First time in my life directly affected by bed bugs. Any and all of anyone experienced/experts' feedback on each step, if I missed something etc. would be greatly appreciated !
TREATMENT PLAN:
After weeks of intermittent research, reading a lot of useful info on bedbuggers.com, I've gathered the tools, and plan on treatment in the following order:
1. Double-Bag up as many items as possible >> removing them from the room:
2. Put on gloves and paint/pesticide respirator.
3. Steam + hairdryer dry (to remove moisture from) + vacuum room's entrance/doorframe, wall, and all cracks/crevices/holes noticed
4. CimeXA SmallPaintBrush/PestGun Duster lightly paint/spray all the above steam treated areas
5. CimeXa on double-sided tape around the room's entrances: door/window
6. Steam/Hairdry/vacuum mattress and bed frame thoroughly.
7. Put on mattress encasement. Do not remove for 18 months.
8. Place ClimUp interceptors under bed/chairs/table legs
9. Make sure bed does not touch anything, in all directions, other than the interceptors
10. Bring back and treat items removed from room one-by-one
11. Clothes: wash/dry/steam
12. Other bagged items: carefully inspect them individually / steam
13. Place them in new inspected/airtight storage containers / clear double-bags.
14. Remove items from container when necessary. Always inspect items.
15. Thin layer of CimeXa on furnitures hidden/undisturbed areas
16. Check interceptors daily: clean when BB found; apply baby powerder/talc if necessary/disturbed
17. Keep items contained for at least 3 months from the last BB sign.
18. Isolate items entering/leaving the room/building
19. Shower when leaving/enter building.
20. Heat treat items regularly/safely
21. Reapply CimeXa if it's disturbed
Notes:
1. In order to move all furnitures to the middle, leaving room for walls/crevices/floor treatment. Clear plastic bags, some large enough to fit luggage / small furniture.
2. My respirator is rated N95, not P100, but I suppose it's sufficient for a small job, given the pesticide was sprayed 6 weeks ago.
3. Steam cleaner with >50PSI and >45min steam.
All steam treatment to potential BBs' harborrage use low pressure to avoid blowing BB/eggs around.
2.5 Gallon 2 Peak HP portable shop vacuum used.
4. in case they run and hide in crevices when treating other furnitures/bagged items
5. To keep them from leaving the room
15. eg. table whose 'legs' will not fit any interceptors; unused furniture surfaces
16. Shake and empty interceptors from BB into toilette. Flush with joy.
17. Should it be longer than 3 months ?
Infrared Thermometer used whenever temperature is in question:
Aim for 113F/45C core, or >130F surface, 90minutes continuous exposure for 100% kill rate.
QUESTIONS:
1. It would be very cumbersome to seal/break seal every time I need to get an item from the bag. Would a sufficiently-tight, easy-to-open knot be safe?
2. What about electronics ? I don't have a non-human-occupied space to apply DDVP strips safely.
3. What about using a variable (as low as 200F) heatgun as the heating element (instead of space heaters) to build a DYI heat box ? I will create a new thread for this question
4. Mattress encasement: I should not apply CimeXa on mattresses, or anything that can 'absorb/expel" air, or even things nearby such as area directly surrounding mattress, to avoid inhalation risk, correct ?
5. Should there be another layer of bedding, or should I sleep directly on top of the encasement to avoid giving them space to hide under ? Would the material survive regular steam cleaning ?
6. Is it recommended to use furniture with simple/unibody (fewer place to hide) metal (for ease of heating up) / plastic (cheap,slippery) ones ? If so, do you have any recommendation ?
BACKGROUND
3-story house, 4 bedrooms/each. My room is on the 3rd, small ~130 sf.
Both 1st, 2nd FL had it, recently, according to owner. Now at least mine and another's room infested on the 3rd FL.
Based on the current situation/context, I don't see calling in exterminators for just my room as an effective long-term option, leaving DYI as a likely as-effective/much more affordable option.
BACKGROUND
3-story house, 4 bedrooms/each. My room is on the 3rd, small ~130 sf.
Both 1st, 2nd FL had it, recently, according to owner. Now at least mine and another's room infested on the 3rd FL.
Based on the current situation/context, I don't see calling in exterminators for just my room as an effective long-term option, leaving DYI as a likely as-effective/much more affordable option.
Timeline (TL;DR):
29/1: owner notified of BB, asked if I notice them/need spraying. Luckily nope, prayed for the best.
5/23: around a week before Memorial weekend, a chunk of multiple itchy welts appeared on my thigh. I was sitting on a chair at the time.
After washing my bed sheets, wiping mattress with 91% isopropyl alcohol, horror confirmed: an adult BB casually crawl on the white sheet. An empty shell on top of a storage bin underneath bed. 5/30: Another adult and a translucent nymph after Memorial trip.
6/1: notified owner. Owner mentioned 1st FL tried to control past month to no avail. So they just called exterminator in.
6/3: owner sprayed pesticides (special mix according to them) on bed frame, took mattress out of room, sprayed it entirely. Clothes bagged up, washed, dried @ 130F ~40min.
6/10: about a week later, small welts returned.
7/1: woke up to engorged nymph crawling away. No BB visible within bed perimeters. I've been spraying 91% isopropyl on mattress and the wooden bed frame crevices. (I won't do it anymore)
7/10: housemate told me he and his partner just found and cleaned an infestation (dozens seen), after people told his partner those welts she's having may be BBs. Housemate apparently has no symptoms.
7/14: while on subway pressed against 8 other bodies in all directions, another worst fear confirmed:
suddenly out of nowhere a bug crawl on my lower arm.
I've made it a rule to shower leaving/entering the house, and grab heated clothes from clear plastic bag. In the heat of the moment, it was unclear whether it was a BB or something else, whether I carried it from home or it came from one of those passengers.
You may condemn my reflexive decision to flick it off my arm (really couldn't help it), but it goes to show how easily they may be transferred. I noticed it in this case, but I might've not at all.