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Reply to: Ewwwww Bed bugs

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Previously on "Ewwwww Bed bugs"

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  • OwlHoot
    replied
    Originally posted by psychocandy View Post
    Needs to be 130F to kill them so not too high. I guess if you lived in Florida it'd be easy - open the blinds, shut door and turn AC off and it'd be 130F within hours.
    Must be dry heat though, as it's the dehydration that kills them. So maybe the natural Florida climate would be humid enough for them to survive, despite the heat giving them a hard time.

    In a cold damp cave (their original habitat, in which they preyed on bats until cavemen came along) they can survive several months without a meal!

    edit: Believe it or not, there's a bedbug forum Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums
    Last edited by OwlHoot; 18 November 2018, 09:30.

    Leave a comment:


  • Old Greg
    replied
    Originally posted by psychocandy View Post
    And no I am not a minger.... :-)

    Seems to be a bit of a spate in the uk at the moment. Been getting bitten but never seen anything. Until the other day.

    Got professional in now today. £300.
    Glad to hear the social are still doing hardship loans.

    Leave a comment:


  • vetran
    replied
    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
    Yeah, but were you able to expense it?

    If you can prove that you got the bed bugs from the Thistle at Heathrow, you could be in luck!

    He got a crisis loan?

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
    Yeah, but were you able to expense it?

    If you can prove that you got the bed bugs from the Thistle at Heathrow, you could be in luck!
    Interestingly, I thought things like this were covered on home insurance. Its not. Things like wasps nest etc might be but bed bugs are considered "maintenance".

    Also, its a bit of a postcode lottery too as to whether the council will treat. I live about 1/4 mile from the border of Caerphilly borough yet in Newport. In turn, about 5 miles from Cardiffs border.

    Caerphilly council - bed bug treatment free of charge.
    Cardiff - Set fee of £200
    Newport - No service but heres a list for you.

    Saying that everyone seems to be mega busy so I do wonder what sort of company the council retains for its free service because you know what councils are like wanting a bargain. I get the impression with the council they;re only going to retain third parties who are not busy and will do for a pittance.

    Leave a comment:


  • WTFH
    replied
    Originally posted by psychocandy View Post
    Oh yeh. £200 this cost me

    Yeah, but were you able to expense it?

    If you can prove that you got the bed bugs from the Thistle at Heathrow, you could be in luck!

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Of course, Mrs PC is not telling anyone because people think its because you've got a dirty house. Not the case, because its like head lice I think.

    Noticed a lot of the companies advertised as "unmarked" van. Guess people don't like having a van out front saying "Dirty mingers house cleaners" or something.

    She already wants the guy to come back for a 2nd treatment just in case....

    Oh yeh. £200 this cost me - which seems to be going rate. £80 if hes got to come back which seems fair. Rentokil wanted £1000 and had 5 visits planned regardkess. I guess big name brand etc can charge what they want.

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
    Years ago, I had an infestation in some lodgings, after buying a couple of hardback books at a market.

    A couple of the little feckers had hidden in the spines of the books, and before a noticed anything amiss there were at least couple of dozen!

    Without spraying, the only way to kill them all and their eggs in a house is to turn the central heating up full blast and have nobody living in the house for a couple of months.
    Needs to be 130F to kill them so not too high. I guess if you lived in Florida it'd be easy - open the blinds, shut door and turn AC off and it'd be 130F within hours.

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
    Not OK. Nowhere in even a large house is OK.

    Even from downstairs they will find an occupant in an upstairs bedroom within a day or two by following the faintest concentration gradient of CO2, then closer up by smelling the faintest whiff of ammonia in sweat, then by the vibrations of a heartbeat.

    Also, these days they are immune to every household insecticide.

    Divan beds are a bedbug's best friend, because there are so many hidden nooks and crannies to hide in. The worst kind of bed for a bedbug is an iron bedstead with all four legs in a bucket of water and no duvets or blankets trailing on the floor. But even that is not foolproof, because they can and will climb the walls onto the ceiling and then drop onto the bed from above!

    If you have an infestation, it's very unlikely you'll eliminate it entirely without extensive spraying by a professional, because although most bedbugs will be within a foot or two of the bed, females will instinctively hole up and lay eggs much further away.
    Yep. Divan bed had them all inside. I guess thats it - plenty of space inside.
    Its our spare bed (where I end up half the time because either A) princess PC has piled in the middle and is kicking me or B) Mrs PC is moaning about snoring) and we were considering gettting new one. Lets just say decision made .Mrs PC is still freaking mind and throwing out every pillow in the house and quilt. Only found in one bedroom.

    Stuff you can but off amazon = crap. Sprayed on directly to a live one and it just had a little swim and walked off.

    The guy today had a sealed overall, breathing mask, goggle, gloves. Cant go in the rooms now for at least 5 hours. He said undiluted a spoonful of the stuff will kill you.
    Last edited by psychocandy; 16 November 2018, 15:14.

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Originally posted by Gibbon View Post
    No its not, I had them in a PI down at Gatwick one time. They migrate from the bed to the suitcases once they've fed (God know how?) When I got back home went round the back stripped off and put all clothes on a boil wash three times, then bleached out the suitcase. Seemed to have done the trick.

    Do you know they bite three times, so you get clumps of bites, they also know when you're in a deep sleep by detecting the C02 levels so you don't feel them.
    Yep. I am bed bug expert now. There are some things I know now which I wish I didn't.

    Leave a comment:


  • psychocandy
    replied
    Originally posted by vwdan View Post
    Silly question, but what should you do? Are they okay if you put them on the floor?
    **** knows. Of course, you're cases get chucked on the plane to come home so its coming into contract with others too. Rife apparently.

    Leave a comment:


  • WTFH
    replied
    Originally posted by Gibbon View Post
    No its not, I had them in a PI down at Gatwick one time. They migrate from the bed to the suitcases once they've fed (God know how?) When I got back home went round the back stripped off and put all clothes on a boil wash three times, then bleached out the suitcase. Seemed to have done the trick.

    Do you know they bite three times, so you get clumps of bites, they also know when you're in a deep sleep by detecting the C02 levels so you don't feel them.
    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
    Not OK. Nowhere in even a large house is OK.

    Even from downstairs they will find an occupant in an upstairs bedroom within a day or two by following the faintest concentration gradient of CO2, then closer up by smelling the faintest whiff of ammonia in sweat, then by the vibrations of a heartbeat.

    Also, these days they are immune to every household insecticide.

    Divan beds are a bedbug's best friend, because there are so many hidden nooks and crannies to hide in. The worst kind of bed for a bedbug is an iron bedstead with all four legs in a bucket of water and no duvets or blankets trailing on the floor. But even that is not foolproof, because they can and will climb the walls onto the ceiling and then drop onto the bed from above!

    If you have an infestation, it's very unlikely you'll eliminate it entirely without extensive spraying by a professional, because although most bedbugs will be within a foot or two of the bed, females will instinctively hole up and lay eggs much further away.
    I stand corrected - thanks.

    (Actually, maybe that should be I "lie" corrected )

    Leave a comment:


  • OwlHoot
    replied
    Originally posted by Gibbon View Post
    .. They migrate from the bed to the suitcases once they've fed (God know how?) ...
    Years ago, I had an infestation in some lodgings, after buying a couple of hardback books at a market.

    A couple of the little feckers had hidden in the spines of the books, and before a noticed anything amiss there were at least couple of dozen!

    Without spraying, the only way to kill them all and their eggs in a house is to turn the central heating up full blast and have nobody living in the house for a couple of months.

    Leave a comment:


  • OwlHoot
    replied
    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
    If there's a suitcase rack, put them there. Basically, not on the bed or anywhere the bed clothes might be put (although the floor away from he bed is probably OK)
    Not OK. Nowhere in even a large house is OK.

    Even from downstairs they will find an occupant in an upstairs bedroom within a day or two by following the faintest concentration gradient of CO2, then closer up by smelling the faintest whiff of ammonia in sweat, then by the vibrations of a heartbeat.

    Also, these days they are immune to every household insecticide.

    Divan beds are a bedbug's best friend, because there are so many hidden nooks and crannies to hide in. The worst kind of bed for a bedbug is an iron bedstead with all four legs in a bucket of water and no duvets or blankets trailing on the floor. But even that is not foolproof, because they can and will climb the walls onto the ceiling and then drop onto the bed from above!

    If you have an infestation, it's very unlikely you'll eliminate it entirely without extensive spraying by a professional, because although most bedbugs will be within a foot or two of the bed, females will instinctively hole up and lay eggs much further away.

    Leave a comment:


  • Gibbon
    replied
    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
    If there's a suitcase rack, put them there. Basically, not on the bed or anywhere the bed clothes might be put (although the floor away from he bed is probably OK)
    No its not, I had them in a PI down at Gatwick one time. They migrate from the bed to the suitcases once they've fed (God know how?) When I got back home went round the back stripped off and put all clothes on a boil wash three times, then bleached out the suitcase. Seemed to have done the trick.

    Do you know they bite three times, so you get clumps of bites, they also know when you're in a deep sleep by detecting the C02 levels so you don't feel them.

    Leave a comment:


  • northernladuk
    replied
    Originally posted by ladymuck View Post
    I hoover my bed every couple of months. No idea if it works but loathe to stop, just in case.
    I thought that was just to get rid of the evidence?

    Leave a comment:

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