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This question is regarding a condo--I hope it okay to post it in the House forum
I will be renting out my condo. I have pulled up the carpets, linoleum and tile and have exposed hardwood floors.
I will be laying new flooring for tenant--condo rules say hardwood must be covered.
Is there a product I can use to seal the cracks in the hardwood floor to keep bedbugs out? Prior to laying new flooring? Bedbugs are a big problem in NJ and they can crawl through the flooring from other units. I envision a plastic polymer that just goes on thickly--ideally it could be sprayed! Or perhaps painted. Varnish doesn't work. It doesn't have to be attractive--the floors have to be covered with carpet, etc.
I also want a clear product to seal around the electrical outlet covers.
I started doing this with wood-fill, but it is a lot of work, and plus, it seem porous--I want true seal.
I was just thinking--is the plastic something that simply lies on top? Because I think the bedbugs could crawl underneath to the edges. Can I melt the plastic on so it seals??? That way, the only places they could get through from other units would be the very edges--and one could pull up the carpet and spray there. One could be confident that the interior of the floor is sealed off.
I picture that as being a very good idea--does anyone know of a plastic that you can melt onto hardwood? Don't worry about the hard wood--it is old and would have to be totally sanded and greatly improved if I ever want to go with it.
Does anyone know enough about bedbugs to dispute this? Does anyone know of a plastic that melts?? I want to be proactive!
Melting plastic is usually counterproductive. It makes the surrounding plastic hard, brittle, and prone to breakage.
The concept you are considering has issues. Wood expands and contracts according to humidity and heat. Gaps are inevitable over time. By using a floating plastic sheet, you avoid that. Sealing the plastic down is as simple as laying a bead of construction cement (comes in a caulking tube) around the edges, then having the tack strips for the carpet press it into place.
On one hand, I think you may be over-reacting. On the other, the idea is interesting enough to follow through. The baseboards (aka mopboards) usually hide significant gaps. I would focus on sealing that up first. Same can go for any cove molding, areas around sinks and plumbing, etc. Sealing those areas may limit roach intrusion as well.
Thanks for the article. I wish I had read it before I did the work on the baseboard, because I would have put the diatomaciuos earth in behind the caulk, but now it is all sealed so I can't.
By the way, I purchased the bed bugs monitors mentioned in the article. They were only $50. It was good to know that the place doesn't have them now. I am going to take them out before the tenant moves in.
Melting plastic is usually counterproductive. It makes the surrounding plastic hard, brittle, and prone to breakage.
The concept you are considering has issues. Wood expands and contracts according to humidity and heat. Gaps are inevitable over time. By using a floating plastic sheet, you avoid that. Sealing the plastic down is as simple as laying a bead of construction cement (comes in a caulking tube) around the edges, then having the tack strips for the carpet press it into place.
On one hand, I think you may be over-reacting. On the other, the idea is interesting enough to follow through. The baseboards (aka mopboards) usually hide significant gaps. I would focus on sealing that up first. Same can go for any cove molding, areas around sinks and plumbing, etc. Sealing those areas may limit roach intrusion as well.
Just to let you know what I did, I did seal those holes above the baseboards. Behind the radiators, the place was simply open to the rest of the building, with about an inch or more gap. Those are all sealed now, all around the perimeter, including the kitchen.
As far as the floor goes--I just sealed all the big open cracks in the floor with white caulk. It took awhile and of course looks bad (no one can see it) but there aren't any big long cracks in the floor now. The guy who put the carpet in didn't want to deal with plastic, so I just tried to relax about the issue. The exterminator said the same thing you did--the perimeter of the room is most important.
You did good. If they don't bring the bugs in on them or their possessions, you should be fine.
I was going to say the same thing, what will OP do with the bed bugs the tenant brings in?
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