Our Helloise doesn’t often see anything she wants to share with Bedbuggers. We all have too much stuff anyway, don’t we?

But she recently came across this item: the Hollywood Purse Hook.

The manufacturers claim it will hold a purse dangling from a table edge or chair armrest. It keeps your bag off the floor. It puts several inches of lovely metal between your purse and the table.

The manufacturers of this brand of purse hook claim it will hold a purse or laptop up to 35 pounds, though we are skeptical about the larger and heavier items.

But we know how skeeved you get putting your bag on the floor of public places, post-bed bugs.

It comes with a velvet carrying case, presumably to protect the contents of your purse.

Has anyone tried one of these, or a similar idea in another brand? If so, do write in and tell Helloise if you like it.

Other brands of purse hooks below make their own claims as to maximum weights held, saying their purse hooks will hold up to 15 or 20 pounds. YMMV!

• Hints from Bed Bug Helloise!
• Hints from Bed Bug Helloise: a quick, cheap side table!
• Bed Bug Helloise with “exciting” XL Ziploc bag news
• Furnishing a bed bug-free home: suggestions?

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Our home was covered in XL ziplocs full of clothes and linens; you couldn’t even twirl a masked assassin bug in here. So we got some space bags: they seem airtight enough, if you vacuum them carefully (though sometimes they re-inflate). However, they should best be kept standing up vertically, according to the instructions, and that’s rather inconvenient.

So we were very pleased to see the new Space Bag Totes.

They’re a bit pricey at $19.95 (unless, that is, you need the 7 other space bags that come with them, which would be a bargain; we don’t want them.) It looks at first glance like something that would not be good for bed bugs (a cloth tote with some plastic sides and zippers: not secure at all). In fact, the space bag is inside a 5-sided box, with an entire sealable space bag inside, that once vacuumed becomes a nice, stackable cube! Perfect. To give you an idea of the size, they say it holds an entire King size bedding set (with 2 pillows) plus 5-7 sweaters or jackets. Can we get a bulk-order deal, please, Space Bags?

We are wondering about the hanging space bags (dress or suit size): again, they seem “safe” from a bed bug perspective (and you know, I am sure, that a dry-cleaner’s

bag on a hanger is not safe).

But here’s our question for anyone who’s used them: when you open the hanging bags, is whatever’s inside wrinkly, or ready-to-wear? I really need a solution to store freshly dry cleaned or washed items that need to hang. Right now, Helloise is looking a bit shabby!

I realize Space Bags are more useful for long-term storage, but with bed bugs, it is so hard to find a solution for storing must-be-hanged garments. Others have suggested setting up a metal garment rack (clothes bar) as a safe zone, treating the legs you would an isolated bed’s legs (see the FAQs). I’d personally feel much better with the clothing enclosed. If others have ideas for solutions which enclose hanging garments but make them easier to access, I’m all ears. I’d rather not call Bed Bug ‘Elmer to vacuum the bag closed each time I take out a nice pinafore.

One other comment on the Space Bag site: it says the hanging bags fit inside regular garment bag (luggage). So they make a possible travel solution: pop it inside your garment bag and go.

Editor’s note: We don’t have any connection with the Space Bags company. We do, however, enjoy seeing the animated graphics of various insects bouncing off the covers of Space Bags in their commercials. We hope they’ll include a picture of a bed bug being thusly repelled in future, perhaps even splattering on impact. While there is way too much violence in the media, we are yet to see bed bugs getting it on movies or tv, and we feel this is an oversight.

To BuggedinBrooklyn: your post is coming tomorrow! Readership has been way down for the holidays, and I didn’t want to post it during a slow time and have it be overlooked.

Update 5/29/2007: I later decided hanging space bags were a pain. On one trip, I packed in a hanging space bag inside a garment bag (the kind like a plain sleeve, not really luggage). This was all to avoid going to a conference looking like a freak with my XL ziplocs, you understand. The space bag was pretty airtight even after the vacuum seal was broken (I kept the zipper zipped, so it was sealed, just not vacuum-condensed.) But the hanger broke, and there I was with a hanger-less space bag, thrown over a chair.

• Queries from Bed Bug Helloise: hanging clothes storage?
• FAQ: How can I avoid bedbugs while traveling?
• Bed Bug Helloise with “exciting” XL Ziploc bag news
• New mattress encasement comparison test data

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Contributor Parakeets wrote in response to our last furnishing post,

I am buying disposable furniture, in preparation for when I hopefully will move (once I figure out how to move without taking bedbugs with me, or how I might be able to afford a single family house.)

For example, I bought stackable plastic utility shelves at BJ’s (similar ones available at Home Depot) that you might normally use in a workshop, basement or garage. They come in black and white. I use them instead of bookcases. They are inexpensive, sturdy, and don’t look too bad when you put things on them. Sort of “student decorating” in style, but I feel very comfortable knowing they are just for the time being. I can take them apart, look inside of them; they have no screws or wooden parts, just all smooth plastic. Best of all, I know I can toss them when I move. Utilitarian is the word.

And she added,

I forgot to say that regarding furniture, I also threw out my bed and matching nightstand–furniture that was in our family for 60 years–and replaced them with a simple metal bed. My previous wooden bed had a mahogany veneer over hardwood, and a man I know who was very knowledgeable about bedbugs visited my apartment and told me the bedbugs could be living between the veneer and the wood on my type of bed, they are that thin.

So my new furniture so far:

• inexpensive plastic utility shelves as bookcases
• a metal bed
• bridge chairs, replacing a stuffed chair and love seat that I had to toss.

It is beginning to look like “police headquarters” around here, if you ask me.

Oh dear, I am completely sympathetic on the police station decor. (Remember when Brooklyn’s finest had bed bugs? Now we know why their furnishings are so sparse.)

Parakeets suggests white plastic (book)shelves for ease of spotting and cleaning up the little b@$^%*&s.

For those ready for something more permanent, I am fixed on the whole glass and metal genre. Bugalina has tried the cb2 trig desk I am considering, and is enjoying it.

Here’s cb2’s trig bookshelf, to match the desk I suggested the other day. The trig series is described like so:

White frosted and tempered 8mm glass and titanium-finished square steel work the office with a clean efficiency. Team up with our white trig desk for another cool factor.

1″ square tube is machined then powder-coated in a soft, warm silver finish

Five tempered-glass shelves are back-painted white

Clean with glass cleaner; soft cloth

Understand, we are not married to cb2. (In fact, we’re married to Bed Bug ‘Elmer.) To be fair, here’s a similar get-up from equally trendy westelm. The 3-piece L-shaped desk is $439 and the keyboard shelf is extra. The two-piece ensemble from cb2 (trig desk and trig console) comes in at $318, though it may be smaller.

I also sought less expensive options, being quite the bargain-hunter. Office Depot and Staples had some kind of glass computer desks. But I did not find anything as nice or any less expensive than the simple trig desk. remember, you want something that’s not fussy. Bed Bug Helloise is delighted by the thought of “clean efficiency” and metal tubes that appear to be fully sealed. What we do not want is cracks or other hiding places. And remember, for safety’s sake, tempered glass is a must.

Bed Bug Helloise has received some readers’ queries. She is humbled by the following questions — because she does not have a good and ready answer. But she knows the creativity of Bedbuggers is astounding, and she hopes you will share your advice.

First, what to do about wear and tear on clothing and bedding:

I’ve been actively fighting an infestation for many months now and repeatedly washing and drying my clothes (hot water, colorfast bleach, dryer for 2 hours on as hot as possible) has beaten my clothes to a pulp. They are pale and ravelling, literally. Clothes that couldn’t be washed were mostly tossed. I am starting to look poor, but I don’t know what kind of new clothes to buy that will withstand this bedbug treatment. Also, I can now see through my sheets, they are wearing so thin.

We skip the colorsafe bleach (since it’s our understanding that the heat of the dryer is the real bed bug killer). I wonder if an hour in the dryer (not a stuffed dryer, mind you) might be sufficient? It is what we do. However, this depends on the type of dryer–industrial ones may get hotter and need less time than a home dryer (and some building or laundromat dryers are the weaker kind too). At the end of the day, washing and drying for an hour on hot does enough damage. But perhaps not as much or as fast.

As soon as I take a sweater or something off, I seal it back up in a ziplock bag. This is preventing me from being bitten during the day (hooray!) but, I’m embarrassed to admit, my clothes are starting to smell from not being aired out. These particular items don’t need to be washed, they just need to be aired, but I don’t know how to do that when I have bedbugs. Today I had to spray myself with Febreeze before I left

Yes, I stopped sealing my shoes in a ziploc after a day or two, for the same reasons. Goodness me! You’d think they were Bed Bug ‘Elmer’s by the smell of them!

My solution is a messy one: air it out, then bag it and freeze it for a week. (I cannot guarantee this works, of course.) Another idea would be perhaps leaving items like sweaters at work, if that’s where you usually need them (and assuming your workplace is not infested!) A few jackets and sweaters left at work, in neutral tones, might save some trouble.

Perhaps someone has a better solution. A good designer might be able to create a kind of free-standing clothing rack / closet from really small mesh (over metal bars). We could hang our stuff in there and it would be safe until it was re-used.

Remember, Bed Bug Helloise is neither a licensed therapist nor an experienced home decorator. She is open to your suggestions and questions.

Finally, thanks to the Pamunkey Regional Library in Hanover, VA, for declaring Bedbugger “Blog of the Week.” I told Bed Bug ‘Elmer, and he wondered how they’d gotten Pa Monkey to learn to read. (’Elmer’s hearing, and frankly, his thinking, isn’t that great.) We could not be more pleased, since we’re very fond of libraries and books in general.  And we much prefer being thought of as “Blog of the Week” to being considered “those crazy paranoid people in New York City.”

• Furnishing a bed bug-free home: suggestions?
• Hints from (Bed Bug) Helloise: your bedbug-opinions on hanging Space Bags, Space Bag Totes
• Queries from Bed Bug Helloise: hanging clothes storage?
• Bed bug Helloise: a nice, reasonably-priced white metal bed frame with no wooden slats

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Those of you who battled light infestations might not need to shop in this way, but for those who live in multi-unit dwellings, where the possibility of reinfestation is there, or if you just want the peace of mind of knowing that your all-metal bed frame or glass and metal table are not ideal bed bug homes, it’s worth giving this some thought.

Personally, my home design tastes run toward the Ikea pine end of the spectrum; I always liked me some nice light-colored wood, and had a distaste for metal futon frames, glass tables, and the like.

But once I met Mr. Cimex Lectularius, my wish list moved away from wooden television stands and computer armoires (I’d been coveting that one for several years), to metal and glass, alas.  Here’s a nice find from cb2.com, the Trig Desk (Crate and Barrel’s newer division):

(Disclaimer: bed bugs can live in the joins and screwheads of metal furniture just as well as in wood; however, the wood itself provides lots more opportunities for them.)

I am going to paste the suggestions here which came up, since they may have been lost under the Helloise banner.

If you have a product or type of product (besides insecticides, plastic bags, and so on) that has helped you fight bed bugs (or makes you sleep better once they’re gone), please add a comment below, with links if possible. We’re talking furniture, storage solutions: products or clever solutions. We’re not trying to sell anything, so much as to give people new ideas.
Here were the suggestions for wire shelves, metal daybeds (for beds/ sofas):

Deblynn suggests:

http://www.nexelshelf.com/1/n1.pdf
This is a company that sells wire shelving and industrial products. I purchased some wire shelving from them. I think they sell it retail and wholesale. This particular shelving was not cheap but it is really good. It is an investment for life. I got the adjustable shelving -polybrite finish- I have four units, some with three shelves some with four shelves. The first shelf is well above the ground, as they are adjustable you can put them at any height you like. The poles are all metal. I have the bottoms of the poles sitting in little rubber furniture protector/cups that I purchased at Home Depot. I have oil inside the cups which themselves are tall and thin..they are like the ends one would find on a cane to protect the bottom of the cane. They don’t have a wide mouth so they hold the oil well and don’t spill over. I have them away from the wall, free standing. I have put all of our socks, underwear, jeans, any foldable clothing, inside plasic bins that sit upon the wire shelving. The reason I like these shelves is because they are sturdy, they will not knock over, which makes them good for people with children. I am certain there are other less expensive wire shelves, but wanted to pass the idea along because this makes for good bed bug furniture. Everything is out in the open, easy to see and accessible. Please contact me for any help. deb

Nobugsonme, always looking for a bargain, notes that

Costco has a nice wire shelving unit in their stores (not online) — large, 6 shelves, assembled with feet (rather than casters, also included). It was under $75. Could be made into two units as well, very solid.

Helloise’s suggestion:

Helloise tells me she has seen a lot of black metal daybeds in various stores–they’re not as comfortable as a sofa or bed, alas, but for people without much furniture, perhaps a twin size bed / seating is something useful.

Deb says:

Here is a great catalog that contains very good “bed bug” tools. I phoned them and they sell to the public. For example, Here are some great items in the war against bed bugs Vac Blo. “super suction” 7 lb. vacuum with upholstery and crevice tools. This is like the ones that exterminators use to vacuum around door and window moldings and staircases. Then they sell long Shrink Wrap which can be used to hermetically seal all kinds of things like paintings, small peices of furniture, toys, if done properly the bed bugs will be sealed in and they will die .also they sell large plastic containers good for storing items. The website is www.globalindustrial.com toll free number is 1800 645-1232 deb

Now, I know you have some great suggestions. Click “comments” above the message to add them below. And remember, you can use a pseudonym and fake email if you’re worried, but take Jess’s advice and please be creative with the nickname you choose! And keep using it, so we remember you. Thanks!

• Bed bug Helloise: a nice, reasonably-priced white metal bed frame with no wooden slats
• Hints from Bed Bug Helloise: more bed bug fighting design solutions, and some serious questions about clothing
• Bed Bug Helloise goes high-tech!
• Hints from (Bed Bug) Helloise: your bedbug-opinions on hanging Space Bags, Space Bag Totes

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We’re going to have a new writer posting to the blog, with her helpful hints for bed bug etiquette, bed bug dating advice, decorating a bedbug-free home, or furnishing your foxhole during the bed bug wars. Her name is (Bed Bug) Helloise. Helloise is neither a professional decorator nor a relationship expert, and she hasn’t had a date since DDT was banned in the US, but she knows people who have.

Comment with your questions below, or email them to Helloise c/o nobugsonme at yahoo dot com.

• updated FAQ
• FAQ: I am not in the US. Can you tell me where to buy XL ziplocs, or what mattress covers are called in my country?
• Did you get bed bugs from a reconditioned or refurbished mattress?
• Queries from Bed Bug Helloise: hanging clothes storage?

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If others are fluent enough to do so, and want to join in with this project and translate one or more FAQs into Spanish (or another language!) we really could have a wonderful resource. As you probably know, certain FAQs are often among the most read pages every day.

I expect we may leave comments open on the Spanish FAQ at least to start, and questions may come up. If we get many questions, this may not be something we’re able to support, but in time, as more Bedbuggers appear who can read and write Spanish, we may be able to help a much wider range of people. Even if the Spanish FAQs are read-only, they will surely help many people.

If any PCOs are reading this, we’d really like to post one set of instructions for tenants that your company uses, and provide a translation (if you don’t have one) in Spanish. We would be very clear about the need for tenants to ask their PCOs what protocol to follow before treatment, and we’d emphasize that each company has their own methods. That said, last week we heard from a landlord with many Spanish tenants whose PCO did not have Spanish instructions for preparing for treatment, and we could not help, since we did not have a sample in English to be translated. Any PCO willing to share such instructions could be credited if they wish (with a link even) or we could keep it anonymous, if the information is provided without a letterhead, since we know everyone is not necessarily looking for publicity. (If any PCOs are willing to have us post and English protocol and a readymade translation, even better.)

Thanks!

• Update: bed bug resources in Spanish: PCO assistance needed!
• Need for Spanish resources on bed bugs
• Tomorrow’s bed bug seminar in New York (Tuesday 2/5/2008)
• FAQ: How do I prepare for pest control treatment? Should I put everything in bags?

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