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To caulk or not to caulk... the bed

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OutOutDarnBugs

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Posted 3 years ago
Sat Jul 25 2009 18:53:24
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So, after getting rid of things, vikaning, and moving, I purchased a new bedframe along the way (the mattress was vikaned). It's a wooden-slat platform bed, very simple, light colored so I could see if fecal stains showed up/etc. The bed has been put together with climb-up interceptors on the legs, David's passive trap on a slat, and no sheets or bed linens touching the floor.

So the question:

The slats that go into the sides of the bed leave a tiny gap between the wood and the hole they go into. Obviously, this would be a great place to hang out if you were a bed bug. Do you guys recommend me taking a caulking gun to the cracks and crevices around the slats? The only problem I would see is that it would make it pretty darn impossible to take the bed apart and do an inspection completely. Then again, if everything was sealed up, I guess it would make fewer "deep" hiding places on the bed. So, do you suggest caulking to attempt to eliminate gaps, or leaving the slats free moving so I can take the bed apart in the future?

Thoughts/suggestions?
de-selftreat

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Posted 3 years ago
Sat Jul 25 2009 21:08:14
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I'd say no: if BBs come back, you can inspect the slats by lifting them up. That's what I do with my bed, but they seem in fact to prefer the corner joints, which need unscrewing (I then wash them with Murphy's soap). There were nail-holes in case you wanted to nail down the slats but I haven't, so I can take them off and turn them upside down etc. It might be a temporary solution, but my cheap bed had many wood knots in it, which I taped up with clear tape, in one case catching a bb as it was trying to escape (only noticed a week later that there was a half-stuck down bed bug flailing, when I took the bed slats off to inspect. And in a way it's convenient having a bed that's easy to assemble/disassemble and offers BBs hiding places, because it stops them (in my experience so far, fingers crossed) from finding more elusive hiding places.
spideyjg

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Posted 3 years ago
Sun Jul 26 2009 2:02:24
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Things that don't move and shift can be sealed. Things that move and need gaps can be lightly dusted with DE to make them uninhabitable provided they are below the mattress.

Jim
OutOutDarnBugs

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Posted 3 years ago
Sun Jul 26 2009 10:19:38
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Ahh, thanks guys.

I think I'm going to leave the frame un-caulked, then. I think it probably does need those gaps because of the shifting of the bed. I guess it's possible if I caulk them up, the bed can't "move" like it's supposed to. I never thought about it. DE has been lightly applied in all the gaps, so hopefully that'll help dissuade them, too.

I'll just keep my eye on things (and maybe break my bed down once a month for a good inspection, while I'm at it)!