Interesting article here which basically says that bed bugs are taking over. Time to get scared.
14 years
It´s really getting worse all the time. When I started to work in hostels in 1992 bedbugs were unheard of. We never had any.
The only way we can control the bugs now is heating the rooms to 60 degrees once in a while. The chemicals sometimes don´t seem to have any effect at all.
14 years
One commenter wrote that washing the bugs in 40 degree water doesn't kill them: (?)
Has anyone thought about the fact that Bed Bug eggs survive a 40 degree wash unharmed? With the drive to wash bedding at 30-40 degrees wash its no wonder they are on the increase, there is nothing killing them. Personally I do a hot wash every time I come back from holiday and will continue to do so.
Does anyone know for sure?
I just looked up heat treatments and found this
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/killing-bedbugs-heat-thermal-remediation/story?id=11519718
There are a couple more article on bedbugs that I was reading recently:
14 years
One commenter wrote that washing the bugs in 40 degree water doesn't kill them: (?)
Does anyone know for sure?
I wouldn't be surprised if 40 isn't hot enough. My washer had a Disinfect setting that practically boiled the clothes. The temperature was supposed to be 90 degrees, but my water heater doesn't get that hot. If your bugs or their eggs still come out of THAT alive, then you may need to call a priest for an exorcism!
14 years
I´ve been told they can´t survive under water, so I guess any temperature kills them. Besides, the detergent can´t be very healthy for them either.
I ,luckily,have not been exposed-but heard they leave behind a sickingly sweet smell-not unlike anti-freeze. I also heard they will hide in books-maybe even the bible in your hotel room-YUCK!! Sleep tight-DON'T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!!!
Another reason to stay in hostels - no bibles in the room! :D
14 years
i do know you need to alternate the chemical used - if you spray the bugs and they still manage to lay eggs then the little buggers that come out of those eggs will be immune to that chemical... unless of course its some seriously deadly zyclonesque stuff - which you probably dont want to be spraying in a hostel anyway!
In Canada we did preventative spraying every 3 months which seemed to hold them at bay but I dont know much about what chemicals were used.
14 years
Apparently they've infected google too, cue a multitude of jokes about bugs in the software etc. Are they more of a problem on hotter places and over a hot summer in NYC, or are they not dependent on the temperature? Also will they survive for ages in a room with no host? i.e. if a room is not used over winter for a few weeks would they die off due to lack of food?
14 years
There is some interesting information on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug
[INDENT]A population genetics study of bed bugs in the United States, Canada, and Australia using a mitochondrial DNA marker found high levels of genetic variation. [67] This suggests that the studied bed bug populations did not undergo a genetic bottleneck as one would expect from insecticide control during the 1940s and 1950s, but instead, that populations may have been maintained on other hosts such as birds and bats. In contrast to the high amount of genetic variation observed with the mitochondrial DNA marker, no genetic variation in a nuclear rRNA marker was observed. This suggests increased gene flow of previously isolated bed bug populations, and given the absence of barriers to gene flow, the spread of insecticide resistance may be rapid.[/INDENT]
Has anyone seen the bedbug sniffing dogs?
Here's an interesting document from Australia with info on controlling bedbugs:
http://www.bedbug.org.au/
I'm going to try to make a document for hostels with tips on managing bedbugs. I'll start a new thread. :)
7 years
Experts believe that bed bugs increases in the U.S. may be due to more travel, the prevalence of mass transit, lack of knowledge about prevention, increased resistance to pesticides, and ineffective control practices
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