i have to move can anythign be saved? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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i have to move can anythign be saved?

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buggerNY

newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 3

Posted 9 months ago
Sat Jan 31 2009 15:46:37
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i noticed the infestation about 3 weeks ago. had 1 treatment last week, have another scheduled for next week the thing is have to move, my lease is up in 3 weeks. i am planning on getting rid of my sofa, bed, dressers, nightstands, coffee table, bookshelf and chair. all my clothes have been washed/dried and re washed and dried and stored in bags... i am VERY fearful that these pests are going to follow me... do i have to throw out my shoes? my brand new tv? my dslr? my 2000$ computer? all my books ? or can i treat them safely?
buggyinsocal

oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130

Posted 9 months ago
Sat Jan 31 2009 16:13:52
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First of all, don't throw everything away just yet, and try not to despair.

It turns out, you may be moving at a pretty good time. Many people here have had a lot of luck packing all their belongings into a moving van and having the moving van and its contents treated with Vikane.

It's not a 100% foolproof method all the time, but it is one of the treatments that are more likely to wipe all the bugs out in one go.

Search the forum for posts with the tag Vikane and see what comes up.
buggerNY

newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 3

Posted 9 months ago
Sat Jan 31 2009 16:23:21
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thanks!!! i was planning on getting rid of most of my stuff (like the couch/bedroom things) before this happened ive been planning a move for 6 months and held off on new stuff coz it would be easier to have it delivered one time instead of bringing it here just to move it in 3-5 months... so im VERY VERY lucky about that...

my main issue is really my computer/tv/camera/shoes .... the tv and the camera are very new (month old) so they were brought into my apartment after the infestation began and the computer was here all along... i have been reading through the site and others and i havent found any solid info on treating electronics... i cannot part with these items they are part of my source of income and they are used for grad school... also i have shoes that i dont think can go into the dryer or the oven

thanks again
i will def look into vikane
buggyinsocal

oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130

Posted 9 months ago
Sat Jan 31 2009 22:12:46
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Vikane is pretty much the one and only ideal way to treat all of those items at once.

Vikane is a chemical that is primarily used to treat termite infestations. Plenty of places in New York city have experience using it for bed bugs, which is good, because for it to be effective on bed bugs it needs to be used at three times the strength as is used for termites.

Living in So Cal, I've usually seen it used for termites. Vikane does not penetrate through plastic bags, so you can't pack anything in the truck in sealed plastic. However, you can absolutely put your shoes, your books, your computer, etc. in luggage or cardboard boxes and have the whole truck fumigated at one go.

Most people wear one inexpensive outfit while they pack, and then change into "safe" clothes (clothes washed in hot, dried on hot, and immediately sealed into a clean ziplock) after showering at the new place and either seal up and toss or immediately wash the outfit they wore in the bed bug place, right down to their shoes, when they arrive at the new place. Combine that protocol with treating everything in a truck with Vikane, assuming it's done right and you didn't pack anything in plastic, and you've got a very good chance of taking the whole infestation out.

Vikane would probably be used more often for bed bugs because it is so effective, but you can't Vikane an individual apartment, and it's expensive. Cost of treatment wise for a whole building is probably comparable to thermal--maybe more, but from a land lord perspective, it's much more expensive since, at least for termites, the tenants need to be out of the property for several days, and LL are responsible for putting them up at a hotel during treatment.

I didn't do Vikane, although I had a friend in grad school who had to have her rental tented for termites, and I think she left her computer in the house for it. I don't imagine she took any cameras with her for a three day hotel stay, so I can't see any problems with having those items in the truck for treatment.

Again, it might seem expensive up front, but when you tally the time and energy and trauma of ongoing chemical treatment, to say nothing of the laundry and dry cleaning and labor. . . it seems a reasonable cost to me.
aaghbugs

newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 20

Posted 9 months ago
Sun Feb 1 2009 15:07:03
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Some people have put their shoes in the dryer and claimed success.

Someone else said they put them in the oven on warm, but for some of them the glue came undone. Still, if your alternative is to throw them away, it would be better to take a chance on ruining them.

Another idea would be to get plastic totes for your shoes and keeping the shoes in them anytime that you are at home with the totes closed. If your new apartment has a patio or something you could try keeping the totes there.