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William Rockwell

William Rockwell has been writing for local and national publications since 1989. He has been published in the "Dewitt Chronicle," "Eastern Eagle" and the niche market magazine "Cellar Dweller." Rockwell earned a Master of Arts in written communication from Eastern Michigan University.

Using a bedbug bomb can actually cause the bedbugs to be harder to eradicate. The poison causes the bugs to retreat deep into the walls where they are hard to kill. Poisons can also leave residue on all of the exposed items in the room or rooms that have been bombed. A far safer, environmentally friendly and economically cheaper option is to use heat to kill bedbugs and their eggs.

Take the items infested with bedbugs and wrap them in two black plastic bags. Using two bags is important: If there is a hole in the first bag the bedbugs will only escape into the second one.

Set up two saw horses and place an OSB or scrap wood across them to create a platform. If the bags are left on the ground there will be cold spots in the bag and the process won't work.

Set the plastic bags on the platform in direct sunlight.

Place a heat probe in the bag to monitor the temperature. Once the temperature reaches at least 120 degrees F the bedbugs and their eggs will begin to die. To be sure that all of the bedbugs and their eggs are destroyed keep the temperature in the bag above 120 degrees F for at least half an hour and ideally for an hour, because it takes time for the heat to penetrate the material in the bag.

If you can't get the temperature up to 120 degrees F in direct sunlight you can try placing the bag in a car. The ambient temperature inside the car will easily exceed 120 degrees F. Use one extra bag to wrap the items to be sure the bed bugs don't get out and infest your car.

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Do It Yourself Heat Treating for Bed Bugs | eHow

Gainsville, Fla.-(WTVT) They will definitely suck your blood, but they shouldn't drain your wallet. That's the message from University of Florida insect researchers who have developed a bedbug trap that costs consumer less than $1 to build.

"Having low cost bedbug control is a must," said Roberto M. Pereira, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist at the University of Florida.

Pereira works in a lab that is positively crawling with pests cockroaches, termites, flies, mosquitoes, and bedbugs among them.

"It's very creepy for someone that's not used to it," Pereira said.

The trap UF entomologists have designed for do-it-yourself construction is remarkably simple and intended to rest beneath bedposts. Essentially, it's two plastic containers (the first smaller than the second) placed inside of one another.

"We want to have a mote between the two containers, Pereira said. Like a castle."

The secret ingredient is a common household item: ordinary masking tape.

Pereira wraps the tape around the edges of the exterior container, then adds vertical strips to the interior of the smaller container. And that's about it.

"The tape serves as a place for the bed bugs to climb," Pereira explains, noting that bed bugs tiny legs are unable to traverse the slick plastic edges of kitchen containers.

So, those bedbugs that approach your mattress can be lured up the outer walls and into the mote; bedbugs that are inside your bed can also be lured down the bedpost, into the smaller container, and then into the mote.

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Low-Cost Trap Gets Rid Of Bedbugs

Canada's bed bug problem is worse than ever, as experts say the pesky little bloodsuckers are multiplying in record numbers in cities and smaller communities across the country.

Pest control experts say the frequency of bed bug reports has shot up 20 per cent since last year, as the blood-sucking, rapidly-reproducing insects have continued to spread. Mike Heimbach of Abell Pest Control says that increase has been a steady, "compounding growth" in the last six years. And it shows no sign of letting up.

"They've really got a good foothold in Canada and the United States, and we don't see that changing any time soon," Heimbach told CTV's Canada AM on Monday morning. He added that while the bugs were initially an urban problem, they've spread to rural and less-populated areas in recent years.

Heimbach also stressed that bed bug infestations have no link to socioeconomic status.

"Anyone can get bed bugs," he said. "The challenge that we see is that certain people can't afford to get rid of them."

A bed bug is about the size, shape and colour of an apple seed, three millimetres long and oval-shaped, with reddish-brown colouring. When found hiding in the seams of mattresses, the insects are visible to the naked eye. They only emerge to feed late at night. Their bite is similar to a mosquito bite, Heimbach said, leaving behind an itchy welt in the spot where they draw blood from the skin.

The insects spread by hitchhiking in bags and on clothes, but they can also be hiding in discarded furniture and electronics that people unwittingly bring into their homes.

Aside from the small, red bites, there are other identifiable signs of a bed bug infestation. Heimbach said a quick check of your mattress seams and headboard can reveal many telling signs, from leftover insect husks and little black droppings, to blood spots on the mattress.

"They know how to live unseen," Heimbach said. Spotting one of the bugs is, of course, another sign of infestation, he said.

"The key is to learn to identify them and to act quickly if you get them."

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Don't let them bite: Why bed bugs are worse than ever

GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 22 (UPI) --Surveys suggest bedbugs are everywhere, and they're becoming resistant to pesticide treatments -- treatments that cost upwards of several thousand dollars.

Luckily, for itchy victims of the bedbug epidemic, researchers at the University of Florida have developed a way to make effective bedbug traps using household items. Each trap can be assembled for less than $1.

If you have two disposable plastic containers, masking tape and glue lying around the house, you can make a make bedbug trap, easy. The traps can be used to collect the biting insects as they commute from their hiding spots to their dinner (sleeping people).

"This concept of trapping works for places where people sleep and need to be protected at those locations," said Phil Koehler, an urban entomology professor at Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

The traps, Koehler explains, take advantage of bedbugs' inability to climb on smooth surfaces. Enticed by rough materials and lots of traction on their way to their midnight snack, the bedbugs enter easily before sliding into a smooth-surfaced moat. There they remain, trapped -- unable to regain their footing.

Here -- courtesy of a University of Florida press release -- are the instructions for a do-it-yourself bedbug trap:

1. Cut four pieces of rough-surfaced tape. Each piece should be at least as long as the wall of the smaller container is tall.

2. Evenly space and firmly press the four pieces of tape vertically on the inside surface of the smaller container. The tape allows the bugs to escape the small container easily and fall into the space between the small and the large container walls, where they are trapped.

3. Wrap tape around the exterior of the larger container from the base to its upper edge so the bedbugs can enter the trap easily.

4. Glue the smaller container onto the center of the bottom of the larger container.

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Florida researchers develop DIY bedbug trap

Can you treat and eliminate the bed bugs on your own?Bed bugs are challenging pests to get rid of, since they hide so well and reproduce so quickly. In addition, the egg stage is resistant to many forms of treatment, so a single attempt may not be sufficient to complete the job.

Treating bed bugs is complex. Your likelihood of success depends on many factors, including:

Achieving complete control can take weeks to months, depending on the nature and extent of the infestation, and everyone will need to cooperate and do their part.

Before starting, you should lay out all of the steps on a calendar. The following steps will help you begin:

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Jumping straight into control is tempting, but won't work. Preparing for treatment is essential to getting successful control. It will also help by making it easier for you to monitor for bed bugs that haven't been completely eliminated. This preparation should be conducted whether you are doing the treatment yourself or hiring a professional.

Learn more about preparing for treatment

Learn about treatment options (PDF).(4 pp, 480 K, About PDF)Exit

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See the article here:
Do-it-yourself Bed Bug Control | Bed Bugs | US EPA