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DDT and Cats
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CoveredinBites
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 5
Posted 3 months ago
Wed Aug 5 2009 3:32:06
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I moved to a one bedroom apartment last February. About 10 days later I started to get bitten and discovered that I had bed bugs. The management sent an exterminator. They came about eight times and I couldn't get rid of the bugs. Then I talked to my Romanian neighbor who told me that he had a friend who is a handy man and that he had some "special spray" from Romania. He spayed my apartment while I was gone for 10 days on vacation. I have been back one week and the bed bugs seem to be gone.
The Romanian handy man is away on vacation now himself so I am unable to ask him - what was in that spray? If it is DDT, I'm concerned about the toxicity. My cats have been staying at a friend's house, and I'm worried that when they come back, they may be exposed to the chemical residue. I read on the internet that DDT is dangerous for cats.
One possible reason the bed bugs are also gone is that I hired the handy man to remove my wood floor in the bedroom, which he did. He put down a new subfloor. The bed bugs could have been hiding in the crevices and now that there is a new subfloor, they really are gone.
Any advice or information about DDT would be appreciated. Perhaps it won't be an issue since I am having a new wood top floor installed and so the cats when they return won't come into direct contact with the chemical residue.
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Hi,
DDT is illegal to apply in the US, EU and most developed countries. (Admin note: I changed "legal" to "illegal".)
I would suggest that you find out exactly what is in the product that has been applied and if its DDT contact a toxic clean up team to decontaminate the area.
I would be more worried about your own health at this stage rather than the cats.
I once saw a property treated with a "special home remedy" that turned out to be white spirits and acetone an extremely toxic and explosive combination.
I would also be concerned that bed bugs have shown massive levels of tolerance to DDT since before it was outlawed for environmental reasons.
This really is a sorry, sorry situation and I hope others do not make the same mistake.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
worrywart1
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 29
Posted 3 months ago
Wed Aug 5 2009 9:45:13
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bed-bugscouk,
I have to think from the context of your post and from general knowledge, you meant to say DDT is ILLEGAL to apply....
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CoveredinBites
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 5
Posted 3 months ago
Wed Aug 5 2009 10:39:58
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David Cain, thanks for your post. I called the Romanian handy man and asked about the spray and he said that there wasn't DDT in it, so all this worry for nothing! He said he didn't use a spray from Romania, but an over the counter spray from Home Depot.
I find it interesting that the exterminator came 8 times and was unable to get rid of them, and then this man comes along who has no vested interest in my continuing to have the bugs, and apparently he has been able to get rid of them with a simple spray from Home Depot! Aren't the exterminators motivated to keep the bugs around so they get more business?
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Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 556
Posted 3 months ago
Wed Aug 5 2009 10:42:43
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David
this reminds of an instance a few months ago when I had lots of time to kill and I was surfing around the Internet and happened on an odd site - it appeared to be some sort of chemical swap blog or something like that - it was really odd. Like people posted the pesticide chemicals that they had and other wrote in to buy them
but an anomymous poster listed that they had obtained DDT - and literally there were 8 pages of postings for people suffering from bedbugs who wanted to buy some from him. most of them had failed treatments from exterminators. most of the posters were from NYC
but the desperation of these people struck me as so sad - i mean if they are buying something illegal - how do they know what they are actually getting? even if the stuff was legit - and who know what it was - how would they know how to apply it? how are they going to dispose of the unused amounts?
i don't know - it was sad
not even to mention that whatever they sprayed probably would have no effect at all anyway
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Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 556
Posted 3 months ago
Wed Aug 5 2009 10:46:42
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Coveredinbites - I hope that the bugs are gone - but usually you have to wait much longer than 1 week to make that declaration
because of the egg cycles you really have to wait 6-8 weeks to know for sure
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worrywart1 - 4 hours ago »
bed-bugscouk,
I have to think from the context of your post and from general knowledge, you meant to say DDT is ILLEGAL to apply....Yes sorry the steam from my ears at the mere mention of DDT for bed bugs got my typing faster than I could copy check.
I appreciate that people think it will work and try it out of desperation but the scientific data is also out there confirming it does not work.
If you are worried that your PCO does not have a vested interested in ridding the problem select one that quotes for the job till its clear or the source is identified. I had an amazing chat with someone today who could not see why I wanted to charge them because their tenants kept re-infecting the property.
Bottom line I will eradicate a population of bed bugs but if you keep bringing more in I will sooner or later want more money to deal with it.
David
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