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Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

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Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#11

Post by lm28469 »

Gys wrote: post #5
tiltowait wrote: post #3

I worked pest control for a few years until 2021. We all knew that pesticides basically don’t work on bed bugs—it was old news. The article glosses over heat treatments, which is odd, because it really does work, and usually in a single session. It’s a very labor-intensive and invasive procedure, though. The residents must leave the house for 8 hours while the techs bake each room and throw everything around. By the…

I read once they get into beds by crawling up the bedposts and by putting something smooth like aluminum cups around the posts, the bugs cannot crawl up. What do you think of that?

Might as well use this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#12

Post by spiderxxxx »

lm28469 wrote: post #11
Gys wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read once they get into beds by crawling up the bedposts and by putting something smooth like aluminum cups around the posts, the bugs cannot crawl up. What do you think of that?

Might as well use this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

I can confirm, DE works. Just don't breathe the stuff, which you're supposed to puff onto surfaces. Once it's there, the bugs have to crawl across it so it'll cut them up like little razor blades, or a thousand paper cuts. So satisfying.

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#14

Post by generic92034 »

bruce343434 wrote: post #2

Personally I've had great difficulty getting rid of Silverfishes. Despite plugging all crevices with diatomaceous sand, making sure indoor temperature does not exceed 18°C, removing any specimen on sight, I still encounter one every now and then just chilling on the wall or floor. They've eaten my underfloor isolation (the floor sags at those spots now), but other than that they're harmless - I can't imagine the horr…

I believe humans are not part of their diet. ;)

But they can process cellulose, starch and even mold, can survive months without any food, so it is next to impossible to starve them. Low room temperature and low humidity might help a bit.

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#15

Post by weatherlight »

RajT88 wrote: post #10
weatherlight wrote: post #4

We had a house centipede infestation when I lived in NYC. It was awesome. No bed bugs. No roaches except in the end of summer, (the giant flying variety and it was really just the month of August when the humidity is out of control they would come out of the drains.) No bugs in general. Those house centipedes ate everything.

They are creepy, but they eat baddies. The last time one showed up in our bathroom, my wife yelled at me to "Stop marveling at it!" It was the biggest one I had ever seen, close to 3 inches. RIP Uber-coleoptrata scutigera!

yeah, the get big and move fast..

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#16

Post by mikub »

hotpotamus wrote: post #9
weatherlight wrote: post #4

We had a house centipede infestation when I lived in NYC. It was awesome. No bed bugs. No roaches except in the end of summer, (the giant flying variety and it was really just the month of August when the humidity is out of control they would come out of the drains.) No bugs in general. Those house centipedes ate everything.

I once awoke to see a large spider running away from me on my bed. I was a bit displeased with that until I learned that they hunt roaches. I figured if it was running away from me, then it figured (perhaps incorrectly) that I was not to be messed with and so the food chain in my house remained as it should be.

You mean the food chain remained intact as long as you're awake. ;)

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#17

Post by delecti »

spiderxxxx wrote: post #12
lm28469 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Might as well use this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

I can confirm, DE works. Just don't breathe the stuff, which you're supposed to puff onto surfaces. Once it's there, the bugs have to crawl across it so it'll cut them up like little razor blades, or a thousand paper cuts. So satisfying.

It's less like a thousand paper cuts, and more like it removes their stillsuit so they dry out.

https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Stillsuit

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#18

Post by kibwen »

RajT88 wrote: post #10
weatherlight wrote: post #4

We had a house centipede infestation when I lived in NYC. It was awesome. No bed bugs. No roaches except in the end of summer, (the giant flying variety and it was really just the month of August when the humidity is out of control they would come out of the drains.) No bugs in general. Those house centipedes ate everything.

They are creepy, but they eat baddies. The last time one showed up in our bathroom, my wife yelled at me to "Stop marveling at it!" It was the biggest one I had ever seen, close to 3 inches. RIP Uber-coleoptrata scutigera!

If they're big it means they're eating well, so consider how many more bugs you'd be seeing if it hadn't already made a meal of them!

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#19

Post by jamesjuicy55 »

lm28469 wrote: post #11
Gys wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read once they get into beds by crawling up the bedposts and by putting something smooth like aluminum cups around the posts, the bugs cannot crawl up. What do you think of that?

Might as well use this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

I fought bed bugs once with DE, heat, and dry ice traps or you can use a co2 fish tank pump to attract them into a trap. We also placed containers filled with oil at the bottom of each bed post.

It took a year but we were successful

Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever

#20

Post by juujian »

I was talking a friend in China about bed bugs recently. They said there is a medicine people take which makes our blood poisonous to them. Ironically enough, it's ivermectine... Makes sense I suppose, it targets parasites and bed bugs are a parasite. I read some papers about it, too. Doesn't seem to be a panacea but potentially useful in combination with traditional pest control.
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