DIY bedbug removal

Dear Editor:

Re: Bedbug battle, Burnaby NOW, Aug. 28

I have fought bedbugs in both my house and in the apartment of a relative this year and disagree with some of the advice in your article. Bedbugs can absolutely be a do-it-yourself project using a search-and-destroy strategy.

If you have just a few bugs, they will mostly be on your bed. Take the bed apart, search all its surfaces and nooks and crannies. When you clear it, any bugs living elsewhere in the room or apartment will move in. If you just search your bed every couple of days and kill everything you find, eventually you will get them all.

If you have an infestation, there is some major cleaning to do, sorting and bagging of stuff and often discarding things like mattresses or box springs. But the basic principle remains the same: Attract them to where you sleep, and then search them out and kill them.

If you learn how to recognize eggs and baby bugs as well as adult bugs, the task will go faster. If you have no idea where to start looking, it can be a good idea to get a pest control officer in to help you get started. You might want to get a set of bedbug traps on the legs of your bed and zipped wraps for your mattress.

It may take as long as a couple of months to get every last bug, but you can do it. Keep track of your bites (if you show bites), and when you've gone two weeks bite-free, you are likely free and clear.

Karin Litzcke,

Burnaby

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DIY bedbug removal