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We're renovating the house and now have Bed bugs! Any special advice?
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BugsInTO
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Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 197
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Aug 1 2008 19:10:19
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Wednesday, I found a bed bug on our bed. No bites on anyone so far. But, it's definitely a bed bug.
We've been do-it-yourself renovating our 2 storey semi-detached house for the last 5 years and the place is still all torn up, with no end in site. And, we are also a family of clutters.
I've talked to 2 PCO's so far:
(a) One didn't offer us a treatment option and sold us Propoxur to self-treat. Does anyone have any experience with this?
(b) The other offered a treatment option of steaming, vacuuming and spraying, with a follow-up, but they require extensive preparation before they can begin (which is appropriate.) But, that kind of preparation will take us months, and bed bugs don't wait.At this point, I know it is impossible to expect a PCO to provide a treatment when we are in such a shambles.
It seems we will have to approach this in stages - but how?
We're thinking of starting the decluttering of our bedrooms by transporting items from our bedrooms in plastic bags to either be thrown out, or washed/dried and then bagged, or just bagged for 18 months (somehow.) And we'll start the isolation of our beds with encasements for the mattress/pillows, and carpet tape on legs, pulled out from wall etc. We'll vacuum and steam and scrub and clean.....and then expand out to the rest of the house.
Some concerns I have are:
When to spray - should we spray our bedrooms when they are ready? even if we can't do the rest of the house at that point? Then move on to the living room? the hallways?
Isolations/Containment - We'll only be able to caulk and seal in the relatively finished part of the house. Any suggestions for managing the parts of the house with no baseboards, or door frames or finished ceilings?
I've been reading all the very helpful postings, and would appreciate any advise.
P.S. Tomorrow we will tell our neighbours on the other half of the house. Wish us luck.
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buggyinsocal
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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Aug 2 2008 1:47:55
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I should preface this by saying that I am a renter, not a homeowner, and I'm still pretty new to this, but would either Vikane (I'm guessing not, because I'm guessing it means gassing the whole building, but maybe I'm wrong) or thermal (which seems to be geographically limited) be an option?
The PCOs we contacted said that my apartment, given the amount of furniture and work-related books and paper would be too hard to prep in time for traditional chemical treatment, so thermal was the best option. It was more expensive, if you look at bottom line price, but when you consider how much less prep time, I thought it was worthwhile.
Also, lastly, did you save the bug? Make sure you hold onto it if you need to talk to any other PCOs.
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Hi,
Rushing out but spotted this. I have treated a few people in a similar setting and regardless of what treatment options you do the best thing to do before you start is stop the renovation, declutter and prepare the property and most importantly dont start to finish the renovation till they are gone.
Its too easy to get all mixed up when you try and deal with two major issues at once.
If its feasible ask the PCO to visit and asses the situation, if they are experienced in dealing with bed bugs getting advice on how to declutter and prepare the area to fit in with their treatment plan could save you a lot of time and reduce the risk of the probelm being spread further through the property.
Glad to see you communicating with the neighbours from the start it can often lead to finding the source of the problem at the start of the exercise rather than 2 or 3 months into treatment.
Good luck.
David
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TO= Toronto?
If vikane or thermal are available, I agree this may be a good option. You can spend months in traditional treatment.
However, it's probably safest not to do that unless you are pretty certain you're not in a state of being continually exposed to them via the neighbors OR another source (others have found friends or relatives had infestations and did not know).
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BugsInTO
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Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 197
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Aug 2 2008 17:27:47
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Hi-Yes, we are in Toronto. Thank you everyone for the responses. I haven't found Vikane or Thermal on any of my Toronto internet searches yet - those treatments may not be here yet. It's a long weekend now, and I'll telephone around on Tuesday. Any idea for providers in Canada?
We found two more bugs and it looks like there is a bite on my husband's arm...
I agree that one thing at a time is the way to go, but my husband wants to finish the drywall and install the cabinets in the downstairs kitchen to put both rooms (the torn up kitchen, and the back room storing the cabinets) into a semi-usable state so we can use them to store our bagged items. [We have our functioning kitchen on the 2nd floor.]
What about closing in the walls at this point? Should we spray in something first? sprinkle in DE?
I am thinking about steaming the cabinets before he puts them up (provided I am not a nervous wreck)because the room they have been stored in is underneath our bedroom. Do think that would make any difference?
Again, I appreciate all the suggestions - BugsInTO
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BugsInTO
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Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 197
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Aug 8 2008 21:20:02
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Hi - Thought I would update ... we got sprayed today. A pyrethine spray. There was also some steaming and some dusting. We are ventilating the house right now after staying out for 6 hours. The PCO recommended 4 hours, but it was so good to be away from the problem for a little while and spending some time as a family.
NO renovations have been done since discovering the first bed bug a week ago Wednesday. And it is not likely that there will be any more for the immediate future. My husband and I have been working flat out decluttering and clearing and preparing for the spray. My husband sees now that he under-estimated our situation (and he also says he was somehow hoping there had only been one bed bug, and that I, his talented wife, had caught it.)
We got someone to come over and give us some info on how to proceed. He said it was actually better that there were no baseboards in places, because he would have had to loosen them anyway. We targetted the clearing out of our upstairs floor where we primarily live (kitchen, living room, bedrooms) and did as much decluttering on the main floor (two offices and then torn up rooms) as we could. The basement is still essentially unpassable. And, since we put the suitcases down there, it is possible it has been contaminated. But, our focus was on the area where we knew there was active bed bug activity - our bedroom.
We bagged all the clothes (double-bagged most) and tomorrow, we will start taking them to the laundromat so we can deal with the clothes in bulk.
I have been quite bothered by bags tearing. I read the post about one reason you know you are fighting bed bugs is you discuss the pros/cons of different types of bags. This is SO true for me now. Because of our renovations, it seems there is always a stray sharp edge on something to catch on the bag, plus our stairs to the basement (where the washer / dryer are) are so narrow, I kept tearing the bags on the light switch. So I taped over the light switch - permanent ON for the next little while.
This is just the beginning. It's drop in the bucket for how long others have been struggling. I can't imagine how I will feel if I am still at this months/years from now.
PS - We told the neighbours who own the other half of our house. They say they know what bed bugs are (they are from Asia, and I believe them) and they say they don't have any. But, they have now also stopped speaking to us.
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 452
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Aug 8 2008 21:30:01
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Hi BugsinTO-
I'm in Ottawa battling the bugs. Sorry to hear of your troubles, hopefully they are contained to only the bedroom.Tearing bags are the bane of my existence. I simply don't see how a better methodology has not yet been developed. I was asked to bag all of my books - tears resulted in double and triple bagging - and yet I still see the odd tear. Every time I have to lift a bag to move through my apartment, I seem to tear something. Containment? It seems almost impossible to me.
Maybe one day, all the Canadians on bedbugger.com will band together and picket Parliament for some sort of aid. I'll bring Timmy's for everybody.
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madNalberta
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Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 21
Posted 10 months ago
Sat Jan 17 2009 17:40:46
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LOL! Im so in. ;P
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