Hanging Clothes « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)

Hanging Clothes

(18 posts)

Tags:

FunkyMunk

newbite
Joined: Jun '07
Posts: 7
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Tue Jun 12 2007 22:55:16
#

Login to Send PM

If my closet is a good 20 feet from the corner my bed was in, should I have any reason to suspect that my clothes hanging in the closet have been infiltrated?

Also, has anyone tried maintaining a consistent level of high blood alcohol as a means to poison these bastards? I'm only half kidding.
Nobugsonme

your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 0:10:38
#

Login to Send PM

The alcohol thing--I don't think it works.

The clothes--bed bugs can be anywhere in your home. Your whole home should be treated, and you should wash and dry and bag all the clothes.
BBsBlow

senior member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 432
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 11:09:55
#

Login to Send PM

Drunk BBs. Ha. That would be a sight to see! Maybe they'd pick on each other instead of us!
nightshirt

senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 454
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 11:34:48
#

Login to Send PM

the 20 feet rule is an average. some may be able to travel farther for a meal. do not rule out that your closet is harboring them. treat it .
BBsBlow

senior member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 432
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 11:40:37
#

Login to Send PM

It's not 100 feet they'd travel for a meal?
nightshirt

senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 454
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 11:58:22
#

Login to Send PM

i thought i read here somewhere 20 feet. maybe nbom can remind us.
ofallthebeds

junior member
Joined: Jun '07
Posts: 110
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 13:05:09
#

Login to Send PM

There is definitely not 20 feet between my bed and the walls... nope... so I guess that make my room, bathroom and livingroom suspect!? But I have not been sitting on the couches... I sat last night for about an hour to watch TV on my huge Pilates ball. It is serving as my temporary chair. Hey... I may have a stronger core at the end of this all. It is all plastic, so I think it is safe. I know it won't harbor any BBs... right?
BBsBlow

senior member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 432
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 13:20:46
#

Login to Send PM

They don't like plastic in general, but that's not to say there's a 100% chance of them leaving plastic stuff alone. Sorry... (Still, the odds are generally in your favor with the ball.)
nightshirt

senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 454
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Wed Jun 13 2007 16:12:54
#

Login to Send PM

i read here somewhere that someone was using an aerobed and it got them. not in the same fashion as a mattressed bed but nonetheless they were on it in the morning. probably then scampered away to hide and digest.
Nobugsonme

your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Thu Jun 14 2007 1:27:49
#

Login to Send PM

OfAll,
The pilates ball: are you sitting atop it, not touching the floor at all? Or are your feet on the floor? If they can get to your feet, of course, they can crawl up your legs. Sorry.
Not ruling out them climbing up a ball either, but just sayin'.

As for the 20 foot rule-- I've heard of this--it is an estimate. But look, if they are hungry, they will travel. If you hang out in a sofa or soft chair or hard desk chair anywhere in your apt. they may come there and bite you, and set up shop there.

Watching TV? Sitting, breathing: you're bait.

Now, are they always going to follow you everywhere? Not necessarily: if they are getting fed in the bedroom it's likely they'll stay.

I am afraid I agree with treating the whole home. It's cheaper than treating 1/2 once and then having to start all over again treating the whole later. But the PCO should make the call. As far as being bitten, never assume they won't bite you here or there. People often assume they are only bitten at night in bed, but sofas, chairs (soft or desk) are often infested as are the areas around them. Where you spend time...
Nobugsonme

your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Thu Jun 14 2007 1:31:30
#

Login to Send PM

ps Aero beds are a good interim way to sleep if you MUST toss the bed (most people don't need to). But they have serious crevices and hiding places--the ones that are the height of a bed. Have you seen the photos? Serious crevices. So you have to inspect and use tape on the bed or around it, and do whatever.

One person used an aero bed on a metal frame and said it worked--you might want to reinforce the edges of the frame with duct tape or I bet you could puncture it.
ofallthebeds

junior member
Joined: Jun '07
Posts: 110
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Thu Jun 14 2007 13:15:47
#

Login to Send PM

Oh my... my feet do touch the Pilates ball. My legs are too long for them not to touch. I am starting to wonder about these starving bedbugs because I have not been bitten since last wednesday and I have been sleeping in the same bed (I have had only 1 pco visit so far... scheduling another at the 2 weeks mark.)

Not that I want them to bit me... but I am wondering... are they hungry and going to try to move somewhere else? I am even thinking of cancelling my cable since I don't want to sit on the couch... but I do need to use my computer. So I have to sit there occasionally... perhaps I can use my laptop at a cafe or something...

I am also making sure that NOTHING hangs from my bed and sleep in an almost mummy type way... all bundled up so that my legs don't throw the blanket to the floor. Just thinking of bites makes me itch... the mind... such a powerful thing!
u2dan

junior member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 100
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Fri Jun 15 2007 16:45:50
#

Login to Send PM

I sawear i read they would travel up to 100 feet over carpeting for a meal. That aside..i apparently had bugs in my hanging clothes, which i just didnt understand> Plus i didnt even wear half of them.

I totally thought about being drunk and then bitten..so cute..and i too slept mummified.
ofallthebeds

junior member
Joined: Jun '07
Posts: 110
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Fri Jun 15 2007 18:15:04
#

Login to Send PM

Well... I have two armoirs where I kept all my hanging clothes (my apartment has not closet!) and that is where I found a bug... 1 of the two I found... it was on a scarf a friend brought from Asia about 1 year ago... so, I know it was not on it before... it was a nymph... presumable 2-3 instar or something like that. it was the size of a sesame seed. Well... it still is... I still have it... and this morning it was really active... it is double ziploc home... it must be hungry! It has been 10 days since it was captured! I am washing as much of my hanging clothes as I can today... nice way to spend a Friday night... now I will be single FOREVER! LOL... Well... I am trying to see the humour in all of this! Friday night and all of Saturday will be spent at the laundromat... washing and washing... I am going to look suspicious... all of my clothes were thrown in plastic bags with hangers and all! Ooops... well... I will be drying FOREVER... and then will ziploc away my clothes and place the ziplocs in a plastic crate... this will be stores for a few months until I know that it is safe at my apartment. I will also go throw the process of freezing some of the bags a week at a time... just to make sure... I am glad I have access to an empty freezer at a friends place... woo hoo! i SHOULD GET DRUNK.. AND THEN BITTEN... HMM....
Nobugsonme

your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,738
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Sat Jun 16 2007 0:35:27
#

Login to Send PM

Ofall,

The armoires and any wooden furniture should be emptied and treated by the PCO (sprayed all over, inside out, upside down).

It is normal to see a serious reduction in bites after the first treatment. The PCO has killed some bugs. Some are doutless there. And then there are eggs which will hatch (which is why the second visit must come within 2 weeks). When they hatch you will be bitten more. It is normal to get some bites, so don't freak when it happens. Use your computer. Think of it as luring them out to their deaths. Their last supper!

Alcohol will not deter them, but might make you feel better.
mrbill0626

member
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 177
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Thu Oct 25 2007 23:35:48
#

Login to Send PM

Anyone:

The PCO came here and treated the place yesterday for bed bugs and he said I didn't need to move the clothes hanging in my closet. I don't know if he meant by that the clothes could not be infested or what. Some are covered with cleaning bags, some are not. They sprayed the closet floor, but not my clothes, I don't think. The closet is less than 20 feet from my bed. Should I suspect that my hanging clothes have any infestation and if so, any ideas on how I should treat them?

Thanks

Bill
Margaret

newbite
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 16
offline

Posted 5 years ago
Fri Oct 26 2007 4:40:06
#

Login to Send PM

Thanks for this discussion. I am also wondering how to deal with hanging clothes, such as my husband's jackets. I guess putting them in trash bags (no ziplocks here in Russia) and stacking them--?

There are so many articles and items I think of as a grey area, such as clothes I can't wash on hot or steam iron (I'm packing those up and not wearing them until we're BB-free for 6 months.

About the final question, I keep thinking there must be some typically Russian solution that involves either vodka or tea, but I haven't heard one yet. The closest I've heard was from an American dermatologist, who suggested using tea compresses on my bites that formed blisters--to get the water out, not to stop itching. If I find a good vodka solution, I'll be sure to post under a new heading...
Bite me

junior member
Joined: Aug '10
Posts: 44
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Sun Oct 3 2010 17:04:15
#

Login to Send PM

mrbill0626 - 2 years ago »
Anyone:
The PCO came here and treated the place yesterday for bed bugs and he said I didn't need to move the clothes hanging in my closet. I don't know if he meant by that the clothes could not be infested or what. Some are covered with cleaning bags, some are not. They sprayed the closet floor, but not my clothes, I don't think. The closet is less than 20 feet from my bed. Should I suspect that my hanging clothes have any infestation and if so, any ideas on how I should treat them?
Thanks
Bill

I was told the same by my PCO. I left his treatment to work for 1 month while I was away. I'm back and not sure if I should do the clothes or not...nobody ever answered Bill's question-anyone know the answer????