Bed bugs

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nate

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#91149 7-Oct-2011 12:26

One of my employees came in this morning with small bite marks all over. He thinks it's bed bugs but isn't quite sure. He lives in a flat shared with a few others.

What's the best way to determine what they are, and (2) how do you get rid of them?

(I first suggested a flea bomb, not sure if that's a good idea now)

jonb

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#530535 7-Oct-2011 12:36

Get him to check for dark brown blood spots on the sheets and floors, and socks. If there's lots of bites that means alot of bugs so they shouldn't be too hard to find some - check curtains, under mattress and stuff. Unfortunately it takes a lot more than a flea bomb to get rid of them.. I would reccomend his house gets a professional in, they'd probably end up spending more on the chemicals themselves repeatedly from mitre ten otherwise, and do a worse job.

As far as the office goes, spray some surface spray on the floor to begin with, and any soft furnishings. The flea formulation is good as it does eggs and live ones . The bed bug spray is exactly the same composition, but more expensive (for kiwicare at least)

Zeon

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#530536 7-Oct-2011 12:36

fumigate the place while the flatmates are inside. Best bet of getting rid of annoying bugs =p

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Finch

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#530545 7-Oct-2011 12:49

Zeon: fumigate the place while the flatmates are inside. Best bet of getting rid of annoying bugs =p

LMAO.

I had them a couple years or so back, I just changed the sheets and stood the matress up for a day and thank god they havent come back since. *Fingers Crossed*

mckenndk

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#530550 7-Oct-2011 13:07

My sister had a problme with them over in Australia and to stop them getting into the bed they put glass jars under the legs of the bed and made sure no sheets were touching the floor and they found alot of dead ones around the outside of the jars.

Can't remember how they got rid of them completely I would of guessed they got the place fumigated.

Good Luck

Dion

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#530551 7-Oct-2011 13:08

Tell them to get a good matress protector/cover as well - my wife used to sell the "Snugfit" range to Briscoes etc, we use them at home and never have any problems with creepies of the multilegged variety.

XPD / Gavin

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Ragnor

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#531066 9-Oct-2011 00:50

If it's bed bugs there will be some blood spots somewhere in the sheets or any clothes he wore to bed.

Putting containers under the bed posts is good advice, great way to temporarily stop them getting to you.

After thoroughly checking the bed and mattress something like a plastic ice cream container under each bed post with a bit of water in it will stop them climbing up.

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Cloudmelon

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#531377 10-Oct-2011 09:15

Why is this so common? I always thought it was from people not washing their sheets often enough...

Ragnor

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#531385 10-Oct-2011 09:35

Cloudmelon: Why is this so common? I always thought it was from people not washing their sheets often enough...

They are adept at hiding in many more places than the bed itself and they only come out deep into the night.

Places like behind picture frames, inside dressers behind drawers, inside wardrobes etc.

Cloudmelon

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#531511 10-Oct-2011 13:54

Ragnor:

They are adept at hiding in many more places than the bed itself and they only come out deep into the night.

Places like behind picture frames, inside dressers behind drawers, inside wardrobes etc.

Paranoid.

jonb

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#531514 10-Oct-2011 13:58

They're becoming endemic in lots of major cities now, New York especially it seems. If you travel a lot you should do a quick check for signs of them in your room.. be paranoid

Kaos36

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#531779 11-Oct-2011 08:58

Sunlight kills bed bugs instantly, just a simple open up the curtains and let the sun shine on the bed will fry them. But they breed faster than flies they are back again in a day or two. Wash the sheets.

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#531954 11-Oct-2011 14:14

nate: One of my employees came in this morning with small bite marks all over. He thinks it's bed bugs but isn't quite sure. He lives in a flat shared with a few others.

What's the best way to determine what they are, and (2) how do you get rid of them?

(I first suggested a flea bomb, not sure if that's a good idea now)

LOL are u sure u not the one with the bed bugs? Blaming your mate!

Linuxluver

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#531955 11-Oct-2011 14:19

jonb: They're becoming endemic in lots of major cities now, New York especially it seems. If you travel a lot you should do a quick check for signs of them in your room.. be paranoid

There was a segment about them on NatRad last night. They are spreading rapidly all over the US. They are particularly successful in apartment buildings where it can be almost impossible to completely get rid of them as you can't fumigate / treat the entire building - and all the furniture in it - at the same time.

It's very expensive and - apparently - there have been many foreclosures as owners of apartments can't afford the cost of getting rid of the bugs and they just walk away.

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