Question by S T:
Bedbugs, NO Dryer, kids involved, Help?!?!?
I’m a single mom that lives in NY, w/ my parents & siblings in a 6 bedroom apt (trying 2 move out but the rent is extremely high in NY & I’m trying my best to do the best for my kids alone) w/ a horrible phobia of insects of ANY kind. Me and my 2 sons sleep in 1 room together, me & my youngest sleep in the same bed and my oldest has his own bed. So of course it’s alot of toys & clothes in the closet …as well as clothes & lil odds & ends in those plastic bins. Not messy at all, but its just alot.
So about a week ago I discovered I had bedbugs on my bed. I threw away my queen size mattress & boxspring (seeing as though it was very old anyway), but I still have my oldest sons twin bed in here (because we just purchased that about 4 months ago). So me & my youngest are sleeping on his bed for now & he sleeping in the living room. I ordered them bunk beds 2 days ago (because the lil 1 need his own bed now anyway) & I will be sleeping in the twin until I can get a queen set again. I have washed down the floors & the walls, I have encased the twin bed in vinyl covers already, I put tape around the foots of the bed, I ordered D.E. off Ebay (which should get here today) but I have no dryer in the home & no money to go to the laundry mat. This is truly one of the worst experiences ever (imagine staying up & crying literally all night w/ the lights on & seeing bugs crawl all on your bed and your child as well)
Questions for people who have this problem:
Is it okay to just wash the clothes in hot water & dry on a rack? If not what else do I do??
Any suggestion on what ELSE i should be doing??
What worked for you?
Please don’t say get an exterminator because like I said before I have no money for that.
Thank You In Advance
Best answer:
Answer by John E
If you check out the Net, you’ll get a huge amount of conficting information. The best I’ve come up with–that most experts agree on–is 113 degrees F. for seven (?) minutes to kill all stages (nymphs to adults) of live bugs. I forgot the exact time; I think that’s correct. No mention of relative humidity or such, or whether air or water. Water conducts heat about 20 times as rapidly as air, so I’d guess hot water is the more potent.
There must be studies out there on what kills the eggs. One source said 120-something degrees F. for, if I remember, close to half an hour. Chicagovsbedbugs.org is one place to check out. The lady who runs it gave me a link to a huge list of studies on how to kill them. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful; I’m out of time.
How about an old filing cabinet on the roof in July?
John
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I have experience with bed bugs. I won’t bore you with “proper” answers to this as you are broke, so here is what you need to do on your budget. Pour boiling water on all clothes and bedding. Then dry it and do it again.
Go to a garden supply store, pet shop, or feed store. Try to track down a product called DIATOMACEIUOS EARTH. It is like a talcum powder and is dirt cheap to buy. It is safe as long as you don’t breath in too much of it. Sprinkle it into the carpets, beds, cracks and everywhere. To a bedbug, it is like ground glass. It gets into their plates and kills them. Good luck. You can google it up.
You can do all that is stated here, but the bugs will not be gone. The ONLY way is an exterminator. With all the shifting around you’ve done, you’ve spread them into the couch, etc. You may not have the money, but you’re going to gave to get it from somewhere.
I agree that an exterminator is the best approach. A company like Terminix will do a free in-home inspection that can give you an idea of cost (phone 1.877.291.4849).
However, if you can’t afford this approach, I’d knock down or reduce the population by:
1. Making your own bed bug trap. This will help draw the bed bugs away from the bed. Instructions in 1st resource. You can buy traps for each bed leg for a total of around $ 20. You can also place small tins with mineral oil under each bed leg. Paste a paper ramp onto the outside so bed bugs can climb up the outside of the tin and then fall in.
2. Washing alone is not enough, but it is going to have to be good enough given that you don’t have a clothes dryer.
3. If you have a hand steamer, go along all the seams and tufts of the bed. Hold the steamer in place a few seconds before moving on to the next area. This will generate enough heat.
4. Use a vacuum and the crevice tool to suck up any bed bugs. If you see the tiny white eggs, pick them up with packing tape and dispose.
5. Place items that you can in the freezer for 5 days. This will kill all bed bugs and eggs. In fact, if you wash the sheets, then place into the freezer after they dry, this will do the trick. If it is freezing outside, leaving the mattress, box spring, bed frame outside for 5+ days will also help.
6. You hair dryer is another good source of heat. Hold the hair dryer on high heat, low air for 30 seconds on each portion of the mattress (along seams, buttons, and label), box spring, bed frame and inside/outside of all furniture near the bed.
7. Pull the bed at least 6 inches from the wall and furniture, do not let blankets touch the floor.
8. Vinyl bed covers, unless bed bug rated will not work. You can buy inexpensive bed bug covers for the mattress, box spring and pillow case at century 21 department store for about $ 25 each if you can afford it.
You can also call your local health department, they may be able to provide some assistance.