bed bugs, killing their eggs Best answer on the web

Author: mike     07 30th, 2010 in xn--00t609f.com     edit

  • We have had bed bugs and recently completed the first wave of extermination. We are told to expect at least one more visit from the exterminator in order to catch any bugs from eggs that might have hatched. Several books are likely to contain eggs but we want to use these books now (and will be moving them to a new home soon). Steaming them, page by page, should do it, but we're not big fans of this option. Freezing should also work, but we've heard that they need to be frozen for weeks or months.
    Can we kill these eggs by microwaving the books? Any other options?

    Thanks


  • Hello Docnerd,

    I?m so sorry you have been infested with these pests! The most interesting fact I came across while researching your question was that bedbugs consider bats quite a delicacy!
    ?But what to do about these pests? First, believe it or not, check for bats. Bedbugs often feed on bats. If the bats decide to move into your attic, it won't be long before the bedbugs decide to take a look at the rest of the house. Eradicate the source and you've gone a long way towards eradicating the bugs. Another possible carrier is the swallow.? http://sleepdisorders.about.com/cs/sleepdeprivation/a/sleeptight.htm


    ?Bed bugs are mostly found in bedrooms as they generally feed at night when the host is asleep. When not feeding they live in the bed frame or cracks and crevices around the room. They do not harbour in the mattress or bedding material. They are reddish brown in colour turning blood red after feeding. The adult reaches approximately 5mm in length and passes through five nymph stages over a period of time to 128 days. The female lays her eggs in batches of 10 to 50, they are white in colour and deposited on various surfaces with a thin glue. They take on average 10 days to hatch and can mature into adults within one to two months given ample food.
    The female is then ready to start laying eggs. The speed of development depends on temperature and food availability. Surprisingly, bed bugs can live longer without food and can go without feeding for up to 140 days; the adult typically lives for about 10 months but can survive for a year or longer in cool buildings. This sensitivity to temperature means bed bugs will start to die if temperatures drop below 9ºC or rise above 36ºC. However, modern buildings have created ideal conditions for the bed bug with central heating and easy access to adjoining properties being commonplace.? http://sleepdisorders.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=sleepdisorders&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pan-uk.org%2Fpestnews%2Fhomepest%2Fbedbugs.htm

    I have found no incidence of books infested with bedbugs, but I should think that any of the extermination methods below would work on bedbugs as well. Are you quite certain your books have been infested?
    ?Adult female bedbugs lay two to four eggs a day in crevices in upholstery, furnishings, baseboards or other trim, picture frames, or pretty much anywhere else they can find a suitable crack in close proximity to humans.? ?Adult bedbugs often live in structural cracks and gaps in bed frames, night tables, and headboards; as well as in mattresses and structural elements of a room. There, they lie in wait until you hit the sack and fall asleep -- and then they make their move.? ?You should also remove all clothing from the room, including any that is stored in closets, trunks, and night tables. Clothing should be washed or dry-cleaned as appropriate to the fabric. In addition, any luggage you have used recently should be available for inspection and possible treatment by the pest control operator. (Bedbugs often hitch-hike in baggage.)? http://www.scarafaggio.com/bedbugs2.htm


    ?By day they hide in dark, dry places in beds, mattresses, cracks in walls and floors, and furniture; they are also found behind pictures and wallpaper; hiding places are also used for breeding. The bugs are frequently abundant in bedrooms in warm climates.? ?Infestations can be detected by the examination of possible hiding places for the presence of live bugs, cast-off nymphal skins, eggs and excreta. The excreta may also be visible as small dark brown or black marks on bed sheets, walls and wallpaper (4). Houses with large numbers of bedbugs may have a characteristic unpleasant smell. Live bugs can be detected by spraying an aerosol of pyrethrum into cracks and crevices, thus irritating them and driving them out of their hiding places.? http://www.who.int/docstore/water_sanitation_health/vectcontrol/ch23.htm


    ?These are nocturnal animals. They don't like light, and so they hide during hours when the room is lighted and feed only at night. Their hiding places can include virtually ANY tiny crack or opening into which they can squeeze their flattened bodies. This commonly is bedside furniture such as night stands, chairs, or dressers, as well as the bed framing and creases and folds on the mattress. They may hide under lamps, behind pictures on the walls, under the covers for electrical outlets, or even on the ceiling under the plates for ceiling lights and fans. They may crawl into items stored under the bed, or wander into the closet for the multitude of possibilities there.?
    ?Even with the excellent tools available to the professional pest management industry, it likely will take several visits to your home to eliminate the bedbugs, once they have become well established. These are tough insects to get rid of. The females can deposit up to 200 eggs over a period of several weeks, gluing them to surfaces within their hiding places. Bedbugs cannot fly, but they crawl very rapidly, and now are being found in rooms away from the bedroom as well. They squeeze into wall voids where it is difficult to place an insecticide, adding to the difficulty in their control.? http://www.buginfo.com/bugsthatfeed/bedbugs2.cfm

    ?Most important, though, would be to carefully examine our beds and rooms for the bits of evidence of bedbugs that were discussed earlier - fecal blood spots, bites over our bodies, and the insects themselves behind pictures on the walls or in the folds of the mattress. We might even notice a funny smell in the room that could be associated with bedbugs. You could purchase some small glue pads to place under the bed or under dressers, and possibly capture the bugs as they crawl out from their hiding places. If these are used they must be placed where household pets will not get them stuck onto their fur.? http://www.buginfo.com/bugsthatfeed/bedbugs3.cfm


    From AntiqueWeb?s section on book preservations:
    ?I have an infestation. How can I get rid of bugs in my books?
    Identify the bug if possible (trap one with sticky pest strips) and try to answer the following questions that a professional will ask you: 1. Is the insect already dead or alive and how many insects are there?
    2. How many books are affected and with what kind of damage?
    3. Have you seen insects like these elsewhere in your home?
    4. Where have the books been stored and are they damp or moldy?
    5. How valuable and old are the books?

    Isolate the affected books by placing them in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Seek assistance from an entomologist. A local university or state extension service should be able to put you in touch with one. Fumigation must be performed by professionals under controlled conditions. Non-chemical preventive measures against insects include: 1. Seal entry points including windows, doors and put filters on vents.
    2. Keep room temperatures and humidity levels low (insects need water, too).
    3. Keep the environment clean and dusted, and don't store books near food or rubbish, etc. Dessicant dusts like diatomaceous earth or silica, can be used around the perimeters of a room, but will not be effective for insects with a winged portion of the life cycle.? http://www.antiqueweb.com/articles/antiquebookspreservation.html#six

    Per the NY Historical Society, in this old post, microwaving books is a poor idea!
    ?Someone mentioned the use of a home microwave to kill bugs in books. I
    strongly discourage such use for a variety of reasons the first being
    the possible damage done to the paper at the fiber level. Other reasons
    include the reaction of glues to microwaving also other components of
    the binding may curl or cockle due to moisture being driven from them.
    However, in my file of Horrors I did run across a short article from the
    NY Post, March 27, 1989 where two forestry professors at Syracuse
    University had talked about preserving books by tossing them in a
    microwave and "nuke 'em for a minute". They did mention that some of
    the glues melt and any metal associated with the book causes sparking
    and they did have a few problems with charring the covers!!! but they
    felt that they were close to practical use. It was a very short
    article, but there was no mention of the effect on the paper. PLEASE do not try this.? http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/instances/1991/1991-08-09.dst
    Yet another site gives the green light to microwaving books! Note that this is mentioned as working for silverfish and booklice. We don?t know if it is effective on bedbug eggs.
    ?Books infested by silverfish and booklice can be placed in a kitchen microwave oven for 30 to 60 seconds (Brezner 1988, Brezner and Luner 1989). Most books can undergo this treatment without any damage. The glue on paperback book bindings may soften initially, causing the book to curl a little, but if the book is set on a flat table, it will soon straighten out. This treatment is not recommended for very old books made of parchment or other fragile paper, or for books with gilding or color illustrations that may contain metallic salts in their paints?metals and microwaves don?t mix.? http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm/schoolipm/chap-14.pdf

    ?You do need to worry about taking the pests with you. Bed bugs may be transported from place to place on clothing or in luggage or furniture, and they can migrate from house to house. Eggs are generally laid in cracks, not on people or clothing. The bugs are nocturnal and during the day, they hide in cracks in the walls, under the baseboard, in the springs of a bed, under the edge of a mattress, under wallpaper, and in similar places. My advice is to fumigate before leaving, only take furniture that is irreplacable. Get a new box spring and mattress, eliminate most of your clothing and only take freshly laundered clothing to your new place.? http://www.whatsthatbug.com/bedbug.html



    ??depending on the material it is then frozen at -30 C for one week after which it is reexamined and then refrozen if any signs of activity remain. This is repeated until no traces of insect life are left. The freezing process is necessary because even if all visible insect remains have been removed, there could still be thousands of microscopic eggs present which cannot be removed manually. Freezing at the prescribed temperature will kill all insect life stages.?
    ?Once the infested materials are found, they should be isolated immediately (archival boxes sealed inside bags are sufficient) and then put through the above freezing process. If proper facilities are not available on site, cold storage facilities can often be rented, or cold storage trucks called "reefer" trucks can be brought on site. Caught in time, infestations are relatively easy to control. With the recent replacement of toxic chemical fumigants with the freezing process, there is no risk to human health. If proper preventative measures are in place, however, infestations should not arise.? http://www.archivesalberta.org/vol16_3/cory.htm


    The idea of inspecting and brushing the gutters, page by page sounds like an effective way of removing bedbug eggs: ?If clear evidence of infestation is discovered, the following action should be taken: ? Isolate infested material from non-infested material immediately. If in doubt, treat all material as if affected. ? Take books and papers from shelves and thoroughly dust them, preferably outside. Brush book gutters carefully, page by page, to remove hidden eggs. Remove and brush book jackets and plastic covers. If this is done indoors, brush onto waste paper and then bag and discard the waste. ? Move or dismantle shelves and carefully dust and vacuum the site, including under rugs and carpets. ? Only reshelve books after thorough checking and cleaning.
    Insecticides and mothballs are not recommended, as they can have harmful effects on human health as well as on books and papers. It should also be remembered that insecticides have little effect on insect eggs, which may hatch weeks after sprays have ceased to be effective. However, if the infestation persists a professional pest control company should be contacted.? http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/services/conservation/guides/pests.html


    Radio Frequency:
    ?The possibilities for radio-frequency insect pest control are enormous. Radio-frequency insect pest control can be used to manage insect infestations in libraries books, vellum books, papers and documents, archives papers and documents, museum collections antique textiles, oriental rugs, furniture as well as stored spices, nuts and milled grains. It may be a solution to the problem of finding suitable, safe and effective alternatives to fumigation libraries books and documents. For a pesticide to be effective it must be toxic so at some point the residual effects will be harmful to an innocent species. Absolutely no chemicals are used by Midwest Freeze-Dry during treatment in the radio frequency field.? http://www.midwestfreezedryltd.com/Non_Toxic%20Pest%20Control.htm


    I suggest you call the local library and ask who they would recommend to deinfest your books. Library archivists are pros in book restoration and will more than likely have some good ideas. Before spending large amounts of money though, be sure you actually have bookbugs, er, bedbugs!
    If any part of my answer is unclear, please request an Answer Clarification, before rating, and I will be happy to respond.
    Sincerely, Crabcakes

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