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Original poster

I think weve got bedbugs - anyone else had them?

28 replies

itchynights · 21/10/2004 09:00

ds1 keeps getting tiny hard bumps on his skin that then turn weepy. they are very itchy. took him to the docs who said they were bites - he agreed they didnt look like flea bites, we think they might be Bed Bugs - how horrible is that?? anyone else with experience of how to get rid of them??

OP posts:

geekgrrl · 21/10/2004 12:00

ring your council pest control department, most councils offer free treatment in occupied homes because they're considered a public health hazard. I listened to a programme on the radio about bed bugs a while ago - apparently they are making a huge comeback and are very difficult to get rid of, so better sort it out quickly before they spread.

nutcracker · 21/10/2004 12:07

I'll check with dp (ex pest controller) when he gets home tonight but i do know that he had to regularly spray for bed bugs so i think you will need to get someone out for it.

Twinkie · 21/10/2004 12:12

If you take off the sheet and have a look around the seams of the mattress you should be able to see them if you do have them - little black spots apparently - saw a good but skin crawling programme on it not too long ago.

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:24

My dp lives in an area in west london that is particularly afflicted by bed bugs - I got badly bitten by them a few months ago and he had to get Rentokil out to spray the whole flat. Also he threw out the carpets and a lot of furniture.

One of the tell tale signs of bed bugs is small smears of blood on the bedclothes or walls near the bed. The bites were like really bad gnat bites, and many were in straight lines on my body as if the bug had worked its way along!

Horrid things, I had always thought they were mythical creatures until I was attacked by them. Fortunately the rentokil treatment did work.

You could try moving the bed away from the walls and spraying neat lavender oil on bedclothes and around the bed as a natural repellent until you get pest control in.

hmb · 21/10/2004 12:31

They live in the walls and go oneto the bed to bit you. You do need rentokill or someone like it to sort them out.

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:41

iirc he called environmental health out and they sprayed the flat but it didn't work, so in the end he had to pay rentokil to sort it

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 12:44

Reading this makes me think we've got them. For the last few months I've been waking up in the morning with large red swellings on my legs - mainly ankles and calves. But dh hasn't had anything - are bedbugs selective in their victims? Or have I got something equally sinister in my bed?

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:45

well dp never got bitten by them, so either they are selective in their victims OR he was getting bitten but didn't react to them in the same way that I did. Mind you bites around the feet and ankles sounds more like fleas - bed bugs bite everywhere. And I mean everywhere!!!

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 12:46

Fleas?! Eeek - what do I do about that!!!??

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:48

Fleas are easier to get rid of than bed bugs unless you've got a really bad infestation. Have you got pets?

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 12:49

No pets at all - although dh is a bit hairy if that counts

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:49

pmsl

hmb · 21/10/2004 12:52

Go to the vet and get stuff to 'bomb' the house. Don't use the stuff you can buy at the supermarket, they don't work well enough.

Fleas are horrible but you can deal with them if you get the right stuff.

Bed bugs or cockroache (gwad, my skin is crawling) needs a proffesional to sort them out.

spacemonkey · 21/10/2004 12:53

and the treatment for cockroaches does not work for bed bugs!

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 12:55

Did I mention we found mice droppings in the kitchen too - good grief I live in a pigsty...

Skate · 21/10/2004 13:48

Mudda - have you moved to your lochside retreat now?

Sorry, not meaning to hijack thread.

fiorocious · 21/10/2004 13:50

Chuck out the mattress, get the place sprayed and then get protectors on your bed. The only way.

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 14:16

hi skate - no, move postponed til next month - haven't sold current house yet - all these beasties of mine are in the middle of Herts!! How am I going to cope in the middle of nowhere

Skate · 21/10/2004 14:33

Mudda - oh, I thought you were moving anyway despite not having sold? Hmmm, there'll be lots of little midges up there won't there!! It'll be worth it though - bet you can't wait!

muddaofsuburbia · 21/10/2004 14:35

Will bump up my move thread and update there...hang on

Wallace · 21/10/2004 22:19

the pest contoller will probably put down sticky traps to see if bed bugs are present

orangina · 25/10/2004 13:28

we got bed bugs when we lived in the middle east some years ago.... they were very selective and didn't touch me, but MUNCHED (then) dp... as someone said, they tend to live on the walls, and come out at night when you are sleeping to eat... one way of trying to see if you have them is to (sounds silly) sneak into the bedroom in the evening when it is dark (leave the lights off), pull the bed away from the wall, and then switch on the lights (surprise!)... they are often caught unawares on the wall behind the bed, and can cluster around skirting boards and electric sockets etc. I'm sorry if you have bedbugs, they were quite horrible to get rid of, and eventually had to get pest control in 2-3 times in total. If you can move out after they've sprayed for a w/e or something, it would be best, as i think for the spray to work it has to be quite noxious. And definitely chuck the mattress.... good luck!

dogwalker · 01/11/2004 15:01

Oh god - just looking at this thread again as I have had a few bites, and when I looked behind the bed there were two or three small dead insects! awful, and spent ages with the Dyson, smeared vaseline on the bed legs etc, but wish I'd kept one of the bugs so it could be checked. Couldn't sleep last night, kept thinking I was being bitten. DH has not been affected at all though. Wonder whether it might be fleas as I saw a couple on the dog recently and have just treated him.

anorak · 01/11/2004 15:08

I used to run budget backpacker accommodation in London years ago and had enormous problems with bedbugs. People would bring them in on their packs, the next thing you know you have an infestation. You can tell bedbugs as they are very flat, can slide into tiny gaps in skirting etc.

I had a service contract with Rentokil in one building, I think it was £400 a quarter - and this was years ago, they never got rid of them and I sold the building in the end, had no choice.

Had them again in my next house, wanted to nip in the bud. I hired a different company this time who used higher concentrations of chemicals than Rentokil - probably broke laws but they did get rid of them.

Horrible pests, nearly bankrupted me .

dogwalker · 01/11/2004 16:04

were they like little beetles, perhaps stripy?

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