Have bed bugs, am moving - recs or advice?

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

Hi, I searched through the other pest control tagged posts, but I didn't see anything related to moving out of an infested apartment.

My apartment was sprayed twice for bed bugs, though the other people in the building were not (it's my landlord and his family, and he hasn't done anything - I'm looking into getting my money back from him, too). After 2 sprays, I'm still getting bitten. Meanwhile, I decided to move out, because I thought it was all taken care of, but I wanted to get out of here.

So, does anyone know of a good way to move out of my apartment without taking the bugs with me? I've been looking for companies who will fumigate my items in a truck, or spray the furniture, et al, on my way out. If anybody knows of a good pest control company who might do something like that, please let me know. Or if you have advice on what the procedure should be while moving out, please let me know.

Thanks.

Comments

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I think your best bet is arson.

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I bet the bed bug problem is even worse in jail, though.

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

I had the same thing happen to me in my former Somerville apartment. I moved in and started getting bitten. The landlord put up the expense to have three consecutive treatments and we followed all the instructions, painstakingly.

When I moved I threw my bed and pillows away and hot water washed every piece of bedding, sealing it up in bags right after washing and before putting in the truck. I know it's a big expense to have to get a new bed, but you'll really be much safer that way.

Be careful of things stored in your bedroom area like luggage, purses, etc. What you can hot water wash and dry, definitely do so just before you move it all.

Sadly I'd recommend throwing away anything like stuffed animals that were in the bedroom, as well.

Might we ask where you're living to warn our neighbors of a possible outbreak?

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I wonder how bedbugs do with cold? It seems that moving via POD rather then via truck if the nights are below freezing could offer some benefit?

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

Sadly, if you read up on them (which is fascinating but kind of gross), they are nearly as hearty as cockroaches. The hot water washing will drown them and scald them, a combination that really works. However, they can live in a dormant/hibernating state for up to a year without even feeding, so they're notoriously difficult to get rid of.

[joyeuxnoel.livejournal.com]

Sadly, the freezing temperature needs to be maintained for a few days which is also mitigated by the fact that they like to burrow into mattresses and such so the temperature the bugs are at won't necessarily be the temperature outside. :(

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Two weeks of freezing temps is what I've seen recommended. Like, if you get second-hand clothing that you cannot wash in hot water, and want to make sure you don't bring the pests into your house, wrap it in plastic and put in your freezer for at least a couple weeks. Might be trickier to do with a household's worth of furnishing, though.

Using liquid nitrogen might also be effective, but I haven't researched it much.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

Er, liquid nitrogen is expensive and unstable. Plus, most things put in liquid nitrogen will become brittle and shatter. That includes living organic things...you can freeze/shatter leaves and whole fish. You'd need to somehow find a way to dip all of your furniture into liquid nitrogen vats for long enough to freeze out the bugs without causing the wood to warp and break, electronics to shatter, and so on. Oh, and keep the nitrogen at the -70C for the duration to keep it from evaporating.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

most things put in liquid nitrogen will become brittle and shatter. That includes living organic things.

Then it would work really well against bedbugs, wouldn't it? :) Clothing, at least, could probably withstand a brief dip.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

If a goldfish can't and a leaf can't, I'm pretty sure a piece of cotton can't either.

[tamalinn.livejournal.com]

This. Although I'd read that items which can't be washed (like maybe stuffed animals), can be put in a freezer for a couple of weeks or sealed in a black trash bag and placed in a car in the hot sun, although that's difficult to find this time of year.

I would worry about my health....

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I mean, the chemicals they use for spraying cannot be good for you; they linger for who knows how long...

Re: I would worry about my health....

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I know. But, what's a girl to do, you know?

Re: I would worry about my health....

[turil.livejournal.com]

Use the non-lethal-to-humans approaches. Such as washing in hot water, and getting rid of the other stuff. Obviously the chemicals don't work for whatever you've got. So maybe it's time to try a different approach that's been proven effective.

Also, have you actually seen the things? Are you absolutely positive it's bed bugs and not something else? I was convinced I was getting bitten in bed, but it turned out to be an allergic reaction, not bed bugs.

Re: I would worry about my health....

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to avoid having to get rid of all my stuff.

Re: I would worry about my health....

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yes, obviously. So why not try the healthy (to humans) methods available? Heat, cold, washing, etc.

Re: I would worry about my health....

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I thought about putting all my wood furniture and other stuff in a truck and heat treating it, but it was just as expensive as throwing everything out and starting all over again. :(

Was that the kind of thing you were referring to? I'm not sure what else there is as far as non-chemical treatment for furniture.

As was said above, I'm not sure if it's cold enough outside for putting it outside to work??

Re: I would worry about my health....

[anyee.livejournal.com]

It's not cold enough. You need sub-zero temperatures for weeks at a time. You'll just make them burrow deeper into the furniture. Popular culture talks about freezing bugs all the time, but my own personal experience and research suggests that bugs just don't die in the cold.

Re: I would worry about my health....

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

in a decision between measured and considered exposure to pesticides and prolonged, uncontrolled exposure to known disease vectors, pesticides may be the lesser of two evils.

Something to consider when moving: rather than using a truck, use a Pod, as suggested earlier. Ask the fumigation company to fumigate the pod. Wash everything in very hot water. Any textile products that you cannot wash in very hot water should probably be discarded (in such a way that curb collectors don't decide to take your old couch and continue the problem!) Possibly consider scrubbing all of your non-textile furniture with bleach, simple green and hot water. Nice wood stuff obviously should be oiled or waxed or something after. Not-so-nice wood stuff will probably survive the scrubbing nicely (veneers tend to be pretty durable).

Good luck! Let us know how this works out for you!

[joyeuxnoel.livejournal.com]

Bed bugs are generally attracted to CO2, however, they can go long periods without feeding and have many offspring at one time making it hard to get rid of.

I wouldn't worry terribly about your electronics or woodish furniture unless there's recesses in the furniture or places they can hide behind. Bed bugs tend to like cloth areas-- make sure you do wash your curtains too. Anything you can't wash/trash make sure to seal in plastic bags if you're dragging it with you.

There's a bed bug map here if you want to add your information: http://www.mappost.org/bedbugcity.php

As far as I can tell, however, if you've chucked your furniture and are washing all your clothes you're pretty much doing everything you can. Good luck!

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I live on Fairfax. It's a 2 family with a basement, the rented apartment is on the first floor. If you see furniture outside on this street, don't take it! (I'll mark it)

I already bought a new bed and couch, it's all being delivered straight to the new place. Clothes, et al are being washed or heat treated with this ridiculous contraption called a Packtite (dude, Dr. Oz says it works! :)

I'm most worried about my wood(ish) furniture, odds and ends, and electronics. And the car (I was on a loooooong road trip this summer, so the car is highly suspect). I'd like to see if I can have everything, including the car, fumigated or treated in some way before I move.

Suggestions?

Thank you, this community has been helpful on many fronts!

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who went through this, I'll point her at your post.

You can have a company come and heat treat your moving van with propane heaters to take care of everything in it. This is a hassle and some things can't be treated this way, but I think this is considered a reliable way to solve the problem. (Bed Bug Pros is one company that comes up when I try to search, but I'm not sure which one she used)

I don't know about cars, though.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

perhaps the winter will be cold enough for the cold treatment to get your car.

[cheeseydreams.livejournal.com]

Having had to deal with bedbugs in a past apartment, the only advice I can give you to truly prevent taking them with you is to get ride of any furniture with cloth (i.e. your mattress definitely, couches, chairs, etc) and wash all your clothes at a laundromat between the old apartment and new. It really does suck, but I don't know of any other way to prevent spreading them. Maybe there is a pest control company that will fumigate in transit (but I think that takes hours and if you're renting a truck, it may be very frowned upon).

Now I'm going to be super paranoid about bed bugs in the area. I never want to relive that.

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to dredge it up for you again!

I've gotten rid of all the upholstered stuff, except for one chair that is wood with a pad (arm chair from Ikea). I think I may replace the padded part.

Just concerned about the rest of my stuff (desk, table, TV, etc.) though it sounds from people's experiences like it may be unnecessary to be so concerned.

I'm in the process of seeing if I can have all the stuff either heat treated or fumigated in a van or truck. I was just wondering if anyone had had any experience with the companies around here who do such things.

[cheeseydreams.livejournal.com]

I meant to respond yesterday.

We brought our dressers, tv stands and other such items without bringing the bed bugs with us. I was just very sad to have to throw out my awesome mattress/boxspring that was less than 5 years old and very very comfy.

Even though it's been 4 years since living with the bed bugs, I still have my occasional bouts of 'OMG I FELT SOMETHING, ARE THEY BACK' while lying in bed and frantically search my mattress for signs, but thankfully find nothing. It was a little traumatic for me because for a few months it seemed like I was the only one getting bit and no one else in the apartment believed there was anything going on until the infestation got really bad. We all just really learned our lesson about curb shopping, especially in Allston.

I really wish you luck and I hope you don't even have to deal with bed bugs again.

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

Ugh, thank you. It's helpful to know that you moved successfully... my problem right now is that they keep coming back, and I don't know where they're coming from, so I'm just convinced that they're everywhere, you know?

[cheeseydreams.livejournal.com]

It's scary how hardy they are, but as long as you take some precautions (which you have indicated that you have), it shouldn't be hard to leave them behind when you move.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

I had bed bugs and I moved successfully. It is was stressful and somewhat expensive. The flip side is that the cost of the treatment I used, which is more or less guaranteed, is less than the cost of replacing all your stuff. Here is my guide. Do with it what you will.

1) The Bed Bugger Forum (http://bedbugger.com/forum/) is the hands-down most useful site out there. It has access to tons of veteran ex-buggers, scientists, and PCOs (exterminators). They're great about being reassuring and helpful. They're also great about killing off myths, e.g., freezing bugs will get rid of them (rarely), RAID and other sprays will get rid of them (not really), bugs occur because you're dirty (nope).

2) The washing, laundering, and bagging can be a very effective way to control the infestation, but it won't work alone. If you need to do this more or less cheaply and non-toxically, combining that with diatomecious earth and vacuuming can eventually take care of your problem if you're REALLY careful. It's an interesting process, but I haven't experienced it personally.

3) Moving itself: I used the thermal treatment method of bed bug extermination via Pure Heat (http://www.pureheat.com/). Pure Heat uses propane and high temperature (170 degrees) to kill bugs. They'll either do it in your apartment/house or in a moving truck. The latter is the option I chose.

Let's talk logistics: The basics are you rent a truck, pack all your stuff into it, and they attach a tube and a tank of propane, then heat it for 4 hours or so. They can do this at their site, which is cheaper but out in Cape Cod. They can also come to your location. However, you need to get the propane permitting. Somerville is much harder to get permits for than even Boston. Pure Heat can help you, but it's a pain in Somerville from what I've heard.

The advantage of Pure Heat is that it's nontoxic and it's damn effective. We did not move a single bug, as confirmed by both inspection and a bed bug dog. Plus, if you follow their exact instructions,if stuff does get damaged, it'll get replaced. Everything we put in the truck survived except a picture I dropped. Some unfinished wood leaked sap and one drawer on a chest of drawers cracked...not big enough to care about. Pure Heat won't cover electronics and stuff, but two tower computers, a DVD player, the microwave, radios, VCR, etc. all made it through unscathed.

It is expensive. The heat treatment cost $600, not including the cost of the permit and the truck. However, a new bed, rugs, furniture, etc. would have cost a LOT more. They can tent-heat your car, though bugs tend not to live in cars. We solved the potential bug-car problem by sitting the car in the July/August sun...dark interior was enough to cook any bugs.

You can message me off-list and I'll tell you more if you want.

[chickflick1979.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Anyee. I sent you a couple of messages. :)

[djdreilinger.livejournal.com]

Leonina Heringer is a great resource on this topic. She has a new video on the SCAT VLOG (http://scatstaffvlog.blogspot.com/2009/11/bed-bugs-facts.html).