Bed Bugs and Safe Collecting

[Chas]

I guess now would not be the time to point out that there are microscopic mites that live in your eyebrows.

Our landlord had a bedbug sniffing dog that went through our building; apparently, we're clean. But I won't be buying any old furniture for the time being.

 

[Rockapin-up]

Borax can kill bed bugs

Or so I read online for 25 household uses for Borax:
PEST CONTROL

1. Keep roaches, waterbugs, and ants away by sprinkling a combination of equal parts all-natural borax and sugar.

2. Keep the mice out by sprinkling borax on the floor along the wall.

3. Get rid of bed bugs by sprinkling borax on your mattress. Let it sit and vacuum it up.

4. Kill fleas by sprinkling borax on your carpet. Leave it for an hour and vacuum it up thoroughly.

http://www.diylife.com/2010/08/12/25-household-uses-for-borax/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diylife.com%2F2010%2F08%2F12%2F25-household-uses-for-borax%2F

 

[Puzzicato]

I wish that I hadn't opened this thread......

I'm actually off work at the moment with infected insect bites, so it's all a bit too close to home!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I've read conflicting information about whether or not they transmit diseases. While their bites do not, I read that (can't find the article now, but this makes sense) if they were feeding upon a person with infected blood (HIV, etc) and it's feeding on you and it gets smashed, that the blood inside of it can come in contact with yours!

 

[KittyT]

3. Get rid of bed bugs by sprinkling borax on your mattress. Let it sit and vacuum it up.

The problem though is that they can get way inside your mattress. They also can nest inside cracks/joints in your bedframe or other furniture.

 

[Puzzicato]

I've read conflicting information about whether or not they transmit diseases. While their bites do not, I read that (can't find the article now, but this makes sense) if they were feeding upon a person with infected blood (HIV, etc) and it's feeding on you and it gets smashed, that the blood inside of it can come in contact with yours!

I find that incredibly unlikely. HIV is a very fragile virus, so the bug would have to bite the HIV+ person, then you'd pretty much immediately have to squash it into an open cut on your body.

ETA http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/463778_2 - HIV has been found in bed bugs after ingesting highly concentrated doses - i.e not the sort of viral load an HIV+ person has. With the modern antiretroviral drugs, a lot of people living with HIV have an almost indetectable viral load.

 

[Paisley]

I don't think there's any known case of HIV being transmitted via bug bites.

 

[Paisley]

There are people who never take the plastic covers off their lamp shades (my parents, for instance). Maybe they're on to a good idea--just keep the plastic covers on everything.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I find that incredibly unlikely. HIV is a very fragile virus, so the bug would have to bite the HIV+ person, then you'd pretty much immediately have to squash it into an open cut on your body.

ETA http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/463778_2 - HIV has been found in bed bugs after ingesting highly concentrated doses - i.e not the sort of viral load an HIV+ person has. With the modern antiretroviral drugs, a lot of people living with HIV have an almost indetectable viral load.

I just found this on the CDC site:

"Although bed bugs could theoretically act as a disease vector, as is the case with body lice, which transmit Bartonella quintana (the causal agent of trench fever) among homeless persons (12), bed bugs have never been shown to transmit disease in vivo (13). Hepatitis B viral DNA can be detected in bed bugs up to 6 weeks after they feed on infectious blood, but no transmission of hepatitis B infection was found in a chimpanzee model (14–19). Transmission of hepatitis C is unlikely, since hepatitis C viral RNA is not detectable in bed bugs after an infectious blood meal (18). Live HIV can be recovered from bed bugs up to 1 hour after they feed on infected blood, but no epidemiologic evidence for HIV transmission by this route exists (20–22)."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol11no04/04-1126.htm

I do think it would be prudent to not smash an engorged bug on one's self but instead use a tweezer to pick it off similar to a tick.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I'm not going to live in a plastic bubble (only because they don't make one for the mass market yet lol ) but I do want to be careful when collecting old, used, sometimes not so clean stuff. I'm used to the general Vintage Cootie but bed bugs seem to be rather tricky to address if caught too late.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

More related stuff:

http://brickunderground.com/blog/2010/01/care_for_some_bed_bugs_with_your_thrift_store_purchase


http://www.packtite.com/

 

[Puzzicato]

I'm not going to live in a plastic bubble (only because they don't make one for the mass market yet lol ) but I do want to be careful when collecting old, used, sometimes not so clean stuff. I'm used to the general Vintage Cootie but bed bugs seem to be rather tricky to address if caught too late.

Yes - I think avoiding an infestation is the best idea!

 

[scotrace]

Gross.

 

[Mugwump]

Yeesh, heebie-jeebie time! lol
A great thread, though, and lots of great points / info here. I've heard of problems here (Toronto, Ont., Canada), so I admit to being very careful. We're going to be travelling to Florida (driving) this September, so now I'll be all paranoid when I get back about laundry and stuff. Probably rightfully so, I guess... [huh]

 

[Edward]

I'm not sure we have a bed bug issue over here, but this year everyone seems to be plagued by clothes moths. I had started freezing all my clothing purchases for a day or two before washing and hanging in the wardrobe but still the wee bleeders have got in. I'm absolutely fuming about it and am not really sure where to start to get rid of them as moving my two cats out for a fumigation is just not practical.

I've only had three so far but you know, its like mice, there are always more there...

Bed bugs would freak me out even more though - any tips to keep them away would be interesting. I have a whole new worry now!

Try these folks:

http://www.pesthelp.co.uk/weshop/Carpet_Beetles___fabric_moths.asp

I've bought a few products from them. I'm still eradicating the last of the feckers, but I see maybe one moth a week now, where before it was three an evening. I especially recommend the little mini-fumigators - two or three treatments may be necessary, though, bearing in mind that (at least as far as I know) they won't kill unhatched eggs). Each of them will do one room, so it's simply a matter of fumigating a room at a time - close the door, leave it for four hours, then air. I managed a full flat fumigation in two days - just a matter of closing off the room(s) you're doing... to do my hallway / kitchen / lounge which all open into each other, I closed the cats in one bedroom with their food / water / toilet for the few hours it needed. none of the three of us has suffered any ill effects.

 

[Dewhurst]

An interesting and worthwhile topic.

Whether it is vintage items or not, I have found that purchasing things through mail or internet and having them delivered to my home in boxes can be treacherous. Boxes turn out to be places that bugs love to live in. They don't mind hitching a ride, either.

I learned the hard way to be more proactive. Everyone here sounds like they are being proactive, so that is good.

Anyone who believes in humankinds dominion over the earth has obviously never met a cockroach, bed-bug, or moth!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

An interesting and worthwhile topic.

Whether it is vintage items or not, I have found that purchasing things through mail or internet and having them delivered to my home in boxes can be treacherous. Boxes turn out to be places that bugs love to live in. They don't mind hitching a ride, either.

I learned the hard way to be more proactive. Everyone here sounds like they are being proactive, so that is good.

Anyone who believes in humankinds dominion over the earth has obviously never met a cockroach, bed-bug, or moth!

Really good info. I order a lot of items from amazon. Thanks for this!

 

[Tourbillion]

My boyfriend quarantines everything vintage in the freezer for a while before allowing it in his closet.

This is for moths, but it would kill any bedbugs in his new suits too.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

My boyfriend quarantines everything vintage in the freezer for a while before allowing it in his closet.

This is for moths, but it would kill any bedbugs in his new suits too.

I'm not sure I'd count on freezing working for killing bed bugs whereas heating them has been proven.

I was talking to someone the other day who had had bed bugs in his apartment. He said he put one in his freezer and after a few days took it out. Once it thawed he said it was still alive! [huh]

 

[Lady Day]

I was talking to someone the other day who had had bed bugs in his apartment. He said he put one in his freezer and after a few days took it out. Once it thawed he said it was still alive! [huh]

Freezing works, just not once. Like I said in my earlier post, they go into hibernation after the first freeze, and upon thaw, they wake up. Pretty much any insect like this. You have to freeze a second time after the item reaches room temp again, once larvae are awake active, then they will die.

Think about it. Is just like a flash freeze in spring. When you get a sudden second unexpected cold, insects die.

LD