OT: Bedbugs

They (the little bastids), are you referring to the bedbugs or the looney fringe?

LdB

On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:31:23 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone scrawled the following:

Do they allow DDT in Canuckistan, Dave? Cool! They used to here, too, until Rachel Carson, that knowledgeless bitch, wrote her book.

-- We rightly care about the environment. But our neurotic obsession with carbon betrays an inability to distinguish between pollution and the stuff of life itself. --Bret Stephens, WSJ 1/5/10

The DDT does some harm to the eagle eggs, or something like that. For the most part you need a professional that has access to the chemical needed, the same ingrediant used in flea collers. Bedbugs can live for months without any food. You'll see their bloody poop dots on a white bed sheet.

Now I lay me down to sleep While all around me bedbugs creep If they bite before I wake I pray to God their jaws will break

No, the lying bitch screwed things up here too.

Nope. That was totally disproved by followup studies after Carson faked her data and made everybody think the sky was falling.

Meanwhile, millions, literally millions, died from Malaria.

I want to say Termindor which is also the most widely used (and effective) termiticide in several countries.

According to the envirowakos, it's preferable that people die rather than possibly hurt the environment. Some of them even propose that biological agents be used to kill off half the planets population "for the good of the planet". Not them, of course. Other people.

On Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:10:46 -0600, the infamous LdB scrawled the following:

We've _always_ know about the latter there.

-- We rightly care about the environment. But our neurotic obsession with carbon betrays an inability to distinguish between pollution and the stuff of life itself. --Bret Stephens, WSJ 1/5/10

Not that it helps you, but irradiation would have been another (politically incorrect) solution:

... and continue to die from malaria due to this policy. But that's OK, it's in third world countries. (Yes, that last sentence was extreme sarcasm)

"Denis G." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@a15g2000yqm.googlegroups.com:

I'm all in favor of irradiation of inanimate objects to sterilize them and get rid of the bugs. However, I'm not sure I could wrap my brain around something sitting in my bedroom irradiating my sheets and mattress. Shielding would be a problem. My home isn't uilt for tons of lead in the upstairs bedroom

Han wrote in news:Xns9CF941C3E8AB5ikkezelf@

Wouldn't good 'ol heat do the job? Based on what I've seen the "experts" talk about on TV, it looks like 150-170F is warm enough to kill most bugs and bacteria. That might be above the melting point of some plastics, though.

Puckdropper

From my research, 120F may do the trick, and is used in some cases. It's seriously impractical in an 1100 sq. ft bungalow in a Saskatchewan winter, however.

On 07 Jan 2010 12:06:30 GMT, the infamous Puckdropper scrawled the following:

Somehow, I don't think the average, run-of-the-mill electric blanket is going to handle this particular job, Pucky.

-- We rightly care about the environment. But our neurotic obsession with carbon betrays an inability to distinguish between pollution and the stuff of life itself. --Bret Stephens, WSJ 1/5/10

On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:09:15 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone scrawled the following:

Remember that whatever method you use, use it globally in the house. Bedbugs run from room to room to escape other methods. I read about that on the Internet and have never seen the li'l bastids, meself. I soitenly hope I never do, either!

-- We rightly care about the environment. But our neurotic obsession with carbon betrays an inability to distinguish between pollution and the stuff of life itself. --Bret Stephens, WSJ 1/5/10

Yep, whole house. Residual pesticide along the baseboards, repeated in two weeks to catch hatchlings.

Balderdash should just get some effing DDT. It's not banned for bedbugs.

It is totally banned in Canada. No allowed use or sale.

"Pest Control Products Acts - In Canada, pesticides are regulated under the Pest Control Products Act and Regulations. Registration of all uses of DDT were suspended in 1985 with the understanding that existing stock would be sold, used or disposed of by the next registration date of December 31, 1990. Since this date, the sale or use of DDT in Canada has represented a violation of the Pest Control Products Act."

This is a subject I've got more knowledge about than I really care to have. (from volunteering at emergency housing.)

Treatment _is_ something you can do yourself. But, be aware, it does take some time for things to take effect -- _that_ doesn't change, whether you or a pro apply the stuff.

The effective active ingredient in beg-bug treatments is pyrethrin (better than DDT for this kind of critter, actually)

For pros, the premiere brand name product is "Kicker". "ExciteR" is an equivalent at a significantly better 'generic' price. (circa $55 for a pint of concentrate, which makes around 8 _gallons_ of DIY-strength spray)

In the 'home' products, there's a product called "Kills Bedbugs" (J.T. Eaton) that is *the* stuff to use. (Circa $16 for a quart trigger-spray bottle)

Kicker/ExciteR are available as concentrates, that have to be diluted before use. For 'amateur' use, the directions state that you must dilute to below a specific strength; pro's can use it at stronger strengths.

"Kills Bedbugs" you can probably find in a local hardware store. Kicker or ExciteR may have to be ordered. (easily found on the web/mail-order)

For 'do it yourself' treatment, the big thing is to make fairly _frequent_ treatments (circa 2x week to start) for the initial period. One _will_ notice a significant improvement by about the 2nd treatment. (The stuff is effective for extended periods, but the 'potency' declines, thus the advantage of the frequent initial application.

You can get everything you need for a whole series of DIY house treatments for around $100. (circa $60 for concentrate, $30 for a sprayer, $10 for gloves.)

The other part of evicting these unwanted guests is to launder _all_ the bed linens and nightclothes in _hot_ water. That will take care of any eggs _there_.

Keeping the bedding in those 'vacuum' bags isn't a bad idea, especially if they go into the bag directly out of the dryer (or off the clothesline).