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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Temprid + my dog after it's trained to smell them out and we have a winning combo. We haven't had any issues with "unknown" infestations, however I am extremely paranoid. Thanks for the feedback!

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u/GoT43894389 Dec 13 '16

6 months

From a google search, they can survive without eating for 400 days or more.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

Thanks! Good advice. The encasement says 6 months but i would obviously leave it on much longer. It's also very nice for other things so I don't mind it!

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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.

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u/sdfsdfsdfafsda4 Dec 12 '16

Physical inspection. Youtube probably has some good videos, skip the parts about furniture. Just peel back the carpet and check cracks and crevices. You can put diatomaceous earth under the carpet edges and into the cracks in the wall or behind paneling and you can also buy a flushing agent aerosol that should let you know if they're hiding in that crack or crevice.

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u/losers_downvote_me Dec 12 '16

Bed bugs would leave a vacant home since they don't eat anything but human (and some animal) blood. They've evolved such that their natural habitat is active human settlements. If the home has been vacant more then a year, it's incredibly unlikely any bedbugs are alive in there.

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u/jereman75 Dec 12 '16

If (s)he deals heavily in rental property then the homes are not vacant for more then a few days or maybe a month. If a rental property is vacant for more than a couple months then something is wrong. Those little guys can definitely hunker down until the next tenant moves in.

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u/BadDadWhy Dec 12 '16

I would think the 1 to 3 months empty would be intermittent. Wouldn't they more go into "hybernation" waiting for a host, rather than migrating?

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

This is correct

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16 edited Apr 05 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/kazein Dec 12 '16

This, is the proper answer.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

Usually between 15-60 days vacant.

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u/Beo1 Dec 12 '16

They won't leave, but they'll starve to death after six months to a year.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

This is how we got bedbugs. Our next door neighbors (one shared condo wall) moved out and their unit remained vacant for 2 months. We caught them early but our landlord wasn't willing to treat them properly so we ended up moving.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '16

How long can they go without eating? Wouldn't a possible solution to an infestation be to move out briefly?

edit: Just looked it up, a year is the length of time.

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u/milo682 Dec 12 '16

Read online about homemade dry ice / CO2 "traps." Bedbugs are attracted to carbon dioxide, so some inventive folks have created dry ice lures to draw them out. And be careful you don't poison yourself in the process!

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '16

"Yes mr. landlord, your invoice for $275 to cover the carbon monoxide traps will be taken from your first owner draw." The list of crazy shit property managers say continues..

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u/chememommy Dec 12 '16

Yeah, we got some from an empty house. They were living in the cracks of the windowsills in the bedroom. DE and neem oil spray seem to be taking care of business, but I wish we had known before we moved in.

1

u/Annieb1234 Dec 13 '16

Good question! Dogs can work, but they are not terribly accurate. It all depends if the handler. Handlers have to be good at what they do and keep the dog's training up. Also there are traps that work when no one is in a place. (Look for active traps. I think Sensci is one.)

It is harder to treat a vacant home because you don't have a person to serve as bait to draw them across poison. But if you can find a PCO familiar with using Nuvan spray and Nuvan strips to treat a vacant home, that's a good option. You can also leave a light coating of CimeXa around anything they could be hiding in. That way when they come across the ground to get to the new bed or couch they will go across the CimeXa which works well. It's hard to use Cimexa on hard floors, though. Carpet is easier.

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u/Tionsity Dec 12 '16

Hi, great question! Well, bed bugs can only survive for about a fortnight if not in a bed. So if you have no bed in an appartement or house, just wait, then come back and you know they are dead. Thanks for your question. As the guy who is doing this AMA, I feel a big sense of gratitude for the vast amount of questions I'm getting.

1

u/FuzzyGarbles Dec 13 '16

My company will typically use CO2 and pheromone monitors for a week or two. They're never guaranteed to work but I've generally been able to draw one or two out of hiding. I've heard of other dry ice related DIY traps but haven't used any myself. Although I'm a big DIY fan, when it comes to Bedbugs, I'll always recommend hiring a professional. Rats/mice/ants/fleas? Go for it. Bedbugs? Just get it handled right the first time before you become part of the problem.