FAQs: how to get rid of bed bugs

tyrone knight | Nov 19, 2007 | Reply

Lots of bites on my arms legs and back. Just appeared a couple of days ago. Itches like crazy. No signs of any bugs {yet}. How can I be sure they are or not bedbug bites ? How can I find out if I do or don’t have bedbugs? If not bedbugs what else could be the cause and what to do to solve this problem fast.
nobugsonme | Nov 19, 2007 | Reply

Read the Bed bugs 101 FAQs (at top, above) first. They should help.
ladyindistress | Feb 13, 2008 | Reply

Help! I really have no idea what I have. I see nothing biting me but then I get tiny red pinpricks of blood appearing in my skin after I feel the sensation of a sharp tiny needle being injected into my skin. The problem is that I have had an exterminator round to my apartment but he has found nothing. This has persisted now for three months. It has infected my clothes and I have found that the only way of controlling it is to dryclean my bedding (my mattress is now in an allergy cover) and drying my clothes even when they are dry. Can anyone advise me please? I have seen NO bugs at all.
barelyliving | Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

I just found the ultimate bed isolation solution. If you google no see um tents you can find this travel tent thing that sits on top of your bed to protect you from bed bugs. There’s also a tent cot with the no see um netting around. Would the no see um netting be sturdy enough to keep them out?

Seems extreme, but might not be as extreme as some of the other solutions some of us have thought about like walking away from everything you own. You could do this and replace all furniture w/lawn furniture so it’s easily inspected and washed. Maybe this is our future with the lack of options available to some of us.
nobugsonme | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

barelyliving,

We’ve posted about the travel tent before:
http://bedbugger.com/2007/07/30/travel-tent-to-sleep-with-bed-bugs-and-not-be-bitten/

This model seems like it would theoretically work because it is entirely enclosed.

On the other hand, I am not sure what the cot you’re describing looks like, but “no seeum neeting,” or mosquito nets, don’t work in and of themselves because they are not entirely enclosed. Bed bugs can walk under them. (Mosquitoes can’t fly under them, so they work for the purpose they’re designed for.)

Even though I say the travel tent will work in theory, it may not work for long in practice. Here’s why:

* You have to be entirely sure you do not carry a bed bug with you into the tent (yes, this is true of isolated beds as well).

* You have to be sure you do not lead any part of your body against any side, since bed bugs could then possibly bite you through the mesh.

* Ultimately, even the “ultimate isolated bed” does not keep bed bugs from biting in daytime. They will bite you in chairs. If they have to, they will even crawl up your leg as you stand on the floor. They will do whatever they need to to survive.

Therefore, I would say that this may be an option for the most fastidious Bedbugger, but bed isolation itself might be also, and is cheaper.

Ultimately, you must get bed bugs out of your home, or (if this is truly impossible) somehow a full-on bed bug infestation long-term is not an option.
Meblazin1 | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

i just recently started getting bedbugs again. It was a bit of a shock since i had gotten a new bed WITH a cover for bedbugs. i don’t know how they came back but they did and i can’t stand it. It’s only in one room, mine specifically, and no other parts of the house are infected. I killed about 4 of them and i thought i stopped them early, but there still there. what can i do besides hiring an exterminator? i’m a little strapped for cash right now….
burnthebugs | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

our family is going through an infestation of bedbugs and are being emotionally tortured by them. we fought them for weeks and they always seem to return. for example, we wash our clothes and hang them on a backyard clothes line. However, about a week earlier we had hung a matteress cover that was infested on the line, in order to get it out of the house ASAP.
the minivampires acually crawled into the clothespins and stayed hidden there until we used them to hang out our freshly washed clothes. we did not realize this was happening until our seemingly sterile home was re-infected.

we have patiently toiled out the bug attack from the beginning and are now at our absolute wits end. we are a low income family and are close to being in debt from all the remedies. any success stories would be much appreciated.

ps. we believe we picked up the minisatans from the America’s Best Inn in Lexington, Kentucky beware!
burnthebugs | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

please please please someone tell me that it is possible to be rid of these sanity suckers! :_(

i have burned everything, my furniture, clothes, and bedding, matresses and anything else that is not an absolute need. i used to have a very happily decorated room, but now all i see is grey walls and empty ugly space.
i wish i could take a match to everything, even the house. god, i need a miracle.
nobugsonme | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

Meblazin1,
I am sorry your bed bugs are back. While it is possible to get bed bugs from a brand new mattress, if you had them before, they could have simply come in however you originally got them. They may have even been there all this time. They do not just live in beds, and getting an experienced professional to treat your home is the best way to get rid of them. I also would not be sure they were not in other rooms. It’s best to have the whole place treated. Do you have attached neighbors above, below, or on any side? If they have bed bugs, this is a common reason why it’s hard to beat them. Everyone needs good, coordinated treatment.

burnthebugs,

I really hope you did not set your possessions on fire. That seems like a bad idea — both because it can be dangerous (and possibly illegal) but also because you will have likely lost a lot of things, and some or all may have been salvageable.

You can get rid of bed bugs but there are no short cuts. You need professional help if possible. It is hard to get rid of bed bugs but it is not impossible. It is usually necessary to get good, experienced help.

Our FAQS may help as you are deciding what to do:
http://bedbugger.com/faqs

Both of you should come to our forums and you will find lots of suggestions there:
http://bedbugger.com/forum
burnthebugs | Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

thanks nobugsonme.
after reading your message I decided to bite the bullet and bring in the local pest control. he is a very professional man and he helped us alot. he told us that the best thing you can do is to do a through cleaning weekly and to not provide any hiding places.

Also, one of the biggest mistakes for a bedbugger to make is to not clean belongings that may or may not harbor the pests. if there is even the slightest chance that the object was in the infected area, do whatever you have to to sterilize it. we ended up taking all the clothes out of our house and taking them to the laundromat to be washed and dried on high heat at the same time.

we are for the time being, a bedbug free household.

hopefully.

knock on wood.
nobugsonme | Aug 15, 2008 | Reply

burnthebugs,

Your PCO should be following up in two weeks. One treatment is generally not enough, though it sounds like you’re in good hands.
Anxious and itching | Aug 24, 2008 | Reply

Your forum is brilliant Nobugsonme. Thank you for this great example of how the Internet is making it possible for people to work together to fight a common problem in a way that would never have been possible before.

I’ve just had a heavy bedbug incident in a hotel. Mercifully I discovered it before I came home. Horrendously I stayed with family after the hotel, though by that time I had sprayed everything (wheelie case, clothes and all items carried) with Rentokil spray which said it killed bedbugs. I told the family, though not before I had slept one night (arrived late and tired and didn’t know what to do. Phoned family doctor next day who talked some sense to me). I kept all my clothes away from theirs and in my wheelie, slept on their sofa-to-bed device. Now I am home and have tried to process everything as far as possible according to advice given before bringing it in. I’m devouring your forum like a bug at 3 am. Meanwhile my family are sitting around anxiously hoping they haven’t been hit, and I’m hoping my homecoming precautions have kept them out of mine.

I have one question after reading your FAQ, for starters. I’m sure I will be posting more soon.

My first reaction to the infestation posting sites was to do it, but then I had second thoughts. Although they seem like a “Do”, how do I know that they aren’t logging posting IP addresses and selling them to “The Mafia” (i.e. any branch of organised crime)? After all the mob “own” a lot of hotels and may find liquidating whistleblowers cheaper than liquidating bedbugs. Am I being paranoid?

Also please take care to thoroughly protect your forum site! I know from bitter experience elsewhere at a site which engages criminal activity that “they” don’t fight shy of turning over a forum website and ransacking IPs, e-mail addresses etc.

Anyway that’s just a minor aspect I mention now. Perhaps I’ll turn it into a more general “Bugs and crime” theme post later, but first I have to beat the bugs! If you can reassure me with an answer I’ll report the infestation. And don’t think I don’t notice or appreciate how much time and effort you are putting into this Nobugsonme and (hopefully) co.

By the way I won’t be doing this out of personal rancune against the hotel. It’s not their fault. They did what they could. They gave me another room straight away (oops, I know, not the right move according to the FAQ, not in the hotel’s own interests either. I did spray everything before transfer.) I also heard a manager talking to someone (PCO?) specifically about the infected room number. Of course a room-by-room approach won’t work, but how could a small hotel manage financially if they had to shut down the whole hotel for a few weeks? OK, the mob can afford it but an honest small business?

As you can probably tell, the itch-frenzied typing (my hands have masses of bites) at 3 am (I can’t sleep from the itching) is affecting my judgement…
nobugsonme | Aug 24, 2008 | Reply

Hi Anxious,

Thanks for your comments and your kind words about the site.

You asked,

“My first reaction to the infestation posting sites was to do it, but then I had second thoughts. Although they seem like a “Do”, how do I know that they aren’t logging posting IP addresses and selling them to “The Mafia” (i.e. any branch of organised crime)? After all the mob “own” a lot of hotels and may find liquidating whistleblowers cheaper than liquidating bedbugs. Am I being paranoid?”

I guess I am not sure how to respond to that.

The Bed Bug Registry’s About page says,

“We do not release anyone’s information without their permission unless legally obligated (for example, if someone subpoenas us).”

Any website in the US is going to be bound by US law to turn over information if subpoenaed. (I assume those in other countries will be bound by similar laws too.)

Beyond that, most websites have terms and conditions and privacy policies (as this one does — see sidebar for links), and it’s worth reading these to see how your information is used.

I really hope it turns out you didn’t bring them to your relatives or your own home. Good luck and I hope you are sleeping soundly again soon!
Anxious and itching | Aug 29, 2008 | Reply

Thanks for your answers Nobugs. I’ve now entered the waiting and hoping phase, and I will continue posting on the forums. Just one postscript on registering hotels. “The Bedbug Registry” is U.S. only, my incident was in a hotel in London, UK. I tried to register it on “BedBugCity” (from an Internet café - I’m so brave) but whatever I filled in I got the error “not all required fields filled”. I double-checked and as far as I could see really had filled everything, tried various data layouts in case it didn’t like street numbers or postcodes, etc., but I couldn’t get it to work. May have been a problem in the café’s installation of course.
nobugsonme | Aug 30, 2008 | Reply

Anxious,

I think there may be some bugs with Bed Bug City at this time. I am considering removing it from the links for this reason.

The Bed Bug Registry covers only the US and Canada. It was started by an individual. You might write and encourage him to include Europe as well.

You do have an option, though: http://tripadvisor.com has listings of hotels worldwide. It is possible to write a review there and thus warn others.
Monica | Sep 11, 2008 | Reply

I had an exermination but still had afeeling i was getting bitten and seeing bed bug poop on walls

then I used DE.

and havent had a problem since!!!!
it worked for me!
i put it on the walls in a criss cross fashion including around all light fixtures and by doors ect. it took a while for tem to die and all the eggs to die but they did!!!!

I know its stressful but its just a momentary thing and they will be gone soon dont fret!
Jen | Sep 13, 2008 | Reply

I battled a bed bug infestation about 3 months ago in June. In August I received what I thought might have been more bites, and cleaned everything again.

This evening, I sat at my desk and worked for a while and felt a sharp prick on my thigh, and when I looked down there was a large circular welt. I recently also received two bites on my foot, but I thought that might be from fleas since I noticed them shortly after I took a walk.

Could bed bugs “disappear” and come back in a month or two?
Angrybugged | Sep 15, 2008 | Reply

So, I just moved into a boarding house to save money, and then discovered the entire house is infested with bed bugs. They are even on a bed bug registry.

Fortunately, I can move out at any time, but will this help? I don’t have any furniture, and not too many possesions….what are the odds of me moving and taking the terrors with me? And can I take a bed bug with me just by leaving the house? Like, will they hang onto my clothes and attack my friends and co-workers?

This is awful and I am terified they will haunt me for the rest of my life!!! Help!
nobugsonme | Sep 16, 2008 | Reply

Angrybugged,

You can carry them about and spread them. Read the Travel FAQS for advice on how not to spread bed bugs.

Also, moving without taking them is especially hard. We don’t have a FAQ on how to do it–that’s how hard it is. Come to the forums for advice on this:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Angrybugged | Sep 16, 2008 | Reply

Thanks for your help…

I can’t believe this is happening..I live in Seattle, and I’ve never even heard of a case happening here!

I am going to go read some more horror stories and cry…
ThinkWeKOedBBs | Sep 22, 2008 | Reply

Use DE. (Diatomaceous earth) Get a kit that has a duster. The one we used was $150 for a full house treatment. Also you must get the BB proof bed cover and NEVER remove it. We had an exterminator come 6 times and still had them. The DE kit comes with instructions on how to isolate your bed. We are on week 4 of the treatment and haven’t seen any (fingers crossed) for almost 2 full weeks. These thing are so miserable! I still flip on the light to check anytime I wake up at all! Don’t give up.
ThinkWeKOedBBs | Sep 22, 2008 | Reply

Yes! They could be in ALL you belongings! Suitcases books etc. Put all your clothes in garbage bags and seal it. Wash them all in the hottest water possible. (I poured boiling water into our washer since our water didn’t seem truly hot). Dry it all on the hottest heat for at least an hour. Don’t use that bag again! Dry clean what you can afford to. I put delicates and sweaters into the freezer for 48 hours. Books and things are harder. I bought those vacum seal bags to isolate batches of things. Anything you can get rid of — trash.
Christie | Sep 24, 2008 | Reply

What is DE?
nobugsonme | Sep 24, 2008 | Reply

Christie, read this.
CentipedeSring | Sep 27, 2008 | Reply

What about a device like the one used for mosquitoes? You know, those zappers with an ultraviolet light? Of course, it would need to be reworked for bedbugs. Maybe a strip (placed on the floor)that could circle around a bed, and draw the demons to their death by electrocution.

Also, what about those sonic pest repellers? They do work for many bugs and rodents. The ones I have, however, seem to do nothing for bedbugs. Could they modified, or is there one already being produced?
nobugsonme | Sep 27, 2008 | Reply

Centipede,

We’ve heard the mosquito repellers and sonic devices don’t work against bed bugs.
Mark | Sep 30, 2008 | Reply

I had an infestation at my previous apartment. The apartment complex had an exterminator come in weekly for a few months. I dry-cleaned all my clothes at a total cost of almost $1000 and then stored my clothes in my car. I disposed of all my furniture and slept on the floor. I kept of of my clothes that I used daily sealed.

I then moved to a new place and put as much stuff in storage as I could. This morning I found two live bedbugs around my pillow. Talk about a sickening feeling. I feel like I did everything possible and I STILL have these awful creatures. I simply don’t know what to do…
Elizabeth Koster | Oct 1, 2008 | Reply

Try Pest Away in Manhattan.
CentipedeSring | Oct 6, 2008 | Reply

Bedbugger,
I hope my last post did not slow you up. The information I posted has put in a blog, so I will be able to update it as necissary.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=132456130&blogID=436247347

Again, thank you.
ken
heather | Oct 28, 2008 | Reply

So I am still not sure what to do about my books? They are 2-4 feet away from the bed. Can I just dust them with DE? I am very concerned about this because I don’t want to throw them all away! (Many of them are textbooks I need for school!)

Any suggestions? Thank You
sam | Oct 28, 2008 | Reply

i need help before i go crazy!!!i have big red bumps on my side and there realllllly ichy there all near each other and there starting to scab i havent ssen any kind of bugs but i have a rabbit in my room and a dog do i fogged it with a flea killer and gave my dog a collar but im still ichy i also have little red bumps all over me and im iching so muck i have no skin left. its bleeding and doesnt look to attractive i cant take this anymore so please
help if u can

ps. now im imaging bugs biting me while i lay there and i cant sleep i hate bugs and am flipping out please help
sam | Oct 28, 2008 | Reply

sorry about the spelling mistakes i was typing while iching
nobugsonme | Oct 29, 2008 | Reply

sam,
Please read the FAQs. Get a plugin flea trap. See if you have fleas. And then try to determine if you have bed bugs (as well/instead). There’s advice in the FAQs on this. If you need support, please come to the forums!
http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Garen | Oct 30, 2008 | Reply

The diatect stuff actually works if you follow the instructions exactly, also wash and dry all your bed covers first. 25$ + no one coming in my house - bedbugs = win.
buggedindc | Oct 30, 2008 | Reply

I have recently discovered that my bedroom has bedbugs. They have been there for about 6 weeks, but I didn’t believe they were bedbugs biting me because my wife never was bitten. We called Orkin and they came and sprayed our room 2 days ago and we have been washing all of the clothes that were in there. Since then we have been sleeping in the guest room and I have not (at least I don’t think) been bitten.
we have 2 small children and their room seems to be bug free, at least for now. I check their beds at least 2 x a day and have seen o evidence and they have not been bitten. I am really worried that the bugs will find their way in there and wouldn’t know what to do if they did. Their room is filled with stuffed toys and things like that and it would be a horrible tragedy to have to throw out things that are precious to them.
I am going to get a second treatment next week to be sure. In the meantime, how can I prevent the bugs (if there are anymore) from spreading?
nobugsonme | Oct 30, 2008 | Reply

buggedindc,

Within your home: don’t move stuff. Sleeping in different places is also a problem, since they may come to find you. I’d go back to your original beds in case they have not done so yet.

Outside your home: read the FAQs on not giving bed bugs to others (which also applies to not getting them in your car, taking them to work, etc.) They’re in the travel section:

http://bedbugger.com/faqs/travel

If you need more help, come to the forums:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/
matel | Nov 5, 2008 | Reply

we found out we had bed bugs 2mos. ago we moved in in june and others around us moved out and no sooner did the bugs start coming. we have got treated like 6 times and tonite as i was siting @ my computer i got bit thought it was a spider my husband starts looking around and there is the nasty thing how horrible i seriously feel like throwing everything am very discussed and sad mad i have two small children and totally feel like a bad parent because of this and just want to be bug free again like is it a curse or wat?
nobugsonme | Nov 5, 2008 | Reply

matel,

It sounds like you are in a multi-unit building. If you have been treated six times, it is likely they are simply coming from other units. Your building management needs to get all infested units treated.

They should be carefully inspecting the whole building, and preferably treating all adjoining units (above, below, all sides), if not the whole building.
Bill S. | Nov 28, 2008 | Reply

I recently found pretty bad infestations of bedbugs around the stitchings of my matresses. I aggresively used a portable steam gun (Which kills the little monsters almost instantly, hmm maybe my blood boils quickly) and as of two weeks later they have not taken residence in the stitching area anymore. I still have them in other areas of the house, i.e. couch but I can’t clean it as easily with my steam gun. How can I de-bug my couch?
nobugsonme | Nov 30, 2008 | Reply

Bill S.,
Getting bed bugs out of a sofa is no small feat. We recommend using a professional pest control operator with experience treating bed bugs, who will be able to help you treat it safely and aggressively, and who could also assess whether it was a hopeless case.

I hope your home is getting good treatment, and also, if you are in a multi-unit building, all adjacent or attached units are getting professional inspection and concurrent treatment if needed. Without this, the battle against bed bugs can go on forever.

Please come to the forums if you have further questions or want to discuss this:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/
killmenow | Nov 30, 2008 | Reply

im in montreal canada and we had the bugs for a year however for the most part we only had them in one room so we thought the lady in that room had bad allergies..only in the last few months they have they spread and we now realize what we have. since then i have moved in to the unit above and we definatelly brought them..we sleep on air matresses and foam on metal frames(cant climb on metal and they seem to not live in the foam) our landload is not the best(took us a month to get a front door knob) and according to the cbc link in the faq, the tennant is responsible to get rd of them here…we can barely pay the blls and have no money to spare (honestly…under a dollar a day for the most part) how can i get rid of these things…winters comming back and i cant survive another winter on the street
how expensive is the exterminator?
nobugsonme | Dec 1, 2008 | Reply

killmenow,

Sorry to hear about this.

Readers may have advice for you. Please repost your question in the forums. Click here:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/
whattheheckisthatthing?! | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply

First of all, thank you for this site - it’s VERY helpful.

But my main point…
HOW did I get a bedbug crawling across my livingroom carpet?

The bug itself is really flat - I don’t think it’s eaten in a while. I thought it was a dog tick at first and searched through every species of tick I’m aware of, and checked ‘bedbug’ just out of exasperation. Then there’s my little buddy’s twin brother… or sister. I don’t know. I’m going to take it to an exterminator - it’s in a glass baby-food jar - to properly identify it.

My backpack was near me on the living-room floor. I go to a large state university and my backpack comes with me, set on the floor, set on the chairs in the library. I live off-campus, but am concerned it may have come from the school. Tell me, are these little creepies known to be hitchhikers?

I stayed at a cousin’s house for the holiday, though they’ve never had bedbugs, so I don’t think it could have come from there.

I went to Europe 4 months ago, but stayed at my parents’ house for a month before coming back to my apartment. My parents’ house is unaffected. Could it have lived in my suitcase that long?

Could it have walked in under my apartment door from the hall? (There’s 25 or 26 other units in this building, mostly students.) There’s been a lot of maintenance work on this building - could it have come in on the clothes of those who’ve been in my apartment to work on things if they have them in their homes?

I noticed a few irritations on my skin - I chalked it up to my scratching my dry itchy winter skin, but now I’m not so sure.

I’ll pay for extermination in my apartment - I’ve been here for over a year with no problems. Can my landlord make me pay for bug extermination for the whole building? (I live in New York State.)

I’m totally freaking out right now and really don’t want to go to sleep, even though I’ve only seen one bug. I haven’t checked my bed, but will compare anything I (hopefully don’t) find with the photos you’ve provided.

PLEASE give me some advice here. I’m going to go rip the sheets off my bed. Should I throw them out or just wash them in hot hot hot water? What about my clothes?
Eww….
Peter Wintz | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply

why isn’t there a search engine on this site?
nobugsonme | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply

Peter, there is a search box at the bottom of the right sidebar. Perhaps I should move it to the top?
nobugsonme | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply

whattheheckisthatthing,

I have some comments for you, but I am more or less the only one who’s going to respond on this thread.

Whereas if you re-post it in our forums, you can get a response from me and potentially hundreds of others. That’s better for you. (And posting there makes your questions and others’ responses easier for others to find and use too.)

So that’s my suggestion– please copy and repost it here, and you will get more of a response:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/