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Portable space heater + closet = BB oven?
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Big Apple of Dread
newbite
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 14offline
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Dec 17 2010 9:56:47
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So, I've been struggling with these things for about two months now. I've had three PCO treatments where he has made clear that he doesn't really know what he's doing.
In any case, I have been supplementing as much as I can. I thought that their harborages were primarily in the closets. So, I took an old space heater that I had and put it in my front closet. After leaving it on for a few hours, a couple thermometers I left in the closet read between 145-150 degrees F. I let it run for a couple more hours. I sealed all the cracks in the closet and used an expanding foam to fill the big gap between the door frame and the dry wall. I sprayed bedlam around the door as a little, "hello" to those trying to escape and put a layer of DE on the closet floor & under the door.
I'll post more about how the fight's going and try to gather a little more advice, but I thought some of you may find my story interesting. It's too early to say whether or not it worked in the closet, but it's been three days and I haven't seen one in there (and I used to see them on occasion on the walls/on coats).
I think this would only work in relatively small closets, b/c the larger closet I had was struggling to get up to 140 degrees when I tried it last night.
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Big Apple of Dread
newbite
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 14offline
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Dec 17 2010 9:59:41
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Sorry for the repost of this story from a topic I started yesterday. I thought that one didn't post properly so I re-posted.
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insecticidal
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Joined: Dec '10
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Dec 17 2010 13:37:25
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The closet must be pretty well sealed, or I'd think it will just drive them out. I don't know much about how BBs react to heat (saw an article on NYvBB, once), but I would also expect them to move to the floor, if there's a sufficiently cool path for them to do that.
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Big Apple of Dread
newbite
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 14offline
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Dec 17 2010 13:46:46
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You should check out some of the FAQs, Insecticidal. BBs have a very low kill point for heat. If they are exposed to heat at 140 degrees for a minute (or less), they die. They're kill point is like 113 or something around there.
My thinking was that the bugs would probably retreat into some of the clothing being kept in the closet while their hiding place was getting hot. They wouldn't seek out an even hotter spot (even to pass through to get to the exit). They would go cooler, farther inside clothing & bags, until eventually, they couldn't find a spot that was cool enough, and got killed.
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insecticidal
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Joined: Dec '10
Posts: 94offline
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Dec 18 2010 11:08:49
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Big Apple of Dread - 21 hours ago »
You should check out some of the FAQs, Insecticidal. BBs have a very low kill point for heat. If they are exposed to heat at 140 degrees for a minute (or less), they die. They're kill point is like 113 or something around there.I know all that. I even got myself an IR thermometer to make sure my stuff was getting hot enough in the dryer. You can get these for as little as $40, but be sure to account for the margin of error (I wouldn't buy any with accuracy worse than +/- 4 degrees F). Mine also has a thermocouple that I used to check my hot water temp.
BTW, if your water is hot enough and you're just trying to sterilize clothes, you can use a bathtub.
Anyway, I guess I was just having trouble visualizing your setup and how you're planning to use it. Anyway, good luck.
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Big Apple of Dread
newbite
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 14offline
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Dec 18 2010 11:30:17
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Thanks, insecticidal. The one thing that is very nice is that I know that I can build something in my house that will 100% kill these guys. Stick stuff in a ziploc xxl, put it in a 150 degree oven (my closet), and after a few hours, the internal temp of the bag is around 130, certainly hot enough to kill them.
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