Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Treatment
Vote!: Sterifab or "Best Yet"?
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freakedoutandbroke
junior member
Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 97offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 17:24:44
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Looks like these are the two safest options, but both are expensive. Which do you recommend? Looks like the "Best Yet" is fairly new but backed by research, and I could spray my dog with it. And it would make my house smell all nice and cedar-ey.
Also, I still need to talk to my exterminator (who probably knows less about BBs than me at this point!) but what are your thoughts on "supplementary" spraying, i.e. spraying down my couch or mattress (which he won't do) with a residual spray like one of these?
Last but not least, any thoughts on "Bug zip" to protect my clothes. Right now I am using big ziplocks I got from Uhaul.
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cilecto
oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,869offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 17:40:49
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It's not either/or. Please research various classes of contact killer. Also, get wise to the issue if repellency. If you're going fir a contact killer, go for the most affordable and most compatible with your surface. Ex, Murphy soap is gentle on finished surfaces but will leave a gummy residue that you need to rinse. 91% alcohol is good on fabrics but may wreck painted or plastic surfaces. Neither will kill BB that are in hiding when you spray. None will kill eggs. Caution, there are a lot if people happy to make a buck off the bewildered, broke, bugged and embarrassed. Often, there are cheaper and more effective solutions.
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freakedoutandbroke
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Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 97offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 18:08:41
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Okeydoke... yes, I think the cedar is a repellant, and I know that can be bad. Hadn't thought of that. More worried about my pup-pup not getting bit.
Isn't sterifab a residual killer? I thought it was. I'm thinking it would be best on my couch. I haven't seen BBs on the couch, but I gave it a good vacuuming and put interceptors under it, just to be on the safe side.
There is so much to learn... head asplode!
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wchicago
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 268offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 18:21:14
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hi faob
sympathies on the head asplosion
but we all get it. it will pass as you get more knowledgeable you first get more freaked out <because lets face it, ignorance really sometimes IS bliss> but then you get less freaked out as you realize there are steps you can take to control likelihood of bites while getting treated.
my big freak out <well, one of them> was due to my dog getting bitten. it made me *insane*, until i figured out a way to isolate a dog bed --posted here in response to another loving freaked out dog owner looking to protect her little dog. my dog is bigger than hers, your dog is bigger than mine - but luckily the beds i found that could be easily isolated come in all to suit chihauhas to great danes.http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-3-lb-dog
good luck with it all!
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 14,072offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 21:22:40
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freakedout -- Sterifab-- to my understanding -- is more or less a contact killer with a light residual. In other words, probably better than most contact killers, but probably not enough to solve your bed bug problem.
Supplementing can be done safely, but it can also mess up what the professionals are doing. For example, it is possible to wash away a residual or dust the PCO applies, whether you're using water, floor cleaner, or a contact killer. Best to discuss any self treatment with the PCO before you do it -- ask about where, when, what, and how much.
wchicago -- I don't mean to be a downer, and I have not read the other thread yet, but I don't hold out much hope in isolating a dog's bed. If the dog sits on the floor, stands on the floor, or on any other piece of furniture, even briefly, they can carry a dog into the "isolated" bed. End of isolation. (The same is true of humans -- if you sit around the home and then hop in bed -- poof! Bed is no longer isolated.)
I see you plan to steam the bed nightly, which would probably remove bed bugs. However, if the dog sits elsewhere part of the day, it can still be bitten by bed bugs.
The good news is that bed bugs are probably much less interested in the dog than in you. K-9 Advantix on your dog will probably help too. I seem to recall it is pyrethrin-based and kills fleas, ticks, lice, mosquitos for a month; and though it's not labeled for bed bugs specifically, it might help.
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wchicago
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 268offline
Posted 3 years ago
Sun Dec 6 2009 22:16:24
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hi again faob, nobugs is right-my dog bed isolating methods do not actually result in a fully isolated bed. BUT - if the bbs are biting your dog it will help (and bbs don't always bite dogs, depends on how hairy they are i think -because mine is a short haired dog and even she just gets them on the hairless parts like tummy and face, including her eyelid and inside her ear. argh.) before i pseudo-isolated her bed she once got 7 bites in a single night - immediately after isolating the bed that dropped to maybe 2-4 in an entire week, and she's never received more than 2 in a night after pseudo-isolation. of course, you absolutely have to steam and or throw-in-the-dryer the removable top EVERY night, and your dog also has to sleep there rather than anywhere else. luckily, my dog loves the new bed <likes being tall i guess> and also, i removed every other soft thing from the area where she sleeps, so if its dog bed vs. hardwood floors -well, she's gonna go for the dog bed. but you could also be worrying for nothing - a lot of folks on the forums have dogs -and only a very few of us have dogs who are bitten. so maybe wait and see before implementing this procedure -heaven knows you have a lot of other bed bug related things to do (the first weeks are the worst, then i swear it gets better. once the laundry is all bagged then really, the routine kind of sets in and its a new kind of surrealistic "normal" ). feel free to pm me if you do decide to try to isolate the dog's bed. i'd be happy to send you a pic of what the completed "masterpiece" looks like
and best of luck
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