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I think maybe DDT needs to be approved for use limited to indoors and for treatment of bedbugs. That kills them.
The problem with DDT was involved with some species of birds. If the DDT is limited to indoor use, it should not affect birds. This bedbug thing is a plague and really calls for emergency measures.
I was not aware that DDT was an effective use against Bed Bugs but it does make sense. Bed Bugs were almost extinct in the USA until just the past few years. Is it a coincidence that after DDT is banned they again become a problem?
In some parts of the World where Malaria is a huge killer DDT has been used as an additive in interior house paint. This has been proven safe to both Humans and Wildlife and saved millions(?) of lives. Politically correctness has kept it from being brought back for use here in the USA.
My sister in law's house got clobbered by them when someone brought over some clothes to see if they wanted them. They didn't want the clothes but they got left, they and their hitchikers.... She did warn me about the bedbugs and I hadn't been back there for months. Nobody but the human suckers had. Nobody wanted to go inside with her efforts to rid themselves of the buggs she had to repeat some four times, and wasn't sure then. She tried just about anything she heard about and a couple of times, thought they had. But they were wrong. Back to the plan and maybe ***something*** which worked.
She died a couple of weeks ago, cause unknown, but had been sick. If all the pesticide helped it along or not, is also unknown. But nobody saw the wreak of a house or a life that was going on. We don't know if it was just the sickness or her home supplied remidy, or if she didn't care. But she didn't want people there, and they didn't want to bring home bedbugs from a visit. Nobody knew how bad off she was. She didn't reach out for help.
I have to think that part of it was she'd tried everything she could with the bugs, and maybe the remidies had made her illness worse, and she just gave up the fight.
These persistant little bugs meant all her stuff, personal or not, went away in plastic bags to be dumped. That's sad, like having to 'erase' her days. But there was no alternative. And we always, before her health got bad, did Black Frideay. It was fun, and I got a few bargains and saved on some stuff needed. And we should be going to Black Friday and buy a few things and enjoy the adventure instead of wondering what's next.
It works. My wife runs a small specialty Nursery. She uses it to kill all kinds of pests. The active ingredients are Geranium oil and peppermint oil, with soybean oil and other inert ingredients.
Our neighbor's children brought home bedbugs. My fishing buddy (the husband) told me about it. My wife made her up some of the concentrate in a spray bottle, and the neighbors later confirmed that one squirt killed the bug.
Given, it had to directly contact the bug, but it killed it within a few seconds. If someone is trying to spray their crevices, wall boards, under the mattress, crevices in bedframe, etc., and is allergic to manmade chemicals, they may want to give this a try. It's even safe to spray on yourself as a mosquito repellent, given you have no allergies to any of the oils I listed.
Good luck to any who've dealt with them. I needed help moving some heavy stuff in the house last week, and wife wouldn't let me invite the neighbor over. I had to wait until my other neighbor came home. She was afraid my fishing buddy may track them in.
My sister in law's house got clobbered by them when someone brought over some clothes to see if they wanted them. They didn't want the clothes but they got left, they and their hitchikers.... She did warn me about the bedbugs and I hadn't been back there for months. Nobody but the human suckers had. Nobody wanted to go inside with her efforts to rid themselves of the buggs she had to repeat some four times, and wasn't sure then. She tried just about anything she heard about and a couple of times, thought they had. But they were wrong. Back to the plan and maybe ***something*** which worked.
She died a couple of weeks ago, cause unknown, but had been sick. If all the pesticide helped it along or not, is also unknown. But nobody saw the wreak of a house or a life that was going on. We don't know if it was just the sickness or her home supplied remidy, or if she didn't care. But she didn't want people there, and they didn't want to bring home bedbugs from a visit. Nobody knew how bad off she was. She didn't reach out for help.
I have to think that part of it was she'd tried everything she could with the bugs, and maybe the remidies had made her illness worse, and she just gave up the fight.
What a sad story. This isolated her when she needed help more than ever.
This illustrates the psychological effects of an infestation.
I'd react like your SIL. I'd be horrified at the thought of passing on the horrible critters & would also quarantine myself.
Is the 'someone' who brought the infested clothes aware of what happened?
My sister in law's house got clobbered by them when someone brought over some clothes to see if they wanted them. They didn't want the clothes but they got left, they and their hitchikers.... She did warn me about the bedbugs and I hadn't been back there for months. Nobody but the human suckers had. Nobody wanted to go inside with her efforts to rid themselves of the buggs she had to repeat some four times, and wasn't sure then. She tried just about anything she heard about and a couple of times, thought they had. But they were wrong. Back to the plan and maybe ***something*** which worked.
She died a couple of weeks ago, cause unknown, but had been sick. If all the pesticide helped it along or not, is also unknown. But nobody saw the wreak of a house or a life that was going on. We don't know if it was just the sickness or her home supplied remidy, or if she didn't care. But she didn't want people there, and they didn't want to bring home bedbugs from a visit. Nobody knew how bad off she was. She didn't reach out for help.
I have to think that part of it was she'd tried everything she could with the bugs, and maybe the remidies had made her illness worse, and she just gave up the fight.
These persistant little bugs meant all her stuff, personal or not, went away in plastic bags to be dumped. That's sad, like having to 'erase' her days. But there was no alternative. And we always, before her health got bad, did Black Frideay. It was fun, and I got a few bargains and saved on some stuff needed. And we should be going to Black Friday and buy a few things and enjoy the adventure instead of wondering what's next.
First of all, I am sorry for your loss. Secondly, it breaks my heart to hear how the problem isolated her.
There's two things that I keep hearing about bedbugs which I believe to be outright lies:
1) They don't transmit disease. Really? Bulldinky. Any blood sucking insect has the potential to transmit disease.
2) They've developed a resistance to DDT. Again, bulldinky. How would they even know, given that DDT has been banned since the 1970s?
Sometimes you hear something and immediately know it's a lie.
I was not aware that DDT was an effective use against Bed Bugs but it does make sense. Bed Bugs were almost extinct in the USA until just the past few years. Is it a coincidence that after DDT is banned they again become a problem?
In some parts of the World where Malaria is a huge killer DDT has been used as an additive in interior house paint. This has been proven safe to both Humans and Wildlife and saved millions(?) of lives. Politically correctness has kept it from being brought back for use here in the USA.
I was not aware that DDT was an effective use against Bed Bugs but it does make sense. Bed Bugs were almost extinct in the USA until just the past few years. Is it a coincidence that after DDT is banned they again become a problem?
DDT bans probably weren't the main reason bedbugs have become such a problem again...bans started 40 years ago. There are probably many factors (including the drop in DDT use) such as large increases in affordable nationwide travel.
Here's a timeline of the use and restrictions on DDT in the US.
Well, even if bedbugs weren't resistant to DDT now, they would be in about 5 years if everyone used it. One of the bad things about DDT is how it affects cats. It messes up their neurological systems and kills them and we all know what happens when the cats are wiped out.
One of the reasons we're having such a problem with bedbugs now is that they are resistant to a lot of insecticides. And to be honest, what do you do when they get into all your books and into your computer (those little buggers love warm dark places)? Some things are not receptive to liquid sprays.
I had the misfortune to have an infestation from these horrid creatures 10 years ago. Got them from a high end resort ..... no housekeeping problem there. Due to the rapidness of their breeding it is doubtful they will ever be totally extinct, though we had them on the run when we were permitted to use DDT. They live almost exclusively on human blood, but are notoriously able to survive weeks or months without a feed, so it is quite possible they have returned (actually more likely they never completely left.)
1) They don't transmit disease. Really? Bulldinky. Any blood sucking insect has the potential to transmit disease.
.
While it is true anything bloodsucking has the potential to transmit disease I believe I would have gotten something as many times as I was bitten. Their bites were the itchiest I have ever had, so it could be possible to get a skin infection from the scratching.
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