Question by emilia:
how can you get rid of bedbugs with out harming a newborn baby?
we just discovered that we have bed bugs – ugh! everything that i have read indicates that you must get an exterminator to get rid of the bugs; however, we have newborn and i am very afraid to use pesticides in our apartment for that reason – we spend 24hrs a day here. not to mention, i have a brother with autism so i am very fearful of damage that can happen to a child when they are developing. please help! how can we kill bedbugs without harming my newborn?
Best answer:
Answer by momoftwins
Can’t you just wash the sheets and blankets?
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Stay in a hotel for one night after the exterminator comes. Get the baby a brand new matress for his bed. Let your house air out after the guy comes.
There are many internet sites that have information about bedbugs. Thsi is from only one. Get on teh internet and search for them and if it is necessary to hire a professional exterminator, have them tell you what they do to protect your child. They are supposed to be the experts. Make them earn their money.
Given the ideal environment your bed and mattress offer for sleep, what other residents are likely to take up residence in your bedroom and what impact can they have on your health?
Many people suffer from allergies – to pollen, to food, to animal dander, and to dust. Many allergies also stem from dust mites. Dust mites are very small insects that can be found in homes around the world. They are tiny relatives of spiders and ticks that have eight legs, no eyes, and are more or less just a stomach on legs. Dermatophagoides farinae is the scientific name for household dust mites. It’s unpleasant to think about, but dust mites eat the skin that falls off people every day (and night). They eat enough of it to produce twenty or so small pellets of fecal waste. Humans can breath in this waste and it can cause allergic reactions. These reactions in turn can make you feel tired, irritate respiratory function, and lead to a lousy night’s sleep.
There can be millions of dust mites in a single mattress. And dust mite infestation in homes is not uncommon- as many as 44 million American households are thought to have dust mite problems.
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are another unpleasant tenant in bedrooms with unhygienic sleeping conditions. Their name is cute – it even shows up in a nursery rhyme (‘good night, sleep tight…’) but dealing with them is far from cute.
They are small – usually just a fraction of an inch long – and nocturnal, hiding during the day. At night they come out and attach to human beings. They inject a coagulating agent and numbing substance and – not unlike a large mosquito – will suck the blood out of sleeping people. Most of the time people awaken with small itchy welts. Sometimes they can have allergic reactions leaving large hives and severe skin irritation. In extreme cases bed bug bites can cause anaphylactic shock in reaction to the substances they inject while feeding.
Treatment and Prevention.
Bed bug bites usually heal themselves and treatment with ointments (like cortisone) can minimize discomfort. If you have an allergic reaction, see your physician. Similarly, treatment of allergies due to dust mites is often over-the-counter symptom relief from antihistamine.
Once you’ve treated the symptoms, you should move on to eliminating any current infestations and preventing new ones. If you suspect you have bedbugs or dust mites, put your pajamas and bed sheets in the freezer for at least 24 hours. Then wash them in hot water. This should kill any organisms on your clothes and sheets.
Next give your bedroom (and house) a thorough cleaning. For bed bug infestations, consult an insect exterminator.
To prevent future infestations:
Vacuum your home weekly
Don’t eat food in bed
Inspect older, antique or second hand furniture before bringing it into your home
Change your bed linens at least once per week
Eliminate bird and bat residences near your home – bedbugs often live with birds and bats
Caulk cracks and crevices around your home
Make sure your mattress hasn’t turned into a site of infestation
I had the same problem, and you got to get out the house let an exterminator in, and just stay in a hotel or something, until your house airs out, those things are very hard to kill, and thats the only way… sorry .
Emilia,
I just noticed your questions now so this may be too late but there are chemcial free bedbug sprays that are safe to use around kids.
The one that I have heard of as working well is called BedBug Terminator by Kleen-Free and it will kill them on contact. You can safely apply it yourself and it will not harm you or your baby or pets, etc. You also need to reapply anywhere that the bedbugs may be hiding. it probably takes a few weeks of constant applications to get rid of them but here are no harmful chemicals in it.
Good luck.