Umm...bed Bugs Anyone?

[Guest itsagreytlife]

This is icky, I know, but I also know it is becoming more and more common: I am pretty sure we have bed bugs. I have the bites to prove it, but haven't found one of the suckers yet (been tearing up room/bed). They say early infestation is very difficult to prove (of course). Husband is commercial pilot, so not to hard to figure this one out (and he is one of those immune to the bites, God love him ).

 

Anyway, I saw someone mention "food grade diatomaceous earth" on the recent flea post. I have read elsewhere online that this is supposed to take care of bed bugs (there are lots of things said to work, but I have to wonder). I have no idea what this stuff is or where one can purchase it. It sounds really...dirty. How does one use it to get rid of household pests?

 

Also, my 3 cats and grey have not shown any signs of bites, but because my grey sleeps on the floor next to my bed, I am also concerned about the possible affect on her. Anybody out there dealt with these nasty creatures? Frustrating 'cause you assume they are in the bed, but they could just as well be on the sofa, or on my sitting room chaise lounge, our closet...argh! That's enough. I'm getting all upset again.

 

Any help/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

[September]

I spread diatomaceous earth between my 2 mattresses. I've never had a problem but I had heard of people doing that to battle bed bugs so I thought it couldn't hurt to have some precaution.

 

Edited to add: DE is just a fine white powder. I would wear rubber gloves if you're going to apply it- it supposedly dries out your skin something fierce.

Edited September 26, 2011 by September

[Busderpuddle]

I don't know anything about the DE but please be careful about using "bedbug" sprays. I just read an article about some of it poisoning people. Good luck with getting rid of them and I hope you find a good solution.

[4My2Greys]

Here's a website with some information on diatomaceous earth. You want to be careful and not breathe it in though when dusting your mattress and around the bed as it can be irritating if breathed in. It would be best to wear a dust mask for the application.

http://www.morethanalive.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-Powder

[Feisty49]

I am so sorry to read you may have bed bugs. Yuck! I don't want any bugs, but I rather have fleas than share my bed with a bug. LOL When it comes to bed bugs, I'm the type who would call a professional, even if I had to vacate my house for a couple of days. I can deal with fleas (unless a big infestation problem exists) but bed bugs are, IMO, a different type of problem that I would not tackle. Good luck!

[Guest candt]

They say the best treatment is heat. Professionals come in and it kills all bugs within hours with no chemicals.

[Guest BrianRke]

Im not sure if it will work, but you can buy DE at Lowes, Home Depot, or a pool supply company. Some pool filters use DE to filter the water instead of sand.

[kamsmom]

The pool DE and the food grade DE are different. Usually people are using the food grade DE as it is ground up more...

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

You can often find Food Grade DE at farm supply stores. People use it to add to chicken dust baths to keep mites away.

[Guest itsagreytlife]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. Called our pest control co today and apparently there are no professionals in our area that take care of these things. (was afraid of that--small town & all). They will come out and try and locate the source at least and advise me from there. I will be getting a cover for both the mattress & box springs, that much I know. It may not even be the bed, as I mentioned. I will ask the pest control guys about DE and read up on it so I know what I am doing if I do use it.

 

Thanks again for your concern. I will let you know how it works out (and hopefully) tell you what resolves it for us.

[Guest candt]

also try the bedbugger website. lots of info there.

[Guest JarBear]

We have used food grade DE on both the house and yard for several years. I don't know about bed bugs but it seems to work for fleas and ticks. We foster all the time and there are woods about 10 feet from our back fence with lots of critters roaming around. I took one tiny tick off one of the dogs early in the summer and we haven't seen any more. We don't use any other flea and tick preventative on either the dogs or the yard. I know some people on here say it can't possibly work but we believe it does. As far as bed bugs go, I've read that steam works. I wonder if one of those steam cleaners for tile and such might work on the mattress and rugs in the bedroom?

[rallyp]

I think the only viable solution is professional pest control. Don't worry about your pets, bed bugs much prefer humans. I feel your pain, I was in a hotel that had them and got devoured.

[GreytNut]

Your best bet is to get a pro who is willing come to your area. They can heat up your house (to 122F, if memory serves) for about 3 hours and it will kill all the bedbugs, even the ones that are hidden deep in carpets/mattresses/draperies. Obviously you would want to evacuate food, medications and houseplants before the treatment, but you don't have to leave for all that long and there are no toxic chemical residues to deal with afterward. It's tremendously effective.

[Guest itsagreytlife]

Thanks very much everyone for your suggestions. I have since discovered my bites not to be bedbugs, but CHIGGERS! They are like no chigger bites I've ever seen before. Not around the ankles or the waist, but in other random places and in lines: 1,2,3,4...just like they describe bedbug bites ("breakfast, lunch, & dinner"). They were huge and swelling and are just starting to disappear (look like dry skin circles now)2 wks later, but they STILL ITCH!

 

I haven't gotten bit by mosquitoes (or anything) since grade school. When everyone else is slapping at their body and ready to go inside, I'm like, "Whats the prob?". So these bites really freaked me out. We have had an extremely wet humid late summer/early fall here in the mid-atlantic, and our backyard is fairly low and bowl-like (putting the fence in probably didn't help matters). And going out with Selah all the time, especially having to watch for her poop bc of the hooks--well, you get the picture (even though I always wore boots and then long pants at night). Our yard has really never dried out since mid summer. I really wanted it NOT to be bedbugs but didn't want to ignore the very real possibility of it, since my husband (pilot) is in a new hotel room 3 nights a week at least.

 

We did get a professional exterminator out here and he was so great. Checked all he could for the bugs, didn't minimize my fears, but did relate how he had just been bit down in TN by chiggers all over and it was really bad. Also related how a local shelter feared (yet another) bedbug outbreak 2 weeks prior, only to figure out they all got chiggers everywhere from eating outside at their picnic table. Described my bites as like theirs. So I started to become hopeful (was pretty freaked and depressed bc I know all the work it takes to really get rid of the nasty buggers--bedbugs, that is)and everytime I went outside I suited up like I was a HAZMAT worker hoping not to get any more bites and then prove it was NOT bedbugs. Our pest control guy wanted to spray our entire yard as well but because of the constant rain, he could only do it yesterday. By then I had confirmed in my mind we DID NOT have bedbugs!!

 

Now I don't allow my husband to bring his suitcase into the house when he comes home, and the clothes he has in them go straight into the laundry. And this scare convinced him to do a cursory check around the beds whenever he checks into his room. I will be doing a check anytime we go anywhere as well. I encourage all of you to do the same. They might not spread disease but they are a total nightmare once you get them.

 

So, another crisis averted. Next!

 

Mary

Edited October 6, 2011 by itsagreytlife