Anyone gotten bed bugs and successfully gotten rid of them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of a sudden there're bed bug infestations spreading in American cities. What's the situation in Europe and elsewhere? Does anybody know if they're also dealing with the same explosion of cases?

Yes. It's everywhere, especially in densely populated cities.

Our beach house in OBX - a very, very nice house- had them. We noticed them before moving in. HUGE pain in the ass to find another place.

[Anonymous]

for used clothes--put them in a sealed back, then take straight to the dryer, 20 minutes at high heat should kill them.

[Anonymous]

I thought Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc wash and dry all donated clothes items before putting them out for sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc wash and dry all donated clothes items before putting them out for sale.

They probably do, but their building can easily become infested by non-washable things they also put out for sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:for used clothes--put them in a sealed back, then take straight to the dryer, 20 minutes at high heat should kill them. [/quote

We do this too but I leave it for 45 minutes- rather be safe than sorry.. I also like buying used clothes and we had a BB scare (thinking we got it from a hotel)- we did not have BB after all but we changed how we travel (don't unpack- leave suitcase in tub) and treat used clothing. After this I would never buy used furniture since there isn't an easy (or fool proof) way to treat the furniture before bringing into the house.

[Anonymous]

Can cleaning crews also track in BB if they use a vacuum that has been to a BB infected house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can cleaning crews also track in BB if they use a vacuum that has been to a BB infected house?

Totally. And they can also bring them in when they bring their personal possessions (coats, bags) from one house to another.

[Anonymous]

It is important to have a professional treat your space and make sure you ask the exterminator about follow-up visits. It is nearly impossible to kill Bed Bug eggs, so chemical treatments absolutely take care of live bugs. Just make sure you ask about the eggs.

[Anonymous]

You need to both heat and chemical treatments or else they will come back. Heat will kill 99% and then the demetrius earth and other chemicals will be a residual that will kill off any remaining. It only takes 1 survivor to start the cycle again. Connors is one of the best in the area and they recommend both types of treatments at the same time.

[Anonymous]

I thought you had to cook the buggers.

[Anonymous]

Can bed bugs live in wood furniture? I am considering buying a used piece of furniture that is all wood. thanks.

[Anonymous]

Used wood furniture can harbor bed bugs. They like to hide in the crevices. I love old used furniture but won't risk it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dry cleaning does kill them. What you can do if you're going to the thrift store is keep the items in a sealed plastic bag until you're ready to wash them. I've also heard of people picking up bed bugs at non-second hand clothing stores, so this might be a good idea regardless.

Yes- this is very disturbing. A number of stores in NYC have discovered bedbug infestations. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that bedbugs are fairly common in NYC these days, so they could quite believably have been carried in by employees (or customers) with infested apartments or have had bedbugs migrate from the apartments or offices above.

I haven't heard of this happening in other cities yet, but public libraries across the country are having issues... for obvious reasons.

Sorry, maybe I am missing something, but why would they like libraries especially? I can see them in a couch in the library but not in books!? Or DVDs?!

[Anonymous]

I'm in the midst of this nightmare. I went and got a new apartment but still have my old apartment with everything in it. All my clothes, bedding, books etc are going in the trash, and I've been buying all new stuff for the new place. Nothing is going there except my passport, a few documents and some photos. I sealed my guitars in plastic and put them in storage, probably won't open them for a couple of years, but I bought a new one to use in the mean time. My only real dilemma is a pretty expensive Yamaha keyboard, not sure what to do with it.

[Anonymous]

This thread is freaking me out. Now I shouldn't even have a cleaning service come to my house?