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Exterminator came - finding white powder around the bed - what is it?
(3 posts)-
gaia227
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 1
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Dec 11 2008 10:02:05
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Exterminator never said anything about putting down any kind of powder. I just noticed it today. It is around the edges of the mattress and on the floor around the legs of the bed. I have three cats and I watch my niece who is crawling all over the place. Does anyone know what this stuff is and if it is poisonous to small animal and children? It has no odor whatsoever. I have been trying to call the company and they are not answering. I'm not really sure I trust them anyway. I'm upset when they told me what they were going to do never said anything about putting down powder. Poisonous or not, they should tell you. He also said he would call is in about an hour and let us know what he found - 5 days later, still no call.
BTW - it has been 5 days since the first treatment and while it is better there are still bed bugs. I found two this morning on the wall.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,259
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Dec 11 2008 10:11:40
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I don't know if anyone here is going to be able to tell you what the white powder is, only because it could be so many different things.
Almost every bed bug treatment (except thermal and Vikane) involves leaving residual poisons down.
And I'm pretty sure that most PCOs will not only tell you what they've used, they are by law required to.
I'm sorry to hear that your PCO isn't calling you back, but I suspect that until you can get ahold of him/her, you won't have a conclusive answer about what's been put down in your apartment.
For what it's worth, it usually takes more than one visit from a PCO to get rid of bugs (because you're waiting for them to come into contact with the residual pesticide that the PCO put down, especially since there are no pesticides that reliably kill all bed bug eggs. That's why repeat visits are standard operating procedure for bed bugs. You're basically waiting for any eggs to hatch and for the new bugs to cross the residuals.) The fact that you're still seeing bugs after treatment is pretty normal. Seeing them on the wall, esp, during the day time, suggests that it's probably not a light infestation. The rule of thumb around here is that if you're seeing a reduction in bugs after each treatment, even if their behavior changes, you're probably on the right track.
I wish I could be more help in terms of identifying what was put down, but I think you're going to have to track your PCO down. If you're a renter, you might ask your landlord/property management company to call on your behalf. I always had better results with my PCO when I did that.
For now, I would keep kids and cats out of the areas where the powder is.
And while you're waiting to hear from your PCO, if you haven't, check out the FAQs at the main site here. There are some good ones on "picking a PCO" which is less useful to you now, I know, but it has great info on questions to ask your PCO when you do have one too, even though it's not labeled that way.
Hang in there.
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Unfortunately you can not get in contact but your pest control provider is the person to ask. Sometimes material put along seams or bed frames sifts. Since you can not reach them I suggest you take a damp paper towel and wipe it up. Let it dry and then wipe it up
with a soap. Do not vacuum it as it will become airborne which may not be the best of all possible things.
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