how do i get rid of bed bugs?

Question

I 've been living in my new apartment for two weeks and i noticed a lot of bites on my daughters arm. I took her to the doctor and he said they are bed bug bites! I inspected her room and sure enough there they were. I tried to spray them with raid, I even fumigated the room but they are still there! what should I do?

Answer 1

Thoroughly clean the infested rooms as well as others in the residence. Scrub infested surfaces with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs, and use a powerful vacuum to remove bed bugs from cracks and crevices. Dismantling bed frames will expose additional bug hiding sites. Remove drawers from desks and dressers and turn furniture over, if possible, to inspect and clean all hiding spots.

Mattresses and box springs can be permanently encased within special mattress bags. Once they are installed, inspect the bags to ensure they are undamaged; if any holes or tears are found, seal these completely with permanent tape. Any bugs trapped within these sealed bags will eventually die.

To prevent bed bugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won’t contact the floor, and place the frame legs into dishes or cups of mineral oil.

Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove moldings to further reduce harborages.

If you are a tenant, contact your property manager or landlord to discuss your respective obligations, and to agree on a plan to manage the infestation. Generally, landlords are legally required to contract with a licensed pest control operator.

Request a written integrated pest management (IPM) plan from the pest control operator. This plan should detail the methods and insecticides to be used by the pest control operator, and describe the efforts expected by the building manager as well as by the tenants.

Because bed bugs and other pests may spread through cracks and holes in the walls, ceilings and floors, it is wise to inspect adjoining apartments on the same floor as well as those directly above and below.

What are your rights and obligations?
Landlords and property owners have specific legal obligations to provide safe and habitable accommodations for tenants. Certain infestations, including bed bugs, may constitute an unacceptable condition. Tenants have an obligation to cooperate with owners and landlords. This includes preparing the apartment so that the pest control operator can easily inspect the rooms and treat if necessary. Contact your state or municipal health agency or housing authority for more guidance on these issues.

Do not apply pesticides unless you fully understand what you are applying and the risks involved. You are legally liable if you misapply a pesticide, or apply it without a license to the property of another (including common spaces in apartment buildings). Generally, landlords, owners and building managers cannot legally apply pesticides. They should, instead, hire a licensed pest control operator to confirm the infestation and to develop an integrated pest management plan.

Do not dispose of furniture that is useful. Infested furniture can be cleaned and treated. Placing infested furniture (particularly mattresses) into common areas or on the street may simply help spread bed bugs to the homes of other people. Infested furniture intended for disposal should be defaced to make it less attractive to other people. Officials in some municipalities affix to potentially infested furniture a label to warn of bed bugs. To reduce opportunities of infested furniture re-entering their building, building managers should ensure that any disposed furniture is locked within a dumpster or immediately carted away to a landfill or waste facility.

Answer 2

Of course spray the mattress with insecticide but what you need to do after that is purchase a mattress bag with a zipper to fully enclose and suffocate the little critters. There are eggs that will hatch but they wont have a chance to become adults bugs. Of course there are companies that handle mattress treatment but I would say were costly. Get the bag a fully enclose the mattress and get something for the box spring as well.

Answer 3

Been there, they were feasting on me!
If you are in an apartment, the landlords should be responsible for getting an exterminator for you.
Even then, they dont really go away.
Raid is not going to help either.
2 different ways of getting rid of them:
Go to Lowe's or Home Depot, there is this stuff called Bayer Advanced (in a blue spray bottle) for indoor/outdoor pest control. Keep any animals away from it until it dries.
Worked for my problem.

If that doesnt work, the only other thing you could do is get rid of the bed.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 4

if you say you have fumigated your room, and it doesn't work, i think your bed then. a mattress bug. i suggest u to 'sunbath' your mattress. put it outside your house when the weather is hot, and leave it for a couple of hours. there will be a little bit smell on ur mattress after that, but don't worry, it will gone soon. or you can get a new mattress. try it. it works =)

Answer 5

I got bed bugs and took them home with me after staying the night at a friends house. I went home and after a week or so in the morning I had a line of about 7 bites on one arm. The next day I woke up and had a lot more. I didn't know what this was so I went to my doctor. She told me it looked like it was bed bugs since she had asked me to tell her what I did prior to getting the bites. She told me that the best way would be to get an exterminator that used heat to kill them. I went home did research on the internet and found out heat at around 113 degrees kills them quick. I decided to used this method and off to Home Depot I went. I looked at room heaters and saw that they only went to 85-90 degrees before automatically shutting off. I went to the outdoor heater section and found a portable propane heater for 189.00USD I purchased it and went home and assembled it. I took my grill propane tank to get filled 15.00 bucks. I got home stood my mattress and box spring on their sides leaving all the sheets and stuff on them. I took out my spray deodorant and cologne, candle, and other liquids out of my room. I also took the smoke detectors out from the ceiling. I ran the propane line under the door to approximately 10 feet away from the door of my room. Close your air condtioner vent. I went in lighted the heater and set the thing on HIGH. I left it on for around 45 minutes making sure I'd go in every 10 minutes to check if my house was in fire. Luckily everything was good. I had left a thermometer on the floor of my room away from the heater since heat rises at the 20 minute check it read 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I did see that my plastic hangers had wilted and sagged from the heat. I let the room cool with the door shut and didn't sleep there til the next day. A few weeks went by and then they were back! I again did the same thing except this time I took my shoes out cause I had to replace them after I melted the glue out of my old ones and they fell apart. Once I was done with the same exact procedure I immediately ripped all the carpet off the floor and threw it away at the dumpster at some warehouse. The bed bugs are now gone its been almost a year now. No bites or nothing else purchased. If you're gonna used this method I recommend you thoroughly check for liquids before you do this. My thermometer read 165 degrees but that was the max reading I'm sure it was hotter. Another thing don't be stupid and leave the tank in the room you are heating up if you do you will die with the bugs. Check as often as you can. Remember propane leaves carbon monoxide a poisonous gas that kills you too so don't stay in the room long. Make sure you open the windows after you're done but let the room cool off on its own. Hopefully this will work for you. I wouldn't try this in an apartment though. Good luck and kill those *******.

Answer 6

Ive read and this sounds like a pain...To wrap the mattress/box spring in black plastic, like the huge contractors bags and put them outside in the sun on a hot day...It will cook the little bastards.... Also vacuum your matress regularly and keep it in a bedbug resistant cover...

Answer 7

I agree with Michael M

Answer 8

sorry to say
mattress in the trash.
clean the house and ,maybe exterminator to bomb the place