Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs
Indoor tent: temporary escape w/o leaving home (good for futon owners)
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muchbugged
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Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 1
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Jul 22 2007 21:03:48
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Hi folks,
Well, I know I am not as seasoned in the bedbug world as many of the posters here, but I thought I would just throw something out that I have been experimenting with that might offer away to avoid the most deleterious effects of bedbugs until they are exterminated.
I have had a bedbug infestation for two and a half months. I only recently discovered that this is what has been going on. I have had bad allergic reactions and chronic insomnia due to a combination of itchiness; actually feeling bugs crawling on me and turning on the light to find them there; paranoia; and, I think, an immune system that has become weakened over time due to all of the above.
By the time I figured out what was going on, the problem had escalated so far that I decided to take refuge in my parents' house for three days while waiting for a POC to treat my apartment. During this time, my allergic reactions had time to subside and the wounds to progress with scabbing and healing. However, the pesticide treatment failed due to lack of thoroughness, and the next day, I was back at my parents' for a stint of another three days. Anyway, the previous night I had come up with an idea, a way to possibly continue sleeping in my apartment instead of imposing on others, creating extremely lengthy commutes for myself and the inconvenience of non-access to everything in the home, and, as it turns out, possibly passing on my problem to my generous hosts.
I bought a small tent, sprayed it thoroughly with DEET while still in the car, then set it up in my living area as far away from my bed as possible (studio apartment). Upon inspecting the mesh vents at the top, I was nervous that little nymphs might be able to wedge their way through, albeit not easily, so I spread a paste of diatomaceous earth and water around all the vents and the door. I had also bought a new sleeping bag, which I needed anyway. It came with an inflatable plastic pillow (good for its non-burrowable qualities). I then took a shower and hunkered down for, I hoped, a decent rest. In fact, this turned out to be the first insomnia-, itch-, and bite-free night I had had at my apartment for more than two months! Of course, I know bites can take several days to manifest, but previously, in my bed, I had woken up almost every evening (which I always do once naturally) and inspected my bed and the surroundings, and I had almost always seen some critters. However, upon such inspections in the tent, I have not spied a single bug in or near it. Of the numerous bugs I have found and smooshed in other areas of my apartment since I got the tent, at any time of day or night (do I have a new species? Who says the things are nocturnal!), none has spouted blood, whereas before, 25-50% of those I smooshed emitted blood on any given day.
I have been thinking that since the bugs locate their victims by the carbon dioxide we emit, perhaps in my tent, the CO2 had a chance to mix with oxygen enough before it exited the top vents, that the bugs didn't have enough pure CO2 to hone in on. My two ensuing nights in the tent have proved equally paradisal (i.e., normal). I spray the outside of the tent each night with DEET. Perhaps this is helping a good deal, too.
I figure that if bugs did manage to enter my sanctum, which of course I keep fully zipped except for the moment I am entering it, they would still probably be easier to control than in the bed setting. The sleeping bag and its plastic pillow are easier to wash than bedding, and the tent interior is simple plastic--seams, yes, but no cracks, crevices, rugs, or other myriad hiding places as around my futon (which lies directly on the floor)! This simple environment would probably respond more easily to a temporary home spray than the more complicated home bed environment, if necessary. And of course, when the POC comes, he'll hit this, along with everything else.
This alternative for temporary sleep management with bedbugs actually seems a lot easier, more comfortable, and more likely to be effective than many others I have heard of--as long as you don't mind feeling like you're on a camping trip in your own home! (I like it!) Also, futon owners can't try the putting-bedlegs-in-containers-with-fluid or covering-with-double-sided-tape trick; plus, bed owners trying these strategies have to deal with the possibility of infested bed parts and surroundings. Especially for futon owners, I think this tent thing could be a great way to go. The thing cost $30 at Sears. I'll let you know if it fails, but even for three nights' good sleep, I think that's a darn good buy! And yes, don't worry, I am taking all the proper recommended steps to permanently end the problem; this is just a suggestion for making it through peacefully until the final victory is won!
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Jul 22 2007 23:13:34
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At best … I'd stay in the room where the bed bugs are located. I'd stay in the tent, make it impervious thusly: For 15 bucks I’d by a sheet of thick clear plastic and a jar of Vaseline. I’d sit the tent in the room the bugs are already in—so as not to spread them into the other side of the house.
VAccume the spot well lay the plastic and make a Vaseline moat 2 inches thick all aroundDeet does not work—many have said this even is not such a good idea for other reasons. It wears off I na few hours, but the bugs are active at 3-5 am—not midnight or 1 am.
Doing this … WILL keep the bugs out—and … as a bonus … when they get hungry enough, they’ll be waiting for you when you wake-up—so … have some contact killer ready to spray on them and kill them—all from the inside of the safety ring!
91% rubbing alcohol placed into a spray bottle is 2 bucks a pint or so.
Get six pints or so … If you spray it on the bugs—good enough—each morning they will die.But … if you leave the tent where it is, you’ll likely spread them all over … and then … they are VERY VERY hard to treat and/or find!
Great Idea—but I think you are sleeping on the wrong side of the house!
Great Idea … but you can use the Vaseline moat and plastic to keep the tent clear of bed bugs (so long as none get in it, as you go in/out).This should amuse and interest an intelligent PCO—If he is a good one, he’ll be amazed!
Again--you have to be 100% bed bug free each time getting In the tent
The Vaseline eliminates the need for DE paste on the windows.
In essence I’m giving you more room and keeping you in the best room for you to be in.
So please go into the bedroom where the bugs are.
ALso--tape the plastic down to the floor so it is as air tight as possible. it will keep it from shiftng around.
A bed bug could not claw its way thru a paper bag.Other points:
Vacuuming the rug very well and dispose of the bag sealed 100% … before you lay down the plastic the tent will sit on is a plan.
A touch of DE on the rug UNDER the tent--would not hurt, either—all of course with the approval of the PCO, you will be getting in, to do the other half of the job.
Drop the DEET.
It will confuse the bugs … make them come to you—don’t run away from them.
Many of us make this error, thinking it will help—nope. No running (not too much running, anyway.)
Think rqther of--"Controlled Attracting" so you can kill with contact kills and poisons PCO’s lay down can sound like a good plan to polish off the job.
You will or MAY need to be in there for several weeks—as in, once you make a good plan then stick to it, until it fails for some reason.
What does the PCO think of all of this … your plan with my proposed modifications? questions PM me, and I'll try to explain further why I say all Ihave here.
what do others think of all of this--amazing no? -
Thanks for this muchbugged. I especially appreciate that your purpose is not merely evading them, but killing them. We once encountered an unethical blogger who only intended to evade them, hoping, no, intending the bugs to leave his apartment and go over to his neighbors in search of food. It was horrible, and made it hard to appreciate the germ of some good ideas in his rantings.
Tell us how this is working and, more important, how the PCO treatment went.
All the best...
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jul 27 2007 14:00:22
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I'm hangin' on the edge of my seat here nomo. it is truly facinating and I hope we will gain much insite into alternative exclusion techniques. i guess that's what this is--the tent thing.
Where do they draw the line between exclusion and isolation--or are they really the same thing??? -
buggedoutinPA
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 24
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Jul 27 2007 15:12:34
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ok this may sound crazy but what the hell, I've already lost my mind due to these damn bugs.
What if I do the small tent thing as suggested by 'much bugged' but instead put the tent on my bed? This bed of course being treated, isolated, and with the vasoline on the legs of the bed.
Naturally a picture of this set up will be necessary because I'm sure it will look as ridiculous as it sounds. But.... whatever it takes, right? sigh.
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Jul 28 2007 13:21:50
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Originally I was going to suggest he/she put the tent on the bed. if the best is totally isolated and no bugs are re-introduced--you would not likely need to do it--unless they were dropping down from the ceiling form the upstairs neighbor--or your infestation is so grand they are climbing the walls and then dropping down.
i hope that makes sense. Moreover, I am not saying the original post is invalid.
Sure it would look silly but heck--we all lose our minds and so, having said that--if it is safe, thought out and preferred i say--go fir it.
Still hanging on the edge of my seat....
Whatever anyone does ...after successful bed isolation, I say—you need to take a contact kill to bed and kill any bugs awaiting your blood elsewhere during the morning or anytime during the day...
good luck ... I'd put plastic over the isolated bed under the tent too just as I suggested for a tent on the floor ... near the bed
Why?
I’m not too totally sure, I know they hate plastic and become easily trapped and killed in it should they become embedded in it and "sat on"Got bed bugs? Sit on them –
OK OK OK OK …
lol I’m not being totally serious here … but the point I make is valid in my experience.Herbal tea and Tylenol PM … Atarax for itching and help sleeping prescribed by a doctor.
Some of the entomologists have had a few shots of vodka for the itch and scratch.
Now … operation of a steamer is not recommended when your high on all this stuff—so safe it for desperation … -
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Jul 28 2007 14:39:43
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I'm surprised someone hasn't started marketing a bedbug-preventative small tent that could be placed on top of the bed. There is mesh cloth for sale that is small enough to be bedbug proof-and this could be used. What parent in an infested home wouldn't want to put his or her children to bed in a bedbug-proofed sleeping tent? The kids would think it was fun and they would not wake up bitten. I would buy one in a heartbeat, if only for psychological purposes.
I have to differ, however, about bedbugs not being able to detect the carbon dioxide when you are sleeping in the tent, though. In an apartment building, bedbugs can detect a sleeping human from 100 or more feet away (and that is not by hearing them snoring!) I think it takes very little CO2 for the bedbugs to find a human anyplace, but if they can't get to them, the humans won't be bitten.
I have to agree with Willow about the bedbugs standing by and waiting for you when you come out of the tent. That happened to me when I first isolated my bed. My bedbugs would then bite me in the evening when I was sitting at my desk. I didn't feel them, and they somehow knew to bite me on places where I wouldn't see them (the backs of my calves), but bite me they did.
Having a good night's sleep is so important when you are a bedbug warrior, and I admire creative ways to get a good night's sleep. Besides, the less you are bitten, the less blood the bedbugs are getting, and the less blood they get, the less they can procreate. Until we have bedbug birth control .....
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Jul 28 2007 22:23:37
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Keets are you suggesting a mini scissors to castrate the "sticker" or do you think the sissors could also cut of the sucker as well. We could get the lil' B*****ds at both ends.
Perhaps we could get some sort of micro-cement to plug up the females "egg drop shoot" too! Is it not (this egg dispenser of woe), a bit off to the side, near the back end of the B****? Or ... is that where she receives the male?This is one of those slightly morose but much needed humorous posts, which LTND Dan talked of in the hand shaking thread--I hope it is anyway.
This last paragraph (below)is NOT meant to be funny, but I may have the details ... as to exactly where the eggs come out a bit askew.Did you new bites know that bed bugs have so much sex that it actually kills the females off i.e. shortens their life spans--and that they have specialized organs to trap and hold and cleans the males spermatozoa of many of the pathogens they carry? also ... Bed bug sex is called traumatic insemination--I think it is more traumatic for us than them when they do it--but that is not what the term refers to. also one or two doses of sperm can keep her laying eggs for a long long time. So--why do they have so much sex??? it is NOT an odd quesiton and I think it may someday play a role in their destruction--if, scientists use that to our advantage somehow.
as always : donnoWillow
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Parakeets, I have previously mentioned and linked to a tent that sits on the bed.
http://www.longroad.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.100.exe/Travel_tent.htm?E+scstore
Lou Sorkin said the holes were indeed small enough to keep out bed bugs. You'd have to make sure you did not bring them into the tent on your body or clothing, and you'd need to ensure you did not lean on the mesh sides, since they can possible bite through the mesh. But the solid sides do creep up to allow a certain amount of leaning.
I wrote to them to ask for a sample we could review, but there was no response.
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Jul 29 2007 9:26:35
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now that--looks like a plan! What a tent! I'd worry about getting in and out too!
I'd take my contact killer to bed like it was my little rubber duckie. -
willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Jul 29 2007 13:15:01
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I am getting this tent, and, I am moving my NEW tale of woe, into a new thread called
"re:in-feast-ation" Since I'm not feeling all so woeful, I put it under the tools weapons ideas whatever the forum heading is--so the two tent topics will stay in close proximity.
the link to buy the tent is NOT posted in the other tent thread maybe it could or should be?
Donno.Thanks
Willow
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parakeets
oldtimer
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Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 8:20:21
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Thanks for posting the tent link, Nobugs! If anyone here uses it and has success, let us know.
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Beatrice
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Posts: 125
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 10:08:14
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I have a friend who is planning on sleeping on an air mattress on the floor, is there anyway to isolate in that situation?
the only thing I can think of is double sided tape and DE
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 11:09:18
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hi Beatrice--I also recommend they put the mattress on thick plastic--after the floor area is deemed as free of bed bugs and eggs FIRST as is possible. I'd also make it double strip of carpet take and I'd put Vaseline in center of the tape all around. They can walk across carpet tape--some brands anyway. I've seen them (OK… well one) do it, and fairly easily--I hope that helps, and i hope they bring a contact kill into the isolated ring so they can spray / kill bed bugs waiting outside the ring upon awakening. in 3-6 days ... that should start happening, and is dependant upon the # of bugs there and willing to wait. Most, I extrapolate--will wait. Unless there is another juicy human too close by. In that case the bug may leave, bite elsewhere …. then only return later to bite—or try to bite on another day. I do recommend this idea, but this what I've said is one drawback to it--in some cases. Had they had PCO treatments? If not they would do well to do that also.
I'm very open to PCO's and their treatments. I don't think it is feasible for all to get them however. it is a shame.It’s a crying shame.
Beatrice—I’d also make sure that the plastic was heavy duty and that a large area is left allowing for accidental blankets messing with the tape and the Vaseline in the middle of the night. i.e. at least 2 feet or more.
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Beatrice
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 11:14:04
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Thanks Willow
They have had 3 treatments, the last one was 3 days ago. I've been trying to convince them to buy something that won't sit on the floor but haven't had any luck.
Only seen one bug, on shedding, one confirmed set of bites.
Would putting DE out be a bad idea?
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 11:34:58
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Hi Beatrice:
If no pets would disturb or inhale it and no wind sweep it away (ie on carpet it would be more securely placed--I think not.
The usual way is to spread a thin even coat sot he bug will not notice it is walking on sharp crystals. Other methods of application have been developed. Check the web-sites offering these alternative measures with the sale of their particular product.
I had asked an Entomologist once, and he told basically said: … sometimes they walk thru it … and some times they do not--thick thin or whatever. This I was told is similar to what roaches would likely do too.
So I don’t really know.
Now … they are saying add water--again check the particular website where the DE was sold for more info.
At least the DE would be aiding in cutting them i.e. slowly drying them out. But would they be more likely to leave--I think perhaps a little bit they would be more likely to seek other food sources sooner--that is a guess however.Adding water and spraying DE in my sphere would only be done into cracks and hard to reach areas—It is here, always get some visions of kids trying to play “water squirt gun†with the stuff and I can only imagine that they would need Emergency treatment should it EVER get into the eyes—so CAUTION-CAUTION-CAUTION
REASEARCH (X 3 too)—AT … the actual web site.
Best to you and yours for a safe: “starve dry-out and kill'
Mr. Willow
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Beatrice
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 30 2007 15:58:28
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"ie on carpet it would be more securely placed--I think not."
I'm not sure what you meant by this, does this mean the carpet want hold the DE and it will fly into the air?
The person has pets so I guess I'll have to think of something else.
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Aug 2 2007 8:23:19
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I bought, set up and slept in the blog advertised "Bed Bug proof" tent, last evening. It is flimsy yet finely meshed and has interesting labels about being flame retardant so long as no substance put on it occurs. If so … then there is no guarantee.
It is not good a good fit for futon beds unless the futon pillows are squared off i.e. it barely fits my queen-sized mattress (rounded sides.) I got the double sized tent and secured the “legs†to the bed with duct tape. It did not slip around then.
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nyjammin
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Aug 2 2007 8:40:15
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So Willow, do you or do you not recommend this product or do you need more time to try it out? And did it serve it's purpose? Inquiring minds (my loonie mind, anyway) wanna know!
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Aug 2 2007 10:35:20
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Too early to say jammin .... So far, ... it is a "go!" (In your specific case, last I'd heard it was still a lot of bites, if you can shell out 125.00 it could help in any number of circumstances. IF used properly i.e. getting in and out totally bed bug free is achieved--so long as your read you kill/starve off the bugs awaiting outside (within 3-21 days) For you--it might be great as a pre-move tactic to lessen BB populations. If room is an issue (and I know you have cramping at home due to too many people and stuff) you'd need to prioritize:
IttoookMore--later on it. A sandwich in n there and a soda ... played some music--when the cd became stuck--I HAD to get out. In and out as little as possible ... Seems good so far!
Have a god day and will post again tomorrow if I'm free.
Mr. Willow
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