Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com » discounts!

new Useful Stuff page

nobugsonme — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 08:56:47 +0000

This link new Useful Stuff page now links to a number of products people mention at bedbugger.com. There are links to purchasing mattress covers, ziploc XL bags, food grade DE, and so on. This was recommended by a reader, and I hope it helps you.

The Amazon.com links there direct you to the types of products and provide a photo which you might find useful if you’re looking in stores. Plus, any purchases you make, Amazon will give Bedbugger a small commission, which helps keep the site going. Even if you’re buying a blender or a book, you can help Bedbugger (at no additional cost to you) by sarting from one of those Amazon.com links on the Useful Stuff page.

The National Allergy link (for mattress and pillow covers) right here, on the Useful Stuff page and via the National Allergy logos elsewhere on the site gets you a discount too.

National Allergy mattress encasement test results

nobugsonme — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:43:44 +0000

Editor’s note: since this post, developments have been made in the manufacturing and testing of encasements, and our recommendations have changed. Please read the Encasements page before deciding on an encasement.

As many readers know, many of us use National Allergy mattress encasements on our mattresses (and box springs, if we have them), and I am one of those. After many Bedbuggers had been using and recommending the encasements on this site for a long time, National Allergy offered Bedbugger readers a discount on all NA products, which you can access via this link or the National Allergy banner in the sidebar. (They also offered the site a small commission on sales made via the link which helps keep the site going.)

The folks at National Allergy wrote recently to let me know they had done tests as to whether bed bugs could feed or pass through, or their eggs could pass through the fabric or the zippers of the mattress encasements, and I am happy to post them on the site for your perusal.

Click here to load a PDF of the report. The results begin on page 7.

New: discount on National Allergy covers for Bedbugger readers!

nobugsonme — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:27:32 +0000

Editor’s note: since this post, developments have been made in the manufacturing and testing of encasements, and our recommendations have evolved. Please read the Encasements page before deciding on an encasement.

We’ve been recommending National Allergy covers since we started the blog, since a lot of readers have been happy with them.

I personally used two vinyl covers from Target for $10 each, which each ripped in turn. Then I got a National Allergy one. I like this one because instead of the vinyl, it has a soft polyurethane membrane laminated to a fabric finish. You would never know it was there. (Try that with the vinyl ones!) And it seems a lot sturdier. The zipper has a little nook to fit into, and I think the point where the zipper closes is pretty safe, though we’re told zippers are a danger point in general, and so the whole zipper should be taped.

I’m happy to tell you that National Allergy has offered us a sweet deal: a discount for you on their products, and an affiliate deal for us (which helps to run the site). The discount is 7% if the products you order add up to under $174.99, and 10% if you spend over $175. The discount is good on whatever you buy from the site, but the link below goes specifically to mattress and pillow encasings which are labeled for bed bugs.

You must click the National Allergy banner below (or elsewhere on this site) to trigger the discount code. You can use this link below again to get the discount anytime in the future.

Full disclosure: Bedbugger.com will get a small commission when people purchase through the link: you save off National Allergy’s usual prices and National Allergy helps pay our costs (at no cost to you): it’s a win-win situation from what we can see. And I want to stress that we would not be taking National Allergy up on this offer had we not already been recommending these covers for 6 months, and had many of us not been using them ourselves during that time.

I feel its necessary to say that mattress covers need to be treated with care, and used properly, in order to keep bed bugs in. You need to put the encasing on with care, tape the zipper (some recommend clear tape; I haven’t tried the tape NA sells, but maybe others can report on that). Watch out if you have a cat with claws; they can puncture any kind of cover. You need to leave it on for 18 months, or even permanently. (You may want to replace it eventually, but definitely don’t remove it within 18 months, since we know bed bugs can live that long without feeding.) The instructions on National Allergy’s site say bleach can damage the waterproof nature of the cover, and without further knowledge of what other substances besides mild detergent might do, I don’t think you should spray it with anything, though you can and should vacuum it when you change the sheets or at least every few weeks. And don’t forget your pillows, which can harbor bed bugs.