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How To Kill Bed bugs

Nobody wants to have to know how to kill bed bugs, but you may be among those who've had to do the deed. How did you kill bed bugs for good if you were the unlucky host of these unwanted pests which love to follow you home from the hotel or hostel? Read our advice on how to kill bed bugs, and then add your own -- no need to (really) register or log in! Tell Us All!

If you see bug sign when you get into a hotel or hostel room, consider grabbing your stuff before bugs hop on and cruising straight back to the desk to ask for a new room, and tell 'em why. Even if you don't see sign, don't put your backpack on the bed or other furniture in order to lessen chances of the bugs hopping on. If the room has a suitcase stand, use it. If you've got bites, or you know you've spent time in a room harboring the bugs, vacuum your suitcases, backpack, camera bag -- leave no seam un sucked. Wash everything you own in the hottest water possible to boil the little biters.

The same rules on how to kill bed bugs while traveling apply at home: vaccum your living space relentlessly, including furniture, changing the bag outside (hatchlings can wiggle through a stitch hole). Wash or dry clean everything moveable (clothes, bedspreads, throw rugs) in hottest water. If one happy couple escapes, though, it's all for naught.

Baumann points out that people pay plenty trying various home remedies that don't go so well, and recommends that you bite the bullet and foot the bill for an exterminator to begin with.

Orkin exterminators will use hot, dry steam to kill bed bugs in places you touch; chemicals are used to kill bed bugs in other spots by flushing the bugs out for steaming. Lastly, don't open travel bags on home furniture, like beds, and store them away from furniture (like in an outside shed) and any bugs who've hitchhiked may not get the chance to move in. The bugs now live in all 50 states -- you can certainly get them at home without having traveled, too. Craft says Orkin has exterminated the bloody beasts in all states but North and South Dakota. Once the mass slaughter is over and you're bug free, don't let the bugs bite again by keeping an eye out for the little pests next time you travel, and use the tips above to keep them out of the house when you get home.

Many of theHeadLice Treatmentproductsthat are on the market can be fatally harmful to your child because of the dangerous chemicals that are used as ingredients and can only be used a few times ever. In fact one product, Lindane, has been banned from use in California and Canada because of its harmful side effects. Make sure that you read the label and directions carefully before using any product. But do not worry, our Head Lice Treatment is 100% Non-Toxic and Chemical Free. It is safe to use without harm to your child as well as while you are pregnant. We have combined our Lice Infestation Removal Kit with the Nitfree Terminator Comb to make an unbeatablepackage dealthat will help you easily eliminate the head lice quickly and most importantly safely.

Waking up in bed with unwanted bed partners like Bed Bugs is not very pleasant. Getting them out of your house and off of your body becomes your first priority. We can help! Our Non-Toxic Enzyme based Bed Bug Treatment can be used to clean your home and treat the bugs and bites on your body. Exterminators just do not have Pesticides that will kill bed bugs and other un-invited guests anymore since many of the effective pesticides like DDT have been banned. Kleen Free Naturally is an effective alternative cleaner to pesticides and is safe for your family, your pets, and the environment!

Dealing with Scabies can make you miserable. The itching just won't stop and you feel like you can't go out of your home for fear of it spreading. Our Non-Toxic Scabies Treatment will help you clean the scabies off of your body and out of your home. Add it to your bath water and take a soothing bath to wash the scabies off your body.

Bed Bugs Facts and Information

The bed bug database is an international bed bug registry database with maps to provide people with a search and submit tool on every page of the site to see and report up to date bed bug infestations. The site will also provide excellent information on how to inspect, prepare, and eradicate bed bugs for the long term.

Bed bugs travel by hitch hiking on luggage, people and furniture - even worse, bedbugs can walk from apt. to apt and house to house, neither residential or commercial space is safe from these blood sucking parasites. Hotels are the ones being hit the hardest these days as you can imagine because of the high turnover of people staying at these places.

Cleanliness has nothing to do with bed bugs spreading or infesting places, because they absolutely do not discriminate and treating bed bugs is very difficult because they have evolved to become highly resistant to many pesticides and are practically immune to over the counter products. Never try to solve or treat your bed bug problem without professional help. Contact us and we would be happy to provide you with free bed bug information from one of our bed bug specialists, we can direct you to bed bug experts in your local area who can help you solve this menace.

Different Types Of Bed Bugs

The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is the species best adapted to human environments. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world. Other species include Cimex hemipterus, found in tropical regions, which also infests poultry and bats, and Leptocimex boueti, found in the tropics of West Africa and South America, which infests bats and humans. Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily infest bats, while Haematosiphon inodora, a species of North America, primarily infests poultry.

Bedbugs can survive a wide range of temperatures and atmospheric compositions. Below 16.1 °C (61 °F), adults enter semi-hibernation and can survive longer. Bedbugs can survive for at least five days at 'ˆ’10 °C (14 °F) but will die after 15 minutes of exposure to 'ˆ’32 °C ('ˆ’25.6 °F). They show strong resistance to dessication, surviving low humidity and a 35'“40°C range even with loss of one-third of body weight; earlier life stages are more susceptible to drying out than later ones. The thermal death point for C. lectularius is high: 45 °C (113 °F), and all stages of life are killed by 7 minutes of exposure to 46 °C (115 °F). Bedbugs apparently cannot survive high concentrations of carbon dioxide for very long; exposure to nearly-pure nitrogen atmospheres, however, appears to have relatively little effect even after 72 hours.

Biology

There are 6 recognized subfamilies of Cimicidae and up to 23 genera, while the number of species has been given as anywhere from 75 to 108.

Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval, and wingless. Bedbugs have microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4'“5 mm in length and 1.5'“3 mm wide. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they moult and reach maturity.

Bedbugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, attacks, and reproduction. The life span of bedbugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.

Feeding habits

Bedbugs are obligatory hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects. Most species only feed on humans when other prey are unavailable. They are normally out at night just before dawn, with a peak feeding period of about an hour before sunrise, but have been observed feeding during the day. Bedbugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals. They reach a detected host by crawling, or sometimes dropping from a height.

A bedbug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow feeding tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place.

Although bedbugs can live for a year without feeding, they normally try to feed every five to ten days. When it's cold, bedbugs can live for about a year; at temperatures more conducive to activity and feeding, about 5 months.

At the 57th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in 2009, it was reported that newer generations of pesticide-resistant bedbugs in Virginia could survive only two months without feeding.

Predators

Natural enemies of bedbugs include the masked hunter (AKA "masked bedbug hunter"), cockroaches, ants, spiders, mites, and centipedes. The Pharaoh ant's (Monomorium pharaonis) venom is lethal to bedbugs. Rodents eat bedbugs, but bats do not, due to their distaste for the bedbug alarm pheromone, which is released when they are attacked. Biological control is not very practical for eliminating bedbugs from human dwellings.

Reproduction

All bedbugs mate via traumatic insemination.[1][20] Instead of inserting their genitalia into the female's reproductive tract as is typical in copulation, males instead pierce females with hypodermic genitalia and ejaculate into the body cavity.

The "bedbug alarm pheromone" consists of (E)-2-octenal and (E)-2-hexenal. It is released when a bedbug is disturbed, for example, during an attack by a predator. A 2009 study demonstrated that the alarm pheromone is also released by male bedbugs to repel other males who attempt to mate with them.

C. lectularius and C. hemipterus will mate with each other given the opportunity, but the eggs then produced are usually sterile. In a 1988 study, 1 egg out of 479 was fertile and resulted in a hybrid, C. hemipterus x lectularius.

Global resurgence

Bedbug cases have been on the rise across the world since the mid-1990s. Figures from one London borough show reported bedbug infestations doubling each year from 1995 to 2001. There is also evidence of a previous cycle of bedbug infestations in the U.K. in the mid-1980s. The U.S. National Pest Management Association reported a 71% increase in bedbug calls between 2000 and 2005. The Steritech Group, a pest-management company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, claimed that 25% of the 700 hotels they surveyed between 2002 and 2006 needed bedbug treatment. The resurgence led the United States Environmental Protection Agency to hold a National Bed Bug Summit in 2009.

The rise in infestations has been hard to track because bedbugs are not an easily identifiable problem. Most of the reports are collected from pest-control companies, local authorities, and hotel chains. Therefore, the problem may be more severe than is currently believed.

The cause of this resurgence is still uncertain, but it is thought to be related to increased international travel, the use of new pest-control methods that do not affect bedbugs, and increasing pesticide resistance.

One recent theory about bedbug reappearance involves potential geographic epicentres. Investigators have found three apparent United States epicentres at poultry facilities in Arkansas, Texas, and Delaware. It was determined that workers in these facilities were the main spreaders of these bedbugs, unknowingly carrying them to their places of residence and elsewhere after leaving work.

Bedbug pesticide-resistance appears to be increasing dramatically. Bedbug populations sampled across the U.S. showed several thousands of times greater resistant to pyrethroids than laboratory bedbugs. New York City bed bugs have been found to be 264 times more resistant to deltamethrin than Florida bedbugs due to nerve cell mutations. Another problem with current insecticide use is that the broad-spectrum insecticide sprays for cockroaches and ants that are no longer used had a collateral impact on bedbug infestations. Recently, a switch has been made to bait insecticides that have proven effective against cockroaches but have allowed bedbugs to escape the indirect treatment.

In 2003, Burl and Desiree Mathias, a brother and sister staying at a Motel 6 in Chicago were awarded $372,000 in punitive damages and $10,000 in actual damages after being bitten by bedbugs during their stay. These are only a few of the reported cases since the turn of the 21st century.

Once thought of as mainly afflicting the poor[citation needed], bedbug infestations have also affected the rich. Many of Manhattan's Upper East Side home owners have been afflicted, but they tend to be silent publicly in order not to ruin their property values and be seen as suffering a blight typically associated with the lower classes.

Life stages

Bedbugs will shed their skins through a molting process (ecdysis) throughout multiple stages of their lives. The discarded outer-shells look as clear, empty exoskeletons of the bugs themselves. Bedbugs must molt six times before becoming fertile adults.

Pesticide resistance

With the widespread use of DDT in the 1940s and '50s, bedbugs mostly disappeared from the developed world in the mid-twentieth century, though infestations remained common in many other parts of the world. Rebounding populations present a challenge because of developed resistance to various pesticides including DDT, and organophosphates. DDT was seen to make bedbugs more active in studies done in Africa.

Because some bed bug populations have developed a resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, there is growing interest in both synthetic pyrethroid and pyrrole insecticide chlorfenapyr; insect growth regulators such as hydroprene (Gentrol) are sometimes used.

Bites

Cimicosis is a skin condition caused by bedbug bites. Depending on individual sensitivity, bites can cause a raised red bump or flat welt, sometimes accompanied by very intense itching caused by an allergic reaction to the anesthetic in the bedbug's saliva. Reactions to bedbug bites may look like mosquito bites, though they tend to last longer. Bites may not be visible and can take up to nine days to appear.

Individual responses vary greatly. In about 50% of cases, there is no visible sign of bites, greatly increasing the difficulty of identifying and eradicating infestations. This means that itchy welts cannot be used as the only indicator, and that initial infestation can be asymptomatic and go undetected.

Serious bed bug infestations and chronic attacks can cause anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Development of refractory delusional parasitosis is possible, as victims develop an overwhelming obsession with bedbugs.

Patients given systemic corticosteroids and antihistamines for the itching associated with bites will still have visible signs of bites. Topical corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone, can reduce lesions and decrease itching.

The application of hot water may relieve symptoms. The water temperature should be about 50 °C (120 °F), or this procedure may aggravate the symptoms. Disagreement exists as to why heat causes symptoms to abate. Heat might overwhelms the nerve endings that signal itch; it might neutralize the chemical causing inflammation, or it might trigger a large release of histamine, causing a temporary histamine deficit in the area. Another theory is that the heat denatures the proteins in the bedbug saliva, changing their composition enough so that they no longer trigger the body's defensive mechanisms.

Disease transmission

Bed bugs would seem to have all the prerequisites for passing diseases from one host to another, and at least twenty-seven known pathogens (some estimates are as high as forty-one) are capable of living inside a bed bug or on its mouthparts, yet there are no known cases of such transmission. Extensive laboratory testing indicates that bed bugs are unlikely to pass disease from one person to another.

Other effects on health

The salivary fluid injected by bed bugs can cause skin to become irritated and inflamed, although individuals can differ in their sensitivity. A few cases of bullous eruptions have been reported Anaphylactoid reactions from the injection of serum and other nonspecific proteins are observed and the saliva of the bedbugs may cause anaphylactic shock, though rarely. In rare cases of intense and neglected infestation, sustained feeding by bedbugs may lead to anemia. Secondary bacterial infection (i.e., infections from scratching itchy skin too much) are possible. Systemic poisoning may occur if the bites are numerous.

History

Bedbugs were mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BCE (later mentioned by Aristotle). Pliny's Natural History, first published c. 77 CE in Rome, claimed that bedbugs had medicinal value in treating ailments such as snake bites and ear infections. (Belief in the medicinal use of bedbugs persisted until at least the 18th century, when Guettard recommended their use in the treatment of hysteria.) Bedbugs were first mentioned in Germany in the 11th century, in France in the 13th century, and in England in 1583, though they remained rare in England until 1670. It was believed by some in the 18th century that bedbugs had been brought to London with supplies of wood to rebuild the city after the Great Fire of London (1666). Scopoli noted their presence in Carniola (present day Slovenia and Italy) in the 18th century.

Bedbugs were known at least as early as 1726 in Jamaica.

Eighteenth and 19th century Europeans believed bedbugs to feed on the sap of certain trees (especially fir), paste (which may have included tree sap), other insects, and Acari.

Prior to the mid-twentieth century, bedbugs were very common. According to a report by the UK Ministry of Health, in 1933 there were many areas where all the houses had some degree of bedbug infestation

Traditional control methods

Plants traditionally used as bedbug repellents include black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), Pseudarthna hookeri, and Laggera alata (Chinese yángmáo cÇŽo | 羊毛è‰), though information about their effectiveness is lacking. Eucalyptus saligna oil was reported by some Zairean researchers to kill bedbugs, among other insects.

In the 18th century, turpentine was used in combination with henna (Lawsonia inermis, aka camphire) flowers and alcohol, as an insecticide that also reputedly killed bedbug eggs.

Other items that were believed to kill bedbugs in the early 19th century include "infused oil of Melolontha vulgaris" (presumably a kind of cockchafer), fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), Actaea spp. (e.g. black cohosh), tobacco, "heated oil of Terebinthina" (i.e. turpentine), wild mint (Mentha arvensis), narrow-leaved pepperwort (Lepidium ruderale), Myrica spp. (e.g. bayberry), Robert Geranium (Geranium robertianum), bugbane (Cimicifuga spp.), "herb and seeds of Cannabis", "Opulus" berries (possibly a kind of maple, or European cranberrybush), masked hunter bugs (Reduvius personatus), "and many others." In the mid-19th century, smoke from peat fires was recommended.

The use of black pepper is attested in George Orwell's 1933 non-fiction book Down and Out in Paris and London.

Dusts have been used to ward off insects from grain storage for centuries, including "plant ash, lime, dolomite, certain types of soil, and diatomaceous earth (DE) or Kieselguhr"[52] Of these, Diatomaceous earth in particular has seen a revival as a non-toxic residual pesticide for bedbug abatement. When it attaches to a bedbug, it abrades the waxy cuticle that covers its exosekeleton, causing it to die of dehydration[citation needed]. Insects exposed to diatomaceous earth may, however, take several days to die.

Basket-work panels were put around beds and shaken out in the morning, in the UK and in France in the 19th century. Scattering leaves of plants with microscopic hooked hairs around a bed at night, then sweeping them up in the morning and burning them, was a technique reportedly used in Southern Rhodesia and in the Balkans.

Infestation Vectors

Among the way in which dwellings can become infested with bedbugs:

• from bugs and eggs that "hitchhiked in", on clothing and luggage;
• from infested items (e.g., furniture, clothes) brought in;
• from a nearby dwelling or infested item, if there are easy routes
• via wild animals (e.g. bats, birds) and pets can bring them in

Bedbugs can infest nursing homes, furniture rental stores, hospitals, jails, homeless shelters, movie theaters, cruise ships, public housing, moving vehicles, and public transportation.

Nesting locations

Bedbugs can be found on their own but often congregate once established. They usually remain close to hosts, commonly in or near beds or couches. Nesting locations can vary greatly, however, including luggage, vehicles, and bedside clutter. Bedbugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, rodents, or birds.

Detection

Bedbugs are elusive and usually nocturnal, which can make individual bugs difficult to detect. Bedbugs often lodge unnoticed in dark crevices, and eggs can be nestled in fabric seams.

Signs of bedbugs often appear before bugs are seen. These include fecal spots, crushed bedbugs and/or blood smears on sheets, moults, itchy welts from their bites (in those that react), etc.

Canine detection teams can pinpoint infestations. Bed bug detection dogs are trained to find the bed bugs through smell, often in a matter of minutes, where a (human) pest control practitioner might take an hour, and with an accuracy rate of 90%. In the United States, about 100 dogs are used to find bed bugs as of mid-2009.

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Bed bugs

Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs and their relatives have evolved as nest parasites. Certain kinds inhabit bird nests and bat roosts and await the return of their hosts; others have adapted well to living in the '˜nests' (homes) of people. Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in length. From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom.

Their color ranges from nearly white (just after molting) or a light tan to a deep brown or burnt orange. The host's blood may appear as a dark red or black mass within the bug's body. Because they never develop wings, bed bugs cannot fly. When disturbed, bed bugs actively seek shelter in dark cracks and crevices. Cast skins of bed bugs are sometimes discovered. Although such a finding confirms that bed bugs had been present previously, it does not confirm that any continue to infest the residence. Thus, inspect carefully for live crawling bed bugs. Because many other kinds of small brown bugs may be discovered, it is critical to ensure that the bugs are correctly identified.

They will usually bite once a week or so, and they can actually live for a long time without feeding - usually six months, but sometimes over a year.

Bed bugs can infest all kinds of different places in your bedroom. Most often they're in the mattress - in the seams, the box springs, or sometimes the linens. However, they can really be anywhere near where people sleep - furniture within crawling distance, carpet, books, phones - they've been found in all kinds of random things, because they don't create a nest, they just hide somewhere.

Bed bugs used to be nearly completely eliminated in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe - largely because of DDT and because of certain chemicals used against roaches. In recent years, however, there have been rising levels of infestations because

Can bed bugs hurt me?

No, they aren't actually dangerous. However, the bites are annoying and they can cause skin irritation and rashes, especially if you've got a lot of them in the mattress. So it's always a good idea to get rid of them - because each bug can lay four or five eggs a day, leading to a pretty big batch of them if you leave things alone.

Bed bug infestation complaints in New York City have been on the rise, and are expected to continue to rise, if drastic preventative measures are not taken! Did you know that NY bed bug infestations have been reported in public housing, shelters, daycare centers, and even upscale hotels? And did you know thatover 80% of bed bug infestations are found in the mattress or box spring?

Over 80% of bed bug infestations are found in the mattress or box spring! You can be pro-active and take preventative steps to avoid bed bug infestations in your home by protecting your bedding. The problem with bed bugs is that they infiltrate every aspect of your family's life. Even the most basic necessity, a good night's rest, can no longer be taken for granted. With the rapid increase in bed bug infestation, bed time is now fraught with anxiety. Read the tips below and learn what steps to take to protect your home and family.

Bed bug infestations are on the rise in New York City.

New York is known for many things'“it's known for its nightlife, great food, winning sports teams, and Broadway plays, to name but a few NY attractions. NYC is known as the city that never sleeps... but with SecureSleep'„¢ anti-bed bug encasement products, now they can! Watch this space as this page will keep you informed andhelp you stayclear of bed bug infestations. New York Pest Control Professionals are very busy these days, with a variety of treatments for bed bug infestations '“ some effective, some not. But statistics show that 52% of U.S. pest control firms routinely utilize bedding encasements in bed bug treatment protocols. Bed bugs arenocturnal parasites that have resurfaced in New York City. Theycan be hard to detect, but once you have them you will need an exterminator to get rid of them. Find out what you need to know.

And in cities like New York, where neighbors are often separated only by bricks and mortar, one person's infestation is everybody's problem, since bed bugs can crawl through walls and along wiring and pipes, and hitchhike on clothing, furniture, luggage and more. In this city of 8.3 million, it seems as if everyone has a bed bug story.  Just ask Gale A. Brewer, a self-appointed bed bug evangelist and a City Council member from the Upper West Side. She prodded the Mayor's office to convene a bed bug advisory committee last fall, after years of what she and others felt were woeful public policy inadequacies in the face of the relentless advances of what some have called 'œthe pest of the century.' (The committee '” entomologists, civic policy experts and advocates for children, the elderly and others '” will issue its recommendations next month.)

Copyright 2009, 2010 - 2022 © The Bed Bug Treatment and Registry Database

Leg Protectors

Due to the difficulty in eliminating the bugs from the room or dwelling, the (suspected) bed is isolated, thus removing the insects' food source'”humans. Bedbugs cannot crosspetroleum jellyand have difficulty climbingmetalorglass, hence each of the bed legs is put in atincan(the bottom of which is thickly coated with petroleum jelly) to avoid movement from the bed to the hiding places. Although bedbugs cannot fly, they have been observed climbing a higher surface in order to then fall to a lower one, such as climbing a wall in order to fall onto a bed. They can also jump a few centimeters, and so could jump from the wall onto the nearby bed. Hence alternatively, a double-sided stickytape(such as carpet tape) is applied around each bed leg, or to keep each leg on a plastic furniture block in a tray of water. However, this does not prevent bugs from biting you on your couch or in other areas of your dwelling.

Each bed leg will be placed in these containers. Around the middle of each container, I'll tape a ring of super sticky fly tape or specialized insect tape. Thus, when they come out of hiding around 4am to 6am, bed bugs will try to climb up the leg of the bed to reach me. What they wont know is that they are climbing up a yogurt container and are going to be stuck in sticky tape. This bedbug will have a one way trip to his destiny. His little friends can come looking for him by all means!

I got some carpet tape and some empty yogurt containers. I put some masking tape over the containers incase the bed bugs can't climb up the bare plastic. I also sprayed a bit of hair spray on the masking tape to ensure some traction for the bed bugs. Then if you look at the far container, you will notice a white solid ring of carpet tape near the top. This is where I am hoping they will get stuck. Each bed leg on my bed (4 of them) will be inside one of these container trap thingies (see image).

A disinfected bed can be isolated and protected by applying a layer of duct tape around each leg of the bed'”using regular duct tape that has been curled lengthwise over on itself with the sticky side out. This creates a simple yet sticky barrier that will prevent most bedbugs from being able to crawl up the legs and onto the bed. This barrier technique may also be used in multiple strips or rows placed side by side to create an even stronger barrier (in areas where an infestation is heavy or where there exists a higher chance that bedbugs will attempt to crawl over the sticky tape). However, in using duct tape as a barrier, it is usually necessary to first place down a protective layer of some sort to prevent the duct tape from damaging the surfaces adhered to as well as to the prevent the duct tape barrier from leaving behind a sticky residue once it is finally removed. This protective layer, if used, can be created by placing a layer of painter's tape (also called masking tape) around the legs of the bed first'”before placing the duct tape. The painter's tape will help protect the surfaces wherever the 'curled duct tape' barrier is placed as the duct tape is adhered only directly over top the protective layer of painter's tape. Also, as a substitute to masking tape, plastic wrap can be wrapped tightly around the legs of a bed and used as the initial protective layer instead (where the curled duct tape is then placed over the plastic wrap).

Copyright 2009, 2010 - 2022 © The Bed Bug Treatment and Registry Database