Re: i'm moving--but don't want to bring the bedbugs with me!

Posted by AA Professional Pest Services on December 21, 2004 at 11:11:45:

In Reply to: i'm moving--but don't want to bring the bedbugs with me! posted by Andrea on December 21, 2004 at 10:41:49:

: About five months ago I moved into an apartment that was infested by bedbugs. My landlord has arranged five exterminations, and each time my roommates and I have washed all our clothes, bedding, etc., but every time the bugs have returned. I don't think we have a terribly bad infestation, since we don't get that many bites, and only sometimes see the bugs. Still, we've had enough, and are moving out of our apartment and into another one in the next few weeks. My question is this: we really (obviously) don't want to bring the bugs with us. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to avoid doing that? We're already plannign on throwing away our mattresses, but should we throw away our dressers and bookshelves too? Is there a way to spray them so the eggs that could be on them are killed? And how do we clean our books???

: Also, does anyone know anything about clothing? I have some clothing that can't be washed in hot water--will dry cleaning work?

: Any answers you could give me about how to avoid transporting the bugs would be much appreciated.

: Thanks!

Isolation treatments using heat can be directed to the infested portions of a structure. It has been reported that bed bug eggs have been killed after an exposure of one hour at 113° F, and first-instar nymphs died after 15 minutes of exposure to the same temperature. For adult bed bugs, the thermal death point is reported to be 111.2° F. Superheating to temperatures above 120° F for a number of hours has also been reported to eradicate bed bugs.

When using high temperatures, note that bed bugs inhabit small voids, and make sure these harborages reach their critical temperatures for mortality. Also, bed bugs are mobile insects and they will crawl away from heated areas - especially as the temperature gradually increases. Heating entire structures is another option, but it can be a laborious, time consuming and expensive process.

Try microwaving clothes or leaving them in a black trash bag in the heat of the sun (if you live in a warm climate) for a few hours. That should help.

AAPPS

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