Bed bugs are taking over

Regularly wash bedding etc, at 60 degrees C.
Vacuum regularly
If you think they are in the house, put clothing, soft toys etc. in a plastic bag in the freezer for 4 days, then wash at 60degC.

My son moved into a flat, which had been occupied by some Middle Eastern lads who left it in a total mess it wasn't cleaned out properly, they left so much behind, tbh it was disgusting for a newish flat .
The Letting agent had to get a team in quick to sort while my son was in situ.
After a few short weeks he noticed he was getting these spots? No idea why?

He went to the USA for 3 weeks, we picked him up from Heathrow. Aftet we left him we got a phone call from him, as he went to get into bed for a few hours, he saw it crawling with these little monsters. We told him to bin everything on his bed. Last thing he needed after a long haul flight.
We shot off to a local big Supermarket to buy him new pillows, quite and new bed linen. Even picked up a new vacuum cleaner for him.
Needless to say, he got onto the letting agency to complain as it wasn't up to standard when he moved in, as they were already aware.

They arrived next day to fumigate the flat and his bed (which was newish, it was ordered and used for a few months at ours, didn't come from ours ) his new sofa etc he did get some compensation for the agency, plus a return fumigation.
But absolutely disgusting little monsters, I will never forget what they looked like..

Ghastly! But what worries me is that they are jumping on people in the Underground (see article) and that they are completely resistant to pesticides. This means they are everywhere and cannot be killed.

So how did it come to this and where do we go from here?

Good old Diatomaceous Earth is effective (also on cat fleas) - as is soapy water, so I'd come home from any tube journeys and jump straight in the shower, clothes in soak - and if I ever spotted one, I'd be dusting the DE around too.

Many years ago, I got a cab home, went for a shower - and there was a nasty, flat, 8-shaped thing crawling on my t-shirt. It was trying to hide in the seam. (It must have been a bed bug.) I drowned it with shampoo and threw the t-shirt out.

I'm allergic to insect bites anyway, so I use the tropical strength insect repellent on my wrists, ankles, neck and waist - even to go in the garden or walk the dog. Hopefully, that protects me.

How big are they? Can you actually see them or are they really tiny ? I have been in motels where I itched half the night but couldn’t see anything, maybe that’s what it was ?

I have heard they have been found in our local movie theatre, so haven't been for quite a while. Once there is an infestation they are very hard to get rid of.

When my son was living in Edmonton Alberta, they were quite common, especially in work camps. Then the workers bring them home when they are finished their rotation. My son would put his duffle-bag in the freezer after he had taken his clothes out and washed them.

I always remember a film where one of the characters threw the bed clothes back and quickly collected them up with a wet bar of soap😮😮🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳🪳

That is what people did to fleas, a wet bar of soap

I have guests coming from london and had read about the bedbugs. Got the heebie jeebies and I will be going into their room as soon as they leave, to wash bedding, upend mattress vacuum etc. Luckily it is a new house with no gaps in skirtings and with quickstep flooring. I have removed the thin woollen rug to a different room

I shall air the duvet outside, bash it and then put it into a vac packed bag, to go into the freezer as soon as I have enough space

Good tip about the diatomaceous earth, I have a large tub in my outside shed

I went on a course 2002, staying in student accommodation and woke up on the first morning, covered in bites. Had no idea how bad bed bugs are and now feel extremely lucky to not have brought them home with me

Are they the same size as fleas ? Genuinely wondering.

Is this yet another reason to turn into a hermit? COVID has definitely made me quite anti-social, I’m happy to admit I’ve become quite reclusive, am much more reluctant to mix with strangers, etc. than I used to be.
Maybe we’re just reverting back to life as it was. Bedbugs, fleas, etc. used to be common place.

To stop the spread, do not place your overnight bag/suitcase on the bed when you travel/return home. Putting it into the bath seems to be the advice.
If you have them, a useful tip is to buy a plastic cover for a new mattress when you buy one. You can buy little Interceptor Traps for the feet of your bed from Amazon once you've been fumigated. Wash your clothes and place in airtight bags.

nanna8 read that they are like a flat apple pip.

They were just part of life for thousands of us growing up in poor housing. I was 15 when they started what they called slum clearance in south London. Everyone’s belongings were fumigated before we moved into new housing.
If your squeamish don’t crush it with your fingers, they are full of blood, that’s what they do at night while you’re asleep.
A favourite hiding place is the seams of mattresses.
It’s a wonder that we are all still alive given the amount of Flit my mother sprayed around 😱

All parasites are revolting. Ticks are another thing I loath and looking at pictures of tape worms etc 😮😮😮😮

0:09nanna8

How big are they? Can you actually see them or are they really tiny ? I have been in motels where I itched half the night but couldn’t see anything, maybe that’s what it was ?

Normally , I pick up fleas on the bus around Christmas time when the bus is full of people , who look a bit rough .
I'm not criticising them - who knows what sort of conditions they have to live in .
But I picked up about a dozen of them about a week ago .
One of them gave me a nasty bite , which became infected on my boob !
A good shampoo followed by a soak in the tub usually gets rid of them .

I'm wondering if a hot iron passed over soft furnishings and mattresses would kill bed bugs .

For all those asking about the size, look at the video of the man who filmed one on his trousers. You can clearly see it.

I can hardly believe all this. I was born and raised in London and travelled the tube daily for about 7 years. But I have never in my life seen bed bugs.

I expect they are a lot smaller before they have a meal

I have guests coming from london and had read about the bedbugs. Got the heebie jeebies and I will be going into their room as soon as they leave, to wash bedding, upend mattress vacuum etc. Luckily it is a new house with no gaps in skirtings and with quickstep flooring. I have removed the thin woollen rug to a different room

I hope your friends/family never discover you thought they might bring bedbugs with them!
How much does this remind me of the provincial ladies that evacuees from the cities were billeted on in WWII.
As usual the media have hyped this up to the point of panic- I wonder which particular bad news hey are aiming to “bury” ?

They are about the size of a medium size woodlouse, you can see them definitely but they move quite quickly, when you see one there are pal's near by..

Yuk!

Thanks whitewave,Nicenanny and Chestnut. Now I know! I don’t think I have ever seen one but will be watching out now. I have seen a lot of fleas, however, on various animals we have had at times. I deflea the cats every few months, more often in Summer. We had a plague once and had to bomb the house, horrible little beasts andI suppose they are a bit similar.

Here is another article. There is panic spreading (understandably) but I do wonder if they have all actually been identified as bed bugs. People will be freaking out if they see anything bug-like.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12613829/Bed-bug-panic-London-Underground-TfL-Tube.html

Trust the DM to help whip up a panic.
Keeping what other news off the front pages I wonder? The Labour Party conference perhaps ?
( Unworthy thought Maw )

I recently heard the port Brian Bilston read this one of his poems

I would rather
eat Quavers that are six week’s stale,
blow dry the hair of Gareth Bale,
listen to the songs of Jimmy Nail,
than read one page of the Daily Mail.

If I were bored
in a waiting room in Perivale,
on a twelve hour trip on British rail
or a world circumnavigational sail,
I would not read the Daily Mail.

I would happily read
the complete works of Peter Mayle,
the autobiography of Dan Quayle,
selected scripts from Emmerdale,
but I couldn’t ever read the Daily Mail.

Far better to
stand outside in a storm of hail,
be blown out to sea in a powerful gale
then swallowed by a humpback whale
than have to read the Daily Mail.

Even if
I were blind
and it was the only thing
in Braille,
I still would not read
the Daily Mail.