We HAD Bedbugs

The first thing you need to realize when you learn you've got bedbugs is that you don't just have a battle on your hands - you're in a FULL BLOWN WAR!

Bedbugs are very tenacious insects and they climb the learning curve. You have to annihilate them or they'll come back. This involves hard work and commitment. Fortunately, once you get rid of them they're loathe to return. DIATOMACEOUS EARTH kills bedbugs! But in order to succeed you'll have to be smarter and more tenacious than they are.

I first rea!ized we had bedbugs when I saw something like a brown pill bug, only a lot faster, charging at me across the sheets. I squashed it and it exploded in a dime sized blood stain. It was then I realized to my horror that we had bedbugs - and that was the reason for the red dots on my wife's and my arms and legs when we awoke. We had what I'd consider a small to moderate infestation: maybe 2-300 bedbugs total (for every full grown adult you see there are about ten smaller ones in various stages of development). We learned some things along the way:

1) Forget about pesticides. PESTICIDES DON'T WORK ON BEDBUGS! Bug sprays don't work. Bug bombs don't work. Pesticides only drive them into hiding... for a while.

2) Extreme cold kills them but has to be applied in such a way that none are missed. Heat kills them VERY well. Bedbugs can't stand temps above 115 F for more than fifteen minutes. Exterminators are now using 200,000 BTU heaters to heat houses, apartments and rooms up to 140 F for an hour. Bedbugs can run but they can't hide from heat. However, thermal extermination is expensive and doing an entire house can cost over $5,000. Rubbing alcohol kills them too, but only a few at a time.

Diatomaceous earth is definitely the the cheapest way to get rid of bedbugs. But you have to be thorough... persistent... and systematic. DE won't kill them immediately as it's not a pesticide. It takes a couple days to start working - and it will take a month or more to get them all.

3) You're the bait! Bedbugs love us and take great risks to suck our blood. Many die in the effort. They're most active between the hours of two and five am but they'll adjust their schedule to whatever yours is if need be. You can find them prowling around at any hour of the day or night.

When I discovered we had bedbugs I bug bombed and sprayed the house. But it quickly became clear that while they didn't like it, it wasn't killing them. That's when I realized we had a lot bigger problem on our hands than I first thought. Our own personal hell. Fortunately for bedbug sufferers the Internet has lots of information about how to fight them. After a day spent studying the problem I came up with a plan: diatomaceous earth, mattress covers, double sided tape, alcohol spray - and heat.

Diatomaceous earth comes in two grades: FOOD GRADE, which is the stuff you want. And pool grade, which is dangerous to people and pets. DE is very light and powdery, about like flour. It's made of TINY GLASS-LIKE SHARDS that work their way into the soft spaces of insect exoskeletons, cutting them up and causing them to dehydrate and die. Bedbugs don't seem to recognize it as a mortal danger and once it gets on them they can't get it off.

We dusted diatomaceous earth all around the bed, on the mattresses, underneath the bed and in the bed frame, the screw holes and any crevices, on the headboard, rails, legs and everywhere else. Then I dusted behind, inside and underneath the bedside tables and dressers, along the baseboards, in all the drawers, etc. Everywhere a bedbug might hide. Trust me, they're very good at hiding and when you make life hard for them around the bed they'll move their bases of operation to other corners of the room and bide their time.

We also put PLANT SAUCERS with diatomaceous earth dusted, not filled, into them, under each bed leg and support. This is real important because once you've defeated the ones hiding in your bed the only way those lurking elsewhere can reach you is by passing through it. As much as possible turn your bed into an island surrounded by an ocean of diatomaceous earth.

Use DOUBLE SIDED TAPE around all your bed's legs and supports, on the headboard, etc. They won't try to cross it and will in fact turn back around as soon as they encounter it. Forcing them to go back through the DE they just passed through. What you want to do is create choke points where they'll have to go through diatomaceous earth in order to get to you.

MATTRESS COVERS for the top and bottom mattresses. These are very important too. Bedbugs like to hide in mattress seams - and in the hidden recesses of box springs. Leave the mattress covers on for a long time too because they can live up to a year without feeding; and check the covers periodically to make sure there aren't any holes or tears they can climb in or out of, because they will definitely find them. Also, if anything - dust ruffle, sheet, bedspread, etc. is touching the floor or wall, fix that; because they can and will use it as an avenue to reach you.

LIGHTER COLORED SHEETS - to see them better. The nymphs are light tan colored, tiny, and a lot harder to see than the adults - which are 3/16 of an inch long and dark brown. About the size and color of an apple seed. Dark sheets will show up the little ones better. Light sheets will show up the bigger ones. Also, after nibbling on you they poop little black spots. If you start seeing little black spots on your sheets it's a very good sign you've got bedbugs. I went with medium light green sheets which worked well as I could see both adults and nymphs and their poop spots. Dark sheets will hide the poop spots. Also, it's a good idea to wash and dry your sheets daily until you clear your bed of them because these things lay eggs like crazy.

We got everything out from under the bed and put ALL our clothes, bedroom stuff etc. that bedbugs could hide in, into black garbage bags, then sealed them and put them out on the back patio to heat up for a couple hours in the summer Sun. Black garbage bags absorb the Sun's rays and turn the insides into an oven. I measured the temp inside and it was 132 F! If it's cold when you learn you have bedbugs you could probably use a blow dryer on low setting but you have to get the temp in the bags up to 115 F for at least fifteen minutes. Eggs take longer to kill but they can't survive 115 F for more than an hour. The more heat you create the faster they die. If your clothes can stand the heat you can also put them in the dryer on the high setting for half an hour. We did this with our cottons and polyesters.

Vacuum your bedroom floor 4-6 times a week until you've defeated them all. You want to suck up any that might be crawling around or any eggs that have fallen to the floor. Concentrate on the spaces under and around your bed. If you've got hardwood floors it'll make your job easier as there are fewer places for them to hide and you can see them and signs of them better. If you have a canister vacuum it'll give you a good idea of the extent of the infestation by how many you're killing. Re-apply DE as necessary. I used a paint brush and turkey baster. DE is powdery and floats like dust, so wear a mask, but it doesn't take much to cover a large area. Some have complained about how dusty it is. OK, but ask yourself this: what would you rather have to deal with, a little dust or bedbugs?

Even after all this we were still getting bitten - though much less than before. We found a few hiding between the new mattress covers and killed them. A few days later we were bitten again. Taking the bed apart we found a half inch hole in the box springs cover where it rested against the slats. There were poop stains near it. They'd had found the hole and came out to dine. We sealed it with scotch tape.

One night, about a week after the start of things, I was lying in bed when something hit my arm. A bedbug! I squirted it with alcohol then looked around for where it could have come from but I couldn't tell... until I looked at the ceiling. There were two more directly.over.the.bed. They'd climbed up the walls then crawled across the ceiling and waited until we came to bed, to drop down from above! Smart.

Then my wife found some crawling up a table lamp cord! They'd proved to me at least that they plan their attacks and I've no doubt they were going for the sheets that were brushing against the bedside table. I moved both tables a foot away from the bed then dusted the lamp cords and around the electric receptacle boxes too (they will use them as hideouts). Even now we still got some bites - though fewer than ever. We took the bed apart again and using a flashlight, magnifying glass and dentist's mirror, searched every nook and cranny. Sure enough, some were hiding in screw holes. We'd already treated the bed frame and screw holes with diatomaceous earth but missed some spots... and that's where they were hiding. I killed these and we put the bed back together.

Once you've cleared your bed (you'll get most/all in a week or two) the ball's back in your court. But you can still pick up eggs on your feet and carry them back into the bed - thus the importance of vacuuming religiously. If you go a week without getting bitten it shows you've made good progress, but the war ain't over yet. Some are still lurking around, so you need to keep checking for them. If you go a month without getting bitten you've probably won the war but it's a good idea to leave the diatomaceous earth in the plant pot saucers under the bed legs and suppports, and along the baseboards too, for several more months - just in case some are still lurking.

ALCOHOL. Here I need to mention the importance of alcohol. I bought a bottle of isopropyl and put a spray nozzle on it and set it on the bedside table and slept with the table lamp on to keep an eye on things. Whenever a bedbug would peek its head out, it got sprayed. Bedbugs respond to three main cues that you're there: your exhaled carbon dioxide, your body heat, and your body odor. When they detect these they come out of hiding, looking to dine. Alcohol kicks their butts FAST. The little ones die immediately. The big boys take longer - about ten-twenty seconds. But if you give them a second squirt they'll die in just a few seconds. Alcohol works very, very well on the ones you can see.

BUG SPRAY. You can use bug spray to "herd" them. As mentioned earlier it doesn't kill bedbugs, but they don't like it either and will avoid places you spray it on. This is useful in helping to keep them out of other spaces and/or to force them into places where the DE awaits.

About a week went by without any bites but we were still paranoid and took the bed apart once more. Lo and behold, a couple of adolescents were hiding in a tiny worm hole in the underside of one of the slats. I killed these and prayed we were finally nearing the end our disgusting problem. But just to be sure we took the bed apart and thoroughly inspected it weekly another four or five times. By now we were familiar with every nook and cranny of our bed. We also checked any hidey holes around the bed. All told we spent a month and a half in our bedbug war. BUT WE WON THE WAR!

We didn't think we'd ever get bedbugs but we learned better. They're everywhere now. If you're waking up with small red marks, and/or your sheets start showing little black spots, you need to ACT FAST. At the first sign of an infestation take your bed completely apart and INSPECT EVERY INCH OF IT: mattress, frame, inner box springs, headboard, legs... everything. A flashlight and magnifying glass are helpful here. You may be shocked at how many you find. You can spray them with alcohol (recommended), vacuum them up or squash them with paper towels. Squashing them is messy but hydrogen peroxide will clean up any blood stains. Toothpicks too can be used on the ones hiding in crevices and holes. You'll learn to be impressed by how cleverly they hide. And even though it's dusty don't be stingey with the diatomaceous earth - this is TOTAL WAR.

I might add that if any of your co-workers, family, friends or visitors report bedbugs at their homes - or workplaces - immediately buy some diatomaceous earth in anticipation of them showing up at your home. Pre-emptively dust your base boards, especially in the bed rooms, because they use baseboards as highways and hideouts. Most of them stick pretty close to the bed but for some reason some go solo and you can find them anywhere in your house.

I can only assume that those who neg diatomaceous earth are less smart and/or persistent than bedbugs. Or maybe they're exterminators. Who knows? Diatomaceous earth is a real deal killer for exterminators if it's used properly.

The key to defeating bedbugs is to understand you're up against a wily and resourceful adversary who's not going to leave without a fight. A hit and a miss doesn't work with them. The sooner you get started the better because the more there are the longer it takes. If you decide to go with diatomaceous earth you must learn their habits and hideouts. You make life at your place deadly for them and kill them off by percentages in a series of running battles until all of them are dead. There may be multiple battlefields: your bed/mattress/pillows, frame, anything under your bed, baseboards, bedside tables, chairs, pictures, electric boxes, loose wallpaper, lamps, curtains, etc. Your main objective is to first get them out of your bed and turn it into an island sanctuary; then go on ruthless search and destroy missions for stragglers.

So, in concluding this, here are Fitz's recommendations: 1. Food grade diatomaceous earth. Use a turkey baster and a 3" paint brush to spread it around. And wear a mask. 2. Mattress covers. 3. Double sided tape. 4. A bright flashlight. I used a Thrunite Mini Archer - which puts out a huge amount of light. 5. Alcohol spray, which is very good for killing those you see. 6. Plant saucers, with diatomaceous earth in them, under your bed's legs and supports. 7. Black trash bags to set outside, with your clothes in them, in the midday Sun. But only in temps greater than 80 F.

Remember... YOU'RE THE BAIT! But by using yourself and your loved ones as bait you'll lure bedbugs into a diatomaceous deathtrap that will finally kill them all off.

It's a great feeling to lie peacefully in your bed once again - not worrying about every little itch or that you're being silently stalked.


Fitz