Bed Bugs?

[keikoasmom]

First of all, I haven't seen any bed bugs. The only bugs I have seen are the cereal weevils we get from time to time from the seed mixes.
Is it true that you should freeze them before using?

Anyway, I recently had some bug bites on my leg and tore my bedroom apart and then the room where my office used to be where my macaw resides under my desk. Where my computer is.
She and I spend too much time in here.
She shoves food under her "nest" and I vacuum it out.
She tears up paper and toys and towels and whatever and
makes a nest. She is happy.
I hate disturbing her to clean it all out.

anyway, a few days ago I had a bite on my knee and the next night saw a small spider, which I killed and thought, "There!"

Last night I found a weevil (I think) on my chest, killed it and
today I have 3 bites on my chest! ???
Small and very itchy and I suddenly thought, "Bedbugs???"

I have read that one way of killing/controlling bedbugs is diatomaceus earth. I have some, that I used to control scale on a plant.
I know it can be dangerous if inhaled.
So.....

Has anyone had bedbugs and controlled/killed them around birds?

I have read about the Bedroom Guardian which is also Diatomaceus
(sp) Earth, and wonder if that is safe.

Thanks all.

PS(The bugs are apparently not bothering the birds)

 

[BirdyMomma]

Woah. Hi. I'm from New York City, where bed bugs are a real big fearnfor everyone, because we all live in apartment buildings. Where are you from? I have never had the agony of having bed bugs, but I know people who have, and from what I hear, it is WAY WAY worse than just a few bites.
We have services here that come and check your home for bed bugs. However, if it was determined that was an infestation, I would not only REMOVE MY BIRDS FROM THE PREMISES, IMMEDIATELY, I would research whatever extermination chemicals they use, and find out how toxic they are, and how long they remain in the air and on surfaces.

 

[MikeyTN]

I know someone that dealt with bed bugs and it was a pain for them to rid them but it was costly as they had to get an exterminator to rid them as they were trying home remedies and such. Nothing worked until exterminator was used. They didn't have birds.

 

[SoCalWendy]

You all are making me itch!

 

[MonicaMc]

I've come to the conclusion that bed bugs have come out of a mad scientists lab. They can be extremely difficult to get rid of, can last for months (nearly years) without food and can be difficult to find.


If you suspect you have an infestation, you need to get an inspector out. There are two treatments for getting rid of bed bugs (that I am aware of). Heat and chemical. Chemical treatment is easier than the heat method, however it may take longer to work. If using heat, then perishable foods need to be taken out of the house along with things on the wall as the entire house needs to be heated to a temperature of 130° F (+/-).

Regardless of the method chosen, you *could* treat only one room, but to be most effective, the entire house needs to be treated. (bed bugs will even go into the power outlets)


You could spend hundreds of dollars on home treatments that could take months to resolve the issue, with no guarantee of killing every single bug, or you could spend one to two grand (or more) on professional treatment that only needs to be done once, or twice. (if they do it once, second time may be free if done within a specific time period of the first treatment)



I haven't had to deal with them at my house and around my birds, but I can say that diatomaceous earth isn't an effective treatment. For it to be effective, you'd probably have to bomb a room with it, then leave it in there for weeks, if not months - as well as setting up heat and CO2 traps to get the bugs moving around.



I hope you don't have beg bugs!

 

[goalerjones]

1) Place everything you own in the house in a big pile in the middle of the living room.
2) douse it all with lighter fluid.
3) ignite and leave.

That's the only way you will rid your home of bugs.

Bugs hide in undisturbed places. Clean your home well. Get into the corners, under furniture, in air vents, be thorough. Clean out under sinks, in linen closets, cupboards, etc. and DO NOT leave food lying around. You're just asking for trouble.

 

[labell]

Bed bugs won't mess with food what they want is blood! I had a friend years ago that brought them back to her home from a very nice hotel her and her family stayed at.
She called an exterminator, replaced carpet, beds, couches at least twice to no avail they kept coming back. Look in the finger roll on your mattress and box spring, pull it back, if you have them you will either see them or see little spots of your blood. They come out at night.
My friend was at her wits end and was really ready to burn down her house I told her about the Diatomaceous earth.

She used it faithfully, adding water to it and spraying it in every crack and crevice in her entire house. Then putting the powder down on any furniture, in drawers, they love to hide in dressers, as well as mattress and box springs. They even put the powder behind electrical plates because she read that they can hide there. Anyway it worked, it took a while and had to be re-applied once a week or more for months but the D.E. did what even the exterminator couldn't. In the end she spent thousands of dollars replacing carpet and furniture and professional bug removal and all it ultimately took was about $20 worth of DE

 

[Caesar]

Now im paranoid and need to vacuum my bed.....

 

[MikeyTN]

Now im paranoid and need to vacuum my bed.....

Watch that show infested....then you'll be checking for sure....I was watching it at midnight then I got out of bed start flipping the mattress while my partner was sleeping....My partner was going what in the world are you doing....lol