141–150 of 157 posts
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If the infestation is heavy enough they will climb the walls and drop from the ceiling.
Like special forces bed-bug airborne commandos?
Clearly this can be solved with AI and tiny drones with lasers, rail guns, and flamethrowers. Or maybe the drones can jump on top of and envelop the bug, toasting it in a second. Apparently, ants, cockroaches and centipedes eat bed bug. None of those seem great to have around the house in great numbers. Lizards (at least some) also eat bed bugs. Perhaps someone could rent out lizards. Would one week be sufficient tim…
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Here's how we got rid of them ourselves for cheap: 1. Bought a bedbug-proof encasement for every mattress and pillow. Seals them in and they starve. 2. Bought a handheld steam cleaner and steamed every seam on every piece of furniture.
> Seals them in and they starve. The problem here is that their lifecycle is unimaginably long and punctuated. They happily hibernate for 6 months at a time between feedings, so waiting them out means waiting a very very very long time.
Bonus: No more bedbugs can ever get in.
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Is it safe to use this to avoid any possible bed bug outbreaks? or are there any risks that outweigh the benefit of it defending against possible bed bugs? I've been thinking about spreading it around every so often under my bed (plus around my bedroom) just in case.
It's generally considered safe. It's sold as an additive to livestock feed, though I don't know what the purpose there is. It's very finely ground volcanic rock. The particulates have very sharp edges which shred insect exoskeletons. It doesn't hurt your skin though. It might cause a problem if inhaled, similar to silicosis but that's mostly a guess. Some people leave a line of it on windowsills or door thresholds to…
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Like special forces bed-bug airborne commandos?
My grandfather was in the German army in WW2 and he said they called them Fallschirmjäger - paratroopers - for exactly this reason, they would climb tent walls to drop onto beds that had their legs placed in tins of water to try and keep them off.
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This exactly. Freezing is useless unless you have something like a lab freezer that gets to -50C. Hot dryer for clothes, and you can put empty luggage in a dark trash bag and leave it in the sun to heat treat.
Having run the bedbug site, what's your advice on long-term travel? I've never gotten bedbugs, but I feel it's only a matter of time. How do you balance prevention with simply living your life?
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Don't you have to be careful not to breathe that stuff since it's composed if tiny silica spikes? You'd need to wear a respirator in your house.
Yup. It’s a fine powder that will get into the air if walked on or near, and causes nasal and lung irritation if breathed in short term - and silicosis if breathed in long term. Unlikely this length of exposure would result in silicosis probably though. [ http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html ]