Bed Bugs and Safe Collecting

[Smuterella]

thank you Edward, i'm going to get their moth killer kit and some pheremone traps.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We use those moth traps at work -- and they're very effective. The important thing, though, is to use as many of them as you can fit into the infested area --line them up on a high shelf, tuck them into corners, anyplace you've seen moth activity. And check and replace them regularly -- they fill up fast.

 

[Fletch]

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

You leave my eyebrows outa this!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

At Flea Market, Fear of a Different Insect

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/nyregion/02bedbugs.html?_r=1&hp

 

[KittyT]

Does anyone have any information on how to spot bed bugs that may be hitching into your home in larger items of furniture? I'm looking at purchasing a vintage bureau and would like to make sure first that there aren't any hiding out in cracks or joints in the wood.

Also, how would one go about cleaning a large item like this if it were to have them?

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

I always wash clothes before I wear them, whether they be new or purchase from a place like Salvation Army.

I'm big on use of essential oils for many reasons, but have not looked up which ones are good to get rid of them. But a quick search and just looking on the Google list, I saw Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, and Neem oils.

There was also this: http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html#Bed Bugs:

and this: http://www.badbedbugs.com/bed-bug-treatment/

 

[Geesie]

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!

There sure are some ridiculously hardy critters out there. Bedbugs were mostly eradicated in the US during the initial "spray DDT everywhere" years, but even before DDT was banned the remaining bugs developed resistance to it. It's practically useless against bedbugs now.

 

[Talbot]

Don't quote me, but I think here in Oz international mail is fumigated before even hitting the sorting centre.

As I understand it, AQIS targets arrivals from designated higher risk areas. Not all imports are fumigated prior to hitting the sorting centres.

At any rate, given the way some parcels are sealed, fumigation would be only partly effective.

T