http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:28:23 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bugs-in-literature#post-62599 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:58:32 +0000 Nobugsonme 62599@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Nice one, Aris! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bugs-in-literature#post-62589 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:53:49 +0000 Aris 62589@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>James Baldwin's classic "Giovanni's Room," published 1956. The scene is set in a house near Coney Island, Brooklyn:</p> <p><blockquote>I fell asleep - for quite a while, I think. But I woke up to find the light on and Joey examining the pillow with great, ferocious care.</p> <p>"What's the matter?"<br /> "I think a bedbug bit me."<br /> "You slob. You got bedbugs?"<br /> "I think one bit me."<br /> "You ever have a bedbug bite you before?"<br /> "No."<br /> "Well, go back to sleep. You're dreaming."</p> <p>He looked at me with his mouth open and his dark eyes very big. It was as though he had just discovered that I was an expert on bedbugs.</blockquote> </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/air-america-radio-personality-mark-maron-had-bed-bugs#post-62434 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:13:33 +0000 cilecto 62434@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>See? It's the liberals' fault.<br /> ;) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/air-america-radio-personality-mark-maron-had-bed-bugs#post-62425 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:53:39 +0000 Nobugsonme 62425@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Aha! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/air-america-radio-personality-mark-maron-had-bed-bugs#post-62422 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:29:57 +0000 bait 62422@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Timing is everything. Mark Green owns (or did own) Air America. He just lost his race for NYC Consumer Advocate. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/air-america-radio-personality-mark-maron-had-bed-bugs#post-62421 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:09:08 +0000 Nobugsonme 62421@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Marc Maron has not worked at Air America since July.</p> <p>But Air America was mentioned today by media gossip blog FishbowlNY who claim their tipsters said the Air America offices were evacuated for a bed bug inspection.</p> <p><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2009/11/17/air-america-offices-being-inspected-for-bed-bugs/">More here.</a> </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/legal-question#post-62369 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:06:10 +0000 Nobugsonme 62369@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Sorry -- I would definitely seek legal advice.</p> <p>Anyone who says they're giving you legal advice in an online forum probably is not qualified to do so -- because lawyers are very careful about these kinds of things. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/legal-question#post-62323 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:36:05 +0000 watkinsnewan 62323@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>You should really ask a Lawyer.. For the laws in your state are different than most here... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/legal-question#post-62302 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:04:03 +0000 bugbuster 62302@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Can a condo unit owner legally be compelled to pay for treating an infestation in a contiguous apartment?</p> <p>What if the owner, or owner's residents, did not deal with the problem responsibly at first? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61587 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:26:47 +0000 meremortal 61587@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Twitchy, I thought about masked hunter bugs as well, until I found out what THEIR bites looked like...ouch! </p> <p>Cilecto, thank you for the "roomba reality check"...I checked out the $$ for a new one and probably couldn't afford one anyay, even if they did come up with a bb-sucker upper version :( </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61576 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:13:51 +0000 watkinsnewan 61576@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My children are still begging me for a black bearded dragon and letting him run loose in the house..... With taking care of all the kids.. I really don't want to bring in another living breathing thing to take care of in... not to mention they will poo all over the place... I love animals to death and my heart goes all mushy when I see someone on the street giving a kitty or puppy away..I don't change the fact I am scared to death of animals... Besides I don't know if A Dragon will eat BB any ways.. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61571 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:29:29 +0000 twitchyscratchy 61571@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>really?? dvds?? :( </p> <p>how will i ever LIVE again without feeling cowed by the threat of these beasts!</p> <p>snarf. ha!</p> <p>what i find so ironic and terrible about my ordeal is that, as a poor, green, waste conscious individual, i never used to buy new things. i found all my furniture, bought it second hand, bought second hand clothing, rented things, slept on people's couches, in other words, EVERYTHING you're not supposed to do.</p> <p>well in my new life (still a greenie, but..) , i'm in a terrific relationship, in the first nice apartment either of us has ever lived in, with all new furniture (except the bed, which was verifiably non-bb prior to my exposure). i keep my home impeccably clean. i have OCD. it's a great tool for a lovely home. my friends joke that they would eat off my floor.</p> <p>one hour spent in an infested apartment has changed all this. my shiny new life that i could barely afford to invest in is now threatened and the cost and debt that i am incurring is huge. it feels like the invisible hand of classism is effortlessly pushing against my forehead while i'm trying to run full throttle against it. and it's laughing at me. </p> <p>while it is true that "anyone can get bed bugs" and it's not only "poor" people, NOT everyone can afford to deal with them. </p> <p>and i look at the heaps of ziplock bags in my apt and think of all the hours of hot washing and drying and want to weep for what i've done to the environment. sorry environment. i'll send you a card on recycled paper.</p> <p>anyway. it's late. i'd never heard of a roomba before. would legions of "masked hunter" bugs be an organic solution? somehow that thought doesn't comfort me either. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61543 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:19:54 +0000 watkinsnewan 61543@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>upagain - 3 minutes ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61542">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> I feel the same way about renting DVDs. I mean, who does not watch a movie in the bedroom with the empty box sitting right on the counter in a nice dark cozy room....</p></blockquote> <p>My husband and I just had this conversation about renting DVD's....... I say NO more cause you can get them from the case... He says I am just being Paranoid...Don't matter we are not renting any more... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61542 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:14:30 +0000 upagain 61542@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>soscared - 1 day ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61417">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> I got one of these as a birthday gift but have been saving it for when the bed bug ordeal is over. It did occur to me though - what if someone with a bedbug problem used it, decided they don't want it, then returned it, but then the person who gave it to me bought it. You know? This can happen with so many things. I am sure SOMEONE out there has gotten bed bugs that way. Disturbing. WIll I be packtiting new purchases in the future? Perhaps. :) Am i going insane? Perhaps. :)</p></blockquote> <p>I hear you. I feel the same way about renting DVDs. I mean, who does not watch a movie in the bedroom with the empty box sitting right on the counter in a nice dark cozy room.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61466 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:54:45 +0000 cilecto 61466@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>meremortal - 2 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61449">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> Has anyone used a Roomba for bb's? I am so SICK of vacuuming. Every day for the first 8 months, then 3 times a week, and now two. It's been a year and a half!!! I am kept poor by purchasing vacuum bags!!!<br /> I've thought about purchasing a Roomba for the main floor at least, but was nervous about it: a) randomly spreading them around while it is cleaning the floor and b) "attacking" or getting attacked by one of my kitties, resulting in stress and/or injury (to the cat). Anyone tried one of these? Thoughts?</p></blockquote> <p>I'd recommend against. Can't direct it. No bag to toss safely. Brushes to catch stuff. Can easily track BB around your house, IMHO. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61461 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:04:06 +0000 watkinsnewan 61461@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>cilecto - 9 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61413">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite></p> <p>OTOH, wouldn't it be great if there were a machine to roam your house and snarf up your BBs while you sleep?</p></blockquote> <p>That would be awesome...BUT it would only work on the floor.... What about a machine that was like A dog...it could an tell you where BB's were... wouldn't a machine be better than A dog.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61455 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:25:24 +0000 earthangel 61455@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Very tangentially, years ago I was surprised to learn that the fanciest department stores in New York never re-stock shoes that have been bought and returned, they send them to a low-profile discount shop in the East Village -- seemed extreme to me then, now I think they are right. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61449 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:25:07 +0000 meremortal 61449@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Has anyone used a Roomba for bb's? I am so SICK of vacuuming. Every day for the first 8 months, then 3 times a week, and now two. It's been a year and a half!!! I am kept poor by purchasing vacuum bags!!! </p> <p>I've thought about purchasing a Roomba for the main floor at least, but was nervous about it: a) randomly spreading them around while it is cleaning the floor and b) "attacking" or getting attacked by one of my kitties, resulting in stress and/or injury (to the cat). Anyone tried one of these? Thoughts? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/social-acceptance#post-61443 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:58 +0000 parakeets 61443@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I don't think it will happen because look what happens with another insect--mosquitos. Mosquitos spread diseases that kill. In my state there are deaths every year from Triple-E and West Nile. Yet many towns in my state won't spray to treat mosquitos, due to the reluctance to use pesticides or lack of funding. If towns and society as a whole won't even deal with mosquitos, they are certainly not going to deal with bedbugs. In Third World countries thousands have been dieing every year from malaria which is spread by mosquitos--yet the mosquito problem still hasn't been solved. Even if bedbugs are found to spread serious disease, they still won't be eradicated in my lifetime. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61417 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:57:41 +0000 soscared 61417@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I got one of these as a birthday gift but have been saving it for when the bed bug ordeal is over. It did occur to me though - what if someone with a bedbug problem used it, decided they don't want it, then returned it, but then the person who gave it to me bought it. You know? This can happen with so many things. I am sure SOMEONE out there has gotten bed bugs that way. Disturbing. WIll I be packtiting new purchases in the future? Perhaps. :) Am i going insane? Perhaps. :) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/refurbished-roomba#post-61413 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:14:41 +0000 cilecto 61413@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Saw this offer for a refurbished Roomba (vacuuming robot). As a bedbugger, I'd hesitate to bring in anything that's been in other people's rooms, especially sweeping their baseboards.</p> <p><a href="http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/02/woot-refurbished-roomba-530-for-130/" rel="nofollow">http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/02/woot-refurbished-roomba-530-for-130/</a></p> <p>OTOH, wouldn't it be great if there were a machine to roam your house and snarf up your BBs while you sleep? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/social-acceptance#post-61354 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:07:10 +0000 BugsInTO 61354@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>The way I see this question is that there are all kinds of behaviours taking place out in society that increase the risk factors for exposure to bedbugs. </p> <p>I don't have bedbugs right now (fingers-crossed) and I don't want them again. </p> <p>But the city is full of people who don't have a clue. I've mentioned here that when I go to the gym, I put my stuff in a plastic bag before I put it in the locker. I have never seen anyone else do it. I take my own plastic bag. But, the gym has towel service. If they understood the risks of bedbugs, then they might start handing people a clean towel AND a new plastic bag. I am sure the gym doesn't want bedbugs either. </p> <p>I know we should all take precautions before leaving the house and I did, once I knew we had them, but there were at least six weeks before we figured it. </p> <p>If I go to a bar or museum that insists on coats being checked, then is everyone going to look at me funny because I bag everything in plastic before I hand it over? and will their storage system accommodate it? If people knew about bedbugs, they would probably all be happy to see a facility putting in a containment policy as a precaution. Instead, I wish that people didn't just see me as an over-reacting freak. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/social-acceptance#post-61344 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:56:38 +0000 watkinsnewan 61344@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I know I am personally afraid of the things ...I would take a few steps back when I am finally free of these things and let the person know that I am scared to re infest my home BB... BB are hard and exhausting work...both emotionally an physically... I really dont understand the question are you saying that If you cant get rid of them that places you go should except you there but have protocol....and you shouldn't have to do the hole procedure of decontamination when leaving your home.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/social-acceptance#post-61291 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:15:54 +0000 Itchybutdealing 61291@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>As I have been fighting so long I know we will never be completely free. Even if we win this battle eventually. Bed bugs will rear up again down the line until a solution is found. In the meantime I wish there were more of an open social acceptance. Plastic bags in restaurants to put your coat. Open information in laundromats. Just general acceptance so you don't feel "dirty" for having bbs. Thoughts? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-60840 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:05:07 +0000 BBCOUKonTour 60840@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Odd that this thread popped up again because I have spent some time this weekend with a friend who works at a large US public health body. I cant post which one because it would affect the hard work she has been doing for us on the inside of the organisation.</p> <p>The bottom line at this stage is that without better control strategies and measures in place the BB issue is seen as a poison chalice. No-one will take it on for fear of their jobs because at present its such a hard issue to tackle and the more pervasive it becomes in society the harder it is getting.</p> <p>Yes education is the first step but when people are educated they need better control measures. Thankfully I think we can all agree that control strategies and detection have started to improve but it can be a complex issue. I have seen lots of people blame PCO's for a lack of control only to eventually realise that the neighbour is the source or the office / commute is the source.</p> <p>Sadly part of education now needs to be a better understanding of the complexities of the issue and what steps people need to be taking to assist PCO's in getting to the <strong>source</strong> of the problem in the first place and that sometimes lack of control has as much to do with how they are getting into the property as what is being done to control them.</p> <p>Yes I am biased in my view of the world but as I have evolved my work based on what I see in the field its no great shock to see that my treatment guide has grown from its original 3 pages in 2005 to the current 58 page version.</p> <p>David </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-60798 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:39:04 +0000 meremortal 60798@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Doug and David: Ditto! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-60796 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:02:34 +0000 watkinsnewan 60796@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Okay so as I am reading this thread Something pops into my head!! My kids have been begging me for years to get a dog I would never get one cause they are too expansive to properly take care and and I don't want to be the one to clean up after it!! Hence I am thinking Gard dog not just to protect the family BUT the inform me of BB!! think about all the possibility No more worries!! I would be willing FULLY to take care of an dog that can sniff out BB!!Where can I get me one!! It would be a load off my mind and CHEAPER than having a PCO out all the time!! you don't have to worry about going ANY where you go all you have to say is seeing eye dog they have to let the dog in then!!And to top it off My kids would be ecstatic!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-60793 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:41:35 +0000 stevebeast 60793@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Personally i would love to pay a little more in taxes to live bed bug free, though that doesnt seem possible because they are so hard to get rid of. Tax dollars subsidize many industries that do far less for society than erradicate bed bugs. The fact that so many people have used many PCO's to no avail demonstrates that bed bugs are a problem that the idividual and industry is unable to handle, that is the reason we have govenrment to handle problems that the people cant. I am not saying funneling money to a PCO is the answer, but a lot could be done maybe a grant to find the better way to treat them. I know i would feel better if the drug dogss at the airport were trained to smell bb, in fact even the smallest police department has a dog. To merely inform the public there is a scurge of blood sucking parasites in our cities and if your caught you are screwed is a failure of government. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-60693 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:14:46 +0000 soscared 60693@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Should we not be using Vapona/DDVP strips in an attached garage? We have our washer/dryer in there too, and (lately) I go in there several times a day.<br /> Could the chemical "leak" inside the house and poison my baby? The garage is not very well sealed, i am sure the fumes escape outside into the street through the cracks.<br /> Thanks. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-60687 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:27:00 +0000 bedbuggery 60687@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>BBcoukHome - 10 months ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/public-health-concern#post-38835">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> Hi hatesbedbugs,<br /> I don't consider myself to be a PCO although I am a licensed pest controller in the UK.<br /> I take on board your points about education within the industry unfortunately it is not something that is as simple as giving a few seminars. For example when I take on someone for training the process is something like this:<br /> <ul><li>Select suitable candidates - 1 - 2 months</li><li>Take proposed trainee out on a few cases</li><li>Offer job and start training</li><br /> [list]<center><li>day 1 all staff get about 350 pages to read on top of the website which takes a good 3 hours to read and digest including all the hidden specialist sections</li><li>2 weeks of trainee observing and learning the basis of an investigational approach</li><li>2 weeks learning how to conduct an inspection</li><li>next 2 weeks learning the appropriate spray patterns for different types of properties and scenarios</li><li>final 2 weeks the trainee leads and the trainer observes</li><br /> </ul><br /> [/list]</center> </p></blockquote> <p>Wow, you have a fantastic insight into the problem. Thank you for your hard work and I wish we had professionals of your sort in the US. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ah-yes%e2%80%a6the-company-clothing-drive#post-60232 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:46:38 +0000 Bugbitten Meg 60232@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I think that clothing drives could be redesigned to minimize risks -- but as they're done right now, they're clearly a vector for spreading bugs, and since all of the changes would make the drive much higher-maintenance, the management will almost certainly resist proposed changes.</p> <p>Let's kick it around, now, tho' -- at the very least, it allows you to send pointed recommendations to whoever's in charge of the drive. (as opposed to '<em>don't do this, it's a bad idea.</em>' Which they won't believe until it's too late.) What do we need, to make a drive 'acceptably safe'?<br /> I think,<br /> <strong>-encapsulation/isolation during the collection stage, and<br /> -guaranteed cleaning for all items. </strong></p> <p>The easiest workaround that comes to mind is to <strong>commit to bulk-drycleaning</strong> all incoming stuff, and then <strong>declare (and publicize well ahead, with last minute reminders, like a blood drive) specific collection mornings</strong>, with the dry-cleaners truck <strong>in the parking lot</strong> --or maybe just a volunteer at a pavilion in the lot with drums &#38; drum liners, &#38; zip ties -- being the<em> only</em> collection site. </p> <p>advantages: collection in the lot discourages people from taking things into their office at all.<br /> disadvantages: a separate <strong>budget for cleaning</strong>. But that's going to be a necessity no matter what method is chosen. <strong>More labor time</strong>... it may not need a full-time volunteer, but never getting close to overflowing your collection bins is going to need actual active monitoring.<br /> Possibly, declare different days for 'casual' (washable) and 'office/outerware' (drycleanable)...<br /> but it's inevitable that some well-meaning ditz will send a mixed bag, so know ahead of time what the workaround procedure is. (as long as there are actual volunteers watching the stuff, they could also sort out 'wrongly sent' stuff to another bag.)</p> <p>Alternate methods? tweaks? stages that don't look secure enough in my method? Post it! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ah-yes%e2%80%a6the-company-clothing-drive#post-60197 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:42:45 +0000 paulaw0919 60197@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>This goes along with the kids pre-k class "wear your pj's to school" day...and my daughter's "pajama day" at her dance class. Oh and there's the clothes drive at one of the local elementary schools as well. Sad cuz I believe people could make use of this stuff. But scary to me now. :-( </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ah-yes%e2%80%a6the-company-clothing-drive#post-60182 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:15:59 +0000 cilecto 60182@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My workplace sent a reminder that we're running a clothes drive for the needy. New and gently used gear from your closets to be dropped off at strategically placed bins throughout our midtown office complex. Should we just put the PCO on speed dial now? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/non-compliance-llady-bedbugsabuseand-much-more#post-59986 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:44:55 +0000 spideyjg 59986@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>watkinsnewan - 2 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/non-compliance-llady-bedbugsabuseand-much-more#post-59975">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> All the while ppl telling me not to use OTC stuff that is working!!</p> </blockquote> <p>So WTF Watkins! Now those of asking you to not overapply or misapply OTC pesticides are the bad guys?</p> <p>Read up on Bifenthrin MSDS sheets on the symptoms of overexposure.</p> <p>You apply stuff off the label and you will have no one but yourself to blame for any ill effects.</p> <p>Hate to be so blunt but facts are facts.</p> <p>Jim </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/non-compliance-llady-bedbugsabuseand-much-more#post-59975 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:06 +0000 watkinsnewan 59975@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>freakin right on the money lady!! I fell the same DAM way an wish I had the time and money to go all out strait to the f*** UP GOVERMENT with this!! Someone should be held responsible!! I shouldn’t have to use my one year old as FREAKEN bait!! All the while ppl telling me not to use OTC stuff that is working!! Weeding through All the PCO’s just to find one who knows what he/she is doing!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/non-compliance-llady-bedbugsabuseand-much-more#post-59955 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:35:37 +0000 sandra 59955@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am 54 and seen a few things in life and thought they were difficult, noway compaired to beb bugs. This is totally the most rediclous thing I have ever had to deal with and I am one pissed woman !! My neighbor had them he awoke me at 1am taking his mattress out and I had no idea what bed bugs where at that time. So 4-6 weeks went by and then my son came and spent the night with me and he got ate up. I had just a few days before he visited spent two days in the hostpital for itiching, swelling so they ruled it as stress. This is bull crap my landlady didn't inform us or have our units sprayed. I am going to go to my grave getting her fired or someone is going to pay me for the stress and lose of my things, if it kills me doing it I will do it. I am trying tofind the law that governor such things with the state pr EPA, OR whoever I will find out sooner than later. I work hours each day to find some one to help me and I have recieved some help concerning the landlady. the last I heard she was telling ppl she was going to quit this job it was so hard and the new owners haven't paid her.. Yeah right I bet she soon be fired !!</p> <p>I lost everything I had in cloth, I left nothing behind and sprayed and she had it sprayed one and even in my packed boxes and tubs I left open so they could spray it. I am here to tell you people I have studied this for over 5-6 weeks and the only way you can get rid of them is to get rid of your stuff and move making sure you clean and spray alcohal everywhere as often as 4-5 times aday. Vacuum is very, very important as well . I moved and got moved in and jsut felt like there were some here, so I cleaned and torn what I got left apart and sprayed again and again I have spent thousand's of dollars and I WASN'T as infested as my neighbors.. I got the hell out of dodge.. but fear I brought a egg with me who the heck knows these things are the devil. </p> <p>Matter of fact I just took a shower put my clothes in a bag and doubled tied it alone with my vacuum and out it in my car so I can take them somewhere else to inspect. I WOULD ENVER JUST DUMP ANYTHING NO WAY.. It has to be done a certain way for me. I think this is what people don't understand.. there is a way you have to clean and clean and vacuum so much you are out of breath, but I cannot lay down at night if i DON'T. I have severe nerve and itching problems over this and under doctors care. I am seeking also mental health care for this has effected me in ways nothing in my life has. My whole life has been interrupted and that B IS GOING TO PAY !!!!!!</p> <p>I cannot sleep with my light off and I get up 4-5 times a night to check and the cleaning the stress the itching the cost the lose the everything.. it has drove me nuts and I am not sure at this time if I will ever survive this. I have develpoed a skin disorder ( that writing on the skin thing) I can actually write on my skin and read it.. </p> <p>I wont even allow anyone to come into my new place I meet them at the door and my children are like Mom it is ok, I am saying it is not ok.. not yet until I feel it in my mind.. </p> <p>I am disabled woman and have severe breathing problem and this cleaning has just about killed me, I borrowed some money to help me out on this situation, but it wasn't enough so now I have a bank payment on a fixed income and still have to do this work. I am on oxygen half of the day but here lately it has incerased to almost a full day. Some ppl cannot come to my beack and call all the time so I have to wait until they can spare a few hours of cleaning . The company that ownes the apt. unit I lived in said you didn't have to get rid of your things you could have washed them and we come and spray once a month, yeah right he didn't his home work. I told him so you expect me to lay in chimicals which I got my disability on and lay in bugs hatching otu&gt;&gt;?? hum your really bright man but one with not a lot of common sense.. you dumb A--!!</p> <p>Stress, stress, stress is all I can say and my lose of personal things as my grandmaws quilts well everything cloth. YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF IT PEOPLE !!!! I even sprayed my holes the bed rails go into.. </p> <p>GET OUT OF THE APARTMENT YOUR LIVING IN CAUSE EVERYONE ELSE DON'T UNDERSTAND WILL NOT AND I SAY THAT AGIAN WILL NOT UNDERSTAND HOW TO GET RID OF THEM. Most think you can just spray and so be it, sorry folks it don't work that way.</p> <p>I am here to warn you and if you don't do it I pitty you so bad, if you want more info contact me I willlllllllllllll help you. this has to stop some where it is getting worse and worse because ppl think you can jsut cover it up. These bugs are smarter than we are. </p> <p>They can lay format for 18 months........ that is over a year an a half..........I would advise EVERYONE living in a apartment to get some double sided tape and put it in your threshold and wrap it around your bedpost and aroudn your mattress and GET incasements for your mattress and box. The most important thing is spray spray and spray DON'T USE BOMB THEY RUN FROM IT AND HIDE INTO ELECTRIC OUTLETS.. come back later.. vacuum and vauum all in seams, under the funiture and I even took the backing off the new couche and chairs I got and sparayed there. </p> <p>Apt. living sucks this is what you get bed bugs... I have a large farm my father left me and it is for sale and didn't want to move until I sold it, but I guess things change and just maybe for the best. I only moved into that apt. unit because I became disabled has been hell every since.</p> <p>I am looking for anyone who would represent me in a law suit It isn't just just bed bugs it is non compliance, hitting tentants, letting mattress sit out by the dump for two weeks, lieing and I have tape recording of my l/lady telling ppl my persoanl business, harrassment problems with other tenants and I got restraining orders and she did nothing, and I have everthing to back this up pictures and all. And if I want to go further falsefiying records. I got it alllllllllllllllllllllll.. </p> <p>So if any one wants to join forces with me jump on I am ready.</p> <p>Sandra </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/modern-but-pre-epidemic-encounters-with-bedbugs-thoughts-questions#post-59927 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:48:58 +0000 persona-non-bugga 59927@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>It wasn't anyone famous. It was a weekly feature on neighborhoods and homes. Don't remember the name of the column. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/modern-but-pre-epidemic-encounters-with-bedbugs-thoughts-questions#post-59872 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:15:44 +0000 earthangel 59872@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I wonder if it was Lauren Hutton, the model, who had a Bowery loft for a really long time and probably still does.</p> <p>For sure people had bedbug problems once in awhile pre-epidemic, but in nothing like the numbers in the present era. I just have been thinking about the bedbugs that didn't come home with people. Pre-epidemic, or at least way before it, people didn't get alarmed right away, the way I would today, if they found they'd been bitten in a hotel - they'd just decide not to go there again, probably tell their friends the same thing.</p> <p>Until now, I never knew anyone in 40 years in NY who had them, now I know plenty of people who've had to deal with them. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/modern-but-pre-epidemic-encounters-with-bedbugs-thoughts-questions#post-59852 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:31:09 +0000 persona-non-bugga 59852@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Back around the early/mid 1990s (I think), the Village Voice did this feature on a woman and her NYC apartment on the Bowery, which she'd rented since the 1960s. </p> <p>Anyway, at one point, several years before the article was published, she'd battled bedbugs in that apt. It might've been either in the 1970s or 1980s - decades before the current resurgence. The article mentioned it really briefly and casually - like in less than a sentence. Just one of the things that randomly stuck in my memory. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/modern-but-pre-epidemic-encounters-with-bedbugs-thoughts-questions#post-59843 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:49:10 +0000 watkinsnewan 59843@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>lmao Thanks I needed that on the start of this very long weenekd~~ </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-59817 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:34:06 +0000 earthangel 59817@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>What do you think was the purpose of the "hospital" [a word whose meaning has changed, I think] in which animals and vermin were kept? I would assume it was a study laboratory - no one has ever to my knowledge been sentimental about the care of bugs or rats . </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/modern-but-pre-epidemic-encounters-with-bedbugs-thoughts-questions#post-59816 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:26:46 +0000 earthangel 59816@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Here's something that's crossed my mind more than once - up to some point, everyone I know (we're all well over 50) just about would have a story that went something like this --</p> <p>--oh, when I went to Paris (London, San Francisco, etc) after college, this one place we stayed in had bedbugs - the next day I saw these bites in the mirror -- etc.</p> <p>And that would be that, that would be the story - oh, we stayed in this cheap place, and we got these bits, guess they were bedbugs - absoutely NO additional chapters about having them in suitcase, having them at home, etc. </p> <p>Needless to say, these people would notice an infested home.</p> <p>So what do you think was the story? this really is a common story of travel, maybe in the 60s and 70s, maybe later. The only thing I can think of is -- when DDT was around, was it likelier that luggage would one way or another be exposed to it, and bugs killed? I've lived in NY a long time, and only in the past few years have I heard of anybody having bedbugs problems, and of course I hear a lot now, mostly from younger people who are renters. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-lease-requirements#post-59814 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:12:09 +0000 earthangel 59814@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I don't think the "new mattress" requirement is so bad. It seems to me that if you required all tenants in a large building to arrive with a new mattress, you would reduce the odds of infestation to a worthwhile degree.</p> <p>Of course you wouldn't eliminate the problem but to me that's no reason to dismiss a somewhat useful measure.</p> <p>If I were choosing between two rental buildings, and one had a "new mattress" rule and one didn't, it would be a no-brainer for me.</p> <p>And - an enterprising and of course ethical mattress company would do well to market a discount product to landlords - so that the landlord could not only require you to get a new mattress, but also steer you to a preferred store, where the product was trustworthy and you would get a discount negotiated by him for his tenants. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-lease-requirements#post-57606 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:47:26 +0000 Bugbitten Meg 57606@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Clearly, the 'buy a new mattress' thing isn't really functional-- what might work better would be to write in a 'mutual bedbug check' before anyone moves in, checking both apartment and incoming tenant's stuff... although the check on the apartment would almost have to rely on a bedbug dog (cue 'false positive, a.k.a. the Dog is Not Always Right' discussion...) since there's no bed or near-bed furniture to check. </p> <p>hm... still thinking. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-lease-requirements#post-57604 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:18:52 +0000 bbfiend 57604@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>haven't seen that kind of leases yet, i'm in real estate and haven't come across any.. maybe they've been bb-ed too many times... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-lease-requirements#post-57600 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:21:11 +0000 MyWorstFear 57600@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Obviously these landlords should do a bit more research on bed bugs because all of us here know that a new mattress is not going to make a difference! It should only be so easy as a new mattress! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-lease-requirements#post-57592 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:40:06 +0000 possiblebugs 57592@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've heard about some landlords putting stipulations in leases aimed at preventing bed bugs. For example, a lease saying the tenants coming in are required to purchase a brand new mattress. I just thought it was interesting and maybe a good topic of discussion. Anyone else hear about any of these measures?</p> <p>Forcing people to buy new mattresses isn't going to keep the building BB free. I mean, how does he check this? What's to stop people from buying a brand new "refurbished" mattress? Do they need to provide receipts? Does he give them select stores to buy from? What about all the other furniture they bring in? I guess it's a nice thought but probably isn't going to do too much.</p> <p>discuss. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/heres-the-problem-and-how-bedbugs-arent-taken-seriously#post-54308 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:58:35 +0000 cilecto 54308@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>OMG, this is awful. Imagine this repeated, in every other walk of life. Maybe it was the plane, maybe not, but the ridicule this woman was subjected to...</p> <p>One day, it may well be that BBs are again an expected part of life and that every individual and home must cope with it in their own way. But we're not there now. When companies fire individuals for bringing in BBs and when hotels contemplate barring people of "high risk nationalities" (see Doggett's guide), when medical facilities refuse treatment to patients with BBs, then those places need to take responsibility when they are the source of infestation to other people. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/why-would-i-use-de-to-travel#post-53843 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:53:22 +0000 bed-bugscouk 53843@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>In these days of homeland security it is always best to have your travel DE labeled otherwise you never know what you might be accused of spreading around.</p> <p>I 100% agree that DE is not an effective travel deterrent but I hear through the grapevine that due to the El Ninio snake oil is in short supply this season.</p> <p>David Cain<br /> Bed Bugs Limited </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/why-would-i-use-de-to-travel#post-53836 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:27:11 +0000 cilecto 53836@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>An ad for "bed bug powder" (from the description it's clearly DE or some other silica variant) is making the rounds of the BB-related sites. Ad highlights "travel size".</p> <p>When I travel, I want 2 things. 1. Not get bitten 2. Not take bugs home with me.</p> <p>Those of us who've been here know that DE takes days or weeks to act and only against those bugs that have passed through (and some say only those with full, saggy bellies, to boot).</p> <p>So, WTF would I want to DE-treat my hotel room with my travel-size "bed bug powder"? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53279 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:08:15 +0000 bed-bugscouk 53279@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi, </p> <p>I have long been a fan of messers Tiffin and Son and had I already known of them before I embarked on my current path I would have most likely revitilised the name and played a lot on the history.</p> <p>I particularly like the single minded focus of the company, "we do bed bugs and nothing else", a man after my own heart.</p> <p>I am not sure if I will have children enough to follow in the foot steps and create a multi generational business killings bugs as they did but the thought is there.</p> <p>I am also rather amazed at some of the detail considering that the tools we use were not available to them and examining things in detail could not have been that easy.</p> <p>I am almost tempted to apply for a royal warrant myself but having looked into it the path is long and the rewards not that great. I would rather wait till I have monitors to supply them first.</p> <p>I will try and get one of my researchers to see what other documents exist out there in connection with them.</p> <p>David Cain<br /> Bed Bugs Limited </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53257 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:33:17 +0000 DougSummersMS 53257@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Albino bed bugs .... Bed bug colony that lived for forty five years.... Yikes .... </p> <p>Kept captive bed bugs that lived 5 1/2 years .... </p> <p><blockquote><br /> " My work is more method ; and I may call it a scientific treating of the bugs rather than wholesale murder. <strong>We don't care about the thousands, it's the last bug we look for</strong>, whilst your carpenters and upholsterers leave as many behind them, perhaps, as they manage to catch.</blockquote></p> <p>We don't care about the thousands, it's the last bug we look for..... 16th century folk wisdom</p> <p><blockquote>" The bite of the bug is very curious. They bite all persons the same (?); but the difference of effect lies in the constitutions of the parties. I've never noticed that a different kind of skin makes any difference in being bitten. Whether the skin is moist or dry, it don't matter. Wherever bugs are, the person sleeping in the bed is sure to be fed on, whether they are marked or not; and as a proof, when nobody has slept in the bed for some time, the bugs become quite flat; and, on the contrary, when the bed is always occupied, they are round as a lady-bird.</blockquote></p> <p>Early expert statement on the appearance of bite wounds and non responders that sounds very familiar to us in the 21st century. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53256 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:15:26 +0000 DougSummersMS 53256@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>de - selftreat</p> <p>Thanks for posting the link.</p> <p>I had seen quotations from this text, but I have never had a chance to read the full chapter. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53250 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:38:43 +0000 stricken 53250@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>We need the recipe for that "compound," stat! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53248 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:01:03 +0000 Adele 53248@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>lovely thought.....OMG what a way to torture someone...tie them to a bed for the "bugs" to feed on them nightly.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53236 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:52:32 +0000 Aris 53236@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Now THAT is an amazing find. Thanks for the read.</p> <p>I almost thought they might be talking about termites or some other critters, when the exterminator described the story of how they had supposedly first come to England in the timbers used to rebuild after the great fire of London. But then I read more of the chapter, and it is clear that they are describing bed bugs.</p> <p>Best parts were the anecdote about how Princess Charlotte was so eager to see the bug that he had found in her bed which had tormented her the night before, and this passage:</p> <p>"Gemelli, in 1695, visited the Banian hospital at Surat, and says that what amazed him most, though he went there for that express purpose, was to see 'a poor wretch, naked, bound down hands and feet, to feed the Bugs or Punaises, brought out of their stinking holes for that purpose.'</p> <p>Mr. Forbes, speaking of this remarkable institution for animals, says: 'At my visit, the hospital contained horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, monkeys, poultry, pigeons, and a variety of birds. The most extraordinary ward was that appropriated to rats and mice, Bugs, and other noxious vermin. The overseers of the hospital frequently hire beggars from the streets, for a stipulated sum, to pass a night among the Fleas, Lice, and Bugs, on the express condition of suffering them to enjoy their feast without molestation.'" </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/great-1865-book-about-bed-bugs#post-53232 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:54:48 +0000 de-selftreat 53232@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=ycUaAAAAYAAJ&#38;dq=&#38;pg=PA265" rel="nofollow">http://books.google.com/books?id=ycUaAAAAYAAJ&#38;dq=&#38;pg=PA265</a></p> <p>I'd imagine everyone here will take pleasure in this. Among many other treats, there's an interview with a Victorian PCO, who says: </p> <p>"We can trace our business back as far as 1695, when one of our ancestors first turned his attention to the destruction of bugs. He was a lady's stay-maker—men used to make them in those days, though, as far back as that is concerned, it was a man that made my mother's dresses. This ancestor found some bugs in his house—a young colony of them, that had introduced themselves without his permission, and he didn't like their company, so he tried to turn them out of doors again, I have heard it said, in various ways. It is in history, and it has been handed down in my own family as well, that bugs were first introduced into England, after the fire in London, in the timber that was brought for the rebuilding of the city, thirty years after the fire, and it was about that time that my ancestor first discovered the colony of bugs in his house. I can't say whether he studied the subject of bug-destroying, or whether he found out his stuff by accident, but he certainly did invent a compound which completely destroyed the bugs, and, having been so successful in his own house, he named it to some of his cus- tojners who were similarly plagued, and that was the commencement of the present connection, which has continued up to this time.</p> <p>"At the time of the illumination for the Peace, I thought I must have something over my shop, that would be both suitable for the event and to my business; so I had a transparency done, and stretched on a big frame, and lit up by gas, on which was written</p> <p>MAY THE<br /> DESTROYERS OF PEACE</p> <p>BE DESTROYED BY US.</p> <p>TIFFIN &#38; SON,<br /> BUG-DESTROYERS TO HER MAJESTY.</p> <p>" Our business was formerly carried on in the Strand, where both my father and myself were born; in fact, I may say I was born to the bug business.</p> <p>" I remember my father as well as possible ; indeed, I worked with him for ten or eleven years. He used, when I was a boy, to go out to his work killing bugs at his customers' houses with a sword by his side and a cocked-hat and bag-wig on his head—in fact, dressed up like a regular dandy. I remember my grandmother, too, when she was in the business, going to the different houses, and seating herself in a chair, and telling the men what they were to do, to clean the furniture and wash the woodwork.</p> <p>"I have customers in our books for whom our house has worked these 150 years; that is, my father and self have worked for them and their fathers. We do the work by contract, examining the house every year. It's a precaution to keep the place comfortable. You see, servants are apt to bring bugs in their boxes; and, though there may be only two or three bugs perhaps hidden in the woodwork and the clothes, yet they soon breed if let alone."</p> <p>The whole chapter is well worth reading. Enjoy. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/heres-the-problem-and-how-bedbugs-arent-taken-seriously#post-52641 Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:43:32 +0000 Nobugsonme 52641@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>It's really awful how ignorant people were.</p> <p>Not just how rude they were to this poor passenger who was (apparently) bitten on a plane.</p> <p>But also their ignorance about bed bugs, which shows how far we have to go on this.</p> <p>Anyone who considers themselves a "frequent flyer" out to bone up on the<a href="http://bedbugger.com/faqs/travel/"> travel FAQs</a>, because they are probably going to be exposed to bed bugs in a hotel, ship, plane, or other location, sometime soon. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/heres-the-problem-and-how-bedbugs-arent-taken-seriously#post-52638 Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:53:18 +0000 bedbugsbad 52638@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Don't think this is a repost - if it is I apologize.</p> <p><a href="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileage-plus/950805-multiple-mosquito-bites-transatlantic-flight-b777overwater.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileage-plus/950805-multiple-mosquito-bites-transatlantic-flight-b777overwater.html</a></p> <p>A post by a passenger on a frequent flier message board about how she was bitten 7 times by a "mosquito" on a flight. Look at ridicule she gets from the other posters, especially when someone suggests it was bedbugs. This is attitude out there and why it's such an uphill fight. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/so-just-what-is-the-game-plan-here-new-poster-here-hello#post-52595 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:56:28 +0000 Nobugsonme 52595@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Initial post deleted at blazing's request. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51371 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:40:10 +0000 buggyinsocal 51371@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks for the correction, Doug. It's an important one. I wouldn't ever use them inside myself, but I'm sort of a chemical pesticide phobe/minimalist, so I sometimes am not as accurate as I'd like when writing about things I wouldn't use in my own residence. </p> <p>Having used them to treat bins of stuff, I realized that they looked awfully familiar. I think they're the same thing I remember seeing being used in garages that people don't live in and/or in the tack shed at the camp I went to growing up. Both of those kinds of places seem like they exactly meet those criteria of being occupied for less than 4 hours a day. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51366 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:00:18 +0000 DougSummersMS 51366@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>One small correction on DDVP strips ... . DDVP strips are labeled for unoccupied areas or areas that are occupied for less than four hours a day as opposed to well ventilated areas.</p> <p>Otherwise BuggyInSoCal has summarized the issues with DDT vs DDVP very well. </p> <p>Unfortunately, studies on field populations of bed bugs suggest that high levels of resistance to DDT are common &#38; it is unlikely that DDT would have the same effect that it had in the 30s &#38; 40s... We simply need to look elsewhere for a silver bullet to control bed bugs in the 21st century. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51350 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:15:43 +0000 buggyinsocal 51350@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>DDVP is a very different chemical than DDT.</p> <p>DDVP is dichlorvos. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDVP" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDVP</a></p> <p>DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT</a></p> <p>DDVP is legal in the United States. DDT is not.</p> <p>A lot of people, myself included, when first faced with a bed bug infestation immediately looked nostalgically back on wider spectrum pesticides like DDT. However, even if we brought DDT back, there's no guarantee use of it would solve the bed bug problem. In places where DDT is more widely used, there is some evidence that it not only doesn't solve the bed bug problem but can make it worse. The fact that the pesticides we used 50 years ago appeared to work on bed bugs is not as easy a conclusion as it might seem. It is not only the pesticides that were used but how they were applied, and how pesticides were applied for pests other than bed bugs. (There's a lot of speculation these days that when pesticides that worked more widely on multiple pests were sprayed to get rid of roaches or ants, bed bug populations that actually were present for many of the decades that we thought they were gone were kept in check by spraying for other pests, and that when we switched to more narrowly focused pesticides, the bed bugs were able to increase in population.)</p> <p>Aside from questions of toxicity to individuals where DDT is concerned, it has a negative effect on the ecosystem because of the way it concentrates in apex predators. </p> <p>As someone who lives very close to a Superfund Site that exists because of the 110 tons of DDT that Montrose Chemical let flow through the sewers into the ocean in the 20th century, I'm not exactly keen to see it brought back, especially since it may make bed bug problems worse, not better.</p> <p>(No, I'm not making that up. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-palos-verdes-pollution12-2009jun12,0,1974319.story" rel="nofollow">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-palos-verdes-pollution12-2009jun12,0,1974319.story</a>)</p> <p>There are effective treatments for bed bugs today that can take care of the problem in a single treatment. Vikane and thermal are both highly effective treatments that, if done properly, can solve the bed bug problem. They are not available everywhere. But it seems to me to make more sense to agitate for making them more widely available and affordable while continuing to push for more research into other new treatments, rather than to try to bring back a chemical that has a potential for a lot of negative environmental impact.</p> <p>I'm not a chemist, or a PCO, but my understanding of DDVP strips is that although they are solid strips, they outgas a gas fumigant. That fumigant is definitely not safe for continued inhalation, which is why such strips are only to be used in <strike>well-ventilated </strike>[Admin's correction:] <strong>unoccupied </strong>areas.</p> <p>So sadly, you're unlikely to see DDVP or DDT treated linens any time soon. I understand the impulse behind such a desire. As Winston's post above points out, even the use of DDVP among pest control professionals is debated. Some endorse its use, while others oppose it.</p> <p>As with most chemicals, it's generally never as simple as "in this form, X is safe, while in Y form, it's totally unsafe." </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51337 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:33:11 +0000 DangerousDave 51337@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've heard that DDT is toxic and hazardous to one's health, but when impregnated into solids (i.e. those aforementioned type strips), it's perfectly safe (to the intelligent, common-sense wielding man), is this correct?</p> <p>Seriously though, sometimes I just wish I could buy DDT-impregnated linens, and be done with this. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51288 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:44:10 +0000 cilecto 51288@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I recall reading that Amvac was getting DDVP relabeled, exoected it to be big news and their stock (AVD) to spike, LOL. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51286 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:35:44 +0000 DougSummersMS 51286@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>The link I tried to post didn't work.... </p> <p>I'll try again</p> <p><a href="http://www.amvac-chemical.com/nuvan_prostrips_labels.html" rel="nofollow">www.amvac-chemical.com/nuvan_prostrips_labels.html</a></p> <p>Try this link &#38; click on the Label &#38; MSDS icon </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51285 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:31:08 +0000 cilecto 51285@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>Nobugsonme - 1 hour ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51268">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> Cilecto, I have heard entos claim the end to the use of DDT in the USA and other countries helped bed bugs come back.<br /> DDVP (dichlorvos)is legal here, it's also in Hot Shot/Vapona strips.<br /> Didn't you mean DDT?!?</p></blockquote> <p>DDVP (yes, the stuff in the pest strips), not DDT. The ento's paper I read (9+ months ago and couldn't locat since) claimed that it was the phase-out of DDVP in the late 90s, not the DDT ban in the 70s that caused the resurgence (else, why the 30 year hiatus).</p> <p>I recently came across a can of "Raid" with DDVP in a cupboard I helped clean. Looked ancient, assumed it had broken down and sent it to the building's haz-mat bin. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51284 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:28:49 +0000 DougSummersMS 51284@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Amvac makes a Pest Strip containing DDVP that is labeled for bed bugs. I believe they also relabeled a liquid formulation called Nuvon.</p> <p><a href="http://www.amvac-chemical.com/media/pdf/products/promos/nuvan.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.amvac-chemical.com/media/pdf/products/promos/nuvan.pdf</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amvac-chemical.com/media/pdf/products/specimen_labels/Nuvan%20Prostrip%20Specimen%20" rel="nofollow">http://www.amvac-chemical.com/media/pdf/products/specimen_labels/Nuvan%20Prostrip%20Specimen%20</a>(12678-2)%20-%20CPS%20-%2005-20-09.pdf</p> <p>I think these are both professional use items.</p> <p>One of our PCOs told me that the liquid formulation can be particularly hazardous, if not used properly. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51273 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:09:00 +0000 Winston O. Buggy 51273@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>DDVP is actually a fumigant as it produces vapors which kill the target organisms. It is still available as a concentrate as a Restricted Use pesticide and available to certain licensed personnel.<br /> It is also available in some ready to use products. While it may be effective it is definitely not something you want around your bed or living quarters. It also does not play well with modern materials and plastics. Commodities and other warehouses may use it sometimes in empty areas to be sure they are pest free. I do not believe there are any bed bug labels for this material. And given the publics misuse of pesticides it should not be. Even as a professional product there are many restrictions and it is most problematic and should not be used for BBs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51269 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:37:23 +0000 BBcoukHome 51269@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Sounds most likely to be like the last carton of marlboro lights I had that said "made in china", looked right but god only knows what was in them but 2 puffs and they were in the bin. I know the taste of marlboro country and the only way they resembled any country was the pool by the silage tank. </p> <p>We have a lot of issues in the UK with a range of counterfeit goods, some of the worst I have seen have included toothpaste made with known carcinogens. Toys out of toxic plastic parts and choke hazards. I would however say that finding the odd banned product in a small groceries that imports its own stock is not that uncommon when customs have enough issues with illegal items by the container load rather than a few packing crates.</p> <p>I suspect it was most likely slipped into fill the box up with the good stuff from back home but you never know it could be something far worse and that's the danger.</p> <p>David </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/super-gone-with-ddvp#post-51263 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:20:05 +0000 cilecto 51263@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Was browsing in an ethnic (African) specialty grocery in a northeast USA city and came across "Super Gone" insect spray. Labeled "Made in China". Claimed DDVP (Vapona) as the active ingredient. Had a pic of BB on the label. Doubt that this went via the EPA (FWIW, I doubt that there's any DDVP in the can, either and wouldn't use it in any case). I've read at least one ento/PCO claiming that the recent surge in BBs was due to ending use of DDVP in many countries (including USA). IIRC, other than the pest strips, there's no legal DDVP in the USA for home use. Am I mistaken? Are companies allowed to import small amounts of this stuff for the benefits of expats? Is this legal? Smuggled? Counterfeit? Anyone else seen this? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/a-bedbug-problem-really-comes-down-to-a-money-problem-nothing-much-more#post-50395 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:51:39 +0000 Just itching to get rid of them 50395@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I'm not sure I understand your response. Blazing's topic appears to be about a reluctant use of taxes to solve the bed bug problem. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/a-bedbug-problem-really-comes-down-to-a-money-problem-nothing-much-more#post-50212 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:35:21 +0000 ActionK9 50212@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Bushian Mind? Are you kidding me? The battle starts much lower in the gov. ranking, local State. I would look to ACORN for Bed Bug assistance being that the "Obamian Mind" is directling millions and millions of your tax dollars to so called "community" organizations ... you tell me what community does not have bed bugs!!!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/a-bedbug-problem-really-comes-down-to-a-money-problem-nothing-much-more#post-50183 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:32:15 +0000 Just itching to get rid of them 50183@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>It is a money problem. The government is reluctant to get involved spending "tax money" on this catastrophe. The Bushian mind of the last 8 years would frame it this way: "Why should I spend my tax dollars on your bed bugs. I don't have bbs. Spending tax dollars on your bbs is not fair to the American people!" Those lunkheads who think this always classify the victims as not part of the American people, and not part of the taxpayers. It's a mighty strange way to divide up the population on any problem: the American taxpayers who are going to be soaked and the victims of a catastrophe who apparently are not taxpayers and not American. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/what-has-living-with-bedbugs-taught-you#post-50182 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:17:50 +0000 Just itching to get rid of them 50182@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Parakeets, that is a joke isn't it? The pure hypocracy of it. The pure denial. Because those that make those with bbs pariahs, statistically many must have bbs ,themselves! </p>