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Bed Bugs (Gross!!!)
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Anonymous
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UGH!!! I've been itchy for about a week, but my husband didn't have bites and so I initially passed it off as mosquito season. But today I took off the mattress cover and found two tiny red bugs that look a lot like what you find if you google "bed bug." So grossed out! I have no idea where they came from -- hubby traveled for work about a month ago, so he might have picked them up then, or perhaps they came through the walls (we're in a row house.)
Anybody have experience getting rid of them? I plan to wash all the bedding in hot water tonight and vacuum the mattress and rug. Am I delusional to think that because I only found two bugs (one carcass and one live) that I can nip this in the bud? |
Anonymous
Is it bright red? Or does it look like this?
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Anonymous
| OP here. It's sort of blood colored, so I'd say it's more like the one in the photo than bright red. |
Anonymous
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Darn, I was hoping it was a red velvet mite, which seem to be everywhere this year.
I don't have any experience, but I found this: http://quickcare.org/misc/how-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs.html |
Anonymous
sorry, but yes - unfortunately, it's not that simple to get rid of those critters. We had this problem a year ago (like you, I thought it was mosquitos since DH wasn't being bit.) We had an exterminator come out a couple of times and the bites stopped for about 2 weeks then came back. Here's what finally got rid of them for us: A mattress cover specifically for bed bugs (I know it's expensive, but we tried the $10 covers from BedBathBeyond and they didn't do anything) http://www.amazon.com/AllerZip-Waterproof-Zippered-Bedding-Encasement/dp/B000VNR3SS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1274572448&sr=8-2 Pronto Spray http://www.amazon.com/Pronto-Kill-Bedbugs-Mites-Spray/dp/B0014F5EVK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=beauty&qid=1274572377&sr=8-7 Unless your rug is really expensive, I would bag it and toss it. I would also suggest vacuuming your bed frame after you put the mattress cover on. Try not to toss your mattress (unless you've covered it first), as dragging an infested mattress through your house can spread the bugs. Even if you do get a new mattress, put a cover on it asap. So far it's been 8 months without a bite (knock on wood). Good Luck! |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks 20:01.
What about clothes that are in the room? Should I plan on washing everything in the dressers? Also, I saw another web site that recommended vacuuming books in the infested room. Did you do that? |
Anonymous
Ugh, I don't know how I forgot about this...yes we did clean EVERYTHING and wash/dry clean all of the clothes in our bedroom before the exterminator came. It was a nightmare.... Like I mentioned, I still got bites afterward so I can't even say all of that cleaning helped. The exterminator told us our infestation was probably isolated to the bed since he couldn't find any bugs in the room. If you've only been bitten for a couple of weeks I would think you don't have a bad infestation. I was bitten for over 2 months before we finally figured out what it was. |
Anonymous
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OP here again, and thanks again.
Since the mattress cover and the spray seemed to ultimately solve your problem, do you think it's worth going that route before calling an exterminator, or is calling an exterminator a must? |
Anonymous
| I have a good friend who is a risk manager at a very reputable ski resort and they had bed bugs in one of the rooms last summer. I think they ultimately had to get rid of EVERYTHING in that room since there's no guarantee they'll completely eliminate the problem. They also had to leave the room vacant for a month or something lie that. Maybe they were being extra cautious because it was a resort, but it seems like that's what her cousin who was an exterminator told her to do. They are nasty bugs and can potentially hide everywhere, even picture frames. Good luck. Sounds like you got some good solid advice from the PP who had experience last year. |
Anonymous
| You know, if your husband brought them home from traveling, you may want to check/bag his luggage, etc., as well. |
Anonymous
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Before you throw everything out, a couple of thoughts...
1. when your bedroom is dark, strip the bed. get a flashlight and slowly and methodically, roll back the "mattress trim"and look for bugs and eggs. you can see them. If you find any, i would steam clean your mattress. i would think, because you just noticed the bits, that you are not truly infested. 2. if you do find "a fair amount", bag your mattress and dispose of it. 3. launder, in as hot water as possible, all of your clothing. 4. inspect the luggage the same way you do the mattress. in this case, truly, i would be inclined to throw this away. 5. check your wall vents and regularly wash, with as hot water as can possible be handled. steam them if you prefer exterminators can help, but it needs to be systematic because nothing kills the eggs. exterminators need to do a "major treatment', return in two weeks and return in two more weeks...something like that. since we have stopped using particular chemicals and international travel has boomed, bed bugs are coming from international locations. they have such an association with "dirty", which is unfortunate...and those bites suck! I hope it helps, Love, a Hotel General Manager... |
Anonymous
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OP here again.
Thanks Hotel General Manager and everyone else. Here's my greatest fear: We're in a row house and the neighbor to one side is a wreck -- countless dogs that she never lets out of the house (I actually posted about her a few months back.) My fear is that we'll eradicate the bugs here, but if she does nothing then we'll just get them back again. Does this sound about right, or is there some tape or something that we could use to seal out house off from hers?? |
Anonymous
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OP here again,
So I spent all last night vacuuming and doing laundry, only to be awakened at 1:30 by bites -- and two live bugs in my sheet. EWWWW. 
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Anonymous
OP, you should call an exterminator RIGHT AWAY and get started on cleaning. You will need mattress covers, too. There's no way to resolve this without repeated professional application of pesticides. |
Anonymous
Dear Hotel General Manager, While there can be some subjective interpretation of "truly infested", it is *never* reasonable to think that the bugs are limited to a bed and not concealed elsewhere within walls, floors, and furniture crevices. I realize you need to rent out your rooms to stay in business and that bedbugs are a nearly impossible problem to resolve entirely, but I would hope you don't declare the presence of a couple of bedbugs in a room a non-infestation and proceed to send another unfortunate and generally unsuspecting guest into the room before extensive (and lengthy) treatment. Whether or not the initial bedbug revival in the US could be blamed on international travel a decade ago, domestic travelers in US hotels are doing a perfectly good job of perpetuating the problem without help from abroad at this point. Sure, the correlation with "dirtiness" is weak, but a few stragglers in one's luggage is enough to devastate a family's quality of life for months. Please don't minimize the problem or your responsibility to hit the problem hard immediately when you become aware of it in your hotel, or even offer bad advice to OP. She is unquestionably "truly infested" and will need to treat whole rooms if not her whole house. -- Former bedbug victim who may well have a hotel stay to thank for her nightmare. |