Argh...bedbugs back!

[DammitJanet]

brother in law left about a month ago now...right? Well when brother in law left, youngest moved into the room he was in because the bed is more comfortable than the one that we call the grandchildren's room.

He started getting bites but he assumed that they were from being outside and the mosquitoes biting him. Well the last week or so he hasnt felt well at all and he has been sleeping and staying in his room a whole lot. The baby is also in there with him.

He noticed that he was getting even more bites. So is the baby. I told him I figured it was bedbugs because brother in law probably didnt spray well enough the first time. Today youngest found two crawling on him in my family room when he was sitting on my couch.

I figure what happened was when brother in law brought all his junk out of that room and left it in the hallway for a couple of days before he actually left that the bugs were in all his stuff. It probably took them a little while to actually infest our sofa. Now youngest says he feels them in the chair brother in law practically glued to his rear while he was here. I figure they were coming out on brother in law the whole time every time he left his room.

Whats bad is evidently these things dont bit husband or brother in law so they dont believe they are there or husband says they cant be bad. They are. I wondered why I had woken up a few times with bites on my lower legs but I thought maybe someone let flies or mosquito's in the house. I still have some of the spray left from the last time but if that doesnt work Im going to have no choice but to call in a professional. This is ridiculous. I dont care if husband doesnt want to spend the money. I will probably have to call in a cleaning crew to help get the house cleaned though before they can come. Oh well. Something has to be done.

 

[Dixies_fire]

Apple cider vinegar diluted with water in a spray bottle also use baking soda on the floors and let it sit over night then vacuum. That's what I've heard, it works on fleas for sure.

 

[DammitJanet]

Well we have figured out that it is pretty much confined to that bedroom. We have searched every crevice in the couches in the family room.

We have given youngest the big bottle of spray and told him to take the sheets off his bed and spray it down. Sleep in the other room for a few days.

 

[susiestar]

Vinegar won't do ANYTHING to bedbugs. They are INCREDIBLY hard to get rid of. You will most likely need to have the house treated by professionals. I have yet to hear success stories of people who have gotten rid of them on their own.

The reason they are such a problem is that they can slip into super teeny areas and are not killed by most pesticides. The most effective pesticide for bedbugs, propoxur, is illegal because it is a known neurotoxin and carcinogen. Children and those with health problems are the most at risk if this chemical is used. It was already illegal to use this inside but people were doing it anyway.

One method that works well requires a special company to come and heat the house to a high temp because that kills the bedbugs. It is NOT something you can DIY because of the risk of sending your home up in flames.

You CAN safely and effectively treat your home with neem oil. I am sure you have probably read other posts on neem oil from me. It is a truly wonderful oil in many ways. It is in that "as seen on tv" stuff to treat dry, cracking heels - the stuff that comes in a stick. It is safe enough that some cultures actually cook with it. I cannot imagine that because it has a very strong odor that I do not find pleasant or appetizing. But it actually is safe enough to eat if you find it appetizing. It also kills darn near every type of bug out there while being safe for humans to use as skin cream if they want. Plus you don't need a lot of it and it is not terribly expensive. If you mix about a teaspoon of neem to a cup of water and add a few drops of citronella or other essential oil, you get an amazing mosquito repellant and flea treatment. We don't have flea problems with Cap'n because we spray him down every few days with this. It is far safer for him than frontline and he doesn't end up spending a day or two laying around miserable the way he did after we put frontline on him.

I would make a stronger solution, maybe a tablespoon of neem per cup of water, and spray the house down with that. Then I would sprinkle diatomaceous earth everywhere I could get it. Diatomaceous earth is not something bedbugs can develop a resistance to. When it gets on them it literally cuts them to pieces. On a microscopic level it is very sharp and it gets onto them and when they move it cuts them and ends up killing them. It is very safe to be around humans also. It is made up of the fossilized remains of tiny insects and it insects by literally cutting their shells up. It will NOT cause harm to anyone in the family. You can buy it online or at stores like Lowes. It is marketed as "Crawling Insect Killer" by a company called Garden Safe. They also sell a neem oil extract insecticide under that brand at Lowes. I would still buy the straight neem oil online and mix my own because it will end up being a LOT cheaper and it can be used for other insect problems including lice.

I can pm a link to the ebay seller I use if you want.

 

[AnnieO]

Okay... We had Orkin out twice and they failed to get rid of our bedbugs. Quentin however succeeded...

The heat treatment did not work.

We cleaned everything really well, then put Sevin dust in the outlets and diatomaceous earth unless the edges of the carpet. Sprinkled it inside the box springs. Then put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and coated the mattresses and box springs.

The house smelled for a couple days, but we've not seen any more bedbugs, or their feces which is a clear indicator... For 3+ years.

 

[Hound dog]

I think I'd be inclined to murder myself. lol (not really funny)

Katie came to us incredibly infested with lice. They did not seem to bother her a bit. Oh, I'm sure they bit and crawled around............I think she just got used to the sensation she'd had them for so long.

 

[witzend]

If they are confined only to the bed, you can get rid of them by throwing the bed out. That's what we did way back when.

 

[Kathy813]

I have never had to deal with this problem (knock on wood) but I worried about it when difficult child came back to live here after she spent time in a so called halfway house which was really a flop house. I read a lot about getting rid of them in case the need arose. One thing about what Witz said . . . be sure to put a bedbug proof covering (like plastic) that completely encases the mattress and box spring before dragging them through the house so that you don't spread the bedbugs into other rooms.

Good luck.

~Kathy

 

[DammitJanet]

I might consider the new mattress but as you know Im having to be incredibly tight with money until I know what they are going to do about my car. If I have to buy a new car, Im gonna be pretty much broke. Im assuming that I will have to add a couple of thousand dollars to whatever they give me in order to get a decent car.

I am going to go get that earth stuff. I have heard it kills roaches too and I could use that help too. I have roaches that ingest roach killer and never die. They seem to go back and tell everyone else to come to the party like I was serving them champagne.

 

[witzend]

Skotti, if you can most mattress companies can offer an installment plan. You pay more in the long run if you pay it off, but you can get a 0% interest rate and if you pay early or on time your payments could be pretty low. Lower than getting rid of bedbugs could cost you if the get carried through the house.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Do NOT get a new mattress until you KNOW that the bedbug problem is dealt with... otherwise, you'll just end up with a new mattress with the same old problem.

 

[DammitJanet]

Agreed IC. The mattress on walmart I can get using Billy's card but I dont want to get it till this is all over plus we have to build a frame for it.

Actually that room will be able to be fumigated well in about a week or so. Cory's leaving again.

 

[susiestar]

Diatomaceous earth is great for bugs. It works on anything with an exoskeleton,includng roaches, by cutting them to pieces every time they move. If they get it anywhere on them, it will kill them. They don't have defenses or resistance because it is not working like a toxin in their bodies, it is working like barbed wire or glass shards ON their bodies. Other than irritating your lungs if you breathe in a cloud of the stuff, it is pretty harmless to people.

Not sure about alcohol spraying, have not heard of that one for bedbugs. But I know that neem oil works and is cheap. It doesn't have much of a smell if you dilute it and I have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell. INCREDIBLY sensitive. As in if my kids wash hands with a smelly hand soap in a restroom while we are out, it can make me gag an hour later in the car. Or if a cleaning spray is used it can take hours before I can enter the room with-o the smell making me sick, which is why we make most of our own cleaners with basic ingredients rather than buying them.

Neem may sound too good to be true, but honestly? I have yet to find a bug it won't kill. The entomologist that I know says he hasn't found one that is native to North America that isn't killed by neem. He hasn't really looked at bugs outside North America, but it is widely used in India also. It is actually beneficial to your skin and hair and you can cook with it, but it still will kill the insects. It is approved for organic crops and that is a tough certification to get. If you want a link to the seller I use on ebay, let me know. I have bought many oils/butters from thsi seller and it is always of good quality, fresh, and what it claims to be. Plus it is far cheaper even with shipping than you would buy it for at a retail store. I cannot use many commercial products on my skin because my body just freaks if I do, so I started looking online for natural products and I have used other sellers but the one I have now has the best quality that I have tried so far.

 

[susiestar]

FYI - bugs freak me out totally. We are talking MAJOR panic attacks if they are close to me. Standing rule in my house is that any bug who comes in is suicidal and we do NOT pick them up and carry them outside. husband used to want to do that, but I cannot handle it because they come back and bring friends. THe THOUGHT of touching a bug or having one of my kids touch one? Makes me want to vomit and causes that icky feeling you get as the panic attack is just starting.

So when I say something works on bugs, it WORKS. Given that if we use flea bombs or commercial sprays or have a service treat our home for bugs we also have to find a place for me to stay for two ro three days because I cannot be in the house or I get violently ill from the sprays even after other people cannot smell them and insist it is 'safe' to be in the house.

 

[AnnieO]

I don't know where I heard about the alcohol, but it works pretty well.

I haven't tried the neem oil - haven't had to - but I would bet it does!