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Lone bed bug...how all-out do I need to go?
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alliestar
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 17 2011 1:45:31
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About three weeks ago, after returning from a trip with a friend, she informed me that she had bed bugs, possibly picked up on our trip. I hadn't had any signs (no blood or fecal stains on the mattress, and no bites that I can confirm as bed bugs as mosquitos love me). I was still nervous, so my landlord had a pest company in, who did a brief visual inspection, didn't see anything, and put down glue traps. I then paid myself to have a reputable K9 inspection, and the dog didn't alert to anything.
However, the very next day, I found a live bed bug crawling up my wall near my apartment door (not near my bedroom.) I emailed a picture to the K9 handler who confirmed it was a bed bug. He suggested it could just have been a single bug, perhaps living in a shoe near my front door. The bug appeared to be an unfed adult, likely female. I informed my landlord, who has booked me for two treatments with a PCO.
I am moving in about 6 weeks (planned before the bed bug issue), and I really don't want to take them with me.My question is this:
How thoroughly do I need to treat items like books, papers, files, video games, DVDs, CDs, toiletries, knick knacks, musical instruments, electronics, etc.?
How would I go about treating this items? (I'm in Canada, so no Packtite, but I did find DDVP strips.)
How paranoid do I need to be after finding one lone bug, especially since the K9 gave an all-clear and I haven't seen any signs?Any thoughts would be very much appreciated!
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 17 2011 18:12:39
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Hi,
I can share with you a case I dealt with tonight.
A lone bedbug had been found over the weekend. I inspected the room and found a cluster of 8 faecal traces all of similar size. I advised deep cleaning, followed by sealing of all holes and cracks on the bed with a clear tape and high gloss varnishing of all the slats apart from the top one which was to be left untreated and a passive placed down.
Although the occupant thought they had picked them up from a recent trip 2 weeks ago and later suspected a visiting guest from overseas the signs indicated an infestation event 6 - 8 weeks previously which would indicate something local.
We chatted about the need to avoid common sources and some avoidance while traveling and education of all in bound guests. I have treated other cases in the same neighbourhood but never seen a cluster in connected apartments.
The single sample was an adult male and the suspected nymph was in fact a fragment of skin and an overactive mind.
In your case I would take extra care to inspect luggage from the trip and when packing to take time and care to inspect things as you do so.
Its hard to recommend exactly what to do as inspecting is such an essential and detailed part of understanding an infestation and throughout its evidence the school of thought is to take extreme measures to be on the safe side. For me that is encompassed with inspection on packing and sealing packed items to be on the safe side, it also helps avoid potential in transit exposure events.
When you get to the other end unpack in record time and self inspect weekly for 2 weeks then get into a good monthly routine.
Hope that helps and puts some perspective in things.
David Cain
Bed Bugs LimitedIn accordance with the AUP and FTC I openly disclose my interest in the passive bedbug monitoring technology as the patent holder
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alliestar
newbite
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 17 2011 23:52:45
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Great, thanks for the information and insight. I really appreciate your taking the time to do that.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm doing a thorough inspection as I pack, and vacuuming/laundering most of what can be vacuumed/laundered, at this point I shouldn't be trying other methods (ie: I was considering packing my stuff with the DDVP strips). Just be sure to do regular checks at my new place? Am I reading your post correctly?
I'm a little worried about my books as I have waaaaaay too many to go through page by page.
Again, thanks for the info.
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NoteToSelfPleaseRemainCalm
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 0:10:39
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bed-bugscouk - 5 hours ago » high gloss varnishing
David,
I apologize if this is an ignorant question but I have a wood bed frame and was debating getting rid of it for fear it now has a scent on it bed bugs will be attracted to. Again I know this might be ridiculous but I don't know how far they can smell so in my wild imagination I imagine a bed bug in the hallway of the building I live in picking up the bed bug scent from my bed frame (which I found two bed bugs on once I realized I had bed bugs) and then come into my place rather than keep going to someone elses place. I realize this is probably not probable but I want to get rid of anything that might keep me at risk or put me at risk so is the high gloss varnish used to cover scents or just to treat the surface and make it less of a surface bed bugs would like to linger/live on?
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NoteToSelfPleaseRemainCalm
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 0:14:39
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Hmmm.. now this also has me debating if the high gloss varnish would create a surface that would be better for residual sprays. Would they last longer on the high gloss than the wood alone which is porous and absorbs more of the spray?
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 2:21:42
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NTSPRC,
Bed bugs hunt (as far as we know) by hunting for heat and carbon dioxide.
If you're in your bed, producing body heat and CO2, the bugs will go looking for you.
If you, or some other hot and CO2 producing organism won't, the bugs won't go there.
In other words, I've never seen anything on the boards about bed bugs following a scent trail like that that I think some ants produce to lead colony-mates to food.
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 13:03:07
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TheAllergyGuy - 7 minutes ago »
<snip snip>
Good luckYou may want to have a look at this post before you do much more self promotion:
http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/warning-bed-bug-professionals-please-read-this
Although the forum welcomes input from all the FTC have strong rules and guidance which along with the AUP must be followed.
David
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oldtimer
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 13:07:14
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Hi NoteToSelfPleaseRemainCalm,
Bedbugs will often return to similar areas time after time, this is due in part to the aggregation effect of the feacal traces but this is certainly not strong enough to draw them into a location from an adjoining property or outside.
However the varnishing would provider a non porous surface to increase the efficiency and durability of insecticides but the purpose is actually more to do with focusing bedbugs into definable and controllable areas rather than increasing treatment efficiency from a chemical perspective.
After years of working in domestic and commercial settings I can assure you it is feasible to optimise an environment to limit the potential impact of bedbugs but before anyone asked for a defenitive guide the first step is to inspect the area and the plan can only be worked out from there as there are too many variable to document in less than 500 pages.
Hope that helps.
David
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NoteToSelfPleaseRemainCalm
junior member
Joined: Aug '11
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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 16:20:23
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buggyinsocal - 13 hours ago »
NTSPRC,
Bed bugs hunt (as far as we know) by hunting for heat and carbon dioxide.I want to cry thinking about them hunting me.
Unfortunately my place will always attract them then since I have an indoor cat that is always home and breathing out CO2. *sigh*
buggyinsocal - 13 hours ago » I've never seen anything on the boards about bed bugs following a scent trail like that that I think some ants produce to lead colony-mates to food.
I thought they release two scents. One that says "welcome" and attracts other bedbugs and a scent that says "stay away" and repels other bedbugs. My only question (concern) was if that scent lingers even when bugs are gone.
I think I will toss my frame and mattress after all. I thought I had isolated my bed and thought my bed frame, sheets and mattress were 100 percent bed bug free yet I still woke up to one adult bed bug on my pillow. All I can think is that they are somehow living in my bedframe (even though 3 PCO's claimed they couldn't be in my frame) or even though I have no rips or tears in my mattress and I spent close to half an hour visually inspecting it (and would have seen an adult bed bug on it) they are somehow inside my mattress (which PCO also claim is not possible).
I know they also climb on the ceiling and fall on you but I don't think this one did that. I think somehow they must be living in my frame or mattress. I will toss both and buy a new mattress. I will then encase it and sleep on the floor (no frame) with Demand CS all around my bed. I don't know how I'm going to have the courage to do this (I barely sleep now because I fear them so much) but seems they hunt me down and I am bait no matter how hard I try to protect myself so I might as well try this and hope to kill the few I think are still hiding in my apt.
Bedbugs make me feel like I'm living in 1102 and not 2011. Like my home is now a cave again and not a home at all. I know so many claim we don't need a new DDT but honestly if we could rid them for another 50 yrs why not another DDT? In the meantime we can come up with a way to deal with them if/once they make a comeback again. We would certainly have long enough to prepare for it!
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NoteToSelfPleaseRemainCalm
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Posts: 64offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Aug 18 2011 16:39:11
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bed-bugscouk - 3 hours ago »
the varnishing would provider a non porous surface to increase the efficiency and durability of insecticidesI'm glad to know that a smell on a surface isn't enough to attract them from far away. And it's really good to know that varnish would create a surface better for insecticides but I decided today that I think my frame and mattress should be thrown away. Both are fairly new and I would love not to toss either because I like both and really do not need to or have more money to spend on bed bugs but unfortunately I feel I have no choice. It might not change a thing but everyday I'm feeling more suspect about both. I actually think my frame is perfect and wanted to keep it because it has no cracks and can be visually inspected easily but after finding an adult bed bug on my pillow I can no longer trust the frame or my mattress.
Actually I trust very little around me anymore but I'll start with letting go of both my mattress and frame. Still in shock that a bug can cause this much emotional, physical, financial and mental stress.
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makesmenuts
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Joined: Aug '11
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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Aug 19 2011 16:36:11
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I sympathize with you as I tossed a not-new but still good frame, bedding and bed set. I was just too creeped out after finding their extensive harborage between the frame and wood bed so I never could have slept in it again (not to mention the BB waiting for me in the mattress seam). Amazing how fast they can take over, too, as we had the frame dismantled about five weeks prior for another reason and no BBs. Then bam! found them in another room, checked bedroom and they'd created their own country in there.
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