Letter from a reader: Bedlam, clothing stores, and bagging clothes
By nobugsonme on Nov 14, 2006 in bed bugs, bedbugs, getting rid of bed bugs, information and help, pesticides, tools and weapons, treatment
We got a comment from Buggles on another post, and I wanted to address Buggles’s comments directly.
Hi Buggles,
First, we’re glad you commented. We encourage all our readers to click on the word “Comments” above any post and write back to us. It’s a small little link, but we have a free blog and we can’t fix that at this time.
Buggles commented:
Thank you for putting this resource together. Unfortunately, much of the literature on the Web is contradictory– bedbug size, color, habitats, etc. Even worse, some information simply doesn’t exist. Hence, my questions:1. Clothing: The one aspect of this problem about which everyone seems to agree is that treatment begins with washing and bagging clothes (though I fail to see how you can seal a garbage bag vis-a-vis a tiny insect).
You can seal bags. The key is the seal must be airtight: if you squeeze the bag, can the air escape, or does it just make a balloon shape? The latter is your aim.
XL and XXL ziplocs are easily vacuum sealed (with the zipper you know from your freezer bags). They’re expensive but recloseable and there’s no doubt whether you sealed them correctly (though it is easy to make a mistake and you will have to ensure you always seal thoroughly).
Garbage bags are trickier. I twist the ends into one long rope and knot it in one motion. This makes a bag that air can’t escape from. Bed bugs are small, but not smaller than air!
Deblynn believes in contractor ties (cable ties) from Home Depot which, I note, do produce a pretty tight seal.
The normal twist ties on garbage bags and the garbage bags whose ends tie together are not going to produce a tight seal. Do not rely on them.
Here’s some music from AceNoFace for “putting it all in bags” to.
But no one has addressed what exactly happens if bedbugs do find their way into your clothes and you put them on and go to work — especially the nymphs that are probably too small to see on the clothing (and possibly your skin if you’re a guy). Can you feel them crawling and biting? Are they truly nocturnal?
Bed bugs are mostly nocturnal, but will bite in the daytime. Some of us believe those hungry kids and teenagers (nymphs) are especially uunlikely to pay attention to the time of day or darkness factor.
If they’re on your clothes, they may crawl off and onto your carseat, subway seat, another person, office chair, and so on. They can spread to any other location outside your home by simply walking away if one of the following is true: (a) you have a pregnant female, or (b) you have a male and female of any age.
You may or may not see or feel them even if they are biting you (sometimes bites are felt much later; sometimes not at all). Bed bugs can spread to others without being noticed. And preventing this doesn’t just help others. It helps you. Because when you finally get rid of the little monsters at home, you don’t want to find out they’ve followed you home again from work, the diner, or your car. You don’t want to give them to your lover, your elderly parent, or your friends. If you do, they will come right back to you, over and over again. And your co-workers, boss, friends, and family will be mad, and it can really mess up your life even more than a simple infestation.
2. Discovery: Has anyone tried using time-lapse photography to determine if a problem exists? Will it work or are they too small to be picked up by the camera (you’ll need a body-length shot since they can bite anywhere).
Interesting idea! There is footage online of people being bitten by adult bed bugs in bed. I am afraid I can’t remember which video online that I saw it in (some newsclip; maybe someone else will remember it). I am not sure time-lapse photography was used, or if they simply ran video and played it back.
3. Bedlam: Some people are touting this new pesticide. Does it work?
According to Pest Control Technology magazine online, Bedlam has a quick knockdown and up to 5 weeks of residual killing (the residual action is what you need). I have not used it and can’t confirm its efficacy.We’re still working on the pesticide FAQs but if you can’t wait, come to the Bedbugger Group on Yahoo, where you can get lots of free and good advice from fellow sufferers, people who have experience in pest control, and even an entomologist or two.
Thank you.
You’re welcome! We at Bedbugger are just like you (though perhaps we get a bit less sleep!)
We’re sharing the knowledge we picked up on bedbugs because we are dealing with all this, and learning the hard way how to do it. And because we did not find a site like this when we first met evil, nasty little Mr. Cimex Lectularius.
PS: I was also going to ask about buying new clothing, but you answered that today. Here’s a related tip  at Bloomingdale’s you can tell which clothes have been returned – look for the small return bar code sticker on the original tag.
I hate to say it, but while this seems at first to be a useful tip, think about the fact that even if the shirt you bought was not a return, the item next to it, or ten feet away from it, could have been. Bed bugs can walk 20 feet to get a blood meal. They will not stay on an item forever, but can move around, laying eggs everywhere they go (including the seams of a jacket or the sole of a shoe). Stores get infested just like homes and workplaces, and anything in the place can be infested. Just to be clear, I am not saying Bloomie’s is one of them, but it can happen anywhere.
content rss
mgdecombe | Nov 14, 2006 | Reply
I’ve been thinking about the clothing issue, and wonder whether buying from catalogs is a good way to fend off infestations?
I suppose, one would never know if the catalog-bought item is a return…
Are we to be doomed to cotton and other fabrics that can be washed and dried on *hot*?
By the way, if you have dried synthetics on how, particularly if they are sewn with synthetic thread, be sure your seams are still functional before you go traipsing down main street.
From one who learned the hard way…
nobugsonme | Nov 15, 2006 | Reply
Yikes!
You know, I have noticed my favorite catalogue retailers all ship items sealed in plastic within their boxes. I don’t remember this always being the case, but maybe I just never gave it a thought. In any case, this is probably WHY. Because I am sure pests in warehouses have always been a concern.
parakeets | Nov 17, 2006 | Reply
Re your question…what exactly happens if bedbugs do find their way into your clothes and you put them on and go to work?
I can tell you what happened to me since I did this. I had a cotton turtle-neck shirt that I washed in hot water and dried for 2 hours in the hottest level of my dryer. I thought it was “safe” and put it in a drawer. When I took it out, inspected it, and wore it, I ended up being bitten several times on my back and shoulders during that day outside my home, though I never saw the bedbugs or felt any bites until after I was bitten and the itchiness set in.
I have learned that treated clothing can easily and invisibly be reinfected if you don’t store it in sealed bags. I also learned that even if you inspect clothing and don’t see bedbugs, you can get bitten.
buggles | Nov 20, 2006 | Reply
parakeets, thank you for your reply! nobugsonme, thank you also.
So much for all that information online about how bedbugs bite you and then quickly retreat to their hiding places.
Still, you didn’t feel it crawling around. I wonder if formication — another possibility — feels more real than the real thing.
Incidentally, I tried the time-lapse experiment just for kicks. It was too dark and grainy to see anything as small as a bedbug, but it sure was interesting to watch. The problem is the more light you use, the better the quality but the less likely a bedbug will surface — or is that another myth?
nobugsonme | Nov 21, 2006 | Reply
Hi Buggles,
If the lights are on, they will bite anyway.
Also I think they _do_ tend to retreat to their hiding places after biting. But their hiding places _can_ be in your clothes, jacket, shoes, or the purse or bag you carry to work. I think that’s the most likely way to transport them.
And luggage too–they’d never be the great world travellers they are if they didn’t set up shop fairly quickly in new residences, like your garment bag or suitcase.
Do you think the problem is formication (i.e. delusional parasitosis)?!? I think in my case its more likely to be some kind of hypersensitivity your skin builds up after real parasitosis. It could not be entirely delusional, since the bites appear before the itching in many cases. But in others, yes, there seems to be itching without visible evidence of bites. I’m interested in what could be causing this.
Thanks!
buggles | Nov 21, 2006 | Reply
For the record, formication is a symptom of delusional parasitosis (DP), but formication can also occur in the absence of DP. It can stem from drug use or physical disease, but can also have an unexplained etiology.
nobugsonme | Nov 21, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for clearing that up. It may be caused by some kind of skin changes the bites cause. Perhaps some kind of histamine reaction? I think the key here is whether you have bed bug bites or not. Those of us who are pretty certain (have seen, if not the bugs themselves, lots of Little Black Specks presumed to be droppings) get these kinds of itches. I’d love to know more about this!
buggles | Nov 21, 2006 | Reply
Do the black spots stick/smudge or do they freely move around like poppy seeds?
nobugsonme | Nov 22, 2006 | Reply
I’ve had some that smudged a little (or were obviously not totally solid) and others that were little specks (varying size) that you could pick up, seemed solid like a little seed. They seem to stick to the spot they’re on a little better than a seed, but can be picked up.
James Buggles | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
One correction. Apparently, Bedlam is a residual with a 90% kill rate for up to 7 weeks.
nobugsonme | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
You’re right, James, that Bedlam has a residual property. According to this information, it is effective for up to 5 weeks residual. I’ll correct the information above.
http://www.pctonline.com/news/news.asp?ID=4059
S. | Jan 29, 2007 | Reply
About these black dots, Nobugs, you said that they can be hard like a seed. If wetted with spit on your finger, or with a paper towel, would these too get red and bloody? Or would they stay hard and solid?
We’ve tried the spit test with a bunch of unidentified flecks in the bed, and they’ve always stayed hard and dry.
Thanks for anyone’s thoughts on this extra-gross matter.
Bugalina | Jan 29, 2007 | Reply
I would try putting them into very hot water..even microwaving them in a small clear bowl..and then smear them onto a white paper towel…if they are very very hard it will take more than spit to melt them down…Bugalina