Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
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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
#2Personally 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 horror if they snuck into my bed and bit me in my sleep. I would seriously consider throwing everything away and starting anew.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#3I 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 time it’s over, it looks like a tornado went through the house. And our prices started at $5k.
But it did work. The only two scenarios I was aware of where it didn’t were the result of operator error (laziness) or the customer unknowingly taking bed bugs out of the house with them when they left (we found the bed bugs were living in a baseball cap).
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#4We 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.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#5I 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?
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#6Even the best hotels have dealt with bedbugs. For safety, leave your luggage in your car for a few days when you return from a trip.
Ideally, you want the temperature to either drop below freezing or rise above 100°F, which will kill bedbugs.
The same procedure should be employed with used furniture, perhaps more aggressively.
There is also a trick with dry ice and talcum powder if you think an infestation is starting and you want to confirm.
If I had never bought rental property, I would never have known any of this. I am relieved to have sold it all.
EDIT: The article says 120°F.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#7I 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?
I'd assume that works for local bedbugs, but is no defense against ones tracked in on clothing, furniture, etc.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#8I 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…
Can't be that old. I had bed bugs in 2012 I believe. I bought some of the recommended insecticide and sprayed a small perimeter and released a couple that I had captured into the middle. They then crawled outward and I was shocked how quickly after they crossed the perimeter they died.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#9We 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.
Re: Getting rid of bed bugs: trickier than ever
#10We 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!