Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs
How do you seal the front door?
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 14:21:44
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I understand that you have to seal every crevice. But there is a pretty large gap under my front door. Not to mention the space between the door and the jamb?
Also there is a vent in my bathroom. Not sure what it is for, other than creeping me out, even before I started reading about bed bugs. It could be an entry way for anything that wanted to come in, and I can also hear the dude upstairs. Sometimes it sounds like he is IN the bathroom with me. If I cover with duct tape will it cause the building to explode?
Also, are the new hatched able to fit through the holes in window screens?
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 14:22:48
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The "cause the building to explode" thing was a joke, btw.
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 18:07:40
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Any suggestion guys? If I knew how to properly apply DE I would do that, but after reading the FAQs I am hesitant. :/
Do any of you do anything special to keep the bugs running under the door? I know this sounds crazy but if a neighbor was trying to self treat its completely feasible that they would travel the hallways!
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O Buggery
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 18:13:55
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1. You can put weatherstripping all round the front door to seal it when it's closed. There's also a little sort of brush called a "doorsweep" that you can attach to the bottom of the door, which will help sweep anything on that part of the floor towards the doorsill and the outside.
2. The building will not explode if you cover your bathroom vent with duct tape (if that were the case, you would have even worse problems than the bedbugs
). The vent is there to allow the escape of moisture from the shower/bath (helping prevent mold & mildew), along with any unpleasant aromas or gases generated during the use of other bathroom fixtures. Imagine what it would be like to use a toilet installed in a windowless closet - which is what your bathroom would be without the vent.Not sure what you can do - maybe dust the inside of the vent cover with DE, coat the sides of the vent shaft with talc, block the ceiling around the vent with a ring of sticky-side-out duct tape?
(And you'll just have to accept your upstairs neighbor as your auditory bathroom buddy. Bearing in mind that he can hear you about as well as you can hear him, I'd suggest pretending that entering the bathroom makes both of you completely deaf.)3. Yes. (But you probably don't have a whole lot of bedbugs outside your window - they're not supposed to be outdoorsy types.)
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 18:44:31
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Thanks for the response. I am kind of afraid of DE, and also read that some PCOs won't treat if its been used on a premises? So lets say I develop an infestation, and I have screwed myself out of my PCO of choice. (And there don't seem to be that many good ones out there . . . but I could be wrong.)
As for the door thing, thats for the suggestion. My door opens inward though. I guess weather stripping is better than nothing. :/
Maybe I could apply petroleum jelly over the vent and then tape on the sides?
As for them not being outdoorsy, ugh. In my mind, there are everywhere. :/
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oldtimer
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 18:55:14
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I am on the look out for an old submarine door that I can spin closed from the inside.
I think the reality is that I would not generally advise people to do any sealing of doors to exclude bedbugs, its certainly not something i have felt necessary in over 16,000 treated cases.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 18:58:55
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David, I'm so excited you commented on my post! I really respect the advice you have given other on this blog!
Is it ok to go ahead and put the weatherstripping on it anyway? It has always skeeved me out, because there is enough space for a mouse to squeeze under. It doesn't hurt, right?
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oldtimer
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 19:33:09
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Hi OhDearMe,
Well this one may just really make your day.
I would always advocate a tight front door seal for heating conservation reasons so lets go with that angle and you can thank us later when you get lower heating bills.
The reality is that simple education and communication will do more to help reduce the risk of bedbugs coming in through your front door, especially in an apartment building. Lets face it, bedbugs is one of those areas where its easier to learn the lessons from a friend or neighbour than to learn the hard way (I think I might try and get that printed on a T Shirt or as a motivational print for my office wall).
I am actually 100% serious about wanting a submarine door been after one for years (that may come as not surprise for a few of the old timers out there). Although my current front door is an art installation that shows a dragon flying over a burning city scape made to look like the dragon is flying towards a window which is the wooden frame of the door. I will post pictures when its finished in a few months time.
Hope that helps.
David
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 19:49:03
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David, yes, it really did. Thank you!
One of few perks of living in an NYC apartment right now is that the landlord has to pay the heat and hot water. So I will use the mouse excuse rather than the heating bills excuse as a reason to cover up the gap.
As for my neighbors, I tried to educate my next door neighbor about bed bugs, who is a friend, and he basically told me to calm down, that I was just scaring myself. I don't know the other neighbors that well, but I get the feeling that they are the type to grab a can of Raid and a shoe, rather than to hire a professional. :/
I try to educate people about the situation as much as I can. But its akin to being the heroine in a movie where no one believes you until its too late. Or, one of those lunatics with the cardboard signs who tell us we have to repent before the Lord because the end of the world is near. :p
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oldtimer
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 20:13:27
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Hey if there is anyone out there who can do web sites and scripting I am happy to fund http://www.oncebittentwiceshy.org as a site where you make sure that people get an anonymous email along the lines of:
A friend felt that you should know about the bedbug problem and wanted to recommend the following sites for you to learn the basics and avoid picking up bedbugs when you travel or to detect them quickly in your own home.
<links to good information>
Remember avoiding them can only take a few minutes which is so much better than months of treatment and anguish.
Regards,
The Bedbug education team at http://www.oncebittentwiceshy.org
Its also a great way for someone to showcase their work as a webdesigner and an amazing way to give something back in return for the FAQ here and on other sites.
David
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OhDearMe
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 20:24:11
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David, I am actually a graphic design student also studying web design. I still have a lot to learn about web development, I study more of visual design aspect rather than the technical, but I think that is a great idea. It is a site that desperately needs to exist in order to educate the masses. I shudder to think what people did before bedbugger.com.
It would also be a great way to mix my love of graphic design with my obsession with bedbugs, and a way for me to feel like I was actually doing something proactive. It is a lot for me to take on with school and work, but I'd love to collaborate with someone more technically proficient in regards to visual design, if anyone out there is interested?
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O Buggery
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 9 2010 20:55:36
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OhDearMe - 1 hour ago »
Thanks for the response. I am kind of afraid of DE, and also read that some PCOs won't treat if its been used on a premises? So lets say I develop an infestation, and I have screwed myself out of my PCO of choice. (And there don't seem to be that many good ones out there . . . but I could be wrong.)
(...)
Maybe I could apply petroleum jelly over the vent and then tape on the sides?I take your point about the DE. And I wouldn't put petroleum jelly on a vent cover - too much of a fire hazard. Vents are known for collecting dust & grease; and a nice mixture of dust, grease, and petroleum jelly sounds like the recipe for a pretty good fire.
So what else do we got? Hmmm...
Budbugs can't get around on extremely slippery surfaces, which is what the talc in the Climb-Up traps is for. So, if you took your vent cover down and cleaned the heck out of it, and then polished the heck out it (most silver polishes will do for most metals other than copper or brass, but read the label), and then maybe gave it a light dusting of talc before you put it back up; that might do the trick. Dust will give the BBs enough traction to cross it again, so you'd probably need to take it down and give it a quick dust-&-buff every so often - weekly maybe?
(Not that I've tried this - I'm really just brainstorming here.)OhDearMe - 1 hour ago »
As for the door thing, thats for the suggestion. My door opens inward though. I guess weather stripping is better than nothing. :/If you've got enough space for a mouse to get under the door, you may need to raise the doorsill/threshold. Not sure exactly how this is done (put an extra board under the existing sill? buy a whole new thicker one?); but somewhere out there, there's a website and/or a friendly & knowledgable hardware store guy who can tell you all about it.
OhDearMe - 1 hour ago » As for them not being outdoorsy, ugh. In my mind, there are everywhere. :/
It sure does seem like they're everywhere. It almost seems as if I can feel them in between my toes and crawling up my spine as I typ-
No. No. No. I've Got To Stop thinking that way RIGHT NOW.Although weatherstripping your door and blocking that under-door gap are good ideas just on their own merits (if only to stop very skinny burglars, and/or especially larcenous mice), David is right in that it's not likely to affect much bedbug-wise.
(That's probably true of the bathroom vent as well, but I'd say that it's definitely in need of some attention creeping-you-out-wise.)Take a deep breath. Read some of the sucess stories. Remind yourself that it's not the end of the world (no matter what your cardboard sign says
).
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waiting in panic
newbite
Joined: Sep '10
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Sep 11 2010 0:27:01
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Hi,
I used to have trouble with cigarette smoke coming through the bathroom vent from the guy living next door. I unscrewed the panel and put it in a ziploc bag. i then screwed it back on. i taped the wall switch to remember not to turn the fan on. It meant living without a bathroom vent, but that was not a significant problem as I just left the door open when I showered. I don't know if that would work to help keep BBs out. it did give me a very tight seal and solved the cigarette smoke problem. i'm glad you asked the question because i forgot about the bathroom vent being a way in. That same neighbor is also Clutter King and has over 100 boxes stored in his apartment. Landlord is having a canine inspection of all the apartments next week. Fingers crossed that he is bug-free. So far, I am.
--waiting in panic
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arghbugs
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 17 2010 3:31:55
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hey ! I am a noob here too as you can see by my "tag" here on the web site. I posted and two very kind people posted a reponse. I am disabled and on a fixed income. The most common phrase here is "DIY not good PCO good". Hire a PCO etc. I can't. Plain and simple. So I am diong all that I can to make things better here. I am in a panic as well and I wanted to post to you to tell you I ahve been watching news reels etc about the bb issues and there are a lot of people out there suffering mentally and socially. It's horrible really. It's either have them and get bit or hire someone who will take every penny you've got just to have to come back and do the same thing again. That means living out of bags and all of your stuff being unsettled and never feeling like you have a home again especially if you live in an apartment building like i do. So although we may not have similiar situations because I am unclear as to the details of your goings on, I wanted to tell you what I hear only from my partner who lives with me. It can be done regardless of what anyone says. I will tell you something I have observed ok ? Every PCO out there has said the same thing. It's on a case by case basement on how to treat the situation. We have a very low level infestation here where I live now and it will according to everyone I have spoken to become bigger regardless of anything that I do (DIY) and that I cannot stop it and I will fail. And yet i have jsut had a woman come to our apartment who said she lives ina townhome, neghbors on both sides and she was infested with the bugs to the point that her littrle boy was literally covered from head to toe with bites so bad he looked like he had the measels. She completely freaked of course because he's her baby! She did a lot to make it stop of course. She was very vigilant to say the least. She got them from a neighbor who had them and set off a bug bomb and sent them right into her place. But she has been bite free for over a year. She used a friggen hand steamer ok ? Not a steamer to do the entire carpet or any of the fancy things people here have bought (not saying anyone is wrong for doing so just saying) and she did what was recommended, bagging clothes after drying them to heat them up in the dryer to kill the eggs and leaving them in th ebags till the bites ceased, laying down diatomaceous earth (according to directions sepcifically) steaming the edges of the carpets in the infested room where her son was being eaten alive. She duct taped her sons entire crib lol! Regardless of the rest of the details she never had her carpets steamed entirely and she never hired a PCO. The entire building was not treated and she has no bb's. So it can be done. We are working on getting it done in our apartment now too. I have less bites than I had a week ago for sure and I am sleeping better because I starting to let some thigns in my head go. I know that they reproduce at an alarming rate, so fast I cna't even think about it or I will truly vomit. ( I did throw up when I found them in the corner underneath the carpet where I sit here typing to you now). I had a full blown panic attack and freaked out looking at them all crawling on each other etc. I sprayed the hell out of them with rubbing alcohol and vaccuumed the snot out of the area. I have a bagless vac so I let it run till I done and then I open it in the sink and run the hottest water you've ever felt coming from a sink on the carpet fibers till the whole hting is drewned in soapy water and then I walk out to the dumpster and toss the dowsed product into the dumpster. I wish I had another way and I am sure someone here will let me know i am doing it all wrong and now all of my neghbors have them because of me or something like that eh ? Maybe , maybe not. All I know is that I posted here for support and didn't get much but am truly grateful for those who did say something
So PCO or no it can be done I've heard it first hand and am looking for more success stories DIY. I will post with you but panic won't kill the bugs, it will just make us that much more ineffective ! So hold on tight to your faith and pray if you pray at all and the answers will come ! If you don't pray and you're a total atheist then grab your partner or best friend (if they will let you without freaking out) lol and look at them as the gift that they are to you and know that life is good bed bugs or not ! You have my support regardless ! Screw luck it takes action ! And sleep and eat and drink water so you havethe energy to act !
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O Buggery
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 17 2010 5:56:28
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Oh, argh - you poor thing. The stupid hateful bugs are just hateful, aren't they? Really hatefully hateful. I just hate them.
One poster who is also a PCO said somewhere on this site (I'm paraphrasing from memory here) that it's not that DIY can never work; but that knee-jerk uninformed DIY (throwing out your mattress, setting off a bug bomb, moving with all your untreated stuff to a new, not-yet-infested, place) can make things so much worse so extremely quickly that DIY has gotten a very, very bad name.
Sensible, well-researched and well-informed DIY can work, as your townhouse-dwelling friend has proved; and as you seem to be in the process of proving.
We have a very low level infestation here where I live now and it will according to everyone I have spoken to become bigger regardless of anything that I do (DIY) and that I cannot stop it and I will fail
Well, the overall bedbug infestation (in your building, in your city, nationwide, and globally) probably will become bigger no matter what you do.
But the infestation level in your own apartment is something that you can help to prevent, to contain, and to treat for.
You're already inspecting, vacuuming, and using isopropyl alcohol (BTW, the only thing I might have done differently about disposing of your BB-infested vacuumings would have been to boil some water on the stove to douse them in). You've probably already inspected your mattress, and done the best you can afford to encase it and to isolate your bed. You're probably already working through the long process of laundering and selaing away as much of your clothing and linens as posible, and of clearing out any bedbug-friendly clutter. And you're also caulking every gap and crevice in sight.
That's a lot. And, as you've already noticed, it's having an effect. You seem to be doing all the right things and to be getting benefit from them - proving that DIY done right is indeed a good and effective thing.
(Also, please remember that many of us here on the boards are going through our own bedbug dramas, and may often be too exhausted and overwrought to be as supportive as we'd really like.)
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waiting in panic
newbite
Joined: Sep '10
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 17 2010 11:47:56
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dear arghbugs,
you mentioned you are disabled, low income and living in an apartment. have your reported your concerns to your landlord? if so, what was the response? do other neighbors in your building have them? what state do you live in? are there state laws (tenant/landlord act) that requires your landlord or property management company to deal with pests? If you are low income, disabled and living in subsidized housing, you may have even more rights. also, if you are disabled and the bedbugs are negatively impacting your disability, you may have an option to request a reasonable accommodation on the basis of your disability.
i don't know if it is possible to exterminate bed bugs completely without the help of a PCO, but it seems to me unlikely unless the infestation is very small and caught very, very early.
if you post for me what state you live in, what your landlord's position is, if you are in subsidized housing, and if the bed bugs are negatively impacting your disability, i may be able to help you "work the system" to get an exterminator (assuming you want one.) i am not a lawyer. i do have a great deal of experience with tenant/landlord issues as well as disability rights. if i can help, please post again. if you don't feel comfortable putting that information on the web, you can see if there is a tenants union in your area to assist you. it an be exhausting working the system, but given what you are up against with the bed bugs, it may be worth it to at least look into it.
--waiting in panic
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arghbugs
newbite
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 23 2010 16:51:41
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not comfortable is not even close. There are people on this site who seriously cannot control their anger and I would never post my personal disabilities to someone I have never met and have no idea who they are so thank you for being objective , I appreciate your candor and willingness to help. Landlords are not the issue. Pesticides are lethal to people like me. End of story. Thank you muchly
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arghbugs
newbite
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 23 2010 16:52:29
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again I thank you
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arghbugs
newbite
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 23 2010 16:55:09
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O Buggery
I just read your post and thank you with all of my heart for your warmth and support. I've been praying for everyone who has to deal with these creatures!
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O Buggery
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 24 2010 2:51:57
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Argh -
Thanks for your response; and for the prayers: I need all the help I can get.
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arghbugs
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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Oct 12 2010 2:39:04
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well... it's been awhile since I've posted. So caulking is a nightmare when you have to drag your finger along a baseboard with carpet tack anchored in solid cement. I have had more than one dream about tearing out every inch of carpet in our apartment and bagging it and tossing it in the dumpster. Since I last wrote I was working on preparing to use a ULV fogger with a cold fog and best yet cedracide stuff. I've treated four times at intervals of 8 days then 48 hours after. So every 8th and 10th day. I go for about four days no bites and then they start showing up again. This after caulking and hand steaming the heck out of the baseboards. I'm losing my mind
Yep losing it
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arghbugs
newbite
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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Oct 12 2010 2:43:43
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oh and i also have to say real quick that the people who post that they know for certain the cedarcides tuff won't work etc. . . I don't believe you since none of the people whose posts I read have even used the product so please dont post telling me it doesnt work. If that were the case I would be getting bitten every nite and I'm not. Just for the last two treatments it's been bites four or five days after foggning. Yes I've watched the vids about fogging etc. No it is not the same kind of fog and I'm truly too tired to explain why it's not. So feel free to contact cedarcide yourself and ask them. One operator will tell you it will make the bugs run and the other one will tell you about the cold fog and the ULV triple jet fogger they utilize with the spray. *laughs* yep it's a mixed bag. Dr Ben will tell you to just do it and see for yourself. Who knows ? Nno one here unless you've done it and done the tests. Filed tests and lab tests etc
So keep your it wont work comments to yourself please, I'm fragile like the rest of you and broke emotinally and financially
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