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Is sealed 18-month storage fail-safe?
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bedwarrior
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 34
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 5:27:14
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My wife and I, as first time homebuyers (move planned before we detected so much as a bite or bug here), are moving out of our BB-infested apartment (we have eliminated any sign of them but she keeps getting bites) in five weeks. We are planning on disposing of much of our stuff and putting the rest into giant ziploc bags and watertight containers for 18 months as well as spraying those bags and containers on the way out to storage, and double drying, Packtiting and spraying some select items that we will take over to the new place- and yes, adopting an alsomost sci-fish decontaminaiton routine when moving things into the new place.
Many on this forum who move seem to simply dispose of everything- but by my reckoning, apart from the inconvenience of the storage logistics, this seems un-necessary if the sealed 18-month storage is pretty much fail safe. I mean, isn't it? 18 months exceeds even the wildest extreme estimates of hibernating BB and BB egg life that I have seen. The only "threats" I can remotely see with this method are the possibility that the sealed stuff is exposed to BB's left by a prior storage tenant or in an adjacent storage unit within that 18 month time frame, as well as with the vehicles used to transport them eventually, 18 months later, but those risks are entirely separate from survival of any bugs inside those sealed bags and containers and one could take precautions- plus in that case it is not ever safe to bging any items home from the supermarket or anything i.e. the list of possibilities of reinfection from the outside world then becomes endless and one may as well dig a bunker in Montana (no offense to Montanas and their beautiful state!).
Just trying to establish a realistic plan and not turn into a complete paranoid nut- though I guess to non BBers all of us on this forum already are. We conservatively estimate out present costs of this small bed bug exposure to be approaching $10K (including the 18 months storage rental and lost wages for time spent dealing with this) which of course is very typical- and the cost of peace of mind lost and aggravation and frustration and energy spent, is priceless.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 14:26:20
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18 months is based on starvation times under cool temps. At temps around 99F everything would starve in less than 4 months but at 50F up to 18.
The warmer the stuff is kept the faster they starve.
Jim
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bedwarrior
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 34
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 16:06:41
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Jim-- that's good to know... do you know how cool temperatures would push back their starvation, now that it is Fall- or will that be more than made up for in the summer since we live in the mid-Atlantic, i.e. is 18 months conservatively safe even if it's a cold winter for their initial months of storage?
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Jim is correct... Temperature is the main factor that determines a starving bed bug's lifespan.
There is a reliable account of a bed bug living for 565 days in the lab at 50 degrees F reported in Usinger's Monograph.
The warmer months will likely reduce that time substantially, but I don't know how much faster... Most of the studies that I have seen used a constant temp... a couple varied the temp from higher to lower over 24 hour cycles.
For the price of your cost for storage... I would think that you could pay for a professional Vikane gas fumigation or a thermal treatment that would allow you to keep all of your possessions.
Another option is to use DDVP strips for a chamber fumigation inside of your storage unit. Talk to a PCO that has experience performing treatments with DDVP for details.
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brooklyn
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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 9
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 18:56:51
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I know this isn't helpful in any way, but I just have to say, those giant Ziploc bags have become my best friend throughout my bedbug crisis. The Hefty ones are my favorite and I can't live without them. I wonder if these companies realize they have this niche market of bedbug sufferers.
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bedwarrior
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 34
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 20:09:45
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We live in a highrise apartment complex, and ThermaPure is not available where we live. Vikane of course wouldn't be an option either.... so hnce the storage plan. I do wish thermal treatment was available though.
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MyWorstFear
member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 266
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 20:53:44
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bedwarrior - 42 minutes ago »
We live in a highrise apartment complex, and ThermaPure is not available where we live. Vikane of course wouldn't be an option either.... so hnce the storage plan. I do wish thermal treatment was available though.You could rent a truck (like a u-haul etc) and get the truck with all your stuff in it "vikaned". I think some people here have had that done. Of course, if you go this route, I wouldn't let on to the uhaul people what you plan to do!
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As MyWorstFear pointed out...
There are companies that will treat a rental truck with Vikane in NYC.
Temperature is an issue ... You may need to time your move with the weather.
Colony Pest Control has access to a fumigation chamber in NYC or Bed Bugs & Beyond specializes in fumigation in NY.
Treating the moving truck with Vikane can provide a high level of assurance that you will not bring any hitchhiking bed bugs to your next residence.
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 178
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 21:30:18
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Just a personal anecdote... For a few months now, I've been bringing in previously exposed belongings (including furniture) that had been stored outdoors in a backyard shed in ziplocs and tote containers for about 18 months--one winter and two summers--without any recurrence of bugs.
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