Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Treatment
PackTite - An Independent Evaluation
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hkbugs
newbite
Joined: Nov '08
Posts: 26offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Nov 14 2008 14:22:35
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David - and the eggs die, too, correct???
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Mar 29 2009 19:43:55
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(If you want to comment on it, or have suggestions, please do so in the comments the faq itself, so I can make any required changes swiftly.)
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member
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 177offline
Posted 4 years ago
Sun Mar 29 2009 23:39:18
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I've been using my packtite for about two weeks now. I AM VERY HAPPY! I can now wear shoes other than these damn Crocs (you know, plastic shoes, or rubber, whatever they are, but you can boil them.) I've used the Packtite so far for papers I put them in a plastic bin and just cook the whole thing (I can finally do my taxes) shoes, hats, my leather belt, my jacket in a big ziplock - open, a couple pictures, tools, some watercolors and brushes in a plastic tub. It's basically like taking your stuff to burning man, oh, ok east coasters, the desert in your car on a HOT day and leaving the windows rolled up. Sometimes the big ziplocks don't zip afterwards, but most of the time if I wait till they cool off, they're fine. I am not worried about bugs trying to escape, it's very unlikely. I think it gets hot so fast they just faint, and then die, as they should. Yes, just die my little bugs..sleep deeply, and forever. (OK, I had a nice weekend and feel more powerful than them today) That's why today I am the Queen of my castle.
It's a great solution for our little problem. Thanks to you DJ, what a great invention.
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mamamia
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 14offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Jul 25 2009 0:37:47
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YES, I SUGEST YOU CHANGE THE DESIGN AND PUT THE HOLE FOR THE ELECTRIC CORD SEPARATELY FROM THE ZIPPER. I USED A LOT OF TAPE TO SEAL AROUND THE CORD, AND I'M STILL CONCERND. NOT JUST FOR BUGS ESCAPEING, BUT ALSO ABOUT THEM ENTERING AFTER THOSE FOUR HOURS - WHILE THE UNIT COOLS. IT STAYS ON THE FLOOR FOR HOURS AFTER TREATMENT TO COOL OFF. SO,DO YOU HAVE A NEW VERSION ? I WOULD BUY IT,RATHER THAN USE A NOT SECURE ONE !!
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
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Posted 3 years ago
Sat Jul 25 2009 2:01:55
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DID YOU PACKTITE YOUR KEYBOARD AND BREAK THE CAPS LOCK KEY OR DO YOU JUST LIKE TO SHOUT!
All caps online is yelling.
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senior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 630offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Jul 25 2009 19:11:10
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The chances of a bed bug finding and climbing out of the packtite on any cord are close to 0. When infested items are placed inside the unit and the heat is turned on, the areas around the unit become hot much quicker than the items being treated. A bed bug would have to enter the packtite armed with the knowledge that it has about 2 minutes to locate and scale the cord that leads to freedom. Not only will it have to "know" how to get out, it will have to go against its natural aversion to heat. Remember, whatever you put in there is going to be the last cool place available as the ambient air around it will heat up to deadly temps pretty quickly. Thus, a bed bug would have to want to go towards the heat on a tightrope rather than seek out and hide in the relative cool spot that would be the center of your suitcase, etc. In our tests, especially with our first prototypes that did not reach thermal death temps, we always found our test bed bugs in the center mass of what we were trying to heat- that is where they moved. I really don't know why we even bother with the metal sheath on the cord, but we still provide it. As for my unit at home which I count on to debug my clothes etc. after being in a bed bug filled environment, it has no metal sheath and I run the temp cord through the top as well. We have occasional issues with shipping damage, just the nature of shipping, and I would hate for a slight defect to occur in any seal that we would attempt around a cord that would be low on the bag and thus easily accessible to bed bugs.
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jkim
newbite
Joined: Apr '09
Posts: 16offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Aug 28 2009 15:31:09
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I just purchased a packtite through this site! I am moving on Monday 8/31, so I want to get everything heated and "sanitized"before I move into my new BB free home. I noticed the instructions say I must not let anything touch the heating unit. does that mean I have even less room to place stuff on the steel rack besides the 2 inch off limits side ends? A bit confused because the heating unit is adjacent to the rack and it is inevitable to have my stuff touching the unit if I place something on the rack. does this make sense to anybody?
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senior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 630offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Aug 29 2009 10:26:44
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You can put stuff on the rack above the heating unit. We simply don't want things dangling below the shelf as they might somehow get caught up in the heating unit itself. As always, make sure you keep items out of the vent zones.
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jrk262
newbite
Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 1offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Aug 29 2009 23:08:28
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Does anybody know what would happen if I placed a leather jacket inside the packtite?
I have a very nice leather jacket that is hanging in the closet of a room with an infestation that seems to be limited mainly to a wooden loft bed frame. I am pretty sure the jacket has not been affected, but obviously don't want to take any chances. Has anyone tested the packtite on leather? If so, your experiences and tips would be greatly appreciated.
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squarecandy
newbite
Joined: Jan '10
Posts: 1offline
Posted 3 years ago
Thu Jan 21 2010 17:01:10
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Save your $300. Packtite is basically a duffel bag, a space heater, an indoor/outdoor thermometer and a metal shelf.
The idea is to get your belongings to 120degrees. You could put a $20 space heater in your closet, or in a large cardboard box - place your suitcase or other belongings away from the heater and the walls of the closet/box/other container. Monitor the internal temp of your stuff with a regular $9 timex indoor/outdoor weather thermometer. That's what they ship with the unit - there's no special "packtite temperature sensor".
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 3 years ago
Thu Jan 21 2010 21:45:38
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squarecandy - 4 hours ago »
Save your $300. Packtite is basically a duffel bag, a space heater, an indoor/outdoor thermometer and a metal shelf.
The idea is to get your belongings to 120degrees. You could put a $20 space heater in your closet, or in a large cardboard box - place your suitcase or other belongings away from the heater and the walls of the closet/box/other container. Monitor the internal temp of your stuff with a regular $9 timex indoor/outdoor weather thermometer.Putting a space heater in a cardboard box, as you suggest, seems like a fire hazard to me.
Putting a space heater in a closet, where you cannot monitor it, also seems like a potential fire hazard.
The closet may also pose issues with dispersal of bed bugs. The packtite is a small, enclosed space. You would not want bed bugs to flee the heat from the objects into the closet.
I would be interested to hear others' feedback.
By the way -- I am not sure where thebedbugresource's original post has gone -- it used to be at the top of this thread. It was not accidentally deleted (there's a record of posts which are). Strange.
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tiredofbedbugs
junior member
Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 66offline
Posted 3 years ago
Thu Jan 21 2010 22:56:49
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spideyjg - 6 months ago »
DID YOU PACKTITE YOUR KEYBOARD AND BREAK THE CAPS LOCK KEY OR DO YOU JUST LIKE TO SHOUT!
All caps online is yelling.hehe you are funny
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cilecto
oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 7:51:42
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squarecandy - 14 hours ago »
Save your $300. Packtite is basically a duffel bag, a space heater, an indoor/outdoor thermometer and a metal shelf.
The idea is to get your belongings to 120degrees. You could put a $20 space heater in your closet, or in a large cardboard box - place your suitcase or other belongings away from the heater and the walls of the closet/box/other container. Monitor the internal temp of your stuff with a regular $9 timex indoor/outdoor weather thermometer. That's what they ship with the unit - there's no special "packtite temperature sensor".Have you duplicated the above and proven (using scientific method) that your homegrown technique is effective and safe under repeated conditions, regardless of who's doing it?
The cost (and value) of a good product is more than just the parts. You can buy all the parts needed to build a great house at Lowe's. It takes a good architect to make a plan so thise parts come together as a nice house. You need a good builder to make it last. Packtite may be assembled from "standard" parts, but AFAIK, it was tested and proven to work, safely, to be used by anyone. Its creator also took the initiative and risk to bring this to market, expended money on things that are important but not necessarily obvious (prototypes, testing, travel to manufacturers & trade shows, transportation, packaging, storage, insurance, all manner of art & advertising, reserve for warranty/recall, office payroll, credit) and deserves a return on his investment. Same goes to the guy who thinks that Climb-ups are overpriced "because they're just plastic plates".
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senior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 630offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 9:11:04
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Thanks cilecto.
Packtite looks exactly as squarecandy described, but the heater used is no ordinary heater. If you were to try squarecandy's space heater in a box or closet idea, the first thing you would notice is that you have generated too much heat. This would cause your items to be damaged and/or the safety devices to shut the heater off. In the safety shut off scenario, you don't get close to getting the internal temps hot enough of whatever you are heating, the unit just keeps quickly shutting down. If no such device is present, what you get is similiar to putting a frozen lasagna in an oven at 900 F - the outside is charred but the inside is nice and cool, which is where all of your bed bugs would be happily hanging out. Believe me if we didn't have to have a special heater we wouldn't - make life much easier and our costs cheaper, and yes we burned and melted many things trying to get an off the shelf to work. The second problem was provided by nobugs - all your bugs would simply leave the box.
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senior member
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Posts: 630offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 9:21:25
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oops! I forgot to mention a third problem - cool spots.
When we first sent our original prototype to Sean Rollo for testing, he came back pretty quickly with the bad news - there were spots in the unit that did not get hot enough, places bed bugs would simply hide and not "feel the heat", luckily we could fix that so that packtites do not have these cool safety zones, a closet or cardboard box would have plenty. The device looks simple, but it took us about a year to get it right.
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persephone86
junior member
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 104offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 12:21:08
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squarecandy - 19 hours ago »
Save your $300. Packtite is basically a duffel bag, a space heater, an indoor/outdoor thermometer and a metal shelf.
The idea is to get your belongings to 120degrees. You could put a $20 space heater in your closet, or in a large cardboard box - place your suitcase or other belongings away from the heater and the walls of the closet/box/other container. Monitor the internal temp of your stuff with a regular $9 timex indoor/outdoor weather thermometer. That's what they ship with the unit - there's no special "packtite temperature sensor".Really???? The idea of a space heater in a duffel bag or cardboard box sounds like a sequel to "Backdraft" waiting to happen. Yes, the idea of torching my apartment and the bbs along with it has been tempting on those sleepless nights, but I'd much rather kill the suckers safely and not lose the roof over my head. With the amount of things I have been able to save and treat with the Packtite, the $300 is a small price to pay compared to what I would have spent having to possibly replace infested or possibly infested items. It's already given me a huge return on my investment. In addition, it's become my security blanket and gives me such piece of mind. And you can't put a price on that.
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cilecto
oldtimer
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Posts: 3,851offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 13:32:20
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> the idea of torching my apartment and the bbs along with it has been tempting on those sleepless night.
Nah, you'd probably end up with cold spots anyway.
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persephone86
junior member
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 104offline
Posted 3 years ago
Fri Jan 22 2010 14:07:39
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LOL. You're probably right! They'd find the one unburned beam in the wreckage and rebuild their colony there.
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anniec
newbite
Joined: Feb '10
Posts: 10offline
Posted 3 years ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 16:12:15
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I am going through a second round of bed bugs (14 months after my initial "light" infestation). In 2008 I spent gobs and gobs of money on dry cleaners. My POC said that my shoes and coats didn't need to be treated, so I didn't do it. I have reason to believe that he was right because the bbs were gone for over a year. Who knows where the 2nd infestation came from (or if it really is a 2nd infestation) but I am not going through this a 3rd time! After a very stressful week, my Packtite just arrived and I am so excited! This time EVERYTHING is getting treated. Shoes, papers, books, coats (leather and fur trimmed), art, and I am even considering electronics.
Thank you Packtite!
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gunter34
newbite
Joined: Feb '10
Posts: 1offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Feb 28 2010 15:40:45
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Problem is PackTite does not appear to be available outside of the US and cannot be shipped outside of the US leaving little option to think of alternatives for non-americans.
Like maybe putting items in a hard plastic container that snaps shut and putting in mothballs or something else that kills bugs and placing it outside? -
kelli
newbite
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 3offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 6 2010 1:38:12
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Can one put books in the packtite? And does it also kill eggs?
Desperately seeking help!!! -
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 6 2010 1:46:36
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gunter34: The manufacturer is working on getting Packtite ready for Canada and Europe. I do not know if DDVP strips are available where you live, but some people do use them in a sealed container to decontaminate items. I can't advise on these and you do need to do some research on them, but you can click here for threads tagged DDVP.
kelli: Yes. Used properly, Packtite kills bed bugs and eggs.
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kelli
newbite
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 3offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 6 2010 2:16:33
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One more question: Is it safe to put books and papers into the hot box?
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your host
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Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 6 2010 2:34:08
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kelli: Yes. You're trying to get everything in Packtite to 120. It may go higher, but even 140 should not be too hot for papers and books.
I suppose it's possible to damage delicate books, so someone with a real treasure of an old book might not want to do this, but for normal purposes should be ok. Be sure and use the temp probe to check the temps inside the center of the item in the middle.
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The Martini
newbite
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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Apr 8 2010 0:20:54
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djames1921 - 8 months ago »
The chances of a bed bug finding and climbing out of the packtite on any cord are close to 0. When infested items are placed inside the unit and the heat is turned on, the areas around the unit become hot much quicker than the items being treated. A bed bug would have to enter the packtite armed with the knowledge that it has about 2 minutes to locate and scale the cord that leads to freedom. Not only will it have to "know" how to get out, it will have to go against its natural aversion to heat.Thanks, this makes me feel a lot better about things not getting out....but what about when the unit cools? Do we have to worry about bugs getting back into the bag and onto our clean stuff before we've had a chance to bag it?
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senior member
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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Apr 8 2010 8:51:55
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120 F really isn't that hot, there isn't any need to allow your items to cool down before removing them, you can just take them out when they are done.
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bushbugg
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jun 4 2010 2:16:03
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I will be trying it out this week, and then storing the majority of my stuff... and then packtiting again, most likely.
Im going to assume that comic book bags, made of a thin polyurathane or mylar will melt. Oh well, I used them mostly for organization.
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your host
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jun 4 2010 2:20:09
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bushbugg - 3 minutes ago »
Im going to assume that comic book bags, made of a thin polyurathane or mylar will melt. Oh well, I used them mostly for organization.
Pop a few in a ziploc (they don't melt) so you don't make a mess, and test it. You may be surprised.
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bushbugg
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jun 4 2010 2:29:45
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Ill try that. I also was going to try a sample on a couple of books I would have pitched.
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DeedleBeetle
oldtimer
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jun 4 2010 7:27:30
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i was going to trash all my books but i'm going to PackTite them starting today. I am also going to a paperless office (may take me at least a year to fully achieve) but in the meantime i'm also PTing my office files...have shreaded all files that i'm allowed to shread and have tons of empty file cabinet space. Getting rid of all the stuff i don't need and PTing whatever is left.
I love the PT.
i explained to neighbors about the machine and they have asked if they can use it. I see a cottage industry for someone who is out of work and who has $1,200 to invest....get 4 PTs and set up shop in the room of your home nearest the front door. A few business cards handed out just in your own multidwelling building to start and wait for the phone to ring. I bet people will be more willing to spend a few bucks to know that the things they can't wash or dry clean can be saved at a nominal cost. Could load up the PT with...say...50 books at least or 25 pairs of shoes (i think) and could charge a price somewhere around $11 - 20? if i were out of work, this is what i'd do with my last $1,200.
Maybe charge a little more because you'd want to buy some contractor bags which the person comes and purchases before they bring their items in that bag all sealed up. Or zip locks since they're easier to open up inside the PT and then reseal after treating.
if you have 4 machines going at the same time (i don't know how it'll affect electric bill) at $20 each for 2 hours (the tempurature and time have to be calculated) then you would be getting $40/hr...then take out the cost of electricity, etc....you could conceivable be earning anywhere around 20-30/hr...Ain't to shabby, especially since, while the machine is running you can be doing other things..
Whaddaya think?
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member
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jun 4 2010 10:45:59
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I'm just gonna share that even though my infestation has been over for a year, my pals now insist I put their "Goodwill scores" in my Packtite before they bring their stuff home. They learned well from my ordeal.
I just brought home a couple of really terrific framed prints from Goodwill the other day with a few other new treasures and in the Packtite they went for about an hour and a half till it got up to 120 and left it in there for an hour.
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bushbugg
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Posts: 234offline
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Jun 5 2010 23:16:41
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Im running my first round of packtite tonight!
First run, 2 nylon computer backpacks, turned inside out to keep things from dangling,
1 sketchbook opened and fanned (inside one backpack, thats where the therm is)
7 pair shoes.
Its been a hot day in brooklyn, so the room temp on my third floor is still almost 92 degrees. After 15 minutes, the packtite is up to 113.Then the bags will be bagged in large ziplocks. Wish me luck!
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