Bed Bugs - on the Exterminators Show

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JBloggs

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Not sure if anyone saw that Exterminators show on tv last night. One case they had was of bed bugs in Hollywood CA.
We have discussed this here - look for blood stains (fecal matter) around the mattress edging etc. I always look. Well I learned something else last night...
Although bed bugs can be anywhere in a home/hotel/room - laundry, curtains etc. Bed Bugs are attracted to the CO2 from human breath. So this exterminator looked and saw no evidence, then said "You need to check under the HEAD of the bed" due to the co2. He lifted the mattress with flashlight and it was infested! They are small and white until the are full of blood, then they are larger and brown.
So check beneath the bed heads on your bed. I never looked there!!!
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so.
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
InnCaring said:
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so.
Are you speaking of a cover specifically for bed bugs? We have our mattresses covered with water proof vinyl-lined padded mattress cover. Wouldn't this essentially be the same thing?
 
I found it dubious that nearly every article I found on bedbug mattress and spring covers always accompanied a link to try to sell me them.
I did find this article that in Pest Managment Professional that provides some good info and doesn't try to sell anything
http://www.mypmp.net/pestcontrol/Feature+Article/Just-Encase/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/419435
The author of this article also has some videos that seem to address the same topic
http://www.bedbugcentral.com/news/story.cfm/richard-cooper-evaluates-bed-bug-mattress-encasements
here they are embedded:
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
InnCaring said:
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so.
Are you speaking of a cover specifically for bed bugs? We have our mattresses covered with water proof vinyl-lined padded mattress cover. Wouldn't this essentially be the same thing?
.
I'm not sure if your covers would work or not. Unless the vinyl goes totally around the entire mattress it doesn't work. Also, it has to do not only with the cover material, but the zipper needs to have bug lock - a three sided zipper system to keep bugs from getting through. The bugs are micoscopic when hatched and can get through small spaces. Did the covers specifically say they were good for bed bugs?
 
Forgot to add they were going from one apartment to the next via the outlets on the walls near the bed.
The treatment they used was to heat the apartment to 135+ degrees for 48 hours (the exterminator brings in this giant safe heating units). This is apparently the new and efficient way to treat them. It is not something you can treat yourself.
 
can you blast hot air with a blow dryer at the electric outlets for a few minutes? and/or at the mattress enclosure zippers? is that a dumb idea?
 
can you blast hot air with a blow dryer at the electric outlets for a few minutes? and/or at the mattress enclosure zippers? is that a dumb idea?.
seashanty said:
can you blast hot air with a blow dryer at the electric outlets for a few minutes? and/or at the mattress enclosure zippers? is that a dumb idea?
more than a few minutes.
 
I still think we encountered them in VA Beach in June. See I never looked around the headboard...but it is so dang buggy over there who knows what.
We have so few bugs here in comparison to many areas, I am grateful for that. This year we had some rain so the mozzies multiplied like crazy! I am ready for Fall and Winter. The beauty of seasons!
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
eeew....Is this the show you watched? Eeeewwwww...Sorry I have never seen..but I don't think I will be putting in on my viewing list.
I have shared this information here several times with links to "research based information" from the Extension Service. Here it is again...so you don't have to search.
devil_smile.gif

 
This is what I don't get. If you encase the mattress, what prevents new bugs from simply living elsewhere in the environment? How does the encasement prevent new invaiders????
 
This is what I don't get. If you encase the mattress, what prevents new bugs from simply living elsewhere in the environment? How does the encasement prevent new invaiders????.
The Farmers Daughter said:
How does the encasement prevent new invaiders????
I don't think it prevents them from living in other places; it just saves you having to replace the mattress and boxsprings if you have an infestation.
We bought the encasements for the mattresses and boxsprings last year. Knock on wood, we haven't seen or heard of any bedbugs in our area yet, but we know they have them in the big cities nearby that are our main source of customers. Since all the mattresses/boxsprings are new since we bought the inn, we thought we should protect them.
 
This is what I don't get. If you encase the mattress, what prevents new bugs from simply living elsewhere in the environment? How does the encasement prevent new invaiders????.
The Farmers Daughter said:
How does the encasement prevent new invaiders????
I don't think it prevents them from living in other places; it just saves you having to replace the mattress and boxsprings if you have an infestation.
We bought the encasements for the mattresses and boxsprings last year. Knock on wood, we haven't seen or heard of any bedbugs in our area yet, but we know they have them in the big cities nearby that are our main source of customers. Since all the mattresses/boxsprings are new since we bought the inn, we thought we should protect them.
.
Yep you are right. If you get them, they can be anywhere.....The point is to protect your mattresses so that if an infestation happens, it doesn't ruin your mattresses and you won't have to replace them. I think you were wise to do that when you got new ones since you are so close to a Metro area and might be more likely to have foreign travelers.
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
InnCaring said:
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
Riki
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
InnCaring said:
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
Riki
.
egoodell said:
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
This is the online store where I found mine. I used the vinyl covers for both the mattress and box springs, then featherbeds on top and the breathable waterproof mattress covers over those. To avoid having the crinkling noise you get with the vinyl if it's too close to the sleeping surface. It's still going to run about $100-$125 per bed but that's a lot less than a new mattress. Don't forget the bed-wetting story we had last year - https://www.innspiring.com/node/853.
 
whatchutalkingabout_smile.gif
Yikes! When I pulled the mattress cover off of a mattress this morning, I saw a small brown object resting right smack in the middle of the pillowtop. I immediately thought of this thread. I carefully collected the object (non-moving btw) and slipped my readers on to see what it was.....still too small.
I transported it to the house wrapped in a piece of toilet paper and began hunting for my magnifying glass.....(it's around here somewhere!) False alarm. It was a grass burr.
Talk about the power of suggestion. Geez!
 
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
If you do encounter the problem, the covers can be removed then washed and dried in hot water and put back on your box spring & mattress. Washing in hot water and drying kills the bugs. This way your expensive investment is saved. You will still have to have the exterminator out and usually take the room out of service for a week, but at least you won't have to buy a new box spring and mattress.
Also, tell your housekeeping staff to keep their eyes open for the thin blood trails on your linens. If you see anything on the linens it is a good indication to check further along the mattress welting and under the mattress head as Joe suggested.
A bed bug problem has nothing to do with how clean you keep your Bed and Breakfast. It is usually spread by people who come in contact with the pest and then bring it to your B&B in their luggage. So, if you have never checked out what a bed bug looks like or other information about this pest, now would be a good time to do so..
InnCaring said:
This is a very serious problem and one that I encountered on the East Coast while on an inn sitting assignment.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before or not, but it bears repeating. One way you can protect yourself from having to throw out your box spring and mattress is to encase each of them in special bed bug covers. The $35 or so cost per cover is nothing compared to what you will have to spend on a new box spring and mattress. Bed bugs can live in a mattress for over a year without a blood meal.
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
Riki
.
egoodell said:
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
This is the online store where I found mine. I used the vinyl covers for both the mattress and box springs, then featherbeds on top and the breathable waterproof mattress covers over those. To avoid having the crinkling noise you get with the vinyl if it's too close to the sleeping surface. It's still going to run about $100-$125 per bed but that's a lot less than a new mattress. Don't forget the bed-wetting story we had last year - https://www.innspiring.com/node/853.
.
muirford said:
egoodell said:
Can you tell me where you got bed bug covers for $35? All the scare emails I get show them costing something litk $100 per mattress.
This is the online store where I found mine. I used the vinyl covers for both the mattress and box springs, then featherbeds on top and the breathable waterproof mattress covers over those. To avoid having the crinkling noise you get with the vinyl if it's too close to the sleeping surface. It's still going to run about $100-$125 per bed but that's a lot less than a new mattress. Don't forget the bed-wetting story we had last year - https://www.innspiring.com/node/853.
Thanks, I'll check it. We already have the non-noisy waterproof covers. Do I put the bedbug ones over them?
Riki
 
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