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I am told that preparing ones apartment BEFORE the exterminator
comes is very important when it comes to bedbugs. What does one do to prepare your apartment. HELP ... this will be the third time my apartment
has been over-run by bedbugs ... and the exterminators keep coming!
I would bag up all your clothes and linens in plastic. Move all of your furniture away from the walls. Put all edible food away that you can. Also make arrangements for any pets you may have. I'm not sure there is much more you can do, but it's probably a quick google search.
Most experts now think the chemicals do not work. The steam method, along with washing and drying everything, is apparently the only thing to do.
There are companies that specialize in this.
Also ... there was a NYT story about how dangerous the chemicals are, for pets and for you.
Most experts now think the chemicals do not work. The steam method, along with washing and drying everything, is apparently the only thing to do.
There are companies that specialize in this.
Also ... there was a NYT story about how dangerous the chemicals are, for pets and for you.
And that word EVERYTHING is the sticking point.
Jeff,
It sounds like your past exterminators missed something. One missed pregnant female is all it takes.
If it happpens to me, I am going to try heating my apartment above 120 degrees...I think I could pull it off.
You may have to think about moving as the source of the problem may be an apartment beside,above or below.There are now buildings where bedbug elimination is virtually impossible without emptying the entire building and destroying(burning) all the contents of the building.
A friend who is a hotel manager told me that when they find them in the hotel they empty all the adjoining rooms,destroy everything,take wallpaper off the walls,rip up all carpeting ,etc before exterminating.
You may have to think about moving as the source of the problem may be an apartment beside,above or below.
Agreed. I got bedbugs from the apartment below me. The landlord sent an exterminator 4 times to spray and they were still there. The apt. below me continued to do dumb sh*t which only further aggravated the problem...ie. leaving an infected suitcase in the hallway, dumping an infected mattress literally right on the stoop of the building. After 6 weeks of this, I decided moving was the only option...I have since moved (needs to be a very careful process of washing, drying, and sealing everything) and have finally been able to sleep peacefully.
I had to move to escape my minor problem, which I suspect was coming from a nearby apartment. Although I had great success using diatomaceous earth. It's safe for humans and pets, but deadly to bed bugs and all insects. It basically dries out their skin when they walk across it. Takes time but they die and dehydrate.
To prepare, just heat your clothes first, then bag it up straight from the laundromat. You don't need to wash them, just heat them for at least 20 minutes. Furniture you have to move off the walls. Let the exterminator do his thing and then use the power I told you about. Use a thin layer, preferably with a paintbrush. That's all it takes.
Does diatomaceous earth really work? Back a couple years ago both DE and boric acid were hailed for roaches becasue of the methoology you mention, scratch up their waxy exoskeletons and they dehydrate.
This never seem convincing to me...a couple scratches didn't seem likely to dehydrate an insect to death. Later it was found that roaches ATE the adhering boric acid while cleaning themselves and were slowly poisoned by it...they didn't dehydrate.
But as in all cases old wives' tales die out slowly.
The newer methods like heat, cold, and chemicals seem to have replaced the old DE cure except for ads selling the stuff. It seems to be falling out of favor as this epidemic exppands.
Does diatomaceous earth really work? Back a couple years ago both DE and boric acid were hailed for roaches becasue of the methoology you mention, scratch up their waxy exoskeletons and they dehydrate.
This never seem convincing to me...a couple scratches didn't seem likely to dehydrate an insect to death. Later it was found that roaches ATE the adhering boric acid while cleaning themselves and were slowly poisoned by it...they didn't dehydrate.
But as in all cases old wives' tales die out slowly.
The newer methods like heat, cold, and chemicals seem to have replaced the old DE cure except for ads selling the stuff. It seems to be falling out of favor as this epidemic exppands.
DE is an inhalation hazard, so make sure to wear a respirator. I don't know whether it works or not, since I have never had bedbugs, but the experts I read are not backing away from it. If I got bedbugs, I would check first with the PCO/exterminator to make sure it's ok to use it in combination with what they are using. If I weren't using a PCO, I would use DE but would follow the guidelines about using a respirator and only applying it in thin layers.
Since it's not a pesticide, the bugs can't become immune to it. That's a good thing.
From my personal experience of getting 1-3 bed bugs every night (after I was exterminated once already), I applied the DE and they gradually started to disappear. I can't say for sure DE got rid of them, but for something that cost $20, it's definitely worth a try. I also used a steamer prior to that, but did not use it in conjunction, otherwise it would cancel each other out. (DE can't be wet). I didn't see a bug for the last 2 weeks before I moved.
It's probably worth mentioning that DE should be applied in a light layer, not over spilled like most people would automatically do. The thinner the better for the bugs to absorb.
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