Bed Bugs / maybe fleas

[james1988]

Dear BCF,

I have returned to my rented home after a weekend away and I appear to have been eaten alive during my sleep last night. I have noticed over the past few weeks - since the weather has been warmer - is that I seem to be bitten an awful lot in this house. When I go back to my parents house, I don't get bitten.

I'm leaving the house next week but my girlfriend is going to have my bed in her place. What I'd like to do is make sure that anything that may be living in it is dead so she doesn't get eaten.

Another thought that has crossed my mind is that the house has been harbouring fleas since before we (myself and my mate) moved in (6 months ago) and now the weather has become warmer they are starting to get more active and coming out of the carpet. He too, has been bitten to hell and back.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated...

James

PS: The bed is brand new as is the linen.
PPS: We don't have any pets.
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Honda XL1000VA '07

[pepperami]

Crawly bitey things can live in the fabric of your furniture or your carpets, curtains and so on .
Maybe it would be better that your girlfriend doesn't have the bed?
The only solution I can think of is to set fire to the flat with all your belongings still in it
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[james1988]

[quote="pepperami"]Maybe it would be better that your girlfriend doesn't have the bed?[/qupte]

But but but it's a new bed...

[charlie74]

flea powder the crap out of the place.

fleas have a shortish life cycle, interupt it and the infestation ends pretty quickly


bedbugs.. no idea

[multijoy]

For fleas, Indorex spray is ruddy fantastic.
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[Islander]

Use your hoover to clean out every nook and cranny of the bed frame and do the same with the mattress, pillows etc. Also do your carpets and soft furnishings - pay attention to any odd crevices, skirting board bases etc. That will help remove any eggs and larvae. Seal the bag and get rid of it straight away. Then use a proprietary insecticide like Indorex.

Should be effective for both fleas and bed bugs.

[mysterious_rider]

Speak to a pest controller, they'll probably let off one of those 'bug bombs' that kills any sort of small pests like that.
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[yaigi]

I've heard bed bugs can be an absolute pain in the arse to get rid of.... I found this on the NHS website:

"It can be extremely difficult to get rid of a bedbug infestation from your home, so it is wise to contact your local council or a pest control firm. Make sure any pest control company you contact is a member of the British Pest Control Association or National Pest Technicians Association (check the credentials of the company first).

Some councils' pest control services treat homes for free, whether you are a council tenant or not. Other councils' services are free for council tenants only. Each treatment can cost between about £20 and £170, depending on your council's pest control prices, how bad the infestation is, and how many rooms are affected. Pest controllers can usually get rid of bedbugs with two treatments.

A technician will carry out a thorough inspection, which may take a few hours. They will then use specially designed equipment such as a steamer or rapid freeze system to get rid of the bugs.

If you insist on tackling the bugs yourself, the following advice may help:

If clothes or bedlinen have become infested, wash them at 60º or put them in a dryer on a hot setting for 30 minutes to kill the bugs.
Dismantle your bed and furniture and closely inspect every seam, crevice and joint using a bright torch. Use a vacuum cleaner with a hose to suck up any bugs you can see, but bear in mind you may not be able to find them all. Dispose of the contents of the vacuum cleaner in a sealed bag.
To kill any remaining bugs, you can use insecticide spray specially designed for bedbugs. Always read the label and never use this directly on clothing, linen or your mattress. Also, bear in mind that these sprays may be becoming less effective as the bugs build resistance to them. Ordinary insect repellent for mosquitoes and ticks does not seem to be effective.
Be prepared to throw away a mattress if it appears to be heavily infested."

The page it is from is here:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bed-bugs/Pages/Introduction.aspx
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[Marmalade]

[fatpies]

Probably fleas, bed bugs are huge and have painful bites.

Be sure not to bring the infestation back to your parents.

Clean up hoover up, then spray indorex, and keep on cleaning, their larve feed off dead skin and adult poop.

My last flat had a nasty infestation of fleas from next doors dog (their dog just kept going into my house). I have brown ankles because of the 20+ bites I got daily.

RIP fleas did not work, nor did foggers, nor did indorex. Eventually I salted my flat, seriously since salt is £5 for 20 kilos and indorex is £15 a 500ml can.

You shake and vac it and it dries out the larvae of fleas and dormant eggs. It does however scratch the hell out of your vacuum cleaner though if you have a fancy see through one.
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[garth]

To be honest this sounds like aids to me.

[Shinigami]

to test if you have fleas put a metal bowl of boiling water down next to your bed with some washing up liquid in it, in the morning you'll see if there's fleas about or not.

They're attracted to the heat and will hop into the water, the washing up liquid stops them from being able to hop out again and they drown


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[james1988]

Thanks for the help everybody! I hoovered absolute fuck out of the bed yesterday and put all the bed linen through the wash.

Tomorrow will be round two of the same, I've been bitten close to 15 times over the past two days just on my thighs and 4 times on my fore arms.

I really do hope the mattress isn't infested. It's a new bed.

James
____________________
Honda XL1000VA '07

[fatpies]

[benc]

If It was me I would bee tempted to get the bed out of the house and put it in storage for a few weeks. Then give it a load of treatment. But then you have to worry about everything else being infested.
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[james1988]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

A house me and an ex gf lived in was fine for a coupla years then one night jesus fucking wept, woke up, there were these things on us, and we itched like shit. Had no idea what they were - turned out to be bed bugs. House was kept fairly clean, tbh - but was an old terrace in a "crunchy" district, within a hardcore city. Old guy next door was ancient as fuck with...eccentric...habits - so surmised that bugs had come through flew vents or some such shit. Dunno. Anyway, we "solved" the problem by getting the fuck out at the nearest opportunity. As said, bed bugs can be persistent and difficult to eradicate - especially if you're in a block of flats or terraced properties etc. Apparently they're getting much more common to, the disgusting fuckers.
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[drzsta]

Sounds like you've got fleas.



Bedbugs are cunts. Easily spotted too. I had the pleasure of having to do some electrical work in some social housing.

As soon as we moved the furnishings in the bedrooms, the bedbugs were hiding in the dark areas and corners of the walls. They were literally everywhere.

I suited up like some sort of nuclear fall-out had happened but I wasn't taking any chances.

[unitynotsocri...]

Shinigami's post will help.I usually put a bowl of hot water out in the centre of the room , place a spotlight near it shining on the water.
The fleas see in infra red and so try jumping on the lamp but ending up in the water.
With my animal work I sometimes have to check if an owners animals have cat or dog fleas ,as cat fleas can cause havoc on some dogs skins , so I check em.reminds me of the old days , sat in the back garden de knitting the kids , insects can be fun .There's loads of different varieties.
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[pepperami]