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I think there are already people making money off of the bedbug-heater-closet idea. See here PackTite Closet
I'm tempted to buy one of those things if it really works. The price is a little on the high side but I'd gladly pay as long as it gets rid of these pests.
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Originally Posted by pardo&perry
Don't throw your mattress away....big mistake. Get the wonderful covers that are now made to protect your investment from infestation. You can find them all over the internet. You encase your mattress in the protective covering. If (God forbid) anything got into the mattress, they will never get out and anything on top of the covering can't get in. Your mattress is fully pro9tected. Now as far as the enviroment is concerned, that is another story all together. Cindy, Pardo & Perry Solutions
I've now decided to keep the mattress for a little while. I've done what you've said and covered the mattress, but eventually it will get thrown out just because it's old. Funny, I think I've had this bed bug problem for awhile but didn't think I had them because I didn't recognize them. Reason being was that they were so small most sites do not get this point across. I really wasn't getting bit and anytime I did see a bump I attributed it to some of the flying bugs that got into my apartment, either fruit flies or drain flies, these suckers would nip at you. The only reason perhaps the bed bugs maybe didn't explode was the fact that I regularly flip my mattress and I use a nylon w/ filler matress covering but I had other tell-tale signs like the spots which I thought was due to the mold close to my window where my bed borders, and what looked kinda like eggs but I thought it was something else. I would just get out the vacuum to use but I'd never seen a collection of bugs along the seams. It's only when I bought the second European pillow from Macy's that I got bitten on the legs (one on one side and two on the other) that I realized a bed bug was somewhere I narrowed it down to one of the pillows. It's anyone's guess how this got started I could give at least 3 possibilities. Just saying that the pro's should really get it across the real size of these things. I thought they were the size of a juvenile roach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pardo&perry
Bed bugs in their infancy are microscopic, smaller than a seed. The bites look like mosquito bites but unlike mosquito bites are generally in a linear pattern with more than one bite. Just remember that the life stage of a bed bug is 21 days from egg to adult. That is a long time for the little buggers to be hanging around. Further, one female can lay 500 eggs in her lifetime. Think of how many bugs you can get out of that. Be really careful with you mattress and protect it properly. All that soap stuff is nonsense. Encase it in bed bug mattress encasements as I said earlier. Good luck and keep me posted.
Cindy
Tell me about it, that microscopic thing they are easy to miss if you've had no experience with them.
With all due respect with you being knowledgeable about the pests. I half agree with you regarding the soap thing. Once I suspected one the pillows being a problem I washed it at a commercial laundromat. This place had some newfangled machines that took cards w/ the magnetic strip. I tried to push for the hot water and for some reason it didn't register. I thought oh well I'll just leave it to the dryer to kill the things. I dried on a high temp for an hour. I don't know if it reached 120 F but that didn't do it, I saw one of the creatures still moving around just before I washed this time in hot water in my own machine. After I washed both pillows I just said the hell with it and threw them away. It was only after reading a site that Dawn dish washing liquid was recommended. I tried it and it works, I've seen for my own eyes. To anyone willing to try Dawn, it's better if you use the Dawn antibacterial hand soap it doesn't suds up as much as the regular Dawn in my opinion.
As long as I'm awake I can feel the little bastards bite so I'd immediately would even spray Dawn where ever I felt the discomfort and rub it around and would come up looking at a dead bed bug. I know soap dries out the skin, once I shower no problem. Now I'm no longer getting bit. How much time should past before you can safely say they're gone? Of course I'm praying they didn't spread out or hide in places before I knew there was a problem.
That closet idea is a good one except it strikes me as too small for anything but a suitcase...and too pricey.
Here's the bedbug cycle of 5 nymph stages and one adult. The size difference is considerable (picture is abut 5 times actual size on a 23 inch monitor...adult is about 1/4 inch.:
Good choice on keeping the mattress for now. When you are SURE your bedbugs are gone then you can invest in a new set.
You know I was wondering how big that closet really was, I only read what they say could fit in there and thought it was a descent size. I didn't get to the point of getting the dimensions since at the moment I hadn't thought of buying it.
Thank you for the pic of the bed bugs that's a good one. It shows a clearer picture of all bed bugs in their stages. Seeing the nymphs in real life to me look more of a orange/brown color (without my blood).
One bug I saw looked like either the third or fourth stage. I found in my window seal (I keep a folded up towel there because of the humidity in my apartment makes water puddles there -- did I tell you my apartment sucks? lol) on that towel I figured I would take a close look to see if any bugs where there. Sure enough they were, this was last night. These bugs looked the same as the others that were in the bed. They were the size of a flea but oval and looked black. I got a bag for the towel and carefully put into the washer. Took down my curtain to wash also then sprayed my Dawn soap mixture all around in the window and around all sides then wiped with a paper towel. Once the window seal was dry I put the Diatomaceous Earth down around the window and on the floor.
Kefir I know I'm going overboard in explaining what I did but if someone out there going through the same thing might be helped by what I type then I type it.
luvnyc-
All of those bugs are laying eggs; 500 in their lifetime. If you don't get the place exterminated, all the dawn in the world isn't going to help you. Cover your mattress and pillow cases. Pull the bed away from the wall (not always possible in our NYC closet sized rooms). Don't have other furnishings too close to the bed and get "climb ups". They go under the legs of your bed and catch the bugs as they try to climb up to you. Has your landlord helped you at all? They are legally responsible for providing extermination. Those black spots that you talk about are the feces from the bugs. You will also see smeared blood on the mattress or pillows. Bed bugs are GREAT at hiding. You need help in that apartment unless you want to live with them! P&P
PS The pack tite (that's the closet thing you describe) works but it is not going to fix the problem unless you get rid of them in the apartment. You can get them off your pillow but they are still in the apartment and will be back as soon as you go to bed! Soon, the pillow will be infested again. Best, P&P
luvnyc-
All of those bugs are laying eggs; 500 in their lifetime. If you don't get the place exterminated, all the dawn in the world isn't going to help you. Cover your mattress and pillow cases. Pull the bed away from the wall (not always possible in our NYC closet sized rooms). Don't have other furnishings too close to the bed and get "climb ups". They go under the legs of your bed and catch the bugs as they try to climb up to you. Has your landlord helped you at all? They are legally responsible for providing extermination. Those black spots that you talk about are the feces from the bugs. You will also see smeared blood on the mattress or pillows. Bed bugs are GREAT at hiding. You need help in that apartment unless you want to live with them! P&P
That's what scares me, this turning into a bed bug nightmare. I've been reading up on the do's and don'ts and done all those things you've listed.
I believe in Dawn, one less bed bug dead via Dawn is one less potential 500 little bed bugs. Washing those pillows just before I threw doing so with regular detergent didn't kill them but one wash with Dawn on my foam covering knocked them out. I haven't been bitten in days. Don't get it twisted I'm not naive in thinking Dawn will rectify the problem but killing any one of them attempting to suck my blood will keep the population down no matter how miniscule.
I've put Diatomaceous Earth all over the place, my apartment looks like that episode in "I Love Lucy" when she and everything around her gets covered in flour, my floors are covered in DE and I'll keep it that way for months if need be. Experts say if DE used early can keep you from having a big problem. I believe I've started early with that thrown away pillow being the biggest problem.
I haven't put any linen or regular pillows back on my bed in fear that if one was to get to it I would just have another place for them hide and multiply. This might be tmi but I sleep in the nude, one less chance of one harboring in clothing and I haven't been bit either. So far so good. I understand that they can give a false sense of security by having a dormant period so I'm bracing myself and following along with the things the experts say to do, again my mattresses are already covered and covered with DE (Diatomaceous Earth).
Lastly, I believe in prayer some may scoff but I believe no matter how small God does answer prayers and I'm praying about this too.
You know y'all, I don't think I have bed bugs or it could be some bed bugs thrown in I'm not sure.
I've been looking at all the pictures on-line and the bugs I see in my house look nothing like those pictures. Remember I said these bugs look black and the size of a flea but they seem to be nocturnal too. I'm yet to see any bug that looks blood filled. The nymphs I've seen look elongated while the bed bugs nymphs I see on-line to me look like small spiders.
I'm thinking these bugs might be some sort of mite resulting from that mouse that got into the box spring. I'll leave it up to the LL to identify and we'll go from there.
Perhaps if you have TREMENDOUSLY good eyes, you might be seeing dust mites.
But they are tiny, less than a half mm.
They have 8 teeny weeny little legs...bedbugs have 6.
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