# bed bugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450 "2019-07-22T14:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/21 "2019-07-25T20:53:30Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > If they need blood, won’t they die if I am staying at someone else’s house? > Today I bought one of those covers for the mattress after it is sprayed. Well, that takes quite some time, but if you put in No Pest strips, and leave for a fortnite, that should handle it. Use Diatomaceous earth also, sprinkle liberally. ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/22 "2019-07-26T13:27:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, that takes quite some time, but if you put in No Pest strips, and leave for a fortnite, that should handle it. Use Diatomaceous earth also, sprinkle liberally. Diatomaceous earth does not work with bedbugs. at all. I tried that first. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/23 "2019-07-26T13:39:35Z")
I found one this morning on my shower curtain, which is where I first saw the first one. I wonder if they come in through the ceiling vent because my neighbor down the hll got sprayed too. ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/24 "2019-07-26T13:52:45Z")
If you buy the spray I mentioned in my previous post, you would want to spray the vent. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/25 "2019-07-26T14:00:08Z")
> [@Frumpy\_Jones](#): > > Diatomaceous earth does not work with bedbugs. at all. I tried that first. 1\> It’s a barrier block. It’s like huge shards of glass to bugs and they won’t cross it. 2\> It can take 7-10 days or more to kill bedbugs via desiccation/dehydration after cutting the shit out of them. 3\> You need pesticide grade DE, not Pool Grade, and then don’t get stuff that includes actual pesticide. ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/26 "2019-07-26T18:20:17Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > 1\> It’s a barrier block. It’s like huge shards of glass to bugs and they won’t cross it. > 2\> It can take 7-10 days or more to kill bedbugs via desiccation/dehydration after cutting the shit out of them. > 3\> You need pesticide grade DE, not Pool Grade, and then don’t get stuff that includes actual pesticide. I got the PET-FRIENDLY one. You’re basically spreading dirt everywhere in your home. It’s dusty… it’s muddy when it gets wet, and you’d have to resupply it a lot. It also doesn’t stop babies from being born. While it can kill some bedbugs, every place I went to says it should not be used as your only means of stopping bedbugs as it won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/27 "2019-07-26T18:24:56Z")
> [@Frumpy\_Jones](#): > > While it can kill some bedbugs, every place I went to says it should not be used as your only means of stopping bedbugs as it won’t work. Well right. No one is suggesting it as the ONLY means. I was just answering the claim that it DOESN’T work. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/28 "2019-07-26T18:28:52Z")
> [@Frumpy\_Jones](#): > > Diatomaceous earth does not work with bedbugs. at all. I tried that first. It does, but of course works slow and doesnt kill the eggs. Its not your first line of attack. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/29 "2019-07-27T11:55:53Z")
wouldn’t surprise me any if those nasty vampires actually have infrared sensors for _‘noses’_ … able to scope out any warm-blooded meal-tickets. if there’s people living above you … do not sleep underneath a ceiling fan. if your floors include w2w carpeting … need to pull carpeting away from wall before securing the area. also be wise to support the box-spring on a frame instead of simply on the floor. those critters can and do infiltrate everywhere … a worse scourge than even roaches. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/30 "2019-07-27T13:49:41Z")
I don’t think you want to be relying on _any_ single line of attack. For a controlled scientific experiment, you’d want to know which variable(s) are relevant. This isn’t a controlled scientific experiment, and the goal is to get rid of all of those demons. Do everything, up to and including holy water and an exorcism. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/31 "2019-07-27T13:50:43Z")
No carpeting, which is good. I’ve got the box spring and mattress covered with the plastic you can zip up. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/32 "2019-07-27T14:06:08Z")
We found bed bugs in the children’s room a few years ago. Here’s how I solved the problem: 1. The bed frames were made of wood. Wood frames are bad, because bed bugs can live in the cracks & crevices. I removed the beds and mattresses, took them out back, and burned them. 2. I purchased new beds (and new mattresses) with _steel_ frames. 3. I made some [bed bug traps](http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1022) and placed them under each bed leg. (You can also purchase commercial versions. Some even claim talcum powder is not required.) No more bed bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/33 "2019-07-27T14:11:18Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Okay, someone gave me some old clothes. a week or so later, I have all these red circles on my lower legs. had no clue, my friend came and said lets look at your mattress, yep, bedbugs. > My apt. will spray and they told me to bag all my clothes and put them in the dryer. > I don’t have much furniture, just a bed and couch so will this work? Never had them before. need some advice. I manage a 52 unit complex. A visitor brought bedbugs into a tenants unit once. We hired a pest specialist to spray and it got rid of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/34 "2019-07-27T14:20:43Z")
I had success with a fungus getting rid of them. I forgot what it was called but bites started looking weaker after the application and within 2-3 weeks it was gone (and I was only bitten once every 5-6 days to begin with). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/35 "2019-07-27T14:42:07Z")
A friend had a bedbug infestation and hired a guy with a beagle to find where they were in her house. They were able to just treat two rooms. I think they heat treated everything. (And separately washed, dried, and bagged all the clothing and linens that had been in those rooms.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/36 "2019-07-27T18:13:41Z")
N/M ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/37 "2019-07-27T18:58:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This isn’t a controlled scientific experiment, and the goal is to get rid of all of those demons. Do everything, up to and including holy water and an exorcism. Yup. Optimization follows a different protocol than science. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/38 "2019-07-27T20:31:25Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > A friend had a bedbug infestation and hired a guy with a beagle to find where they were in her house. Is finding bedbugs a beagle thing, or was this a special beagle? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/39 "2019-07-29T15:09:39Z")
Found one , not full sized on my book today. They are doing a repeat spraying 2 weeks after the first, they said that’s procedure so i’m hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450/40 "2019-08-07T19:56:54Z")
they did their annual inspection yesterday, he didn’t see any. Well, last night I saw a few on my comforter! So they will spray again tomorrow. I saw on my loveseat, what looked like a light colored shed skin of one. I am getting sick of my apartment already! He claims the spray kills them, but I am somehow picking them up somewhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bed-bugs/837450.md?page=3)