Question by Aditya T:
GETTIN RID of BEDBUGS!?
HOW DO YOU GET RID OF EM????
MAH PLACE IS CRAWLIN WITH EM…….I HAVENT SLEPT IN THE PAST 6 DAYS!
Best answer:
Answer by mrsstunner
Get rid of your mattress & clean everything!
Post your answer to this question below.
More posts like this one in Bedbug Questions.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
walk all bedings down to last under sheets. wash all clothes etc you come in contact with with special soap, ask doctor for soap but i think its a lead type..
Once an infestation has occurred, patience and persistence is the key to ridding the area of bed bugs. It isn’t enough to clean the mattresses and launder the sheets. Furniture should be overturned and cleaned. Carpeting, wood molding, door jambs, picture frames, and closets should be inspected as well. Bed bugs can hide behind loose wallpaper, in the crevices between carpets and walls, behind outlet covers, and inside light fixtures, smoke detectors, and even clocks. Removable, washable items can be laundered in very hot water. For those areas or items which can not be laundered, smaller items can be wrapped in plastic and set in a hot place or in direct sunlight. The key is to raise the temperature to at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours to kill the eggs and the bugs. Vacuuming and steam cleaning may also be done, but any bags or canisters should be thrown away or emptied outside of the area immediately to prevent another infestation. The best method of removing bed bugs, however, is through a professionally handled treatment.
i would professionally have someone come in and spray. you can have them on contract or just once but that is what you have to do.
i was watching the trya banks show and they said you cant get rid of bed bugs yourself you will most likely have to call professional help
UH OH. You are in for a tough one. I know from experience.
1. Most important thing is to remove as many of your belongings/clutter as possible. Your apartment should literally be as empty as possible. Only keep the MINIMUM of what you need. The rest, get rid of it or put it into storage (Note: you will need to store the items for over 18 months in order to ensure that all bugs and their eggs have died. Yes, these little monsters can survive that long without eating). This step is key as you are trying to reveal the bedbug hiding spaces to allow for the exterminator’s chemicals to get at them.
2. Get an IPM (integrated pest management) service. Not all exterminators can offer this service. Plan on having them treat your unit a MINIMUM of two times (preferably 3) spaced at regular intervals (maybe every six weeks…you will need to look into the bedbug life cycle in order to determine the timing). The reason you need them to visit more than once is that the chemicals they use will NOT kill eggs and therefore you will have new hatchlings before long. You need a series of treatments to finish them all off. Also, the chemicals they use only stay effective for maybe 4-5 weeks max.
Check with your urban housing office…your landlord is probably required to pay for this service, but make sure they get someone who knows what they are doing. Regular “fogger” treatments are 100% ineffective against bedbugs.
3. Buy some FRESHWATER diatomaceous earth on the internet. (Make certain you get the freshwater version as the saltwater version can damage your lungs if you inhale it.) Sprinkle this powder all over your apartment (along the floorboards, etc.) It’s nontoxic and damages the shells of the bugs, eventually killing them (this will help your problem but is not an end-all solution…you still need IPM).
4. Timed along with the treatments you will need to treat ALL clothing/laundry/bedding. You may wash and dry all of the items or dry clean them. As a shortcut, you may simply toss things in the dryer on medium or high (as long as it’s hot to the touch it will kill them). Once the clothes are heat-treated, bag them up in plastic.
5. You can also spray lice bedding spray on the floor around your bed and on the bed legs. However, I don’t think it’s a very safe product as it’s semi toxic and I had terrible allergies to it.
6. Vacuuming is very important…do it as often and thoroughly as you can…but as inf pye said, you MUST remove the vacuum bag from the premises and discard immediately (as an alternative, you can put it in a plastic bag and stick it in your freezer until you’re ready to do it again).
Do you live in a home or a large apartment building? If it’s a larger building and/or your landlord does not take it seriously it’s unlikely that bedbugs will be completely eradicated from your building. In this case, I suggest you MOVE!! You will need to be extremely cautious and careful about anything you bring to the new place. (I would just get rid of all of the furniture. Smaller items…e.g purses or books can be de-bugged by placing them in the freezer for more than one week.)
You will overcome this one day, but let me tell you it’s an unpleasant experience.
For those of you who don’t already have them, prevention is key. Do NOT take in used furniture from the street or buy it from thrift stores. It’s not worth the risk!!! You can buy used clothes but seal them in a plastic bag until you can wash and dry them (on high) or freeze them for a week. Inspect used books carefully. Be cautious in hotel rooms because you can bring them back home in your luggage.
Diatomaceous earth and boric acid.
Betterluck has given you soem great advice. If I may add one other piece of action to the solutions she has recommended, consider that some bedbugs are becoming resistent to the chemicals that are being mentioned here and so it may take a non-chemical approach to get the last few of them.
Since the chemical free sprays are non-toxic, they are safe for you to spray and it makes it a little more bearable to lie down on your bed when it has not been doused in harmful chemicals.
The ones that I see used often are called Kleen-Free and Bedbug Terminator by the same company. They work on contact with the bugs so you need to spray everywhere that they may be and reapply as often as you want.
Good luck. You are in for a long hard battle that can be won with patience and a variety of methods.