I'd like to hear your experiences with finding BB on monitors.

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I'd like to hear your experiences with finding BB on monitors.

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Started 2 years ago by NeedAValidUserName
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NeedAValidUserName

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 1 2011 19:25:18
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Just like the title indicates, I'm interested in hearing how monitors did (or did not) help you in your quest to find elusive bed bug evidence. I'm considering booby trapping my house with these things - but I'd like to hear some testimonials before I purchase more of them. Thanks!
buggyinsocal

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Posted 2 years ago
Wed Mar 2 2011 11:01:35
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I didn't respond sooner because I don't have a lot of personal experience with this, but I do feel like your post deserves a response. I doubt mine will be much help, but I suppose it's worth trying.

I've been bed bug free for about 2.67 years now. I discovered my infestation (as you might guess by my joined on date) in June of 2008.

At that time, we didn't have monitors.

I found the bed bugs through observation and investigation. I was lucky that my PCO was a good company; the tech they sent out showed me how to inspect.

I'm relieved that we now have some monitors that work; they do make things easier. Thankfully, (possibly at least in part because inspection is a part of my regular routine) I haven't been reinfested so I haven't had an opportunity to try out the newer monitors in person.

I can tell you that I've seen a lot of people here use Climbups and BB Alert's passive version. Any report I would have on how effective they are would only be anecdotal, and I get the sense that you want personal accounts from people who've used them. I can tell you that on the boards, I've seen several people rule bed bugs out by finding other pests in their monitors.

Hope that helps a little.
NeedAValidUserName

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 3 2011 21:35:22
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Hmmmm....so NO ONE in these forums have ever found bed bugs on their monitors? That's not (or maybe it is?) encouraging.

Anyone?
Callisto

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 3 2011 21:54:47
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I have! Installed climbups on my bed and futon, and they caught a bedbug when my cousin stayed over (it was a month after my building's PCO sprayed the place, and I hadn't seen any since the first week post) which let us know that I needed another treatment. Since then, all they've caught is a spider. I released it into my bedroom. It was my spider minion :).
NeedAValidUserName

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 3 2011 21:59:44
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thanks for replying, callisto and buggy. My concern is that these things seems like they'd work in theory, but I'm wondering if anyone with anything but the very worst infestation ever has actually caught a bed bug in these things. I just spent about $175 (on top of the $5000 all in I've spent to fight the initial infestation) on passives, actives, and climbups and I'd like to know that they aren't just lulling me into a false sense of security.
scaredsilly

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Mar 4 2011 12:46:12
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I have used climbups and BB Alert Passive. As soon as I installed climbups on my bed back in October, I had no bites for a week but caught nothing (did the bugs avoid the climbups? Not sure). Later I installed BB Alert Passive. Never got anything on that one either. However, in fairness to the BB Alert, I installed it wrong (Horizontally and on an area that had been sprayed).

After tossing the bed, bites are much fewer and far between so I believe bugs were still in the frame of the bed but didn't indicate on the monitors.

I DO believe in both products as I have them on other furniture in the house as a precaution and when I install my new bed both will go on. Nothing is perfect, but besides inspection I believe these are the best devices around.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Mar 4 2011 12:49:31
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Other people have reported finding bed bugs in these monitors, but they may not all be reading the forums this week.

Keep in mind, you may not catch anything overnight.
Denise

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Mar 4 2011 14:12:16
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I'm kind of curious myself. I'm not too keen on spending $19/passive monitor times 5 beds, a couch, and 2 relincers, which to me looks like a piece of corrugated board on top of a white base. Plus I don't want to have the urge to examine something everytime I go to bed.
ukulelejack

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Mar 4 2011 15:26:50
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in almost 2 years of using them, with a constant migration problem from a heavily infested neighbor, i've never once caught a bug in a climb-up. and i keep my bed as isolated as possible. never tried the others.
KillerQueen

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Mar 4 2011 22:37:03
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I have used all of them out there. Both passive and active. Nothing is 100% but I do find most of them work. Each one has pro's and con's.

Sometimes the bugs are just not there and it could be difficult to convince yourself that you won the war. Time is the only thing that will tell really. Keep your eye on the ball and stay vigilant for a while, but you could have already won.
bugnut

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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Mar 5 2011 11:12:50
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I have the climb ups and the passive and have also used a beacon - at almost 9 mos I can say they are gone. I leave them where they are as a precaution. I never caught anything so I can't say I know 100% they work, but I did troll the posts here and hear some fairly convincing reports.

There is a post that refers to a test done with the climb ups - several apts. treated for bbs and the surrounding apts installed climb ups. When the tenants were asked if they had bbs they almost all said no but all had bbs in the climb ups.

Like KQ said, nothing is 100% - except his inspections! He is truly the Sherlock Holmes of BBs!
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Mar 5 2011 13:50:29
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Hi,

I have extensive experience of the following systems:
- Passives (BB Alert) - in both commercial and domestic settings as a detector and aid to treatment
- Bed Bug Beacon - mainly for unoccupied areas where a full 5 day monitoring is feasible
- Expensive electronic heat / CO2 and lure system - for use in unoccupied areas
I find that for proactive work the passives are best in class and can help to limit the spread of an infestation by catching it long before the breading ramps up and you are likely to see a bedbug.

I also like the beacon for use in unoccupied areas for its cost effectiveness and multi day unattended use.

I have a couple of the expensive ones gathering dust in the corner of the warehouse because they are not cost effective to run.

I appreciate the comment of Denise above that the passive appears simple, i had a very similar comment from the patent examiner when I met him on Friday. I can only mirror his response when he actually understood how the system works and agreed that its novel and inventive.

Yes all systems should be used in conjunction with detailed examination of the area and as others have said not all solutions will work in all settings, its a matter of selecting what is appropriate for the environment you are in.

I will however say that you don't need to look at passives every time you go to bed, once a week is the most I would advise or following suspicious bites. If you check them weekly then you catch infestations before eggs have time to hatch but monthly will suffice in most settings as the infestation will still be contained to lower numbers.

I am hoping to get clearance to release more application notes on the website in the next few weeks so you will see more field data to support the system.

I hope that helps.

David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited

In accordance with the AUP and the FTC I freely confirm that I have a vested interest in the passive technology as the inventor but feel that the information I have provided is balanced and technically accurate.
NeedAValidUserName

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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Mar 6 2011 0:48:20
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Thanks everyone. Mr Cain, thank you for your response. I'm armed and ready. Fortunately, I don't have evidence that there is increased breeding around here.

KillerQueen, I'll accept that I may have won the war, since it's been 2 months without evidence or increasing intensity of visual clues or symptoms. Just spent $2000 on furniture, which will be monitored and isolated to hell, so I'm really hoping that my "bites" are just usual NYC shit that I've had for awhile and just never noticed.

I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for your expertise and concern.

NAVUN
Denise

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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Mar 6 2011 16:34:55
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Interesting....not sure I want them as I don't believe we have BB. Never say never though! I could use them as a preventive, but I'm just not there. It will be awhile before I stop thinking about them even though I don't think we ever had them.

Still trying to figure what's going on with the baby and his 1 or 2 "bites" per night. I'm planning to see an allergist with him. although rare, cocoa might be the culprit.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

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Posted 2 years ago
Wed Mar 23 2011 13:09:19
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My bugs are found only on the walls, ceiling, and sofa. There's never been a single bug in the ClimbUps, in the homemade ClimbUp-style interceptors I used while the ClimbUps were in the mail, or in the easy-to-inspect paper and wood debris I've laid down as I cleared up my clutter.
yousofunky

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Aug 29 2011 23:33:04
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I am just as curious as you. Like others have said, there are replies and posts out there that indicate the climb ups are successful at detecting BB's, however, no one on this thread has said anything super positive . . .

I've had climb ups underneath my bed posts for about a month and all they've caught is a few spiders. Some days I'm able to accept this as prove I don't have BB's. Other days when I find marks on my body I wonder just how reliable they are, especially since my bed could have already been infested before I installed the climb ups

I've been trying to get my landlord to have a BB inspection for about a month now. Hopefully if that ever actually happens the PCO will either find other evidence or reasure me I'm BB free. Until then I'll be paranoid . . like I've been for the last 3 months . . .
Nobugsonme

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 30 2011 0:01:45
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You can't really judge monitors on the basis of whether anyone on this thread found them helpful.

Others still waiting for confirmation they have bed bugs can't say a monitor isn't working, if they don't know yet that they have a bed bug problem.

ClimbUps, BbAlert Passive, and Beacons were invented too late for me to test them.

We have heard reports of them working from consumers and from pros.
Sir Green Day

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 30 2011 15:16:22
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I have the circular traps I use under my beds legs. Each one has 2 resivoirs on each trap. Even though they are supposedly treated with something to make it slick so the BB's can't get out of them once the climb in, I put a little baby oil in each trap.

I've caught 2 BB's in about 2 months.
yousofunky

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 30 2011 21:38:26
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Now that several posters have mentioned putting their own additions to the monitors, I'm starting to feel like just the monitors themselves aren't enough . . . I wonder if I should be baby oiling and adding baby powder to my monitors as well????

But then I'm afraid since I don't know what I'm doing I'll break the traps or make them nonfunctional somehow.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 3:13:47
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yousofunky - 5 hours ago »
Now that several posters have mentioned putting their own additions to the monitors, I'm starting to feel like just the monitors themselves aren't enough . . . I wonder if I should be baby oiling and adding baby powder to my monitors as well????

I would not experiment in this way. Traps which have been tested to work are designed in a certain way and it usually is a bad idea to improvise on top of a working product.

Climbups, for example, contain talc already. The instructions tell you to top this up with a light dusting every three weeks. So yes, you should follow those instructions.

On the other hand, it seems to me that putting oil in Climbups might be counterproductive. And certainly would be unnecessary.

I am not an expert but it might make it more likely for bed bugs to set off alarm pheromones, which is not what you want. If using this device, you simply want to trap bed bugs. And if they are properly caught in a ClimbUp, then they should not walk away.
JWhiteBBCTV

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 8:49:24
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I think KillerQueen hit the nail on the head. I think many of the 0-catches in this thread are because bed bugs just aren't there.

Based on extensive research, I can tell you that in low level bed bug infestations (where we found 10 bugs or less in an apartment through a intensive visual inspection), if you install interception devices (in this study, Climbups were used) you will detect 75% of the infestations over the course of a week. This was conducted in apartments with the residents sleeping in the bed and going about their every-day life.

Also, the longer you leave them, the more you increase the chance of catching something.

If you have interception devices in place for weeks on end and they are set properly and aren't catching anything, it's time to accept the fact that bed bugs just aren't there. It's not because the devices don't work properly.

As for other detection devices, the Nightwatch is the other monitor we've had extensive success with but is a much more cost-limiting monitor that doesn't make a ton of sense for most of the public. Again, we can detect about 70% of low level infestations (study parameters same as above) over the course of 4 days/nights.

As for the Beacon, we haven't had nearly the success with this monitor and have been unable to detect the majority of low level bed bug infestations when set in the same setting as above (people sleeping in bed, etc...). I don't disagree with David Cain though that the better setting for this monitor to increase the chance you collect bed bugs would be to set it in a vacant unit. I also see this as a more affordable active monitor for the public to set-it and see what happens but if it doesn't catch bugs I wouldn't draw many conclusions from the results.
mentallyexhausted

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 12:58:37
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I was just looking at this topic and thinking that I should look at our climbup interceptors today. And lo and behold I just found a tiny nymph on one of the interceptors on my daughter's bed. I'm actually waiting for a PCO to show up to do another inspection and plan on showing this to them but looks like these are working for us. I found it in the outer ring. But my daughter is still getting a few bites but I know she's not totally clean before going to bed (hard to do that with an active 2.5 yr old).

hope that helps.
makesmenuts

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 13:56:26
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Haven't found anything in either our passives or the CO2 actives, but that's hopefully a good thing since I didn't start using them till after we started treating. I plan to keep the cardboard passives in strategic areas even after we lick this infestation.
so unsettling

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 15:45:36
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I have had the climbups, well maintained and in fact repurchased, on the legs of bed and table for a year. So far I have found one earwig, one fly, and one larvae in there. I used the passive for a few months before I encased the bed, and never found any bugs or fecal in or on it.

I DO have bedbugs. One day a couple of months ago, I was about to declare myself clear, when lo and behold a fifth instar appears on a table near where I sat with my computer before the laptop died. Before that, I had found a fed adult on the floor by my piano. And just a few days ago, I tested something on my shoe and it tested positive for blood. I wasn't bleeding anywhere.

If anyone hanging out here has ever found bedbug evidence on their passive monitor, please, please come forward. This question has been asked a few times lately, and it is something I wondered about as I have searched high and low on this forum and can't find anyone who ever found evidence on a passive.

I don't mean to be a bitch, but we need real-life evidence that these things work, not just lab reports. People need to really know that these items can and will help us. Many people here have spent a fortune on these materials, so if I am missing some posts, I apologize.
JWhiteBBCTV

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 16:38:48
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So Unsettling, as I tell everybody who e-mails me asking for me to tell them what to do with their infestation, it's impossible for me to comment on somebody's infestation without seeing it myself. THAT BEING SAID, if you are finding bugs on laptop bags away from your bed, near the piano and other non-sleeping areas and you AREN'T finding them on couches and beds, there's something atypical going on. List of questions:

1. Who identified these bugs? If you find another you need an ID specialist to take a look at them.
2. Have you been spraying pesticide around your apartment?
3. Do surrounding units have issues?
4. Are you living relatively normal (sleeping in the bed every night, etc...)?

What you are seeing is extremely atypical of bed bugs. If it happened once, that's fine. The second one by the piano doesn't make sense. As for the blood smear, you can't attribute that to bed bugs. I know you say you weren't bleeding but who knows.

We've used interception devices in 100's if not 1000's of units and caught 10's of thousands of bed bugs. And as I said above, the field study was conducted in apartments with people sleeping in them and living normal lives.

When you say "passives", are you talking about the BB Alert Passive? If so, that's a question for David Cain. I have no experience with them and can't recommend anyone in the U.S. who uses them extensively.
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 17:26:26
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Hi So Unsettling,

From what you has described I would say that it may be feasible that you are catching them as they are introduced, it does happen, I have seen a few such cases in my years of people literally picking them off clothes or chairs they have just sat on. Thinking about what they did just before seeing them often helps people avoid such sources.

As for the passives being lab tested all the data I have presented is in fact field data supplied either from others who have tested the product or "tripped" passives sent to my facility for inspection. The only lab test we have done is called an arena trial, the basis of this is that we place a known number of fed bedbugs into a container with two products to see after a few hours / days where they are located and if signs can be seen. I am yet to test a product that in such conditions works better than the passive.

I will however ask someone in the US who uses them in commercial settings to see if they are prepared to post something about it. The technology is not extensively "recommended" in the US because the academic test that was conducted on it was done against the recommendations of the protocol I wrote and to be frank if the bedbugs cant get to the device they cant be detected, the same academic also got poor results on other technologies tested but for some unfathomable reason did not see fit to disclose that his name is on the patent of the technology that came out top. I also got a lot of interest from distributors in the early phase and one well know person said he was impressed with the field data but was disappointing when I explained I did not have the ability to grant them the monopoly that they wanted.

You may be right and in your case they do not work but most take comfort in the fact that they have been an essential part of my companies service offering for 3 years now and we have literally used them in 5,000+ cases and have field placed over 10,000 units. As there is no-one who can match the level of work we have done over the last 6 years of running the company and 8 years that I have specialised in bedbugs this product comes from field design and observation not lab testing. In fact I was amused of recent to see some companies change their approach to bedbugs towards my firms leave it all stationary until we get there to confirm and asses what needs to be done approach. It would have been nice of them to credit me with the concept but since they have not actually discussed the finer details of how we work and why that approach is so effective I can assure you that they are not in possession of all the facts.

I also assume that when you say passives you mean the BB Alert Passives as I have now be granted the method patent on the principles of passive monitoring so amusingly anyone using that phrase is now in breach of my IP and I think we can expect to see another U turn away from people using that name as they will be asked to change for legal reasons.

I understand your frustration that they did not work as you hoped but bedbugs do need to be in the environment for long enough to find them which is why I have always said 12 - 72 hours from introduction.

They also have the major advantage of being maintenance free where I have heard others say that if you don't re-talc interceptors about every 2 weeks they will start to allow bedbugs to pass over the isolation wells.

If you want to test one of the more expensive plug in active monitors I will happily send you one of the ones we no longer use, they cost a lot more to run each night and if you are bringing occasional ones in with you and finding them before they settle it would still not help in your situation.

I hope that put some logic into your situation.

David
scaredpea

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 21:19:51
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David (or anyone for that matter),

Can you direct this post to any links on this forum where someone has posted identifying BB's on the BBAlert passive? someone who was able to confirm their suspicions of bb's with your monitor.

I believe everything you're saying in terms of your logic and testing and field work, but the question remains that loads of people here wondering if they have bb's or not are buying BBAlert Passives (as per the frequent recommendations here) but there remains to be seen a single post where someone, an average Joe/Jane on this forum has had indirect signs but reasonable double about bb's, ordered passives and then found evidence on it. I know I've searched high an low... if there is a thread that contradicts this please post the link.

Perhaps many of them don't have bb's, or as you say they may have ordered your passives as monitoring tools post infestation... but It's still odd that no-one has posted discovering concrete evidence to identify bb's on them. Given how frequently they're recommended and purchased you'd think someone would come back and say they discovered evidence on them and now they're dealing with confirmed bb's (and therefore would have reason to stay on the forum and tell their story)

and preemptively folks please don't flame me, my question was not regarding my own personal situation or anxieties. just trying to help keep this on topic and get the original posters question answered.
so unsettling

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 22:02:51
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Thanks for your replies, Jeff and David. To Jeff, from the beginning, I believed that these bugs settled in my living room. Last June and July, I had to empty a large storage unit that was shutting down. My stuff had come from my parent's house 5 years earlier after they both had died and I sold the house. Those were the same years that beg bugs were spreading aggressively, and undoubtedly somewhere in that large storage building, someone had dropped off some infested items. I only went to the unit occasionally, but sometimes lingered there for a while trying to sort through the mountain of items I had stored there. At the end, everyone was using the same carts and elevators to get their stuff out. I could have picked these bugs up there at any point. I was too ignorant of bed bugs at the time to know that there was anything to worry about.

So I brought it all home, dumped it all in my large living room, and worked on figuring out what to do with it all summer. I was in that living room every day, and I get up very very early in the morning and sit at my computer or piano, which were right next to each other. I have always theorized that the bugs found me there, consistently, and they just established their hiding places in that area. I got rid of my couch early on because it was so old and not worth keeping, and I have yet to replace it. There is very little furniture in the living room--just some computer desks and tables and a piano. There was never a shred of evidence in the bedroom, even though the bed was not encased or isolated through the first 3 months and first 3 treatments. And I had a feeling I got bitten as I hung out, hours on end, in the living room, working with all kinds of formerly stored material, playing the piano, and using my computer. I was there more than I was in the bed.

The nymph was clearly identified by my PCO, but it wasn't really necessary. Anyone who has been at this site for a while would recognize this obvious instar. No question about it.

The units above, below, and next to me have been inspected, and no one else in the building has ever complained about anything. These bugs seem to be quite happy here with me. And yes, I confess that I did do a couple of rounds of Phantom a month apart, since the PCOs here won't do any more than 3. Since that didn't appear to have worked the first time, I did something of my own after they finished. And there is DE in many crucial places.

Oh, and it wasn't a blood mark on my shoe--it was brown or black stuff that smeared. I know it could have been something else, but I have tested 100s of things in here, and that is the first definitively positive result I got.

And yes, I live a normal life, always sleeping in my bed which is now isolated. If they weren't around the bed in the first place, I don't care to have them relocate there. Not only do I live a normal life, but I am as much bait as any bug could hope for. I work 8 hours a day, but spend most of my time home. The only thing about these bugs that bothers me is that they can spread. If I really thought I could keep them under control, they would be quite welcome to live here forever, but I fear giving them to someone else who couldn't stand it. I even think these bugs are kind of cute; I am not afraid of them and if I caught one biting me, I would let it do its thing and I would let it go in hopes of following it back to its harborage. I would also want to find out how long it took for the bite to appear, to see how delayed my reaction might be.

So I am not running from them; I just need to get rid of them so that I can throw a party at my house and have people in. That's my greatest desire at this point in life--to have a party. I used to have parties here.

And David, yes, i was referring to your passive as it is the only one I am aware of. I wasn't set up well to use it, not having a headboard and feel it didn't get a good test in my case. I know that you know what you are doing and I just wish more people would report "outcomes" here. Too many people come here all freaked out and beg for help which they get, but then they disappear once they find a solution without letting us know about it. I had thought of trying the passive on my piano, which is structured something like a headboard. It's an upright digital, but made like a piece of furniture.

It had occurred to me, especially when I found that loose nymph, that I could have brought it in. But it was almost dead when I found it, and that is probably WHY I found it. The place had been treated and it apparently made contact with something. It is also unlikely that I am bringing them in from somewhere else, as I live a packtite lifestyle now. Nothing comes in or goes out of here without being sanitized--and I am serious--absolutely nothing. I even packtite the plastic bags that I carry groceries in. Everything is dryed or packtited and bagged all the time. This is an absolute quarantine. It has been a year now, and there is no sign of them at my workplace or the library. My friends and family all say they don't have them, but I still torch my clothing and shoes when I return from their homes. I have been a total purist in this whole ordeal. It gets easier after a while; it's doable.

But the strangest part of it now, is that it doesn't seem like I am being bitten. It has been months since I have clearly identified anything as a bite, although it is hard for me to tell because I have always had pocky skin and it would never be completely clear bed bugs or not. Sometimes I wonder if I no longer react. But it's weird that I found the hardest evidence only after it seemed like they were not here, and seemed like I wasn't being bitten. Now, it's just a waiting game. If I find more hard evidence, I plan to call in the dogs and tell my landlord that I want to hire my own PCO. They use a Green company, and for all I know they may be spraying the place with grapefruit juice and dusting it with flour.

Thanks both of you, again.
craigs1919

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 1 2011 11:38:27
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After gettng bites I put climbups on my bed. Finally a few weeks or maybe even a month or two later I found an adult in one of the clumbups. That was the only bug I ever actually saw. Had a treatment back in April and all seemed well until mid-July. More bites and seemed to have fecal on the encasements. Nothing on the climbups. Got another treatment two weeks ago and will have a followup on Saturday. Did have some bites these past two weeks. So lame!
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 1 2011 12:38:34
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I wonder if Sean Rollo has his ears on out in cyberspace, he did a monitoring study and reported the results at last years bbug summit. Very proud to say he ranked our Bed Bug Beacon as the best in its class. Even more interesting because in the talk before his a Rutgers researcher did not get stellar results with the beacon, of course he only ran the unit for two days for some odd reason. The lesson here is that even with university studies one needs to be aware of the testing conditions, circumstances, etc that the tests were run under and even consider any potential bias. Makes it tough when you have to read through the details, but it makes for a more educated choice/consumer.
Rosae

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 1 2011 14:58:12
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Is the bed bug barrier a reliable bug catcher? http://www.bedbugbarrier.com.au/

I can't find a seller with a neutral name. The sender's name is always something with "bed bug" in it. If I could find someone with a discrete name I would have bought it. Even "Pest control" on the package is already too much. I'm ashamed to death if the postman delivers such a package. He stays a meter away from the door when he hands it over.

Although it is better for my wallet, of course.
AbbeyRoad0982

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 1 2011 15:35:55
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I can only speak to the effectiveness of climb-ups in my apartment. For the duration of the treatment (almost a month right now) I've been sleeping on the futon in my living room, as it will accomodate climb-ups and my bed won't. I feel like the protocol is pretty standard -- I've slept there every night except for one or two nights when I've stayed elsewhere, when I'm in my apartment and need somewhere to sit, it's there, and the mattress is encased and pulled away from the wall.

Between the first and second visit, four BBs were caught in the climb-ups, of which there are eight, total: one on each leg of the futon frame, and one on each leg of a chair in my living room.

This morning I found an adult in one of the chair climb-ups. It was moving around and I was disgusted, so I sprayed alcohol in there, but I left the ones from before alone, and though they did go in circles, they didn't get out.

I'll be moving forward by continuing to clean often and keep a lot of my stuff packed away, but the climb-ups (and let me clarify that I am in no way affiliated with any company or any person who makes or sells them) seem to have played a big part in letting me live bite-free. For me they seem to be effective enough that I'll continue using them for a long time -- even after I've been "cleared."
LVK9

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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Sep 3 2011 11:40:46
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so unsettling, I install active and passive monitors all the time. I have used BB alert passive and have had success using them. This was both in residential and commercial settings. I have tried and use other passive as well. Sometimes the monitors are installed for a clients piece of mind and sometimes to monitor possible low level introduction to bed bugs or to monitor a possible introduction of bed bugs from an adjoining unit.

I also use a version of the climb ups, I find the climb ups crack in the middle when installed in a room with carpet. Wish they would fix that.

I think if someone suspects bed bugs anything they can do(within reason) to come up with physical evidence as soon as possible can only help.
KillerQueen

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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Sep 3 2011 14:03:42
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Here, Here!! I have used them all and have captured bugs with all of them.

For the record I have had clients use the beacon in both empty and occupied settings. People have reported finding bugs in as little as 2 days. I think a person on this site found one in the beacon after only two nights. She set it up after a PCO told her she didn't have a problem. I also gave her 2 NightWatch systems to run after her treatment (no inspection or treatment was done by me). She found nothing in the systems that ran for weeks.

Also have had people find evidence (fecal traces, live bugs) on and in the BB Alert.

Again nothing is going to be 100% .... Everything we use is a tool to help understand what is going on.
so unsettling

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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Sep 3 2011 16:12:33
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LVk9 and KQ--you both work in the business. I wonder if your clients have better luck because they have you to help them set these devices up properly. Most people using an apartment-landlord PCO (whom they never see) are just setting these up themselves, with whatever knowledge they have acquired about it. In other words, maybe some people can't install these in the most optimal manner, just like they can't self-treat with chemicals and dusts in an effective manner.

Just a thought. I believe these things work; just wish more posters here would write about it.
KillerQueen

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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Sep 3 2011 17:33:09
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When I said clients, most of the time I'm talking about people I have never met. I get calls all the time and I recommend monitoring with these monitors. So to answer your question- these are being setup by them, not me.
yousofunky

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Sep 4 2011 15:44:51
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AbbeyRoad0982, thanks for your testimony about the climb-ups. Those are what I am using and your statement definitely eased my mind that they weren't a total waste of money.

The best would be to hear from someone who discovered they had BB's from the climb-ups alone. It seems like a lot of people here have found BBs in their climb-ups after they already knew they had BBs.

I've had them under my bed legs for over a month so now I am faced with the task of re-powdering them or talcing them or whatever, which worries me because this is one lady who isn't good at installing things/fixing things/following instructions/etc lol. So I guess I have 3 choices: 1)Attempt to re-powder them and pray I do it right 2)Leave them alone and worry that they are no longer effective 3)Buy new ones . . . .

This is so sad but I think I might just buy some new ones lolllllllllllll

Oh it's nice to laugh at yourself and how silly you are sometimes. Laughter is a nice bit of medicine any time you're dealing w/ these stressfull aholes.
djames1921

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Sep 4 2011 20:06:50
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Very interesting thread, especially with actual customers and pmp's chiming in with actual real world experience. The order of things is the lab, the field, and the consumer. At the end of the day even if your own field studies are great, If it isn't working for the consumer then who cares?
bedbugman

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Sep 6 2011 19:25:15
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The idea I great I suppose but I have never had any luck bed bug monitors i gave them another try a few months ago in a house with a really really bad problem for a week while we agreed a date for treatment and again got nothing.