Bedbugs in the Duvet: An infestation on the Upper East Side | Hacker News Reader

Bedbugs in the Duvet: An infestation on the Upper East Side

nymag.com

37 pointscwan13 comments

We had a bedbug problem in a flat I used to live in. They are incredibly difficult to get rid of. I've since learned: check the bed for the characteristic traces of bedbugs before you sleep in it (if you see these kinds of black dots on a bed, stay away: http://www.grandmashomeremedies.com/wp-content/uploads/bed_b...), and never sleep in an infested bed. And don't move into a flat where you see this on the beds.

Actually getting rid of the bugs can be nearly impossible. Most insecticides which are legal aren't strong enough to do a good job, so you end up having to resort to really extreme, flat-wide methods like steaming the entire flat. It costs a fair bit of money, and isn't always effective - particularly if the infestation actually came from a nearby building, in which case it might come back by the same method.

In my case, we ended up moving out, after trying pretty much everything.

My wife and I had a bedbug problem in our old flat, too. We moved out, and threw away our old bed and mattress when we did. That worked better than any other treatment we tried. (And yes, we notified the landlord of the problem... turns out it was the guy before us that introduced them somehow.)

We still had one or two stray bedbugs that managed to survive on luggage or something like that and made it onto our new bed. But we wrapped it in cling-film (aka Saran-wrap) for a few months and we've been completely clear ever since we took it off.

It's really not very pleasant...

I just moved into a house in Vancouver. Vancouver has a MAJOR bedbug problem. I cross-referenced every place I looked at with http://bedbugregistry.com.

Some advice - look at the corners of the mattress at every hotel or hostel you stay at for the black dots or an inky stain.

Had a similar issue in Vancouver where a neighbour in an apt. complex was majorly infected resulting in all surrounding apts. having to be treated as well.

After checking google for bedbugs here in Vancouver I noticed that same site and was shocked to see the amount of reports. There's hardly a block in the city which hasn't experienced problems. So, even if you're cautious & clean you can still get affected by your next door neighbour.

my wife and i have had the scourge of bedbugs previously.

We got the pest control guys out and they reduced the problem but werent able to get rid of them.

the best thing that we found to deal with them is Diatomaceous Earth - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Make sure you get the food-grade kind, not the stuff they use in pools

Sprinkle it on the floor around your bed and clothes racks/cupboards and leave it overnight. In the morning vacuum it up and throw the vacuum bag out. Repeat daily for about a week or until you notice the number of bedbugs or irritation decreasing, then start increasing the amount of time that you leave the powder out for.

Its also good to check for them everynight before you go to sleep. Be sure to check under your mattress, and all around your bed frame.

We would collect them in a jar and them leave them in the sun to make sure they were dead.

That's interesting, do you know how the diatomaceous earth traps bedbugs?

insects hate powders, and the Diatomaceous earth screws with their exoskeleton.

I've read that the diatomaceous earth basically sloughs off their shells, leaving.. not much left.

Do spiders eat bed bugs? I wonder if introducing once-native spiders (or some other natural predator) into the buildings' maintenance areas would help control the population.

Had a bedbug attack on some recent travels (stayed in dodgy hostels all over the world for 6 months and it happened in a nice hotel in Italy).

We had our bags cryogenically frozen when we got home, I'm not kidding. The extreme temperature kills them off. It seemed to work, no bedbugs survived if they did manage to get into the bags.

the new bed bug ads in the subway are quite, uhm, yes....

"Even when we went to the country house, he was still having nightmares."

I feel so bad for them :P

I'll bet there's some billions of people on the earth that feel the same about you getting all uppity with your running water and your antibiotics and whatnot.

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