Eeek - I think I have bedbugs - OS Solution?

Actiongirl_2

Hi all,

The last three nights I have been bitten to pieces and then this morning my husband has a bite. My conclusion is bedbugs - my husband is often away on business and stays in hotels so I expect one has hitched a lift home and made itself comfy.

Online research suggests that these are a dreadful pest and so also probably quite difficult to remove.

But, are there any OS solutions that anyone knows of?

I have done all the basics - vacced the divan/mattress hot wash of sheets, hoovered in every crack and behind bed etc.

Help please because I might have to sleep with the lights on soon!!!

rosie383

Are you sure they are bedbug bites? Different from fleabites. See this page.
http://www.scambs.gov.uk/environment/pestsandnuisance/insectpests/bedbugs.htm

GreyQueen

If you're sure it's bedbugs (see previous post) I'd get onto the blower to the Environmental Health Dept of your council ASAP. They're difficult to get rid of and the sooner you get started the better.

I don't think there is an OS remedy; 19th and early 20th century housekeeping manuals are rife with the attempts to get rid of them but I think it was one case where modern chemicals were the only remedy. HTH.

funkymonkey849

I wouldn't be sure its bedbugs unless you have seen squished blood in the sheets

I will often get bitten by some kind of beastie - it usually happen a couple of times a year. I will get bitten to &*%! for a few days and then it will stop. I guess a bug has just wandered in to have a munch.

Remember that a bite can take a day or two to show so you might think you have been bitten in the night but chances are it will have happened before

BitterAndTwisted

If they are bedbugs then you are going to have to resort to WWIII-like proportions to get shot of them. They can secrete themselves in almost anywhere like joins in the skirting-boards and under the wallpaper and are very, very difficult to eradicate. The risk of a bedbug hitching a ride home is higher than you might think: I read something not very long ago that a VERY high proportion of carriages on the London underground are infested and that is THE NUMBER ONE REASON why you should keep coats and jackets hanging up inside the front door and never, ever take them upstairs and put them in wardrobes.

Some friends of mine in New York burned all of their bedroom furniture when they had to move because of them. Horrible, horrible things!

Pink.

Hi Actiongirl,

How rotten for you. If you are certain they are bed bugs it may be best to get professional help as they are notoriously difficult to get rid of. In the meantime these previous threads may help:

Bed bugs - HELP!!

bed bugs?!!!ahhh

Bed Bugs !

I'll add your thread to the first link later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

Penelope_Penguin

Actiongirl wrote: »

Hi all,

The last three nights I have been bitten to pieces and then this morning my husband has a bite. My conclusion is bedbugs

It might be mosquitoes - from experience, they will start appearing anytime soon :eek:

hannahO_2

In bed with bugs - don't we just love this conversation *scratch, scratch*

Do you live in a block of flats or converted flats in a house? If so, how clean is your neighbours? They can travel down or upstairs too.

How about steam cleaning? Surely, if it kills dustmites and ability to burn your skin at a temperature over 100c, it must flash those beasties out of little nooks and crannies and kill them?

thunderchild

We had them, we think they hitched a lift back from a family holiday at a well known holiday park! In the end we ended up buying bug bombs. I upended the mattress and balanced it on the divan bases in a sort of table fashion and put the bombs underneath it so it could smoke thru it. Worked a treat!

Actiongirl_2

Hi all, thanks for your replies. I saw them earlier and rang rento-bug-killers straight away. The man couldn't actually find any conclusive proof of BBs which is great because they charge a LOT of money to get rid of them. On the down side it could be bird nest mites as we have several families lodging in our loft at the moment. (Old listed house, holes appear faster than we can patch them..)

So, I continue to scratch and the nice man is going to bring some bug detectors round. And I am going to obsessively clean until I stop getting bitten!!!!

lostinrates

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

It might be mosquitoes - from experience, they will start appearing anytime soon :eek:

yes, we noticed them a couple of weeks ago with horror.