Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
Moving on Monday and need help
(11 posts)-
Hello! This website is fabulous, so thanks so much!
We have bedbugs. It hasn't been confirmed by a PCO, but I found them on me and they are bedbugs. Also, we have the stains on our mattress. I think (can't be sure) that we were in the early stages of infestation. However, we live in a six unit apartment building. My husband does lots of international travel so he very well could have brought home the critters. There's also the possibility that someone else in the building brought them.
Nevertheless, prior to discovering the bedbugs, we were planning to move. There is no time to get exterminated since we are moving over the course of the month. Also, my husband and I are trying to get pregnant again and are very hesitant to use toxic chemicals when there may be a fetus developing. So, if we do anything, we need it to be as nontoxic as humanly possible.
We would like to move without bringing the bugs with us, but we need help.
We have already gotten rid of all of our upholstered furniture and mattresses, so that's not an issue. And we've been living out of large ziplok bags and doing lots of laundry in hot water. We're basically doing everything we can to not have hitch-hikers on us when we leave the house.
My main questions have to do with our wooden and wicker furniture. Should we ditch them? Is washing them thoroughly with Murphy's Oil Soap going to have any effect on them? What about washing them thoroughly with Murphys, when dry, putting Diatametious Earth and letting them sit in an empty apartment for a couple of weeks? Also, I have a 7 year old son and he has toys and games. What should we do with those? He's very attached to his stuff, but if it will bring the bugs with us, I guess we will sadly have to let them go. I imagine the plastic, glass and rubber ones are of no concern, but what about board games?
Anyone have any advice for us? We are stymied!
Thanks so much!
Michelle
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bugobsessed
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 108
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Dec 9 2007 11:40:55
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Hi Michelle,
I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. And what an unfortunate time to have to move! I'm not sure I have much advice to give. This is really difficult circumstances. A note on the wood furniture, though, you should be able to vacuum and then disinfect it in order to save it. I would do both since the Murphy's won't kill any eggs that may be there. As for the wicker, I would be much more skeptical. Think of all the small places where they could hide and where you will have a difficult time treating.
Sorry I couldn't help more, but I'm sure someone will give you some good suggestions. Good luck!
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Thanks for the response, bugobsessed! I'm hoping that we can salvage the furniture since some of it has great sentimental value and I'd hate to part with those pieces.
I've been doing (more) reading and discovered that some people recommend caulking metal bedframes as well. My son has a metal loft bed from IKEA which we will have to completely disassemble anyway in order to move. Does anyone know whether we should do any special treatment of this frame before we move?
We are so confused as to what to do right now! Part of me wants to just start over with the furniture. We really really really don't want to bring bedbugs into our new place.
Any more advice would be most appreciated!
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MDK,
At this late stage in the game, I only have a few suggestions:
1) Tell your current landlord about your bedbugs even if you are moving. The new tenants will get them. Give the landlord at least the opportunity to do the right thing.
2) Try your hardest not to infest the moving truck. Think: shrink wrap, plastic bags, plastic bins. Think of a precaution you can take and then think of another one you can take on top of it. (For example, a lot of people report removing a layer once the item is outside and before it's loaded. Others spray a contact killer, an enzyme cleaner or similar product on the surface of wrapped items prior to moving. The best precautions will be the ones you think through yourself very methodically because you're the one implementing them.) If you cannot afford NOT to use cardboard boxes, please wrap them in plastic securely.
3) Assume that you will move bedbugs or eggs with you. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the smartest thing you can do, especially if, as I suspect, you are not allergic to the bites. If you are not, you will not have early warning. There are companies that provide non-pesticide treatments that include such things as steaming, vacuuming, and using DE. (Yes, you can do these things yourself but you may lack the skills/training and the specialized equipment to do the best possible job of it. If there are no other options, then yes, you should do the necessary research and do these things yourself.) Thermal treatments are not available everywhere. And it's too late for you to consider commodity fumigation of your belongings. Make sure you contact such a company at the earliest opportunity in your new place. Not every PCO provides these services. You'll need to do some research in your area.
4) No, leaving things in an empty apartment is not likely to debug them.
5) Anything that you throw out you should please deface and wrap securely in plastic.
Murphy's Oil Soap is a contact killer. For it, or any other contact killer, to be used effectively, you need to hit the bugs directly where they are hiding, and they hide in tiny crevices. That means that if something can be disassembled for cleaning, then you should. Boiling (or just very hot) water and soap. Anything that can be washed, and many, many things can, should be washed. When vacuuming, use the crevice tools for the greatest possible suction. And get close to the surface. Normal vacuuming techniques are not the most effective. Set up a secure area in your apartment for packing. Pack only during the day in very bright light. Study photographs of all life stages to assist in your inspection--and take note of the sizes without magnification.
There are no guarantees. A lot of people are very lucky and manage to move without bedbugs. A lot of other people fail. You need to take that into account. I know this is difficult and unfair, but you should do what you can not to spread them.
Good luck.
(click on the moving tag to search previous discussions on the topic--and read the travel FAQs for basic information you should have and build upon)
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Thanks so much Hopelessnomo!
Very useful information -- though a bit, um, shall we say, realistic?
I am planning to tell my landlord asap. She's been out of town and has been incommunicado. But our plan is to let her know right away. Whether she'll do the right thing remains to be seen. She has been a bit of an absent landlord. We are letting our neighbors know, though, so they can educate themselves and take precautions.
Would it be helpful to store all of our furniture in a storage unit with DE dusted everywhere for 18 mos? There are a few pieces of furniture that I'm loathe to part with and don't know if I can get in all of the crevices as they're antiques. I'd be willing to be without them if it means that we'd be able to get them back and use them at some point in the future.
We already have a safe zone in our bathroom (which is at the front door) and the front hallway which currently houses all of our large ziploc bags with all of our clean clothing. We basically are extremely anal about leaving the house uncontaminated (or as best as we can manage) in the effort to not spread these things. It means leaving the house with a 7 year old takes about 3x as long, but, hey, it's a small price, ya know?
Thanks for the tip on packing and washing. I figure I'll wash all of the plastic toys and bag them in zippered bags and get some plastic bins for moving. Great tip about getting a clean zone for packing. That's my next task. And I have some vacuum bags that I'll dig out and use asap.
I'm thinking about ditching my vacuum cleaner (it's kinda old) and getting a new one for the new place. But I'm also thinking about getting a good steam cleaner as well.
Boy this is turning into an expensive venture!!!!!
Any more tips would be greatly appreciated! And, again, if anyone has an opinion about storing for 18months with DE would be greatly appreciated.
Michelle
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Yes, long-term storage is an option used by many.
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itchyincharmcity
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 262
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 16:06:19
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There is a poster who stored all her furniture for 18 months, I think it was parakeets. perhaps she can advise.
I think storing the antiques could be a wise move but in addition to DE maybe you could somehow seal it in a giant airtight bag or with plastic shrink wrap or something? You could also store it temporarily until you can investigate vikane options in your area.
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Thanks hopelessnomore and itchyincharmcity! Very useful information! By the way, I do have until the end of the month to get out of my old place and we are taking our time and cleaning very thoroughly while moving. We haven't actually brought any of our old stuff into our new place, but the first things we'll bring are clothes that have been hot washed and dryed. We intend to take the entire month to move things out and store them, so there is time to investigate giant airtight bags (where would I possibly look?) and plastic shrink wrap (again, where?) I don't yet know much about vikane - but intend to check it out. If it's toxic, then I'd probably opt out.
I think we're going to put all of my son's beautiful artwork and some of his toys in storage. In a way, it will feel really nice to have a clean slate, ya know?
We are crossing our fingers really hard over here and taking as many of the precautions/advice you have all posted. And, thank you for the tagged moving section. It has been incredibly helpful!
Peace,
Michelle
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itchyincharmcity
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 262
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Dec 11 2007 16:36:34
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I think that vikane dissipates very quickly. It is one of the best ways to ensure that all bugs and eggs are killed. But you might have a tough time finding a facility to do small amounts of personal furtiture, tc.
I haven't seen ziplocs big enough for furniture. For small furniture you could use a contractor bag and close it very tightly with electrical ties. It is probably much easier to wrap yoru furniture with those rolls of plastic that freight companies wrap pallets with.
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Okay, yet another question.
We're moving to a house where we have lots of storage (which will be a totally new experience for me!). I'm wondering if it makes sense to ziplok a lot of our old stuff that we don't want to part with, put DE in the bags, then ziplok again (basically double ziplok) and store in a location where there is no activity thus no chance of the bags getting ripped or accidentally opened.
Would that make sense? If I have the bags all double (or triple) ziploked, what would the danger be of having them in my new location? We're just thinking about some books, pictures, artwork and the like that we really love and want to find a way to preserve them. In 18 months to 24 months (if we decide to be super conservative) we'll open things up again and feel like we're getting lots of presents!
Anyone have any perspective on this?
Also, I'm currently looking for large shrik wrapping in my city and am having a hard time figuring out how to locate any -- ie. how would I google for that? And if we shrink wrapped our furniture and sprinkled it with DE or vikane, I suppose, would it be better to store those off our home site or could we, again, store them in an undisturbable storage area in our house?
I feel like a novice with this (well, I guess I am) and would seriously appreciate any more guidance you guys could grace me with!
Thanks so much!
M
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Storage is always an option, on site or off the premises. It means doing without your things for a long time. If you cannot engage for some form of treatment then, yes, storage is an option to consider.
Vikane is not something you can DIY. There is a FAQ on Vikane on this site. As well as other FAQs which may be helpful (see orange bug button below); they are organized by topic, with several faqs per topic.
Shrink wrap perhaps can be most inexpensively sourced online from shipping or industrial supply vendors. If not, Home Depot and hardware stores or the like. Stretch wrap or film or pallet shrink wrap may be some useful search terms. They come in rolls and various strengths. (EDIT: try Uline or Global Industrial)
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