Bed bugs! HELP!!!

[Soupermom]

My DD is a student at the University of Tampa and her apartment/bed has bedbugs, which explains her sudden rash! OMG! What does she need to do?? I'm not much help since I am in Illinois. Does the apartment complex have to spring for an exterminator? I just visited her apartment last week, and for college kids, it was pretty neat. Not like there is food or anything lying around. She and I are a bit freaked out. Any help you can suggest would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Narnia_girl]

Hello from a fellow Illinoisan!
So sorry to hear about the bedbugs. My co-worker's daughter experienced the same last week at her student housing in Michigan. What they had to do was turn up the heat in the house as high as it would go, then leave the house, taking only the bare minimum with them (text books for that day). The exterminator brought in heaters to bring the inside temperature to 130 degrees which bakes the bedbugs.

They told them it was possible for the bugs to jump ship and head outside where it was cooler, so they had to be on the lookout for any re-infestation.

Your daughter needs to contact the apt. owner ASAP.

 

[kymom99]

Who confirmed that they are bedbugs? The landlord will need to address the problem. They should tell her what she need to do.

 

[Soupermom]

I just spoke with her. She said the campus health clinic believes her rash is due to bed bugs, but they aren't certain. She said she was up all night looking under mattresses, etc, but couldn't find any trace of them. Isn't that odd? She also went tubing this past weekend so I'm wondering if that has something to due with her problem. If one bed had them, wouldn't they all? Would her roommate have the same rash or do they affect people differently? Thanks everyone!

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Not everybody reacts to bedbug bites. If the infestation is still new then they may be hard to spot.

Bedbug bites tend to occur in groups of three in a straight line. So this may help try to pinpoint the rash.

Bedbugs aren't food scavengers and have nothing to do with "living conditions" they can occur in filth or pristinely clean homes. Dorms and hotels and such see them a lot because the amount of people increases the chances that somebody will bring a hitchhiker with them.

They are tough to kill and as somebody unthread mentioned that heat is the best way. You'll definitely want to have the apartment complex notified/involved.

If they have the option to bring in a pest person that specializes in bedbugs and has a bedbug dog that would be best. The dogs catch light or tricky infestations that normal detection methods can miss.

Good luck and I'm so sorry!

 

[Tygerlilly]

We recently had a situation with bed bugs (laundrymats. ugh). It has nothing to do with food, cleanliness, etc. They like humans. You'll know if they bite you. It itches like crazy. And by itch, I mean wakes you up while you're sleeping, welts all over the place, holy guacamole that's terrible itching. You'll see them mostly at night after it bites you. Check the seams of the mattresses, sheets, etc.

We decided to try our own bed bug remedy before we sprung for the super expensive heat treating. Borax and baking soda mixed and sprinkled all over carpet, furniture, mattresses, etc. Plus we got the bed bug bags for the mattress and pillows. It's worked wonders and no more bites for me!

Good luck.

 

[CamandLaineysMom]

I work for a property management company. All of our renters sign a bed bug addendum stating that if there is an infestation in their apartment, they are responsible to pay the bill that our exterminator charges. As others have stated, it has nothing to do with cleanliness. These bugs can travel from apartment to apartment. We have been fortunate to only have a few cases in my 11 years with 12 communities. However, we have competitors who have major infestations in tons of apartments. Your daughter should alert the management and their maintenance team should come in and know how to look for bed bugs. If not, they can bring in a good company that should. I have seen a new report on the dogs and not all of them are actually trained and could say you have them when you don't.

Someone else mentioned looking in the seams of the mattress, that is correct. Also behind headboards. These bugs are tiny and sometimes you don't see them but you might see little red stains on the mattress or sheets. As another poster mentioned, some people may be bit and show signs, others may not. You want to make sure that if it is in fact bed bugs, that they handle it properly. The heat treatment is the way to go. Some companies bring in trucks as well and put all of the furniture in a truck that gets even hotter. If there is no responsibility on you all in the lease or an addendum hopefully you will not have to pay.

Good luck!

 

[AnAmericanInDisney]

I bet she has folliculitis from the tubing.

 

[Julylady]

Your comment about tubing caught my eye. One of my nephews has a severe rash reaction to rubber inner tubes used for river tubing. It happened a few times before he determined the cause.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My good friend brought bedbugs to her house from a Marriott Hotel. Thank God Marriott paid the bill. $5000 for bedbug dogs and heat treatment for a 3400 square foot house.

 

[teacup princess]

My good friend brought bedbugs to her house from a Marriott Hotel. Thank God Marriott paid the bill. $5000 for bedbug dogs and heat treatment for a 3400 square foot house.

What are bedbug dogs?

 

[kymom99]

What are bedbug dogs?

There are dogs that can sniff out bedbugs. My husband works at a university and he watched one of those dogs being brought into a common area on the campus. the dog went straight to a couch. One of the guys took a knife and split open the upholstery and the inside was crawling with bugs!

 

[lauradis]

There are dogs that can sniff out bedbugs. My husband works at a university and he watched one of those dogs being brought into a common area on the campus. the dog went straight to a couch. One of the guys took a knife and split open the upholstery and the inside was crawling with bugs!

Dogs don't smell the bugs they smell the pooh left from the bugs. There are a lot of false readings with dogs.

Best treatment is heat at around 130 for about 3-5 hr.

with a follow up of product that contains Diatomaceous Earth it basically coats their bodies and they cant breath.

remedies to prevent bed bugs Active Ingredients: Diatomaceous Earth

http://www.zoro.com/i/G2366454/?utm...LHGavY0x-jCa8o6w4Uq2LRQAq13UuvS9j1xoC1Hnw_wcB

 

[Soupermom]

Wow! So much great information; thanks everyone. I still think the problem has to do with the tubing experience, too. She slept in friends bed over the weekend and woke with new rashes. The rashes are in very random spots like one wrist, the back of her legs, etc. She cannot find any evidence of bugs on/in her bed. She had a follow up visit with the clinic yesterday and they said to just leave the rash alone and wouldn't commit to what it was, but they really weren't certain any more that it was bedbugs. Geesh. She said the rash kind of looked like small pimples, sort of.