Bedbug PSA
Oct. 1st, 2008 06:50 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
dietrich.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareHi, Somervillians,
I've been dealing with a bedbug infestation in my home, and my understanding from the exterminators is that bedbugs are a huge problem in Somerville right now. So I wanted to pass along what I've learned to the larger LJ community, as it were. Read on...
1. Don't bring upholstered furniture in from the street. Really. Don't. Just don't. Be suspicious of used mattresses of any kind, actually. The bed bug problem has gotten prevalent enough, the buggers are hard enough to detect, and an infestation is expensive enough to fix that you're better off spending that money on a brand-new bed.
2. The other big way people get bed bugs is from traveling. Even five-star hotels can have them. When you travel, don't put your suitcase on the bed and don't unpack your clothes into the dressers. Use a luggage rack or another hard surface, and close your suitcase whenever you're done with it. When you get home, inspect your suitcase thoroughly, and if you have a little dustbuster or other hand-vac, vacuum it. A great PDF on preventing bed bugs from coming home with you is here.
3. If someone whose house you visit frequently gets bedbugs, make sure that you take your shoes off immediately when you get home and bag them, take off whatever you're wearing, and put it all in a big Ziploc (or wash it immediately). You'll need to wash everything and dry it on high for a good hour or so (if it's wet; if it's dry, only half an hour, though recommendations vary). Try not to bring anything into that house that you don't need, and anything that does go in, make sure you clean it properly before bringing it into your own house, or seal it into airtight bags for later cleaning.
If you get bed bugs:
1. If you rent, call your landlord immediately. Depending on your town's policies, they may be responsible for bringing in exterminators. Check with your local Board of Health. The sooner you tackle the problem, the more likely success will be.
2. If you own, get an exterminator. Especially if you own an old house with cracked baseboards. Believe me. Many exterminators have a guarantee that they will come back if the first treatment isn't effective. (See above.) A professional will be able to help you handle this in the integrated way it needs to be handled for greatest chances of success.
3. Don't try to do everything at once. Contractor bags and duct tape are your friends; seal everything up and label it, and if you can't get everything washed and dry cleaned and steamed and whatever before the exterminators come, put it in the basement or an un-infested room. Rooms unlikely to be infested include bathrooms, three-season porches, basements, and other places where people don't sleep and therefore there's nothing to attract the bugs.
4. Go to these forums, but don't get lost in them: Bedbugger Forums. They are incredibly helpful, but as I found, also incredibly addictive for those who can't go to bed because of the fear of sleeping with bugs. There's a lot of good information on that site, but also a lot of horror stories and hysteria, and the less of that you get into your bed, I have to say, the better. Do your research, but tread carefully.
I've been dealing with a bedbug infestation in my home, and my understanding from the exterminators is that bedbugs are a huge problem in Somerville right now. So I wanted to pass along what I've learned to the larger LJ community, as it were. Read on...
1. Don't bring upholstered furniture in from the street. Really. Don't. Just don't. Be suspicious of used mattresses of any kind, actually. The bed bug problem has gotten prevalent enough, the buggers are hard enough to detect, and an infestation is expensive enough to fix that you're better off spending that money on a brand-new bed.
2. The other big way people get bed bugs is from traveling. Even five-star hotels can have them. When you travel, don't put your suitcase on the bed and don't unpack your clothes into the dressers. Use a luggage rack or another hard surface, and close your suitcase whenever you're done with it. When you get home, inspect your suitcase thoroughly, and if you have a little dustbuster or other hand-vac, vacuum it. A great PDF on preventing bed bugs from coming home with you is here.
3. If someone whose house you visit frequently gets bedbugs, make sure that you take your shoes off immediately when you get home and bag them, take off whatever you're wearing, and put it all in a big Ziploc (or wash it immediately). You'll need to wash everything and dry it on high for a good hour or so (if it's wet; if it's dry, only half an hour, though recommendations vary). Try not to bring anything into that house that you don't need, and anything that does go in, make sure you clean it properly before bringing it into your own house, or seal it into airtight bags for later cleaning.
If you get bed bugs:
1. If you rent, call your landlord immediately. Depending on your town's policies, they may be responsible for bringing in exterminators. Check with your local Board of Health. The sooner you tackle the problem, the more likely success will be.
2. If you own, get an exterminator. Especially if you own an old house with cracked baseboards. Believe me. Many exterminators have a guarantee that they will come back if the first treatment isn't effective. (See above.) A professional will be able to help you handle this in the integrated way it needs to be handled for greatest chances of success.
3. Don't try to do everything at once. Contractor bags and duct tape are your friends; seal everything up and label it, and if you can't get everything washed and dry cleaned and steamed and whatever before the exterminators come, put it in the basement or an un-infested room. Rooms unlikely to be infested include bathrooms, three-season porches, basements, and other places where people don't sleep and therefore there's nothing to attract the bugs.
4. Go to these forums, but don't get lost in them: Bedbugger Forums. They are incredibly helpful, but as I found, also incredibly addictive for those who can't go to bed because of the fear of sleeping with bugs. There's a lot of good information on that site, but also a lot of horror stories and hysteria, and the less of that you get into your bed, I have to say, the better. Do your research, but tread carefully.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 11:46 pm (UTC)I may have to let my trash picker's license expire, after all these years. I never did take anything fiber, but hell...
no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 01:24 am (UTC)scary facts:
bed bugs can live for a year without eating
they can hang out in other places besides your mattress (like books!)
basically, don't take furniture off the street. i say this as someone whose house is furnished primarily with furniture off the street. but getting bed bugs is a nightmare and you really don't want to have to deal with that.
i'm thinking of doing a this american life style radio story about bed bugs (i think TAL did one but it didn't quite capture the horror of the situation). if you have had bed bugs and would like to talk about this experience, let me know.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 11:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 04:28 pm (UTC)http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=HEALTH&page=388
Please report bedbug infestations directly to the City's Health Department by calling 617-625-6600 x 4300, or by calling 311.