http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Mon, 20 May 2013 12:21:12 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104104 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:12:12 +0000 Nobugsonme 104104@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>Koebner - 3 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104084">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> OK, I'm wrong about perc but I'm right about dry cleaners.<br /> Apologies.<br /> Perc kills bugs in labs but out here <em>in vivo</em> everything I mentioned about dry cleaners' protocols applies, &#38; it's further been pointed out to me that sending BB-exposed items to dry cleaners risks infesting them &#38; making them a source of BBs.</p> </blockquote> <p>No argument there. See my comments above.</p> <p>That said, there are some dry cleaners who are specializing in bed bug-infested items, and in these cases, I think they can be trusted (if one verifies they really know about bed bugs). If they know enough to do it properly, then they will be highly motivated to do so, and not infest their premises.</p> <p>Even though we can't really trust most dry cleaners to keep items secure, it is fully possible that items dry cleaned <em>would</em> come home bed bug-free. </p> <p>And it's also not very likely that someone would bring bed bugs home in Feb. 2010 and not have any bites for over a year. </p> <p>Anyway, Chicken Pox. That's a new one. </p> <p>Congratulations, Sammy!<br /> I hope you're feeling much better soon.<br /> And don't itch -- scars! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104101 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:37:50 +0000 Sammy 104101@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks for the replies- woke up this morning and my face was covered, completely freaked out and went to the doctor straight away and it turns out I have chicken pox (somehow never got them as a kid and we don't vacinate) I'm itchy, in pain, quite sick and incredibly relieved. It really shows how these take over your life- I had left work early because of a headache and feeling unwell but my mind immediately went to bedbugs. </p> <p>Very glad its not a bedbug return, and appreciative for you taking the time to respond </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104084 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:48:37 +0000 Koebner 104084@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>OK, I'm wrong about perc but I'm right about dry cleaners.<br /> Apologies.</p> <p>Perc kills bugs in labs but out here <em>in vivo</em> everything I mentioned about dry cleaners' protocols applies, &#38; it's further been pointed out to me that sending BB-exposed items to dry cleaners risks infesting them &#38; making them a source of BBs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104075 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:05:10 +0000 Koebner 104075@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have a reputable source but in private conversation so not happy to give the name. I'll ask if they wants to say anything about it here.</p> <p>In any case, have you ever seen a dry cleaning outfit that performs truly adequate separation of dirty &#38; cleaned items? I've never encountered anywhere that even se4ems to acknowledge the BB problem here in the UK. Anything I get back from a drycleaner these days gets immediately wrapped &#38; then does 30 mins in a hot dryer before it gets liberated into my home. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104073 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:43:34 +0000 Nobugsonme 104073@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <blockquote><p><cite>Koebner - 2 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104056">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;</a></cite><br /> Dry cleaning doesn't kill BBs, not even with perchloroethylene.<br /> Sorry. </p></blockquote> <p>Do you have a source for this statement?</p> <p>Note: I don't trust green dry cleaning methods (without perc), and I don't trust most dry cleaners to handle infested items properly and keep them separate.</p> <p>That said, we've traditionally been told by experts that traditional dry cleaning methods (with perc) do kill bed bugs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104056 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:49:30 +0000 Koebner 104056@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Dry cleaning doesn't kill BBs, not even with perchloroethylene.<br /> Sorry. If the trousers have been bagged up since you got back then I guess it's possible that you've brought BBs home. You need to put textiles through a hot tumble drier to kill the little blighters. If the clothes are dry, half an hour should do it; if wet, tumble on hot until dry, then add 30 mins. Don't overload the drier - I know it isn't cheap but it is effective; doing it inadequately is far more expensive.</p> <p>Could be fleas if the garments have been unworn for sometime &#38; have been somewhere where pets hang around - a friend of mine had all her clothes biting her after a cat started sleeping in her wardobe.</p> <p>Do a proper BB search both in your home &#38; in your parents' home.</p> <p>Do research about pest control. See the FAQs here for what you should look for, what to avoid &#38; what to ask. If you do have BBs, don't even think about busking - get good professional help from the get-go.</p> <p>Is your new home furnished or unfurnished? Private or social let? Detached, semi, or terrace? Are you in a stable neighbourhood or an area with a high rate of tenancy turnover? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104052 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:56:39 +0000 Nobugsonme 104052@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>There can be a delay in bed bug bites appearing. This can be anywhere from hours to even a week or so later. So you could have been bitten outside of your home and have the reactions appear later.</p> <p>Another possibility: in some cases, people do not initially react to bed bug bites, but seem to react all at once to bites sustained over time. We don't know a lot about bed bug bites, but it seems possible this happened even if you previously reacted to bed bugs in Africa. My understanding is that different populations of bed bugs can cause different reactions in different people. On the other hand, it does not appear to be so that nymph and adult bed bug bites necessarily cause different reactions.</p> <p>This could be a small number of bed bugs biting you over time, with the reaction seeming to happen all at once. This could be from a small number of bed bugs in the home, workplace, or somewhere you are regularly. </p> <p>Or it could be a larger number of bed bugs biting over a short period of time. If this happened at home (40 bites all at once), you'd have a lot of bed bugs present and would probably be able to see visible signs like fecal stains. </p> <p>Being bitten by lots of bed bugs at once could also happen in a cafe, theater, airplane, hotel, train, bus, or other public place, and you might have no idea until the reactions appeared. Keep a log of when and where new bites appear on your body, and where you've been each day, which may help you see if there's a pattern.</p> <p>You also need to try and make sure that there is not another cause. You can get a plugin flea trap to rule out fleas. (You don't need to have pets to have fleas present.) You can get a passive bed bug monitor like the <a href="http://bedbugger.com/2009/04/23/more-information-on-cheap-and-cheerful-bed-bug-monitors/#BBalert">BBAlert Passive</a> to monitor your bed for bed bugs. </p> <p>You should also probably see a doctor to rule out other possibilities. Besides the one on your stomach, you don't mention the location of other suspected bites. Scabies and folliculitis have been mistaken for bed bug bites and it's worth ruling out medical issues such as these. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/woke-up-with-40-bites-last-had-bedbugs-sept-09-in-diff-country-please-help#post-104010 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:06:29 +0000 Sammy 104010@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi - I could be (and am hoping I am) being totally paranoid but would love some support. I had bedbugs in sept 09 when I lived in Africa: it still goes down as probably the worst experience of my life but after two treatments from a pest controller and dry-cleaning everything I owned (both much cheaper there than anywhere else) we beat the problem. I lived in that house till February 2010, then moved home (to Ireland) Having stayed with my parents for 6 months, I moved into a new house and everything was fine - no signs of anything. </p> <p>Then two days ago, I wore a pair of trousers I haven't in some months (no idea if this is relevant, but only different thing to my usual routine) I noticed I had one bad bite on my stomach that day, which had a red centre that's almost like a cut, then another one this afternoon (Its currently 5am) then shortly before bed started getting way more bites - don't know if they're new or just coming up. Reckon I had twenty five before bed, just woke up and counted 40. </p> <p>Initially, I thought it was definitely fleas - I don't have a pet, but my parents do and I visited them Sunday. But are flea bites delayed like that? The first few bites didn't look esp like bed bug bites as they had the red pinprick in the corner which was v pronounced but the others don't. The other thing is, before my bites were massive - most of them about one raised inch in diameter. These aren't tiny, but aren't the same thing - but could it be that they're nymphs? Or that I'm not reacting bad cos they're new? Last time, I got individual bites for a couple of weeks before getting lots at once, this has come totally out of the blue. Is there any chance it could be anything else? Because I rent, I have no real recourse to do that much, and I'm earning minimum wage at the moment - treatment here I know from a friend costs 2-3000 euro, which I'm sure my landlord wouldn't pay. </p> <p>Please help with first steps - I can take all my clothes bagged up to my folks who have a drier, and vacuum like crazy, but beyond that I don't know what to do. </p>