Question: I have bed bugs in my apartment.  I began seeing them (rarely) a few months ago but I didn”t know what they were.  Currently I have over 20 bites on my body.

My apartment building management hired an exterminator who visited and sprayed yesterday.  I”m wondering if anyone is ever able to get rid of these things easily.  I have  ead several horror stories over the internet and I am considering moving.

Thank you for your help.

ANSWER  Bed bugs can be controlled, but it is not always easy. There is usually a lot of work involved.

Control begins with taking the bed completely apart. Start with the frame, and disconnect as many parts as possible so you can clean all the cracks and crevices (and spray with an aerosol insecticide any of the common aerosols will be fine) . If you don”t want to use an aerosol, use a hair dryer (set on high) to blow hot air into the cracks and crevices of the bed-this will drive out the bugs and kill some of them.

Professional control methods include the use of an alcohol-based insecticide to treat the mattress and box spring, and the use of steam to kill bed bugs on surfaces that people will come into contact.

Once the frame is clean, then do the same for the head board and the box spring. Treat the cracks and crevices, then clean and vacuum the seams of the mattress.  With what is left in the aerosol you can spray the baseboards of the room. Start with the area near the bed, and try to get the spray under or behind the baseboard (where bedbugs may also be hiding).  These insects can travel far to find a blood meal, so don”t fail to clean and treat the room.  Nightstands and picture frames on the walls can be hiding places too, so be thorough. They can live long without food, so even old beds (not used in while) can have them.

Check to see that there are no new or recently abandoned bird nests close to the room (check the attic), since there are ”cousins” to bed bugs that live in these nests and can move from there to feeding on people.

Related Questions:
The Orkin Man used the information above to also answer the following questions submitted by Orkin.com users.

Question: How do you look for bed bugs in your home? How do you know if you have them?

Question: I am not sure what type of pest I have, but I suspect the condo I recently purchased has bed bugs (or something similar ).  I moved in and noticed I was getting bitten only at night.  I am not sure if they were already there or came in with stuff from my storage unit.  I have been researching various pest control services and none mention bed bugs or anything similar. What are my options for getting rid of these pests?

Question: I stay in an apartment. I have only resided here for two months today. I have noticed that “bed bugs” have infested my master bedroom. Is there anything I can do to get rid of the insects permanently?

Question: I have bed bugs in my house and everyone who has slept over has gotten up in the morning with the red bumps all over them. What can I do?

Question: I have bedbugs!  I don”t believe I have an infestation, and my furniture and apartment have been sprayed multiple times, but I am throwing much of my furniture out anyway, and moving out.

My question is this- I need to wash all of my clothing so that I can take them with me without the risk of bringing the bedbugs. How can I do that?  I know they need very hot water. Will a normal wash and dry at a laundromat do?  Is there any way to treat (spray, fumigate…) the clothes before washing them?

ANSWER: Regular washing and drying of the clothes will be fine.

Question: What is proper, EFFECTIVE treatment to eradicate bedbugs from an apartment that is attached to about six other apartments? This means six ground-floor units with attic and crawl space. Should ALL units, attic and crawl space be treated at the same time… or just the one unit that is honest and legal enough to confront the problem and tell management??!!

Terminix is incompetent and cannot seem to handle the job, so we are asking your expert advice.

Also, how does a tenant prepare PROPERLY for an exterminator to come in and treat for bed bugs? We have been promised the instruction sheet/brochure for this purpose, but have not received it from either management OR Terminix!

Can YOU help us?? We need to MOVE but we need to make SURE we are bug FREE before we MOVE!

What steps do we need do take to make sure they don”t come with??!! HOW does one prevent bad bug/bed bugs from doing this – is there some way to know – meaning HOW can you check or is there a WAY to check for them, in order to ascertain belongings are bed bug free?

Thank you! ANY information you can give us is deeply appreciated – especially since Terminix is so attitudinal AND useless!! Rescue us, Orkin???? (Even if t is simply with information – it is what we really, REALLY need, right now!!)

ANSWER: Bed bugs are not easily controlled, and typically it takes 3 or 4 treatments (U.S. average is 3).

Question: I live in an apartment in Revere, MA and I just found some bed bugs on the box spring of my bed. I threw that away immediately and looked at every last inch of my actual mattress to see if I could find any traces of more. I didn”t and still vacuumed it thoroughly, but I still just want to make sure there aren”t any more in my apartment. I was just wondering how much would it cost to have somebody come and inspect my apartment for bed bugs?

ANSWER: Bed bugs are not easily controlled, and typically it takes 3 or 4 treatments (U.S. average is 3).

Question:My apartment has recently been infested with Bed Bugs. My apartment management says they”ll take care of it, but they don”t know what to do about my books and large camping backpacks that can”t go in a washing machine. I have a lot of books and I don”t want them to restart the infestation. Any ideas?

ANSWER: The books are fine…toss some moth ball or moth crystals in the backpacks and leave them for a week or so.