BB product at Home Depot

[Madeleine]

I received the dreaded call at 2 am that they were being bitten by bugs so I went up to the room in my pajamas to take a look. I saw the bugs but I did not know what they were. I apologized to the guests and took the dead bugs they had to identify them later. They were checking out the next morning. I looked online and they matched up with what a bed bug is. I am not sure if these people purposely let them out in the room as I have heard of that happening or if they just were carried in on someone's luggage. They have never been found in any other room and I am now checking after each departure all around the mattresses, in the folds and seams and in between the mattress. You will see blood streaks on the sheets from the bugs and they look like a apple seed.
When the exterminator came the second time he sprayed the room down entirely and put up an contraption that hung from the ceiling to let off a bunch of poison for a week to kill them. That did the trick. When guests asked what he was doing he told them he was just there for spiders and ants so not to alarm anyone.
All we can do is keep up on them and constantly check. It is not the inn's fault because they are brought in from the guests on their clothes or luggage. It is only the inn's fault if they do nothing about them. You don't want to do because they will spread and get worse..

Thank you again for telling about your experience. I didn't know that they could be limited to just one room. I have heard/read too many horror stories about them. Thought you had to treat the whole place.
I guess the thing to do is find out in advance who is a good exterminator. It might not hurt to have someone come once in a while as we DO have lots of spiders that get on the siding outside from the nearby woods. We are constantly wiping them down, hosing the siding and washing those windows...sigh...
.

If you find the bugs in one room you are supposed to treat all of the adjacent rooms- side by side and up. Incorrectly treated they will pack up and move to the room next door. Or upstairs. (Apparently they don't go downstairs, which is odd. And I can't remember where I heard that.)
Check your mattress pads every time you strip a bed. Pull the mattress & boxspring off the rails and wipe them down every once in awhile. Don't let beds touch the walls. Heat is your friend in the battle. Be sure to dry everything loosely packed in the dryer, not tightly packed. Check the dryer screen after every load for 'dead bodies'. If you have nightstands wipe them down inside and out and look at the cleaning cloth for traces of blood and poop. These suckers are just eating and pooping machines.
If you show guests to their rooms, pull out the luggage rack and point to it so they know the bags don't go on the beds. (Big peeve of mine- filthy, wet suitcases thrown on the beds.)
Also know that a very small percentage of the population ever knows they were bitten. Many people do not get itchy. So, if anyone brings it up it does not mean they are at your place. The guest could have been bitten on the plane or at the last place they stayed. And bb's don't hang on like ticks do. They eat and run. So, if a guest comes and shows you a bug stuck on them it's probably not a bb.
If it happens, get info about where the guest was before. Car rental company, airline, other lodging, etc. There was a big outbreak in a clothing store in NYC. A movie theater as well.
There are things we can do to keep our peace of mind. Another thing to remember is bb's are everywhere. But, like mosquitoes here, a lot of people just consider them annoying. Unlike mosquitoes, so far bb's don't transmit disease.
Ever have someone stay with you who doesn't know about mosquitoes or gnats or black flies? They show up for breakfast covered in bites and tell you horror stories about sitting outside for dinner and the BUGS!
.

Thank you for this information. I really need to calm down about this, I had nightmares last night just from this thread. I can deal with spiders, ticks, mice, no problem, but for some reason, these freak me out.
I think I would feel better having a plan. We do strip ALL of the linens, including mattress pads between guests, and all is washed and dryed...will do dryer on hot.
We do check for every dot on them. We also bought the mattress covers that are supposed to be bb proof, and but them on all mattresses and box springs...a bit of expense, but made me feel better.
An entomologist staying with us last year spoke about seeing nymphs at one place but not adults, he said they got out of there, put all their things in plastic trash bags, threw out what they could, and washed and dried everything on hot. Also, left things in the trunk of their car in the hot sun.
.

Mattress covers- did they come with the tape that goes over the end of the zipper? If not, tape over the end where the zipper closes. (Sorry, I know you're stressing, I'm trying to help not make it worse.)

 

[white pine]

I received the dreaded call at 2 am that they were being bitten by bugs so I went up to the room in my pajamas to take a look. I saw the bugs but I did not know what they were. I apologized to the guests and took the dead bugs they had to identify them later. They were checking out the next morning. I looked online and they matched up with what a bed bug is. I am not sure if these people purposely let them out in the room as I have heard of that happening or if they just were carried in on someone's luggage. They have never been found in any other room and I am now checking after each departure all around the mattresses, in the folds and seams and in between the mattress. You will see blood streaks on the sheets from the bugs and they look like a apple seed.
When the exterminator came the second time he sprayed the room down entirely and put up an contraption that hung from the ceiling to let off a bunch of poison for a week to kill them. That did the trick. When guests asked what he was doing he told them he was just there for spiders and ants so not to alarm anyone.
All we can do is keep up on them and constantly check. It is not the inn's fault because they are brought in from the guests on their clothes or luggage. It is only the inn's fault if they do nothing about them. You don't want to do because they will spread and get worse..

Thank you again for telling about your experience. I didn't know that they could be limited to just one room. I have heard/read too many horror stories about them. Thought you had to treat the whole place.
I guess the thing to do is find out in advance who is a good exterminator. It might not hurt to have someone come once in a while as we DO have lots of spiders that get on the siding outside from the nearby woods. We are constantly wiping them down, hosing the siding and washing those windows...sigh...
.

If you find the bugs in one room you are supposed to treat all of the adjacent rooms- side by side and up. Incorrectly treated they will pack up and move to the room next door. Or upstairs. (Apparently they don't go downstairs, which is odd. And I can't remember where I heard that.)
Check your mattress pads every time you strip a bed. Pull the mattress & boxspring off the rails and wipe them down every once in awhile. Don't let beds touch the walls. Heat is your friend in the battle. Be sure to dry everything loosely packed in the dryer, not tightly packed. Check the dryer screen after every load for 'dead bodies'. If you have nightstands wipe them down inside and out and look at the cleaning cloth for traces of blood and poop. These suckers are just eating and pooping machines.
If you show guests to their rooms, pull out the luggage rack and point to it so they know the bags don't go on the beds. (Big peeve of mine- filthy, wet suitcases thrown on the beds.)
Also know that a very small percentage of the population ever knows they were bitten. Many people do not get itchy. So, if anyone brings it up it does not mean they are at your place. The guest could have been bitten on the plane or at the last place they stayed. And bb's don't hang on like ticks do. They eat and run. So, if a guest comes and shows you a bug stuck on them it's probably not a bb.
If it happens, get info about where the guest was before. Car rental company, airline, other lodging, etc. There was a big outbreak in a clothing store in NYC. A movie theater as well.
There are things we can do to keep our peace of mind. Another thing to remember is bb's are everywhere. But, like mosquitoes here, a lot of people just consider them annoying. Unlike mosquitoes, so far bb's don't transmit disease.
Ever have someone stay with you who doesn't know about mosquitoes or gnats or black flies? They show up for breakfast covered in bites and tell you horror stories about sitting outside for dinner and the BUGS!
.

Thank you for this information. I really need to calm down about this, I had nightmares last night just from this thread. I can deal with spiders, ticks, mice, no problem, but for some reason, these freak me out.
I think I would feel better having a plan. We do strip ALL of the linens, including mattress pads between guests, and all is washed and dryed...will do dryer on hot.
We do check for every dot on them. We also bought the mattress covers that are supposed to be bb proof, and but them on all mattresses and box springs...a bit of expense, but made me feel better.
An entomologist staying with us last year spoke about seeing nymphs at one place but not adults, he said they got out of there, put all their things in plastic trash bags, threw out what they could, and washed and dried everything on hot. Also, left things in the trunk of their car in the hot sun.
.

Mattress covers- did they come with the tape that goes over the end of the zipper? If not, tape over the end where the zipper closes. (Sorry, I know you're stressing, I'm trying to help not make it worse.)
.

There is a flap, no tape...what kind of tape? Like white adhesive first aid tape?? Good idea...THANKS.

 

[Joey Camb]

I purchased a set of these to see if they work. They are under the mattress in one room that had a bed bug problem here. So far nothing has entered the trap so I think the problem has been eliminated. It was a terrible experience finding out one room had bed bugs and from that point on I was having nightmares about the bugs. I was worried the rest of the house of infected. I'm not sure how they got there because I had never seen a bed bug before until this experience and it took two tries from the exterminator to kill them all. The room was closed off for a week during the process to kill them. All linens had to be washed on very hot water and dried on hot. I had to do this twice after they reappeared the second time a month later. I never thought it would happen to me because my place is very clean but it did. Now I am always on the look out for bed bugs..

thing is though its not about clean where you are - its about where the guest has been before you ie if they have been in a roach motel - bugs climb onto the case and then are transported to yours - its what you do about the problem that matters!

 

[Madeleine]

I received the dreaded call at 2 am that they were being bitten by bugs so I went up to the room in my pajamas to take a look. I saw the bugs but I did not know what they were. I apologized to the guests and took the dead bugs they had to identify them later. They were checking out the next morning. I looked online and they matched up with what a bed bug is. I am not sure if these people purposely let them out in the room as I have heard of that happening or if they just were carried in on someone's luggage. They have never been found in any other room and I am now checking after each departure all around the mattresses, in the folds and seams and in between the mattress. You will see blood streaks on the sheets from the bugs and they look like a apple seed.
When the exterminator came the second time he sprayed the room down entirely and put up an contraption that hung from the ceiling to let off a bunch of poison for a week to kill them. That did the trick. When guests asked what he was doing he told them he was just there for spiders and ants so not to alarm anyone.
All we can do is keep up on them and constantly check. It is not the inn's fault because they are brought in from the guests on their clothes or luggage. It is only the inn's fault if they do nothing about them. You don't want to do because they will spread and get worse..

Thank you again for telling about your experience. I didn't know that they could be limited to just one room. I have heard/read too many horror stories about them. Thought you had to treat the whole place.
I guess the thing to do is find out in advance who is a good exterminator. It might not hurt to have someone come once in a while as we DO have lots of spiders that get on the siding outside from the nearby woods. We are constantly wiping them down, hosing the siding and washing those windows...sigh...
.

If you find the bugs in one room you are supposed to treat all of the adjacent rooms- side by side and up. Incorrectly treated they will pack up and move to the room next door. Or upstairs. (Apparently they don't go downstairs, which is odd. And I can't remember where I heard that.)
Check your mattress pads every time you strip a bed. Pull the mattress & boxspring off the rails and wipe them down every once in awhile. Don't let beds touch the walls. Heat is your friend in the battle. Be sure to dry everything loosely packed in the dryer, not tightly packed. Check the dryer screen after every load for 'dead bodies'. If you have nightstands wipe them down inside and out and look at the cleaning cloth for traces of blood and poop. These suckers are just eating and pooping machines.
If you show guests to their rooms, pull out the luggage rack and point to it so they know the bags don't go on the beds. (Big peeve of mine- filthy, wet suitcases thrown on the beds.)
Also know that a very small percentage of the population ever knows they were bitten. Many people do not get itchy. So, if anyone brings it up it does not mean they are at your place. The guest could have been bitten on the plane or at the last place they stayed. And bb's don't hang on like ticks do. They eat and run. So, if a guest comes and shows you a bug stuck on them it's probably not a bb.
If it happens, get info about where the guest was before. Car rental company, airline, other lodging, etc. There was a big outbreak in a clothing store in NYC. A movie theater as well.
There are things we can do to keep our peace of mind. Another thing to remember is bb's are everywhere. But, like mosquitoes here, a lot of people just consider them annoying. Unlike mosquitoes, so far bb's don't transmit disease.
Ever have someone stay with you who doesn't know about mosquitoes or gnats or black flies? They show up for breakfast covered in bites and tell you horror stories about sitting outside for dinner and the BUGS!
.

Thank you for this information. I really need to calm down about this, I had nightmares last night just from this thread. I can deal with spiders, ticks, mice, no problem, but for some reason, these freak me out.
I think I would feel better having a plan. We do strip ALL of the linens, including mattress pads between guests, and all is washed and dryed...will do dryer on hot.
We do check for every dot on them. We also bought the mattress covers that are supposed to be bb proof, and but them on all mattresses and box springs...a bit of expense, but made me feel better.
An entomologist staying with us last year spoke about seeing nymphs at one place but not adults, he said they got out of there, put all their things in plastic trash bags, threw out what they could, and washed and dried everything on hot. Also, left things in the trunk of their car in the hot sun.
.

Mattress covers- did they come with the tape that goes over the end of the zipper? If not, tape over the end where the zipper closes. (Sorry, I know you're stressing, I'm trying to help not make it worse.)
.

There is a flap, no tape...what kind of tape? Like white adhesive first aid tape?? Good idea...THANKS.
.

I think any kind of tape that will stick to the cover will work. You don't want something that just peels off when you change the sheets. Altho DH would use duct tape I wouldn't. ;-)