Bed Bugs in Appt.

[Robyn17]

Yeah, thinking about it.. it's a big problem though as my husband and I are living apart for the year because I came back here (from overseas) to do my masters and was only supposed to be in that apartment till June. I have absolutely no time due to my schedule and also don't want to ruin my credit.. I just bought a CO2 detector to see if I can catch some and then at least will have proof to get out of here or get some serious exterminating done. Do any of you know the law in regards to getting out of a lease in PA? Nightmare.. I could seriously just die right now from the anxiety and stress

[Marius Pontmercy]

Originally Posted by Robyn17

Yeah, thinking about it.. it's a big problem though as my husband and I are living apart for the year because I came back here (from overseas) to do my masters and was only supposed to be in that apartment till June. I have absolutely no time due to my schedule and also don't want to ruin my credit.. I just bought a CO2 detector to see if I can catch some and then at least will have proof to get out of here or get some serious exterminating done. Do any of you know the law in regards to getting out of a lease in PA? Nightmare.. I could seriously just die right now from the anxiety and stress

It probably depends on the lease you signed, and the landlord. Try and discuss it with them. It may be possible to sublet the apartment. Generally the law favors renters over landlords in Pennsylvania, but you may still have your credit ruined if you just up and leave and stop paying rent. Talk it over with the landlord first and review your lease to see what you can do.

[Clark Park]

For two and half years I worked for a mattress company and tried to read up on everything I could find on the bedbug problem.

It's not cheap, but I hope people realize you can get bedbug-proof mattress protectors called Protect-A-Bed. But you must buy two: one for the mattress and also one for the boxspring. Also pillow protectors - gonna cost you about $250 for a set, but any living bugs inside the mattress will die in there, they can't get out; and any bugs outside your bed can't get in. Of course you'll also have to fumigate and vacuum the carpet and curtains.

I hate to side with the landlords, but the fact is - unless your neighbors are having the same problem - YOU probably brought these pests with you. A common way to import them is in your luggage or boxes from another place. Did you go away, take a vacation, spend a weekend in NYC?

Some exterminators now have bedbug sniffing dogs to diagnose the problem.

One way to exterminate them is giant heaters that raise the temperature of the room to 130 degrees ... anything that can melt or be damaged must be removed of course.

[yaminio]

Hi
we live in suburbs of Philadelphia and have had bed bug problems in the recent times. I was wondering if you could suggest some products that would work best for a carpeted room.

Thankyou

Originally Posted by simmer

I work for an exterminator and I can tell you that with bed bugs each situation is different. They are very hard to eliminate thats for sure. It has been my experience that the repellent devices only work in a small area. It can work with a small amount of bugs and if they have somewhere to run to. They have to go somewhere. Looks like you got lucky. There is no silver bullet when it comes to bed bugs. Pesticides dont work cause they dont effect the eggs. When the eggs hatch, the bugs avoid the pesticide. thats why you will see them in higher places. We use a freeze system that completely freezes them with dry ice. It works the best we have found. If you have any more questions, you can PM me. I can always take a look at it for nothing and see whats best for ya.

[BigJon3475]

Originally Posted by yaminio

Hi
we live in suburbs of Philadelphia and have had bed bug problems in the recent times. I was wondering if you could suggest some products that would work best for a carpeted room.

Thankyou

Since bed bugs creep into some of the smallest spaces I'd recommend an exterminator that uses a heat treatment to get rid of them. They come in and take off all of your face plates, open all of your cabinets, have you bag and wash & dry all of your clothes in hot water and high heat, buy bed bug covers for your mattresses and go through all of your food to make sure it's bagged and if not bagged it should be thrown out. If you have a sprinkler system for fire suppression the system will need to be drained and after treatment the sprinkler heads should be monitored for when pressure is put back on the system for compromised heads.

The exterminator will bring in a giant propane based heater that will raise the temperature of your home above 130 degrees for about an hour. You'll have a cooling off period and then you return and you vacuum everything with a HEPA type vacuum and throw out all of the filters and bag (if it's bag-less you'll wash the container in your dishwasher). Then you'll put the bed bug covers on your mattresses and put all of your face plates back.

I know that sounds extreme but you'd rather be safe than sorry.

Bed Bugs: Information for Multifamily Property Owners and Managers