A Project for the Defense of Human Habitation Against Blood-Sucking Bedbugs

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by Robert Schunk, Aug 17, 2011.

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  1. Stoniphi

    Stoniphi obscurely fossiliferous Valued Senior Member

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    We are allergic to dust mites here, as are many people. We have mattress and box springs that are encased in dust mite proof fabric, which also stops bedbugs. We wash our sheets and our dogs blankets with "De - Mite" laundry additive to kill dust mites. It also kills bed bugs. We treat our dog with "Frontline" bimonthly for fleas, mosquitoes and ticks. It is equally effective on bedbugs.

    When I wash the carpets I use a borax - based miticide with the carpet detergent. It also kills fleas and bedbugs. Weekly vacuuming takes care of the stragglers right nicely. We have not had bedbugs or flea infestations and dust mites are a minimal problem these days.

    American Allergy Supply has a lot of helpful products for insect & arachnid infestations as well as allergy - oriented products, including hospital grade HEPA air filters.
     
    Stoniphi, Nov 7, 2011
    #21

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  3. Fraggle Rocker

    Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Insects (and other arthropods) have proven to be remarkably difficult to battle with chemistry. The usual problem is that when we finally develop something that kills any particular species (or entire taxonomic groups), many years later we discover that its second-order effects are arguably worse than the infestation we started with.

    Perhaps you remember DDT? By exterminating mosquito larvae it did indeed reduce malaria deaths worldwide by something like three or four orders of magnitude. But once it got into the food chain it caused eggshells to not form correctly, and it began wiping out entire species of birds including the American bald eagle.
    The USA has its own well-established resident population of bedbugs.

    I am one of a small but not trivial percentage of the population who has a high immunity to the effects of insect bites. Mosquitos, wasps, you name it. No pain, no swelling. Most of the time I don't even notice them unless I happen to catch one in the act. (No, I haven't tested this on the poisons of other taxonomic groups such as scorpions or rattlesnakes, but thanks for the encouragement.)

    We can easily carry parasites around without knowing it, although as a good citizen I have enlisted outside help to ensure that my home is not unwittingly a haven for bedbugs.

    As I mentioned in an earlier post, the much more recent infestation of stinkbugs from China is arguably a much more alarming problem because of its economic impact. They have something like a three-week breeding cycle so they can take over a whole region in one season, doing just enough damage to the fruits and vegetables on the local farms to render their harvest unmarketable. And they're just as difficult to exterminate as bedbugs; you have to spray with malathion more than once a week!
    Systemic insecticides are not exactly regarded with unmitigated admiration by us pet lovers and breeders. One of my dogs has a terrible reaction to what is, in essence, the injection of poison into his circulatory system. I doubt very much that systemic poisoning will every be approved for human use. Of course these days ya never know about stuff like that!

    Even more typical air-spray insecticides have their down-side. I'm very careful where I point my malathion.

    In many cases the best way to kill arthropods (animals with an exoskeleton) is to target the exoskeleton. Liberally leaving trails of boric acid on your floors--which is harmless to vertebrates--results in it sticking to the bodies of fleas, ticks and other parasites. This interferes, variously, with their reproductive cycle or their ability to feed.

    Remember the Law of Unintended Consequences: "You can never do just one thing." Quite often the unintended consequence of an action taken in haste and panic has a long-term impact just as bad or worse than whatever you were trying to fix in the first place. (E.g., DDT and the world's avian population.) When you're dealing with biochemistry, a science that for all its glamor and profitability is still in its infancy, it's best to tread very lightly.
     
    Fraggle Rocker, Nov 8, 2011
    #22

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  5. KilljoyKlown

    KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    I can remember living in an 8 unit apartment building that was infested with cockroaches. Every time I sprayed for them my neighbors had an invasion and vice versa. Just wondering if bed bugs would do the same thing? If they do, it would make it much harder to get rid of them.

    I saw a program which showed some of the ways people fight bed bugs. One exterminator used very cold CO2 spray to freeze them in combination with a dog to sniff them out. I thought that was very creative (no poison residue leftovers). Another way is to increase the temperature in your home to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or two. You can do that with heaters in every room and a short stay at a friends house (hopefully one you haven't given bed bugs to).

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    And then there's bagging your house and fumigating it, which has a side effect of getting rid of your termites too.

    When the bed bugs are biting damn the expense and man the torpedoes.

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    KilljoyKlown, Nov 8, 2011
    #23

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  7. Fraggle Rocker

    Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    They are indeed mobile, although few arthropods are quiet as sprightly as cockroaches.
    Dogs--the ultimate "green" organic technology--are especially good in cases like this because they can pinpoint the infestation to one room or one piece of furniture.
    Like (probably) most Americans, I do not live in a separate detached dwelling. It's a townhouse block and if you don't do the whole block you're probably not accomplishing anything.
    Unfortunately, in addition to the expense people tend to also damn the unintended consequences.

    We're still not sure why the bees that pollinate the entire world's food supply are dying off.
     
    Fraggle Rocker, Nov 9, 2011
    #24
  8. KilljoyKlown

    KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Good topic for another thread.

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    KilljoyKlown, Nov 9, 2011
    #25
  9. kwhilborn

    kwhilborn Banned Banned

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    Vaseline, Vaseline, Vaseline.

    I can recall an earlier apartment dwelling. We did our laundry for extra hour in dryer and left in bags while exterminator came in twice over 15 days.

    Imagine how a critter gets onto a bed?
    A thick coat of Vaseline over the beds legs and frame can flabbergast some of the critters. They may opt to stick close if they are forced to make such crossings and would be easy to rout.

    I even saw a person put her bed legs in vaseline filled tupperware containers.

    Put it on the wall behind the bed as well. Seal up base trim, and don't forget to check electrical sockets.
     
    kwhilborn, Nov 27, 2011
    #26
  10. kwhilborn

    kwhilborn Banned Banned

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    Vaseline, Vaseline, Vaseline.

    I can recall an earlier apartment dwelling. We did our laundry for extra hour in dryer and left in bags while exterminator came in twice over 15 days.

    My roommate was allergic to them fiercely so we knew we had them and we knew we ridded ourselves of the problem. I told her she should rent herself out as a bedbug tester, but she got mad. Apparently; it is no fun swelling up all purple and stuff.

    Imagine how a critter gets onto a bed?
    A thick coat of Vaseline over the beds legs and frame can flabbergast some of the critters. They may opt to stick close if they are forced to make such crossings and would be easy to rout.

    I even saw a person put her bed legs in vaseline filled tupperware containers.

    Put it on the wall behind the bed as well. Seal up base trim, and don't forget to check electrical sockets.
     
    kwhilborn, Nov 27, 2011
    #27
  11. KilljoyKlown

    KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Sounds good, for a temporary fix, if you have a bed you can do that with. But then you could probably use sticky traps to do the same thing.
     
    KilljoyKlown, Nov 27, 2011
    #28
  12. 420randomness

    420randomness Registered Senior Member

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    ! also make them feel in their birth envoronment and control the immigration
     
    420randomness, Dec 25, 2011
    #29
  13. ricardonest

    ricardonest Registered Senior Member

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    All I have to say is brutal. I've seen some sort of special on bedbugs and it wasn't pretty.
     
    ricardonest, Dec 26, 2011
    #30
  14. KilljoyKlown

    KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    I saw that program and I've talked with people that have had a bed bug problem. If you are getting bitten at night and suspect bed bugs. Examine the bites, if it's bed bugs, the bites will follow the veins. You will have little trouble knowing what's biting you. But now the fun starts. How does the average person get rid of bed bugs? Your first instinct will be to call a professional. But if they are not quite as professional as you had hoped, you could end up spending thousands of dollars to get rid of them. Some people just can't help milking a desperate person or family for all they can get.

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    KilljoyKlown, Dec 26, 2011
    #31
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