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Need Bedbug Advice, Supplies -- in Ontario
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buggedmama
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Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 9:53:04
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Hello...
I moved from Vancouver, BC to a city in Ontario in the spring. We had bed bugs in our Vancouver apartment and thought we had taken adequate precautions to prevent bringing them with us--we threw out as much as possible, including all of our furniture (brand new beds, all sorts of costly stuff--it was a nightmare) and we washed all of our clothes, linens, baby's stuff, etc. in hot water and dried on high heat for a long time. (Had read through this site thoroughly). However, we do not think that the bugs had been ridded from the actual (carpeted) apartment before we left. But the landlord knew about the problem and knew that was part of the reason we were leaving.
When we got to Ontario we stayed with family for a few months and a lot of our things remained packed in the attic in tote containers. Our room (bed, chair, table) belonged to my brother-in-law and was NOT exposed to bed bugs before we moved in. We did not detect any bugs while we were staying there at all.
We moved into our own apt. at the beginning of October. At our new apartment, we unpacked the tote containers we had brought with us including extra linens, curtains, etc. We furnished our bedroom with the furniture we had used at our family's house, but used our old linens and curtains. About a week ago I started itching and noticing red spots but did not suspect bed bugs right away. Unfortunately we discovered on Sunday night that our bed (a futon with wood frame) had in fact become infested with bed bugs.
We either believe that the bugs had laid dormant in our totes i.e. in the bedroom curtains (I think we may have forgotten to wash them), or elsewhere. OR, they could be in the building. Most of the apartments around us are vacant like as if a lot of people have moved out lately (and are just getting filled up now; but this could also be because it is near a university and the population is very transient.) Also, I noticed some black spotting on the kitchen baseboards when we first moved in that looked like bed bug droppings, but just dismissed it, thinking they wouldn't have bedbugs HERE... Lastly, within a few weeks of us moving in a pest control person came and put a powder substance on the floors in the kitchen and bathroom that looked like a blue-tinged DE. They told me it was safe for pets and children.
Either way, we have thrown out the futon and frame (yet again, but at least this one was free), and washed the entire contents of our bedroom, vacuumed, and put double-sided tape around the perimeter (which I have noticed has already caught a couple bugs). Prior to this we had used a steamer to blow around the baseboards, into the vents in the radiator, etc. The bugs do not appear to be in any of the other rooms, including the living room which as a similar wood-framed futon.
My question is, what is our next step--or more specifically, does my action plan sound like it will succeed.
1 - Buy a new mattress and a bed with a metal frame. i.e. this one from IKEA and cover the mattress with a breathable, zippered cover i.e. the NA one, to protect from future infestation
2 - Keep the bed pulled out from the walls and dust underneath with DE such as [this]
3 - Rewash EVERYTHING that can be machine washed on hot and dry on high heat for 2 hours
4 - Clean out bedroom and hallway cupboards, get rid of as much clutter as possible, dust floors with DE
5 - Vacuum floor, wash bedsheets and curtains on hot, and re-dust DE once a week
Based on the above info, do you think it's more likely that the bugs are already in the building or traveled with our stuff? Does the above "action plan" sound like it may be successful?
Thanks so much.
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Hi BM,
The next step is to contact the apartment manager and request a competent (bedbug-savvy) pest control operator (PCO) to come inspect and treat. ASAP.
Cleaning is good but cleaning is not nearly enough in most cases.
Please don't delay. Either possibility is valid: you brought them with you (as tons of people do despite draconian steps), or the apartment was already infested.
For treatment to succeed, all units that are infested have to be treated. Therefore, it's not in your best interest to handle this privately. Ge the manager involved.
Good luck.
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 14:55:20
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I read your post and went and talked to the property manager. She said that there were no bed bugs in this building and told me to call a pest control company. I called one and the woman on the phone said that it would be $75 for someone just to come look; and then if the apartment has to be treated, another $900! I don't have $900! I don't even have the money to buy a new bed, really, honestly, we hardly have enough money to do all the loads of laundry we are going to have to do! I HAVE to treat this on my own. If it is just in our apartment, we HAVE to get rid of it. What else can I DO? What else should I clean?
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itchyincharmcity
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 262
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 15:15:35
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Hi mama.
Perhaps you should call a couple of other pest companies to get a range of prices in your area. It is possible you just called one really expensive PCO. You might also contact your local health department and housing department. In much of the United States, it is the landlord's responsibility to bring in the PCO. I have no idea what the regulations are in Canada but it's worth making the calls. Perhaps your landlord can be compelled to treat your unit.
If you treat on your own, you might just force them into someone else's apartment. Read the FAQ's and consider printing out some of the info and giving it to your property manager. Sounds like she just doesn't understand how serious this problem can become if not treated properly. I am sure she doesn't want the infestation spreading throughout the building.
Good luck!
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I'm sorry, BM.
I thought the laws in Ontario were on the tenant's side. See this: More on Canada’s laws re: bed bugs and tenants: province by province
Unfortunately, we don't advocate self-treatment here. We really believe you need a pest control professional to control an infestation.
Like itchyincharmcity suggests, please read the FAQs (orange bug below) for a ton of information that may be useful. In addition, you may wish to visit the site of a Canadian entomologist and PCO, www.thebedbugresource.com where you can ask questions and find more suitable information directly from a knowledgeable PCO. Finally, you may want to check out the blog of a friend of the bedbugger community and former bedbug sufferer who is a firm believer in isolation and self-directed IPM efforts to control bedbugs. Isolating the bed would be your first task. There are bed isolation faqs here and more information on his blog.
Please note that most people do NOT need to throw out their existing mattress and bed frame. Both can be treated, and the mattress and box spring can be encased. Throwing things out is a good way to spread bedbugs. Please be careful.
As far as cleaning, well, I'll write a second post about that.
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 15:54:34
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Thanks for the advice so far... I have no doubt that the best thing to do is have a professional deal with the problem but even if I paid the $75 to have him come, that's all I could do... even if it was several hundred, I don't see how I could afford it. Perhaps you are right--if I explain this to the landlord, they may think it is better for them to just call in their people. This just really sucks that a) we probably brought these and could spread this nightmare to other people now (like us there are a lot of other people with babies and kids in the building) and b) that it makes us look like dirty, irresponsible people which we really are not, we did everything we thought we possibly could to not bring them across the country with us (mind you, our old apt. wasn't treated with pesticides because the neighbours wouldn't consent and the pest control person said there was no point doing one unit and not the others). This is just such a mess... And really hard to deal with while juggling a baby. I just wish I had come here sooner, because my husband already took out the old mattress and bed frame not even thinking about the fact that that didn't actually KILL the bugs... ugh! This is unreal.
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I'm sorry about that. I know it's tough but if you can persuade the apartment manager of the seriousness of this problem, you will have done a service to your neighbors as well. There are no cities that are immune to this problem and the sooner everyone knows about bedbugs, what the signs are, and what to do and not to do, the better for all of us.
As far as cleaning, please note that the type of vacuuming that is helpful is very close vacuuming, with crevice tools or attachments, that allow the greatest possible suction. You have to do it patiently and go after the tiniest nooks and crannies. Think up and below when you are vacuuming rooms and furniture. You need to really turn things over.
Some of the known contact killers are 91% alcohol, Murphy's Oil Soap and, of course, boiling water. People have had a lot of success soaking wood furniture with Murphy's Oil Soap. It helps when things can be disassembled since bedbugs hide in the tiniest cracks and no amount of suction can reach some of their hiding places.
A lot of things can withstand washing with soap and water. Clothes just need to be washed and dried (see the relevant FAQ). You can keep clothes (both clean and dirty) sealed in tightly closed plastic bags (garbage bags of at least 1.0 mil, or contractor bags, or ziploc bags all work well).
A lot of people have success placing items (like shoes, handbags) for a few minutes in the dryer. Some have bought dryer racks to keep the dryer from tumbling when used for this purpose.
Steam is also very effective, but you need dry steam and to take care not to create situations where mold can grow. I have no experience with steaming but I'm sure others can help.
Make sure you are not overapplying the DE. A fine dust is all you need and we recommend food-grade diatomaceous earth. Some people prefer DE laced with pesticides, which is fine. But under no circumstances should you use pool-grade DE.
I forgot: please note that I am a DE veteran. I have used plenty of DE and think it's the most wonderful thing on earth. However, I don't think that a bedbug infestation can be fought only with DE. DE works very slowly and bedbugs reproduce very quickly. Sorry!
I'm sure I've missed many things but please take the time to read the FAQs. They will help.
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 17:41:21
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Thanks very much... I think I have read almost all of the FAQs on this site now. They are very helpful in terms of telling me what things I can do to help with the problem. Tonight I am going to take further steps to clean up our situation as much as possible, but I will go back and see the property manager tomorrow and let her know what I am doing but that I think it would be a good idea for them to have their pest people come and take a look. They come once a month to dust for cockroaches and mice, in any case.
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itchyincharmcity
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 262
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 13 2007 17:48:27
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Perhaps you can enlist the pest guy to help you. Your landlord may not want to hear it from you, but perhaps hearing it from a professional will motivate her to act.
ETA and keep us posted. We all feel your pain!
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Nov 14 2007 8:26:46
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I just have a couple more questions in the meantime after doing some stuff last night. We went to Linens N Things and got these covers (they are poly-cotton with a PU lining, which I think is the same as the cheaper ones at NA?):http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1360692&cp&kw=sneeze&origkw=sneeze&sr=1
Then went to IKEA and got new pillows, and ordered a new bed to be delivered on Thursday. We put the covers on the pillows already to use them last night (we are sleeping on the living room futon which, as I think I said, hasn't been affected yet--but I am worried it will be if we sleep on it much longer). We put duct tape along the zippers. I plan to put duct tape along the zipper of the mattress cover, also, once we receive it. Just wondering if these covers seem OK and whether it is the right idea to duct tape them at the zippers? (It was kind of annoying w/the pillows because they kept getting filled with air and it was hard to push the air out...)My other question is about my pine computer desk. It is in the bedroom where we discovered the bugs. I spend a good chunk of my day sitting in a fake leather office chair at this desk. I've checked the office chair and the pine desk pretty thoroughly and haven't found anything--so I am wondering if maybe I should move it to another room, or if I should leave it in this room just in case? It's so much to think about.
Last concern I have is that we were planning on getting a crib for our baby, who has from birth just been sleeping with us, but now I am thinking about holding off a bit longer because that just seems like one more item for the bugs to get into. Does this sound reasonable? Or would the same isolation precautions that apply to our bed just apply to the baby's crib? That would be a lot harder because she would be going into it several times a day when she falls asleep for her naps... Really she makes it a lot harder, in any case, because she plays around on the floor and then on the couch and then on the bed... I'm going to have to keep her off our bed, though, once we get it I guess.
Last question--how often do ya'll change your bed sheets? Thanks so much this website is great. I'll let you know what the property manager says when I go today.
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I'm sorry, we probably can't evaluate the suitability of mattress encasements. They either advertise their suitability to trap bedbugs or mites or allergens, in which case you can contact them for more information, or they make no claims, in which case you should take them at their word.
There are a number of companies producing or marketing bedbug-proof encasements. Caveat consumer.
Taping the zipper is recommended. Or, at least, it was the recommended practice when the types of encasements available on the market were not zipper-bedbug-proof. Now, it is my understanding that they have tested their zippers on some of these products and it may no longer be necessary to tape zippers. Please ask the manufacturer or retailer for more information. (Taping it just in case can't do any harm.)
It's best not to move furniture outside the bedroom or room where bugs are first discovered. You may spread them that way. This is not a hard rule, however, nothing is, just a guide. If a person has tons of clutter in the bedroom, then, of necessity, moving stuff out will be recommended.
A crib, like any bed, can be thoroughly isolated (again, isolation does not equal encasing the mattress; there is more involved) to prevent bites. However, holding off on making furniture purchases until the infestation is cleared is prudent in many cases.
I suppose there is no right or wrong answer about the sheets and your personal tolerance will be an important factor. I think I've seen recommendations that range from 3 to 5 days when you are fighting bedbugs. Changing them every day would be my personal preference and what I would recommend whenever possible, but fighting bedbugs never happens in perfect circumstances.
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Just to add to that: several companies have test data to support their claims of covers being suitable to keep bed bugs out or in. Most don't. Make sure you get that data.
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lil_bit_obsessed
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Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Dec 4 2007 17:53:29
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i'm in ontario as well buggedmama, and i called the tenancy board yesterday morning about my situation. apparently the landlord is required to pay for any pest extermination treatments, unless they can prove that you brought it into the building with you. iknow it's a hard thing to do, but maybe you could talk to your neighbors to find out if they had any problems with bites before? that way you could determine what happened and maybe save money??? just a thought. if you live near a university (as i also do) chances are the empty apartments around you are related to that, since university students are such a transient population anyway.
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lil_bit_obsessed
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Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Dec 4 2007 22:42:18
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buggedmama, i sent you a pm
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Dec 5 2007 12:33:28
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lil_bit -- I PMd you back and noticed you were just Online, but I guess you didn't check your PMs
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