Buy a couple really big mattress moving bags (large, heavy weight plastic bags) and seal the couch inside the bags for 3-4 days with a bunch of D-Earth. You'll be fine.

Having survived a bedbug infestation two years ago, I am traumatized, so feel free to take my advice with a grain of salt. My first instinct is to tell you not to do this unless you absolutely need a sofa and this is a once-in-a-lifetime find.

BUT, if you're going to anyway, I would hold off on promising anything definite to the seller until you can inspect the piece. Turn over the cushions. Hell, turn over the couch itself. Pull at the seams and look at the joints. Unzip the cushions and look inside if you can. You aren't looking for live bugs (because you most likely won't find any unless there's a severe infestation), but black, ink-like spots, almost looking like dried blood, or little loose black specks that look like the inside of a vanilla bean.

Even if you don't find anything like this, I would have the couch cleaned by a professional before bringing it into my home, or rent a steamer and clean it myself (steam kills everything).

When I lived in Chicago, I bought tons of used furniture and even picked up furniture off the street. I never had a problem. My friends all had used furniture too and they never had problems either. I live in New York now (Washington Heights) and would definitely think twice about it.

If I were you, I'd talk candidly with the seller about your concerns and then inspect that sofa as suggested above. If it's a piece you love and want, get it, but it might be worth investing in cleaning it (especially if it's cheap).

YES, you do run a high risk. I've had bed bugs and this too traumatized me for life.

I live in New York and I have lots of used furniture. I would never pull something off the street these days, but I bought my couch off craigslist and examined it very closely before I brought it home and it's been fine (almost a year later, no bugs). Most of my used furniture comes from a thrift store where upholstered goods are steam cleaned before being sold. I feel totally safe buying things there.

You can inspect the piece and you might not see it since they are clever creatures the dreaded bedbugs.
I would:
Buy a couple really big mattress moving bags (large, heavy weight plastic bags) and seal the couch inside the bags for 3-4 days with a bunch of D-Earth.

I worry about that kind of stuff, too, but not a whole lot. I have the benefit of living in Minnesota, where I can put stuff outside in the winter, give it a vacuum, and everything's right as rain from the freezing cold.
I'm a furniture-napper for sure, but I try not to grab upholstered items off of the street for exactly this reason.
I'm with I Love Upstate and latoyaversailles - they've got some good anti-bedbug tips. Honestly, if you find anything, you can probably use it as a bargaining chip, too, and see if you can't get the $100 price tag dropped. Sounds like a good score!

YES you should be worried! I never thought about it until my college student son sprayed pesticides for a summer job. He had to be certified and received a lot of training! He showed be a video to me of bed bugs, from old furniture! They replicate so quickly and are difficult to get rid of! I would for sure, do what some of the comments above suggest!

As a summer camp counselor an area of the united states known for its bed bug population, bed bugs are just about the worst, most obnoxious thing you'll ever be up against. THAT SAID, there are ways to deal with them preemptively that are way less of a headache than dealing with them once they're in your house. If you heat the sofa up enough (do some research on just how much), you'll be golden. Don't, however, rely on just looking at the couch. Bed bugs are really hard to see and are all too easily confused with chiggers or any other kind of small bug.

I live in the DC suburbs, and when I bought my couch on Craigslist I had lots of friends similarly freak out for me. I've never had a problem, but I'd still err on the side of safety if it has you concerned. I like everyone's suggestion for D-Earth, and will probably employ it if I purchase a used couch or arm chair in the future!

I'm so freaked out by the possiblity of getting bedbugs or roaches that I worry when my step-daughter comes to visit. She lives in an apartment that frequently has problems with both creatures, and I'm concerned she'll tote a roach over in a diaper bag or bed-bugs on her blue jeans.

I have purchased used sofa and chairs off Craigslist and have never had any problems. I suggest you inspect the sofa for bugs before buying and then steam clean it if you buy it.

Emma,

It depends on where you live. In places such as New York - dense urban environments - bed bug infestations are much more likely because they hop from apartment to apartment. And to Thorndale, yes, bed bugs can live in couch frames. No, reupholstering does not necessarily make you safer. And yes, wealthy people get bed bugs. I've read a couple of articles about VERY high end (prewar) co-ops where the whole building was infested.

That being said, I have bought used furniture off Craigslist, because bed bugs aren't a big problem here in Dallas. Fleas are, though, so if you can, before you bring it inside, I would take the other reader's suggestion, encase the thing in plastic, and either close it up with some diatomacious (sp?) earth, or you can use a natural flea repellent. I've used one with peppermint and orange extracts in it that got rid of a whole-apartment flea infestation (I can't remember the brand, but I got it at PetSmart), and it vacuums up without staining or discoloring upholstery.

Yes wealthy folks get bedbugs. Some of the highest end hotels in Manhattan are having problems.

No way would I buy something in NYC off of Craigslist. I would, however consider buying a piece on Ebay from a location that is not densely populated (better if the person was a dealer because they probably have inspected the item thoroughly). The latest statistic in NYC re: bedbugs wasn't good - something like more than one in 10 people currently have them. And they have been showing up routinely in stores and office bldgs too! And that recent New York magazine article is proof that wealthy areas such as the UES are already infested to the gills.

@haunted-Studio: D. Earth may help but it works after a long while. I'd say 2 months to be safe.

Honey, if it gives you a little perspective, when I began buying second hand clothes 'n stuff in the 80's folk who would never buy second hand EVER, would go on and on saying, 'you dont' know where that's been!!'.

Needless to say, the second hand market has since become 'vintage' and folk still buy uphostered antique furniture that costs a fortune. I'm not saying it won't happen but more often than not it'll be fine.

Just use common sense when buying anything.... have a good look at it before you hand over your cash and a quick steam clean should do the trick.

(I'm sure you can borrow steam cleaner of a buddy, I bought mine on ebay for less than €14

Hi all - Emma (the question-asker) here.

After thinking it over, I've decided to proceed with caution. Though bedbugs are starting to emerge in my city, we don't have huge problems with them. I've already seen the couch in person, but I'm going to inspect it more closely before I take it home. I also plan to steam clean it before I bring it inside.

I also talked to the seller about my concerns, and she says she's never had any problems with bed bugs.

Anyway, I'm certainly not as freaked out as I was earlier this week, but I had never really considered this aspect of buying used furniture before and I'm now going into it eyes-wide-open.

Thanks for all of your comments!

Oh yeah - what is D-earth? I'm in Canada and I've never heard of it before.

I think she's talking about diatomaceous earth. It's some kind of natural fine abrasive that gets into the bugs' bodies and kills them, an effect like shrapnel would have on us.

yes its D.E. (diatomaceous earth) make sure you get the kind for farming NOT the kind for pools!

Actually diatomaceous earth works by "absorb[ing] lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate". In a sense you are dehydrating the bugs to death.

Good luck, Emma! I'm glad you're going to check it out.

What "Maurs" said could have come from me too. I've been buying 2nd-hand since the '80s, and have never had a single problem. I haven't lived in NYC, but I have in San Francisco.

Eyes-wide open & forge ahead! Have fun!

Thanks for the information. I hadn't known that bed bugs could get in on furniture that's not upholstered. I'm not worried as much by roaches and fleas, since I know how to kill them fast. Bed bugs, however, are unfamiliar, and I hear horror stories. BTW, what diseases do bed bugs pass to people?

I bought something off of craigslist and yes it had critters on it! very traumatizing! Just be careful and voice your concerns to the seller, if you are moving yourself, make sure the fabric does not touch your skin before you have time to treat the upholstery.

i know very little about the subject but have a couple "real life" instances to share in response to some of the questions stated above...

1) to address the non-upholstery question: my friend suffered an EXTREME case of bedbugs (well, maybe all cases are extreme) in which the bugs were determined to come from her grandmother's antique cast-iron bed frame. like others mentioned, it seems they can live just about anywhere.

2) i've had friends living in multi-million dollar homes with live-in housekeepers who had bedbugs in their homes. bb's don't discriminate!

3) a friend who went through a bed bug fiasco lost a lot of clothing/ bedding and furniture... but worst of all, she has many scars from their bites.

so... above is worst case scenario"... how dare those bugs intrude on the excitement of a great find!

I checked AT back posts on bedbugs. What great motivation to forego travelling and shopping for clothes or furnishings. That could help a person to save significant money. Asinine jokes aside, bedbugs sound horrible, and it's especially bad that they can get in from the neighbors' in an apartment building.

I wish you were buying the couch in the picture! Amazing...

Anyway, looks like you already decided (at least tentatively) to go ahead with your purchase, but as someone who's never bought a new piece of upholstered furniture, instead boasting an assortment from craigslist, thrift stores and curbsides in major urban areas and college towns in several states and *never* had a problem, just wanted to reaffirm your decision. I don't think the slight chance you might get bed bugs is good enough reason to pass on a really great find.