I forgot to mention the other big issue:
They are the most tenacious bug I have ever seen and they can quickly become an infestation which goes from just something annoying to a super expensive problem to be solved.
Tenacious barely covers it. Bedbugs are super-duper difficult to be rid of. If you have never dealt with them it is easy to think this is hyperbole. It isn’t.
Call professionals and be prepared to write a big check.
A few years ago the building my old mom was in had a serious problem with bedbugs. Serious to the point there were exterminators there daily doing their thing in one apartment or another. The building management went through 3 exterminator companies. They were all useless. Gawd knows what they must have cost.
I finally took matters into my own hands for my mom’s apartment and am happy to report very good results and with far less upheaval than was created by the rip-off exterminator companies.
First off, be prepared to throw out furniture. If it’s been infested at some point, sorry, but it’s garbage. You’ll need to scrub down the bed frame and other wood sufaces that the bugs have had contact with. You’ll see their droppings (dirt). Use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle for this. You’ll need lots. When you buy a new mattress, buy a bug proof cover for it or you’ll be throwing out another mattress.
Ignore home remedies that are abound on the internet. This is not the time to be concerned about the environment. You want stuff that works.
Order Tri-Die and Bedlam Plus. These were my main weapons along with the alcohol. Neither was available where I live but it’s available online.
To sum up:
Clean - shampoo carpets & furniture
Discard infected furniture & whatever else.
Alcohol, Tri-Die & Bedlam Plus. Spray around baseboards, crevices, outlets. Be thorough!
If you do a good job you might be good for 3 or 4 months or even for good. My mom was good for 3 or 4 months after I put an effort into it. Her situation was more difficult because the entire building had a problem and there were old tenants who did very little or were lax in reporting etc.
Good luck!
If you find 1 bedbug it’s too many. Where there’s 1 there are many many more. Some are so tiny you can hardly see them. You have to get on it right away. I cannot stress that enough. They’ll multiply. Personally, based on experience, I would try what I outlined in my previous post and only call an exterminator after you’ve done your absolute best. Even then, after seeing what went on in my mom’s building and having researched on the internet I don’t think I’d call an exterminator. I’d have to be very,very desperate. I did far better than all 3 companies. They key is getting the right chemistry to use on the buggers and some areas have banned those chemicals so you have to be creative in acquiring them.
Areas ban these chemicals because they are hazardous to humans or pets. Don’t ‘acquire them by creative’ methods’.
Hire a professional exterminator and let them use chemicals in a professional way that will get the job done. Research through Consumer Reports or the Better Business Bureau, don’t risk the health of people and pets.
Clearly you’ve never had experience with a “professional” exterminator. I’m not advocating anyone drink the stuff. Use as direction and all will be good. The point is, one needs to use stuff that actually works. That aside, it’s what many of the pros use anyway, except they paid the government to acquire a permit. The difference between using it oneself and hiring someone is that when using yourself a more complete & thorough job will generally be the result. How exactly do you think a “professional” would use the product that would differ from what anyone (with 2 cents worth of common sense) would do.
The poster clearly spoke about ‘acquiring chemicals creatively’, implying getting his/her hands on a chemical(s) that isn’t intended to be handled by non-professionals.
There’s a reason why chemicals are banned and it’s virtually always related to the health and safety of living things.
Otherwise, yes. Buy it above board and study the directions and precautions, then use carefully.
The problem is, misuse can either lead to a toxic environment or a fire hazard. I agree with throwing out mattresses, though you might be able to salvage the mattress by getting special mattress covers that trap the hidden bugs (and their eggs) inside. However, you can’t even slightly tear or rip the covering - it has to be airtight.
Beyond that, I was able to stop my infestation by using diatomaceous earth (be sure you’re using the kind that is safe to use indoors; the wrong kind can lead to lung damage). I spread some along the baseboards, isolated my bed so that it didn’t touch walls, and put bed legs in little plastic cups filled with diatomaceous earth, which forced them to climb or walk through the barriers which kill them by desiccation.
In any case, a bed bug problem requires considerable care. If someone has them and isn’t sure what to do, it might be a good idea to get a professional with experience in dealing with them.
If you are living in an environment that you don’t have complete control over, like an apartment, this is generally the best you can do.
You can do more to get them out of your unit, but they will just be back from your neighbors in no time.
Also, make sure that you don’t leave your clothes on the floor, and you probably don’t want to use your closet either. Put them all in your dresser, and treat the area around the dresser, and put the legs in cups, the same as your bed.
And probably look at moving somewhere else, if possible.
I have lived in hi-rise apartments/condos most of my life. Every one I have lived in for the past few decades has an agreement tenants must sign that obliges them to report bedbugs as soon as they are detected. Failure to do so puts the tenant on the hook for any costs associated with getting rid of them which will not be cheap in an apartment building. The agreement I had to sign was a few pages long. Management is super-serious about it (an infestation could ruin the whole building so they care…a lot).
My sister moved to a different flat to get away from them. They threw all the family’s furniture and bedding away, tumble dried all the clothes and soft toys on a high heat, etc. The exterminators came three times, and seemed to have succeeded after the third, but she was too freaked out by then and didn’t trust it. They were probably getting reinfected from the neighbours.
To clarify once again. I’m not suggesting one buys chemicals on the black market, or buying something someone has mixed up in some cabin out in the backwoods somewhere. The chemistry I’ve mentioned comes from legit sources. I believe even available at Amazon, as well as places that specialize in insecticides.
However some areas of some countries have banned their use. In the US for example, it might be fine to use something in Vermont. Not so fine in New York.
Pesticides have suffered the same fate - OK in some areas, not so in others.
By & large I agree that some of these chemicals can be damaging with overuse. If an area covering 50 square miles all loaded up their lawns with weed killer it could possibly be almost a fraction as bad as the bombs these same governments see fit to explode on a daily basis in locations around the world. But I digress.
Getting back to topic. Most pesticides and insecticides for sale at your local hardware shop in areas that have bans in place simply do not work. Personally I don’t even know how the companies that produce & sell the stuff are able to claim that they do work, because they do basically nothing.
The bans are generally a good thing. But are also the reason insects such as bedbugs have gone through a resurgence in recent years. The problem was nearly dealt with, then some genius politician decided to ban the substances that helped eliminate them. Now here we are again with the same problem we thought was defeated.
All I was saying was for many people it’s not possible to head to your local hardware. You must order online. But this is only if you want something that will actually do the job.
Otherwise, feel free to mix up your vinegar concoction or whatever. Just don’t expect it to work.
PS/ It was several years ago that I used what I used to eliminate bed bugs. I’m pleased to report that as yet, none of my limbs have fallen off and as far as I know I’m cancer free. You might want to exercise common sense such as wearing gloves & a mask. You should have plenty of experience with masks by now.
The chemical that had almost gotten rid of bedbugs before it was banned was DDT. So yes, here we are still with bedbugs, and also still with birds.