The Australian show “The New Inventors”(ABC) features several new inventions in an episode, with a panel of judges choosing the best of the lot.

Inventor Tony Abrahams won episode 16 (20 May 2009) with his passive bed bug monitor, the “Bed Bug Barrier,” which either attaches above the feet of the bed, or sits under the feet of the bed, trapping bed bugs attempting to crawl up onto the bed in a glue. (Based on the placement of the glue under the rim of the device, it is not clear to me whether bed bugs would also be intercepted if they tried to crawl off a bed, rather than onto it, as would be true with the Climbup TM Interceptor.)

There’s some iffy science here (for example, I don’t think anyone can prove the inventor’s claim that bed bugs cannot harbor on a mattress encasement). One judge is concerned that bed bugs brought onto a bed via a suitcase (rather than climbling up the bed leg) will not be hindered by this tool, and this judge is apparently correct. Bed bugs can live on beds. This device will not get rid of bed bugs living in the bed frame, on the mattress, or for that matter, on chairs or in other parts of the room.

This does not mean the trap is useless, but it does mean it is not a total solution. I would like to see independent test data demonstrating the effectiveness of any bed bug monitors. And I would like to know whether bed bugs are 100% trapped while entering or leaving a bed, since from what I can see, there’s some possibility bed bugs exiting a bed could drop down without crawling on the underside (glued) region of the trap.

Clearly, the passive bed bug monitor is an idea that is blooming in lots of different forms, and time (and independent peer reviewed research, we hope!) will tell which is best.

You can read about other currently available bed bug monitors such as the Climbup TM Interceptors — which provide a barrier for bed bugs climbing onto or off of beds — here, or read about David Cain’s soon-to-be-widely-available bbalert monitors — which provide a harborage for bed bugs somewhere on the bed frame itself — here and here.

I love that a bed bug-related product won this contest. Interestingly, Tony Abrahams got the idea for this product because he was in the business of renting out accommodations to travelers. His invention beat out a device which weighs beehives and some kind of portable refrigeration/food heating device.

Let’s face it: bed bugs in the popular media are always a good thing: one of the judges notes she will change her hotel room behaviors based on this presentation (presumably, she won’t be leaving luggage on the bed anymore!) If news about the problem of bed bugs reached many other Australians via this show, that in itself is a very good thing.

Click below to watch!

Thanks to Paula for the tip!Similar Posts:

• Bed Bugs hit Johnson City Fire Station
• Fox Chicago engages with the tenants vs. landlords bed bug blame game
• FAQ: What is a Packtite?
• A tale of two bed bug-troubled cities: Cincinnati, Columbus
• S.F.’s bedbug battle a war without end

2009 is the year of the bed bug monitor. While some are thinking high-tech, it is also important to know that low-tech monitors are being improved.

This month, the CDC 3000 is starting to be used by PCOs and a few of the luckier people with bed bugs. The Nightwatch is also set to ship soon, we’re told. The devices cost in the $500 – $700 range, and so they really are not aimed at the consumer market. These active bed bug monitors use kairomones, CO2 and heat to attract bed bugs into the monitors, and then trap them.

But passive bed bug monitors are also evolving. Traditionally, we have had the glue trap, which really is not very useful at catching bed bugs. Think about it: they’re usually rectangular, and they just sit there. They sit there covered with a thick coating of goopy glue, and people commonly report waiting patiently and nabbing no bed bugs. There’s no easy way to surround the legs of your bed in glue traps.

Enter Susan McKnight, who has designed the Climbup ® Insect Interceptor, a passive bed bug monitoring tool which can be used in homes under the legs of bed frames, chairs, tables, and other furniture.

This is a tool for finding out whether you have bed bugs. It is not going to treat an infestation, but can help you determine if you have bed bugs, and when they are gone.

It looks simple, but seems quite clever: first, it has two wells: a center well and an outer pitfall. So you can actually tell from where the bed bug is caught whether it is coming onto the furniture or trying to exit from it. (The idea is they can’t hop over the wall in between. Neat, huh?)

This is a photo of bed bugs caught in the Climbup ®:

(Photo courtesy of Susan McKnight, All Rights Reserved).

Those bed bugs in the middle were trying to get off the bed / chair / etc. and the others were trying to get onto it.

You can imagine how some treatment plans could be improved if PCOs could see whether the bed bugs were coming onto the bed, or leaving from it.

Think also of the woman who reacts to bed bug bites, whereas her children and husband don’t. This monitor may allow a much better determination of who is actually being bitten.

The directions found in this PDF on the Insect Interceptor website note:

Climbup ® insect interceptor is ready to use with center well and pitfall ring prelubricated with talc to form slick surface to prevent bed bug escape. The talc will not kill bed bugs. With repeated wipeouts and prolonged use, relubrication with talc is advised. OPTIONAL: To avoid handling of live bugs, a dust (e.g. diatomaceous earth) or nonrepellent liquid (e.g. soapy water, mineral oil) may be added to in center well and outer pitfall ring.

Some bedbuggers have long placed a bed bug-free mattress and frame on top of risers or inside of margarine tubs and filled these with diatomaceous earth or mineral oil in an attempt to keep bed bugs from getting into the bed. The moat of mineral oil in a cup around the bed legs can backfire if there are any bed bugs living in the bed, because they become trapped on the bed, and will keep biting you there.

The approach suggested on the Insect Interceptor site is not an entirely different idea, but in my opinion is theoretically a better one: this product is designed to trap live bed bugs and to show which direction they are traveling in, both of which would be very helpful, moreso than simply trying to avoid bed bug bites.

A Pest Control Operator could, as the directions also suggest, “Count bugs by developmental stage from each capture area to determine efficacy of control treatment.” A resident could simply count bed bugs, and know if they needed a follow-up treatment, or not.

Dr. Mike Merchant of Texas A&M wrote on his Insects in the City blog about a presentation by Dr. Changlu Wang at November’s Entomological Society of America conference in Reno. Wang tested the efficacy of various spray-based and dust-based IPM programs for bed bugs (using chlorfenapyr, diatomaceous earth and Climbup™ monitors). Merchant noted that:

The traps caught more bed bugs than were observed by the inspectors in all apartments. Another interesting observation was that 94% of the trapped bed bugs were in the outer bowl, indicating that they were off the bed. This shows the importance of treating off-bed locations when controlling bed bugs. These devices might be especially useful for clients with low budgets and a high motivation to help with the elimination program. Of course the effectiveness of the bowls depends on eliminating contact of the bed and bedding with the floor and walls.

I understand that Changlu Wang’s research will be published soon (and we’ll let you know when it is). In the meantime, you can download a brief but interesting PowerPoint of his presentation at the ESA in Reno, 11/2009 by clicking here.

The PowerPoint stresses the usefulness of the product for low-level infestations and where residents do not respond to bed bug bites. We are told that only “4 of 10 residents noticed bed bug bites,” and that while visual inspection detected an “average of 6.7 bed bugs per apartment,” the Climbup™ interceptor after being used for 7 days found an “average of 8.8 bed bugs per apartment.”

For this reason, it would not be a bad idea for everyone to have these under their beds and chairs, sofas, etc. Wang’s finding that only 40% of the residents had bed bug bites reminds us that everyone needs an early warning system that they have a bed bug infestation. Those receiving bed bug treatment need to know when bed bugs are gone.

My only concern is that this product might have to be used creatively to work for some — for example, people who have platform beds with broad bases, or big clunky sofas — I am not sure how the product would work with items of furniture which don’t really have “legs.”

The Insect Interceptor website states that Climbup ® Insect Interceptors can be obtained from Residex and Oldham Chemical (by PCOs only from those outlets, I assume). We also see that Bed Bug Central is selling these monitors to the public. I have not actually seen them yet, but the research sounds promising. We look forward to reading Wang’s research results and to hearing from people who have used the product.

Update 4/23/2009: This month’s issue of Pest Control Technology has an article by Changlu Wang, Timothy J. Gibb, and Gary W. Bennett detailing the study of the Climbup ® Interceptor. You can see the contents of the April PCT issue with a link to the article here.

Update 5/12/2009:

Climbup ® Interceptors are now available from NorthShore Care (enter code in ad below for free shipping) and other online retailers, as well as from Residex and Oldham Chemical. In New York City, you can get them from Standard Pest.

(Disclosure: Bedbugger has an affiliate relationship with NorthShore Care, which means that if you purchase through our links, it helps support this website at no additional cost to you. We’re grateful to NorthShore Care for offering our readers the best deals we know of on Protect-a-Bed AllerZip encasements and Climbup ® Interceptors, as well as free shipping with the BBFREE coupon code.)Similar Posts:

None Found

We heard some time ago that there was more than one bed bug monitor in development. Nightwatch is expected to ship mid-November.

But a second bed bug monitor, the CDC 3000, or Cimex Detection Case, so named because it comes cleverly packed into a portable (!) non-descript black handled case, will be launched in a limited fashion at this week’s National Pest Management Association meeting in Washington. It won’t be released on a broad scale until the new year, according to Sean of the Bed Bug Resource, who goes more into detail here on what we can expect from this second device.

You can also read more about the CDC 3000 here.

Both devices have the potential not just to detect whether you have bed bugs, but to capture them. We hope to have access to data on the CDC 3000 soon. And once the Nightwatch is released, I hope we will start to see some comparative test data.

Exciting times for Bedbuggers. Things are looking up.

Update 4/28/2009:

Here’s a video review by Jeff White of the CDC 3000:

Similar Posts:

• More information on cheap and cheerful bed bug monitors!

Richard Shin reports for The Pioneer Press on research being done by Stephen Kells on bed bugs at the University of Minnesota.

Kells is at least one of the entomologists working on making an effective bed bug trap.

Alas, “we’re quite a distance off” from a monitoring trap, Kells said.

Eventually, it will be a wonderful invention.

It was interesting to hear how Kells got into bed bug research:

Kells first encountered a bedbug in about 2000 while working in the pest-control industry in Canada.

He dipped it into insecticide. The beast lived for four days and laid eggs.

“At that point, I knew we were in trouble,” he said.

Kells decided to study the insects further in an academic setting. He came to the University of Minnesota 3 1/2 years ago and set up a lab devoted to bedbug research.

About 2,000 bedbugs live there, housed in jars, where they crawl around pieces of filter paper that vibrate and twitch with their constant motion.

They eat Red Cross-donated human blood that’s beyond the expiration date, heated to body temperature.

Kells built a special platform he calls a bedbug arena, where he can observe the behavior of individuals when exposed to stimuli like heat. Part of his research is funded by the Propane Education Research Council, which wants to know whether propane-heaters can be used to kill the insects.

Another set of experiments involves attaching bedbug antennae to tiny electrical probes to see what kind of chemical compounds the antennae are tuned to receive. This might help develop the lure — maybe the carbon dioxide that sleeping humans exhale or the fatty acids on our skin — for a bedbug monitoring trap.

I am trying to envision the little tiny electrodes on the little tiny antennae. I also was fascinated by the bed bugs eating expired Red Cross blood, since all the other times we’ve read about researchers feeding their own bed bug colonies (as Lou Sorkin does) or having their grad students do it. I suppose it would be difficult to support 2,000 bed bugs.

The article also talks about the differences between captive bed bug colonies, and “wild” bed bugs, and it cites Harold Harlan, former Army entomologist (and author of the Armed Forces bed bug guide), as the source of Kells’ colony:

Bedbugs are a lot more resistant to poisons than they used to be. It takes 1,200 times the amount of insecticide to kill recently captured bedbugs than it takes to kill individuals from bedbug colonies that have been in captivity for more than 30 years, Kells said.

That captive colony was maintained by Harlan, who collected about 600 individuals from a barracks at Fort Dix, N.J., in the early 1970s. They were a novelty at the time, Harlan said. Over the years, he kept the colony alive in jars, letting it grow into the thousands, by allowing the bugs to feed on his legs.

“I’ve had them escape a few times in my house,” he said.

He had to leave the colony untended for a year when he was deployed in Vietnam and couldn’t find anyone willing to be a food source. When he came home, enough had survived to rebuild the population. Now his pets have become a resource for researchers.

I have a hunch this is where we got the information that bed bugs could survive, unfed, for a year. (We still aren’t sure where the “18 months” rule came from.)

Thanks to all the bed bug researchers, and universities, foundations and private companies that fund their work.

And thanks to the Pioneer Press for an informative article!Similar Posts:

None Found

Attention! Since this FAQ was written (2/2008) many advances have been made in detecting bed bugs using active and passive bed bug monitors. Active bed bug monitors are available which did not exist when forum users suggested the methods involving hand warmers, below. Canine scent detection (bed bug dogs) are also more common every day. Please read this FAQ for the latest on detection possibilities, and consider that much of the following may be mainly of historical interest. If you want a cheap detection solution, and if the design of your bed permits, ClimbUp Insect Interceptors may be a much better use of money, time and energy than the “handwarmer method” below.

One of the biggest frustrations with bed bugs is that it is hard to know if you have them. You can be bitten quite badly for a long time before ever finding a bed bug. Bed bugs, bed bug cast skins, fecal spots and fecal specks can all be hard to find.

The best thing to do if you suspect bed bugs is to have a qualified pest control operator (PCO) search your home for them, carefully. You may have a PCO who searches and finds nothing. I assume you have already had a doctor rule out scabies, folliculitis, and other medical causes) and that your PCO has ruled out fleas and other biting pests.

While I do not recommend self-treatment for bed bugs, I do recommend trying to locate a sample yourself, especially if a pest control operator has looked but has not yet found evidence, or if the PCO wants to treat without evidence (this may seem great to you at the time, but you really should find out if bed bugs are the cause of your troubles before sinking in your money and time into getting rid of them).

We now have some ideas for bed bug traps to detect a problem. A few caveats:

• These methods are not foolproof. They could take time and having more traps out more frequently increases your odds of catching a culprit.
• This does not significantly reduce your problem, not by a long shot, and is not in itself a treatment option. But detection is the first step in solving your bed bug problem.
• This is not about capturing a live bed bug, but one for identification purposes. Live bed bug sampling can be done with what the British call a pooter, but you have to find a bed bug first. To read about these methods, see this forum thread.

The following are some do-it-yourself methods for getting a bed bug sample.

First, many Pest Control Operators will suggest or use glue traps, designed for mice, to catch bed bugs. Yes, bed bugs will be caught if they walk across them. But getting them to walk across such a trap is tricky. They could walk around it. And you may have no idea what routes they travel.

In a forum thread, PCO/Entomologist Sean, of the Bed Bug Resource, suggested adding an activated hand warmer to the center of the trap:

Take a mouse glue board (sold by pest professionals) and place an activated hot shot (hand warmer) in the centre. There are several brands of hot shots out there and to my knowledge they all should work. These give off both heat and carbon dioxide.

These are NOT 100% effective in every case.

I have never had it not work in a badly infested area, but surely there is the possibility that it may not work in a light infestation.

Keep in mind that bed bugs feed about once per week. Hot shots last about 12 hours. This means that you may have to put one out every night for a week before catching anything. Obviously multiple locations increases your odds.

Putting these traps in the room you think you’re being bitten in, at night, when you’re not (yet) there sleeping, might be good. Doing it when you are away for some reason might be even better (though we don’t recommend you sleep elsewhere in another room or building, as a general rule, since it can spread bed bugs). Remember to put them where pets can’t go, or to keep pets out of the room–they really are very, very sticky.

Hand warmers are sold under many brand names and used by outdoorspeople and people with medical problems (which should give you some idea where to find them). Glue traps are in the pest control section of a home store or available online. These are examples of glue traps and air activated hand warmers:

air-activated hand warmers:

glue boards:

Fourt, in another forum thread, described a rigged-up trap that worked:

I am setting up a crazy little trap up tonight. It’s really not a trap but rather a thing to lure them from returning to their hiding spaces. I have 2 pieces of old wood, not very large, I have drilled several shallow holes on one. Then Im going to cover the holes with the other piece of wood. Placing it close to the head of the bed. My theroy is they will check it out on their way back to where ever they are living. And decide this looks like a nice place to hang out and lay eggs. Then when they least expect it, I will lift off the top peice of wood and get them with my handy dandy garment steamer. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I tell him to catch a bed bug you need to think like one. I will let you guys know how this works. I know I will not get rid of a infestation this way. But it may work as a monitoring tool.

And here’s the follow-up:

Well, my little wood trap worked. Found an almost mature bug bed in one of the holes. I steamed it with my garment steamer. It died in a instant. I steamed all of the wood incase there were eggs on it. I have set it up again and will wait and see what else happens.

And some tips:

The bed bug trap worked very well to catch them if they were around. If I was to do the trap all over again I would have used a slightly larger drill bit. One last thing regarding the trap. You must use real wood not plywood or MDF. Place the wood near the bed and see what happens. Make sure you have a way to catch them when checking the wood for BB. They can trot at a good clip.

Fourt’s trap reminded me of this trap idea hopelessnomo found. I was impressed by Fourt’s ingenuity, and happy it worked, though I have to stress that I think that luck plays more of a role in this method than Sean’s. There’s nothing to attract the bed bug in this case, except that it’s a form of wooden clutter with holes for hiding out, and it’s in the bed (no doubt to some degree appealing to bed bugs).

The bottom line is that Sean also has experience with his trap working again and again, and if I had to rig up a trap, I would try his glue trap/hand warmer method (and try it a number of times).

Another method of detecting (but not trapping per se) gets around the fact that bed bugs may be less likely to come towards you in bed with the lights on, and involves using red LED light to see bed bugs at night. NotSoSnug, resident “Cimex Hunter,” had great results with this. You can read about his methods here. They are effective, though their effectiveness depends on your ability to stay up (possibly most of the night) as well as your level of infestation. If you are not being bitten by lots of bed bugs, or being bitten elsewhere than the bed, or you simply would like to sleep, this is not such a great method. Since NotSoSnug was not able to sleep during this period, and did appear to have lots of bed bugs, it was very effective for him.

A red LED light was part of NotSoSnug’s toolkit for detecting bed bugs at night in bed.  They can be quite useful. Here’s a thread about this (including advice about obtaining useful red LED lights).

I welcome reports in the comments below from those who use one of these methods and find it successful.

Future prospects for bed bug traps?

My understanding is that a glue trap involving bed bug aggregate pheromones is in the works, but has been for years, and we should not hold our breath.

Simple glue traps are beginning to be marketed as bed bug traps. Don’t get excited at the simple mention of a bed bug trap for sale.

John F. Anderson at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven is working with a rigged-together bed bug trap that is not commercially available. You can see glimpses of it near the end of this WTNH News 8 video Paula shared in the forums. We can hope something like it–or the plans for how to make one– is soon available to all of us.

Remember, too, that bed bug dogs are an option as an aid to finding a bed bug or detecting their presence. Dogs and their handlers cannot always help you find an actual sample, so if you do go this route, discuss with your landlord/PCO the necessity of a visible bed bug sample (and whether they will take the word of the bed bug dog handler), and discuss with your bed bug dog handler before hiring him/her the possibility of locating one if needed.Similar Posts:

None Found

A pest control professional confirmed for us today the reports Parakeets heard about bed bug aggregate pheromones being developed.

We’re told that within 2-3 months, assuming the red tape is cut swiftly enough, glue traps should be available for sale which use a bed bug pheromone to attract bed bugs to aggregate there.

This is very exciting: if bed bugs could be detected quickly, perhaps even in the absence of any signs or symptoms, well, maybe every infestation could be treated in its infancy.Similar Posts:

None Found

There are three different theories as far as what to do about your bed.

1. Protecting your bed from bed bugs

This means you make sure bed bugs are not harboring in the bed frame, headboard, etc., and that you encase mattresses and box springs in high quality bed bug-proof encasements.

Bed bugs can crawl onto the bed and bite you, but you are taking steps to ensure they do not live there. If they cross poison on the way to you, any meal will hopefully be their last. You may use Climbup ® Interceptors to catch any bed bugs climbing onto or off of the bed.

2. Isolating the Bed

Here, you are trying to get bed bugs out of your bed, and keep them out.

Isolating the bed is very controversial, and though it may help people who are being bitten very badly or who have serious allergic reactions or distress may to try and avoid being bitten by bed bugs while in bed, it also may actually mean you are fighting bed bugs longer. This is so because bed bugs may spread further around your home (they will still bite you outside of the bed).

The theory is that bed bugs will still try to get to you, but they should be trapped on the way, and you should be able to avoid bed bug bites.

In a few cases, however, bed bugs have been seen dropping down from the ceiling to bite people in “isolated” beds. It seems to be a rare occurrence, but can happen. More often, beds not thoroughly isolated have allowed people to continue to be bitten by bed bugs. If you’re going to isolate, you must be meticulous and thorough.

And remember, if bed bugs cannot bite at night, they will bite during the daytime, as you sit in chairs or go about your day. For this reason, many would recommend instead that you simply “protect” the bed, but do not isolate it.

Many people prefer to “protect” rather than “isolate” the bed because having bed bugs biting you in bed, or finding evidence they were there (cast skins, blood spots, etc.) is a sure sign you still have bed bugs and require further treatment. If you “isolate” and don’t react to bites you get during the day, it may be harder to verify bed bugs’ continued presence. Isolating may also mean bed bugs spread further around your home, since they may have trouble reaching you in the bed, where they used to feed. Protecting the bed instead, and using Climbup ® Interceptors as a tool for catching bed bugs as the wander onto or off of the bed legs, may be a better option for most people, and would be my preference.

3. Do not encase

We are aware of one highly regarded bed bug expert who does not recommend encasing mattresses or box springs. British PCO David Cain of Bed Bugs Ltd., well known to forum users, does not recommend encasements. It should be noted that David has a very hands-on approach to removing bed bugs from homes, and claims to take a long time inspecting and removing bed bugs. If your pest control operator uses such methods, and tells you not to encase the mattress or box spring, by all means, do not do so.

Most pest professionals we’re aware of do recommend encasements, and so, in general, Bedbugger does too. We also feel that a carefully-encased mattress (with encasement sealed and kept free of tears) may help many people to eliminate bed bugs in the rest of the home sooner, avoid bed bug bites, and save or protect an expensive mattress.

Note on products mentioned:

You can buy Climbup ® Interceptors from NorthShore Care, using the coupon code in the ad below for free shipping. You can also get them from Amazon.com (Climbup Insect Interceptor Bed Bug Trap, 12ct), or from many of your friendly, local pest control operators, including Standard Pest in New York City.

For mattress and box spring encasements, see our Encasements page. All other items below are available widely. You can also see or purchase them on Bedbugger’s Useful Stuff page.

What to do

Both protecting and isolating the bed require you to eliminate bed bugs from the mattress, box springs, headboard and bed frame, and then encase the mattress and box springs. So let’s start there.

Important:

The advice below assumes your home will be professionally treated by a Pest Control Operator who has experience with bed bugs. Protecting or isolating your bed, on their own, will not get rid of bed bugs. However, a PCO will tell you that you need to sleep in your normal spot in order to get rid of bed bugs, and protecting or isolating the bed will likely work well with the PCO’s treatment plan, which will likely include laying down residual pesticides that bed bugs will cross while trying to get to you.

You should wait to carefully clean your mattress, frame, bed, and home until a Pest Control Operator has verified you have bed bugs. Some have cleaned away evidence and been refused treatment by professionals or landlords.

Also, once bed bugs are verified to be present by those who need to see them, you should wait to encase your mattress until the Pest Control Operator has treated your home, because most PCOs can treat areas of the mattress (side, seams) and box springs as well as the bed frame / headboard with certain pesticides which are labeled for this purpose. Doing so and then thoroughly drying and sealing the mattress and box springs in encasements is best.

For protecting the bed or isolating the bed, everyone will need:

1. A zippered mattress encasement that has been tested to keep bed bugs in (or out), and that completely encloses your mattress (and box springs, if you insist on keeping them), the best you can afford. They are not all the same. Vinyl and cloth encasements are sold by a wide variety of suppliers, but few have actually been tested to keep bed bugs out (or in).

I would recommend Protect-A-Bed AllerZip encasements. They have been tested to keep bed bugs within the mattress even if the zipper is opened slightly — which gives you some insurance against accidents. Mattress Safe and National Allergy Elegance encasements also did well in Rick Cooper’s tests. Click here to read about encasements and to purchase them.

2. New pillows

3. Pillow encasements; buy with mattress encasements from same source. As for mattress encasements, they should be designed and tested specifically to keep bed bugs out (or in).

4. White sheets and pillow cases, cotton blanket (if you need to replace a comforter or other blanket). Cotton sheets and a cotton blanket are easy to wash and dry. (Comforters may harbor bed bugs even after a long stint in the dryer, and non-cotton blankets do not hold up well to dryer heat.) White color is not mandatory but may help you spot stains; I’d avoid small patterns for this reason also.

One blanket option would be this cotton blanket from National Allergy which is reasonably priced and holds up well to lots of time in a hot dryer (follow the link for a discount of 7% on orders up to $174.99 or 10% on orders over $175).

——————————————————-

If you want to “isolate” the bed, read the following items 5-13.

If you only want to “protect” the bed, skip down to “Steps for Everyone” under the next dotted line below.

5. Bed risers — they raise the bed, to help keep sheets and blankets off the floor, a must if you are trying to “isolate the bed.” They can be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond (or Bed Bugs and Beyond, as Bedbugger Bugzinthehood termed it, long before a company providing Vikane treatments appeared with the same name) or (like the other items below) on Bedbugger’s Useful Stuff page.

In 2009, the Climbup ® Interceptor passive bed bug monitor became available. You can read about them here. This product replaces and is, in my mind, preferable to the use of items 6-8 below. If you obtain Climbup Interceptors, you can skip the mineral or tea tree oil, vaseline, and bowls. You may still want to use bed risers, to help keep bed linens off the floor, but make sure they fit inside the Climbup well.

Climbup ® Interceptors — one per bed leg. These will catch any bed bugs climbing onto or off of the bed, and are vastly preferable to items 6-8 because they catch samples, rather than deterring bed bugs.

If these are not available, you may use items 6-8:

6. Mineral oil or tea tree oil (more expensive but some people enjoy the idea that bed bugs hate it).

7. Vaseline

8. 4 bowls for holding mineral oil or tea tree oil under the legs of the bed frame. Stainless steel is the best
choice, but other sturdy unbreakable bowls will do. If your bed risers have a little reservoir, you can simply keep that filled instead.

9. Thick garbage bags (contractor bags) and XL and XXL Ziploc bags. Check the hardware dept of your favorite big box store for the contractor bags. They are usually not sold with the household trash bags. In the USA, XL / XXL Ziplocs are sold in Target stores (look near the storage section and/or the section with bags), Home Depot (near the home cleaning supplies) or here.

10. Murphy’s Oil Soap (for wooden bed frames), which is a contact killer for bed bugs and is good for cleaning wood and rendering it bed bug-free. Regular strength works fine. It is sold in ready to use spray bottles and a concentrated formula.

11. Quality duct tape: Use duct tape to ensure there are no sharp edges on a metal frame before you place an encased mattress on it.

12. You may need a new metal bed frame, if you are unable to get bed bugs out of your wooden bed.

13. Some have actually decided to discard mattresses and isolate an Aerobed upon a metal bed frame. Use duct tape to ensure there are no sharp edges on a metal frame before you place an Aerobed on it. (Please use caution with discarding items; seal them completely in plastic before moving them through or out of your home, label them carefully, and realize that if you live in a building or in a house which is attached to others, your neighbors may take them in and use them and become infested and you may be right back to square one — another reason to encase instead.)

——————————————————-

Steps for everyone:

(See “Important” note at top.)

1. Strip the bed. Put all of the dirty linens into a garbage bag and tie it off well. Some suggest using plastic cable ties. You can also knot the bag’s top in one single knot (it must be airtight; push the bag. If air can escape, you are tying it wrong). Launder your bedding as soon as you can in HOT water, and dry on HIGH HEAT until completely dry and then some. When you take it out of the dryer, put it immediately into another garbage bag and tie it off, or use an XL Ziploc.

2. Vacuum the mattress and springs really well. Especially in areas with stitching, piping, tufts and the plastic corner guards. You might want to take the corner guards off. You may also want to take the gauzy covering off of the bottom of the bed spring and vacuum inside. (Though box spring encasements are available, many people will want to discard box springs; be sure to seal in a bed-sized bag before moving through your home.) Used vacuum bags should be sealed in a ziploc and disposed of after use. If you have a bagless vacuum, empty into a ziploc and clean the bagless container right away. Otherwise, bed bugs or eggs may remain in the container/bag.

3. Put the mattress and springs into the new encasements and seal. If you use a Protect-A-Bed AllerZip encasements (with the BugLock Zip), you do not need to tape the zipper. Mattress Safe encasements also have a lock to keep the encasement closed.

If you use another encasement, you should probably tape the zipper and where the zipper closes on your encasement. This tape must not be allowed to come off; keeping it on can be very difficult. People have used Scotch Blue Painter’s tape, and National Allergy sells this along with their encasements, to be put over the zipper. Other types of very adhesive tape may work better, but none are foolproof.

4. Vacuum your bed frame. If you have a metal frame, put DE down in the legs and cover over all of the holes and spaces with duct tape.

Wooden bed frames, and fancy headboards and foot boards are very problematic and need extra considerations. These are addressed in another area of this FAQ.

5. Move the bedframe away from the wall.

6. Vacuum under and around the bed frame very thoroughly.

7. Put the mattress set back on the frame, very carefully, so you don’t rip the covers. (See comments above about duct tape; this can be used to reinforce corners.)

(Note: even though they are not necessary for protecting the bed, you may want to use Climbup ® Interceptor passive bed bug monitors under each bed leg in order to detect bed bugs climbing onto or off of the bed.
——————————————————-

The following steps are only for those “isolating” the bed. If you are only “protecting” the bed, skip to step 12.

8. If using Climbup ® Interceptors (preferred method; see above): Put bed legs (or bed legs on risers) inside Climbup Interceptors — one per bed leg. These will catch any bed bugs climbing onto or off of the bed, and are preferable to items 6-8 because they catch samples, rather than deterring bed bugs.

If Climbup ® Interceptors are not available to you, put the bed on the risers, and put mineral oil (or tea tree oil) in the depression in the castors are resting in. If your bed is already high off the floor, or if the bed risers have no wells to put the oil in, put the legs in bowls of mineral oil.

Note: some people have traditionally recommended placing a row of vaseline and a separate row of double sided tape around the bed legs, above the mineral oil cups. I am not sure of the value of this if you are using cups of mineral or tea tree oil. People tell us double sided tape does not often catch bed bugs. However, if you are using Climbup ® Interceptors as recommended, do not place vaseline or double sided tape on the bed legs. You want bed bugs to walk into the Climbup discs and be trapped; you do not want them to be deterred by barriers.

9. Vacuum again, to hopefully pick up any strays that fell or crawled off of the mattress and box springs in the process.

10. Remember not to let your sheets and blankets drag on the floor while you sleep. Realize also that you may carry bed bugs into the bed, for example, by simply sitting on a chair where a bed bug was able to crawl onto your clothing. If you isolate the bed, try to hop in bed clean and wearing clothing which was itself isolated and kept in sealed plastic bags.

——————————————————-

Everyone should:

11. Break out the new pillows and put encasements on them. See step #3 above and duct taping the zippers if necessary.

12. Put on clean white linens (so you can see blood or other stains more easily).

Change and launder them (and blanket, if used), preferably about every 4-7 days. Check the sheets every day for bugs, molted skins, blood spots (tiny to inch long smears), and black poppy seed-sized spots or what look like black ink spots.

If you “protected” the bed, this is evidence you still have bed bugs (helpful to know, especially if you do not react to bites). If you “isolated” the bed, this is evidence that the bugs are still in the bed.

Consider repeating the steps above of cleaning the frame and having it treated with pesticides, to ensure bed bugs are not living in the bed. And in any case, continue professional treatment approx. every two weeks until bed bug bites and all other signs are long gone.

13. Unless you are doing more cleaning immediately, take the bag out of the vacuum,and put the bag in a Ziploc bag or a securely tied garbage bag and put in an outside garbage receptacle. If you use a bagless vacuum, empty it into a bag and seal and dispose of this, and clean the bagless container. This prevents bed bugs and eggs from remaining in the container and potentially reinfesting your home.

14. Examine all of your precautions often. Encasements can get holes; try to avoid this. If it happens, promptly duct tape or replace them.

If you have a cat with claws, ensure the cat cannot make contact with the encasement (or even the encasement covered in bed linens). Keep the cat away from the bed if at all possible.

15. Optional steps:

AeroBed

Some Bedbuggers have used an AeroBed or air mattress, with or without a new cheap metal frame. You can’t encase the raised AeroBeds, so you will probably want to isolate the bed (per our FAQs) with bed risers and a cheap metal frame (see below). Remember to make sure there are no sharp edges on the frame (wrap with some duct tape if there are).

Wood Bed Frames:

If you have a wood bed frame, take it completely apart, if you can, and wash it down (every inch) with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Spray the Murphy’s on and wipe it off. Don’t just spray it on a rag and wipe. The Murphy’s will kill bed bugs on contact, if you douse them. I don’t know what a light spray will do.

Since you are cleaning, you can pay close attention to all the little cracks and crevices in the wood and joinery, looking for all of the signs listed in step #13. The Pest Control Operator may spray the bed frame all over before you reassemble it. You may also consult the PCO about a pesticide you can use all over the frame if s/he will not do it. Take precautions and use pesticides only as labeled.

Captain’s beds (with drawers underneath a wooden platform) can be a bed bug nightmare. Consider destroying and carefully removing them. Otherwise, every piece will need to be disassembled, cleaned and sprayed with pesticide (by a PCO). A PCO who knows bed bugs will be able to advise about which items you should discard and which can be treated successfully.

Upholstered Headboards and Footboards:

Any upholstery is very difficult to treat successfully. Others may have different answers, but I would say to remove them from your frame, and vacuum and have the PCO treat them (or cautiously spray them with an upholstery safe insecticide). Let it dry completely, then seal the item in plastic wrap (ie. heavy painter’s tarp or shrink wrap plastic), duct tape all of the edges of the plastic and store it for a year to 18 months.

Another option that may or may not work is steaming with a very good quality steamer. A professional may do this as part of a PCO service. You may do it also. The steam may not reach deeply enough in heavily upholstered items without cooling and may only serve to drive the bugs in deeper. Some people have simply given up and tossed them out, frankly, as upholstered head- and footboards are hard to treat successfully. Again, ask the PCO whether the item can be salvaged.

——————————————————-

The FAQ on isolating the bed was originally written by Dee in Colorado, from information she compiled by asking the members of the Bedbugger Yahoo Group, a great source of support and information, in your war against bed bugs. It was edited and revised several times by Nobugsonme based on information we have since gathered about the downsides of isolating, and about products which were not available when the original FAQ was written.

Note from Nobugsonme: I have made a number of significant changes as of June 2008, including removing recommendations that people use the mechanical killer diatomaceous earth (DE) around the bed and on the floor.

I also strengthened the warning that “isolating” is controversial among bed bug experts. Many people would recommend you “protect” but do not isolate.

In June 2009, I added information on Climbup TM Interceptors, a new invention which is inexpensive and much preferable to cups of mineral or tea tree oil being placed under bed feet. I changed the directions to note that if this tool is used, people must NOT use vaseline or duct tape on bed legs, as it will prevent samples going into the monitor and being trapped.

If you choose to use DE in your home, read the DE FAQ, and ensure that your pest control operator approves of this self-treatment and where you’re doing it.

Among other things, I also changed the recommendations about mattress encasements. When this FAQ was written, few encasements were available, and few studies had been done about their effectiveness. Eighteen months later, it’s a completely different ballgame.

We have better products available now, and they can be more costly than the cheapest encasements which don’t work. But the best encasements can also be comparable in cost to ones that do not work.

If these pests are living in your bed and not crossing poison in order to bite you, you will never get rid of bed bugs. For this reason, I personally believe the quality of mattress, box spring, and pillow encasements are very, very important.

Thanks to Dee in Colorado, and all the other Bedbuggers who’ve contributed to this wonderful FAQ!

We learned everything we know by trial and error and advice from others. If you have had success with something other than what has been listed, please add it to the comments. Also, please feel free to add any other reputable sources for products.

If you need information on other aspects of your bed bug war, go back to the FAQs by clicking here. To read about or buy mattress encasements click here, and to buy DE, bed risers, metal frames, or any of the other stuff recommended above, you can click here to go to the Shop for Useful Stuff page.

Similar Posts:

• Megan McArdle on Atlantic.com: bed bugs and Craigslist
• Bed Bugs hit Johnson City Fire Station
• Johnson City’s John Sevier Apartments tenants get new mattresses
• Rachael Ray Show not bad, but not quite right on bed bugs