How do you get bedbugs?
They are good hitchhikers. Often people carry them unknowingly in their luggage. This can be baggage when you are traveling, a briefcase, a backpack or just clothing. They can be picked up in public transportation sometimes or in theaters. They will travel on pipes and wiring and conduits from one apartment to another.
Are they dangerous?
As far as the research shows, they don't transmit diseases, but they do bite and take blood. People can get secondary infections if they scratch their wounds. In some people, the itching is unbearable. There's some disagreement as to how many people don't itch at all. That's one reason why infestations can be so bad, because people don't realize they have them
In a few cases, there may be an anaphylactic reaction. It is also possible to have an asthmatic reaction because of the shed skin the bugs leave behind as they grow and die.
How do you know if you have bedbugs?
If you have unexplained bites, that's a good way to know. You can also look for their blood droppings. The excrement is a liquid that varies from either light brown to black and can either bead up or be absorbed by the surface.
In some cases, we use dogs who are trained to sniff out live bedbugs or past infestations. They'll pick up on the odor of even one bedbug. We can't typically smell bed bugs, but we do pick up their alarm pheromone when they are disturbed, which smells like coriander. If there are a lot of live bugs, there may be a smell of blood, like rusty iron.
If you are traveling, you should examine the headboard in your hotel room. The headboard should be taken off and looked into. Massive headboards would be a great condominium complex for bedbugs.
How do you get rid of them?
Often you have to seek the services of a pest control expert who has had a lot of experience. You don't have to get rid of your furniture. Insecticides can be sprayed on furniture or furniture can be taken apart and sprayed with orange oil or Murphy's oil, both of which have an insecticidal quality. There are special preparations labeled for mattresses.
The nonchemical ways to remove bedbugs include low-vapor steam treatments, which are done for mattresses and furniture. There are also encasements that you put the mattress box spring in. You starve them to death, but it will take months.
In medieval times, when people would travel to inns with bedbug problems, they would send a pig into the room first so the bedbugs would feed and be satiated.
Don't you have a colony of bedbugs at the museum?
I've only had them for three years, but the original population had been collected from Fort Dix in New Jersey by an Army entomologist in 1971.
I have two eight-ounce jars with about a thousand bugs. There's a fine screen and I have duct tape around the base of the screw-on lid. Inside, there is just cardboard and paper, because they like to hide between the pieces.
Once a month, I just have to invert them on my arm in order to feed them. I get a bump on my arm for an hour or two and then it goes away. It doesn't itch.
And why is it that you keep these vile creatures?
They're mostly for educational purposes. I can show people and reporters all sizes of bedbugs. I also supply bedbugs to the companies that train the bedbug-sniffing dogs.
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16 Comments
Add CommentThis might explain the tiny bites I sometimes get after sitting in that nice easy chair someone gave me. I will look into it. First I get some coriander, smell it, bang on the chair, and if it smells the same, bedbugs? Great.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI thought that bed bugs could transmit Chagas disease?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is a resurgence of bed bugs and the EPA is having a public meeting April 15 to 16, 2009, on the issue. Details below:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this_____________________
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0190; FRL-8407-1]
National Bed Bug Summit; Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: EPA is planning a meeting to be held on April 14 through April 15, 2009, on the topic of bed bug resurgence in the United States. The aim of the session will be to share information and knowledge on the topic of bed bugs and their newfound resurgence, provide a venue to identify ideas and opinions for their control, and develop recommendations as how affected stakeholders, communities, and local jurisdictions can begin to address the emerging nationwide bed bug problem. The agenda for this meeting is under development and will be posted on our website in advance of the meeting and also placed in the docket for this meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on April 14 and 15, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the first day, and from 9 a.m. to noon on the last day.
To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the EPA East Building at 12th and Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. For directions, go to: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hq.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Angulo, Registration Division (7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 306-0404; fax number: (703) 308-0029; e-mail address: angulo.karen @epa.gov.
This Federal Register information came from http://www.CyberRegs.com
Chagas disease is spread by the Assassin Beetle or Kissing Beetle from South and Central America.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe have had bed bugs for over a year now and have tried every chemical and non-chemical so called solution that we could find and we still have them. Why do you think the EPA is having a summit on this? The things that we currently have does not work. We have removed all of the carpet and flooring in our home and treat it daily. There is one thing that we know for a fact that works DDT. Bring back DDT!!!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree w/ lost hope...bring back the DDT !!!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree w/ lost hope...bring back the DDT !!!!!I've tried everything. Matress covers(they help),Diamatateous earth(gallon of it..helps a little)steaming cracks and crevices(works but is back breaking)spraying Bedlam(helps),throwing away my sofa(it was almost new)washing clothing and putting everything in plastic zip lock bags(I have 2 kids it's a major hassle)Putting all the toys in plastic bags out in the yard for the sun to heat and kill(there's been no sun in N.J.for weeks)vacuuming endlessly....HELP...is there anything I missed ? What are the problems that DDT was associated with?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistoni, i'm so sorry, it sounds like you have a very bad case. the n.j. summer climate is perfect for them, i guess. i'm obsessed...i'm sure i'm going to have them soon, as people close to me do.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishmm. they're rumored to like warmth, wood, textiles, and paper; to hide anywhere in the walls, on the ceiling, in books, plants, electronics (warm), and pet bedding, and under carpets or loose floor tiles. local animals--bats, birds, rats, etc.--may also support their population.
have you cleaned and bagged up pretty much all your belongings at this point and also put d.e. in the walls, behind switchplates and electrical outlets and other wiring holes? maybe remove cloth curtains and clean and bag them for awhile? remove paper bag collections...? clean whole house with bleach and rubbing alcohol?
sounds horrible but maybe...inspect and vacuum mattresses and furniture and floors daily for a couple of months, dump the bag far away from habitation, and keep your vacuum sealed in an airtight plastic bag. wash bedlinens daily and clean beds with rubbing alcohol (cotton ball for mattresses and spray bottle for cracks in frames?)
some say a flashlight at night is a good way to catch them, or see where they're coming from and running to.
you can use barriers to stop or catch them; tricky with the kids, but i've heard petroleum jelly around furniture legs, setting legs in water or vodka, or super-sticky double-sided tape ("carpet tape?") on walls and furniture.
consider that when using d.e., rumor is a thick layer repels them so it's good for containment, but they're not repelled by a very thin layer so it kills them. so some use a plastic squeeze bottle to puff a thin layer around beds, under mattresses, and on bedframes. also, i think some people said it took a few days to a week to see results from d.e. last but not least, don't forget it's not good to breathe it, and you should use only freshwater and foodgrade diatomaceous earth!
don't remember where i read any of this stuff, sorry. some of it's on bedbugger.com. but i recommend doing lots of google searches and reading up; there's lots of contradictory info out there.
seems like you pretty much have to scour out your life from top to bottom to get rid of these things. pesticides don't work too well, and ddt is worse than you can imagine!
so horrible! good luck...!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisp.s. neem oil smells bad, but is supposed to repel them with frequent application.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI heard that diatomaceous powder is supposed to work by clogging the exoskeleton through which the critters 'breathe'. It is not toxic but it mechanically exterminates the bugs through smothering.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFinding Bed Bugs-Bed bugs are good at hiding. In fact, you really have to search and know what you are looking for before you may find a bed bug. In many instances, evidence of a bed bug is discovered rather than the actual bug itself. Rusty spots on sheets and mattresses caused by a crushed bug or a bug's fecal matter (which looks like tiny black specks or very small dots of blood) may be the first indication that a bed bug infestation has occurred, along with eggshells and shed skin. Most bed bugs can be found in the crevices and cracks of mattresses, chairs, and sofas. They are often found between the headboard and a wall as well. Because bed bugs prefer wood and fabric over plastic and metal, bed bugs mostly dwell in the more lived-in areas of a home or building, such as a bedroom or hotel room. If you aren't sure whether you have bed bugs, many bed bug exterminators can give your home a professional inspection. While some pest control companies will do this for free, other exterminators charge up to $200. There are even specialized bed bug exterminator companies that use trained dogs to sniff out bed bugs - however, this service is significantly more expensive than a standard inspection. Still, dogs can help you find out if you have a bed bug infestation.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow to get rid of bed bugs
http://howto-getridofbedbugs.org
We got them, we reside in a clean , spotless , normal run of the mill- middle class home and shortly after we hired a local painting company to repaint our home from top to bottom we got them. It took almost 5.5 months to rid them and the story would dumbfound anyone !!! We initially thought they got into our place from the painters sheet covers they used to cover our furniture, but no. We hunted for the source with precise and targeted weaponry. My father was the ONLY one ever bitten, and we found them under his matress , and eventually they also made their way to the living room sofas..... but only my dad got bitten. Not me nor the other tenants. No onese else. Weird. Incredible. We all shared these sofas and he slept in bed with my mom. She never got bitten either. The buggers came into our home from our neighbors room to the master bedroom. Its a semi-detached home so the traps we set only caught them precisely behind his bed, on his side. No where else. and then the sofas. We placed each sofa leg into a tupperware container with 2 sided tape around each, and 2 were caught from the same place. I recall watching tv late night and 1 ran across a coffee table cover, literally inches from my eyes. He was running away from me! These buggers are fast. Faster than your average vermin, and seemed to be intelligent too ~ they can almost anticipate your movement. This is yet to be scientifically proven however I know. They are gone. They also caused intense and severe anxiety and stress beyond a death in the family. The dad got shingles a few months later, after they were blown up. He even resorted to antidepressants as a result. True story #2 - a nurse I met on the subway told me one of their tenants at her retirement home who kept complaining of them too, he had really bad marks all over, has a nervous breakdown and the staff could not find them. They searched everywhere, and soon after he hung himself in the janitors storage room with his bedsheets. A few weeks later they found a single FAT assed bug in his clothing ... too late. Do I need to go on? these things are the plague. reading or writing about them is futile. Unless you had them you have no idea how bad bedbugs are.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisso Tue, so True. Indeed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks so much for this information. I have gone to a couple places with bed bug problems and have always wondered how to get rid of them. Then they ended up being in my home. We got some bed bug spray and tried to get rid of them that way but it always seemed nothing was working. Finally we found some great spray that worked. In regards: www.bedbugsupply.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there blood at the sites of the bites? If not it could just be some kind of mite possibly just dust mites.
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