help! bed bugs. do we really need an exterminator?

yup. I agree. Have a 50 lb sack of food grade DE in the barn to 'bathe' the chickens in. No bed bugs there but mites, yes. I've even thought about eating some but, well, kept it to a thought.

Scary to think about bed bugs in the barn. gulp.

hoping to better appraise the situation tomorrow and think it through slowly and rationally.

thanks, everyone! thank you.

More disinformation and negative hype about boron. Remember "Death Valley Days" and the 20 mule team wagons? Did you see any mules dropping dead from boron poisoning?

We have visible boric acid right now on the kitchen floor, going right across an attempted ant trail. Cat has been fine (felines can be more sensitive than humans) and I'll probably vacuum it up in a day or two. Normally, I try to brush boric acid into carpets and keep it off surfaces, but sometimes a more direct approach is needed.

Boron affects the metabolism of insects differently than it does mammals. Those who panic easily may think they are insects.

Go read this site http://bedbugger.com/ and then post questions here http://bedbugger.com/forum/


We thought we had bed bugs last year and these people were amazingly helpful! Thankfully we didn't have the bugs!

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Blessings,
Jean

I used DE to coat the screens in a filter press used to de-water sludge removed from tank truck interior cleaning. Used to mix a bag w/ water and pump it thru the press until it ran clear. It clung to the screens and caught the solids to start the filtration process.

Each bag contained warnings about not breathing the stuff. I used to wear a respirator [recomended by the supplier] when I was dumping it into the mix tank b/4 adding water and stirring it up to pump it into the filter.

I would think twice about dusting my sleeping quarters with DE. They have stopped recomending people use it to clarify their swiming pool water to keep it out of people's lungs, causes Silicosis. If it is in bakery flour, you don't breathe it in as you eat the finished product. 30 years of being around the cleaning of chemicals in tankers makes me leery of mis-using anything w/ warning labels...

Time to seek professional assistance IMHO, your mileage may vary.

No way! My stuff is pure gold. Your stuff is disinformation and negative hype about boron.

Neener neener! Pbpbpbpbpbtttttt!!!!!



Uh .... I think you meant to add a smiley face there? You're joking, right?

Harry, I encourage you to lick your floor. You are so certain that it is so safe, that you have not bothered to read the expert information, the clinical studies or the MSDS. So, go ahead and eat it. I feel bad for your cat and anybody living in your house - but you have the right to lightly poison your animals and yourself (and anybody in your kitchen).

Myself - I choose to not use borax that way. I have read the MSDS. In fact I have read at least eight different MSDS's for borax, borate powders, boric acids, etc. I also find the two documents I linked to above to be accurate and compelling. I choose to limit my use of borates.

But I heartily encourage you to use it lots and lots.

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[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

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Here's a question for you: was that FOOD GRADE DE?

No. It wasn't.

There is a lot of different stuff out there. If I remember correctly, the silica in the stuff for pools was several times higher than in the food grade DE. And there were lots of icky problems with the pool grade stuff that do not exist in the food grade stuff.

I suggest you read the MSDS for the pool grade stuff and then read the MSDS for the food grade stuff.

Food grade DE is safe. That's why it is in our food. That is why so many people eat extra DE ... why people feed it to their pets ... why people feed it to their livestock.

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[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

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Safe to eat the finished product, just don't inhale it while mixing the batter. I still wouldn't want my matterss covered w/ it; food grade or not!

We used to see 'food grade' tankers for cleaning. Often 'food grade' ls only as good as the person making that lable. We used to transport corn syrup in chem spec trailers that had been dedicated to that service and our pumps were iron ones painted white instead of stainless steel.

We cleaned other companies food trailers in chemical wash racks & often the cleaning supervisor would call me out to see the interior of an orange juce trailer after we washed out the remains of the OJ that just arrived from Florida to show me the gobs of Rosin hanging down from the top. Rosin was backhauled back to the southern papermills and at that time there was only one cleaning facility in Florida so they were washed w/ a garden hose b/4 the next load of concentrate OJ was sent back north...Oh Yeah, I almost forgot that time we had a load of lubricating oil to Florida that we washed and our telemarketer got us a backhaul of OJ concentrate to Conn. and the load of chocolate that was sent w/ out the food grade hoses...the driver managed to get MT w/ the hoses he had...

Don't trust 'food grade'; it is only a lable.

DE is fossilized sea shells; what makes that food?

I wouldn't want to breath in any dust.

I would happily cover my mattress and sheets and carpet with loads of DE. In fact, I did do this once. I even breathed in loads of the dust - ick. And I've breathed in other dusts - like when following somebody on a dusty road.

I bet that road dust is far worse for you than DE.

And I know that there is pool grade DE and I know that there is food grade DE because I've been researching and playing with it for fifteen years. And I've read the MSDS for each. And I've read all sorts of comparitive stuff between the two - like the prep for pool grade DE and what they do to it before shipping it. And I've also read mountains of nonsense that people just make up and I've worked hard to tell the difference.

I think your information about pool grade DE is excellent. And I hope it does not dissuade the OP from using food grade DE to solve her problem.

BTW: did you know that the ocean is made of salt water? I'm sure you are aware that if you drink it, it will make you sick. Based on your reasoning, I suppose you shouldn't drink fresh water. Me - I'll drink the fresh water. But that's just me.

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[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

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I have not drank OJ for years 'cept at the local diner that has a machine where you watch them squeeze the oranges...salt water isn't my thing either...

I also have a list of places I remember from the days we did the corn syrup...I avoid their stuff too!

During college I worked at the trucking terminal at a cement mill. I breathed in enough of that dust to last a lifetime; if any of it had to be shoveled, the always called for the 'college kids'.

Gee Paul, I HAVE eaten the dust. Seriously.

Neener neener.

This may help some.
http://http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bed_bug2.html



You could start with a VERY thorough application of this http://www.bugspray.com/item/eco_exempt_ko_aerosol.html

It's also available in non aerosol forms that can be used in a compressed air sprayer.




FIRST thing: Read the label. All of it!

Use the straw injection tip to treat in every crack and crevice that you can find, headboards, bed frames, trim boards, furniture, EVERYTHING. If labeled for it, treat folds in mattress stitching and box spring too. These are not residual, and would need to be reapplied repeatedly, depending on the extent of your infestation. At first, I'd say at least weekly. When the bites slow/stop you could cut back. Don't forget the mattress covers. It's very time consuming to treat for bedbugs this way effectively.....but also very safe.


Although I've read on the internet that some doubt Gentrols effectiveness because of the results of one study, I personally believe that this has helped with our success in treating for bedbugs. I feel this is an important part of your long term solution if not using residual pesticides. You can get this one in an aerosol also.http://site.thepestdepot.com/PEROICZ..._Bug_Label.pdf

Vacuuming and cleaning can help alot too. Vacuum like you've never vacuumed before. Bed frames, furniture etc.

IMHO this will be one of the safest methods that you can use to be reasonably certain of success.

It's difficult to make definite statements about the likelihood of your success with this method, without knowing for certain how bad the infestation is though. Bedbugs can be tough!

Again, the key is to be extremely thorough. They can hold up in any tiny crack in your room.

You can try it yourself, or hire a professional. I wish you luck either way you decide to go. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

If these don't work.....there are "bigger guns" that I believe are still very safe to use in this application.

I have struggled with this a long time. I think that we have bat bugs initially, when I had some bats squeezing into a small space between the tin and the roofing. Anyway, it is a lot of work. Also, some birds will carry them too.

Yes they burn itch

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We will meet in the golden city, called the New Jerusalem,
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.....

Hey Wis Bang - yuck!. This is just another reason to keep your food source close. I don't think I'll drink OJ again without thinkin' about this.

There was a story on 20/20 a long time ago, west coast company backhauling formaldehyde after wine, guess they wanted to pre-embalm people. The FEDS said they were gonna' do something...

All I've seen were some quetionaires and some of the cleaning facilities added seggregated food cleaning bays & some food shippers required proof that they were used. There are still places using garden hoses too...

I'm amazed that there hasn't been a problem similar to the E-coli at butcher plants & that peanut company.

I haven't had OJ in 20+ years...........