Bed Bug Advice

My grown daughter had this horrible problem and ended up using an exterminator who helped her tremendously with advice on what to do at home. I believe she packed away all her clothes and put plastic on her mattress. I'll let you know more when I talk to her again. Good luck.

I work at Home Depot and in the cleaning isle they sell a product to get rid of bed mites. I think it is called Good night but not sure. You can ask someone that works in that area and they can help you find it.

hi B.,
try using an acne fighting astringent that has 2% salicylic acid. i use this on mosquito bites all the time. it takes away the itch almost instantly and gets rid of the bite itself in no time. hope it helps for you too.

K.

You need to get an exterminator and have them exterminate the whole house. You probably got them from the hotel you were staying at.

Hi B.,

This is a really serious issue you will have to deal with. They will take over and are really hard to get under control. I just read an article in a magazine of one families ordeal. I've noticed articles and T.V. programs talking about how bad it has become. All the international travelers have been bringing them back to the U.S. and we are getting them from hotels...even the really pricey hotels. One program actually taught how to inspect the room before you unpack your things and climb into bed. You won't usually find the bugs (usually), but you'll find the feces that lets you know they are there.

The article is just read was in Readers Digest-Feb. 2008
Article tile-Yikes pg. 176
Go to www.rd.com/bugs (in the search type in bedbugs)

Other than this...I don't have any suggestions. I hope this can help you.

Good luck,

C.

P.S. If you contact me, I be happy to mail you my pages from Reader Digest.

I just saw on the Today show this morning 8/28 a segment about bedbugs. You may try to go to their website and view the segment, it was really informative. They are saying it is common to bring them home when going on vacation. I guess now college students are getting them pretty bad too. Good Luck to you!

B.;
I am not sure if even natural Tea Tree oils would even assist if there is a bad break out?

I have heard / read that once you have an infestation, you need to replace your bedding as this is one place they sleep. Also, you need to check out the floor boards, night stand, dresser, and any other furniture in the room of the infestation.

As for the itching, this is the time when I do recommend going into your doctor. (Also, check your little girl!)

Whenever you travel, it is VERY wise to make sure before you bring in your suitcases (or if you have to have them with you to put them in the bathroom on the tile); YOU check the mattresses, backboards (they come up easy enough) and floorboards. You can also see tell-tale signs sometimes on the walls.

I recommend doing an internet search on them, you will find your answers.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/

www.apartmentratings.com
I explain my bedbug experience on that site. My story starts off.....God Should Strike Down and....
My son and I were allergic to the bed bugs' saliva. We had very horrible allergic reactions to each bite. Doctors prescribed something when I had to go to the emergency room. Hope this helps u out! I finally had to move and leave most of my furniture, for fear that I would move them with me. Horrific experience. God Bless, You'll need it!!
S.

Well, I don't know if this will help, but I believe bed bugs congregate in the corners of the mattress and base boards of your bed. You may want to try vacuuming in and around your base boards as well as your mattress pads and spraying with some type of bug spray. Or you can do like I did when I saw an unrecognizable bug crawling on my sheets, I washed all the sheets in hot water, vacuumed every crevice of my bed and sprayed the entire base board with bug spray. Although I didn't see another bug and because I was always paranoid, I convinced my husband to buy another set of mattresses. Good Luck

They just had a segment on this on the Today show. They recommend that a professional be consulted to get rid of the bedbugs which are notoriously difficult to eliminate. They say that the bedbugs can be killed by heat over 113 degrees and pesticides. To control them in the future, they recommend encasing your boxspring and mattress in those zippable covers. As far as treatment, I would assume a combination of a topical and antihistamine or something like that would work. Good luck with this - apparently there is a nationwide problem at college campuses this year as well!

We've never had bed bugs.. but we had a huge flea infestation that lasted for months, until we could finally get it under control. The thing that worked best <after we treated the dog> but sending all the animals and people out and bug bombing the house. We put a bug bomb in each room and the basement. Bed bugs get into EVERYTHING, including your walls, from what I understand. For the fleas we had, between Frontline and bombing the house, we've never had that problem again. It may be equally as effective on your bugs too.

good luck!

It sounds like fleas to me. If the animals are gone, they'll bite humans. You can spray and treat any pets.