Im trying a DIY method, have some questions « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Im trying a DIY method, have some questions

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throwaway171

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 13:54:26
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So Its been a week since I went rambo (exaggerating ofcourse) on my apartment. The source of the infestation was my pillow and mattress.

Bagged all clothes and items in white garbage bags, encased the mattress with an allerzip cover to trap about 30 inside. I plan on throwing my mattress away with the encasement on it so they dont spread to anywhere or anyone if I try to take it off to salvage. So far my method was vacuum and clean all furniture thoroughly with Murphys oil orange spray, spray the cracks with Hot Shot 9 month bug spray, and apply DE insect grade to perimiter of the wall, and around furniture.

I went back today, and bagged up my closet.

My questions are I dont see evidence that they are anywhere else in my apartment, I do believe that they were primarily on my mattress, and when I was cleaning my frame saw no evidence of them there, but I sprayed all cracks with Hot Shot anyway. The hotshot killed them when I sprayed on contact.

How likely are they to be under my carpet? I checked the corner where my bed was and saw no black spots or evidence of them in the area, should I lift the carpet up and risk giving them a new place to hide if they are still around?

I am a bit paranoid and just want to cover all my bases, I cant afford the high prices of a PCO. After I clean and treat again with another DIY method I read about, I will sleep In my bedroom as bait to see if they are still around.
makesmenuts

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 15:36:12
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There are several different Hot Shot formulations, even among those labels for BBs (for example, an aerosol one in a purple can that seems to be the same as Bedlam and a large pump sprayer with permethrin (I think. Whatever it was, it's hazardous to cats).

Be very, very cautious about DIY. We're doing some DIY right now in prep for getting a pro, and I warn you, what they say here about the BBs spreading is true. We've caught them fleeing the room that initially had the big infestation, and even though the initial problem seemed to be confined to two areas, we've found one or two BBs in other areas now that we know what to look for. Just because you don't see the evidence, DO NOT rest easy or think you have it under control because they might be laying low and come out again when they think the coast is clear.

Once we get rid of them, I'll never be without a perimeter of DE again. I understand when you say you're paranoid, and with BBs I think that can be a good thing.
Koebner

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 16:17:43
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Boxspring, boxspring, boxspring. If you had evident BBs on your mattress, the chance of them being in your boxspring (or bed frame) is high. I'd leave the carpet where it is, at least for now. If you insist on moving it, get tough plastic sheeting & duct tape & seal the whole thing in the sheeting up before removing it from the room.

Also, however gross it sounds, get back into your bed. You are bait. If this HotShot spray has any residual potency against BBs, you need to be there as bait to get the bugs into contact with the pesticide. If, that is, it's safe for you to be around the spray. We don't have it in the UK so I don't know.

You say you can't afford a PCO. Be aware of the economic implications of BBs. It is always less costly to frontload your expenditure & hire a competent PCO than it is to battle a longterm infestation. Do your research & find out who in your area really knows their BB onions, monitor what's going on in your home closely & consider borrowing the cost of treatment from family & friends if needs be.

Be very wary of DIY treatments. Read all the FAQs on this site before you try anything else. I got my infestation from my neighbours' attempts at DIY treatment. Not only did they manage to infest both sets of adjoining neighbours, but they never actually cleared their own infestation & instead diffused the problem right round their house.

You can get passive monitors - have a look at the "Useful Stuff" link at the top of this page - which will help you to determine if you still have a problem &, if you do, what level of population you're dealing with.
throwaway171

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 16:42:36
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Koebner - 23 minutes ago »
Boxspring, boxspring, boxspring. If you had evident BBs on your mattress, the chance of them being in your boxspring (or bed frame) is high. I'd leave the carpet where it is, at least for now. If you insist on moving it, get tough plastic sheeting & duct tape & seal the whole thing in the sheeting up before removing it from the room.
Also, however gross it sounds, get back into your bed. You are bait. If this HotShot spray has any residual potency against BBs, you need to be there as bait to get the bugs into contact with the pesticide. If, that is, it's safe for you to be around the spray. We don't have it in the UK so I don't know.
You say you can't afford a PCO. Be aware of the economic implications of BBs. It is always less costly to frontload your expenditure & hire a competent PCO than it is to battle a longterm infestation. Do your research & find out who in your area really knows their BB onions, monitor what's going on in your home closely & consider borrowing the cost of treatment from family & friends if needs be.
Be very wary of DIY treatments. Read all the FAQs on this site before you try anything else. I got my infestation from my neighbours' attempts at DIY treatment. Not only did they manage to infest both sets of adjoining neighbours, but they never actually cleared their own infestation & instead diffused the problem right round their house.
You can get passive monitors - have a look at the "Useful Stuff" link at the top of this page - which will help you to determine if you still have a problem &, if you do, what level of population you're dealing with.

Thanks for the reply. I dont have a boxspring thankfully. And when I said carpet I meant the entire room is carpeted. Also I live in a private house. I will definitely check out that link, Ive been researching this stuff like crazy, I just cant afford a PCO no matter what.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 17:37:39
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Throwaway171,

When you say that you bagged up many of your household items, did you use heat to treat them before you bagged them?

(I have work today that has to get done, so I may be AFK for the rest of the day, but I will try to check in tomorrow if I don't manage to today.)
throwaway171

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 19:40:45
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buggyinsocal - 1 hour ago »
Throwaway171,
When you say that you bagged up many of your household items, did you use heat to treat them before you bagged them?
(I have work today that has to get done, so I may be AFK for the rest of the day, but I will try to check in tomorrow if I don't manage to today.)

I bought 13 gallon white glad trash bags, white was recommended. I bagged all my clothes, books, belongings, alarm clock etc. I only just started with the clothes.

I go through each bag and put some aside that I will donate to charity. I guess this is a better time than never to get rid of shit I dont need. Since I live in a private house I raised the boiler heat level and wash everything in hot water, then dry it on high.

An idea I had was to buy blue trash bags and put the folded cleaned items in there and leave them downstairs. Im in a 2 family house so I take every precaution not to spread them to the rest of my family.

As for the rest of the stuff, Ill wipe things down with rubbing alcohol, and research how to do the tough stuff.
makesmenuts

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 7 2011 20:24:51
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Be very, very careful with the charitable donations. Better to pitch anything that might have even the smallest possibility of having a bug or even eggs.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Aug 8 2011 13:02:53
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Okay, I'm still not 100% sure from your response of a few things, so I'll try to answer both of the possibilities in this response.

If you're going to bag items as any part of any kind of treatment, it's important to understand why you're bagging.

The idea behind most bagging is to use plastic bags to keep any items that have been debugged and de-egged clear of reinfestation.

As a result, many PCOs ask bed bug sufferers to wash and dry all fabric items that can be so treated. When doing laundry as part of a bed bug problem, it's important to remember that what you're really shooting for is the heat that comes with laundry. So, if you use really hot water, the dryer really serves as a back up plan. (Dryers seem to be more effective for heating fabric in general, so for that reason, we often suggest that if the items are already clean, they can simply go into the dryer without being washed. There are several advantages to this if the items are already clean. First, it's cheaper, and bed bug prep is already so expensive that that's a pretty substantial advantage. And secondly, the items will get hot faster, which means that they don't have to be dried as long.

In fact, many people have reported that items that usually cannot be washed or dried (dry clean only items, delicate items) *can* be placed in a dryer and dried long enough to kill bed bugs and eggs without damaging the items.)

Once the item has been thoroughly heated, you can be assured that any bed bugs and eggs in the item have been killed by the heat.

In order to avoid having to re-debug the item, storing it inside a very tightly sealed plastic bag is a good idea.

For that reason, many PCOs ask bed bug sufferers to do as much debugging as possible and then seal the debugged items in plastic bags.

If you're stuck doing your own treatment, then you can use the same strategies.

However, bagging does not kill the bugs or eggs. It's not used to try to cut them off from air and kill them that way because, frankly, we simply cannot remove all the air from any bag.

Bagging items that haven't been heat treated will not kill the bugs or their eggs. In fact, bagging items that have eggs and bugs in them without treating the residence generally might lengthen your infestation time overall since opening one of those bags later may reinfest the place.

That's because bed bugs without access to food can lower their metabolisms so that they don't need to feed for a very long time. We're not sure of the exact lengths of time, but when people use isolating items by sealing them up as part of a plan to eliminate bed bugs, those items generally need to stay sealed against anything getting in or out for 18 months or so. For that reason, simply sealing items up is not a preferred method of treatment; there are simply too many opportunities for the seals to break, allowing any bugs inside to feed on anything they're near. In a storage unit, that might mean mice.