My 80 year old parents live in northern VA. My dad requires nearly 24-hour paid live-in care. Mom takes care of him and still works part-time. They are combatting bedbugs and cockroaches at my parents house. My sister has tried some non-toxic products but results aren't 100%. Does anyone have suggestions? I hate that they have this on their worry list with so much else going on! Thanks in advance.
A friend of mine told me that you can find boric acid in powder form at the $ store and that it works. Just put it in crevices, etc
Not sure about bedbugs besides getting a new mattress and sealing it with a mattress pad designed to keep the buggers from getting in and out of the mattress. I know they make them, but not sure where to get one. As far as roaches, my husband and I are about to try using Borax and mixing it oil and flour to make a paste then roll it into balls. You then roll these balls underneath appliances and into nooks and crannies throughout the house.
Find the recipe at this link: http://www.dfwx.com/boric.html
The borax paste is supposed to be eaten by adults who will take it to its young, thus killing the whole bunch. The great thing about borax is that it is nontoxic to humans (but I wouldn't recommend ingesting it). Let us know how it works. We're going try it! Any alternative to exposing our child to dangerous chemicals is worth the extra work.
P.S., I also found this great link on recipes for nontoxic alternatives to various household products:
http://cleanwaterways.org/downloads/brochures/Recipes%20-...
Not sure what there is out there for non toxic killers. We use Bengal spray around the wall edges and door jams, including the garage and under the house. It works really well. Just be prepared to vacuum up the mess!
bed bugs, I'm really not sure about. Vacuuming the mattress, washing all the linen, including the mattress pad in HOT water, bleach where needed. That will help. Throw out the vacuum bag as the bugs can multiply in there and possibly escape. Not sure what type of sprays can be used on the mattress without harming it directly.
good luck and please share the advice!
As far as bedbugs the best you can do is mattress covers designed to protect against bedbugs and mites. The roaches are prevelent whereever there is a supply of water and trees. If your parents' home is surrounded by trees, bushes or that spreading ground covering that people use to plant it is a breeding ground for not only bugs and insects but also rodents. These items must be cut back. I speak form experience on this. I had an exterminator come and they were surprised we didn't have a bigger problem. They treated the inside and outside, including the siding on the house. They also did preventive work. Sealing entrance ways baseboards and the likes. It cost me $380 for the year. They come out every three months to treat and will return if you have any problems before they are due to return.
i recently read of a product called Good Night, an aerosol spray that you apply to your bedding once a week, that is supposed to "take care" of bedbugs. i have not tried it myself, as i have not found it in person and didn't want to order it online until i actually held the can and tried the product. so while this is not a recommendation, it's at least an idea! :) www.spraywayretail.com
try combat gold in a tube for roaches and salt on matterace for fleas and bed bugs
I got roaches once. Combat gel worked for me. Good luck
D.
combine equal parts bleach and equal parts lysol. Wipe and spray with this. Within a week or 2 you should see results. Be agressive with the spray. Make sure you get your corners as well as the common areas!
Roaches and bedbugs present not only a "pest" problem, but are a health problem. Get an exterminator to their home immediately. Then deal with keeping these pests away in the future. As for the mattress, it is probably a lost cause unless the exterminator can do something about it, but most people dump the mattress once it has bedbugs. Is there not any way you and your sister can go in together to get them an exterminator and a new mattress?
Growing up in Mississippi you don't have to tell me about bug wars. There is a product that I love! Bengal Roach Spray. It is expensive ($10-$12 each), but well worth it. You can find it at Walmart. It comes in a predominantly red can with white top and a bengal tiger on the front. It's a powder so it will not stain or ruin your walls. The Gold top works just as well, but left a residue on the walls when I sprayed the corners. It's what I use for eveything (Spiders, silverfish, ants, etc)!
There's a store on eBay that sells anti-bedbug mattress and box spring protectors. www.stores.ebay.com/ptidirect1
