A full rundown of the subject that can truly be classified as one that we wish we really DIDN'T have to get knowledgeable about can be found in today's Times. That's right, a primer on the science behind why bedbugs are back in force feels like required reading for city dwellers during the Summer of 2010. Read the full article at the New York Times and then check out our roundup of all of our bedbug intelligence from over the years.
Image: Screengrab from the video at the New York Times
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Comments (11)
Just when I thought I was forgetting about the horrors I went through when I only THOUGHT I had them.. I am reminded.
Yes!!
Don't forget the good old diatomaceous earth, I have crawlies in my garage I need to get rid of with this stuff- the cats keep on sneaking out into the garage and catching them and bringing the dead bodies into the house, ugh. Hope I never have to deal with THIS bed pest problem!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
Yeah, and it got more hits than the stories about the end of combat in Iraq.
ditto, hooksies. ditto.
you have to be careful with diamataceous earth. some people should not be using that at all. it's fine and can wind up in lungs and catheters and things that cannot afford to be cut. even teeny tiny cuts.
Okay, I'm creeped out just reading this. Last year bed bugs were found in one of the other units in my building. The landlords took quick action and, so far, I've never had them (knock wood!!). But besides checking obsessively when you come inside or return from vacation, and never picking up furniture from a curb/alley, what else should you do to make sure none of the little buggers decide to come home home with you? (I worry especially about my neighbors getting them and spreading them to me.)
Interesting that bed bugs don't transmit diseases and the AIDs virus die inside of them. Maybe they are like ants loaded up with freaky antibodies that no diseases can touch them. If they weren't so blood sucking awful they could be fascinating.
Diatomaceous earth works! And it's cheap, and it's environmental friendly, and it's not cancerigenous, and it's odorless, and it's harmless. I don't have enough words to thank the anonymous user that recommended this a few months back.
Diatomaceous earth is only effective when dry. Once it is wet it loses it's "cutting" properties and so it is not dangerous if inhaled. Not saying you should go about sucking the stuff in, but it's not as dangerous as all that. Also, if you're going to use it, use the food grade diatomaceous earth. The others are usually cut with other chemicals to help kill insects.
My rental apartment got bed bugs last year. I sacrificed my beloved wooden bedframe (too infested to save) whie taking the steps to get rid of them. I have since purchased a metal bed frame, pulled it away from the wall, and wrapped double sided tape around each leg. I haven't had a single bed bug bite since doing this. Petroleum jelly rubbed on the bed legs works too. I LOVED my old bed but I think I need a bed with legs from now on. Its just too hard to keep pests away in a multi-unit condo complex with people moving in and out all the time.
So uh, is it just me, or does this link to the second page of a 2 page story? Had me confused for a sec.
Steam seems to work too.
The horror of such pests is not easy to forget.