Bed Bugs, how a little knowledge saved thousands.

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Today is 11/23/17, Thanksgiving day.

Like many people I traveled to see friends and family, my last stop was my grandmothers house, my dad and I stayed for dinner which lasted till around 7pm and I got there at 4pm so 3 hours.

I was sitting in a recliner at there house after dinner and I felt a bug on me, I caught it, discreetly looked at the bug then gave it a pinch and my fingers were bloody. I have personally never seen a bed bug but I worked in a low income apartment complex as a maintenance man so I knew how to work in a apartment and not catch there attention, but I was 85% sure the bug I just squashed was a bed bug so I got out of the chair and stood, a few mins later said my goodbyes and drove a little over an hour home.

When I left I called my dad, said when he gets home to put his cloths in the dryer and leave his shoes outside and told him what I thought, I said I’m not 100% it was a bed bug but just to be on the safe side throw them in the dryer for 30-40 mins on med to high heat. (Above 118 degrees) (reg on dryer 130-150 degrees)

I got home, in my garage striped down, put my wallet, boots and belt in a chest freezer, neatly gathered my cloths and went strait to the dryer with those, went upstairs and took a shower.

After a hour or so I take my boots out and lightly tap them on the freezer, sure enough 2 bed bugs fall out. .

My dad said that he found two in his dryer filter.

after doing research, it takes 4 days at 0 degree temps to kill them so I flipped on the oven at its lowest (170 degrees) laid two towels on the rack and baked my boots for 90 mins which will kill eggs, larvae and all other stages.

My cloths were in the dryer on high for 120 mins which is more than enough on those.

Hopefully I got them all, tomorrow I will go threw my car with a fine tooth comb to make sure non dropped in there.

To heat treat a house is $1000s hopefully I avoided that mess, if I see anymore I will call a exterminator.

My grandmothers house isn’t dirty, its not cluttered but at some point they got infested with bed bugs and may not know it, a phone call will be made tomorrow about it. So you just never know sometimes, all you can do is be vigilant and take precautions.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Thanks for the info on freezing not killing them.

 

[stingray1]

A lot of good advice from BrokeFarmerJohn,the most important as he says is be vigilant and take precautions. When I stay at any motel,I check between the mattress and box springs and the seams with a good flashlight.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Bedbugs were pretty much eliminated in this country by late 40's, early 50's, or so I'm told. The influx of immigrants from the Middle East has pretty much managed to reinfest many areas of the country; student housing at our colleges and universities in particular. Ah, multiculturism how much do I love thee? BTW, venereal disease another gift that our hospitality has blessed us with. When I was with the Health Department, I was told with some certainty that at least in this state, Syphilis was all but stamped out, until the influx of immigrants from South of the border. I noticed recently on a trip through the largely Hispanic district of town, several billboards describing the consequences of untreated Syphilis.

 

[two_bit_score]

Wow. How a little awareness can avoid so much trouble and expense.

 

[Garandman]

Now comes the hard part: talking to grandma....

 

[Oldpath05]

And how many of grandma's friends and relatives stopped over at her house for tea this past month or how many places did grandma go and how'd she get them in the first place.

 

[Streetcar]

Two lane
Per neighbor in business, bed bug increase has a lot to do with banning of pesticides.
Syphilis in my area is druggies and or prostitution

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Wow. How a little awareness can avoid so much trouble and expense.

Possibly, there is always a chance one got in my place or dads, if his place becomes infested, he comes over to my place enough I could be infested that way.

My sisters visited my grandma earlier that day also along with their significant others and one has two kids.

After they left my grandparents they went to other houses, so that’s another two houses affected, one sisters step kid stayed over at her friends house without going home first.

So just in one day, 7 houses possibly affected just by one visit/ dinner. Not to mention cars, they can live there also but it’s not as likely.

Now if someone gets infested and they don’t know it, they can take it to relatives, friends, work, the list is never ending.

Good news is unless you draw the luck of getting a fertilized female, your not likely to get infested by just one bug, they have to reproduce just like the rest of the animal kingdom, you could even get lucky to get a few bugs with no chance of reproduction.

 

[goeduck]

I think I would place the these under every piece of upholstered furniture and bedding that had legs on it if they work

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bed-Bug-...031&wl14=bed bug interceptors walmart&veh=sem

Also keep clothes, etc off the floor and vacuum the heck out of all the furniture and treat it.

 

[MossRoad]

Bedbugs were pretty much eliminated in this country by late 40's, early 50's, or so I'm told. The influx of immigrants from the Middle East has pretty much managed to reinfest many areas of the country; student housing at our colleges and universities in particular. Ah, multiculturism how much do I love thee? BTW, venereal disease another gift that our hospitality has blessed us with. When I was with the Health Department, I was told with some certainty that at least in this state, Syphilis was all but stamped out, until the influx of immigrants from South of the border. I noticed recently on a trip through the largely Hispanic district of town, several billboards describing the consequences of untreated Syphilis.

Gee, I'll bet it has nothing to do with the ban on DDT at all....

 

[Fossil Farm]

A friend of ours got bedbugs in their house a few months ago. This was while his mother-in-law was staying with them and they had a visiting nurse coming in about twice a week. The nurse has several clients, and they figure she picked them up on her coat or purse at one of her other client's houses. It was a real pain having to bag and wash all their clothes and treat all their furniture.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

What a subject to peruse while not being able to sleep!

Bed bugs like lice are no respecter of social class. You can get them in numerous places where humans congregate. They feed almost exclusively on human blood. There is a lot of good info on the internet, some remedies may be doubtful.

Ron

 

[goeduck]

From Cesar Millan’s Website. Maybe we should all let our hair grow. uuhhhh.... those of YOU that can

Can a dog get bed bugs?
“Technically it can happen but the short answer is no,” says Water Penny of Colorado Bed Bug K9, LLC. Bed bugs prefer to feed on human blood and unlike fleas and ticks; they are not bioengineered to move through fur and hair. Penny explains that while bed bugs do not seek out canine hosts that everything is dependent on the level of infestation and if the problem gets extreme enough, it’s possible that bed bugs may infiltrate a dog’s bed as a secondary source of food. “It becomes an overcrowding issue. If there is no other place for them to go then they will go to alternative food sources and that would be cats, birds, dogs and other mammalian pets. What I tell my clients though is they will walk over 50 cats and dogs to get to us. We’re the primary food source so when you find them in a dog’s bed, that’s the least of your problems, and it’s miserable for the poor dog but you’ve got more serious issues going on. You’ve got a massive infestation!”

 

[jerrybob]

Bedbugs were pretty much eliminated in this country by late 40's, early 50's, or so I'm told. The influx of immigrants from the Middle East has pretty much managed to reinfest many areas of the country; student housing at our colleges and universities in particular. Ah, multiculturism how much do I love thee? BTW, venereal disease another gift that our hospitality has blessed us with. When I was with the Health Department, I was told with some certainty that at least in this state, Syphilis was all but stamped out, until the influx of immigrants from South of the border. I noticed recently on a trip through the largely Hispanic district of town, several billboards describing the consequences of untreated Syphilis.

Can a Hispanic bedbug get syphilis.........if yes........a solution is close.

 

[ultrarunner]

It is a huge and growing problem and one that can easily be very expensive!

I have one last Section 8 rental I manage... a single family home and the family has been there for years...

The 18 year old daughter and her mother were not seeing eye to eye... daughter was sleeping around and then put out... kicked in the door with the police permission as she was on the lease and police stood by because Mom wouldn't open the door... sorry for digressing.

Anyway... the daughter went to Vegas and flopped where ever she could... about 6 months later she hits rock bottom and pregnant... Mom takes her back... within 6 weeks Bed Bugs... the owner has spent thousands on eradication... what a mess!

Turns out the daughter had bites all over...

As to the door... the family had to agree to a payment plan for repairs...

 

[Threepoint]

Gee, I'll bet it has nothing to do with the ban on DDT at all....

Thanks, MossRoad! Well said.

 

[Threepoint]

I think I would place the these under every piece of upholstered furniture and bedding that had legs on it if they work

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bed-Bug-...031&wl14=bed bug interceptors walmart&veh=sem

Also keep clothes, etc off the floor and vacuum the heck out of all the furniture and treat it.

Hmm, I read the product description and come away skeptical on effectiveness. It assumes that the little guys will get on the chair, sofa, bed etc. by crawling up the furniture legs. Seems much more likely that they transfer on clothing, or the body itself. :scratchchin:

 

[goeduck]

Gee, I'll bet it has nothing to do with the ban on DDT at all....

Did they DDT their furniture and beds or maybe DDT in cleaning agents?

 

[MossRoad]

Did they DDT their furniture and beds or maybe DDT in cleaning agents?

They put DDT on everything. The kids would play in the fog from the fogger truck as it came down the street.