To just fucking burn my house down!

[sheskilledmyplant]

Ok so that's a little dramatic..but that's how I feel lately because of these fucking pests!!

So we have lived here 4 years. We ripped the old bathroom out and replaced (downstairs bathroom) after 3 months of it being done I started hearing moving around Underneath the bath panel..yep we had mice! 4 years on we can still hear them from time to time even though dh has been around the house 10,000 time to block up any holes.

Last year our kitten got fleas and infested the whole house it was absolutely hideous! What with the heatwave and being bitten a zillion times a day it was torture. We got some indorex, took the cat back to the vets and he prescribed him some better flea treatment and we haven't seen a flea since.

Then last November I noticed I kept getting bitten in bed but my husband wasn't, turns out it was bed bugs! We had to throw the bed and mattress out just before Xmas and replace it. Also found one on the sofa!

Then last week I noticed my two year old was being bitten. After a thorough examination of the bedroom I found a bedbug on the frame of her bed with lots of little black dots on the wood frame. After more inspection I found what I think are carpet beetles 😩
I've blocked up any holes and crevices and sprayed.

I'm so fed up, I can't take much more of this! I've lived in 2 other houses and not had one of these problems let alone all 4!

[FemalePersonator]

My sympathies, OP.

While I've not had trouble with vermin (as you have) I have endless problems with plumbing and leaks and damp. It's like living in a sieve.

[BlackCatSleeping]

Can you afford to get it fumigated?

I live abroad, so I do a home fumigation every year before summer hits.

It might not help with the bed bugs, but will eliminate most other bugs.

[sheskilledmyplant]

Is it possible that a house is just cursed or something! On top of that we have had nothing but bad luck from the moment we moved in here! So much work has needed to be done to the house and we've had nothing but bad news in 4 years we've lived here 😔

@FemalePersonator oh that sounds shit (no pun intended) 🙈

@BlackCatSleeping I'll have to look into how much it will cost never thought of that.

[TeaforTwoBiscuitOrThree]

Get it fumigated by pest control?

[Theunreasonableone]

Definitely look into having it fumigated - it’s not too expensive. We had something like carpet beetles one summer. The gardener took down a birds nest and it was probably infested. Unfortunately it was near the sitting room window so they came in.

Sorry your house has turned into such a nightmare

[SuchAToDo]

Op if I was you I would get the place from top to bottom fumigated..., It sounds like a nightmare...

Are you joined in to any neighbouring houses, because I've heard that pest problems e.g mice and bedbugs etc can spread to other houses in adjoining homes ...(if your house is adjoining another, then your neighbour may be the source of your misery, they may have the pest problem, and it's spreading each time to you)

[sheskilledmyplant]

Thank you all for your suggestions, I will look into it. Although when the bed bug problem first happened I called a pest control company and they quoted me over £800 for the size of our property 🙈 we could no way afford that kind of money.

@SuchAToDo we have one house attached to us and they are filthy buggers. I wouldn't be surprised if it was coming from their house tbh.

[CoolJule43]

Bed bugs will probably be in every bed and fabric sofa in the country. Don't get rid of the mattress unless old enough to need replacing. I think you should have used a spray specifically designed to kill them then vacuumed the bed then put on high thread anti-allergy mattress and pillow protectors.

Mice have no vertebrae so need the tiniest of openings to get in. Check again.

[Deathraystare]

Then last November I noticed I kept getting bitten in bed but my husband wasn't, turns out it was bed bugs!




Join the club! hideous isn't it?!

[BlackCatSleeping]

Like I said before, I live abroad. I use foggers, like these

www.amazon.co.uk/Rentokil-FI65-Insect-Killer-Foggers/dp/B00EHKKSV0/ref=pd_cp_199_1/259-9490590-7713755?psc=1&pf_rd_p=01704ebe-a86a-4b47-8c36-0f9f5bbc2882&_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_wg=wVuWe&pf_rd_r=DADAMP40JQB2GAGFX8Q8&pd_rd_i=B00EHKKSV0&pd_rd_w=psMJ8&refRID=DADAMP40JQB2GAGFX8Q8&pd_rd_r=69b49993-4185-11e9-943c-57b102c3192c&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

They are actually pretty good and reasonable. I do it every year as it starts to get warmer, so we can have a relatively bug-free summer. But doing it every year just keeps everything under control.

They're worth a try if the professionals are too expensive. You need one per room.

[gingergiraffe]

I would look at the pro expert website for products to fumigate your house yourself. We recently had to deal with carpet moths when pulling out very heavy furniture at my neice’s house. In the two rooms we discovered them, not a huge infestation luckily, we had to vacuum thoroughly, sprinkle powder, vacuum, spray carpet and edges with a chemical, then set off a special smoke bomb and leave for three hours. Ventilate after and then put down pheromone traps to trap or monitor any that may be left over. Cost about £50 for the two rooms. The treatments cover all bugs I think and they seem to have worked. The chemical actually leaves a moth proof coating, probably like the moth proofing the professionals use to moth proof new wool carpets. Not cheap but certainly cheaper than calling in the professionals.

[sheskilledmyplant]

The mattress was old, infact the whole bed was. I haven't been bitten once (touch wood) since having the new bed.

@Deathraystare I turned into a complete lunatic! Was constantly going around the room with the flash on my camera, even when dh was asleep 🙈 I was bitten all over though and I couldn't work out why he wasn't.

[gingergiraffe]

Ah yes, the bombs are called Foggers.

[netflixoriginal]

Op we use bug bombs, not sure if you have something similar where you are

www.mortein.com.au/products/kill-protect-control-bombs/

[madcatladyforever]

I moved into a doer-upper that was a complete wreck and had the place thoroughly fumigated a few times which got rid of most of the pests plus woodworm treatment but bed bugs are a different kettle of fish you definitely need pest control advice for those or they will be everywhere.
Get someone in!!

[gingergiraffe]

The fleas may be like mosquitoes. I never get bitten but my friend gets massacred.

[QuirkyQuark]

We went through a period like that, mice, fleas, slugs, beetles blah blah blah. I too wanted to burn the house down but settled for traps, fumigator and checking everywhere that slugs and mice could get in. And then I moved.

[Anniegetyourgun]

Mice have no vertebrae Er - what?

[MyEyesAreNotDeceivingMe]

Sympathies.

On the fleas, the eggs can remain unhatched for ages and movement near them can make them hatch. Kitty will be a good flea killing machine but it might be worthwhile spraying indorex/no more fleas once a month.

I went crazy when we had fleas, like proper OTT hoovering and spraying and washing everything. Until you get it sorted spray your feet/legs and exposed bits with a strong insect repellent so you don’t get bitten.

[QuirkyQuark]

Annie if a mouse's head can fit through a gap then the whole of the rest of its body can, weird but true.

[Ruru8thestars]

Mice definitely have vertebrae - think their collarbone is very flexible hence squeezing through tiny spaces

[gingajewel]

Are the foggers any good? What do you do with them?

[mermaidbee]

Sometimes local authorities will provide pest control for free on domestic properties. It may be worth checking your local councils website to see if they can help.

Ours treat bedbugs, mice, rats and cockroaches free and also treat other pests but charge a fee for those, it is still lower than what commercial pest control companies charge.

[BlackCatSleeping]

With the foggers, basically you set one off in the middle of each room and then you have to leave the house for a couple of house because they fill the house up with smoke which kills all bugs. Then come home and air out the house. You have to be careful to make sure all the dishes or baby toys are put away first. They definitely kill all the bugs.

[Jam82]

OMG that sounds rough. My kids had monster nits several times over the space of a few months. I treated them and used the comb daily but they kept coming back as there were other parents at school ignoring the letters sent home telling them that there were head lice in the class and to check their kids. It took me so much effort to finally get rid of the little pests and involved so much washing and combing of my kids very thick black hair. It was a nightmare.

I think if you can afford it it might be worth getting rid of the mattress and anywhere else they can live and getting a professional company in to sort it out. You can’t carry on like this forever, it must be driving you mad!