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One of my friends has BED BUGS! What do I do if I slept over?
I recently found out one of my friends has bed bugs. I sleep over at her place often so when I found out she had them I was freaked out. (I know cleanliness is not necessarily a factor) Since her house is practically like mine too I need some advice on how to get rid od them.
She said:
- none of her roomates have any signs of them in their rooms
-NOT an infestation...yet
-She has used some sort of powder to get rid of them
We already known some tips on how to get rid of them but if anyone has advice to offer that would be helpful
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She is being honest with you about the problem so You need to be honest with her and tell her you would rather not stay over until she has had an exterminator come in. These things can be insidious! I have been fortunate (so far) to have never acquired them but people who have, say they are almost impossible to get rid of without calling in a professional. Remember what Ben Franklin said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" So true!
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If she's noticed some, she may have an infestation. Use Diatomaceous earth to create barriers around sleeping areas by creating a small mound around bed legs. She'll probably want to do the same to any dressers or any other place they can hide, which is just about anywhere. Make sure it's food grade Diatomaceous earth. She'll want to unscrew just about everything on the walls, all the outlets light switch covers, etc, and place some Diatomaceous earth inside.
What Diatomaceous earth does is it cuts their bodies, causing them to dehydrate and die, but it can take a number of days. Food grade is pretty much harmless to people. I should note that it isn't easy to clean diatomaceous earth. It might damage vacuums, so I wouldn't go crazy with it.
Carpet can be an issue as that provides almost limitless hiding places for the bedbugs. She might want to get rid of whatever carpet she has. Wash any clothes and blankets on the highest heat setting you can without damaging anything. She might want to buy certain mattress covers to keep bedbugs out or to trap the bedbugs trapped inside.
If you want to use pesticides, Phantom and Gentrol I've heard are good choices. Many bedbugs have developed an immunity to common pesticides, even those labelled as bedbug killers. Gentrol will prevent bedbugs from reproducing, Phantom will kill them. This can take several days. These insecticides aren't repellents, which makes it more efficient. They won't be afraid to get in this stuff, so don't use it thinking it'll drive them away.
There's a homemade bedbug trap she can make pretty easily. This doesn't capture all bedbugs. This is largely just to see if she still has them. Each night for a week or so, she'll want to set this up near the bed. Get a dog dish and place it upside down so that there's a canyon that they'll fall into. You'll want to rub a bit of talcum powder (some baby powders are just 100% talcum powder) in this part so it'll be harder for them to escape. On the outside, you'll want to rough up the edge or tape paper to it so they can climb into it. At the center of the dish, you'll want a Thermos full of dry ice. You can find some videos of this on youtube by searching "bedbug dry ice trap" for easier instructions. You'll probably want to do this twice to make sure. If she goes through a few of months without being bit, she probably got them all. It's not easy though and this isn't a certainty. Bedbugs can survive for several months without eating.
As for you, you'll want to check inside everything before you get home. Any bags, the lining of anything you bring home. Bedbugs usually only come out when they're feeding, so you probably aren't bringing them home, but if you are it's almost impossible to get rid of them.
If she can afford it, it's probably less stressful to just have professionals handle it, though many aren't experienced at properly handling bedbugs and it may require multiple treatments.
If she rents an apartment, she should find out what her landlord's policies are regarding pests before she really does anything. Her landlord might be obligated to get rid of them.
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you can hire a pest-control person or just change the bed in that room.
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