The reader, who has suffered much from bed bugs and was discarding a cherished piece of wooden furniture only after a long fight with bed bugs and many treatments. It was wrapped in sealed plastic and labeled as being infested with bed bugs.

A [name of large dept. store chain xxx] delivery truck just stopped at my house.

A man rang my door bell and asked if he could take the piece for it looked like garbage. I told him that I wouldn’t take it if I were him. He asked why and I told him that there is a possibility that it’s infested, hence the sign. Thank goodness they drove away.

But I just cannot believe that if they took it — and yes, I have the thing wrapped to the hilt — they would be putting it in the [xxx company] truck.

That was a delivery truck for a major and well-respected national chain, which was presumably in the course of dropping off new items in the area. I hope this reader will write a letter to that company, explaining what happened, and why it was a bad thing.

Many people in the driver’s shoes would simply take the item. Obviously, the sign was no deterrent.

Had the reader not been home, even this driver might have taken the item. It was carefully wrapped, so the company’s other customers might actually have been protected. But someone willing to ignore a bed bug warning sign might also not get why they should not peek inside. And eventually, the item would have been unwrapped somewhere.

Having heard much more of this reader’s saga, I know why this person is discarding the item. If you can avoid it, however, get furniture treated. Depending on what bed bug treatment your home is getting, such items can be dry steamed, sprayed by a PCO, or left in a home where Vikane or thermal treatments are being done. Try not to discard bed bug infested furniture. If it cannot be destroyed (as this piece of wooden furniture would have taken some work to destroy), get it sprayed to the hilt.

And since many folks are going to toss things anyway, write a letter to lobby your local officials to create a bed bug task force (New York vs. Bed Bugs gives a sample letter for New Yorkers in particular, and to implement (among other things) ways of dealing with bed bug-infested refuse. Because, let’s face it, some stuff is going to get tossed.

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What mattress retailers, if any, do not offer 30-day “comfort trials” and do not cart away used mattresses?

Great question, Hopeless. (I hope you’ll soon have cause to change your moniker to something more hope-ful!)

This is something I’ve been wondering myself. Obviously, if you’re buying a new mattress, you want one that absolutely has not spent time in another home, and which has not shared truck space with used mattresses. And remember, it isn’t just about the reseller’s trucking service; many, like Sleepy’s here in NYC, at least sometimes use contractors with their own trucks. We can’t be sure a mattress hasn’t been returned (even in the absence of a “comfort trial,” but we do need to be sure about the absence of a “we cart used furniture in these trucks” policy).

Most of the Bedbuggers I’ve met did not get their bed bugs from used mattresses or furniture. However, as the epidemic spreads, there will be more and more people simply replacing mattresses as a first attempt at treating the problem, though we’re told is often not necessary (and, the way people do it, spreads the problem).

Remember, if you get rid of a mattress, absolutely do not allow a mattress company to cart it away. Get your pest control operator to advise you on how best to treat it, wrap it, and dispose of it to avoid potentially spreading bed bugs both within your home (as you move it towards the door) and in the vicinity (which might include a multi-unit dwelling’s hallways and doorway, or simply the neighborhood you live in).

Do not dispose of a mattress outside without carefully making it unusable: slicing some large holes works, but I’d seek a PCO’s advice– some will even do this for you. Some recommend painting it black, though you never know if this will keep people away. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that simply putting signs on items warning of bed bugs does not keep people away, especially people who are both thrifty and unaware of bed bugs and how bad they can be. (These two factors together can lead lots of folks to take the item in or resell it; if we had better public education about bed bugs, there’d be less of this.)

What do you know about responsible mattress sources: ones that don’t allow 30-day trials and that the especially do not cart away mattresses in the delivery truck (or use contractors who do)?

If you are such a reseller, please tell us and represent yourself honestly. Otherwise, we will eventually find out, and we will not patronise your stores! (Do you hear me, Amish furniture guy?)

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