OnTheBlitz
<-Say Hello to my Little Friends
Banning DDT certainly did not help.
Bed Bugs -- You Better Take Preventative Measures Now
- Thread starter pustelniakr
- Start date
BE afraid. Be very afraid. Then start taking protective and preventative measure right away. Believe me. You do not want this, but it is becomeing harder and harder to avoid. And here I was, walking around in "code white" all of this time.
Rich P
DDT is a synthetic pyrethroid. A high percentage of today's bed bugs are resistant, so bringing it back would not help much. They are developing resistance as fast as products are developed.
Some approaches are free from generated resistance: heat, steam, organo-phosphate vapors (DDVP), removal by vacuum cleaners, silica gel powders, diatomaceous earth and other dusts, etc.
Rich P
OnTheBlitz
<-Say Hello to my Little Friends
Well that confirms it. Those bugs are just pure evil!. ...and like you said, can't believe some of the information on the WEB.
A 911 call center was recently infected with bed bugs. Treated, and re-infested multiple times. Operators do not want to return to work.
Rich P
We tossed out a painful percentage of our accumulations, and have spent around $2K so far, and we have not paid our PCO (pest control operator) yet. Painful? You bet. Terrifying? Oh yeah. Stressful? Unimaginably. Done now? Not likely, for the next 2 years...
We will never be the same.
Disregard my counsel at your own peril.
Rich P
We will never be the same.
Disregard my counsel at your own peril.
Rich P
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Home freezers do not get cold enough. You want 0 degF or lower for long periods, and still they might recover. I have watched them recover from being hit with freeze mist. Better you should go straight to your laundry room, clothes get washed and dried, and dried again on high. Luggage goes into a jumbo space bag with a Nuvan pest strip for 3+ weeks (no residue once aired out for 2 - 3 hours), but a nasty organo-phosphate), or into a portable heat treatment box at 140 degF for at least 4 hours, or carefully and thoroughly steamed, inside and out (I would not trust your ability to be comprehensive on this approach). Shoes, hats and purses get the same treatment as luggage.
Hotel room inspections only prove fruitful in severe infestations. Small colonies you very likely will not locate. I searched for them for 3 months after I started getting bit. I did not find any, but they were most certainly there. Once found it was very obvious.
One real problem, is that 30% - 50% of people show no reactions to bites. That is very bad mojo. You could get a very severe entrenchment in no time, making it very hard to get rid of them.
Rich P
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qdrone
Music is my mistress
Actually you can blame the U.S. government for the rise of bed bugs. The insecticide used to kill bed bugs and actually kept this problem in check is no longer allowed to be used. Yes some people have stockpiled it and for a premium will treat your problem but if they dont know you or trust you you can forget it.
I will say this bed bugs when crushed with your fingers have an odor you will never forget.
I bought my house from my parents and I have a can of diazinon,DDT and a bottle of Malathion 100% collected over the years.
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TRUE DAT! However, like I said I'm kind of a bug person and have studied lots of insects, poisons, and procedures. I usually don't have guests in my home, and I am familiar with many different ways to kill them or repel them. bugs that is...) The best approach is to use the kinds of chemicals that soften the exoskeletons so they can't molt. This kills fleas, and any insect that molts to grow. Ants are the hardest to get rid of. If the colony is very old there could be millions of members.
Get a small pump bottle and fill it with 99% denatured alcohol - bedbugs hate that stuff ...
when you travel or bring a new cloth bag in the house, spray it down thoroughly ...
Put double-stickey tape under the threshold of your bedroom door, they get stuck on it
Keep them from roaming around your house when you do find some!
See, bedbugs were very conversational in VA 4 years ago,
lots of talk, lots of prevention warnings - then,
the problem seemed to go away afterwards.
when you travel or bring a new cloth bag in the house, spray it down thoroughly ...
Put double-stickey tape under the threshold of your bedroom door, they get stuck on it
Keep them from roaming around your house when you do find some!
See, bedbugs were very conversational in VA 4 years ago,
lots of talk, lots of prevention warnings - then,
the problem seemed to go away afterwards.
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Exactly what pesticide are you referring to - did you mean DDT?
If not, NAME IT, please.
KrisM
Lunatic Member
I see what you did there.
And so a weekend starts with a musical ear worm.
restorer-john
Addicted Member
Our washing machines can heat to 95 degrees centigrade (203 F), just below actual boiling, surely that'd kill anything in socks and clothes?
qdrone
Music is my mistress
DDT was one of a few that used to be used. Do you know of any exterminators that have a bed bug infestation in their home or business?
True. What can be laundered and hot dried should be, then dried a second time after they are dry. They should then be placed in ziplock bags until time to wear. What can tolerate the heat but not the tumbling can be heat treated in portable treatment boxes for that purpose. They even make room size, so you can soak your furniture.
Rich P
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Pest control operators must be certified for bed bugs. They know the bugs well and take necessary prophylactic measures to prevent taking them home. I have been very specific in seeking this info from them. I have become much less paranoid since I have begun to learn details and processes.
The essentials to know are that the bugs are not intelligent (they are predictable), they are lazy, but they are relentless.
Broad spectrum chemicals have marginal affect on these vampires. Bed bugs are a definite specialty, as are the procedures to deal with them.
Rich P
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Bed bugs have a fairly unique lack of susceptibility to sticky traps. They have the ability to get an antenna or leg stuck, and pull it free and then avoid the trap. They cannot fly, but they do climb well. They will just go up the wall or bed frame. As I said, they are relentless.
BELIEVE ME. The problem has NOT gone away. Quite the contrary. Conversation has diminished, much due to the attached stigma.
Rich P
High concentration alcohol does work, but on contact only. There is no effective residue left. It also does damage to a lot of materials. Be sure to test in an inconspicuous place first.
Bed bugs have a fairly unique lack of susceptibility to sticky traps. They have the ability to get an antenna or leg stuck, and pull it free and then avoid the trap. They cannot fly, but they do climb well. They will just go up the wall or bed frame. As I said, they are relentless.
BELIEVE ME. The problem has NOT gone away. Quite the contrary. Conversation has diminished, much due to the attached stigma.
Rich P
