bed bug prevention

[JMJ]

We're traveling to the New York area, and to make things more complicated, some friends of ours that we are planning on seeing have had a bed bug problem in their home. They exterminated, but the problem returned. They will have exterminated again by the time we get there, and we are planning not to visit their home.

I'm just looking for a little more information on how bed bugs go from place to place. I know they travel with travelers, but how? In the suitcases? On the people? Can you catch bed bugs like you catch lice? The original plan was also to borrow a car seat from these friends, one that they don't usually use. Is this a bad idea? Everything I can find online just talks about how to look for them in hotels.

[mbravebird]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would suggest looking into Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth for both your friend and yourself. It could prevent an infestation for you, and address the situation for your friend.

[JMJ]

Interesting... could you tell me more about how you would use it?

[sbgrace]

You can pick them up in theaters or stores so yes they can travel on people themselves.

Whenever we travel I take precautions. Those include checking the hotel room for bedbugs and treating our clothing and luggage as possibly containing them. So we wash and dry the clothes on hot immediately when we get home (or leave them outside until we can) and leave the luggage out of the house for a long time depending on the time of year (heat/cold).

I guess I'm saying that this family aside I'd take precautions given you're traveling.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by JMJ

Interesting... could you tell me more about how you would use it?

Well, it needs to touch their bodies to do damage, and it's pretty effective at killing them once it touches their bodies. So I think the idea would be to ensure that wherever you're in danger of picking them up, that you have a FGDE barrier that they'd have to cross/touch before they got to you. So, for example, you could sprinkle the bottom of your suitcase with it (it shakes off).

It's important to get the Food-Grade kind, as the swimming pool kind is harmful to breathe in.

Here are a couple of links that I found pretty quickly -- haven't looked over them much:
http://www.bedbugsguide.com/diatomaceous-soil.htm
http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceou...h/Bed-Bug.html

Just that quick google has me shuddering! Never knew those things were for real.

[herenow2]

We had an encounter with bedbugs while we were traveling in Australia a couple of years ago. It was not pleasant. My husband was covered with bites. Fortunately we stayed at the house where they were long enough to know what was going on and so took a ton of precautions when we got back home. We immediately washed all our clothes that had been there on hot and put them through the dryer a couple of times on the highest heat and then we put all non washable luggage into black plastic bags and left them out in the sun for a couple of weeks. We were very paranoid about it for a month, but they never showed up at our house.

I have since read about bed bug spray but haven't tried it -
e.g.
http://www.amazon.com/Travel-BedBug-.../dp/B000SOT3BU

You aren't supposed to leave your suitcases on the bed at hotels and examine the corners of beds under the sheet where they live to make sure there is not an infestation.

[MAMom]

There was a recent Fresh Air episode all about bed bugs (the link to the audio is at the top). It was gross, but also interesting Personally, I wouldn't risk it by borrowing the carseat b/c if they've had an infestation, the bedbugs could be anywhere in their home (and some are apparently resistant to the pesticides).

[Lady Lilya]

Diatomaceous earth is a white powder, made from the ground skeletons of a sea organism. It is perfectly safe for mammals, though a little drying if you get a lot of skin contact with it. But for buggies of all kinds, it kills them.

You can sprinkle it on fabrics and carpets and upholstery etc.