I'm in the wrong business (bedbugs)

As some of you may know, there seems to be a national infestation of bedbugs, as has been noted recently in the NY Times and elsewhere. Apparently it has nothing to do with cleanliness or the lack thereof, and hits middle- and upper-class folk as well as the proletariat.

My friend and his wife discovered they were bedbug-ridden, and called and got a couple estimates on eliminating them. The bedbugs seemed to be confined to one room, their bedroom. One business, a so-called "green" outfit, came up with an estimate of $3,600! For one lousy room!

Turns out (and apparently they got this info from one of the exterminators), the way one kills these critters is not with nasty chemicals but simply with--heat. Heat the room to 120° for about an hour and they're gone. Surprisingly simple, that. (Well, the "green" exterminators also sprinkle around a little diatomaceous earth, which anyone can buy, and do a couple more little things.)

So his boarder took on this project for himself. Went to the local Harbor Freight and picked up a couple of "Chicago" blowers with heaters. After figuring out how to supply them current without popping the breakers, they ran them for several hours: only got up a little over

100°. Whereupon he said "f*ck it!", went out and bought a propane heater. The room got up to a toasty 140° in no time.

So it's been suggested maybe I should go into this line of work. Could undercut the "green" guys and still make out like a bandit.

By the way, I must point out, to borrow from that famous Nazi guy, that when I hear the word "green" these days, I reach for my revolver. Now mind you, I'm one of the biggest environmentalists I know. Against offshore oil drilling, fossil fuel, in favor of cutting carbon emissions, etc., etc. But this "green" stuff nowadays seems to me to be about 90% scams; people doing things pretty much the way they've always done them, with maybe a little environmentally-friendly window dressing thrown in, and charging double for essentially the same service. Feh!

Reply to
David Nebenzahl
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You might make some money in Las Vegas. Said, there is 40 or more locations with bedbugs.

The NE and Florida are the worst -- best I can tell.

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Reply to
Oren

-snip-

Note the similarities between that map and this population density map-

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More people- more bugs- more reports.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4c880b5a$0$2415 $ snipped-for-privacy@news.adtechcomputers.com:

Funny how the bedbug problem went away in the '50s and stayed away for 50- years, as long as the exterminators were allowed to lay carbamates and other quite-safe and highly-effective chemicals, but came back within a few years of the ban on those same chemicals (~2001).

If You Your Bedbugs, Thank an Environut!

Reply to
Tegger

David... Did that get rid of the bugs for your friend???? WW

Reply to
WW

"David Nebenzahl" wrote

As mentioned, I had a conversation with an exterminator today about the bed bugs. He says they wrap the mattress and fumigate it. They did one that was so bad they just took it outside and left it for the trash. I'll have to ask him about the heat and potential cost when he comes back next week. I think $3600 is outrageous.

I don't see getting a mattress internals to 120 easily either. It may be green, but I'd not trust it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Is that why Victoria's Secret in Manhattan had them? Dirty undies?

Reply to
krw

They had a big bed bug article in the Denver Post. Seems Denver is lousy (pun intended) with them. One reason for the high prices is some of the specialized commercial heating equipment which can run in the thousands. The other is jes plain greed.

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The exterminator business has always notorious for price gouging. First time I had my driveway sprayed for Japanese roaches (mostly outdoor species), it was $75 for a one time pop. Jes a few years later it was a mos long repeated applications costing hundreds of dollars. Screw it, I jes stepped on the few that made it into the house, then moved 4 states away! ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob

I don't think any competent outfit would treat one room for bedbugs.

I'm unfamiliar with heat treatments but I think it takes maybe 3-4+ hours, to kill the eggs. Just killing the adults is a waste of time and money. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

A high concentration of CO2 is supposed to kill the bugs. I wonder if you can put clothing in one of those vacuum bags, suck out the air then blow the bag back up with CO2 and leave it that way for a while to eliminate the pests?

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

And for about $5 you can buy these bug bombs that kill every bug in the house. Who needs all this costly stuff?

Reply to
jw

On 9/8/2010 7:01 PM WW spake thus:

They'll know in a week or so. They think they zapped all the bugs (and their eggs).

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Last year it was the swine flu, this year its bedbugs. Run for the border..... we're all gonna die !!!!

Reply to
jw

On 9/8/2010 10:39 PM The Daring Dufas spake thus:

That's interesting, because my friends told me that one thing that attracts bedbugs in the first place is CO2--specifically, our CO2 at night, which apparently helps them locate their source of tasty blood meals. But maybe a high enough concentration could knock them out.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4c88801e$0$2412 $ snipped-for-privacy@news.adtechcomputers.com:

Seems like a good idea - put the mattress in a closed plastic bag with some dry ice. Leave a little opening for an hour then close hermetically.

Reply to
Han

The banning of ddt was the biggest problem. It was highly effective against them.

One problem is they don't groom like most other bugs. That's how most bugs transfer insectcides into their system. They pick it up by walking in it and then later they groom and eat some of it.

A bed bug can live up to 9 months without food.

Bombing chases them away to other non-infected rooms and inside the walls. Then they come back.

Heat to 140 is an effective solution but it needs to be held to that temp ong enough to insure that the insides of things like matresses also reach 140.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

There was just a piece on CNN about bedbugs. Part of the routine for killing them was to heat the room to 120 degrees.

With all of the alien species we have imported so far ... killer bees, fire ants, etc....we probably will end up with a super-bedbug.

Reply to
norminn

It's the warmth of your body and CO2 that attracts them, a bed bug hotel like the roach hotel would be a good idea for control. A trap with a small electric heating element plus a CO2 cartridge for the gas combined with a sticky surface or a poison might do the trick.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Give me DDT or give me death.

Reply to
Van Chocstraw

Some countries have reintroduced ddt as an indoor treatment only. The reason we got into so much trouble with it was we were spraying it wholesale outdoors. It rapidly entered the food chain of birds that way. Controlled indoor use is reasonable.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

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