DORM LIFE CAN BE IDEAL UNTIL BEDBUGS
Perfect Dorm ?
What are bedbugs?
Small vampire insects (about the size of an apple seed), flat and fast, feed on human blood at night, feed every 2-3 days, injects local painkiller & anti-coagulant which only 30% of people respond to with bite reactions. Lays hundreds of eggs during lifetime, lays 10 eggs a day, resistant to most pesticides, sticky eggs which can be cemented to bed & other surfaces, hard to eliminate.
How do you get bedbug?
Bedbugs are travel opportunists, luggage, sports bags, aircraft holds, luggage handling equipment, clothes, pets, visitors, used furniture, borrowed beds, etc. Often you can pick them up from pets – cats & dogs, hotels ( even 4 star ), motels, hostels & resorts – especially Mexico. Contact us for our database information on bedbug outbreaks in your area – only a small percentage of outbreaks are reported in the public media as most people don’t report bedbugs, neither does public health or pest control companies. You don’t need the headaches.
How do I avoid bringing bedbugs home when I travel?
Keep your luggage & sport bags on luggage racks, check room & drawers for bedbugs. Keep clothes and gifts in sealed plastic travel bags. Open your luggage away from your bedroom ( e.g. garage, kitchen) open outside, bag and leave empty luggage on balcony or outside storage.
How do I know if I have bedbugs?
Bites – a good indication of bedbugs – especially in winter
Live bugs in room – especially on bed.
Blood marks or dark red feces around bed or walls.
Bugs in folds of mattress, box spring, head board or locations especially near bed. They are attracted to human sent, heat and carbon dioxide at night. They hide and avoid light during the day.
What Should I Do If I Have Bedbugs? – REPORTING , ask around, no-one want to talk about it, your friends may avoid you, your workers may shun you, your dorm MAY NOT HAVE A CONTROL PLAN OR CONTROL BUDGET.
In your dorm, turn your bed into a BEDBUG FREE OASIS.
Why? In a dorm you have clutter, under bed storage, stuff near bed, covers touching floor, clothes not hung up, sticky eggs, bugs 5 m from bed, most near head of bed or in bed, they like to be near food (you), they can live 1 year with no food, hide everywhere you can stick a fingernail or credit card.
Bedding & clothes treatment – commercial laundry , borax soap & high heat to dry – 10 minutes extra
Clutter – remove, treat with diatomaceous earth, bag remove, store elsewhere
Pesticides – reduce or avoid for health reasons
GREEN PROTECTION – using diatomaceous earth, cleaning with strong detergents and /or isopropyl 70% alcohol, and heat treatment.
Prevention – catch bedbug outbreaks early !
Action: contact dorm supervisor, do they have plan? exterminator only? Plan to clean all dorm?
Exterminators use insect toxic chemicals – apply them every 2 weeks as eggs hatch in 2 weeks
Pesticides may be toxic for some, you may react to the chemicals & the long term residues – report health concerns immediately
Bedbugs are active at night, they avoid spraying by hiding, most pesticides are only good on contact sprays, 14 – 16 strains resistant to insecticides.
Minimize how much of the bedding is sprayed. Long term effects of sleeping with pesticides are not definitively known.?
Green Bedbug Treatment -> Physical control, no chemical pesticides – if building, floor, dorm or clutter makes elimination impossible;
Make your bed bug free oasis
Uses bedbug’s own behavior to control them.
Bag and commercial clean bedding & clothes
Treat mattress & box spring with diatomaceous earth & encase both with bedbug rated en-casements
Treat, seal bed frame
Treat & seal head board
No storage underneath bed or near bed
Remove clutter near bed
Keep bedding off floor – especially while sleeping
Create diatomaceous earth (DE-10) barrier around bed legs or use lift trap
Treat side tables & create barrier
Treat wall outlets – power, phone, light, heat, holes with Diatomaceous Earth & seal
Be patient – bedbugs hatch every 2 weeks, can live for year without food
Keep clothes off bed – eggs are sticky, don’t let people sit on it
Watch for future bites
Keep bed bedbug sanitary
Steam carpets & treat with Diatomaceous Earth one foot around edges
Treat wall perimeter with Diatomaceous Earth
Spray & wash one meter of bottom wall strong detergent to remove any eggs
Spray any live bugs, nymphs & eggs with isopropyl 70% alcohol ( rubbing alcohol )
Keep luggage & sport bags away from bed – bag in plastic when not being used and store on balcony if possible ( freezing will kill bugs over time)
Re-apply Diatomaceous Earth as needed or every other month
Contact us with any questions – you are not alone.
Check out our Diatomaceous Earth Products for sale.
