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Bed bugs clearance - diy

53 replies

Anquin · 21/05/2020 15:39

Ok - I’m gonna start this thread and keep adding to it as I go on...

On 30th April, we discovered a major infestation of bed bugs in DS’s room - aaaarrrggghhh!

This thread describes what we did - and are doing - to rid the house of them and hopefully help others dealing with this horrible pest infestation...

OP posts:
Iwouldbecomplex · 21/05/2020 19:49

I have been wondering if we may have bedbugs but I can't find any evidence of them. My husband keeps getting bitten by something. They are coming up as red, round bites around the size of a pea. He thinks he's getting them at night as they are on places like his stomach and upper legs that are covered up in the day, but he isn't sure. I've not had a single bite. This has been happening for a couple of months. He also only gets a couple of bites once every few days to a couple of weeks - he's not getting bitten daily. They are also very itchy.

I've looked for evidence of bedbugs where the internet advises a few times (headboard, mattress seams, bedside table joints, divan books etc) but can't find anything - not a single bug or black dot. We have all white bedding too so I feel I would find something. The only thing I can see is maybe 2 or 3 tiny dark red specks about the size of a pinprick on his side of the bed, not on mine. I feel that's more likely to be a tiny bit of blood from him inching his bites though. The black dots producers by bedbugs would be bigger than a pin prick wouldn't they? Also no marks at all on my side and surely if there were bugs they would venture on to my side? We do have a cat so I considered flea bites but he's very carefully treated and checked for fleas and no evidence, so it's not that - I have had cats for years and so am familiar with fleas and know exactly what I'm looking for.

Has anyone had bedbugs and not been able to find any evidence? Would I definitely find something if I had them?

Gimmecaffeine · 21/05/2020 22:02

@usernaming Once you have the cimexa I'd quit the isopropyl. Infact, I'd clean the bed of the isopropyl and then finely dust. You want the bugs to behave normally so they get promptly covered in cimexa. They are likely to be able to detect and will avoid the isopropyl. This might mean a few days of being bait (Shock) but it should work quickly and avoid them living elsewhere.

@Iwouldbecomplex

There are infinite reasons for itchy skin. If you can't see black dots, bugs, cast skins or blood spots on bedding you're probably ok.

You can always get a passive monitor, the one I linked to is a perfect bug habitat so you check for signs of faeces weekly. You can also call pest control for an inspection. Legally they have to find evidence of an infestation to treat so they are used to searching around a bed, finding nothing and leaving without charge.

Anquin · 22/05/2020 15:05

@Iwouldbecomplex, they shed their skins several times before reaching full size, so you should be able to find these if you have them. I didn’t take a photo of the eggs, but these are white and look like tiny grains of rice and we found these stuck to the headboard back fabric.
I’ve attached a photo of the carapace that one of my prisoners shed for reference (they’re still moving - ugh!)

Bed bugs clearance - diy
OP posts:
Anquin · 22/05/2020 17:42

Update: inspection carried out today (we’re trying to push it so that weekly inspection is done on a Saturday - furlough can’t last forever!)
The bed is an Ikea GVARV ottoman storage bed. There are newly-fitted wardrobes either side and a fitted cupboard that bridges the bed with small unfitted cupboards either side of the bed. All parts which meet the wall, ceiling, skirting and floor are caulked and the carpet is fully fitted.
We store all linen in zipped SKUB storage boxes in the ottoman so that we don’t have to inspect this, too.
Our new weekly drill is as follows:

  1. Get the steamer ready and switch on to boil in the bathroom
  2. Remove mattress from the bed, inspect all sides and place against the wall at the other side of the room
  3. Lift the mattress slats and remove Skubs, then inspect the whole of the inside of the base (it’s white so easy to spot bugs) all bugs and eggs are removed when spotted, using sellotape
  4. Move small cupboards out of the wardrobe area
  5. Move bed away from wall by about 1 metre and inspect the back of the headboard (the folds of fabric where stapled on), removing any bugs/eggs found again
  6. Steam all edges of the headboard and the joins of the head and foot-boards to the bed’s sides
  7. Tip bed onto it’s side, steam the underneath of the structural sides and inspect the bottom of the MDF base boards
  8. Set the bed upright again and steam every slat holder and all joins of the bed frame
  9. Steam clean both sides of the headboard and all of the side and foot boards, then steam-clean the carpet underneath where the bed will slide back over once dry
10. When dry, put the bed, the mattress, the storage and the cupboards back

And that’s it! This week, we found 2 bugs - you only need 2 to start another infestation, so we will continue to monitor weekly until we are sure there are none remaining...

DS’s room, however... we still need to heat-treat it, so we currently have 2 industrial heaters in there in an attempt to get to nearly 50 degrees for a sustained period of time (as it was already 26 in there, DH figured it might just reach a high enough temperature) if that doesn’t happen, we will continue to search for a heater that will maintain that high temperature for at least 2 hours...
Will report back again next Saturday 30th May.

OP posts:
Gimmecaffeine · 23/05/2020 22:51

Finding two live bugs indicates a very active infection. Is there a reason you are avoiding professional help?

Gimmecaffeine · 23/05/2020 22:51

Infection? *Infestation

Anquin · 24/05/2020 06:47

@Gimmecaffeine, only right now because I’m shielding until the end of June, and because DH has had some experience with clearing infestations in a professional capacity.
Is finding 2 really bad? ((I was comparing it with the number found in DS’s room, which was 100’s).
We found no eggs this time, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere they could be hiding....
Anyway, we’ll keep checking - my intention with this post is to provide an honest account of trying to deal with the problem ourselves due to Covid-19 concerns.

OP posts:
Anquin · 24/05/2020 06:59

@Iwouldbecomplex, given @Gimmecaffeine’s question above, one thing we may do eventually should we find the infestation persists, is to get the company used by my DH previously when working with infestation to bring in one of their detector dogs - but of course only once my shielding period has ended and I’m back to normal! Maybe something like that would work for you, too, as you can’t find any evidence yourself...

OP posts:
Gimmecaffeine · 24/05/2020 07:20

Finding 2 live ones isn't great. They are very good at hiding and can hide virtually anywhere, we had them for months and never actually saw a live one (we did find dead bugs, though). We only found their faecal spots when we moved and had to take our wooden slatted bed apart. The eggs are like sand, and they can lie dormant for months. Our neighbours had them too so we think they moved between walls.

Steam and heat alone will kill on contact but I do think you need some kind of powder too to properly halt the life cycle. If you found 100s I would definitely get a pro in, or at least call a reputable company for advice.

The bedbugger forum is really helpful, lots of pros on there with helpful advice

dalrympy · 24/05/2020 07:27

Finding two live ones after treatment is quite bad. It basically means your treatment didn't work unfortunately.

It's not unusual though. Mostly places will want you to have two treatments.

Some companies will give you a guarantee that they will get rid of them. They will give you a very extensive prep list for what you have to do. It's not easy

Anquin · 24/05/2020 07:59

Thanks, folks - will definitely get some outside help just as soon as possible for me. I will keep posting about our efforts in lockdown until then, and at least DS’s room can remain empty for the summer...

OP posts:
Anquin · 30/05/2020 23:47

Ok - we are on week 4 now. One prisoner is still alive!
We pulled the bed out and found 1 bug and a few eggs. So sellotaped both and steamed bed again. Also re-steamed DS’s room- no activity found. Will continue to update weekly until we are able to get professionals in! Stay safe and we’ll let you know how it goes!

OP posts:
dalrympy · 04/06/2020 01:32

Just remember that they lay dormant so if no one is sleeping in your DS room they won't be out. You pretty much have to nominate human bait to see if they are still there Sad

Anquin · 06/06/2020 17:10

THIRTY-FOUR days passed before the other one finally died this week!
This week’s monitoring activities found 2 hatchlings and one not fully grown one. No eggs found. We purchased a furniture lifter to make the moving of the bed easier which cut down on time. We decided not to steam today because it’s wet. Will continue to monitor weekly and update here!

OP posts:
Anquin · 13/06/2020 14:19

Ok - thorough search carried out as is now normal for a Saturday! No faecal spots, no live bugs and no eggs found...
Not giving up on the checks just yet, our layout is such that there is nowhere to hide for them, so I am hopeful that this will continue. Will keep checking weekly as said before, and will give a weekly update, before dropping checks down to fortnightly, then monthly. If they come back, I’ll definitely let you all know!

OP posts:
jewel1968 · 13/06/2020 14:36

We had them about 12 years ago. Had the chemical treatment which at first seemed to work and then we started to see the odd one again. We bought a steam cleaner and regularly steamed beds etc... Worked! Haven't had one for years and years. My tips are:

  • stay vigilant
  • use only white bedding so you can spot the little give away black spots
  • get a steam cleaner (good for lots of things)
  • consider pest control (I know chemicals are unpleasant but they are likely to be the best chance you have)
  • stay vigilant
  • consider where you think you might have got the infestation from
  • when in hotels never put your case on the bed
  • stay vigilant

Did I say - stay vigilant?

jewel1968 · 13/06/2020 14:40

Our pest controller refused to come out again and said if we didn't know the source we could not get on top of it. At that time we thought it might have been our neighbours. They subsequently gutted the house and renovated it. We saw the beds they threw out - black spots.

jewel1968 · 13/06/2020 14:41

It does make you paranoid. Just reading your post has brought back horrible memories. Good luck

Anquin · 20/06/2020 18:22

Update: today’s search showed one shed skin (tiny) but no live bugs, and one egg - possibly! Will continue with weekly checks for the moment, and will update again regularly! Hope our journey is providing some hope to anyone facing these critters for the first time...

OP posts:
Anquin · 27/06/2020 17:37

Update: usual drill was followed. Found and sellotaped one not-quite fully-grown bug and no eggs. We are hoping that a) it was a male and b) that it was the one for which we found the shed carapace last week! No other signs (and no bites, either) this week. Weekly inspection to continue for now...

OP posts:
Anquin · 05/07/2020 13:52

We are a day late this week, but...
Nothing was found! Hurrah!
We’ll check weekly twice more, then go to two-weekly twice, then once a month for three months thereafter... if all goes well we will be happy that we’ve eradicated them from our room, at least! Still deliberating about what to do in Ds’s Room, though, will post updates about this, too.

OP posts:
Splitsunrise · 05/07/2020 14:05

Sorry but they will be moving from Ds's room to your room if there's no-one sleeping in his room. They can sense co2 from breathing from quite a few feet away. Unless you treat the whole house they will continue moving around to find people to bite. They can fit in any places the width of a piece of paper. Tiny. Heating the room doesn't seem realistic treatment either....

Anquin · 19/07/2020 10:12

Due to unexpected circumstances last week, we didn’t check. So yesterday, we did, and found just one. Removed all traces of anything that looked like eggs even if they were looking more like specks of dust! Will check again in a week...

OP posts:
LangClegsInSpace · 19/07/2020 13:04

We dealt with an infestation last year, you have my utmost sympathy Flowers

You have made vast inroads into what sounds like it was a very heavy infestation but if you are still finding the odd one or two then you still have an infestation.

We used Bed Bugs UK and while they didn't completely solve the problem, we learned enough from them to finish the job ourselves. Don't bother with their passive monitors. It's £20 for a bit of corrugated cardboard. Our bugs never went near them. If you want to try something like that, there are instructions for making quite a posh one here:

www.winnipegbedbugheating.com/collect-a-bug-cardboard-bed-bug-monitor/

Or you can just put a piece of corrugated cardboard under the head end of your mattress and shine a torch down the holes to see if anything is hiding inside.

Keep the bed pulled away from the walls a few inches, and especially away from any windows with curtains or blinds. Also keep any other furniture a few inches away from the bed. This will discourage them from making harbourages elsewhere in the room.

Don't store anything under the bed, even in storage bags. I had a look at the SKUBB on Ikea's website. Not only do the bugs have no problem finding their way through a zip, but 'Your stored clothes and textiles stay fresh longer, as ventilation nets in the corners allow air to circulate.' Just because they have laid eggs on the outside, doesn't mean they haven't also laid eggs on the inside.

Anything that has been stored under or within a couple of feet of the bed should be completely sealed up in plastic until it can be washed, thrown away, carefully decontaminated (I'll cover this in my next post)or simply stored for 18 months (that's how long they can survive without feeding).

Get a roll of pallet wrap and some heavy duty rubbish bags (clear ones are less depressing to live with if they are going to be there for some time). You need at least two complete sealed layers of pallet wrap or you need to double bag things. Seal the bag by holding the neck and spinning it, then tie a knot. No 'bunny ears' - no gaps.

Leave the rest of the room undisturbed except for the laundry bin. Bugs are attracted to dirty laundry so it's important to keep this bagged up. Dissolving laundry bags are very helpful:

www.amazon.co.uk/Alina-Laundry-Water-Soluble-Plastic-Polythene/dp/B01N2VCY74/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

You can keep adding items of laundry - squeeze the air out and give the top of the bag a good spin and twist each time - then tie a knot when it's full. You put the whole sealed bag in the washing machine and it splits open during the washing cycle.

Bugs can survive being hoovered up and the risk is that when they crawl out again they'll be in a different room and could start a new infestation in your sofa, office chair ... So you either need to remove the hoover bag and double bag it straight away while still in the bedroom or, because this will go through a lot of hoover bags, there is a trick you can do with a pair of tights. Make sure there are no ladders or holes in the toes:

www.mypmp.net/2016/05/19/recommend-this-method-to-bed-bug-afflicted-clients/

Any clothing that you have worn while de-infesting should also be changed straight away, while still in the room, to prevent spreading them round the house.

What eventually got rid of our last few stragglers was cimexa. It can be difficult to get hold of (I got it on ebay, shipped from the US), but they currently have it on Amazon:

www.amazon.co.uk/ROCKWELL-CXID032-CimeXa-Insecticide-Rockwell/dp/B0085HRWI8/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Don't over-apply, you just want a very light dusting around the bed joints, in amongst the fabric on your headboard and anywhere they are likely to walk through. You can also do the skirting boards, insides and underneath bedside tables etc. Don't worry about getting it everywhere they might possibly be, if they walk through it it will stick to them and kill them over a couple of days. They'll also take it back to where they are living and transfer it to their friends. We dusted a very light, continuous band around the edge of the bed, just where the sheet tucks under the mattress and repeated this each time we changed the sheets until we had seen no signs for 2 months.

Isopropyl alcohol will kill them on contact but it's highly flammable and the fumes are not great for you if you are spraying it around liberally. Soapy water will kill them almost as quickly. Also they are not hard bodied like fleas - you can squish them very easily with a gloved finger or a tissue.

Don't bother trying to do your own heat treatment (beyond putting things in a tumble dryer). You would need to seal every single tiny crack and crevice in the room or the bugs will just find their way out to escape the heat. You are also very unlikely to be able to get the whole space up to a high enough temperature for long enough. There will be cool spots underneath and inside objects and furniture and the bugs will just hide out there until it's safe to return.

I wouldn't bother with detector dogs either as they are not very reliable and it's likely to be quite pricey.

academic.oup.com/jee/article/107/6/2171/796348

The bedbugger forum is really helpful, as a PP said, unfortunately it appears to down for maintenance

bedbugger.com/

Good luck OP, with a bit of cimexa, a fuckton of single use plastic and just a bit more endurance (you're nearly there!) you can kill every one of these fuckers to death.

LangClegsInSpace · 19/07/2020 13:58

Decontamination - for things that cannot be washed or tumble dried

Get everything ready before you start - you're going to carefully unwrap each of your plastic parcels in the bath so if anything scurries out it can't escape.

You will need:

Rubbish bags, for the wrappings to go straight into (along with any items you decide you're not that attached to after all)

A bowl of hot, soapy water, scrubbing brush, cloth, sponge etc.

A hairdryer - very useful for things like electrical items that cannot be got wet. A blast of hot air in the nooks and crannies will make any bugs come running out. If this happens it's best to rewrap the item as there may also be eggs in there.

Hoover and tights (see previous post)

A good, bright torch. A magnifying glass is also useful.

You need to carefully and thoroughly inspect every single surface of every single object and remove any trace of bugs or eggs, using whatever tools are most appropriate. Some things are easy and can just be thoroughly wiped or scrubbed in the bowl of water. Others will be a lot more work and may or may not be worth the bother.

Paper and cardboard are the trickiest and bed bugs love them! It's best just to keep things like books and records sealed for 18 months if you can. We'll be unwrapping our final parcels next month and we're getting excited - DS can't wait to get his vinyl collection back and DD her sewing box.

Don't forget to double bag all the rubbish, including the contents of the hoover/tights, and dispose of it straight away.

Have a stiff drink.

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