so much in the box spring. We were finding nymphs lately and that was a good sign because nymphs don’t lay eggs. We want to kill them before they lay eggs of course. But unfortunately I found a massive sized adult hiding in the mattress seam today. This was disappointing for me because I didn’t want to see an adult. I am hoping this was the matriarc and I flushed him or her from under the box spring.

I went ahead and sprayed this adult directly with the Hot Shot Sprayer twice and did chose not kill it with my tool. Instead I collected this specimen to watch the death process. Much to my disappointment this bug is still active and it has been almost 3 hours!! It’s confusing because I feel the bed bugs are dieing off but this one isn’t dieing as fast as I thought it should. I still have hope that it will die. Earlier I complained to an employee at The Home Depot and told him about my experience. He was all ears but said I should throw in the towel and purchase new beds. He also said the California stores don’t have products that the east coast stores have and I should purchase something offered from the internet. I told him his company is doing a disservice to the the community offering a product that is ineffective.

Hope this was helpful to you.

John::

It’s been at least 7 hours since my large bed bug specimen was sprayed with the Hot Shot and it is alive and well. I had also let it crawl on an end of a Q-Tip wet with the “pesticide” . This is absolutely ridiculous. How do we expect these bugs to die by merely crawling over something that has been sprayed, such as a mattress when it doesn’t kill them if they are sprayed directly?

I have sseen wasps die instantly from wasp products and roaches die quickly from those pesticides. What a joke. I think a governing agency isn’t allowing for high enough concentrations of the active ingredients. I read the Canadians post and noticed he had great results with .5% pyerythin. It seems like Canada allows for higher concentrations.

Also, my girlfriend and I are trying to figure out if the source is a neighboring apartment. I have seen the manager spraying around the complex but I always thought it was for roaches. I am going to have to bite the bullet and talk to him.

My girlfriend is sold on the Borax method. She wants to try it. A Doctor told me that encasing your bed in plastic suffocates them. He said you can get this plastic from moving companies.

John::

I spoke to government agencies today and got nowhere except a helpful link to my county vector program. I spoke to United Industries also and an employee told me the Hot Shot Spray can take up to 24 hours to terminate the bed bug from a direct hit or if it walked over damp surfaces. She said if the spray dries it has no killing effect and it will never kill eggs. She did advise me that they have a product coming out that will kill eggs and also continue to kill even after it dries. I can’t wait to get that!!

I caught another bed bug after work and have it in my container for the pest control guy when he comes over. I also told my apartment manager about my bug situation and he was sort of helpful. I was asking him for help. At first he said he would get an exterminator but later deferred the idea of the cost to me. Gee! Thanks!

I double stick taped the legs of the bed with the metal frame and looked it over as best I could. I found a very tiny bug that is hairy and grey in color. To me it looks like another specie of bed bug so I am keeping it as well. we are not sleeping on the wood frame bed. We keep finding them on it.

Next for us is a steam cleaner and the DE. We will keep at it.

John G.::

I used some double stick tape around metal frame legs and also checked the bedding real good before going to sleep. I moved the bed away from the walls and made sure blanket wouldn’t touch carpet. Happy to say we had a good night sleep! talking to the person at the company that makes Hot Shot (United Industries) was very helpful.

These little tricks are working and I am going to keep at it. Next is the DE (Diatomaceous Earth) and I might use petro jelly as well. I guess we are fortunate because in my opinion the infestation I have appears to be slight. From what I am reading on here it is obvious you guys are getting bit a lot and also see many around and they are very active too.

Brittani::

So I’ve never had an issue with bed bugs, until today.. I think. My legs were really itchy so I was itchin the crap out of them. I turn on the light and they are covered with red bumps! I looked everywhere on my mattress underneath it and did not see anything. I’m going to try the borax/salt, the dawn/water, and the food grade DE. I can’t live like this! I’m sittin’ here freakin out that there are bugs all over me!

Theja::

I have been dealing with bedbug infestation since May and have finally found something that kills them but you must be diligent about it. Rubbing Alcohol!

I sprayed until wet all areas where they are them go back in 3 days and spray again for the new ones just hatching. Then I spray again on the 7th day and thereafter every 7 days until there are no more outbreaks. I have sprayed them directly with alcohol and they die within a few minutes. I think its the properties that cause them to dry up.

I have checked back after a few days and the bugs and their droppings can be vacuumed up. The alcohol in dollar stores is 70% and good to start with if you can’t afford the 100%. The higher content leads to better results of course. Also you can use this same alcohol for the bites as its soothes the skin and takes away the itching. Please use a mask and ventilate as the fumes are overpowering. This works!

Julia W.::

ALCOHOL, Rubbing Alcohol in a cheap spray bottle safe for kids, pets. SEE the Big Bad Bed Bugs lift their tales and die. Look for bottles on sale and refill your own spray bottle over and over. I did this twice three times a week and it has worked thus far along with all the other stuff…Caulking walls and rug, door intersects. Vaccuum in the night time at least a few times

John G.::

Brittany, have you figured out how you got them in the first place? Do any traveling, bring a used item into your place, have guests stay over or maybe an adjoining apartment has them? This is important because if your neighbors have bed bugs you must eradicated your place and the neighbor has to as well. I live in an apartment and I don’t know yet if the bugs are migrating from the unit next door or above me.

It’s very frustrating. My ex-wife went to Cancun last year and my boys bring their laundry over on weekends. They had these bites before we did so I am just figuring they came back in her luggage. But definitely attack the problem now as you say you are. I would suggest purchasing the Hot Shot 1 gallon jug from your local hardware store and begin spraying everywhere you can with this hand held pump sprayer. It’s a contact killer and wet killer so they have to crawl over it when it is still wet. So don’t be afraid to really dampen in areas.

Spray your bed frame, up underneath the box spring. Everywhere you can.They usually start out in the box spring and later move to the mattress seems. You may not find them in the seems just yet. Important: remove your box spring webbing that covers the bottom side (just rip it off and carefully place in a bag) and also the PLASTIC TUFTS that protect the 4 corners. You can replace these items later when you are comfortable about it.

This is an excellent hiding place and breeding ground for the bed bugs, especially the tufts. I personally saw this at my place. Don’t bother getting a new bed. Attack them in place. Use the DE in conjunction with the chemical. Put double stick tape around the bed legs to stop them from crawling up it at night. others have suggested petroleum jelly as well. Pull bed away from wall. Nothing to touch ground. use tiny blanket if you have to. I used comforter last night and awoke to being bit and saw it touching the floor.

Leave a reading light on. this helps to some degree because they prefer darkness. Also, if you are alert and you feel one the light will already be on if you can spot it. I kill baby nymphs by crushing them between my 2 thumb nails. It’s gross but better then it growing up to be an adult. You can catch the adults with toilet paper and then use the tip of a sharp knife to poke it .

John G.::

Hey, Guys! I am happy to say that we are not getting bit. I am not going to suggest they are all gone but the double stick tape is keeping them off the bed from the carpet. I purchased a roll of heavy duty mounting tape at the hardware store for about $10. It is much more then I need. Probably enough for 5 or more wood frame beds. I purchased the Diatomaceous Earth today. I got a large bag for about $12. I plan on using it soon.

laura::

Diatomaceous Earth works!

Bed bugs were just discovered in my apartment building, but I haven’t seen any in my apartment yet. Is it just a matter of time?

Cindy::

First let me say, I’m glad I found this site. I often heard, ” Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” I’m almost 50 yo, I never heard of bed bugs being this bad. I haven’t been face with this problem yet. Thank goodness

My daughter moved out of our house about a year ago and now she’s face with the problem of trying to get rid of bed bugs. She lives in a low income housing complex so I’m sure the problem is huge. As there all townhouses the bugs are crawling from one house to another. She has a exterminator coming in to spray the place. But the thing is, This is her second time dealing with bed bugs in one year. Whatever the exterminator is spraying sure isn’t working at all.

The Housing Authority made her get rid of her mattress and box spring, couch, chair. This is the second time she was told to trash these items. I read where you could have them hot steam that would kill the bed bugs. I was going to have that done but now I’m back to looking for more furniture. My daughter can’t afford to keep replacing furniture. Right now, my daughter is sleeping on a blow up mattress. I made it very clear to the Housing Authority that she didn’t have bed bugs before she move in.

Once again I need to go over there and help her out. I’m going to use some of the tips that I have read on here.

The hot water, the DE, Alcohol, 20Mule Borax & Salt and the Dawn.

Question – I do have a “Heating Gun” I’m wondering if that would be safe to use? Cause this is war.

c.soto::

Here I am again…4 treatments later and a carpet cleaning company that treated the carpets as well.. and I think we still have a problem.. I have encased our mattresses with plastic covers.. and my box spring as well.. I will be purchasing 2 more for my daughter’s box-springs tomorrow.. I vacuum every week like a bad woman.. and wash the kitchen and dinning room tile floor with a mix of pinesol and water.. (mostly pinesol)..

Tonight I surrounded our bed wheels with a wide thin layer of DE.. I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this…. The bites have gotten less.. But still notice small ones with an occasional big one here and there. Why is it so hard to get ride of them?

When the exterminator came for the fourth time 10 days ago he left useless traps that look like a folded piece of cardboard and stuck them in between the carpet and baseboard near my bed.. ( only in my room and only 2)..why isn’t there a trap that can attract them and catch them so I would have proof..

I can’t see any.. but am sure we still have some.can’t afford to move or throw the rest of my furniture away.. already threw out my sofas.. ya they were in there too. I can’t afford the hire another PCO…and the one I did hire.. thinks it is psychological now.. What a jerk..

was sitting at my dinning room table earlier and think I was bit on the front part of my ankle at it stings some now and then but no visible bite mark yet.. Is there anything that works….? CAN’T KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS…

Megan::

My boyfriend wound up w/ several bites after spending the nite at his parents’ house; is there any way that he could’ve brought them into our home via his clothes, etc.? He’s really itchy and the bites are classic bed-bug bites, but I’m going crazy wondering if those suckers could’ve hitched a ride to our home! Any suggestions/comments are welcome; thanks to all for your previous posts/info. on this topic :)

John G.::

Megan,
I doubt he brought any bugs back with the clothes he was wearing. I cannot say that for any bagged clothes or other items. The bites will itch for a few days and probably have subsided by now but will leave a bright red mark in some cases. I have seen these kind on my feet stay there for a week.

JoAnn::

Well glad and not so glad to see that other people have problems with bed bugs.

My daughter’s school (High School) found bed bugs in classrooms last week. The administration tried to hide it until they received tons of angry calls from parents wondering why an announcement wasn’t made. The school is almost all lynolium and wood except for the auditorium. I am thinking a student brought in the bed bug on their clothing.

I read that the bugs can live in electrical outlets, molding, basically anyplace dark.

What are the chances of the entire school being infested and our children bringing the bugs home? It’s big school with lots of children, And in dealing with high school students they don’t want to go to school to begin with, this is the perfect excuse!

John G.::

JoAnn, I would have to assume you can bring home the bugs from a school infestation quite easily. I am thinking a lot of that school is carpeted as well. Look for the tiny red / brown or black mold looking poops they leave in seems and tufts. Look for fresh bites after sleeping. Then you will know, unless you are lucky enough to catch one.

John G.::

This was weird. Two nights ago my fiance puts on a T-shirt before climbing into bed. I didn’t think much of it but she got bit real bad on her left arm down to her wrist within some minutes.

I had just fallen asleep and she woke me in a panic. She had went to the restroom because of the stress and discomfort from the bites that just occurred and spotted the adult Bed Bug on her shirt between her chest and shoulder. She was able to kill it.

These little bugs are hungry because we are doing everything we can to keep from getting bit. This bug pounced and didn’t waste anytime. We came to the conclusion that it got on her shirt when the shirt was on a soft foot rest next to the wall for many hours prior to her putting it on.

I think I have done an excellent job of removing them from the bed and positioning the tape. She has hampered my efforts to apply Diatomaceous Earth but she is on board now.

frustrated in Phoenix::

is chemical treatment better than heat treatment for bed bugs- what should the cost be for each?

John G.::

We saw a very tiny nymph 2 nights ago on my pillow when we were in bed. It must have just hatched and went hunting. It got us I have to admit. We remained calm and since then I steamed the bed frame one more time and today I replaced those wood blocks and thin wood planks that go under the King box springs. I replaced them with planks that are 2inch thick to remove the need for blocks.

The fewer things touching the carpet, the better! I still believe the double stick tape around the legs of the frame is worth it’s weight in gold. I used a baster to apply the Diatomaceous Earth in areas of the room and between the box spring and mattress. The fine dust was not pleasant at all. I used a cheap mask.

I would recommend a high quality mask if you choose to do this. I think I am rounding the corner on beating this.

John G.::

Frustrated in Phoenix,

The chemical treatments that we purchase over the counter here in the states apparently only is effective while the product is wet, that is if you get a direct hit on the bug or it crawls over the damp surface and it does nothing to the eggs. A person with United Industries (Hot Shot) told me they have a product coming out that will kill eggs and bugs even when it dries! This will be monumental.

I have never paid anyone to do heat treatment but I purchase a garment steamer from Costco that i enjoyed using and I am sure it roasted every egg and bug it came in contact with. It was a good purchase and I love having it because it is chemical free. I am having real good success and almost ready to stake the flag and declare that I have my place back.

I have some earlier comments below that I suggest you read on what I have done since I discovered bed bugs. By the way, I always thought they came from my Ex-Wifes house after her trip to Cancun, Mexico. My boys must have brought them over with there laundry and things.

The other day I fell asleep on her couch for about a half hour and I got nailed. Fresh bites. I told her about it via text but never got a reply. I have my proof finally.

John G.::

Frustrated in Phoenix,
I forgot to mention that professional exterminators probably use chemicals that will continue to kill even after drying but I have read from earlier posts that sometimes these exterminators have to return to same residence multiple times and the cost can be hundreds to a couple thousand dollars. Try ridding them yourself.

particia::

Well, we discovered bed bugs a few days ago, notified land lord and he is bring in a steamer which i know is not 100% effective. i know they came from another unit as i heard pct tell land lord he could not do a complete spray and she told me she had them all summer grrr…

After a lot of reading we have decided 1 to move asap and to to use a routine of Dawn for Dishes Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and and barax and salt treatment. I have also gotten rid of all wood furniture in bed rooms and removed clothes for washing and bagging sealed beds in plastic witch I will replace for piece of mind or buy mattress encasement for removed all clutter and completely emptied closet.

Once under control rooms will be strictly for sleeping no storing things in closets except clothes going to try no dressers hang all clothes and sealed tubs for rest. will make a rumpus room in basement of new place for sleep overs etc. Wish me luck! going to dust every box with DE as we pack and seal with duct tape in hopes of not taking with us.

W will be having steam cleaner fixed as not working right now and buy a new steam mop to add to our daily cleaning 32 day til move wish me luck will keep you posted. Oh, and so every one knows, son has 3 bites, hubby bit also and myself none; only found 3 bed bugs.

JJ::

I have several co-workers that have bedbugs. One is slowly winning the battle via professional exterminators. Another is floundering. They just don’t know how to deal with it and it’s getting worse. The other day I noticed that I had received ‘the gift that keeps giving.’ (cue sarcasm)

On a good note, I have spray bottles of rubbing alcohol all around my house, as I use it as a sanitizer. When the little pest crawled over my arm, I grabbed a bottle that was close to hand and zapped it. It died instantly. I’ve also noticed that creepy-itchy feeling and have been combating it with alcohol. Anywhere I itch, I spray. Including my hair. Doesn’t do a lot of good for the texture, but the itchy-crawly feeling goes away.

And I’ve been spraying down my favorite chair every day. Granted it only kills the bugs that crawl through it, but it keeps me from getting bit. Wet, cold rump is a small price to pay…

2 notes of caution:
1) Be careful not to spray it near the eyes. It Stings!!
2) This should be a no-brainer, but not everyone knows how flammable rubbing alcohol is. Don’t spray it near open flames and Don’t smoke in rooms where you can still smell the alcohol vapor.

I still have some diatomaceous earth from a previous battle with fleas. (I won!) So today, I’m off to the store for:
a magnifying glass (easier to spot the little !@*&%s)
cedar oil
double sided tape
More alcohol!
possibly a steamer if I can find one I can afford

The Plan:
Extreme tidying & vacuuming, possible steam cleaning

‘Blocking up’ my couch and wrapping double sided tape around the blocks, diatomaceous earth under the cushions,
possibly cedar oil on the outside (will have to check label first – if not, will continue with aggressive alcohol treatment)

Diatomaceous earth all around perimeter, double sided tape around all outlets & cracks, & even covering outlets I don’t use

Laundry while tidying – ashamed to say I have a couple of piles of laundry on floor – I’ve been keeping clean laundry in bins since the ‘flea war’, and will be adding some double sided tape to the outside of those bins

I might even pick up some of those storage bags that you vacuum the air out of & put all my summer clothes in them. Along with some D-earth.

So far, the cats seem unaffected. They’re not doing the panicked climbing to get away, that they did during the flea episode. Does anyone out there have suggestions on keeping it that way, or are the bed bugs likely to just come after me?

Books: It seems to me that a way to treat infested books would be to bag them up & throw them in the freezer for a week or so, leaving them bagged after treatment until all the bugs are gone. Does this sound feasible?

Will post again with results & if it works, will be helping the co-worker who is still struggling.

John G.::

Patricia, don’t panic. You will see results as you attack this. Just remember that there is a cycle of the eggs hatching and you will see baby nymphs, so don’t get frustrated. The DE is very fine and goes airborne very easily. Wear a high quality respirator mask. Not a droplet mask, such as the surgical type. These will be ineffective. I have applied DE to my bedroom and just returned to it to sleep after about a week.

My girlfriend noticed a bug above us on the ceiling near the edge. I got close to it and realized it was an adult Bed Bug motionless. I was hoping it was dead. It wasn’t, much to my disappointment. It was certainly possible it was dieing from the DE because it was strange that it was up on the ceiling. I killed it and flushed it.

The Double stick around the bed lags works very well so I am considering applying it around the walls near the ceiling to keep them off. There is real the potential of them crawling up and dropping onto the bed. An earlier post on here suggested this and I wasn’t worried about it. I am now.

patricia::

John are you still living out of plastic bags ? we bought a 3 in one steam mop we used as a hand held steamer and steamed walls and base boards let dry (DE) Diatomaceous Earth all cracks and crevices land lord brought in heaters we ran at temp of 60 Celsius 140 Fahrenheit in both bed rooms so far so good now we need to steam all base boards in rest of house steam walls than DE every where we are all so going to seal every window floor board etc with invisible caulking as well its cold here now not to many Vacancy’s here so might have to rid it out here for winter will keep you posted tape on floors tonight see what it catches

mike::

i used a brown tick and flea spray that worked right away….but i still wanna kill larvae and eggs.

John G.::

Patricia, a few days ago I elected to put my clothes back into the drawers but I inspect them before I put them on. I haven’t seen a bug since the one we saw on the ceiling about a week ago or so. Sometimes in bed or on the couch I feel like something is biting me but it could just be “nerves”! We never see a bug when we think one is on us.

So, until I see another bug or very obvious bite marks I am not going to pull out all the ammo again. We are practicing good house keeping and keeping the bedding off the floor. I still feel the double stick tape was most effective in at least giving us good sleep. I still haven’t applied any sticky product to the walls and I regret not doing this. I really need to get something and do this. If you have a wood frame bed you have to take it apart and steam everywhere on it. Fill in holes and deep cracks of the frame with caulking. I did!

Keep in touch and let me know how you do.

John G.::

Hello, Everybody! I hope you guys are making progress. Two nights ago I had a bite mark on my left arm and initially I got very upset. Apparently raccoons that hang out near my complex and travel through our back patios are bringing fleas.

My landlord has advised us to spray for fleas outside at this time. I remember getting flea bites as a youngster so I observed this bite on my arm and later in the day I determined that is much more likely a flea bite then from a Bed Bug because it looked a little different and went away rather fast.

Still no concrete sign of a bed bug or bite here since the one I captured on the ceiling a while ago. But we are constantly looking. Our next plan is to purchase white sheets and pillow cases to easily spot these bugs or the fleas that may be showing up.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and stay in touch. I am really hoping you beat this!

particia::

Well, I’m happy to announce we have found nothing on tape and son has no bites, my husband is away and the bed bugs love him so wont know for sure til he is home because they don’t bite me or i don’t react. I am thinking the heat did a very good job my landlord is not going to like me cause i am going to make him bring me back the heaters and do it again on his dime. i don’t pay for power, DE (Diatomaceous Earth) is under heaters and we have hot water heat…

Pipes, lights and plugs were siliconed today but still freaked out about basement as that’s where laundry is. I cringe every time i do a load that i am tracking some thing back. I put DE under base boards bought mattress encasement at Zellers for a whole $57, a lot better than the $160 on line! check out your local Walmart and Zellers stores guys! still need to paint and seal walls and continue to vacuum and work our way through the rest of the house doing all of the above …we are tired! we are putting things we don’t want to lose in unheated storage and its like -17c that’s 1.4F here as a high all week.

I will keep you posted. I hate the bag thing :) thanks for listening!

tom::

Well it finally happened to me. I travel half of the year and I finally had my first confirmed run-in with these darn things. I am currently away from home and want to know exactally what I need to do to keep from bringing these home with me. I have read all of these posts and certainlly DO NOT want these things infesting my house.
Thank you for your help.

patricia::

Well, the bed bugs moved to the living room so now i am moving everything! getting thrown out back to laundromat with clothes and linens!

denise::

Hi ALL, after coming home from sharing a hotel room with my in laws for 5 days. We had bed bugs, apparently they have had them for 3 YEARS, brought 6 suit cases FULL and FILLED the hotel closet with their hanging clothes! (They neglected to tell us this when we agreed to share the cost of the room with them)

14 days after we got home I noticed a couple of bites that I was unfamiliar with. My mother in law (a nurse) spent the night at my house about 2 months after we got home to help me after having surgery. I showed her the bites she casually said “oh those are bed bug bites” I was FURIOUS! NOW the pests had really set up camp and had invaded the entire house!

My husband didn’t decide to do anything about it until HE eventually got bites (so now we were about 90 days in with them multiplying RAPIDLY) I looked up SEVERAL sites with e1 having different ideas, we started trying all the different ideas to no avail. Finally I went to an exterminator who lives across the street from us..he told me HIS PROFESSIONAL company flat refused to take any bug bite accounts because they can’t guarantee to get rid of them.

FINALLY WE FOUND THE ANSWER! THIS WORKS ABSOLUTELY…1st know it’s going to take A LOT of WORK, but if you have them you KNOW it’s worth it.

  1. STRIP EVERY BED IN THE HOUSE, PULL THE MATTRESS OFF, ALL THE LINENS, PILLOWS, COMFORTERS, STUFFED ANIMALS, RIGHT DOWN TO THE FLOOR
  2. WASH ALL YOUR LINENS, PILLOWS, COMFORTERS, MATTRESS PADS, STUFFED ANIMALS IN THE HOTTEST WATER POSSIBLE.
  3. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING THAT YOU WASH GOES INTO THE DRYER ON THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE HEAT FOR A MINIMUM OF 60 MINUTES.
  4. ALL ITEMS OF CLOTHING IN THE NIGHTSTANDS AND DRAWERS HAVE GOT TO BE WASHED AND DRIED AS WELL …THE HEAT IS THE KEY TO KILLING THEM SO MY PILLOWS WENT THROUGH THE DRYER 90 MINUTES EACH.
  5. THIS IS THE KEY, and the ONLY product we found that works (believe me we tried bombs, sprays, etc to no avail.) while the bed is completely apart spray everywhere including inside all the drawers on the carpets along all the baseboards every inch of the house, every piece of furniture, literally take the cushions off the chairs, couches, any afghans you have hanging, all the drapes must be sprayed with these 2 products mixed together.

The products are CY Kick CS the active ingredient is Cyfluthrin 6% (1 pint cost us $60.00) and Martin’s IGR 4 oz. was about $15.00 (stands for insect growth regulator) which means it kills the eggs the bed bugs lay, you mix 2 oz. of CY Kick CS and 1 oz of the IGR per gallon. You will start noticing MORE bites the 1st couple of days because it really brings them out.

EVERY single day I ran all the pillows in the dryer for an hour (didn’t wash them but 2 times) because YOU MUST WITHOUT A DOUBT do the same process 5-7 days after your 1st treatment. (ALL THE LINENS, PILLOWS,MATTRESS PADS etc got the hottest water possible when I washed them and a MINIMUM of an HOUR, I recommend 90 min. in the dryer. We have been “bug free” for 4 days now (meaning 0 none zip bites) after fighting with them and buying all the other products suggested.

We only started this treatment 10 days ago, so without question I will SPRAY everything down ONE MORE time 2-3 days from now. Will put all 16 pillows in the dryer for an hour again too. I literally soaked the inside of the couches, turned them upside down sprayed all the springs, metal framing on the beds and the furniture. Pulled all the drawers out and sprayed the inside the cabinets, night stands, dressers etc.

We have a small 8 lb dog I kept him with me away from the house for 2 hours both times my husband sprayed allowed the products that we mixed together to thoroughly dry before we allowed him back into the house or on any furniture. (When I 1st found a bed bug I put it in a pill bottle with no food,water or air, it lived 10 days) SO good luck, hope you are able to find those 2 specific products.

God Bless you, because I have been through HELL and back getting rid of them. Anyone who has them can attest to that, you might not realize it but you carry them with you on your clothes, they love to hide in diaper bags, purses etc, so SPRAY your vehicles down, dump out your purses, clean out the diaper bags. (My son and daughter in law came over I insisted that they not bring anything in the house, but when we got back over to their house I INSISTED that I take apart the baby’s car seat, washed all of our clothes that we had on washed all the clothes in the diaper bag. Ran all the material from the car seat and the diaper bag in their dryer for an hour after we went to my husbands parents house for Thanksgiving) and YES I found a bed bug in the baby’s carrier (the carrier snaps into the car seat)

denise::

I just wanted to add one more comment about the products CY-Kick CS.These 2 products mixed together absolutely did not stain any of my furniture, linens, carpet etc. We used the DE food grade 1st and it didn’t work in my case.

I also bought a product online to use on the bug bites before we actually found the real true KILLER of these bugs from Hell, called Bite Rx (Search for it on Google Products) it was expensive but worked better than anything else we tried.

Yes I TRIED just about everything including alcohol, chiggerexplus, and even washed my hair with lice products. I am not endorsing these products for any other reason than from my experience. I do KNOW and can say earnestly that these products WORKED.

Again be diligent, make sure to treat the entire house, closets all doorways, baseboards, headboards, carpets, etc. I get “sick” with the smell of just about everything, but waited 2 hours before getting any where near the products, wore gloves, and took a shower after having any contact with the products, and did not have any ill effects. I did notice the dog drank a lot more water, so keep yourself hydrated, and make sure to keep your animals water bowls full too. Make sure that your animals food and water is put away don’t allow any of the product any where near their food, or your food, just common sense.

John G.::

Denise, I used DE and heat treatments along with drying the clothes. We have been bed bug free for a few weeks now. That was a lot of work you did and I hope it paid off. I am amazed that your in-laws did not let you know about the bugs. What is not alarming to some is to others. But that was rediculous. I hope you at least gave them an evil eye!

c.soto::

ok so it is a little over a month after the pco came back for the 4th time to treat the house… not sure if we are bug free yet.. it is rather cold her at night so we bundle up pretty good.. and my face has seen either bites or.. pimples not sure considering I rarely have pimples and lately I have had quite a few.. some go away sooner than others some itch some don’t.. but I can’t help to think they are possible bites.. I don’t see any bugs.. but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.. I have encased all beds mattresses and box springs.. and have a ring of DE around all bed legs.. I still vaccum like crazy every weekend.. but am so tired.. we are still living out of bags in the garage.. so afraid to put everything back in the closets and dressers.. when will this end? I am planning to move.. but am afraid If we still have them .. I will take them with us…. what else can I do.. and how long does it take after they come in contact with the DE to die.. can they cross over crawl up and still bite?

Chad::

Just found my bed bug problem this morning and needless to say I started ripping apart my bed…. yup, found the bedbugs (6 so far). I alerted my landlord of the problem and the company that they contacted gave an estimate of $500 to spray down the place with no guarantee…. Needless to say I a very weary of chemicals, so I believe we are going to try this on our own. I would rather battle with these bugs than battle with the effects the chemicals may have on me. Out to buy Diatomaceous Earth today, double sided sticky tape, and possibly Neem Oil. Don’t really know what will work… but I guess I have a date with laundry, plastic bags, duck tape, and find some of those pillow and bed cover things. Geez… heard about this “bed bug problem” but never figured I would be effected. I don’t visit different places often… never stay in hotels…. but I do have neighbors right next door in these apartments that I live in… maybe these things traveled over…. Didn’t want to have this problem… sigh.

Brenna::

I just moved into a beautiful new apartment and love it.
As I was moving in, I bought a set of couches off of Craigslist that were beautiful Victorian style seating with wood inlays.
(Can you see where I’m going with this?)
One of the first days being in the home I noticed a strange bug crawling on my mother.
We killed it.
In the next day or so I had a bite that I recognized from doing previous curious research on bed bugs.

That night we opened up the couches to find a TON of dead bed bugs…. curious.
Threw out the couches immediately hoping for the best, as they had only been in the house 3 days.
But now I keep getting bites that look more like spider bites, with only two lesions.
But I fear for the worst.

I am going to begin the treatment tonight by bagging all clothes in the bedroom, vacuuming, and using the sticky tape all around the door (trying to keep them where they are) and the bed.
I have to wait for the mattress, pillow, bedspring covers to come in the mail (WHY IN THE HECK DON’T THEY SELL THEM IN STORES!?).

Any advice on what type of pesticide/spray/dirt/whatever treatment works best?
I am terrified.

This is a fair warning to trust NO ONE on Craigslist, we got our money back, and he was very nice about it, but I do fear he was “playing dumb.”

INSPECT EVERYTHING!

denise::

MUST BUY 2 products from do it your self pest control
1. CY-KICKS-CS, active ingredient is cyfluthrin 6% ask the sales person for any product that has that ingredient,
2. Martins IGR active ingredient 2-{1methyl2(4phenoxyphenoxy)ethoxy}pyridine 1.3% these 2 must be mixed together(2)oz per gallon of the cy-kicks-cs, and (1) oz of Martins IGR per gallon.

The IGR is an insect growth regulator that keeps the bugs from reach maturity (so they aren’t capable of mating) I have already told you my story re the bed bugs, no point in going over it again, however wanted to let everyone know how it’s been since we FINALLY found the RIGHT stuff to get rid of them.

For those who haven’t seen my other comments, I will start by telling you if you have bed bugs, be prepared for A LOT of work, (but without these 2 ingredients all your work will be in vain) at least mine was. I stripped all the beds in the house including the ones not infected (we thought we only had them in our main bedroom and the couch in the living room) NOT the case the little suckers (literally) like to hide in your clothes, on your body, in your hair, in your pockets, purses, diaper bags etc.

Step 1. again is stripping all the linens and every single item has to be washed in the HOTTEST water your washer allows, this includes your pillows, (even the throw pillows), stuffed animals, the mattress pad, the bed ruffle, comforters, blankets, EVERYTHING, strip them ALL to the floor. Then after you have done this your pillows should go in the dryer (highest heat until COMPLETELY dry)

2. Spray the bed, mattress, bed rails, carpet headboard, box springs, everything in the nightstands, has to be at minimum put in the dryer 60-90 min. (I washed every bit of all my clothes, however the heat seems to be the key to killing them) Don’t skimp and just dry the bed linens or pillows.

3. Spray every inch of carpet/floor, inside shoes, pull the drawers out of the dressers,armoirs,nightstands,take your couches apart and spray every inch including the metal springs (turn them upside down and spray inside every crevice you can find) and spray (BE SURE TO GET THOSE 2 ingredients and don’t skimp when mixing them) WE TRIED the DE covering every inch of our house with the nasty clay like powder, still had bedbugs.

4. 5-7 days NO MORE than 7 (5) is better because the bugs are in different stages of growth when you start, REPEAT everything you just did. Make sure to spray along the walls through out the ENTIRE house. EVERY 3rd day the pillows from the couch and my bed (16) total went into the dryer for a minimum of one hour.

YOU WILL SEE MORE BITES after the initial spraying (they DON’T want to dye, and will be more aggressive after you start getting rid of them.) I recommend you use commercial washer and dryers for this (I tore my washer up with the heavy loads of pillows, the comforter by itself was to heavy for my industrial strength washer) Make SURE you have all the clothes that go to the laundromat in tightly closed large trash bags, THEN SPRAY your car with the insecticides.

Baby car seats are also at risk so they HAVE got to be taken apart (anything that is cloth MUST GO IN THE DRYERS for a minimum of 60 min at the highest heat). We are now 8 days without a bed bug bite, HOWEVER, my husband saw a BABY so TODAY I am rewashing all my bed linens, and spraying every inch of the bed, mattress, box springs, rails, every inch of every wall,(along the floor) the couch again upside down thoroughly sprayed.

My neighbor works for a professional bug company HIS COMPANY REFUSES to accept any bedbug accounts due to the amount of work involved and all the follow up necessary to ELIMINATE them. We have an 8 lb dog that we keep outside for 2 hours while the spray is drying. None of the carpets, bedding, or couch have any stains, YOU however if are concerned about staining anything then THROW IT AWAY. IF YOU PUT ANYTHING on the curb COVER IT IN KETCHUP to deter anyone from picking anything up.

GOD BLESS, be persistent, and I can confidently say if you follow this you CAN get rid of them. I suggest that if you find ANY sign of bedbugs that you STOP reading NOW and get to the store for those 2 items. GOOD LUCK!

Denise in Orlando

bob a::

I was attacked no matter where I tried to sleep in the house. Finally took my garage stored sleeping bag, taped the legs of the expanded kitchen table and have had no bed bug bites for three days of good sleep with the table as my bed. It’s giving me relief time while I deal with all this advice. I’m single so this is working out.

lisa::

OK I have a serious problem!!! I am living in another country and have never had this kind of problem. The other day my husband and 2 children started to complain about bumps on their arms and legs. I thought oh no they ate something and had an allergic reaction to it. Then I started to have these bumps appear.

We went to the doctor and they told us it looked like bed bug bites and to use a topical cream and spray all furniture and put our mattresses and furniture outside in the sun for the day. I did that and vacuumed the mattresses afterwords also.

After hearing about bed bugs I decided to research it on line and now I am worried that the treatment was not enough but I cant find most of these products here, I don’t know what to do!!! HELP!!!

Are there any home treatments with basic ingredients that you can find at a grocery store????

I need a fast treatment also because our 3rd child is due in 2 months!!! HELP US PLEASE!!!

Chad::

Okay…. so far so good. I have been taking pretty good steps with everything. I have been bite free for five days now. I still go over my room every day looking for any signs of these things. I believe I caught them pretty quick, however, I will not let my guard down. Too paranoid I guess, lol!

Denise, thanks so much for your advice. I will definately look these two chemicals up and see if I can use them. (Chemical Allergies here). I’ve started pretty much a “home” make over routine. Sadly most of my things I go through I am bagging up and tossing out. Living out of plastic isn’t easy but it sure beats transporting these things over someplace else. I thought of opening all of my windows and turning off the heat for about 3 days…. it’s been about 20 degrees during the day here and about 10 or 15 degrees at night. I figure it couldn’t hurt to play freeze out with these things… you think it might help? I will be staying with a friend during this period. Guess I will find out! Best of luck to everyone battling this problem!

John G.::

Lisa, you can get this under control by purchasing a garment steamer(@$50). Make sure you have a home size extension cord. Steam the seems of your mattress very closely. The hotter the better. This will roast babies and eggs you might not see.

Steam the frame and any cracks if its wood. Steam all the metal parts if its metal. Remove all plastic protectors from your steel frame and your box spring corners. Bag these up and freeze them or something if you want to keep them for later. Remove the webbing material from your box springs and get rid of it carefully. Very likely to have eggs on this. The bottom area of your box spring will be exposed now. Steam this area as best you can. It is some work.

Puff some Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) into this area as well if you have it. Wear a mask or cloth over your nose and mouth. Apply this DE on top of your box spring when reassembling. No need to apply on top of your mattress. Apply DE to areas of carpet and base boards you suspect. Apply double stick tape around legs of bed and any other support blocks for bed.

Keep comforter from touching floor. They can crawl up anything to get to your bed. The bugs can’t get by the tape in either direction. The tape is also referred to as ‘mounting tape’. Launder all your bedding and dry on high heat.

All this will knock them down big time!!

Chad::

Ordered slip covers for the mattress! Hopefully the double sided tape on the bed legs and covers will help me to finally get some much needed rest! I can’t help but be paranoid at night. I haven’t had a “good” nights sleep since first finding these things. I’ve decided to also get rid of my couch and two chairs. I think it will be easier to treat my place without these extra hiding spots. Does anyone know of a good site to buy an affordable steamer? The ones I’ve looked at are ranging from about $250-$300 and that’s just not in my budget.

Fedup::

I found a bed bug at 5am. Sprinkled it with DE, put it in a little jar……………8 hours later ITS STILL LIVING! How long before this thing dies?

Pete::

Buy the spray Clorox Clean-Up.
It will kill the bugs on contact 100% of the time.
It is in your local supermarket.
Spray everything every 4-5 days.
Problem will disappear within a few weeks.

peter::

I posted a real bed bug solution.
You chose to delete my post without explaination.
Most likely you did not like my post because it was a real remedy without using expensive products that are your sponsers.
If you don’t like my remedey, post your objection. Let the post stand.
You extreme liberal types really want to censor anything that you don’t like.
The fact is, bed bugs can be eliminated without steamers or freeze techniques
or by buying expensive powders or sprays.

Bed Bug Girl::

No Peter, that is not true.

The problem is that you are impatient, you posted a comment and because it didn’t appear right away, you made an incorrect assumption.

This site is an excellent resource for identifying and treating bed bugs yourself, but that is only possible because I manually check every comment to protect the site from spammers. This takes time and I do it in batches at the end of the day, if I have time, I may do it multiple times in the day. I do this all free, I don’t sell anything and any advertisements I have help offset the cost of the server this site sits on.

Your bed bug treatment was not deleted, rather not approved yet; because you didn’t see it approved immediately, you became hostile and assumed the worst. It’s unfortunate you go through life like thinking everyone is an extreme liberal, but if you look for the positive rather than the negative, you’ll be a much happier person.

Thanks for the bed bug treatment, but you can keep your hostility and ungratefulness.

John G.::

Chad, I purchased a garment steamer at Costco(if you are in U.S.A.) for about $40 and it is really hot steam with a wand and hose.

Nguyen::

Hello, please help. My teenage son keeps complaining of bed bug bites. He has the itchy rash on his wrist, thigh, hips, ankles. We wash his clothes and bed sheets but he still has the rash. We never see any bugs or blood though.

Now he leaves his room and occupies the couch. I am afraid the bed bugs, if there are, would find their new home: the couch. However, since we never find any bugs, small or adults, I am not sure if it’s the bed bugs.

Please help me to treat this problem.

John G.::

Nguyen, you should compare the bites or rashes that on your son to photos of bites that are posted on this website to make sure. Go to the link on the upper right that is “bed bug bites” and scroll down. They range from red dots to severe rashes and even blister like depending on where on the body the bite occurs. If you feel they are indeed bed bug bites then you need to start treating the affected areas. There are plenty of good tips on here.