Please help!
My brother has been on vacation in Chile and Argentina, and he is due to fly back in about 10 days. About 2 weeks ago he picked up bed bugs from a hostel. We don't know how to get rid of his bed bugs when he comes. We were thinking of setting up a quarantine station out in the backyard :P
So, you ask from New Jersey a forum in Switzerland about Chilean and Argentinian bed bugs.... aren't we international .
Some bug expert will come along, I'm sure.
In the mean time, welcome to the forum
I believe the clothing has to be washed in VERY HOT water, and bedsheets and such. Also, be sure to vaccum everywere!!!! even the bed mattress!
wha everything in boiling hot water
eek!
you could wash and dry all the clothes with hot water and hot drying. twice if it makes you feel better. If you're worried about bringing things into the apartment, you could try putting everything in black plastic trashbags, and letting everything sit in a very sunny spot for a few days and then wash it all. do something similar to the suitcase - put in a very hot environment to kill everything. in the US, some exterminators had bed bug extermination chambers where you could bring things to be put in a very hot environment - maybe something similar exists near where you are?
if it were me, I would also set up bed bug protection around the bed and the couch before he even came back - using plastic containers or special bed bug traps, put them on the legs of beds/couchs and put in a dusting of diatomaceous earth - you can sometimes find it as a flea remover for pets in pet stores.
Do not read too much of anything on the internet about bed bugs because it might drive you crazy
Including said brother?
burn all his clothes and belongings and then pour acid over the ashes. that should do the trick.
Washing in hot water doesn't work, you have to put them in an oven at a med temp can't remember the degree's then leave them in there for from what I heard for more than a few hours to kill the little bugs and have their eggs completely baked. They have to do the same to rooms or houses, close everything real tight, seal it, heat it very high and leave it I think 12 hours, again a person needs to do a little research.. but hot washing isn't helpful the eggs are still attached! Oh and if they were on his clothing then they are also in your place... So you will get them till you do your place professionally, alot of start up companies are now doing these with big heaters. Again these bugs come out at night you never usually see them, they can live quite awhile without getting any blood. If you notice small bites or small brown flicks in your bed.. plus you never feel them suck your blood. They are one of the hardest to exterimate. Best to not let him in.. period.
Just drop a dime on him to the local customs authorities at his arrival airport, indicating the narco cartels have found a new way of hiding their stuff with the mules coming from LatAm.
After a particularly nasty run in with the crawlies at a Belgian hostel, we were advised by the authorities to do a high-heat wash and then plastig-bag the clothes and leave them a day in the freezer. It worked for us.
Bedbugs?
Only one way to be sure.... nuke them from orbit.
I'm with Phil - burn everything or ditch the pack before coming back. It's not worth bringing them into your home.
I believe a steam cleaner generates enough heat to kill both bugs and eggs.
Personally, anything that he is not absolutely attached to, I would advise him to throw. Steam cleaning a back pack can't be as easy as steam cleaning a bed.
Get rid of EVERYTHING. Including the luggage/back pack, books, socks, shoes, EVERYTHING. If you bring them home you'll never get rid of them. Ew.
Joining the chorus:
The time to take action is BEFORE coming home - get rid of everything now. Buy new clothes, luggage, everything.
Think about it - is it fair to his fellow passengers on the plane?
Bed bugs are a very, very, serious problem and you can dam near not get rid of them. People have spent thousands upon thousands of to get rid of them professionally, which may be the route you will have to take. This is something not to be taken lightly.
One thing that kills them is heat. Putting all your clothing in a dryer for a while will kill them and the eggs. However, bed bugs can live without food for a year or so and live up in corners of your furniture and mattresses. Until your brother is cleaned up, and if the weather permits, maybe you should quarantine him to the backyard until you are sure no bedbugs are around...seriously. Once you have them they are very, very, very, hard to get rid of. Do a good Internet search as well.
How does he know he picked them up? He's seen them? He's certain they're bed bugs? He's got the bite marks and wakes up in a pool of his own blood?
I'm joining the chorus of pre-prevention. Ditch everything before getting on the plane. Buy new suitcase/backpack and any necessities to replace bare minimum and do NOT let them cross contaminate with the old, infected sources what-so-ever.
As mentioned, there's the monetary costs to rid a home of bed bugs, and they are near impossible to get rid of, and once they're in one unit, they tend to spread, and your neighbors will hate you.
There also comes the psychoses of having been the victim of bed bugs, and those mental health issues are also costly to treat.
He should take the time before coming home to take these preventative measures.
Why? Are they hiding there as well?
So how are you going to get them out of his hair?
He needs to meet you at a nudist colony with hair clippers and fresh clothes, and a decent insect spray.
The answer is clear Tom1234: we have to condemn the internet to the back yard, kill it with fire and as PhilMCR recommends, pour acid on the ashes.
This has gone too far; the risks are too high.
Think of the CHILDREN!!!