Bedbugs!!!

I know all too well how hard it is to get rid of them. I've been dealing for months with an infestation in my home. It doesn't matter what you do, they find a way to hide out on you and not be found. No they are not that big, I've never seen any really big ones, so they're not that hard to miss. I don't need my dog to sniff them out as I know exactly where they are. They do hide out in beds, it seems to be their favorite place to live. Despite all efforts so far to get rid of them, we haven't had any luck in permanently removing them. We have tried washing everything in hot water, using special powder to get rid of them, extreme heat and extreme cold, but nothing has been successful. We moved in September and removed the slats from our bed and replaced them with a new set. We had cleaned the mattress, even left it out on the hot roof for a couple of days wrapped in plastic. We vacuumed everything the best we could, and tried not to bring anything with us. However, about a month after moving, they started to resurface on us and I finally got rid of the rug from under the bed. I think that was the biggest issue, but here it is, almost 2 months later and we still have them. I have to treat it all again this weekend, as much of a time consuming effort this is, but hopefully it will work. I have read that it will take more than one try to get rid of them, and this will be our 4th attempt now to do so. We have a heated mattress pad, and that helps to keep them away from us for the most part, but still it's not enough to get rid of them for good. Anyways, the picture that was posted is true, shows exactly what they can do to you. It is very annoying to be bitten by these critters. You don't notice them biting you at the time that they do, but it's later on that you notice it. I hope that they don't get you, it's really annoying to deal with. Take care and happy new year.

I invested in this Rainbow vacumm cleaner which is reported to suck up bed bugs a few months ago. It cost me more than $3000 and I consider it a good investment as I feel much more at ease especially knowing that if I regularly vacumm my kids and my bed as well as pillows(at least once a month), we will not be sleeping with bed bugs every night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, JEN. I have been hearing alot about bed bugs on the news. Seems as if there is an epidemic of them. YUCK. I have not seen any in my house, thank heavens. I don't want any 'varmints' in my house but me & the dog, lol.

I remember that saying as a child. I travelled with the carnival when I was about fifteen and my travel buddy and I stayed in this place called The Kickapoo Motel. It was a bunch of army barricks I think. The name says it all. One night we came home early morning after working hard and were beat. We had just rented this place and had lucked out on a good price for a room with a kitchenette. So we come in beat and turned the light switch on. Bed bugs scurried everywhere. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Needless to say we spent the night in the car! I haven't heard of any in my area. I would think this time of year it is too cold for them. When it heats up again we may be hearing from them.

Hi Jen! The are an epidemic here in NY! Thank God I have never seen one and hopefully never will! My gf lived in a building that was infested with them and she had to get rid of furniture, clothes, and her and her family were getting bitten everyday and night! It was a horror! It took over a year to get rid of them because the people in the building weren't cooperating! The are not easy to see unless they have "just fed" and are engorged with blood! I know it is really gross. They have been found in NYC Department stores, Hotels, and all over! I am afraid to even sit on a bus anymore for fear of having one "hitch a ride"! I would absolutely freak out. I am terrified of any "critters" but these are very hard to get rid of. They don't even always die when washed in boiling hot water! They are practically indestructible. (I have read way too many articles on the little beasts)! Happy New Year to you and your family! I've got 5 1/2 hours to go!

I am not familiar at all with the critters, except for a little I have read. I understand it is like an epidemic and although you can be rid of them it takes quite a bit to do so. I heard you wrap any affected items in plastic and allow the heat kill them off. I do remember that phrase as a child but just thought it was cute. Never really related it to actual bugs. LOL.. maybe I have been too sheltered. Here is a picture of someone affected. Yikes kinda scary.

I do remember the saying "sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bight" The facts that I have sen on the new scare me about even buying new clothes as they seem to be every where. My grandmother used to talk about fighting them during the great depression of the 30s. They had metal bedsteads then. She would put the legs in cans containing kerosene to keep the bugs of the beds. She did this because they moved a lot trying to better themselves and every time they found a new place to live it was infested with bed bugs.

I have not seen anything as such here on the News but apparently to avoid them you are to air your Bed before an hour before you make it, vacuum the Mattress every other Day to Bedbugs are very common and you can not see them because from what I understand they live in the Mattress They have been around for year and years it is only now they are starting to make fuss over them, just another thing to scare People with I guess

It does seem as though there is an epidemic of these bugs recently. I know many schools here are having problems with them as well as the hotels. I hope that we never get them. I woke one morning with a rash on my arm and my husband has teased me about bedbugs for awhile now, but I have researched it and do not believe that it is a bedbug issue.

those on the news are magnitized i think. when i was about 12 yrs, we moved into a furnished apartment in michigan. first night, i itched and itched. 2am i couldnt take it any more and got up and sat in the kitchen, till my mom got up around 7am. she screamed. it seems i had welks all over my body where they had bitten me. my step dad said, its bedbugs. he looked in the mattress seems and tiny little black things were there. we had to take mattresses and beds outside and burn around them, plus wash them in some solution and dried in the sun. it was terrible. it seems my parents didnt get bit even though they were in their bed also. i can lay down in a bed for 10minutes and know if it has bedbugs. i stayed at a friends once a couple yrs later. same thing happened.

Jen- I saw an extermination show not long ago and these little critters are very difficult to get rid of. They use beagles because of the keen sense of smell to nose out bedbugs, which I thought I wish our beagle hadn't gone away! I have heard that these little things are on the rise and it is a tad bit disturbing. It means that whatever eats them is on the decline, and seeing our bug world on the decline such as bees and butterflies means that the human population will soon feel the bite. I think we need to start to take a real concern and start paying attention to the signs. Namaste-Anora

Yes, Bed Bugs have always been around which is where the saying comes from. I am pretty sure that they are still common in third world countries and other places where hygiene may not be so good. I think that is why they were common many years ago. I am surprised that they are becoming common again in your part of the world. I wonder why?

I saw when the news about bedbugs came about. There was a lot of hype about it, and where they were being found, but I did not freak. If there is one thing that I make sure I buy new before using, it would be mattresses. And it's not because of the saying. I just find it weird to sleep on a bed knowing that someone slept on it for the longest time. And he might have let bedbugs grow on it.

i love the saying of sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite. Well i am glad that i have slept well and the bedbugs never have bitten me, well not yet anyway, lol. There has not been anything in the news that i know of. I often make sure that i keep a very clean house and when stopping out of home i often choose places that i know are kept well clean, but bedbugs can and will get in at any time, even in some big hotels. I am sure that there are many bed bugs in peoples homes where some people don't change there bedding that often. I like to change mine often and i brush down my mattress and turn it over often also. Better to be safe than sorry really isn't it?

Bedbugs have been around for a long time, but DDT got them suppressed for years, but now that DDT is out, the bedbugs are making a come back. Probably reintroduced from someplace that hadn't gotten rid of them, they are being carried to people's homes from hotels. Bedbugs aren't really very big, and they don't like light, so they hid out in your mattress during the day.

Bedbugs have been around a long time, and I am very lucky not to have come across them before. I have taken to washing anything that I bring home from the store before it comes in contact with my home. Like you I have received more information then wanted about these creatures, but forwarned is forarmed. Happy New Year

Hi jen, Do not worry, bed bugs wont make it an epidemic. They are small creatures that suck blood from your body and are usually found in warm and cozy place like under your bed mattress and common sitting places. When they bite or suck your blood they leave a darkish or reddish mark there. Cleanliness is the only way too get rid of this bug. Not telling you are not keeping things clean

I have seen on the news them announcing that there are a tremendous amount of bedbugs recently all over the country...including our fine state! It grosses me out as well as you Jen. I don't even want to stay at hotels either, unless I definitely check out the mattress and how it is protected as well. I know last year we stayed up in Knoxville for an evening, and several hotels were all getting new mattresses just as a precautionary method, which makes me wonder, did them have them and were informed they HAD to get rid of them, or was it really only a precaution? We have always used mattress covers that full cover the entire box spring and also one on the top mattress. My mother always said it is best to cover the mattresses to protect them...I am so glad she always "enforced" that we protect our mattresses, at least I don't have to worry about bedbugs at my house.

Like you, I grew up saying sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. It was just a funny saying. In fact, I still have never seen a bed bug to my knowledge. I sure hope the news is just blowing up the facts and making it worse.

Bedbugs are really frustrating. I know a simple way to get rid of bedbugs. It was once our experiment in our school. It is a homemade insecticide. You need tomato leaves and water. Ground the leaves and mix it with water. For a brief procedure, use this site: www.essortment.com/all/homemadeinsecti_rvxg.htm