bugs, the little bastards

[rivendellrose]

So, I've been putting off posting about this, because, hah, slightly embarrassing, but. We have bedbugs. I had what I thought was an allergic reaction to something in the new apartment shortly after I moved into this apartment (several months ago), but recently we've confirmed that it's bedbugs.

East coast friends, I hear the resurgence in these little bastards started out on your side of the states - any advice? We've already bought ultra-tight-weave covers for mattress and pillows and put those on, but I'm getting from the various websites I've read that this is not enough by far. I've heard 120 degrees is the magic temperature for killing off the bugs and their eggs, but I'm not sure how the hell to accomplish that with a lot of our stuff.

And to make matters worse, we're moving in 2 weeks, so... kind of busy right now. And yet also unwilling to drag an apparent infestation into a theoretically-uninfested apartment.

Comments

[alto2.livejournal.com]

My parents rent a place at the shore in NJ each fall and had to deal with this problem 2 or 3 years ago. They had to move to a different house for the rest of their month and go through absolutely everything they had with them. The house was fumigated by an exterminator, and they were also told to pack their van and let the stuff bake in the sun so it would get hot enough to kill anything that might be left.

It's not an easy problem and not one that's fun to deal with (though I'm not sure why it's embarrassing--it's not like you've been breeding them deliberately or something!), but I would definitely seek professional assistance, both to make sure you leave your current place bug-free, and to keep from taking them with you when you go.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

The sun-baking is an interesting thought - if we had a car (well, and more sun - it's been really cloudy here lately!), that would be a perfect solution for a few things.

And yeah, I know the embarrassment is a bit silly. It's just so horrifying to think of these nasty little guys nibbling on us, so the disgust gets transferred to "oh god, don't want to tell people!" I guess. :P Thanks for the advice!

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Beyond washing every single piece of clothing and bedding in hot water, the only thing I can think of to do would be replace your mattress and box spring :(

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

We've already got the mattress in one of those heavy, tight-weave cases with the zipper taped up with duct tape, so I think we're okay on that (I hope?), and we don't actually have a box-spring, so that's okay. Everything else... yeah, I'll just have to camp out in the laundry for a while, I think, and get everything that isn't put away in plastic for a year washed.

Thank you!

[cirakaite.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine just went through this recently; she had an exterminator in several times, but the only thing that worked in the end was moving, getting rid of bed/boxspring and any other soft furnishings, and washing every piece of clothing/carpeting/curtains in super-hot water several times, all at once.

Good luck! I think you're right to want to get rid of them completely before you move.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

We've got the moving part going already, so that's something. ;) The washing... is going to take a while, as I have a hell of a lot of clothes, so I'm going to put the stuff I can't get to washing right away (along with stuff that can't be washed) into plastic, and mark it with the date so that I know not to open it up for a good while.

Thank you! We'll see what happens - everything's happening so fast we're kind of getting overtaken right now, so I'm sure it won't actually be handled until we're in the new place, but... at least this will give us a chance to go through everything.

[livii.livejournal.com]

My sister had these last year. They had to do a total clean out - everything was washed multiple times, fumigated, or thrown out. It was a massive, massive pain but if you're not aggressive you won't get them all, and then you start all over again.

I can ask her more specific details if you want!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

If you could, that would be awesome. I'm most concerned about a down comforter that's been on the bed. I'm going to just pack away my quilt and my down comforter that haven't been on the bed, I think - put them in plastic and just not take them out for a year or so, that ought to do it from what I've read, right? But the comforter is used all the time, and I'm not sure if dry-cleaning will do the trick?

[livii.livejournal.com]

I've shot her an email, hopefully she'll get back to me soon!

[livii.livejournal.com]

Here's her reply!

>>I didn't have a down comforter, just a regular one, which I put in the wash. I put EVERYTHING in the wash. All clothing from closets/dressers, all bedding/pillows/towels, fabric-y purses/bags/shoes, stuffed animals. Anything porous that the nasty suckers or their eggs could have gotten into. Hot water for the washer and high heat for the dryer. You pretty much have to accept the fact that some clothes will shrink and it SUCKS, but bedbugs suck more. As for any clutter or things in drawers, if I really didn't need to keep it I just trashed it, and if it wasn't anything porous but I wanted to keep it (random things like hairbrushes, pieces of paper, jewelery, etc. etc.) I would inspect it carefully and dust it (nobody told me to do this, but it was just what I came up with). She's getting her place sprayed, I presume? What I was told was to put everything you're keeping in sealed plastic bags in the middle of the rooms that are getting sprayed and to move all furniture away from the walls. I went home to mom and dad's for a few days while it was sprayed so I actually brought home all the clean laundry in big garbage bags and then brought them back again. But all the stuff that I said I inspected and dusted? I put those in sealed bags and left them in my room. Oh, and during that whole crazy cleaning process I was also supposed to do the most hardcore vacuum job ever, being sure to get into every nook and cranny. You're then not supposed to vacuum for a certain period of time (I can't remember exactly how long, but they would likely tell her when they spray) after the spraying so that the chemicals can do their best work for longer.


Also, she recommended this site: http://www.toronto.ca/health/bedbugs/index.htm

Hope that helps a bit! She said she's happy to discuss more later if need be, and sends her sympathies.

[niwatorimegami.livejournal.com]

I had to deal with bedbugs last year. I ended up deciding to move, Before moving things into the new apartment, I put everything that could handle it in a dryer at its hottest temperature, through out all my soft furniture, wiped down all the hard furniture with bleach, and then put things that couldn't handle that kind of treatment in sealed containers, so I won't be opening those for awhile.

Good luck! Bed bugs are a real pain, just an utter nightmare to deal with. As a last resort, diatomaceous earth (it's ground up fossilized shells I believe) kills bugs but is harmless to humans and animals as long as it isn't kicked up into the air. It has tiny razor sharp edges that cut through the chitin of the bugs so that they die of dehydration, but just feels like chalk to humans.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Wiping down the hard furniture with bleach is a great idea - I'd been wondering what the heck to do with the bits of furniture that are wood but could still have eggs on. And yeah, I have a feeling a lot of stuff is going to be in plastic bags/containers for a while.

Thank you!

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I am so sorry,
what can I do to help?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Not a whole lot, honestly? We're still debating exactly how to go about things, but I'm going to bag up as much of the soft stuff as is feasible and wash the rest, and we'll figure out the rest as we go.