Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

I have bed bugs. I think a pet brought them in but who knows. Anyway I have caught a couple and have been bitten. What can I do to get rid of them? There has to be something out that I can use that is fairly safe.

Timothy from Gallitzin, PA

Answers:

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

I know rosemary will get rid of lice so maybe it will work on bed bugs. We make a spray of water and rosemary to spray on our hair. (11/26/2007)

By curlysmith

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

I've just seen a program on T.V. about bed bugs, they said there are no products on the market to get rid of them, they said you have to call in a professional (bug exterminator) or get rid of the mattress. I think it was on Oprah. Good Luck! (11/27/2007)

By Connie

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

My wife and I ran into these nasty suckers on our honeymoon in a very upscale resort near Playa Del Carmen in Mexico. Our room had a few small bugs on the walls and ceilings (even in the day), but we didn't think anything of it, until our third night, when I smashed one on the bed and it streaked blood on the sheets. Luckily, the management moved us to a different building that wasn't invested.

After we got home we left all our luggage in the car, parked away from the house and researched these things. Here's what we did to prevent those bugs from invading our home:

1. Parked our car out in the driveway in the hot sun for three days. This was during the summer time in Arizona. The car easily got to above 120F. After the three days we opened up our luggage, and to our delight, we found half a dozen dead bed bugs next to a leaky water bottle. They must have all went for the water trying to escape the heat.
2. Went to a laundromat and washed all of our travel clothes on hot, and dried them on hot. We used "color catchers" to prevent bright items from being dyed.
3. Threw out clothes that couldn't be washed. Shoes, sandles, wallets, purses, etc. Even our luggage.
4. Got our house as hot as we could just in case we brought some in on the clothing we were wearing. Set the heater in our house to the max 99F. Opened up all the blinds to let sunlight in. Turned off all the electronics in the house to prevent them from over heating, and let it sit for a day. This was summer time in Arizona. The thermometer I left in the house pegged at 120F. When we returned, there were no evidence of dead bed bugs, but every other spider, ant and fly in the house was found dead at the threshold of the front door trying to escape.
Advertisement


5. For our digital cameras, we removed the batteries and baked them in the oven at about 200F (70C to 100C should do it) for about 2 hours. Note, that batteries will explode unless you remove them! Most electronic components can handle this heat so long as they are not powered. I do not recommend trying this with laptops or anything else with a hard drive.

It's been 3 years, with no bugs, so it must have worked. Unfortunately, now we're paranoid and check out all hotel rooms before we bring our luggage inside. Tripadvisor.com is good for checking out if a hotel has a bed bug problem. (01/19/2008)

By Joey

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

I think Clorox and rubbing alcohol kills the bug without any doubt. I was told by my exterminator to spray rubbing alcohol whenever I see bed bugs. What I did was spray the entire room with Clorox and rubbing alcohol and its been 6 months I have not yet seen any or got bitten. (02/07/2008)

By Sonia

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Well, I recently found that my apartment has bed bugs. I live in a place with over 100 apartments in one building so I know I'm not the only one with them. My mom told me to try rubbing alcohol and that really works, kills em dead on contact! I sprayed everything with it and man, I'm telling you, it works. Put it in a spray bottle and get spraying! (03/19/2008)

By Shay

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Try Steri-Fab for mattresses and fabric, and Sprayaway's Good Night is effective for mattresses, cracks in walls and floors, undersides of wood tables/furniture, behind picture frames, and nearly anywhere else the little buggers might be hiding. These are products that you can buy at a hardware store that are safe and effective. If you have pets, keep them out of the area while you spray, and while the products dry (they dry quickly). Also, get rid of your clutter - it's a play land and a Bat Cave for the bedbugs.

A home needs to get clean and organized to get bedbug free, but cleaning and throwing out furniture alone won't do it. Neither will thyme. You need to clean, to spray, and to keep it up 2-4 times a month for at least several months. Only products that specifically list bedbugs actually affect bedbugs. Nothing that says "most insects" but doesn't list bedbugs specifically will work. Treat any pet bedding. They usually don't go after domestic dogs and cats, but can travel on them.

Also, to clean the smashed bugs off your wall, if your infestation is really bad, or they're running from the insecticide, use rubbing alcohol. It lifts the nasty right off. I've been fighting the little monsters for months now. Can't afford a professional, particularly one that might fail, which it seems happens a lot. I think I'm winning the war. I usually don't see them, but one has to stay vigilant. It takes a while to wipe them out completely. (04/20/2008)

By Kit

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

My husband and I have had bed bugs, too. It was awful! Here in downtown SF it is quite a problem. We love our apartment but with a 100 units in the building it's impossible to control what comes in and you are very affected by your neighbors.

That said, we are now bed-bug free. In SF there are department of health regulations that have certain requirements of what the landlords must legally provide for bedbugs outbreaks, and responsibilities for the tenants. I highly recommend each of you find out what is legally required in the situation if you are renting.

Our apartment was sprayed twice, my husband and I packed up everything we own, washed everything and put it all in plastic bags in our kitchen and bathroom while everything that wasn't packed was sprayed. I also clean regularly with lavender, which is supposed to help - makes us feel better anyway, and we burn lavender candles often. We are still so vigilant.

The bed is a couple feet from the wall and the legs have duct tape around them with the sticky side out so nothing can crawl up on the bed. It is hard because the situation needs to be a cooperative effort in apartments and it seems that isn't happening as much as it should.

Several cities have successfully taken charge of the bed bug problem and I think reading what they have done is helpful. Either way, if your city has no regulations, maybe look up SF or NY regulations and try to implement them in your own apartment. Also, contact pest companies in the large areas that are more experienced with bed bugs and see what they recommend. I hope you are all successful and eliminate these terrible bugs from your lives! They are miserable! Best wishes! (05/23/2008)

By Lisa

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Kleen Free works! I live in a apartment building, I never have been bitten but my daughter was several times. I think I just do not react to the bites. Believe me I tried everything, washing and sealing you name it. I tried the Kleen Free because its non toxic, you spray it all over even on the mattress, you even wash the clothes in it. It really did kill them and after a few months of constant spraying I got rid of them.

Its been over one year since my daughter has been bitten. Guess what, their back! That's because there are so many people moving in and out of the building! I believe their bringing them back in. Now I will have to go through this all over again. Type in Kleen Free, its by Natural Ginesis. Good Luck!
(06/16/2008)

By Mel

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

I am going through this as well, and I have done hours of research. I would like to share some very helpful tips, since many landlords are not very knowledgeable about bedbugs. My landlord seems to think sprinkling some type of powder on the floor will eliminate the problem, ha! Any hoo, here's some of my tips for dealing with bedbugs:

• Isolate your bed. Even if you can't completely rid yourself of the bugs, at least you can sleep tight. I sit the bed legs in Tupperware cups, and sit them on top of sticky mouse traps. I caught so many species of random bugs this way, it's not even funny.
• Sterifab and 91% Alcohol: These are good because unlike other sprays, they dry out the bug and kill it. The con is that they have little to no residual action, but they kill on contact, and are good to spray in areas where you suspect the bugs may be.
• Bedlam: This is a spray that works rather well, and has some fatality rate even on the eggs. Can be used in cracks, crevices, furniture, mattresses, luggage, just be sure to use as directed on the can.
• Mattress Encasements: I would like to note that these keep bugs from getting out of the mattress, but they can still get in your bed, unless you use sticky traps to prevent them from crawling up. Make sure the bedframe and headboard are thoroughly inspected, because if they are living there, the mattress covers are pretty much pointless.
• Frequent Vacuuimg; Vacuum the couch and similar furniture, all seams and folds with the hose attachment, and give a good spraying of Sterifab or alcohol afterward. Be sure to discard the vacuum bag in a sealable bag immediately after, if not, they can get out of the vacuum cleaner and spread the infestation.
• Spacebags and XXL Ziploc bags: After you have washed all clothing in the hottest possible water, and dried them on the hottest possible setting, store them in airtight bags to prevent bedbugs from getting into your clothes.
• Search: Bedbugs don't only live in mattresses. They can live behind photos on the wall, in telephones and clock radios, sockets, anywhere! Unfortunately, I don't have the guts to go searching for them, but if you want to, it's best done with a high power flashlight, and maybe even a magnifying glass.
• Mattress bags: If you must throw out your mattress, please bag it in a plastic mattress bag before taking it out, otherwise, the bugs and eggs can fall from the mattress while you are moving it, and spread the problem. Here in Cincinnati, the city won't even pick up mattress unless they are in plastic.
• Steamers: If you can afford a steamer, this is a helpful tool. Bedbugs can't survive very high heat, I guess a hairdryer could work in the same way. I've heard people having success with steam treatments, but I've never tried this personally.
• Bring in the Pros: If you can't afford to have your place exterminated, at least have a consultation, they will come out and search for the bugs for free. At least this gives some insight as to where they are hiding, and if you really have them.

Please remember that if you really want to rid the bugs from your home, some form of pesticide will most likely be necessary, along with some of the tips I just mentioned. Bedbugs are also resistant to many sprays on the market, I once doused one in Raid to no avail.

I hope my tips are helpful to someone, isolating my bed was the best thing I could have done, because, if nothing else, I get a good worry free sleep. Thanks for reading! (06/21/2008)

By Tiffany

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Sprayway Good Night took care of my bed bug problem in one usage. (12/04/2008)

By Robert H.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Get a Shark steamer. We moved into a house that we had redone and hadn't had the problem before, and all of a sudden my children were getting bitten up like crazy. They were in my couch, ahhh. I researched and found that steaming them works. I am still finding a couple but not like before. I just continue to steam every other week until the problem is gone. You really need to check good, I practically ripped my couch apart but they were there, hiding in weird little corners. Also, vacuum everyday with hose attachment on, then throw outside in a bag. I am determined and know I will rid them. (01/15/2009)

By Antoinette