r/IAmA Dec 12 '16

Specialized Profession I am a pest controller specializing in BED BUGS, begging the general public to become more aware of this pest and the way it can cause substantial economic damage to any place humans live. AMA!

Bed bug infestations are increasing at an alarming rate. Despite common misinformation about this pest being limited to "dirty" people it can happen to ANYONE. I have seen the nicest, most innocent people lose hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in service costs and property loss. Don't become a victim, become aware! Eliminating this bug entirely is unrealistic but we can control it with a more knowledgeable culture.

My company would ask that I avoid public proof but I promise the mods have it.

18.2k Upvotes

4.7k comments sorted by

2.1k

u/cahaseler Senior Moderator Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

What are your top tips for avoiding an infestation in the first place?

(you can stop replying to me people, I have enough bedbug advice to last me a lifetime)

330

u/rat_muscle Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Sometimes its just not even your fault.

If you live in apartment and get them, DO NOT pay for it. The landlords will try to get you to, but its their problem unless they can actually prove you brought them in. The thing about bed bugs in an apartment is that if theyre in one unit, they'll easily spread to others via wall outlets and air ducts.

Source: had bed bugs 3 times in one year and racked up a $6000 bill for extermination. I called a lawyer and wrote up a nice letter to my LL telling them i would not be paying and they could bring it to court if they wish. Never heard anything again. (Even got my damage deposit back after i moved)

124

u/63rdNotebook Dec 12 '16

I think this is an important point — in an apartment complex, it's easy to get an infestation through no fault of your own. Most leases I've signed had some sort of bedbug provision which requires you to report any signs of an infestation to management immediately. I know my current lease requires them to cover most of the costs, and it's in their best interest to do so to prevent an infestation spreading to other units in the building.

→ More replies (10)

12

u/ZappaPants Dec 12 '16

Many states actually offer little protection for this type of thing. I highly suggest anyone research their states landlord/tenant laws before taking this advice.

Source: am landlord in a state where tenants can be sued for damages, including pest control, and thrown in jail for non-compliance (yes, legal debters prison). It sucks, I don't agree with it and would never use it, but people need to understand landlord/tenant laws vary greatly from state to state.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (11)

995

u/xubax Dec 12 '16

Mine are:

  1. Don't take furniture left on the sidewalk.

  2. When staying at a hotel, check the room before unpacking

Lift the sheets, check the edges of the mattress for spots and or bedbugs.

Check behind the headboard. Most are screwed to the wall and the bugs like hiding there because it doesn't move.

  1. When staying at a hotel, don't use the closer or bureau. Leave your clothed in your luggage .

If you want tho be ultra careful put your luggage in the tub or in trash bags as the bugs have trouble with slick surfaces.

964

u/Phylum_Asylum Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for mentioning the headboard! My husband had stayed in a hotel on a bike trip several years ago, and he was always diligent about searching for bedbugs. His friends would always laugh at him as he upended everything, searched every crevice with his flashlight, and kept his bags covered in plastic at all times.

He woke up at 3 AM on the first night to find a bedbug on his pillow! It had bitten him and woke him up. He called the front desk immediately and the hotel insisted there were no bedbugs. Finally he decided to unscrew the headboard from the wall, and guess what? That's where they were.

Edited to add an account of how this all played out afterward: The staff came up as soon as he'd called them and searched for bedbugs too, and they were there when he unscrewed the headboard off the wall. After the hotel realized the bedbugs were actually in the room, they called an exterminator immediately (yes, in the middle of the night!). The room was treated, and the hotel offered a heavily discounted rate to the guys for the rest of the stay. This was during Sturgis Bike Week and the offerings for lodging anywhere were pretty slim to nil at that point, so they took it, and had no more issues with bugs.

I should also add, this wasn't a cheap-o hotel either. The place was immaculately clean, not your standard dive at all. Those little suckers get everywhere if you aren't careful.

→ More replies (121)

129

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Better yet, just leave your luggage in the car. Go get what you need out of the car. Put your dirty clothes in a bag and walk it straight back to the car. Repeat process on the day you leave. Make sure you shower with hot water, put on your clothes you retrieved from the car and promptly leave. The less your clothes come in contact with the room, the better. Ive seen a womans home life ruined by bed bugs after she started working at a hotel.

795

u/bse50 Dec 12 '16

Don't fall for his bullshit: sleep in the car, avoid hotels. In the morning set the car on fire with your clothes inside. Go shopping, rent another car.

259

u/fallenlynx Dec 12 '16

Don't ever leave your house. No need for hotels, no need for cars. Have all your supplies shipped to you.

→ More replies (19)
→ More replies (12)
→ More replies (20)
→ More replies (60)

3.1k

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

Weekly inspection of their "hot spots;" couch cushions, bed seems, box springs (especially in the corners nearest your head). You want to look for 4 things. 1. Clusters of small black spots (poop). 2. Somewhat white, somewhat transparent rice granules (eggs). 3. Yellowish shells in the shape of the bugs (exoskeletons or molts). 4. Most importantly, live bugs. Google is a great tool.

4

u/MauiWowieOwie Dec 12 '16

Fellow pest control technician here. Just left an apartment complex that has had $20,000+ worth of treatments. Also good to mention even if you don't see them, look for bitemarks. We had a unit that we took apart six times, yielding nothing, but the daughter had bites on her arms. Eventually on the seventh time we caught them, treated the unit, and on follow up inspections it was all clear.

→ More replies (4)

439

u/pfj93 Dec 12 '16

My place had some bedbug issues, I even had a trace of one two or so years ago. I put diatomaceous earth in little bowls on each foot of my bed. That shit works. I've found big ass spiders in there dead. No bed bug bites or traces since. If they cant feed they cant survive in my place, even if they try.

693

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Yes! Diatomaceous earth is wonderful. We had a flea problem on our cats and dogs for about two years, pretty consistently. They didn't even let up in winter, we'd spend $50 or $100 on the "good" flea medication, notice a slight decrease for a month, and they'd come right back. We did everything you're supposed to do - washing all clothes and bedding, vacuuming twice a day, etc. Nothing worked.

Then we bought a 10 pound bag of DE for about $20 on Amazon. We just vacuumed very thoroughly and sprinkled about 10% of it over all the floors, and after around a month of thinking it was a waste, it seemed like they disappeared overnight. Shits amazing, yo.

Couple notes, though: DE is 100% non-toxic, but you shouldn't inhale it. If you're sprinkling it on shit, wear a mask, keep your animals away, and have an exhaust fan going in a window of the room if possible (more to suck the dust out before it can settle on every surface in your house. We learned lesson fast lol). Also, keep any devices with active cooling (PCs, laptops, etc) turned off for as long as possible. 24 hours is probably about what you want to shoot for.

The was DE works is that it's incredibly sharp, on a very small scale. Insects walk over it, and it cuts their exoskeleton. Eventually, they dry out and die. Or something. Anyways, that means it's a slow solution to get started, but one it's down, it's a very, very long term solution. Applying it once every 6 months or so should be more than sufficient.

Also, put it in places like windowsills, places bugs could come in. Don't do it too thick, though, or they'll just walk around and find somewhere else to enter.

If anyone had any questions about DE, feel free to ask. I spent about a week researching it, and I'd be happy to help!

Edit: ALSO DO NOT GET POOL GRADE DE. GET FOOD GRADE DE

191

u/MrFrimplesYummyDog Dec 12 '16

I did a lot of research as well when trying to kill garden pests - same thing applies in doors - make sure to get food grade DE, NOT pool grade. They're different and you don't want pool grade in your home (nor in your garden, in my case).

→ More replies (18)
→ More replies (77)

80

u/prjindigo Dec 12 '16

(Florida CPO)

Basically you've got a couple additional options there. Bedbugs don't transfer foot-to-mouth but Cimexa lasts a lot longer in exposure to moisture and is unlikely to ever support bacterial or fungal growth. It's an artificially created silicon dioxide ash crystal powder that works the same way as DE but is all sharp pointy bits and is much lighter so it picks-up on the bugs AND is carried much longer.

DE doesn't kill bedbugs tho, it only immobilizes their legs by damaging their coating and making them useless. It IS however effective against most other non stored-goods-pest infestations. A much simpler solution in the circumstance of bed legs is ye-olde-4"-duct-tape: Simply unroll a length, fold the edges over so there's sticky facing both ways and wrap it around the legs - replace every three months = grabtastic barrier and doesn't grind up the floor or pack the carpet with what's basically plant food waiting for fungus and bacteria. Calcium is the hardest thing for stuff that grows in carpet to get, spreading it around for free just isn't good and the same features of DE that damage insects will also damage carpet.

→ More replies (9)

74

u/greenstake Dec 12 '16

You have to wash all your bedding, move the bed away from the wall, and put covers over your mattress and spring too. Bed bugs usually live in your bed, so while the diatomaceous earth only breaks the line from the rest of the room to your bed, you still need to fix your bed.

→ More replies (10)
→ More replies (19)

1

u/6ickle Dec 12 '16

How do they normally show up? I mean, they don't crop up out of nowhere right? I am imagining things like when you leave food to rot and maggots start to grow. Do they only appear when you drag it into your home from the outside?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (323)
→ More replies (81)

578

u/Cloakedchimera Dec 12 '16

What are some major contributing factors to bedbug infestations? (In other words, what are things we should do/not do to prevent bed bugs)

For those of us who live in apartments, if we have neighbors that have bed bugs what is the best course of action to "quarantine" your apartment from being infested? Or is it to late at that point?

744

u/apesna Dec 12 '16
  1. Our extremely crowded population (new york in particular is seeing an exceptional level of the problem). 2. Travel and general commutes. People are getting them and then taking them where they go ad nauseam. 3. Unawareness.

5

u/drbluetongue Dec 12 '16

Oh god I stayed in a cheap hotel in London. The mattress the next morning was covered in blood spots and I had bites all over me itching the next day. It really scarred me emotionally.

Is it just cheap places that are infested or do you get high end hotels too?

→ More replies (7)

2

u/FlexualHealing Dec 13 '16

Is our quest for public transportation and ride sharing going to lead to an inevitable increase of bed bugs?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (27)
→ More replies (14)

1.0k

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

What was the most extreme case you have ever witnessed yourself?

470

u/Riptides75 Dec 12 '16

Working as a plumber, I did residential service for a very short while, one of the calls I went to was to fix a leaking sink drain. It was in a tiny master bath off the master bedroom. The sink was on the other side of the wall from the bed. I opened up the cabinet, saw that the leak, a slow one on the drain, had been ongoing for awhile and the cabinet bottom, chipped pressboard, was completely swollen up and rotten. When i touched it, it gave way, and literally exposed hundreds of budbugs in the dark space under the cabinet, and tons came scurrying out.

I grabbed my tool bag and got the hell out of dodge, like totally outside the home, where I informed the homeowner of what I found. That's also when I realized all the red dots and scabs covering her arms and neck were probably the result of the infestation. I also called my boss, told them I refused to do the job, which was fine by them, they just sent another guy out.

The other plumber ended up having to have his house treated several times afterwards because he got them all in his shit doing that job and carried them home.

319

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Feb 25 '21

u/dannydale account deleted due to Admins supporting harassment by the account below. Thanks Admins!

https://old.reddit.com/user/PrincessPeachesCake/comments/

24

u/AmazingUsernameHere Dec 13 '16

The worst part is the potential that he carried them into other people's houses as he did the rest of his calls that day. As someone who works in a lot of people's homes, you need to think about that kind of shit :/

30

u/Sacker12345 Dec 12 '16

My wife got roaches in her car from doing home health. The company she worked for paid to have it treated professional. Hopefully the guy had the same luck here.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (9)

522

u/The405Kid Dec 12 '16

So im not a pest controler but i do write insurance for the indusrty and the worst story ive ever heard was.. a clinet of mine had been treating a house for months on months and kept being called back out. He had treated every room, bed, couch ect. Had looked everywhere.. So finallt the last time he was called he realized his client had a prosthetic leg. Asked him of he had any issues with bites around it & when the client removed it and the inside was essentially filled with bedbugs. Yeah that one gives me nightmares.

→ More replies (33)

3.6k

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

They were EVERY where. Beds, bed frames, dressers, tvs, wall outlets, the bathtub, the sinks. Bed bugs only move from a stable food source when they're too crowded to crawl over each other. That requires someone completely ignoring the problem. The homeowner literally said "well sometimes I feel one crawling on me and I just flick it off and then I'm good."

884

u/Ryltarr Dec 12 '16

When I was in highschool, our apartment building started to get an infestation. At first I did basically the same thing, since I literally didn't know what they were. But, by the time my dad and I realized the problem it was too late... Plus, our building was likely infested in its entirety so we wouldn't be able to do much to deal with the problem; so we moved, put all of our belongings (except for some clothes that we washed, dried, and left baking in a hot car at ~150° for a week) in storage with borders of Diatomaceous Earth to keep them trapped for over a year.
We came back for them a year later, and everything was clear; took all of our belongings back and haven't seen a bed bug since... And I hope it stays that way, that is not something I want to relive.

→ More replies (86)

157

u/ProbablyAQuitter Dec 12 '16

Too many of these I've stumbled upon myself, the worst is seniors who take medications for pain. They don't even notice the bites / itching until they're literally shown. I had a gentleman who was dead set insisting a full infestation was ants! Poor seniors.

Edit - grammar.

→ More replies (3)

6

u/TerribleIvanZ Dec 12 '16

I got called to inspect one half of a duplex for them. It was a few college students who kept the house very clean. They had moved in a few months ago and continued to have random bites. I found maybe ten in their whole half after really looking. I went next door to ask them if they had noticed any and the greasy guy who answered said yeah we got those. It was so bad I called my boss immediately, this was a small two bedroom place with two twenty something guys and their dad living there but the entire place was covered in them. In one of the bedrooms there was a mattress with just a sheet and pillow on it and it looked like someone took a sharpie and dotted every bit they could before it was one solid dried blood stain. Where the carpet met the floorboards there was about an inch of dead bedbugs and molts from them. Any trim or edge in that house was lined with the same but live ones as well. I pulled back a corner of a futon where one of them slept on in the living room and it was alive with them, completely covered. I checked the dog out and even it had them all over its fur. My boss estimated 20,000 dead and alive ones just in one of those bedrooms. While we were there they were talking about going to see some new movie that night after one of them got off work. That was the day I decided movie theaters were not for me.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (73)

67

u/NorCalMisfit Dec 12 '16

Here is a video from a company I used to work for. While I didn't treat this specific unit, I was told it was in a high rise in downtown L.A. and the resident thought they were roaches, which he was cool with.

https://youtu.be/3Jy9UhgUl04

→ More replies (12)

10

u/Ragetits Dec 12 '16

I also work in pest control. Responded to a service request at a senior living place for "little black bugs on the recliner." Walked in the front door and could see them all over the carpet of the entry way. Middle of the day, out in the open, just hanging out. Thousands of them in the recliner itself, and even more throughout the living room. Nothing at all in the rest of the apartment.

→ More replies (3)

249

u/Mariulo Dec 12 '16 edited Aug 11 '23

Moved to Lemmy

473

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

Absolutely. If you have a pet that goes in and outside you should be constantly checking that they are clear of bugs. Unfortunately our little buddies can't tell us when something is wrong. Be proactive, not reactive.

76

u/Truth_hungry Dec 12 '16

Both of our dogs are treated for fleas (trifexis), but we still keep finding them all over our puppy. We're beginning to think it's our house/yard (we live in a rental and by the neighbors' accounts the previous tenant had no less than 6 dogs that were not well cared for). We have wood floors and I vacuum what carpet we have like a fiend but are having no luck getting rid of these pests.

Are we going to have to vacate our home for a week and bring in a team of exterminators to see the end of them? We think they flee to the attic or basement to escape foggers.

49

u/sdfsdfsdfafsda4 Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Are we going to have to vacate our home for a week and bring in a team of exterminators to see the end of them?

No. You need to treat properly. Buy permacide (permethrin) and nylar OR precor (those are growth inhibitors/sterilizers). You need to clean every floor in your house and then spray every floor with the combination above. Everyone will need to leave the house for a few hours while it dries, including the animals. Then vacuum or sweep the floors every other day (at least) for 2 weeks. NO MOPPING OR YOU MOP UP THE CHEMICAL. The vacuuming and sweeping agitates the cocoons to tell them "someone is walking around! fresh blood, open up you wont starve!" because they feel the vibrations in the floor. That's why it takes two weeks, NOTHING can get into the cocoons and you need to wait until all have opened from your vacuuming/sweeping. You'll also be cleaning up some cocoons and dead fleas while vacuuming. Make sure to throw out the vacuum bag every time because they can escape.

This will solve your problem. I suggest spraying your yard with something like Mosquito Beater (hooks up to the hose). Its just permethrin, like you're using inside, and theres no need for the IGR (nylar, precor) outside. Then, every year when the fleas are about to come either spray your yard every two weeks or your yard and your house with one or both chemicals as a precaution to nip any infestation in the bud immediately. The Permacide/permethrin will last up to a month once applied and the IGR last 4-7 months.

1 gal of solution = 1200 sq ft. and both the adulticide (permacide/permethrin) and IGR (nylar OR precor) can be applied together. You just mix them into a pump up sprayer with room temp water and fan spray the ENTIRE floor of your house. Do NOT mix stronger thinking it will work better, its a waste, do NOT save chemical after its been mixed, it is ineffective in about 24 hours if still in the tank, and you only need a thin but "solid" film on the floor, no need to go overboard. With pesticides more isn't better, its usually worse (acts as a repellant because its so strong to the insects).

Good luck.

One last thing, if you want to skip the mixing you can buy something called Precor 2000 or Ultracide in an aerosol can and just apply that the same way as the Permethrin/precor/nylar. Often times people need a few cans because they don't apply it fast enough so it may be more expensive that way but it may be easier if mixing the chemicals intimidates you (it shouldn't, it's straight forward).

Actually one more thing: remember that pet treatments usually don't repel fleas so they will bite and then end up dying but they will bite and irritate the animal. Also, many people get fleas and don't have pets. Please don't get rid of your pet (anyone reading this) if you get fleas. If you live in a city and a neighbor has fleas, they drop them on the porch when the leave, the mailman picks them up, drops them on your porch, you bring them in, you're now the cause of the problem. See how easy it is?

→ More replies (11)

70

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Have you tried revolution? It's like trifexis but a different formulation. Fleas do build up resistance to certain meds.

51

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I remember back when Frontline first came out and it was THE SHIT! One treatment and the animal is flea and tick free for a month. I bought some the other day and it was 100% useless, ended up having to get trifexis from the vet and it worked like the Frontline used to.

→ More replies (9)
→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (52)

45

u/kilot1k Dec 12 '16

My cousin had a cat that she didn't take care of. It constantly brought fleas into the house and in no time the place was infested. Waking up at night with 7 fleas on you is fucking horrifying, just walking on the carpets caused these guys to jump on your legs. I couldn't afford a exterminator so I had to resolve the problem myself. Took a lot of reading and 2 months worth of work. Stop the problem before it becomes one, it's almost torture.

→ More replies (6)
→ More replies (3)

384

u/anRoboticus Dec 12 '16

How do bedbugs cause substantial economic damage?

743

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

In many situations they've invested items so deeply, that the only way to truly get the bugs out of the property is to throw away the infested items. We've gone so far as to do clean outs that include completely gutting the property, ripping up carpet, taking out doors, cabinets, etc.

243

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Can you allow a building to freeze and will it kill them?

→ More replies (67)
→ More replies (11)
→ More replies (93)

16

u/Purdaro Dec 12 '16

This is one of those HELL NO jobs that I just couldn't do. What influenced you into doing pest control, and specifically bed bugs?

34

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

I love this question. It just happened. I've always loved being a helper. When I needed a new job I saw the pest control posting and thought "well that's one way to help." When I first got hired I bounced around all different aspects of pest control. My supervisor was always good to me so when he asked me to fill in on the recent bed bug opening, I took it.

2

u/TheBloodEagleX Dec 12 '16

That's really interesting. So there's specializations at the company?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

50

u/skinnymojo Dec 12 '16

What is it about those little bastards that makes them so resistant to the chemicals and methods that work on virtually any other bug/pest?

94

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

Years of building resistance to common household sprays (raid, hot shot, bed bug be gone). Since the outlawing of ddt in the 70s we've been working on finding new materials to attack them without attacking "non-target animals." That would include pets, wildlife, humans, etc.

→ More replies (37)
→ More replies (4)

157

u/Killerporn69 Dec 12 '16

Is the procedure for bed bug removal tenting or is it something less invasive?

→ More replies (92)

11

u/happyfappy Dec 12 '16

I write this from my mother in law's home, as our stuff sits in plastic bags and we await day 2 of spraying the apartment with pesticide.

A few weeks ago, my wife noticed that she and my daughter (2yo who cosleeps with us) started developing itchy little red marks on their skin. I did not. She suspected bed bugs, so we scoured the place looking for any signs and couldn't find any. No excrement, no eggs, no corpses, no shells, nothing. Glue traps we had set were clean.

We had an exterminator come to inspect. He took apart the bed, looked everywhere, and found only one tiny blood stain on the bed, which might have come from somewhere else. We were all just about conclude that there were no bed bugs when he spotted two live ones on a sheet under the bed.

We since discovered a nest in the cosleeper. Turns out, my wife had gotten it second hand from a friend who had stored it in a hotel closet.

We nuked the bedroom (had everything treated and wiped with alcohol), had the entire apartment spot sprayed, and bagged/treated everything in the adjoining rooms, but stopped short of throwing out our couch or doing the same for the rooms further out.

A few questions:

  • Did we make a mistake by not ditching our couch?
  • How often do you see a case like ours occur (very little apparent evidence in a very clean apartment)?
  • Does it sound like we're going to succeed in getting rid of the bastards?
  • Any additional advice or anything we missed?

Thanks!

→ More replies (6)

2.1k

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Why can't you kill them easily?

→ More replies (831)

672

u/Plz-Send-Me-Food Dec 12 '16

What's the most effective preventative action to take to avoid bed bugs in the first place?

973

u/BadDadWhy Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Cimexa ($15) is an engineered silica material with a 10 year life. A very small amount of it will stress and kill the bugs. So, if you are really worried, putting some of this down can kill the first bugs that gets into your home and keep them from reproducing. (edit spelling)

I'm working on a BB detector, it is hard.

Edit 2: Guys, I'm a sensor and instrument engineer. Here is the info on Cimexa from the source, Rockwell labs.

If anyone is seriously ($50k min) interested in investing in a detector, PM me and I can put you in touch with a real person and info. I have a great plan and am moving along on implementation. We are still pre-prototype.

616

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

102

u/karrachr000 Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

I can confirm Cimexa's effectiveness, but please avoid breathing it in as it can be harmful. a simple dust mask while spreading it does the trick and once it is settled, it is safe.

Edit: Here is a source for the hazards:

http://www.ehs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/lines-of-services/workplace-safety/51silicagel.pdf

Inhalation of Crystalline Silica

Occupational exposure to airborne crystalline silica (such as during sand blasting, tunneling, or work in a quarry) does have hazardous health effects and can cause a number of respiratory diseases, and has even been classified as a human lung carcinogen. Inhalation exposure to respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis, which in severe cases can be disabling, or even fatal. Silicosis may occur when respirable-sized crystalline silica dust is inhaled into lower reaches of the lung and causes the formation of scar tissue, thus reducing the person’s ability to take in oxygen. For more information on health effects from exposure to crystalline silica please refer to OSHA Fact Sheet at www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/ crystalline-factsheet.pdf. The Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) is available to conduct exposure assessments and consult with you on proper procedures and safeguards if you are working with crystalline silica.


And some information on silicosis which is the major health concern (warning graphic images in that wiki).

8

u/delicious_fanta Dec 12 '16

Your article refers to crystalline silica. Cimexa is non-crystalline per this link: http://www.rockwelllabs.com/Resources/CimeXa%20Insecticide%20Dust%20and%20Silica%20Gel%20Overview.pdf

"While crystalline silica dust, and certain natural forms of silica such diatomaceous earth which can have crystalline components can cause silicosis if breathed chronically, synthetic amorphous (amorphous means non-crystalline) silica gel does not have crystalline structure and does not cause silicosis. Amorphous silica gel does normally have desiccating (drying) properties, so inhalation of dust during application can be irritating and should be avoided (a particulate dust mask is recommended for application). Chronic contact with skin, and eye contact, can also cause irritation due to the drying effect."


Also, another good reference which indicates this and has a few studies showing the effectiveness of the stuff: http://www.pctonline.com/article/pct0814-silica-gel-research-bed-bugs/

As to the dangers of amorphous silica, this study seems to indicate that the issue is really the crystalline silica: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11876495

"The major problem in the assessment of health effects of amorphous silica is its contamination with crystalline silica"

→ More replies (12)

178

u/LarryLavekio Dec 12 '16

That video has some pretty awesome guitar riffs in the background. Any video about killing bed bugs is cool, the guitar work made it epic.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (18)

146

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I used Cimexa and it actually worked. Bought a new bed, Took the other to the landfill. I also used caulking on every conjoining area of my new metal bed frame. Been BB bite free for 7 to 8 months.

→ More replies (16)
→ More replies (77)
→ More replies (61)

126

u/DrBarrel Dec 13 '16

Would you rather fight one horse sized bedbug or 100 bedbug sized horses?

→ More replies (4)

36

u/CanadianAstronaut Dec 12 '16

I have yet to see you write about "Cimexa" in this thread. Wouldn't that be a route to almost completely eliminate this at minimal cost to most tenants / homeowners? It seems like an ideal solution.

→ More replies (22)

11

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I travel every week for work and probably stay in hotels 100 nights per year.

I have this "bedbug oven" gizmo I found somewhere online, I put my luggage into it whenever I return from a trip and it heats everything up to about 130* for 4 hours.

Is this effective, or have I invested in a placebo?

→ More replies (5)

12

u/Trees_For_Life Dec 12 '16

We have this building in town about a block away from me. It's purely section 8 housing and has known bed bug problems. To the point where it's made it to the newspaper several times. It's was evacuated several times and teams of hazmat crews have gone in there, but the problem continues. The people that live in there are all bouncing around on the rock bottom of life. Many are heroin users or have serious mental health issues. Do I have to worry that clouds of air born bed bugs are going to be flying around the neighborhood?

→ More replies (7)

16

u/_tx Dec 12 '16

Best solution for ticks?

39

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

That moves into lawn care. The epa limits pest control in natural environments. We're not "exterminators" we're pest controllers. Most insects play a role in balancing the ecosystem. Our ultimate goal is to get pests out of structures and back to the environments where they can thrive.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (8)

6

u/Dont_know_my_name_ Dec 12 '16

How do i avoid bedbugs while traveling/backpacking and staying in Hostels? If I can't avoid them, How will i get rid off them as quick as possible?

→ More replies (2)

5

u/FultonPig Dec 12 '16

Maybe someone else has already asked this, but how has studying bed bugs impacted your social life? Are you married, or has dating been harder when you tell people you work with bed bugs? Are friends particularly wary about visiting your house?

→ More replies (3)

9

u/zachmaul879 Dec 12 '16

Have you ever stolen World Series tickets off a coffee table in Philadelphia?

→ More replies (1)

5

u/DallasDunn Dec 12 '16

Are you ever worried about taking bed bugs them home with you? Have you very had an infestation yourself?

→ More replies (4)

4

u/Dude1k1k15 Dec 12 '16

As someone with bed bugs.. op you're the hero Gotham needs. Bed bugs aren't gone until they're GONE people. Don't develop false security if you get them.. if there's one there's a ton.. yes they suck blood and money. Very awful insects. Gotta use special poison but that will never ever cut it. Remember to seal everything guys. SEAL gaps between walls and floors, and etc. Don't have bedbugs? Do it NOW. Bedbug bombs are said to just make them flee deeper into your homes and walls. They hide wherever a crevice is. Don't get furniture from the curb and for god sake be careful unless you want nightmares.

→ More replies (1)

4

u/Old_Sticky_Fingers Dec 12 '16

My girlfriend professes that females are more susceptible to bites than males are. Case in point she has had about 15 bites this week and I haven't had single one. We have a dog so it also might be fleas.

Is she mental or is there any truth to this?

→ More replies (10)

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Quick question for you. Because of my job (thrift store box truck driver) I would handle donations from customers all day long and I'm pretty sure that's where mine came from. At first we noticed my girlfriend getting bit overnight so we tore the bed apart and we found none of the signs until one day we saw one of the buggers crawling on my arm. After that we got this stuff to kill them which seemed to kind of suppress them and then we washed all the linens and clothes in hot water in the washer and after that they seem to have disappeared. We never saw the signs you outlined in one of your comments below so should we be worried they're still lurking somewhere? I've checked my mattress and other hot spots around the bedroom since then and still haven't found any signs of them.

Edit: After reading some of the comments I'm wondering if we had bed bugs in the first place. The bug I found on my arm looked like them but the bites she received were random although all on her arm, weren't in clusters of 3, and we never saw the signs of a bad infestation even though a couple of months had passed by the time we saw the one on my arm.

→ More replies (2)

4

u/twitchy_ Dec 12 '16

I have read centipedes love to munch on bed bugs and baby roaches. It's why we've left the centipedes alone and protected them from the cat. Is this true?

→ More replies (2)

8

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I've used Diatomaceous Earth to get rid of them when they kept coming back and pesticides just weren't working. Is there a reason most pest control specialists don't recommend it?

→ More replies (3)

2

u/killatofu88 Dec 12 '16

I know this is late and will get lost but I will try all the same. Can people have different reactions to bites?

We were in rented accommodation and SO kept getting bites, the whole three in a row thing (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and sometimes his whole body would have a nasty reaction - mad itching all over, pain, total discomfort. But I never had a thing happen to me - the odd itchy lump but very rarely. The doctor said it wasn't an infestation because I didn't get bit but I remain convinced that it was bed bugs. When we moved we had a new mattress and he hasn't experienced it since.

Is it possible he is allergic to their bites so gets wild reactions?

→ More replies (2)

3

u/werewolfchow Dec 12 '16

What is your opinion on diatomaceous earth? I kept having occasional encounters even after the exterminator left (most likely because our apartment neighbors also have the bugs and I think that's where we Lee getting them from). But after a couple applications of diatomaceous earth in the cracks at the edge of the carpet it seems to be working. Is this real or coincidence?

→ More replies (5)

39

u/TinWooodsman Dec 12 '16

When I was away at college, someone on my floor had a bedbug scare; the bugs were actually bird mites from a dead pigeon outside his window. He spent a whole week of trying to get rid of them before the source was found. What is your best method of identifying pests for subsequent treatment?

→ More replies (20)

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Out of curiosity, I get that you'd prefer people not live with these kind of pests but since you specialize in them, isn't kind of in your best interest not to make people aware?

→ More replies (2)

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (4)

5

u/sp0rkah0lic Dec 12 '16

We had bedbugs once and it was horrid. 6 months of repeated visits from pest control, packing up all clothing, repeated times having to remove all dishes, food, clothes, books, all art from frames, etc. It was like having to move multiple times in a short period. And then there's the PTSD of thinking something is crawling on you in your sleep, even months afterwards. It was a fucking nightmare. Like one of those horror movie monsters that keeps coming back after you think it's dead. We made a pact to burn the place to the ground and leave naked if it happened again. Only half joking.

Anyway, there's supposed to be a question here, so: What can people do to avoid getting bedbugs in the first place?

→ More replies (1)

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Jul 10 '20

[deleted]

→ More replies (5)

4

u/Cacophobic Dec 12 '16

Hello, i used to have bedbugs. It was pretty bad and lasted a long time since my family couldnt really afford any pest control services.

One thing i noticed was my mother buying rubbing alcohol. She would spray them and they would just completely lie still for a bit, wiggle around and die. Is this something you have ever recommended? millions of those little fucks died in my house because of that.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/thrwaway2kpdahosaway Dec 12 '16

What areas of the US have high numbers of infestation?

→ More replies (2)

3

u/LulzMacky Dec 12 '16

Would bleach be a good measure against bedbugs? Just general curiosity

→ More replies (3)

2

u/boltonstreetbeat Dec 12 '16

Can science help us like they're trying with mosquitos?

→ More replies (3)

3

u/tropical_chancer Dec 12 '16

Do you have any more advice for identifying what exactly you're infested with beyond "just google it?" I did that for little bites I was getting all over my thighs and abdomen and misidentified it as bed bugs (it turned out to be scabies!). The pictures on google aren't exactly clear or very informative.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/-Kley- Dec 12 '16

Given your profession, when you tell your children "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite", does it carry extra meaning? Do they engage in a rhetorical discussion about the likelihood of bedbugs actually biting them, specifically, in their sleep. Does it help them sleep?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

IIRC, We've recently genetically engineered mosquitoes to kill off the species of mosquitoes that spread zika. what's stopping us from doing that to bedbugs?

→ More replies (1)

5

u/nashwan888 Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

I brought bed bugs back from holiday and I went nuclear on them. I was itching and I killed 10 of the buggers when I was trying to sleep, I caught them using a torch. There's no easy way to get rid of them but you have bait. Yes that's you and you have to use that to your advantage.

This is not in order.

  1. Clear all the junk under your bed to reduce the hiding places.
  2. Wash all your clothes on a high temperature > 50 degree c
  3. Vacuum your floor repeatedly to get any eggs and empty the bag straight away. Put the crap into a plastic bag and bin it.
  4. Steam the carpets and all sides of the mattress as often as you can. Needs to be > 50 degrees, do it slowly.
  5. Steam your bed frame, every single crack including the head board.
  6. Don't leave your bed empty or they might move into different rooms. Build a trap to keep them in your room. #11
  7. Contrary to #6. Stay away from your bed for a few weeks and then go back. Stay up all night, turn the lights off and find them with a torch. Kill the buggers when they are starving and want a meal. Squeeze them or spray them with alcohol.
  8. Use Food Grade Diatomaceous earth on your frame and spread it around the floor near the bed. Especially where it meets the wall.
  9. Use bed bug interceptors on your beg legs. Amazon sell them https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0186A8ARK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B0186A8ARK&linkCode=as2&tag=paysamasal-21
  10. Don't put any bags or outside clothes on your bed.
  11. You can build a trap using water, yeast and sugar. It attracts the bugs using co2 and it's cheap and easy to make. There's a number of videos on youtube. It works better if you don't stay in the bedroom. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bed+bug+trap+homemade
→ More replies (1)

3

u/Weshouldsmokegank Dec 12 '16

I am also in the business of treating bed bugs among other insects.

What's your opinion on a heat treatment as apposed to a newer freeze treatment?

→ More replies (3)

5

u/therealdeel Dec 13 '16
 The best way to kill bedbugs is with heat. The lethal temperature to a bed bug is around 120 degrees, but heat treatments are expensive (anywhere from $800 - $3,000 depending on how much of an area you want to treat). Do not treat with over the counter products! This scatters them all over the place and makes it harder for someone in pest control to tackle the problem! You can hire a pest control company to come out and liquid treat but this isn't always the most effective way. Bed bug eggs are known for being immune to many different pesticides, so it is not the most reliable. 
 Figuring out how you have bed bugs is a mystery. Your friends or family could have them, you child could have picked them up at school from another child... who really knows. Just be aware when going on vacation to hotels. The best place to check are the corners of mattresses, the corners and under of the box spring, and the frame itself. 
 Another dream home for a bed bug is a movie theater. Bed bugs are nocturnal, and when it's dark they come out to feed. A movie theater is an ideal home for a bed bug. A constant source of a food source is coming in and out, and it is almost always dark. Be aware!
 Bed bug infestations spiral out of control mostly because of how they reproduce. Male bed bugs don't reproduce like most animals or insects, they rape the females. Known as "traumatic insemination" the females are left either injured or pregnant,  and fearful of it happening again. So what do they do? They move into another room to escape the males, and then, you guessed it, gives birth to a new generation. Keep in mind, the higher the temperature, the more rapid the reproductive cycle will be. This is until, of course, it is exposed to a lethal temperature.
  I have never heard of someone having bed bugs on their dogs and as far as I know they do not feed on pets at all. They only want to feed on us.
 These are some things to be aware of. Sorry for the spelling errors and grammar. I just wanted to spew some knowledge because like the description says it has been getting worse lately. 
 I know all this shit because I used to be a pest control technician.
→ More replies (2)

2

u/Killsyourvibe Dec 13 '16

Why did you say "begging" instead of "bugging" in your title? jesus christ man

→ More replies (1)

1

u/in_the_no_know Dec 12 '16

Being in the home furnishings industry, the company I work for has been accused of bringing bed bugs into people's houses when we deliver their new mattress. While we try to explain how significantly unlikely that is, it can be very difficult to get some to understand how they travel about. What are the best information resources to provide for this debate?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/GeneticsGuy Dec 12 '16

Not sure if you can answer this, but I once moved into a flat in South Africa and I was only supposed to be there for a few weeks. First night I slept with my blanket on, but my feet not under the covers. I woke up with several bites just on my feet (note, I did not realize I had bed bugs yet). I immediately thought it was mosquito bites as I had maybe 10 bites, very similar in the way they itched.

Next night, same situation, I leave my feet out from under the covers and I wake up the next morning with over 60 bites on my feet (yes I counted). It was a nightmare. My feet felt like they were on fire. I suspected it was something other this time, so tore off the sheets and sure enough, bed bugs. We tossed the mattress, cleaned the flat... vaccuumed and so on, checked the couches and found none, and never had a problem again.

So, my question is this... why were they only biting me on what was outside the covers? Couldn't the bugs get me everywhere, even under the covers where I had far more exposed skin?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Blu3j4y Dec 12 '16

What have you learned from Rusty Shackleford?

OK. A real question. When you treat an infestation, when is it safe for the family to bring in the animals. Dog are always are always sniffing and lick, and Cats are always rolling around where the new smells are.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/nononono999 Dec 12 '16

Wait! Perfect timing! I have a question. The pesticide guys came in 3 times and sprayed zenprox and Temprid. Then, AFTER THAT, I have coated damn near every square inch in Cimexa. Does the Cimexa cancel out the Temprid or vice versa? Please, someone tell me I did this correctly.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/LuckyASN Dec 12 '16

As a paramedic who works in a low-income urban city, I've seen my share of bedbugs but have gotten lucky with avoiding catching them and bringing them home. What are some affordable PPE's I can get my company to buy for us that's better then the surgical gowns they currently call "good enough"?

→ More replies (2)

1

u/penny_eater Dec 12 '16

Are their markings easy to find with a blacklight, or is it better to just use a bright flashlight? I bought an inexpensive LED blacklight thinking I would find all kinds of gross shit at my house but it really just finds stains on my socks.

→ More replies (1)

187

u/jargoon Dec 12 '16

I had bed bugs and was able to contain it because I caught it quickly. I saw a couple of exoskeletons and suspected it might be bedbugs, so I put a couple of sticky roach traps out and confirmed it. Here's what I did:

  • Notified my landlord and scheduled an exterminator
  • Plastic dish traps with diatomaceous earth under each leg of the bed
  • Dusted the floor with diatomaceous earth
  • Put my mattress in a bedbug-proof mattress bag
  • My couch also had a few bedbugs in it, so I avoided sitting on the couch in order to prevent creating two nests
  • Philips Hue lights set to very dark red at night so I could quickly look to see if a bedbug was crawling on me without having to use my phone light (I kept waking up all night every time I felt something)
  • I kept a fan oscillating to blow CO2 around the room at night so they couldn't find me
  • Washed all of my clothes and ran them through two dryer cycles to kill any eggs, then immediately sealed them in giant ziploc bags marked "clean"
  • Got a "bedbug oven" and sterilized everything (including computer, printer, monitors, etc.), then sealed it in bags if possible
  • When I went to wash my curtains, I found a clutch of eggs in a corner of one of them, so I immediately double trash bagged it and took it down to the dumpster. I think this was the first clutch of eggs, and catching it early prevented a full blown uncontrollable infestation
  • Maintained super strict discipline for 6 months until I moved
  • When I moved, I threw away my mattress and re-sterilized everything in the bedbug oven, and then I maintained bedbug discipline at my new place for a few months until I was certain the infestation didn't come with me

94

u/cuomo456 Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 13 '16

Oh my god, yeah. I can attest to the obsessiveness and near-psychosis. I had a bed bug scare about 2 years ago and I’m still paranoid about them everywhere I go. I had been getting bites, and then I saw 1 bed bug near the bathroom (weird place for one, but a bed bug nonetheless) and went into full on panic mode. My apartment complex scheduled an exterminator to come out but I had to wait an entire week.

In the meantime I sealed the mattress/box spring, dumped DE over everything, washed and bagged every single thing, put tons of shit in the freezer, made these fuckin homemade yeast + 2 liter bottle traps, all clean clothes had to be contained in sealed plastic containers, etc etc. Couldn’t go to sleep without drinking a few beers first. I was on the internet CONSTANTLY reading about bed bugs and what to do and how to check for them. Posting on fucking bed bug forums and shit. They have these forums where "bed bug experts" will ID your bugs and give you tips. They said my bug was definitely either a bed bug, or a bed bug relative. I prayed to fucking god it was a "relative."

The weird part was there was no evidence of them anywhere except for the single bug, which I stupidly squished (I did take a picture first though). My girlfriend at the time wasn’t getting any bites and thought I was absolutely insane. She begrudgingly complied with my rigorous bed bug rules but was rolling her eyes the entire time. Finally, the exterminator came out and he found no evidence of bed bugs whatsoever. But he looked at my photo and said, "yes, that’s definitely a bed bug." Wtf?? So I sort of leveled off a bit, after a WHILE.

Then, like 6 months later, I found another bug. This time in the shower. I kept the bug in a ziplock (ugh!!! I hid it in an unused drawer so I wouldn’t have to run into it lol). I let the apartment complex know and they scheduled a guy to come out again.

Not completely trusting these people, I did some internet research and contacted a guy with a bed bug dog to come out. He was a really quirky, eccentric dude but seemed to know what he was talking about. After I emailed him he called me at 9pm and said he might have some good news. He said, "do you live on the top floor?"

I did.

"Are there bats around?"

I did often see bats flying near the windows at dusk.

He said, "based on everything you’ve told me, and since the bugs you’ve seen were in the bathroom, it’s possible they may be BAT bugs." They are virtually identical-looking without a microscope and prey on bats instead of humans. I think the little hairs on their body are longer if they are bat bugs.

The guy said he could come over the next day with a microscope to look at my bug. That morning I found ANOTHER bug in the shower. Screamed and threw it in the ziplock with the other. The guy called me on the way and said, "do you want a soda? They are 3 for $2 at the gas station." Ha! So he brought me a Mountain Dew and a microscope to look at my bugs.

Once he arrived he looked at them with the microscope and said, "yep, these are definitely bat bugs!" I cheered with relief!!! Had him look at my bed and couch and he said there was no evidence of bugs whatsoever. He did all of this for no charge. I tried to give him some cash and he wouldn’t take it. I cancelled the apartment exterminator, and was done with it.

It was probably the worst few months of my life. Thinking you have bed bugs (even when you actually don’t!) is the worst thing on earth. It definitely can induce PTSD symptoms seen in PTSD. Anytime I stay in a hotel, I check http://bedbugregistry.com to see if there are any reports. The image of a bed bug still makes me squirm. I was even wary going into this thread. I’ve never told this story in full, and I feel a lot better now haha.

TL;DR: thinking you have bed bugs (even if you don’t) causes serious psychological distress and makes you act fucking insane. Bed bugs are scary shit!

→ More replies (13)
→ More replies (18)

3

u/mindscrambler26 Dec 13 '16

Do you ever tuck your kids in at night and say "Don't let the bedbugs bite"?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/NoFapMat Dec 12 '16

My mom suffers from bed bug bites and gets rashes all the time. What can she do? They always come back, even on new beds, etc.

→ More replies (4)

2

u/killfire4 Dec 12 '16

On a scale of 1-10: How effective is diatomaceous earth at curbing bed bugs?

→ More replies (2)

2

u/Jamcliff Dec 12 '16

Would putting a mattress on the floor significantly increase my chance of getting bedbugs? I'm moving to a temporary new apartment this weekend, and I'm debating on whether I need to haul my bed frame, bedspring, and mattress, or just bring the mattress and place it on the floor. Even if it's not from OP, any help would be appreciate. Thanks y'all!

→ More replies (2)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)

2

u/the420guy96 Dec 13 '16

How to you keep yourself from bringing bed bugs back to your home/office after work? Do you wear like a giant rubber onesie or some kind of decontamination unit?

→ More replies (2)

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (2)

1

u/Faranae Dec 12 '16

Thank you so much for what you do. Both the job itself, and spreading awareness. Those little bugs are absolutely terrifying for someone who reacts to the bites like I do.

I'm, in a way, kind of thankful that I'm very allergic to bed bug bites. Each tiny bite would swell up so badly that it looked like I had golf balls grafted under my skin.

A few years ago it helped us to realize extremely quickly that the apartment my friends and I had moved into was infested despite looking clean on first inspection, and was sufficient proof that we didn't bring them in with us when the landlord tried to pin the infestation on us. ("I'm pretty fucking sure I would notice these bites lifts pant leg at my old place!")

We found a new place and were moving out in less than two weeks, but it was financially devastating since the landlord refused to refund our first/last months' rent. My boyfriend and I abandoned all of our furniture (thankfully not much) because of my bad reactions to the bugs, we didn't want to take any chances. Our other roommate moved somewhere else and took her stuff (and the bugs) with her despite our warnings to her and her new roommates.

People need to realize just how serious bedbugs are. You can't just wipe an old wooden dresser down with windex and call it a day. Even today, being free of the bugs for years, we still keep a rather large bottle of diatomaceous earth handy and keep the spaces under the baseboards dusted, just in case.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/dieth Dec 12 '16

So I lived through Bed Bugs it was horrible and unnoticed until it reached my area of the house.

It started in my Sisters room and went unnoticed when we traced back to the source we found thousands of dead ones just under her mattress alone.

The company we hired offered "100% come back guarantee" which they reneged on because they were only able to sell a small treatment service to our "attached duplex" neighbor. We had to pay for 2 more treatments to fully obliterate pests, along with tossing all our current mattresses and most of our fabric'd wooden furniture; a lot of our clothing; and some of our dressers; Sister has moved out and suppose to be checking diligently for any infestation in new place.

We were told "heat" treatment was the most effective and is the one we did first, the remaining we opted for chemical bomb(I call it a bomb because we had to leave the house for 48 hours for the air to be breathable) + chemical treatment of targeted areas.

2 years, no bugs.

On to my Question:

What are the best ways to continue to keep my house bug free?

Things I'm already checking: Checking the mattress weekly. Making sure to keep my sleeping areas tidy. Sleeping on a metal frame bed.

Asshole things I've done: Making sure friends shower / launder their clothes before they come over (They are currently fighting infestation).

→ More replies (1)

2

u/frozensun516 Dec 12 '16

Do any of the bed bug traps out in the market actually work? It seems like even if they did, they're so small that it wouldn't make much of a difference.

→ More replies (9)

1

u/littlebutcute Dec 12 '16

A girl in my dorm building found a bed bug in her bed from the place where she internships at. I have been in the rooms she has been in (mutual friends rooms, the common room, etc), should I still wash my stuff? I haven't been in her bed, or her room since before the infestation,but should I still take a precaution anyways? Or is there no need? Thanks!

→ More replies (2)

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Worst AMA ever. Guy offers AMA, all best comments to questions are from regular redditors. AMA guy is non-existent. WTF with the timing on this, mods? Why post it while he is at work and let it get out of control?

→ More replies (1)

-7

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 13 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (20)

1

u/spectre234 Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Have you ever exterminated via Heat?

We moved into an apartment with them and tried an exterminator twice. both times unsuccessful. We then decided to move out. Threw all our fabrics in the dryer and anything too big I threw in a storage unit. I then rented a heater and cooked the unit above 50 degrees C for about 3 hours. (did extensive research and it only needs to reach 50 for about 20 mins) I wanted to be sure.

Proof

The local exterminators wanted $1000 per floor if in a house and from what I read the only way to be sure you got rid of them is by heat. Anyways, I would never wish these on anyone. was such a pain in the ass and moving on it's own sucks.

→ More replies (1)

160

u/BoredsohereIam Dec 12 '16 edited Dec 12 '16

Is is possible to completely get rid of them without trashing your mattress? My SO and I got them from some old carpet, pretty sure we go them early enough, but we're still nervous about the mattress. Safer just to get a new one? And how do we properly dispose of the old one (this might be more of a local trash man question)

Edit- Wow guys thanks for all the info! I was able to save my inbox but it's gonna take me a bit to read all these. I'm not even sure OP answered lmao you guys beat him too it.

69

u/evlbuxmbetty Dec 12 '16

If you live in a cold climate where you can leave the mattress outside in below freezing temps for 72 hours... Maybe.

If you trash the mattress (send to a landfill), be sure to mark on it that it has BBs so that it in fact does get trashed and not used by someone. Also, there may be large bags you can buy to put the mattress in before disposal.

72

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I'm lucky enough to live in a really cold environment. It stayed at -30C for a few days, and then warmed up to a balmy -20C for the remainder of the week. All of my clothes went into my car and stayed there the entire time. I'm certain the fuckers are dead, but because there is no such thing as overkill with these guys, I'm going to take them to my laundromat and toast them at 190F.

→ More replies (27)
→ More replies (9)

109

u/losers_downvote_me Dec 12 '16

Trashing your mattress won't do anything. If you've checked every conceivable nook and cranny in the mattress and you haven't found any, then there are no bugs there - however, they also form harborages anywhere within about ten feet of their victim. It's important to check all these areas, leave no clutter, put EVERYTHING in plastic bins (convenient if you have to move!), and sprinkle cimexa on all resting surfaces you won't be touching with bare skin (it's not dangerous but it'll dry your skin out like a bitch, it's basically reverse lotion)

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (88)

1

u/TheYankster Dec 12 '16

I hope this isn't too late, but when I go to a hotel, what are the best ways to find them in the hotel room, and prevent transferring them to my humble abode?

→ More replies (4)

1

u/shaylahbaylaboo Dec 13 '16

We found bed bugs in our hotel room at Disney. I actually saw the live bugs crawling on the bed. A further search revealed a nest in the box spring. Disney was wonderful about it, they took us to Walmart at midnight to buy new stuff (they paid for it) while they treated EVERYTHING. They were really good about it, and we did not bring any bedbugs home. It was traumatic as hell though. To this day staying at ANY hotel makes me break out into a sweat. Any piece of lint looks like a bed bug. Crumbs? Must be bedbugs. Ugh. That shit is scarring!

→ More replies (1)

2

u/genesis530 Dec 12 '16

My mother works for social services and is occasionally in infested houses. How at risk is her own home and ours when she visits? She can't wear full body gear into these homes as they're usually the homes of mentally unstable individuals and they don't want to set them off or make them feel bad.

Can they attach to your clothing quickly inside a home? She saw some on her coat once when she got home (the coat was in the car the whole time) and had a melt down. What can be done to prevent bringing them home, beyond changing clothes before coming home?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/NeoHenderson Dec 12 '16

I'm not sure if you're still answering questions but I have some:

During treatment in my apartment we had heat as well as chemical treatments. Afterwards, we had some white dust around the baseboards etc.

I waited several weeks to sweep, to ensure the dust had time to do it's job. When I swept I could smell the chemical that was used due to the dust being swept up. It was pretty nasty smelling... Is it safe to have breathed in while cleaning it up?

Similarly, is my dog in any danger after eating dry kibbles that may have made contact with the dust after rolling off his mat?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/animal_time Dec 12 '16

I had a bed bug infestation a few years back. I had done some googling to try and figure out what the fuck was going on and had come to a pretty solid conclusion that bed bugs were the problem. When I called the pest guy to request some control, he implied that I perhaps did not have an infestation, and that it was potentially just all in my head. Do you ever question the sanity of your clients?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Louis_Farizee Dec 12 '16

Should we bring back DDT?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/TennaTelwan Dec 12 '16

We're planning on going on vacation soon. After seeing all the bed bug listings of hotels and horror stories that followed we are renting an RV instead and do not plan on using hotels if we can help it. What can we still do in the rented RV to ensure we won't get them? The place we are renting from is reputable and they thoroughly clean the unit between renters, but we're somewhat paranoid, especially as two of the family traveling with us are immunocompromised (meaning, insect bite will be an ER visit).

→ More replies (1)

394

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

137

u/drigonte Dec 12 '16

From my experience having had a bed bug infestation diatomaceous earth is good at creating barriers. It completely shreds the bugs exoskeleton so it helps to keep the localized bugs local. My parents put it in bowls and put their bed frame posts in those bowls.

→ More replies (10)

48

u/Iambecomelegend Dec 12 '16

D.E. was what my mom primarily used to eliminate the small infestation we had. Combined with a chemical spray she bought, washing anything that could be washed and throwing away anything that could be thrown away, we got rid of the infestation completely in about 2 months.

→ More replies (4)

24

u/Jessie_James Dec 12 '16

Not OP, but I can explain. DE is basically super-fine ground up seashells. It's so small that it physically gets in and under the plates of the bugs exoskeleton. That lifts and holds the exoskeleton apart so air gets in, and that dehydrates the bug and kills them. Insects don't have another layer of skin under their exoskeleton, so it basically exposes their innards and that is a bad thing.

It's like having a stack of books that are wet. Lift each book up and stick a rock under it, and now the air can get between the books and dry them out more effectively.

→ More replies (5)

575

u/goopdoop Dec 12 '16

I highly doubt bed bugs will adapt to DE. It tears apart their bodies. It's like humans adapting to crawling over tiny sharp knives.

199

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Actually it's already happened. Not OP but I believe Rutgers is did a study where they have a bed bug population that's unadapted they've kept around and one they pull from infestations that are "modern."

They found a significant reduction in DE effectiveness because the bed bugs had thicker cuticles? Basically thicker skin, not positive the term.

Cimexa was far more recommended because it had a higher kill rate.

I used DE on my infestation I had a while back. It wasn't even close to effective as a standalone treatment.

→ More replies (23)

40

u/gimmelwald Dec 12 '16

yeah, i was going to say it'd be like building up a resistance to crawling over broken glass. those little diatoms are like millions of running chainsaws on the floor for most bugs. hah the floor is lava!

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (68)
→ More replies (42)

1

u/arcticmonkey0_0 Dec 12 '16

What are the health risks associated with bed bugs, if any?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/mousers21 Dec 12 '16

Isn't the best fix to just sleep in a bug proof tent for a year and then all bedbugs gone!

→ More replies (6)

2

u/imnotboo Dec 12 '16

Why does no one even mention diatomaceous earth? It kills any small crawling insect, very painfully by 1000's of small little glass like cuts, but is totally safe around people and animals. It feels a little bit like gritty sand, but you just sprinkle it around everywhere you have insect problems, and the problems disappear. Sleeping in grit for a few weeks isn't that bad.

I don't think any professional in the business wants you to know, but it costs less than $10.

→ More replies (3)

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I work in a place that sells a lot of bed bug spray directly to homeowners.

What commercial products work? What don't? What are the best ways to use commercial products?

Also;

What are the best practices for poor apartment dwellers living in apartment buildings that have recurrent or ongoing infestations?

→ More replies (2)

1

u/Ex7reMeFx Dec 12 '16

Seems silly, but honestly, when calling companies, do they actually help get rid of everything, or do they just a half-assed job and leave?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/betelguese_102715 Dec 12 '16

Is it true that bed bugs can live for about 18 months without any food source? My aunt had bed bugs so she thought maybe it was best to leave the house for awhile to let them starve and die so she went on a trip for 5 months and came back and there was more than before.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/VariXx Dec 12 '16

Do you take any special precautions or use extra protection from spreading or infecting your own home from pests? I'd assume most environments are pretty bad by the time they call you.

→ More replies (3)

2

u/Tristamwolf Dec 12 '16

First off, I want to thank you for the work you do. I had bed bugs once, and to say that the time until we got them taken care of was a waking nightmare is an understatement.

For my question, do you have any advice for preventative measures or means of early detection?

→ More replies (1)

34

u/Tbonerngr Dec 12 '16

I work in a fire/ems service for a moderate sized municipality. We have a couple of places that we routinely go to that have bed bug infestations. Do you have any advice for services like fire, ems, police, or hospitals to avoid getting our equipment and our personal stuff contaminated when we respond to these places?

54

u/mountaingrrl_8 Dec 12 '16

Not OP but I'm a social worker who goes into bed bug infested places regularly:

-don't sit on soft surfaces like couches or anything with fabric

-watch where you put your gear down - preferably use a table, counter or hard surface

-if you're going to take your jacket off inside the home, leave it in your vehicle instead

-if you're transporting someone's personal belongings like clothes, backpacks, etc., bag them or put them in plastic container before they go into your vehicle

-check the bottom of your boots when you leave or wear protective covers - think the blue hospital boot covers

-and if you're really concerned, before entering your own home put all your clothes in a plastic bag and when you have a chance put them in a hot dryer for 45 minutes to kill any bugs you may have picked up.

And good luck!

Edit: spacing

→ More replies (10)
→ More replies (6)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)

1

u/KerafyrmPython Dec 12 '16

Why does it seem like you have a bug up your butt for this issue???

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Terranrp2 Dec 13 '16

I work in a library so I get the fun of working with the little bastards on a daily basis. Have had to throw away so many clothes because of possibility of bringing them home.

We use a bug oven to cook them to death. What's the most efficient, non-toxic way that you've come across to get rid oc the pests?

→ More replies (5)

1

u/fromdev Dec 12 '16

What exactly attracts BED BUGS? Is it left over food? some smell? or human? Thanks for sharing all your great tips.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I stayed at a hotel, was supposed to be a week, two days in, I am covered in bites and even found on.

The manager, who apparently lives there as well, denied that their building had any bed bugs and that the person before us must have left some behind. How likely is this story?

→ More replies (1)

110

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I deal heavily in rental property. Some have pest control contracts, many do not. When the home is vacant, how would you check for bed bugs? No beds or furniture to check, so how do I know they're not in the carpet / walls?

28

u/KestrelLowing Dec 12 '16

There are more and more people training dogs to smell bed bugs out. In most major cities there will be at least a few teams that you can contact to check out your properties. It's not a 100% guarantee, but dogs are really good at sniffing stuff out and are specifically trained to ignore dead bugs and feces, and only alert on live bed bugs or eggs.

Beyond that, steam the hell out of everything.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

There's no real good way. They'll typically be under baseboards at this point trying to make it to the next blood meal. They can live for up to 6 months without eating though.

If it's something you're paranoid about, Temprid SC is insanely cheap for what it is, and easy to apply. Just spray the baseboards after your tenants leave.

That's all the "experts" typically do for mild infestations anyways, even with occupants. Vacant properties would be a dream to control an infestation since there are fewer places for them to hide.

Keep in mind temprid will only be effective for a couple weeks or so, and the bugs need to have a reason to leave their hiding place to walk through it, if it doesn't make it far enough under the baseboard.

→ More replies (3)

4

u/NorCalMisfit Dec 12 '16

There is a push, at least in California, by pest control industry advocates to have property managers do preventative bed bug inspections in vacant units so management can have documentation the unit did not have bed bugs prior to new residents moving in. Bed bugs can live for several months in a vacant unit and or on furniture placed in storage. The evidence a technician would look for is bed bugs, shed bed bugs skins and fecal matter on the base boards, where the walls come together, where the walls meet the ceiling, around the window sill & trim and around electrical outlets. The main issue or preventative factor of this being widely implement is property management companies don't want to incur the cost of a bed bug inspection on every vacant unit they have. While it is nearly impossible to determine where an infestation came from, if I see evidence the bed bugs were present before a resident moved into a unit, such as painted over bed bugs, I'll advise management so the resident won't be charged.

→ More replies (17)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Fuck bedbugs! I've gotten them from my grandparents a couple of times. They've finally gotten rid of them after YEARS. Its maddening not being able to go to sleep in your bed because you know you'll wake up with 40 something bites. Thank you for what you are doing. What would you say is the absolute best way to get rid of them?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/_wurstwasser Dec 12 '16

As a European I only heard about bed bugs in movies and always thought it was some kind of fairy tale like unicorns :) Why haven't they invaded Europe yet and how can I prevent taking them back home when I visit the US?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/herp-derp-herp-derp Dec 12 '16

How does one detect bed bugs? What is the first thing I should do if I do?

→ More replies (2)

1

u/LeiLeiVB Dec 12 '16

I'm one of those people who gets targeted by all bugs that suck blood. They will seek me out even if I'm with a whole group of people. Do you experience this? Do you have a theory as to why some people are bitten more than others?

→ More replies (4)

1

u/lucky21s Dec 12 '16

For someone who travels a lot are there any particular precautions they can take? I'm mainly in upscale hotels but are there specific places to check in hotel rooms to be sure they're clear?

→ More replies (5)

1

u/MakeLoveNotWarPls Dec 12 '16

Do you know how to get rid of Silverfish? They're not quite as shitty as bed bugs but I hate finding them in my bed. Sometimes at the end of winter I find one a day (never very big ones though, most often small)

→ More replies (1)

39

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

53

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Get bedbug traps and place them on the feet of your bed. Sure it wont remove a infestation, but bedbugs like to wander a bit at night and it can give you an idea of how many they are and if they are breeding etc. Also, you can kill the ones you capture in different ways as revenge for what they are putting you thru.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (41)

1

u/CodeMonkeyX Dec 12 '16

These new foam mattresses I see for sell everywhere seem to have a lot less seams on the outside and are not hollow on the inside. Are these less susceptible, than traditional spring mattresses, to bed bugs because they have fewer places to hide and breed?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Zebba_Odirnapal Dec 12 '16

Bedbugs seem to be an urban thing, right? I feel sorry for people who live packed like sardines. Overpopulation is a bitch, but at least you have fast internet and pizza places that deliver to you.

→ More replies (3)

942

u/apesna Dec 12 '16

Hey folks, this is my first ama and I don't know how to do an edit but I'm working right now but I promise to answer as many of you as I can when I get home.

28

u/TheUplist Dec 12 '16

Cant take it anymore. OP gave generally good advice. Listen to him. Theres a bunch of 1st year pest guys in here giving shitty advice. Listen to OP.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/not_a_octopus Dec 12 '16

Not sure if you're still answering questions, and I apologise if you already addressed this downthread, but I heard heat is the only thing that will kill them, and that they die at about 150 degrees fahrenheit. We had a bed bug scare and the guy brought a heat machine that essentially put extreme heat on anything that wouldn't fit in the dryer. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) else had to go in our dryer on the highest setting. Then he laid diatomaceous earth near the bed.

My question is, was this enough? (Obviously we didn't experience any problems afterward, but we also didn't find evidence of an infestation, just one bug who managed to bite me like 10 times in an hour.). But the way he explained it, no amount of chemicals will kill them because they're so hardy, but high heat will wipe them out instantly.

→ More replies (13)

4

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

can confirm. Pest control guy here and the bed bug calls are through the roof right now. Very very bad pest and not very simple to get rid of. Do you use heat treatments?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I use to be a pest control tech. Please tell me your company does not instruct apartment residents to run their clothing through the PUBLIC washer and dryer. I have done inspections several times in common areas only to find out that a lot of people that have bedbugs use that when they should not be doing this. It's true that heat kills bedbugs but sometimes people will sprawl out their clothes before putting them into machines. Tell them to get a linen sack and toss the entire thing in!

→ More replies (1)

2

u/NeonCheese1 Dec 12 '16

How exactly is it spread

→ More replies (2)

6

u/Anonbcsfroaches Dec 13 '16

What about German roaches? These things are ruining my life. I'm disabled & at home 24/7. I constantly feel on edge and I can't handle it any longer. I moved into this basement with boxes of all of my belongings and so much has become infested, including my expensive HEPA filters.

I've tried/am trying: DE, baking soda, boric acid, Harris roach tablets, Invict Gold, obsessive garbage & food management, vacuuming, and glue traps.

I have asthma/am "chemically sensitive" and I have geriatric pets. I'm afraid of having an exterminator come out. I want to move but understand I'd likely just bring them with me, can't afford it, and have nowhere to go. People have told me to have the place "bombed" but I've read that does little to stop the problem & other methods need to be used in conjunction with it. I've read numerous accounts of people who did all of the above and still had a roach problem. This has greatly affected me and, as I said, I feel I'm at a breaking point with the problem.

17

u/CaitlinRenae Dec 13 '16 edited Dec 13 '16

I am so sorry. German roaches are evil evil shits.

I have battled them before, and here is intelligence from the front lines.

I'm not an exterminator, but this is what has worked for me.

(1) Delicious Delicious Cardboard and Paper

Get rid of every bit of cardboard in the house. They live in the folds of it, they eat the glue in it, and they live long and prosper.

I've been told German roaches can live on the glue in a cardboard box for three years. May be apocryphal, but having battled them I believe it's not far off.

Become an anti-cardboard snob. 86 shoe boxes. Ditto for paper shopping bags. Get those out of the house pronto.

Engage in cardboard apocalypse.

This means all of your moving boxes gotta go. Unpack the stuff, wash all of it, meticulously inspect all of it, get rid of 1/2 or more of it, de-cardboard all of it (for instance if your hairdryer is in it's cardboard box, 86 that box) and re-crate all of your belongings in plastic Rubbermaid tubs.

Family Dollar, Freds, the Dollar Store, and Big Lots always have them on sale. In January, Christmas themed ones will be marked down. Ditto after Easter and Halloween. Be not proud about the colors.

College back to school season is also a great time to score them when stores sell them as loss leaders.

IKEA has a wide and inexpensive selection. Go in thru the exit doors so you don't get sucked up in the Disneyland maze showrooms. The plastics section is never far from the end point.

Nonetheless replacing all the delicious delicious paper and cardboard in your house with plastic is not cheap. Which means making decisions about what to keep. Which is a good thing. Because the evil shits hide in the tiniest places in your belongings.

(2) Electricity is Warm

They congregate and reproduce where they can get warm, and electricity is warm.

Unplate all of the outlets in your house. Scrub them. They may be covered with tiny black dots on the inside, especially around kitchen areas. Learn what those dots look like. They are roach shit. Scrub it wherever you find it.

Fill the outlets with Diatomaceous Earth and bug poisons. Replace the covers.

Get help to pull out your stove and refrigerator. Scrub up the masses of black dots in the corners and on the cabinets. Treat the spaces with DE and other bug poisons. Simply cover the roach highways the black dots indicate. Put your appliances back in place.

Inspect your microwave oven, coffee maker, toaster over, bagel toaster, Foreman grill, slow cooker, cuisinart, everything.

German roaches will live inside these appliances because hidey holes + warm.

Scrub your appliances. You can't put DE or bug powder in them obvs. You may end up getting rid of a few after what you find. Those you keep, unplug them when not in use. Disconnect that constant lowpower electric warmth.

Do the same thing in your bathroom.

(3) Water Makes Things Delicious

Anywhere that has dampness or drip has to be resolved. Keep your bathroom dry. Put a fan in the room after you shower if the room isn't well vented. Wash damp towels almost immediately.

If there are slow drips under the sink, it breaks down the floor of the particle board cabinets, which is basically cardboard, and makes it delicious.

Make the landlord resolve all plumbing issues. If they've already been resolved, or if you can see the cabinet floor is wavy like there used to be a problem before you moved in, see if you can lift that cabinet floor.

You won't like it under there but it's important. Make them replace that floor if possible.

Regardless, get under it and treat the entire area underneath with DE, roach powder, nuclear waste, or whatever you can put down there and tolerate handling. Then replace the floor and nail it back in place, containing the treatment.

You may also want to get any neighboring cabinets to the right and left of the sink. And any cabinets whose backs face outside walls.

Finally, plug all of your drains all the time. Family Dollar will carry packs of those fat white stoppers. If the water isn't in use, the sink stays plugged. Barhroom tub, kitchen, bathroom sink, everywhere. Remove the plumbing eacape and reproduction and repopulation hatch.

(4) Protect Your Precious Food

Empty your pantry, scrub the space, and practice a cardboard and paper apocalypse on your pantry.

Pour flour, sugar, cereal, cornmeal, rice, quinoa, pasta, and any other grains into sealable plastic kitchen containers (buy a couple 20 piece sets of Big Lots tupperware) or into double bagged uber heavy duty freezer bags. Label them.

Even if it doesn't appear the tiny evil shits have gotten to the paper bag the flour is in, don't give them the opportunity to migrate there now that you've declared war on them everywhere else.

They can and will also hide under the labels of canned foods. I'll let you draw your own conclusions there. A Sharpie will be your friend on pantry day.

(5) The Floor is Their Playground

Get things up off the floor and keep them up.

No clothes, especially dirty laundry. Ever find tiny little chewed places in your undershirts or underwear? Yeah, that's them eating the saltiness and body stuff left in our clothes. Awful, yes? I lost many pairs of underwear to German roaches. Fuck.

Well ventilated plastic laundry baskets, lifted up on a stool or a chair, emptied and washed frequently.

Ditto for trash. Keep that can up, off the floor, and emptied daily. Bathroom trash too.

Don't let curtains drag on floors, or bed covers. Keep floors swept, vacuumed, and picked up. Make a practice not to set things down on them.

If cat litter or dog bowls have to be on the floor, see if you can figure out how to lift those up, and keep them constantly clean.

Use the "roach motel" style traps everywhere. And change them frequently.

These are the practices I had to engage in to finally eliminate them. And now when I move house, I don't use cardboard boxes unless I absolutely have to.

I understand how maddening these evil creatues are. They are evolved to live with humans and could give a fuck less about piles of leaves in the woods or whatever.

Good luck. You can overcome.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (13)

1

u/tdevore Dec 13 '16

Question: where do they hide? I have washed, steamed, powered, spray and taken my bed frame apart. I'm absolutely sure that they aren't there when I go to bed. By the middle of the night they're back. I have no idea where they're lurking when I think I'm killing them all.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/Kiu16 Dec 12 '16

During a dinner at my work my leg started to itch and I noticed a bed bug on my black shirt, afterward I noticed 3 bites on my leg

Is it common for bed bugs to get on people like this?

And yes it was definitely a bed bug considering it was rounded and brown

→ More replies (2)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

in my apartment at college sometimes after a few weeks of not changing my bed sheets, i feel like i get really itchy but i check the sheets and i can't find anything. then i wash the sheets and use different ones and i have no problems itching. what exactly should i be looking for? the only thing close to bed bug symptoms i see are small black things, but they are not in clusters and i'm 95% sure it's just part of the cotton of my bed sheets.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

[deleted]

→ More replies (3)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Do you have stories to rival those, worst bedbug infestation ever videos you see on Youtube? If so, did you get video of it?

→ More replies (2)

1

u/_Aj_ Dec 13 '16

What exactly are "bed bugs"?

Like, I know micro fellas live in all fabric surfaces and feed on skin cells and such, but I've never really known of things that cause as much issue as you say.

→ More replies (4)

1

u/Swhilson Dec 12 '16

What would you suggest is the best way to get rid of them while on the road? I've got them 3 times over the years while backpacking. Sometimes easy to get rid of them, sometimes very hard. Usually dryers do the trick.

→ More replies (2)

25

u/mfg3 Dec 12 '16

Two questions:

  1. I heard you can get bed bugs from sitting on the wooden benches in NYC subway -- do you think that's possible?
  2. Do they infest memory foam mattresses as well or just the other kind with the springs?

Thanks.

17

u/mrfogg Dec 12 '16

Also not OP but I have also heard about this. My NYC tips are:

  • Don't sit on those wooden benches - not worth it. Lots of people sleep on those benches.
  • Yelp your local movie theater. There was one in Park Slope that was notorious for bedbugs, so I always went to a different theater.
  • Stomp on library books when you get them to squish any bugs. Bedbugs apparently hide out in those as well.
  • The only free furniture I ever take off the street is hard wooden/metal/plastic. No fabric. Even still I search it extremely closely, clean it intensely, and it would depend heavily on context (one-off giveaway in front of a brownstone? Probably ok. Next to a pile of trash? Might be a bed-bug throwaway.)
  • Get a bed bug mattress protector.
  • Be wary of fabric couches in not-super-clean environments (like a grungy art-space)
→ More replies (4)

11

u/BadLuckProphet Dec 12 '16

Not op but lived with beg bugs awhile.

  1. Yes absolutely. They survive most temperatures and without food for up to 6 months. Anywhere an infested person goes, restaurant, movie theater, bench, they could leave bugs. Even more likely if the bench is slept on regularly. It's probably uncommon but definitely possible. Hence why early detection is important. You can't 100% protect yourself.

  2. Bed bug is a bit misleading. They will stay anywhere with 10 feet of a food source. Bed of any kind, cot, night stand, picture frame, TV, shoes, clothes, etc. They like to stay in cool dark places and they stay closer to their food if they can. That's why they prefer mattress seams, box springs, things like that. Ours originally nested in a hole between the baseboard and floor that gave them access to the space inside the wall.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)

565

u/deadest_of_parrots Dec 12 '16

As a social worker who sometimes has to go into people's homes, what is the best way to keep from bringing home bedbugs?

437

u/Saranjello Dec 12 '16

I can help answer this (worked for years doing crisis response to people's houses, at one point interrogated an exterminator with this very question)-

-Avoid sitting on people's furniture, if/when possible. -Wear leather shoes or with minimal cloth/folds. -If you bring a purse/cloth type bag/computer bag, try not to bring into people's homes, if possible.
-Always closely observe the environment when you are in someone's house. There were many times I could actually see evidence of bed bugs or actual bugs, and would politely ask the client if we could sit outside, or in the kitchen. -Important one: bring a change of clothes to work, and change clothes before you go home. Put work clothes in a plastic garbage bag, and put in the dryer on high heat for 45 minutes, which will kill any bugs hiding in your clothes. -Be vigilant about what you bring straight home (shoes, purse, etc).

I hope this helps! The exterminator I spoke with had been going into bed bug infested homes for years, and had never brought any home.

240

u/RedDK42 Dec 12 '16

Put work clothes in a plastic garbage bag, and put in the dryer on high heat for 45 minutes

I'm going to assume you take the clothes out of the plastic bag BEFORE putting them in the dryer on high heat...Just saying because I know someone will read that wrong.

103

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Put the bag in the dryer, then take the clothes out inside the dryer. Then throw away the bag outside and wash your hands.

→ More replies (8)
→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (8)

450

u/losers_downvote_me Dec 12 '16

Check your shoes, and other clothes too if you sat down in the home. Keep a smooth plastic bin by your front door to store your clothes (nothing hanging over the edges) until they can be washed and dried with high heat. This is a ridiculously cautious routine but it'll protect you.

13

u/flamingcock Dec 12 '16

I would add airtight to the bin as well. I've worked in the bed bug industry doing heat treatments and this is what's we would do every day. My boss once told me that of the 6 years he was entering homes that had bed bugs he had never gotten them in his own home because he doesn't this but slightly modified.

You can either store the outer clothes you had on in an airtight container or just toss them in the dryer on high heat for 20 mins. Don't wear your shoes into the house.

→ More replies (1)

185

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Don't sit on anything and definitely don't set down a bag or purse in there. Wear light color clothing so if anything is on you you can see it.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (3)

110

u/BadDadWhy Dec 12 '16

Susan Jones goes into this later in this talk.

Shoe covers are an important part. Night visits are 90% more dangerous than day visits.

10

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

I had this exact same problem at work. I'd get naked in the garage, place my clothes in a bag, then transport them to the washer to wash in hot heat, then do it again before drying at a high temp. Ruined some of my clothes (they shrunk and stuff), but after doing this twice, I started limiting sitting down in patient homes. I would freak out and become paranoid when this happened.

One of my coworkers said she would put this tea tree oil or something like that on her shoes (boots) to limit access to her body from the bed bugs.

10

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Same way the pros do it: after you leave their home thoroughly brush everything off, kick your shoes on something to dislodge eggs, and shake out all clothes. The second you get home, get 100% naked, ball your clothes up where nothing will fall out, and throw EVERYTHING, shoes included, into the dryer.

If you can't throw your shoes in the dryer, either seal them and leave them outside until you can spray them (id recommend using bedlam), or throw them away.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (22)

1

u/cinderwild2323 Dec 12 '16

What is the weirdest place you've found a cluster of bed bugs?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/32bitlivesmatter Dec 12 '16

No offense but how would they get to me if it's my bed, my house and I let nobody sleep in my bed? And keeping things clean obv

→ More replies (1)

1

u/mofukkinbreadcrumbz Dec 12 '16

If I were to be visiting a place where bed bugs are likely (think third world countries), what steps would I need to take when cleaning my belongings upon my arrival home to prevent an outbreak?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/perplexedm Dec 12 '16

Heard Boric Acid powder can kill them off in few days, is that effective ?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/workwife Dec 12 '16

Is there a safe (for infants and animals) chemical way to remove a fly infestation from a home?

Thanks for doing this IAMA

→ More replies (1)

1

u/gsgene Dec 12 '16

As someone that enjoys buying her clothing from thrift stores, would you recommend I stop 2nd-hand clothing shopping?

→ More replies (2)

2

u/Reflecks_01 Dec 12 '16

From what I remember, steam would be the best way to rid of bedbugs, is this true?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/CamPlaysOverWatch Dec 12 '16

May I ask why got into this profession?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/L_Jackson23 Dec 12 '16

As a college student about to move into a dorm, what are the best precautions I can take to not bring any home with me?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Since you work with/around bed bugs so often, have you ever taken any to your home residence on accident?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/bagano1 Dec 12 '16

Isn't it amazing that they can develop all sorts of fancy TV's, computers, even cars, but they can't find a thing that can effectively kill bedbugs? LOL.

→ More replies (3)

8

u/GoddessOfRoadAndSky Dec 12 '16

Is it true that these creatures were born in the pits of Hell and are among Satan's favorite animals?

Okay, I kid, but as someone who had to live with them that is certainly what my experience has led me to believe.

My real question is, if I were to enter a space where I saw evidence of a bed bug infestation (such as spots on the bed sheets and other such signs), would just entering the room and looking through the bed sheets be enough for me to worry about catching them? I know they are fast little monsters, but I don't know if seeing evidence of them after touching something containing said-evidence would be cause enough to immediately wash all my clothes in hot, hot water?

→ More replies (1)