BA bed bug Interview
13/03/11 17:28
The BA bed bugs story: Interview with Zane Selkirk
“Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite”, is a common phrase you tell children at night before they go to sleep and I’m sure you’ve said it many times yourself. But have you ever come across those mean little creatures? I hope you haven’t as they really are nasty. Zane Selkirk from California recently experienced the little biting creatures first hand. But not in some scabby hotel room, nor in a run-down backpacker, no, she got bitten on two occasions on British Airways flights.
Zane, outraged by the ignorance of the British Airways staff after reporting the issue, created a website called ba-bites.com. She welcomes her visitors by writing that
This small site was built after two horrendous flights taken in January and February of 2011 on British Airways. During the first, I turned on my light to find bugs crawling on my blanket and a bedbug-blood-spattered shirt. On the return journey, I left my 10-hour flight to find my body covered with 90 bug bites. The worst part was the nonexistent customer service throughout the 10-day ordeal.
The website then lead to additional media attention from the Financial Times last week to The Sydney Morning Herald of today who reports that BA now even grounded one Boeing 747 due to the infestation. Exclusive to LateDeparture, we got hold of Zane and were able to ask here a few additional questions:
Zane, LateDeparture discovered the original story in the Financial Times. How did the whole thing started to get media attention?
I officially started sending public traffic to the site on Tuesday evening. I sent the story out to friends and family and asked them to share with their friends, and also made an announcement on Twitter. In addition, I emailed some major news outlets on late Tuesday, early Wednesday – although that list did not include the Financial Times.
The site was already gaining traction early Wednesday thanks to a couple of key people taking a really active role in getting the story out there to their contacts. By before noon on Wednesday, the Financial Times had already tracked me down after seeing the buzz on Twitter. They had identified the story as something they expected to go viral, so to get ahead of it conducted a quick interview with me later that day and the story was published online by the following morning.
The hope in building ba-bites.com at all had always been to get enough people to see it to create a public conversation about bedbugs on airlines, but I was surprised (and very happy) to see how quickly that actually happened.
In the article it says you got frustrated that no one believed you. Do you think this is a British Airways issue?
I don’t want to speculate about BA more generally. What I do know is that my personal experience with BA was inexcusable.
If BA has bedbugs, all airlines have bedbugs. The problem is that while there has been a very public conversation about bedbugs being a problem in hotels, schools and other public places, the fact that bugs are on planes has largely been ignored. While it’s not reasonable for airlines to be completely bedbug free, they must be held accountable for acknowledging these types of customer reports and handling them in a thorough, customer-friendly way.
Did BA reach out to you for a personal apology or how did the episode continue after your success with the website and the media attention?
I was contacted by both the Financial Times and the Daily Mail early on Thursday to say that they had quotes from BA that the airline had apologized to me. In reality, I did not receive an apology from BA until sometime after they’d told the press they’d apologized.
One of my primary issues with my experience was the fact that I was literally treated as a liar by multiple people on their staff. Yet, their big talking point around this scandal is that they “take reports of bedbugs very seriously.” How can they be “taking reports seriously” if their stated policy is that unless you complain on board and have insects in hand to show the staff, they refuse to actually acknowledge any issue? Before press had contacted BA they hadn’t bothered to acknowledge – much less, I have to assume, investigate – my report of bug bites from the second flight.
I have not heard from them again since the press picked up the story
And finally, Zane, since you seem to travel a lot, what would you change on the ground or in the air to make air travel more pleasant in general?
“Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite”, is a common phrase you tell children at night before they go to sleep and I’m sure you’ve said it many times yourself. But have you ever come across those mean little creatures? I hope you haven’t as they really are nasty. Zane Selkirk from California recently experienced the little biting creatures first hand. But not in some scabby hotel room, nor in a run-down backpacker, no, she got bitten on two occasions on British Airways flights.
Zane, outraged by the ignorance of the British Airways staff after reporting the issue, created a website called ba-bites.com. She welcomes her visitors by writing that
This small site was built after two horrendous flights taken in January and February of 2011 on British Airways. During the first, I turned on my light to find bugs crawling on my blanket and a bedbug-blood-spattered shirt. On the return journey, I left my 10-hour flight to find my body covered with 90 bug bites. The worst part was the nonexistent customer service throughout the 10-day ordeal.
The website then lead to additional media attention from the Financial Times last week to The Sydney Morning Herald of today who reports that BA now even grounded one Boeing 747 due to the infestation. Exclusive to LateDeparture, we got hold of Zane and were able to ask here a few additional questions:
Zane, LateDeparture discovered the original story in the Financial Times. How did the whole thing started to get media attention?
I officially started sending public traffic to the site on Tuesday evening. I sent the story out to friends and family and asked them to share with their friends, and also made an announcement on Twitter. In addition, I emailed some major news outlets on late Tuesday, early Wednesday – although that list did not include the Financial Times.
The site was already gaining traction early Wednesday thanks to a couple of key people taking a really active role in getting the story out there to their contacts. By before noon on Wednesday, the Financial Times had already tracked me down after seeing the buzz on Twitter. They had identified the story as something they expected to go viral, so to get ahead of it conducted a quick interview with me later that day and the story was published online by the following morning.
The hope in building ba-bites.com at all had always been to get enough people to see it to create a public conversation about bedbugs on airlines, but I was surprised (and very happy) to see how quickly that actually happened.
In the article it says you got frustrated that no one believed you. Do you think this is a British Airways issue?
I don’t want to speculate about BA more generally. What I do know is that my personal experience with BA was inexcusable.
If BA has bedbugs, all airlines have bedbugs. The problem is that while there has been a very public conversation about bedbugs being a problem in hotels, schools and other public places, the fact that bugs are on planes has largely been ignored. While it’s not reasonable for airlines to be completely bedbug free, they must be held accountable for acknowledging these types of customer reports and handling them in a thorough, customer-friendly way.
Did BA reach out to you for a personal apology or how did the episode continue after your success with the website and the media attention?
I was contacted by both the Financial Times and the Daily Mail early on Thursday to say that they had quotes from BA that the airline had apologized to me. In reality, I did not receive an apology from BA until sometime after they’d told the press they’d apologized.
One of my primary issues with my experience was the fact that I was literally treated as a liar by multiple people on their staff. Yet, their big talking point around this scandal is that they “take reports of bedbugs very seriously.” How can they be “taking reports seriously” if their stated policy is that unless you complain on board and have insects in hand to show the staff, they refuse to actually acknowledge any issue? Before press had contacted BA they hadn’t bothered to acknowledge – much less, I have to assume, investigate – my report of bug bites from the second flight.
I have not heard from them again since the press picked up the story
And finally, Zane, since you seem to travel a lot, what would you change on the ground or in the air to make air travel more pleasant in general?
British Airways has Bed Bugs !
10/03/11 10:43
British Airways recently had to apologise to a woman passenger after she complained of being bitten by bedbugs on two flights, one Los Angeles-London flight and the other Bangalore-London.
Now the US Environmental Protection Agency has warned that “a bedbug plague is sweeping the United States and shows no signs of stopping”.
I expect this story — and the incorrect association of this quote with the EPA — will continue to make the rounds for some time, as these news agencies have a wide reach.
For what it’s worth, at least one source close to Bedbugger who was present reported finding the conversations and presentations at the EPA’s recent Bed Bug Summit “encouraging” overall. That kind of story seems to have a harder time going viral.
Now the US Environmental Protection Agency has warned that “a bedbug plague is sweeping the United States and shows no signs of stopping”.
I expect this story — and the incorrect association of this quote with the EPA — will continue to make the rounds for some time, as these news agencies have a wide reach.
For what it’s worth, at least one source close to Bedbugger who was present reported finding the conversations and presentations at the EPA’s recent Bed Bug Summit “encouraging” overall. That kind of story seems to have a harder time going viral.
Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland calls bed bugs a ‘major public health issue’
10/03/11 10:40
Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland calls bed bugs a ‘major public health issue’
The BBC News reports that
Health experts have warned a rise in bedbug infestations in Scotland is becoming a ‘major public health issue’. The claim by the Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland (REHIS) comes as US experts said the world was on the verge of a ‘global pandemic’.
According to the same article, the concerns about the spread of bed bugs in Scotland are based solely on anecdotal evidence so far:
REHIS said it only had anecdotal reports of a rise, and called for improvements in how data is collected and shared in the UK so that trends can be properly monitored.
It has organised a conference in Glasgow, where experts are debating how to deal with the problem.
I appreciate this recognition of the seriousness of the spread of bed bugs in Scotland. Bed bugs are a public health issue.
However, this article makes it clear that Scots probably need an education campaign about bed bugs, because it cites a pest management firm which
… said people should look out for an “almond smell” and red spots on bedclothes as signs of infestation.
Well, okay. But few people I have come across have noted “smelling” their bed bug infestations. Even many pros tell us they don’t smell them. We have a FAQ on this topic.
Incidentally, among those who have noted a smell (which may be more likely in severe infestations), I have heard it compared to “ripe raspberries,” and “coriander (cilantro),” but almonds are a new one to me. Smell’s a pretty subjective sense.
The article also claims that
The insects are flat, rusty brown in color and about 5 mm long.
They are, give or take, except when they’re 1 mm long and translucent. Or when they’ve just fed for the first time and are about the same size but bright red. Or when they are at various other intermediate sizes during any of the other four nymphal stages preceding adulthood. Or when, as adults, they’re not so flat but puffed up from a meal.
I wish we could send Lou Sorkin to that Glasgow bed bug conference. There’s no one who better understands the gap between what people are usually told about bed bugs, and what they most need to know to identify and deal with them.
The article ends with a cliché that is also based on anecdotal evidence. Of the bed bug problem in the US, the article notes,
New York was the worst affected city with office buildings, cinemas and shops – including the flagship Nike store in Manhattan and the BBC’s studios at the United Nations – being forced to deal with infestations.
It’s true New York has a serious bed bug problem, and that the media has reported many high-profile cases, particularly in the last year.
However, just because the media reports more high-profile bed bug infestations in New York does not mean that this city is more affected than other cities in the US or abroad. There’s no really accurate data here on how many are affected here, and the same is true of other cities.
A number of the high profile New York bed bug cases seem to have been detected by pro-active canine screenings. I am not sure how common such screenings are elsewhere.
Some other reports seem to have been based on finding one lone bed bug — which is arguably much more likely in a city where everyone is on their toes looking for bed bugs, perhaps aided in their recognition by the presence of massive bed bugs on advertisements in the streets and subways.
Those complaints aside, I am glad to see the importance of this problem — and its public health significance in particular — recognized in Scotland. The news that REHIS is organizing a bed bug conference and calling for better data collection and sharing is very welcome.
Hopefully it will lead to more cases being promptly detected, and dealt with, and programs being put in place to help people better avoid and fight bed bugs.
The BBC News reports that
Health experts have warned a rise in bedbug infestations in Scotland is becoming a ‘major public health issue’. The claim by the Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland (REHIS) comes as US experts said the world was on the verge of a ‘global pandemic’.
According to the same article, the concerns about the spread of bed bugs in Scotland are based solely on anecdotal evidence so far:
REHIS said it only had anecdotal reports of a rise, and called for improvements in how data is collected and shared in the UK so that trends can be properly monitored.
It has organised a conference in Glasgow, where experts are debating how to deal with the problem.
I appreciate this recognition of the seriousness of the spread of bed bugs in Scotland. Bed bugs are a public health issue.
However, this article makes it clear that Scots probably need an education campaign about bed bugs, because it cites a pest management firm which
… said people should look out for an “almond smell” and red spots on bedclothes as signs of infestation.
Well, okay. But few people I have come across have noted “smelling” their bed bug infestations. Even many pros tell us they don’t smell them. We have a FAQ on this topic.
Incidentally, among those who have noted a smell (which may be more likely in severe infestations), I have heard it compared to “ripe raspberries,” and “coriander (cilantro),” but almonds are a new one to me. Smell’s a pretty subjective sense.
The article also claims that
The insects are flat, rusty brown in color and about 5 mm long.
They are, give or take, except when they’re 1 mm long and translucent. Or when they’ve just fed for the first time and are about the same size but bright red. Or when they are at various other intermediate sizes during any of the other four nymphal stages preceding adulthood. Or when, as adults, they’re not so flat but puffed up from a meal.
I wish we could send Lou Sorkin to that Glasgow bed bug conference. There’s no one who better understands the gap between what people are usually told about bed bugs, and what they most need to know to identify and deal with them.
The article ends with a cliché that is also based on anecdotal evidence. Of the bed bug problem in the US, the article notes,
New York was the worst affected city with office buildings, cinemas and shops – including the flagship Nike store in Manhattan and the BBC’s studios at the United Nations – being forced to deal with infestations.
It’s true New York has a serious bed bug problem, and that the media has reported many high-profile cases, particularly in the last year.
However, just because the media reports more high-profile bed bug infestations in New York does not mean that this city is more affected than other cities in the US or abroad. There’s no really accurate data here on how many are affected here, and the same is true of other cities.
A number of the high profile New York bed bug cases seem to have been detected by pro-active canine screenings. I am not sure how common such screenings are elsewhere.
Some other reports seem to have been based on finding one lone bed bug — which is arguably much more likely in a city where everyone is on their toes looking for bed bugs, perhaps aided in their recognition by the presence of massive bed bugs on advertisements in the streets and subways.
Those complaints aside, I am glad to see the importance of this problem — and its public health significance in particular — recognized in Scotland. The news that REHIS is organizing a bed bug conference and calling for better data collection and sharing is very welcome.
Hopefully it will lead to more cases being promptly detected, and dealt with, and programs being put in place to help people better avoid and fight bed bugs.
Bed bugs found in several rooms at New Jersey psychiatric hospital
10/03/11 10:36
Bed bugs found in several rooms at New Jersey psychiatric hospital
The Jersey Journal reported today that two rooms at the Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey have been vacant since bed bugs were found in them:
A patient in Room 306 of the Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital reported a bite on Jan. 11 and subsequent testing revealed that there was a bedbug infestation in Room 306 and bedbugs were found in Room 307 as well, Hudson County spokesman Jim Kennelly said.
The patients were removed from those two rooms, Kennelly said, and the rooms have been vacant since.
The rooms were treated by an exterminator, but when officials checked the rooms in mid-February, one bedbug was found in each room. Kennelly said the county policy is to quarantine a room 30 days when bedbugs are discovered.
Kennelly added that the second testing of the rooms revealed the presence of bedbugs, but not to the level of an infestation. A third test of the rooms will be conducted in mid-March.
I am not an expert on bed bug treatment, but I wonder about the treatment process for a quarantined room.
We’re often told that if spray and dust treatments are used, humans must be present as “bait” to draw bed bugs out to cross poison and die. We don’t know all of the facts here. Perhaps active bed bug monitors are being implemented to attract the bed bugs out, in the absence of humans?
On the other hand, subjecting patients at Meadowview to life with bed bugs is not desirable — so I am not suggesting they sleep in infested rooms. (The last thing they need, on top of everything else, is to deal with bed bug bites and bug sightings.)
So this raises the question of whether other methods may be needed to treat the rooms and the items inside them, without forcing people to sleep there.
It would be possible to professionally heat treat the rooms in order to kill bed bugs in the structure and furniture.
It would also be possible to remove furniture and other items from the room for heat treatment or Vikane gas fumigation, while the room itself receives traditional spray/dust/steam treatments.
Again, even if the belongings are rendered bed bug free, the room itself will be hard to treat using traditional sprays/dusts if a human is not sleeping there as bait.
The University of Florida has been using a method of heat treating furniture and possessions in dorm rooms. (You can read about that in the Bed Bugs Manual linked from this U of Florida page.)
Note that back in December 2009, there was an ongoing problem with bed bugs in the Straight and Narrow addiction treatment center, which — at least at the time — rented space from Meadowview.
Hospitals and health care facilities of all kinds need to get good advice on bed bug behavior, detection and treatment, to implement bed bug prevention and detection plans, and to train staff on how to detect and respond to bed bugs which will surely eventually turn up in their facilities, if they haven’t yet.
The Jersey Journal reported today that two rooms at the Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey have been vacant since bed bugs were found in them:
A patient in Room 306 of the Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital reported a bite on Jan. 11 and subsequent testing revealed that there was a bedbug infestation in Room 306 and bedbugs were found in Room 307 as well, Hudson County spokesman Jim Kennelly said.
The patients were removed from those two rooms, Kennelly said, and the rooms have been vacant since.
The rooms were treated by an exterminator, but when officials checked the rooms in mid-February, one bedbug was found in each room. Kennelly said the county policy is to quarantine a room 30 days when bedbugs are discovered.
Kennelly added that the second testing of the rooms revealed the presence of bedbugs, but not to the level of an infestation. A third test of the rooms will be conducted in mid-March.
I am not an expert on bed bug treatment, but I wonder about the treatment process for a quarantined room.
We’re often told that if spray and dust treatments are used, humans must be present as “bait” to draw bed bugs out to cross poison and die. We don’t know all of the facts here. Perhaps active bed bug monitors are being implemented to attract the bed bugs out, in the absence of humans?
On the other hand, subjecting patients at Meadowview to life with bed bugs is not desirable — so I am not suggesting they sleep in infested rooms. (The last thing they need, on top of everything else, is to deal with bed bug bites and bug sightings.)
So this raises the question of whether other methods may be needed to treat the rooms and the items inside them, without forcing people to sleep there.
It would be possible to professionally heat treat the rooms in order to kill bed bugs in the structure and furniture.
It would also be possible to remove furniture and other items from the room for heat treatment or Vikane gas fumigation, while the room itself receives traditional spray/dust/steam treatments.
Again, even if the belongings are rendered bed bug free, the room itself will be hard to treat using traditional sprays/dusts if a human is not sleeping there as bait.
The University of Florida has been using a method of heat treating furniture and possessions in dorm rooms. (You can read about that in the Bed Bugs Manual linked from this U of Florida page.)
Note that back in December 2009, there was an ongoing problem with bed bugs in the Straight and Narrow addiction treatment center, which — at least at the time — rented space from Meadowview.
Hospitals and health care facilities of all kinds need to get good advice on bed bug behavior, detection and treatment, to implement bed bug prevention and detection plans, and to train staff on how to detect and respond to bed bugs which will surely eventually turn up in their facilities, if they haven’t yet.
Do's and Don'ts of Bed Bugs
17/02/11 16:12
If you think you may have bed bugs, these are the essential dos and don’ts.
If you suspect there are bed bugs where you sleep, don’t begin sleeping in another bed, on the sofa. Do not go to stay with someone else. The bugs may follow you to your guest room or sofa, and then it will be much harder to get rid of them. They may hitch a ride to your relative’s home, and you can cause them to become infested. (All of these situations have happened to Bedbuggers we know.) Also, staying outside of your home means the bugs may become dormant. We’re told they may live without feeding for up to 18 months. When you come back, they can begin biting you again. So staying in your home during treatment, and sleeping in your usual bed, is the way to kill bed bugs. Read our FAQs, isolate your bed, and sleep there while you’re getting a Pest Control Operator (PCO) to treat your home. Once you are being treated, you must remain in the bed–you are the bait, attracting bugs to the poison and their deaths. If you isolate the bed, they need not bite you.
Do save any bed bugs you find. Do not part with these– you may need to show them to landlords, pest control professionals, and so on. Entomologists at colleges or science museums in your town may identify these, and a pest control company can too. Pick it up with clear packing tape, and tape it to an index card. Don’t assume you’ll see lots of them, some people don’t.
Do rule out other possible conditions, like folliculitis, scabies, and bites from other insects. Suspected bed bug bites sometimes turn out to be one of these other conditions. Doctors cannot diagnose bed bug bites with any certainty. The FAQs may help. Be warned, though, that many of us are told by doctors that we do not have bed bugs, and later find they are wrong. Many of them have never seen bed bug bites, or have seen only some patients with them. Bed bug bites can range from large welts to small red bumps, to scabby pimple-type bumps. See the photos in the left sidebar links on the blog (even Caryn’s bed bug bites look different on different areas of her body).
Don’t assume you are the only one being bitten. Remember that some people do not react to bed bug bites at all. Bed bug bites are an allergic reaction, and reactions vary from nothing to serious allergic reactions. Research released in 2010 by Dr. Michael Potter suggests 70% of people do react, and 30% of people do not react to bed bug bites.
Don’t start throwing your bed and other furniture out. As per the FAQs, you can cover and isolate the bed. (You may wish to wait until a PCO has started treating before covering the mattress in an encasement.) Most furniture, including mattresses and sofas, can be treated by a PCO, and you can ask the PCO if throwing them out is a good idea. And he or she can help you do it safely, so as not to spread the bugs around your home or building, and so that others do not pick up infested items.
Do not, absolutely do not release a fogger or bug bomb. Do not allow your landlord to do so. Do not allow a so-called exterminator to do so. Bug bombs / foggers do not work for bed bugs, and in fact, will spread them. Your problem will be magnified. Trust me!
Don’t start bagging everything you own. With the exception of washed and dried clothing (according to specific instructions below and in the FAQs), do not seal up everything you own in bags. Some PCOs will want you to inspect, vacuum, and seal all your posessions in bags. Most won’t. Following their advice is crucial, since they know what they’re using on your problem. If you decide to bag things, you may be sealing away bed bugs– and this is only a way of dealing with the problem if you put these items in storage for 18 months, unopened. Instead, most PCOs will vigorously fight your problem, and bed bugs will be attracted out of your posessions and towards poisons which will kill them.
Do start dealing with your clothing and linens. Though you should not simply seal your posessions in bags (as above), it is probably a good idea to start working on clothing and bedding, since the PCO is going to tell you to do this, and it takes time. You should take clothing and other items, wash them in a machine on hot, dry them on hot for 1-2 hours. Remember, driers vary as to their strength and how long they take with what size of load. My personal method is that items should at least be dried on hot for 20 minutes after they appear to be fully dry and very hot. If you want to be cautious, go for two hours on hot. Dry cleaning is okay too. Keep in mind that pillows, comforters, down coats, and other thick items may take longer. Here’s the key: after washing and drying, bag items in sealed, airtight bags, and do not remove them until use. Our FAQs give more explicit suggestions.
Don’t assume bed bugs are only in your bed. While bed frames and mattresses and headboards are the most likely location for bed bugs, they can and do often hide out in sofas and other soft furniture, electrical sockets (behind plates), light fixtures, baseboards, floor crevices, and other crevices in the bedroom and living room. Bed bugs are occasionally found in kitchens and bathrooms. This should not make you panic: most cases, especially smaller ones, are quite concentrated, usually 10-20 feet from where people sleep (or where they sit for extended periods). However, if a PCO tells you bed bugs are not found in living rooms, realize that many Bedbuggers have infested sofas, computer chairs, and so on. Don’t believe that bed bugs only bite at night. They prefer a sleeping, stationary host who is fast asleep. But if they’re hungry, they’ll take what they can get. You can be bitten while in a chair, awake.
B3 Blitz Team
Do save any bed bugs you find. Do not part with these– you may need to show them to landlords, pest control professionals, and so on. Entomologists at colleges or science museums in your town may identify these, and a pest control company can too. Pick it up with clear packing tape, and tape it to an index card. Don’t assume you’ll see lots of them, some people don’t.
Do rule out other possible conditions, like folliculitis, scabies, and bites from other insects. Suspected bed bug bites sometimes turn out to be one of these other conditions. Doctors cannot diagnose bed bug bites with any certainty. The FAQs may help. Be warned, though, that many of us are told by doctors that we do not have bed bugs, and later find they are wrong. Many of them have never seen bed bug bites, or have seen only some patients with them. Bed bug bites can range from large welts to small red bumps, to scabby pimple-type bumps. See the photos in the left sidebar links on the blog (even Caryn’s bed bug bites look different on different areas of her body).
Don’t assume you are the only one being bitten. Remember that some people do not react to bed bug bites at all. Bed bug bites are an allergic reaction, and reactions vary from nothing to serious allergic reactions. Research released in 2010 by Dr. Michael Potter suggests 70% of people do react, and 30% of people do not react to bed bug bites.
Don’t start throwing your bed and other furniture out. As per the FAQs, you can cover and isolate the bed. (You may wish to wait until a PCO has started treating before covering the mattress in an encasement.) Most furniture, including mattresses and sofas, can be treated by a PCO, and you can ask the PCO if throwing them out is a good idea. And he or she can help you do it safely, so as not to spread the bugs around your home or building, and so that others do not pick up infested items.
Do not, absolutely do not release a fogger or bug bomb. Do not allow your landlord to do so. Do not allow a so-called exterminator to do so. Bug bombs / foggers do not work for bed bugs, and in fact, will spread them. Your problem will be magnified. Trust me!
Don’t start bagging everything you own. With the exception of washed and dried clothing (according to specific instructions below and in the FAQs), do not seal up everything you own in bags. Some PCOs will want you to inspect, vacuum, and seal all your posessions in bags. Most won’t. Following their advice is crucial, since they know what they’re using on your problem. If you decide to bag things, you may be sealing away bed bugs– and this is only a way of dealing with the problem if you put these items in storage for 18 months, unopened. Instead, most PCOs will vigorously fight your problem, and bed bugs will be attracted out of your posessions and towards poisons which will kill them.
Do start dealing with your clothing and linens. Though you should not simply seal your posessions in bags (as above), it is probably a good idea to start working on clothing and bedding, since the PCO is going to tell you to do this, and it takes time. You should take clothing and other items, wash them in a machine on hot, dry them on hot for 1-2 hours. Remember, driers vary as to their strength and how long they take with what size of load. My personal method is that items should at least be dried on hot for 20 minutes after they appear to be fully dry and very hot. If you want to be cautious, go for two hours on hot. Dry cleaning is okay too. Keep in mind that pillows, comforters, down coats, and other thick items may take longer. Here’s the key: after washing and drying, bag items in sealed, airtight bags, and do not remove them until use. Our FAQs give more explicit suggestions.
Don’t assume bed bugs are only in your bed. While bed frames and mattresses and headboards are the most likely location for bed bugs, they can and do often hide out in sofas and other soft furniture, electrical sockets (behind plates), light fixtures, baseboards, floor crevices, and other crevices in the bedroom and living room. Bed bugs are occasionally found in kitchens and bathrooms. This should not make you panic: most cases, especially smaller ones, are quite concentrated, usually 10-20 feet from where people sleep (or where they sit for extended periods). However, if a PCO tells you bed bugs are not found in living rooms, realize that many Bedbuggers have infested sofas, computer chairs, and so on. Don’t believe that bed bugs only bite at night. They prefer a sleeping, stationary host who is fast asleep. But if they’re hungry, they’ll take what they can get. You can be bitten while in a chair, awake.
B3 Blitz Team
