Question by lady S:
I have just bought a second hand bed, I want to get rid of bed bugs/fleas?
I wondered if anyone knows of a spray I can use that would get rid of them, if there are any in the mattress I bought. Is it likely fleas can get into the mattress? I am worried as its my 8 year old daughter that has to sleep in it and I dont want her to get bitten. I want to get rid of them before she sleeps in it. We dont have any pets so is it impossible for them to survive in our house anyway?
Best answer:
Answer by askdyson
Hi its Darran at Dyson here, if you have a Dyson vacuum cleaner, try using our Mattress tool. This combined with the suction power of your Dyson will help remove any dust and dust mites from the mattress.
I hope this information is useful.
Many thanks
Darran
Dyson Customer Service
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There are many flea/bug sprays out there, but you should be careful because if you spray the matress down with heavy pesticide, it could potentially hurt your daughter if she sleeps on it. Therefore, I would advise not using the spray by the gallon pesticide most people use on their lawn. You can bug bomb the room every few weeks until the problem is fixed, but it is costly, and a hassle to cover all the furniture and keep the room closed for hours on end, and then clean everything up.
So far, the best method i’ve found is Sevin-dust. Supposably it is nontoxic enough that people use it on their vegetables, and some original studies suggested it may have been safe to use on pets. According to the studies the carbaryl would be ingested and simply pass through the urinary system. It comes in 1 lb, 3lb canisters for about $ 7-$ 10 at Walmart, Lowes, Menards, Tru Value, etc. It’s also good against some hundred or so bug species, including fleas. It works as a mutanagenic that causes the bugs to be unable to reproduce, and also kills them.
The other thing is that to my knowledge, fleas can’t get IN the mattress, but the eggs can cling to the outside of the mattress. Worse yet, they can lay dormant for weeks, even months, and I’ve read a few reports that even said a year, until they hatch when they sense movement. They don’t need a pet to feed off of. They will feed on humans too if given the chance, so yes they can survive in your petless house. I would suggest sprinkling the mattress with the sevin-dust, and then completely zipping the mattress in one of those waterproof plastic mattress bags, so that they are both trapped in there until they die, and so that there is a barrier between the pesticide and your child. Just because the stuff is supposably safe, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
Also, vacuum the room as much as you can. Every day is the best, until the problem is fixed. The movement of the vacuum makes the fleas hatch, and then they get sucked up. There’s not really an immediate fix. After having problems with my animals for years every flea season I’ve learned that it takes at least a week or two minimum to get rid of fleas, but since you don’t have a pet it shoudl be a lot easier. Good luck, and hopes this helps.
I agree.. don’t buy any bug sprays and put them where your child will be sleeping!!…. instead get a good well made mattress BAG cover….
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us&q=mattress+cover+for+bed+bugs&aq=0&aqi=g10&oq=mattress+cover+for+
the bugs can’t get out, starve to death and die!!!…. great if you get one for the box spring, too…. and no dangerous poisons in the house!!….
no fleas can survive almost any where,
take the mattress out side spray it with raid, poke a hole in the sides to get the spray inside the mattress, spray the outer seams, also
Dyson man, if she is buying a used mattress and bed, probably she can not afford a $ 300 vacuum cleaner.
Otherwise, this site has good tips.
http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/bed-bugs.htm