Don't let the bed bugs bite

[Working Girl]

A friend has been told that there is bed bugs in other units in his building. So the mgmt is going to do a heating of all the units in the building to eliminate the problem. My friend has pets (bird, cat, spiders, geckos) that he does not want to relocate for day. And he does not want to take day off work.

I think he is nuts for not doing the process when it is offered by mgmt. While he does not have bed bugs now, it's such a pain once you get them.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience on the issue?

WG

 

[fuji]

If I were your friend, I would move out. That process will reduce bed bugs, not eliminate them. He will eventually have them.

Especially if he has the OPTION of having his unit excluded. At least one other person in the building will do that, so the bed bugs will stay.

 

[great bear]

Teach him to scratch.

 

[LKD]

how are they going to heat the building?? with a blow torch i hope... turning up the heating system is not going to do jack shit xD

 

[great bear]

how are they going to heat the building?? with a blow torch i hope... turning up the heating system is not going to do jack shit xD

They are going to bring Working Girl into the building, she could heat up and Igloo.

 

[GG2]

Another reason to live in a house over apartments/condos, a detached house at that.

 

[Smash]

Over 2000:Eek: reported cases in T.O and rising. I don't think heat stops them I believe the only real way of getting rid of them is through pesticides which Ontario has banned years ago.. Wow, really makes you second guess if its worth going to a Incall/ MP and risk bringing home a few of these..

 

[fuji]

Over 2000 reported cases in T.O. I don't think heat stops them I believe the only real way of getting rid of them is through pesticides which Ontario has banned years ago.. Wow, really makes you second guess if its worth going to a Incall/ MP and risk bringing home a few of these..

Heat does kill them, at even relatively low temperatures. However, it won't eradicate all of them. Some of them will be hibernating too deeply in the woodwork and such, where the heat won't effectively penetrate. So they will come back. Heating the building is a control strategy, not an eradication strategy.

Some incall buildings indeed have them and hitching a ride on clothing is a favorite bed bug tactic. It makes sense to shake out your clothes, and toss them in the wash when you get home--they won't survive the dryer heat.

 

[lurkerdick]

Management just wants the building vacated so they can search the apartments

 

[Joe-Dart54]

i myself is a bedbug...

 

[james t kirk]

how are they going to heat the building?? with a blow torch i hope... turning up the heating system is not going to do jack shit xD

Agreed.

From what I understand, you have to heat them up in a clothes drier to kill them off.

 

[fuji]

Agreed.

From what I understand, you have to heat them up in a clothes drier to kill them off.

They heat the building up to ~50C which is enough to kill them, they die at a surprisingly "low" temperature. Adults die in 20min at 46C and eggs can last about an hour, but they will run it at 50C for several hours. It will actually kill most of them. They do not just crank up the furnace to do this, they come in with special propane equipment and try and turn the whole place into an oven. However some will be hibernating someplace that the heat doesn't quite penetrate, near a cold water pipe, etc., and so they will come back. It knocks them back, but does not eradicate them.

A hot clothes dryer certainly works as well and is an excellent destination for your clothes, etc., when you get home from a hotel/incall/whatever where you might have picked one up.

 

[LKD]

I've experienced bed bugs while travelling in Asia.. trust me its not fun. When they bite, they don't bite in one or two spots... you get pretty much bitten all over your body, feels like you want to rip out your flesh. Worse is when you get bitten on the underside of your foot... can you imagine walking when its itching down there. Scratching it makes it worse when you stop. oh and pray you don't get bitten by bigger bed bugs... those make the area around the bite swell like a balloon