Winnipeg Bed Bug
Checking furniture for evidence of bed bugs
One of the hallmarks of bed bugs are the little black dots of excrement that bed bugs leave behind on furniture. In fact, when searching for bed bugs, the little black dots will likely be the first evidence found. Sometimes the infestation is so small that finding the actual bug in a crack or crevice […]
Bed bug laundry and heating garbage bags. Sometimes ok and sometimes not
One of the standard protocols for getting rid of bed bugs is to bag all cloth items in the home in plastic bags and take them to the laundomat. Once the bags have been emptied into the machines they should then be discarded as they may have bugs in them. This can be a considerable […]
Bed bug prevention and treatment in the construction of new multi family buildings
It has been known for a number of years that bed bugs are becoming more resistant to pyrethroid chemical treatments. As chemical treatments became less effective other methods have been devised such as whole home heat treatments. But these heat treatments have limitations in that it is extraordinarily difficult to heat concrete walls and floors […]
New washing machines and bed bugs
The washing machine in my home recently broke down and I purchased and new one. I went down to the store and bought the brand that my repair man recommended. Unfortunately this brand recently converted all their machines to conserve water and energy with water, load, and temperature sensors. The result is that the machines […]
Changing attitudes toward bed bugs
Seven years ago in Winnipeg’s inner city bed bugs were, except for Manitoba Housing, still rare. When inner city folks noticed a case of bed bugs there was a lot of fear and shame associated with that event. Massive amounts of furniture ended up in the alley as the tenants attempted to rid themselves of […]
Plastic wrapped mattresses do more harm than good
New mattresses and box springs are often encased in plastic from the factory. Sometimes the people who purchase these beds leave the plastic on them as a cheap mattress encasement. But if you inspect the plastic you will often find a multitude of holes. The problem with this plastic are many: they allow bed bugs […]
“climb up interceptor” versus “climb up defender” which one is better?
Back in 2007 I was experimenting with making my own bed bug pit fall traps. I glued a 4 inch round bowl into a small teflon baking pan and surrounded the outside of the teflon pan with tape so that the bugs would be able to climb to the top. I then filled the moat […]
People with bed bugs are sometimes excellent sources of learning
The most common method of studying bed bugs is to do literature searches. While there is some utility to this approach I find I learn more with hands on learning – especially since relatively little has been published about bed bugs. But hands on learning can sometimes be limited because the exterminator, working by the […]
Bed bugs in your mailbox
Several years ago I was treating a very rare good quality rooming house for bed bugs and noticed a large stack of flyers (one foot tall) beside the laundry machines about 4 feet away from an infested suite. These flyers were destined to be delivered to local mailboxes by someone living in this rooming house. […]
What questions should the exterminator ask when confronted with a single case of bed bugs in multi family?
The first task the exterminator faces is to discern the source of the bugs. I have found that, in cases where bugs are self reported, that it is the nice conscientious tenant that first reports the bugs. But if one starts looking around the original source of those bugs is elsewhere. And when I start […]