The Resurgence of Bed Bugs
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-08-19/resurgence-bed-bugs
They're back! Bed bugs are infesting retail stores and offices as well as bedrooms. Diane and guests explore what's behind the resurgence and what to do about it.
Guests
Dini Miller
associate professor of urban pest management, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech.
Dr. Paula Bourelly
assistant clinical professor of dermatology, Georgetown University, and in private practice in Olney, Maryland.
Missy Henriksen
vice president of public affairs, National Pest Management Association.
Joseph McInerney
president and CEO, the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Comments
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To S:
I agree and I do all that, but it's just a constant uphill battle. I even sleep in my bathtub (no joke) so that can't bite me and live on. I know that I don't have many of them now (doing all the things you wrote about), but even one, if gets a sip of blood, will live to produce many more.
Oh, I do have one good tip. Avon makes a sunscreen lotion, "Skin so Soft" that is an excellent bug repellent! It does keep them away for a while. And, if you can't sleep in your bathtub, and must sleep in your bed, then wear jammies with socks over, and give the buggers as little exposed skin as possible - and put this creme on any exposed skin. Reapply often. It has been very useful for me.
@jgarbuz: omg that sounds awful. Where do you live? I remember that feeling of "they're just waiting till I fall asleep to come get me" -- and that was before I knew what it was that was biting me, or anything about bedbugs. Yes, I felt terrorized.
Thanks for the lotion tip. Does it work against mosquitos, by any chance? They're currently my biggest biters. But it's interesting you figured out that SSS acts as a BBg repellent; I always got the feeling they left some kind of scent on me, b/c they'd pick up where they'd left off the night before, it seemed to me. How else would they know? So maybe the lotion disrupts the scent signal (as well as the smell of carbon dioxide from our breathing?).
Anyway, good luck getting rid of the last of 'em!!! You will. Just remember to stay vigilant & keep eradicating for at least 6 mos. after they seem gone!
There is a homemade bedbug detector/catcher you can easily make. Here are three links that talk about it.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/05/08/homemade-bedbug-detector/
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/02/01/cheap-and-easy-bedbug-detector/
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/51188/title/Do-it-yourself_be...
The bed bug infestation is difficult to detect and can be found everywhere. Follow this link for help:
www.bbalertshop.com
We got bedbugs from a bunkbed that the grandparents bought from Craigslist. They got it in March and the kids started having bites, but I assumed they were mosquito bites because it was getting to be that time of year. I had a nagging feeling it could be bedbugs, but there was no evidence of them on the mattress. They had burrowed themselves into the wood of the bed and ignored the mattresses. Getting rid of the beds and mattresses made the biggest difference, but did not eradicate them of course. We've had our home fumigated twice and have sprinkled diamataceous earth around baseboards and under our bed. Then we just look for them each night and morning. We haven't had bites in awhile, but I know they're still there. My friends won't come over (understandably) and I feel like a leper.
As for what to do about mattresses, I threw away mine, but you don't have to. You can cover it with a mattress cover and eventually, they should die if they don't have a meal. Really, you can never take the cover off. But honestly, bedbugs are happy to ignore your mattress and take residence in any tiny crack in a wooden bed frame, in the metal brackets, in any crevice or crack in your baseboards or floors, your ceilings, behind picture frames, or anything like that. So covering your mattress just prevents your mattress from being ruined, but they'll live in folds on the cover.
Hmm another bed bug out break where have I seen that before.
Heres one from last year.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/284684
from 2 yrs.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080914/bedbugs_080914...
from 3 yrs.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/31/bedbug_epidemic/
from 4 yrs.
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2006/01/23/2006-01-23_citywide_...
from 5yrs.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002649090_bedbugs27.html
from 6 yrs.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/7250.php
from 7 yrs.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1450001/Tourists-and-immigrants-behind-U...
It's amazing we seem to be having a new out break every year. Darn those bugs...
Lots of people mix the bed bug bites with other bug bites. The Bed Bugs usually make bites in line.