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How to Isolate Mattress on wood floor

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jtwburger

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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Aug 6 2007 16:49:11
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Hi all - this is my first post, but I've been reading for about 3 weeks. My apartment was treated once about 2 weeks ago. Initially no bb's were found on the bed and boxspring. Then the PCO found 2 nymphs and 1 adult in my metal bed frame, 1 adult in a cord next to the bed. When he sprayed about 4 or 5 little adults came out of the box spring. The frame and boxspring were thrown out (in a moment of hysteria, but wrapped up) and we wrapped the mattress in 2 vinyl covers and duct taped each of those. We are now sleeping on the floor - have been bitten a couple times after initial spraying and are wickedly stressed. We are getting married in 39 days - out of town, paying for it ourselves - so we're already incredibly stressed and this has just sent us out of our minds.
I'm wondering how to isolate the bed on the floor. It is a rental with nice wood floors and I thought about the vaseline around the bed - but I don't want us to be stepping in it and dragging it all around the house - and I think the double stick carpet tape is going to mess up the floors. Any ideas?
On a side note - you guys are incredible. The advice and comaraderie here is amazing. Thanks in advance - John

P.S. We are using a different PCO - they are coming in 2 days and will be doing 3 treatments for the same price as 1 from the first PCO - AND they sound much more informed!
Bugalina

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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Aug 6 2007 17:17:11
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jtw....I slept on an isolated mattress on the floor, but I think by the time I did this the bed bugs were gone...however i thought it was very good.......I purchased a large, white plastic painters tarp. I was using only a twin mattress at the time, but tarps come in all sizes. I doubled over the tarp and laid it as evenly on the floor as I could......I then proceeded to tape all of the edges down to the wooden floor with a double sided carpet tape. I used Frost King but I think Scotch/3M makes a good one as well. I think the width of the tape was at least two inches. Then I placed the very well encased mattress in the center of the laid out tarp...I had a border of at least 24 inches on all sides...at night I would take Kleen Free and spray my socked feet before stepping onto the "safe area"...and of course I would not go into the safe area until I had showed and put on clean pjs....I also had an encased pillow. I made certain that I used a small coverlet so that at no time it would penetrate off of the "moat"......Also...I dusted very litely with DE all around the wooden floor...I have heard that the bed bugs might be able to cross over the sticky carpet tape but I used a really high quality tape and believe me...it was very sticky....In the morning I would inspect all around it with my Carson magnifier...l truly do not think that the carpet tape would cause any permanent damage to the wooden floor....they make all kinds of citrus based cleaning solvents now that can easily remove glue....but placing the tarp under the mattress is crucial because it blocks any passage way from the wooden cracks and crevices underneath....deb
Bugalina

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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Aug 6 2007 17:19:28
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jtw... I actually might have used a roll of clear plastic....the kind painters buy to protect floors...I think it was clear....because tarps have gromments and you really don't want that.....so I amend my suggestion to mean clear plastic....doubled over to ensure NO tears... So sorry about this coming on the heels of your joyeus day....
jtwburger

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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Aug 6 2007 17:29:05
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Deb - Thanks so much for the reply...it sounds like a great plan. And I appreciate the sympathy for my pre-wedding predicament I'm sure you are right about the carpet tape. I am sure I can get whatever glue residue there is off of the floor after this nightmare is over. Will I need to replace the tape if I find bugs on it? If so - do you replace the whole thing - plastic and all, or are you able to remove just sections of the tape? Thanks....
Bugalina

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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Aug 6 2007 17:56:22
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well honestly I stayed in my mother in laws home for about 5 days....that's where I "moated" the mattress.....then I returned one more time...I do think that I replaced the tape.....I wouldn't put tape over tape because you could create harborage areas by doing this....I don't have any tape here in my new home but maybe you can experiment with it...take a length of the double sided carpet tape and put it down on the wooden floor...maybe taping down one side of a large ziplock...leave it for a day and see if its really hard to get up....I honestly do not remember having any trouble taking the tape up....I would think that you may need to replace the tape when you see it getting "messy" ...like with other stuff like lint etc....if it becomes too covered then it will most likely effect its efficacy...get as wide a tape as you can...This tape is not cheap...but I really recommend that you buy a brand name , like Frost King because I purchased a roll from True Value and it was crap....the Frost King was easy to work with and had a great adhesive...don't go for the price, go for the quality...with bed bugs you can't skimp...deb
willow-the-wisp

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Posted 5 years ago
Tue Aug 7 2007 4:20:43
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You might also consider laying down cheap easily removable tape under the layer of carpet tape. I found it extremely hard to remove after a month--it ripped finish off a cheap dresser and two layers of paint off a strip I had placed on a wall. A thin rim of thickly laid Vaseline all around the INSIDEe border of the carpet tape--would be, in my opinion, even more helpful and "bed bug proof" secure.

I'm saying here... that if the carpet tape is 2 inches--the cheaper tape should be 3 inches thick, and the innermost--not the outermost part of the carpet tape gets the 1/4 inch "Vaseline strip." Step in it once--and you'll remember not to do it again.
This makes repairs much easier if you use the regular masking like tape FIRST. it may be repairable without removing the entire thing. Carpet tape very carefully applied over carpet tape that is damaged or what have you will still make an excellent seal.
Less bites = less bed bugs and in 40 days you want to be well rested, for the second night of the honeymoon. (I hear that's an even better night than the first)
Sounds like the place is nearly bare or devoid of furnishings? If so--keep it that way. Much easier to kill them have PCO's treat for them etc....

PS--Naturally you will totally clean the entire area with Murphy's citrus oil soap first 3 or 4 parts water to one part concentrated formula that--should be sufficient.
Many say it kills bed bugs--I trust them. I've used it--but saw no bed bugs at the time.
(There were none at the time--I do feel it works.)

All of this additional stuff--I HIGHLY and STRONGLY reccommend. Esp. incuding Bugalina's statagey to keep the area so bed bug free when crossing over the safe threshold you fell like your in an operating room--sleeping on an operating table. BB's are that wiry!
buggeroff

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Posted 5 years ago
Tue Aug 7 2007 13:05:23
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You know you can pick up a standard, steel bedframe for almost nothing at a mattress store. They usually come free with the mattress. Without a box spring, you might need a couple of boards to support the mattress on the frame.

For just a tape "moat" (mine is on the ceiling), I used blue making tape to make the rectangle, then I laid double-sided carpet tape in a strip on top of that. The carpet tape was wider than the blue tape, so I had to cut it lengthwise. The whole project took about a half hour - the carpet tape was pretty sticky and not always easy to handle. When it comes time to replace the moat, the blue tape will come off much more easily. I would replace or refresh when the carpet tape gets glopped up with fuzz, dust, dog hair, etc. or when it doesn't seem very sticky when you put your finger on it.
willow-the-wisp

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Posted 5 years ago
Tue Aug 7 2007 15:41:50
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It' true--a cheap, well-isolated bed fame and isolated mattress may well be worth it.