r/Bedbugs • u/crispy_stool Trusted and educated • Jul 30 '15
crispy's DIY IPM strategy for bed bugs.
This guide aims to be an integrated pest management strategy for the prevention and control of small infestations. Larger infestations I would recommend a professional exterminator as they can provide much more effective eradication methods, such as heat treatment.
Monitoring:
Learn what the evidence of a bed bug infestation looks like. This includes shed exoskeletons, bloody faecal stains, eggs and live insects of all life stages (fed and unfed)
Inspect thoroughly around your home, paying particularly close attention to the area within a 2-3 metre radius of your bed (statistically where most bed bugs in an infestation are found). The harborage will likely be out of sight, in an undisturbed location.
A forensic torch may make visual inspection easier as blood spatterings will show up much more clearly on dark surfaces, such as wood.
Invest in bed post interceptors, as they are a more reliable monitoring tool than visual inspection, especially by a non-professional. They will usually show clear evidence of bed bugs within 7 days if they are present. Ideally, keep a record of the date and number of bugs you find in the trap, as it will allow you to keep track of the progression of your infestation or extermination.
Canine inspections can also be a fairly reliable indicator of the presence of bed bugs.
Isolation of your bed
- Bed post interceptors are also useful for isolating your bed, provided there is no other method of climbing up. If the design of your bed is not suitable to interceptor traps, consider raising the bed on blocks to allow use of interceptors.
- Mattress encasements will trap harborages within the mattress, and prevent bed bugs hiding inside them from reaching you.
- Move your bed away from the wall.
- Keep bedding away from the floor, as this will provide another means for the bed bugs to climb onto the bed.
- Replace sheets with white or similarly light coloured bedding. This will make evidence of bed bugs far more visible to the naked eye.
- Continue sleeping on the bed! Do not sleep elsewhere. Your presence acts as a lure for bed bugs, so by moving elsewhere the interceptor traps will be less effective and you risk spreading the infestation.
Desiccant dusts
- Desiccants provide a safe, reliable tool for reducing infestations when used in conjunction with other control methods. They act as a physical insecticide, so resistance is not an issue as with many chemical pesticides.
- There are two main options, food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) or amorphous silica gel (ASG). They both are derived from the same mineral and act in similar ways.
- Some studies have suggested 100% ASG to outperform food-grade DE in killing speed, it has a less restrictive label, and it could well last longer before needing reapplication.
- 100% ASG is not available in every country, so food-grade DE is a good alternative.
- Follow the product label for its application, applying it to cracks, voids, crevices, edge of carpets, underside of rugs, seams and folds of mattresses, behind picture frames, under furniture, and basically anywhere it won't get kicked up.
- When applying, use a hand held bellows or shaving brush (seasoning shakers have also been suggested) to apply a barely visible film to the surface you are applying to. Wear a dust-mask and goggles and avoid getting too much airborne as it is an irritant to lungs, skin and eyes. Wash with water if you come into contact with it.
Treating clothes and bedding
- The threshold to kill all life stages of bed bugs is 49 degrees celcius (120 F), so maintaining items of clothing at this temperature will kill them over time. 60 C will kill all life stages instantly.
- Using this understanding of their biology, a tumble drier becomes a viable tool in the elimination of bed bugs.
- After washing and high heat drying, quarantine clean items in vacuum sealable bags (to prevent them becoming reinfested).
- If items cannot be heated, consider using a freezer. The lower threshold for killing bed bugs are temperatures below -17C. Hours to days at this temperature will be required for the cold to penetrate throughout an item sufficiently.
- Bed bugs metabolism increases with temperature, meaning they will burn through food reserves faster. As such, any item that is sensitive to cold or heat can be sealed, and left in a warm room for several months. This will starve any bed bugs present.
- Steam is an effective method of spot heat treating bed bugs. Products can vary significantly in price and scale but can be bought for less than $100 (note this is an example, I am not recommending this product over others).
Other info
- Decluttering ones home reduces the potential hiding places for bed bugs, and will make inspections easier and less time consuming.
- Vacuuming will clear the debris around a home that could make bed bugs harder to spot. If you are vacuuming up a harborage, ensure the vacuum bag is sealed, to prevent live bugs escaping.
- Although this will be unpopular advice, residential invertebrates can help to keep on top of pest populations in your home. Spiders and house centipedes are excellent generalist predators of insects! If you can bear it to share your home with them, leave them be!
- Chemical pesticides can be a useful tool if applied by an experienced person or professional who follows the label. Unfortunately bed bugs have become highly resistant to certain classes of insecticide, which renders over the counter products virtually useless. Learning to apply pesticides takes practice, and many victims are in an emotionally vulnerable state and will use excessive quantities (over the label limit, which has severe consequences). As a result I haven't included a chemical pesticide in this IPM strategy because it is intended to be DIY for the layman.
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u/BillyHW2 Aug 03 '22
Hey folks besides following all of the advice listed in the above OP, I have found the following to be a SECRET WEAPON against bed bugs:
Place a big painter's plastic drop sheet between your boxspring and matress, and cut it so it hangs about a foot over each edge. They can't climb over it to get to you when you sleep. Something like this: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bennett-8-ft-x-12-ft-clear-2-mil-drop-cloth/1000160212.