For Those Who Are Moving Out! « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs

For Those Who Are Moving Out!

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florida st

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 13:30:23
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I was hoping to take a quick poll of people who've moved out of the infested location into a new place. I would really appreciate any feedback from people who've been through this. Here are my questions:

1. How long did you know you had bedbugs before you moved?

2. What treatments did you do/have done before you moved?

3. What was your moving procedure (did you vikane the moving truck, treat your belongings before the move, have a dog come in, etc) ?

4. Did you still have bedbugs after the move?

Thanks to everyone, this forum has been super helpful! I realize moving is not the best option, and there's a serious risk of spreading the bugs, but for some of us it's our only option and I am trying to come up with a reasonable risk-reduction strategy.
fmlbedbugs

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 19:33:39
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I haven't been through this yet, but I would really appreciate hearing what others have to say because it is a strategy I am currently considering. While I have learned (mostly from this website) that people can have great success fighting bedbugs and that moving risks infesting another area, I have a severe allergic reaction to the bugs as well as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I simply cannot wait around for an untimely landlord, and I cannot risk having to do this again because the adjacent apartments weren't treated. Also, I don't want to live out of plastic bags for the rest of the year with all the cracks in my bedroom taped up. Okay, enough justifiction:

1. I have had bedbugs for two months.
2. I have had a professional PCO come out once, and I am supposed to schedule another appointment at some point this week according to my manager.
3. I am lucky to have very little in my house. Currently I plan to discard my mattress and have a brand new one sent to my new apartment. I plan to order GreenClean bags and take all of my laundry to the laundromat where I will heat the crap out of it. Then I will transfer the laundry in brand new plastic containers directly to the new apartment. I will take apart my dining room table and sterilize it with boiling water and rubbing alcohol. If I can afford it, I will rent a steam cleaner and clean the stools. If I cannot afford it, I will bag them in black plastic and leave them outside in the car for a few hours (or days) for the Texas sun to take care of. My electronics (TV, Wii, VCR, DVD PLayer, Computer) I will either do the same thing with or something with Nuvan strips.

4. I hope I won't =/
florida st

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Mar 26 2010 12:44:59
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Thanks for the response! For Nuvan questions I suggest asking wchicago- she knows a lot about them.
MBcowboy

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Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 27 2010 9:41:39
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I would recommend that before people dispose of belongings en masse consider the heat eradication or gas fumigation option. Both can be done at a professional pest management complex equipped to perform this function. Both are highly successful and kill all stages of the bed bug.

Just ensure that the pest control company treats the delivery and pick up vehicle for any bed bug stragglers that may have come loose in transport.

More and more property managers are demanding this service to be done pre-move in.

As for retail steamers off the shelf and cooking your possessions in the hot Texas sun, I would do a little more reading on these before you rely on them as your solution. As much as I love the hot Texas sun, you will not likely have the success you desire by bagging items and counting on the sun to kill all stages of the bed bugs. Lethal temperatures for bed bugs at all stages has to be a minimum 121 degree F for 20 minutes and that temperature has to be realized right through to the core of all belongings left out in the sun. Retail carpet steamers will not throw steam hot enough or with enough pressure to do anything other than kill surface bed bugs. Nuvan strips for small objects under tight seal and with enough time can be effective to a degree but I would not rely on these to be your only safeguard.

We highly recommend that only if you wish for new furniture or belongings or unless your possessions are heavily soiled, they can be successfully heat or gas treated.

Good luck but please educate, educate, educate. It is very easy to transport your bed bug problem with you.
florida st

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Posted 3 years ago
Sun Mar 28 2010 15:07:47
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MBcowboy - 1 day ago »
I would recommend that before people dispose of belongings en masse consider the heat eradication or gas fumigation option. Both can be done at a professional pest management complex equipped to perform this function. Both are highly successful and kill all stages of the bed bug.
Just ensure that the pest control company treats the delivery and pick up vehicle for any bed bug stragglers that may have come loose in transport.
More and more property managers are demanding this service to be done pre-move in.
As for retail steamers off the shelf and cooking your possessions in the hot Texas sun, I would do a little more reading on these before you rely on them as your solution. As much as I love the hot Texas sun, you will not likely have the success you desire by bagging items and counting on the sun to kill all stages of the bed bugs. Lethal temperatures for bed bugs at all stages has to be a minimum 121 degree F for 20 minutes and that temperature has to be realized right through to the core of all belongings left out in the sun. Retail carpet steamers will not throw steam hot enough or with enough pressure to do anything other than kill surface bed bugs. Nuvan strips for small objects under tight seal and with enough time can be effective to a degree but I would not rely on these to be your only safeguard.
We highly recommend that only if you wish for new furniture or belongings or unless your possessions are heavily soiled, they can be successfully heat or gas treated.
Good luck but please educate, educate, educate. It is very easy to transport your bed bug problem with you.

I am curious why you think Nuvan is not that effective. From everyone I've talked to who has used it, it sounds extremely effective when used the right way.
Most cities do not have moving companies that will treat for bedbugs, or pest control companies that will help you move. It's not a solution if it's not available.
stricken

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Posted 3 years ago
Sun Mar 28 2010 16:18:33
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Hi,
I consider moving as an absolute last resort. I'm more a fan of standing and fighting, but I've realized that those efforts are only as good as the cooperation around you, so now I'm reevaluating.

1. How long did you know you had bedbugs before you moved?
I started getting "hives" a year or so ago, at the end of last March. Two months later, around Memorial Day, I finally found bedbugs.

2. What treatments did you do/have done before you moved?
First the landlord's "roach guy" sprayed, but had me sleep in the living room, which spread them. I then hired a well-known PCO who got rid of them long enough for me to feel comfortable buying a new bed frame, about 3-4 months. Earlier this year they came back (thoroughly infesting the new bed frame, of course), and now my landlord, forced into dealing with it as a building-wide issue (the neighbors are also infested this time, and it may have been coming from next door all along) has hired some cowboy who he plays softball with and who's illegally moonlighting from his job at a larger pest-control company to fling poison around indiscriminately.

3. What was your moving procedure (did you vikane the moving truck, treat your belongings before the move, have a dog come in, etc) ?
The bugs are gone for now but given my landlord's lack of understanding of how to eradicate them, I'm sure they'll be back. I'm hoping to get out of here before they do. I'm disinfecting everything bit by bit, via packtite, dryer, murphy's oil soap & rubbing alcohol, and no-pest strips. My neighbors and I have disinfected and sealed stuff and rented storage. We are also considering hiring a dog to get a better idea of the extent, since the LL did not provide a proper inspection.

4. Did you still have bedbugs after the move?
I am confident that I'm being thorough enough to not bring them, especially since I'm not finding any evidence in most of my stuff. Most of my things were still bagged from last summer, and I am being meticulous. If there is even the slightest question in my mind about something (i.e. not sure what to do with my dvd player) I will not take it. After all, if I wanted to continue having bedbugs I'd just stay here!

Hope this helps! The short answer is that I'm taking my time, given that I'm not being bitten at the moment, to do it right. I treat everything as if it's infested, even though it isn't.

Good luck.

--Stricken
ShellBell8821

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Posted 3 years ago
Sun Mar 28 2010 19:25:22
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AAAHHHH!!! I am moving this Thursday and it is a NIGHTMARE to say the least. I just found out about a month ago that I had bed bugs. I had no idea they even existed util I saw 1 one night and looked it up on the internet. Thank god they are not that bad and I have been vaccuming and spraying with 91% alcohol like a mad woman. I cry almost every day because I can't stand it anymore. I find myself constantly looking for them whether its on me or my husband or where ever I may be sitting. Sorry I am way off track... any who, I have a ton of boxes to pack and before I ever consider putting anything into a box I vaccumm it. After I have the box full I tape every edge and crack that a BB may enter. I just bought some Murphy's oil soap today and I am spraying every piece of furniture I have left with it and letting it sit for about an hour before wiping it off. The day I move I will spray again with Alcohol. My husband works for a furniture company and he brought home "shrink wrap". Its almost like the clear plastic wrap you put on leftovers but it comes in this huge roll. He tightly wrapped both couches and is taking them to get them baked at the warehouse. But again be VERY cautious when packing because 1 BB can turn into hundreds in no time.