Final (I hope!) bedbug quarantine queries?

[Leaper]

First off, I want to make absolutely clear that I know full well I’m probably being (overly) paranoid about bedbugs. I’d have an easier time ignoring my concerns if it weren’t almost literally everywhere I read or surf. Time magazine? Bedbugs. Local paper. Bedbugs. MPSIMS? Bedbugs. Doonsbury? BedbugsBEDBUGSBEDBUGS!!! Plus, I’m a natural bug-phobe (probably from an incident with a huge roach as a kid shudder), and the pics of the bedbug infected mattresses I’ve seen online made me gag.

Now that you are warned…

OK, I’m back from my Japan trip, and I’ll update my other thread about that. Suffice it to say that I had a terrific time, and my concerns before the trip didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the vacation. The thing is, maybe I wasn’t concerned enough, I think.

Anyway, after six days at my childhood home after the trip, I’m now at “my” home. I don’t have the devices that you can put your suitcase in to heat up everything in it to bedbug-killing temps (hundreds of dollars, those), so I put together my own quarantine procedure:

• Put backpack and suitcase in the bathtub, so anything that got out wouldn’t spread.

• Take out all the clothes and putting them in the dryer for 40 minutes (including the ones I was wearing to do this and the bathmat I was standing on - which was dumb to do without washing it first, because everything in that load got bombarded by whatever crap was on the bathmat from way too long of standing on it without washing it).

• Put everything else not paper-based in Ziploc bags, including my wallet and cel phone (but not my laptop, Nintendo DS, camera, or any cords - which may be a mistake, depending on if those are possible vectors).

• Leave all that remained in the bags, and put those into two layers worth of contractor-type garbage bags (sadly, they weren’t QUITE big enough to tie off in the case of the suitcase, so I just inverted the first before I put it in the second). Put said bagged bags in the closet on my porch (attached apartment).

So here are my questions, for those of you with knowledge:

1. I planned to quarantine the suitcase for a month (it’d be 'til then I needed it), but the backpack I want to use in 13-14 days or so. Is that enough time to pass for any potential nasties to develop? It’ll get below freezing at night the next few nights; will that make a difference?

2. How do I best check them? Unfortunately both bags are black, and both have very deep pockets that’re hard to look in.

3. Any tips for monitoring the apartment during the quarantine period? I was told about these passive monitors (basically flat cardboard things that you put between mattresses that attract bedbugs that you can check), but are they worth it?

4. As I said above, I was perhaps less than careful with certain things (metal/electronic stuff, mostly). Is that a problem?

Fortunately, the next time I travel is back to childhood home in a month, and I figure that if I don’t hear of a problem from them by then, that’s not a big deal.

Thanks in advance.

[Leaper]

(Oh, yeah, and is the planned month or so for the suitcase long enough?)

[Leaper]

One bump… I really could use some expertise. I’ve been researching and reading constantly since before my trip, but I don’t feel any more safe or educated… Hell, I feel a lot WORSE! The cold isn’t helping my mood either, especially with my question still hanging about its effect on the life cycle and when I should check my stuff. It occurred to me that I could use my vacuum’s brush (unattached to the vacuum) to scrub down some of those deep pockets in the luggage I mentioned, then wipe out the bottom with like a damp cloth or something. Would that work?

[mozchron]

I’ve already given you multiple things you can do. Relax. Wash your clothes, vacuum out your luggage. I wouldn’t bother with passive monitoring devices. If you don’t have signs within the next month, I wouldn’t worry.

if you are REALLY freaking out, hire a bedbug sniffing dog. Costs about $100-$200. But I wouldn’t do this unless I thought there might be a problem.

[Leaper]

What about stuff like papers, books, boxes of chocolate, and electronics? Should I vacuum those out too? And I’ve heard on other boards of having to isolate the vacuum cleaner. Is that normally done?

(And it’s not that I don’t appreciate your earlier recommendations - it’s just that most focused on the hotel, and not home after the hotel.)

[Markxxx]

@Leaper

• Put backpack and suitcase in the bathtub, so anything that got out wouldn’t spread.

Why don’t you put the back pack in the dryer? It shouldn’t melt. I’ve washed my backpack

@Leaper

• Take out all the clothes and putting them in the dryer for 40 minutes (including the ones I was wearing to do this and the bathmat I was standing on - which was dumb to do without washing it first, because everything in that load got bombarded by whatever crap was on the bathmat from way too long of standing on it without washing it).

Good

@Leaper

• Put everything else not paper-based in Ziploc bags, including my wallet and cel phone (but not my laptop, Nintendo DS, camera, or any cords - which may be a mistake, depending on if those are possible vectors).

Bed bugs can live in electronics, but usually they’re found in old VCRs picked up at thrift stores

@Leaper

• Leave all that remained in the bags, and put those into two layers worth of contractor-type garbage bags (sadly, they weren’t QUITE big enough to tie off in the case of the suitcase, so I just inverted the first before I put it in the second). Put said bagged bags in the closet on my porch (attached apartment).

What’s in these bags?

So here are my questions, for those of you with knowledge:

@Leaper

1. I planned to quarantine the suitcase for a month (it’d be 'til then I needed it), but the backpack I want to use in 13-14 days or so. Is that enough time to pass for any potential nasties to develop? It’ll get below freezing at night the next few nights; will that make a difference?

As I said, can’t you throw that in the dryer for an hour? Freezing isn’t going to help. To kill the eggs they have to be exposed for freezing for about two weeks and then it’s way too easy for bugs to find little places of warmth. Unless you’re in Fargo ND or further north in the middle of January forget about freezing. The pros us the big freezing machines that freeze everything on instant touch

@Leaper

2. How do I best check them? Unfortunately both bags are black, and both have very deep pockets that’re hard to look in.

Flashlight and magnifying glass, this is what a professional would use

@Leaper

3. Any tips for monitoring the apartment during the quarantine period? I was told about these passive monitors (basically flat cardboard things that you put between mattresses that attract bedbugs that you can check), but are they worth it?

Diatomaceous earth

See above link, you can get a big bag for $11.00. Then pick it up at the store and there’s no charge for delivery

Here’s a guy on YouTube who will show you how to make a bed bug monitor out of dry ice. It works because bed bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide

@Leaper

4. As I said above, I was perhaps less than careful with certain things (metal/electronic stuff, mostly). Is that a problem?

Probably not. Bed bugs like to live near their food, which is you. If you didn’t notice any bites in Japan it’s unlikely you brought them back

To reassure youself, you can dust the luggage with DE. Just a dusting. If any bug whatsoever crawls over it they get cut and die. Not right away but they do die. Just remember DE works on anything with an exoskeleton, this includes bad bugs (roaches, bed bugs) and good bugs (bees and ladybugs)

Bedlam bug spray is excellent and has about a weeks worth of residue. Buy a bottle, spray the luggage, then respray it in a week.

The other thing to use for your electronics is a Nuvan ProStrip.

You simply put the items in a bag then put a strip in with it and tie the bag up tight. The fumes will kill the bed bugs.

Bed bugs are similar to lice in that it’s the eggs that will get you. As any parent with a kid who has lice knows you treat it once and it kills the lice, you have to follow up to kill the eggs that may hatch.

If you’re really paranoid, just take a simple nail file or something that won’t rip the fabric and run it along the seams of the suit cases, that’ll pull out anything.

Also you coud try a hair dryer. Just go very slow over each area for 20 seconds. An iron also will work to kill anything, the heat should be over 120ºF and go over each area for 20 seconds.

[Leaper]

@Markxxx

Why don’t you put the back pack in the dryer? It shouldn’t melt. I’ve washed my backpack

I… uh… It… was the jet lag. Yeah. Jet lag. And… gremlins! There was a gremlin on the wing of the plane and…

:o

I’ll do that when the time comes… Damn…

Bed bugs can live in electronics, but usually they’re found in old VCRs picked up at thrift stores

So usually nothing more compact like modern stuff?

What’s in these bags?

At this point, mostly paper, including magazines and my passport (which I’ll probably take out and quarantine on its own, considering that n00 RFID tech.

As I said, can’t you throw that in the dryer for an hour? Freezing isn’t going to help. To kill the eggs they have to be exposed for freezing for about two weeks and then it’s way too easy for bugs to find little places of warmth. Unless you’re in Fargo ND or further north in the middle of January forget about freezing. The pros us the big freezing machines that freeze everything on instant touch

Well, as I thought/hoped I’d made clear, I wasn’t worried about KILLING any bugs with cold for that reason. What I was wondering is whether the cold would retard their normal life cycle such that I’d have less of a chance of seeing anything when I inspect in two weeks or what have you.

Flashlight and magnifying glass, this is what a professional would use

Thus my concern, since from pics, everything seems so small that it seems difficult to see with those tools, especially in those deep pockets I mentioned.

Probably not. Bed bugs like to live near their food, which is you. If you didn’t notice any bites in Japan it’s unlikely you brought them back

Not that I know of, not even in the places we only stayed one night… I don’t know of anything on the end of anyone else in the party, so hopefully I’m just being paranoid. Crossing fingers here…

Some good tips in the rest of the post, though I hope to use solutions that involve as little mail ordering as possible. Hair dryer is a possibility… Hmm.

Mainly my concerns are those deep pockets (and not recognizing/seeing any possible hangers-on). I’ve been out of Japan for almost two weeks now, so hopefully I’ll be in the clear soon… thus the cold question.

Anyway, thanks for the advice! Keep it coming, y’all!

[Leaper]

Quick update: I put the backpack in the dryer for about almost an hour. When I opened up the dryer, the zipper pulls were barely warm, and the material itself (I have no idea what it is) didn’t feel too hot. So I put it in for another 35 minutes. Afterwards, it was warmER, but the same: not that hot, by my fingers.

Does this mean my dryer (which is practically new, as far as I know) is crap, or does just feeling != actual temperature? What should I do with my backpack now? I may want to use it very soon now.

(For now, I’m keeping it in the dryer until I figure out what to do with it. Hopefully any nasties inside can’t really get out.)

[Leaper]

(And I wonder what this means for the “safety” of the clothes I put in said dryer. OTOH, they are thinner than the backpack…

[aruvqan]

@Leaper

Quick update: I put the backpack in the dryer for about almost an hour. When I opened up the dryer, the zipper pulls were barely warm, and the material itself (I have no idea what it is) didn’t feel too hot. So I put it in for another 35 minutes. Afterwards, it was warmER, but the same: not that hot, by my fingers.

Does this mean my dryer (which is practically new, as far as I know) is crap, or does just feeling != actual temperature? What should I do with my backpack now? I may want to use it very soon now.

(For now, I’m keeping it in the dryer until I figure out what to do with it. Hopefully any nasties inside can’t really get out.)

Double check the manual that came with it, lots of tiems certain cycles have a 5 minute or so cooling cycle at the very end where the heat is actually turned off and it is just plain coola ir being blown onto the clothing tumbling around

[Leaper]

Aha. Hmm. Well, I just did “timed” drying - setting it to X minutes instead of a cycle.

Still, it’s a possibility… I’ll check that out!

[Leaper]

Hmm. Can’t tell from the manual whether it has a cooldown.

Any thoughts on the backpack? On one hand, I have no idea if it reached sufficient drying temps. OTOH, it was in for a little over an hour and a half…

[Markxxx]

120ºF is considered the temp to shoot for to kill the bugs and eggs. The higher the temp the shorter the time.

With cold it has to be constant, that’s why it has little effect on most bugs. It’s far too easy for a bug to crawl into a warm place. Have you noticed on a cold day if you step into a doorway how much warmer it is.

The thing about bed bugs is they live off people. If you were in the room and they were there they are more interested in finding you, not hiding in your clothes. They move when they don’t have a source of food. As long as a person isn’t there they stay close.

This is why they tell you not to change rooms if you get bed bugs in one room. Because they will seek you out. If you stay in the bed room they don’t go anywhere.

If you want just take a nail file and run it along the seems of the back back. Or anything similar to a nail file. Put newspaper on your lap and run the file along the seems. It’ll dislodge any eggs or whatever onto the newspaper. Chances are all you find is hair

You probably could use an iron on the back pack if you’re that paranoid. Just don’t heat up the iron hot enough to melt the back pack or make sure you use a towel between the backpack and iron. Be very careful not to melt it though.

Hair dryer as well. Just blow the hairdryer on hot for 10 seconds over each part. You really don’t need to concern yourself with the hole back pack, just the little seems or zippers.

[Leaper]

So they won’t be anywhere there aren’t seams? And I assume I can just shake out papers and stuff in the pack.

I ask since as I said, this thing has deep pockets, and just concentrating on seams would be ideal…

[Markxxx]

The thing is the bed bugs would be there. They’re small but not microscopic. You could see them. If you flashed a light you’d see them run away.

If you put some rubbing alcohol in a squirt bottle, that would kill a bed bug on contact. But it doesn’t kill the eggs. They lay eggs in seams that is what gives the eggs something to grip onto. The eggs are sticky. That’s why people find them in the seams of the mattresses.

For the deep pockets, get a hair dryer. And blow the hot air into it. Be very careful not to melt the back pack and to allow air out of the hair dyer so you don’t burn that out. and don’t burn yourself. Hair dryers get hot.

Yeah so run the file on the seams. Actually if there were bed bug eggs it would sticky so it’d show up on the file as a sticky goo.

And you can just toss the papers in a garbage bag and throw it out

[Leaper]

I want to keep the papers, actually.

[Markxxx]

Oh yeah the papers I get it now.

I was suggesting an empty backpack putting newspaper down and running the file and if anything falls it goes into the newspaper.

Bed bug eggs are not going to be on paper. If by chance they were they’d be sticky and you’d know.

[Leaper]

@Markxxx

The thing is the bed bugs would be there. They’re small but not microscopic. You could see them. If you flashed a light you’d see them run away.

Even on black fabric, like the backpack and my suitcase?

At any rate, thanks for the advice! If anything WAS in the backpack, it’s probably escaped into the dryer long ago… I just sort of “panicked” and couldn’t think of anything else to do with it, so I might as well “clean” it out.

[Leaper]

Welp, I just gave the backpack the once-over as best I could. Good God, I didn’t realize how many seams the goddamn thing has! I hope I “filed” them enough, because I got mighty tired after a while!

And the hair dryer’s overheat circuit tripped three times - that deep pocket is SO deep that it was near-impossible to heat up the bottom for even ten seconds! Hopefully, my trying to get it from other angles did the trick.

Now all that’s left is the suitcase… I probably won’t de-quarantine it until I’m ready to use it again in about 2 weeks or so. By then, it’ll have been relatively isolated for 4.5 weeks, and unless every bedbug in it escaped, I’ll be able to assure myself they aren’t just hiding if I see nothing.