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Can I use DDVP strips in my empty house?
(6 posts)-
Chinche
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 7
Posted 5 months ago
Thu Jun 18 2009 20:25:34
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Hi everyone,
I am having my second chemical treatment in two days, then I hope to convince them to give me another two weeks after that. They say I should only need an inspection on the third visit rather than a treatment.
Immediately after the third treatment I am leaving to start a new job in another city. I plan to leave my house unoccupied for at least a year. I live in an end-unit townhouse attached on one side. My mortgage is low and I am able to leave the house unoccupied for 18 months if necessary.
Would hanging DDVP strips in my house be an effective treatment while the house is unoccupied? If so, how many should I use? The house has three levels.
I plan to come back once a month just to make sure nobody has broken in to the house or that there are no pipe leaks or other problems. Would this be a problem if there are hungry bedbugs there? I would prefer to look the house over, then get the h*ell out of there and would rather not sleep there.
Thanks for any advice that you may be able to give me.
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lil_bit_obsessed
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 5 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 1:19:12
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i can't advise as to the ddvp strips, as i don't know much about them. hopefully one of the pcos on the site can help you with that one.
however something you should keep in mind if you are leaving your home unoccupied while still infested is that you might risk spreading the bugs to your neighbors with whom you share a wall. if there is no host to provide a blood meal in your home, the bugs may pick up and move next door. the best possible scenario to avoid this would be to have the pcos treat every two weeks until the infestation is gone.
also, if you are moving to a new location check out the FAQ on traveling, it can provide you with some good tips to help you avoid taking the bugs with you!
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Chinche
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 7
Posted 5 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 8:37:44
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Thanks for your reply, lil bit,
My PCO is not convinced that I have bed bugs, even though I have had hundreds of bites and I stayed in a hotel for 2 months that I later found out has bed bugs.
There has been no other evidence and they are making me pay an extra $150 dollars for the second treatment tomorrow because they say it is not necessary to treat again until 30 days after the first treatment. (I am using Orkin). They charged me $450 just to treat my bedroom and the sofa in the living room the first time. The PCO was there for 4 hours and he did a thorough job with steam and chemicals.
They say that the third visit two weeks after the second one will be inspection only, but even if I have to pay another $150, I will push for a third round of chemicals.
The problem is that because I am leaving my house, I will not know if the bugs are gone or not. That's why I want to hang the DDVP strips as a kind of insurance policy, but I need a PCO to tell me if it is a dumb idea.
I am not leaving because of the bugs, but because I have a job offer in my home town, a small town where jobs are hard to come by and I will never get this opportunity again. I don't want to lose this opportunity because of these bugs.
I know the PCOs will wonder why I had treatments if I don't have proof of bed bugs, and I respect their opinions (a lot!). But I had to do something, knowing that I would be leaving this house empty and that I had a window of 6 weeks to try to kill the bugs. I thought it would be safer to treat than to do nothing and wonder if they were reproducing or going to the neighbors. The bugs are going to kick me financially, but I care more about the neighbors and the condition of the house than I do about my bank balance.
Any PCOs that can reply, thank you in advance and thanks for the important work that you do.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 5 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 8:51:16
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Read the label, but the Hot Shot DDVP srips are intended to be used in unoccupied structures or things like storage units.
Since you won't be there, using the strips is in accordance with the label.
Jim
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Chinche
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 7
Posted 5 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 9:20:19
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Thanks Jim,
If no PCOs tell me it's a dumb idea, I'll go ahead and hang the strips when I leave the house.
I was wondering if the strips will drive the bugs to the neighbors or have some other negative effect that hasn't occurred to me.
Chinche
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Chinche
I sent a PM to you.
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