File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
I live in a dorm room, nuff said.

How do I fight them or at least how to live with them in the first place because I really don't have any other choice besides living on a street in the box.
>> Anonymous
they live in the walls when they're not biting you. Getting rid of them is the biggest pain in the ass you can possibly imagine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbugs#Living_with_infestation
>> Anonymous
You should probably talk to the one responsible for your dorm. They are responsible for getting rid of pest-infestations and getting you another place to sleep while they're doing that.
>> Anonymous
>>114570
hahaha oh wow.
What school's dorms did you live in, Harvard?
>> Anonymous
>>114576
I'm not>>114570, but I did my undergrad at Harvard and they treat students like shit. Their dorms barely had insulation, so bedbugs would be the least of your worries.

Though I am amazed that bedbugs are still around. It's always surprising when we haven't eradicated a parasite yet.
>> Anonymous
I hear this:
Throw away your bed.
Get new bed.
Put bed's pillars in pots with water so the bugs can't crawl back in there.

Of course, getting an exterminator is not a bad idea either.
>> Anonymous
As someone who did undergrad at Hopkins and grad at Duke, I can vouch that no school is nice enough to its students to eradicate bugs in dorms.

Except Cornell.

Those brats are spoiled.
>> Anonymous
This is the only way I know to get a school to exterminate bugs in your dorm.

Get caught with a cat.
>> Anonymous
One substance that can help kill off little critters: SALT. If possible dust-salt. It kills the little critters and dries them up. Salt is a poison even to humans, but only in large amounts. Get a critter into contact with salt and it's in immediate danger of dehydrating and/or salt poisoning.

Salt can also help kill bacteria.
>> Anonymous
>>114602
Salt is also used in folk-lore "magic" for good luck to ward off diseases and form protective rings.

Guess where that comes from? -- There's some truth to it. Salt miners "never get sick with lung diseases" is an old "truth" as well. Even today, people living near oceans or coasts live healthier and longer. -- All due to salt in the air which effects bugs and bacteria?

Salt is very cheap. Spread it around where you think the bugs might like to roam.
>> Anonymous
Do you really want salt in your bed?
>> Anonymous
Salt is somewhat effective in killing insects like this, but it doesn't work particularly well.

It's a bit like hunting: sure, you CAN kill a deer with a spear. But I'm much rather have a gun.


Fortunatley there is a solution that is much more effective than salt and it's also not harmful to people. Get a pyrethin-based insecticide. Pyrethins are naturally occuring chemicals that are found in crysanthemums. Anyway, it is a very effective insecticide and it is also safe for human contact.

Take all the obvious precautions such as cleaning up extremely well, washing all your bedding in HOT water, HOT dryer, and if anything is white then use bleach, etc, etc, etc.

There is quite a bit of good info on Wikipedia.
>> Anonymous
Do you actually have Bedbugs? Or is this some kind of planning?

I ask becasue bedbugs are actually quite rare. About 8 years ago when I was in college I lived in an apartment. One of the units several doors down from mine had a bedbug infestation. It turns out there were no less than TEN mexican workers living in there--against the rules, but the landlord turned a blind eye because they never made a peep and paid their rent on time.

Anyway, the reason why I know about this is becasue once the bedbug infestation was actually found, all kinds of professors, entomology students, people from the Fish & Game office, Public Health Dept. and such showed up. The main reason was becasue that (in our area at least) Bedbug infestations were so rare that nobody belived there actually was one. The professors were behaving like kids in a candy store: "ZOMG we'll never see this for another 10 years"....and so on....
>> Anonymous
OP here.

>>114648
I do have them and I am not the only one, actually I believe that they showed up from the room next to mine.

Others have cockroaches for instance. I had them as well but got rid of them by the end of the last year, though seriously if I could choose I would better live with cockroaches than bed bugs. At least they didn't bite me and it seems that my skin is very sensitive to these kind of bites because I am developing some kind of allergy.

Thanks for your input /an/ if I'll get "lucky" then I might as well post some pictures of my new "friends" tonight.

God damned.
>> Anonymous
Bedbugs have become a lot more common in the last few years.
>> Anonymous
Jut a thought; would importing ordeinary house spiders into the dorms work against bed bugs?
>> Anonymous
>>114700
I don't know, but I think would prefer bed bugs over spiders... *shivers*
>> Anonymous
>>114597
...get caught as in "a cat is fine too" or just having a cat around?
>> Anonymous
If any chiggers/bed bugs/red bugs get on you and burrows, paint a thin layer of top coat finger nail polish over their bodies. They will die.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
House centipedes eat bed bugs, are harmless, and look frigging awesome.

Plus they can attack multiple insects at once, one bug per end!
>> Anonymous
>>114775
I assure you that you would not.
>> Anonymous
you may get one or two spiders ina bed but bedbugs are tiny and evil and come in droves
>> Anonymous
just set fire to the building your in and every building you come across untill someone stops you, then plead delirium from insect bites :D
>> ??????????????Anonymous????
1. BUY A HAMMOCK
2. SLEEP IN HAMMOCK
3. ???
4. PROFIT
>> Anonymous
>>115180
do this, i'm a lawyer...you'd so win that case.
>> Anonymous
>> Anonymous 07/05/07(Thu)16:01 No.115190

i second this motion
>> Anonymous
>>114588
they'll climb up the walls onto the ceiling to do some skydiving stunts (no shit, this has happened to me).
>> Anonymous
>>115097
You... are... kidding... right?

That one looks like a frigging monster!
>> Anonymous
They don't live in Europe, right?

Dear god I hope they don't
>> Anonymous
>>115541
Uhh...yeah, Eurasia has all of the worst fucking parasites, it's awesome.

Other than Africa, of course.
>> RichardsChewToy
>>115541
They are not just found in europe, I had them at some point, and I lived in Boston, MA. Moved before I was able to get rid of them...
>> Anonymous
I read a news article couple of months ago saying that bed bugs are making a come back, especially in the States.
>> Anonymous
Yup, buy some second hand furniture or so and you might have some unwelcome guests soon.
>> Anonymous
>>115097

Jesus Christ. I saw one of those and freaked out.
>> Anonymous
>>115190
dont do this. Delirium by definition would impact your ability to act, you couldn't concentrate long enough.

now if the bites caused a brief reactive psychosis and the delusions and auditory hallucinations told you to, you could prove insanity.
>> Anonymous
Bedbugs don't actually live in your bed, but in crevices (not just the walls) around bedding. Wall to wall carpet is probably the worst invention in mankind's history in regard to parasites. You need to have the room treated by a professional, fumigation is usually the best option. Tossing out your bed is like getting goggles. (It does nothing).

After the fumigation, sniff the room. If there's a almost "pear drop"/"bitter green apple" smell to the room still, you still have a bad problem. Hemipterans, bugs, often have this characteristic smell to them.
>> Anonymous
>>114648

Bedbugs aren't rare anymore. My entomology professor, Lynn Kimsey at UCD talked about how Bedbugs are showing up all over the US.
>> Anonymous
>>114886

Bedbugs don't burrow into the skin. They simply stick their mouthparts in your skin, drink your blood and leave.
>> Anonymous
>>114686

Yeah, there is an actually surprisingly high number of people that can develop anaphylaxis to bedbugs and other bugs.
>> Anonymous
>>115097
Wait, is this a serious post? I thought all centipedes were dangerous to humans.
>> Anonymous
we currently have a bat bug infestation due to bats in our crawlspace. bat bugs are a variety of bedbugs. we're treating it with a mixture of diatomaceous earth and pyrethine? pretty effective so far. wash everything with a little bit of bleach if you have a good dispensing washer or use color safe bleach with HOT water and dry it HOT for a LONG TIME. to be extra sure, nuke the infested area from orbit.

this has been a massive pain in the ass so i feel you buddy.
>> Anonymous
>>115915
Once the infestation gets bad, they DO actually live in the bed. They are so flat they get in the seams. When you smash them they have a sick sweet smell. I lived in a shitty shitty apartment that was infested, and my arms and legs are scarred from all the bites and scratching. I bought Benandryl Anti-Itch gel like a maniac, but when it wore off, I'd scratch until I tore the skin open because the pain was better than the itch. It affects some people more than others.

Anyway, once they're in the walls, it is extremely difficult to get them erradicated, because it's impossible to get the poisons to them and the eggs.

They've made a huge comeback - not just in cheap, nasty places, but in high class hotels and such too - because we stopped spraying DDT everywhere.

When we moved out of that apartment, we threw away the beds and couches, and washed ALL fabric we owned in HOT HOT water and sealed it in big ziplock bags. Bedbugs can live up to a YEAR without eating, btw. Plush toys and things that I couldn't wash I sealed in big ziplocks and literally left them in there for a year.

We also called in Orkin to spray down our furniture when we first brought it to our new home. They were very thorough, and I am exceedingly grateful every single day that we escaped the bedbugs completely.

Like I said, once they're in the walls of a building like dorms or apartments, it's pretty much hopeless other than burning the place down.
(continued)
>> Anonymous
If you DO have to live with them in your dorm, keep stuff off the floor. Keep the bed away from the wall, and put the feet of your bed in a small can (think small tuna can), then put THAT can in a larger can (think big tuna can) with oil in it. They can't cross that, and your bed legs stay dry.

Try to keep a bare minimum of stuff until you can move out.

If you do start being bitten, ice on the bites helps numb the itch. If it's cool enough in your room, wear long sleeves and pants pajamas with the pant legs tucked into socks.

Inspect your mattress at the edges for the bugs themselves, little black droppings, little white eggs, and that sickly sweet smell.

I would rather have roaches than those bedbugs ever again. They creeped me the fuck out. Some nights I wouldn't even sleep.
>> Anonymous
>>115938

Yes, it's a serious post.

"Because they eat household pests, house centipedes are considered among the most beneficial creatures that inhabit human dwellings, but because of their alarming appearance, frightening speed, and painful bite, few homeowners are willing to share a home with them."

They do bite, but it's rare; you'd have to be pestering them, and you don't see them often anyway.
>> Anonymous
One way they're spreading is when mattress places do pickup/delivery, they haul away old mattresses (with bedbugs) and throw them in the truck with the new mattresses (NOW with bedbugs).
>> Anonymous
Bedbugs are indeed making a comeback, largely thanks to travelers from not-so-clean overseas countries. The UK's also having an increase in infestions, too.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/jul/05/travelnews.hotels?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
>> Anonymous
I've learned about stuff todaY...THANKS /AN/!
>> Anonymous
Are bed bugs worse that fleas?
>> Anonymous
>>116017
I've never seen a bedbug in real life, though I'm probably affected by them (small, red spots where blood clots). The spots don't even itch, they're just there. Fleas, on the other hand, are total bastards. Make you itch like hell and leave unattractive scars.
>> Anonymous
While our government spent billions on 'war on terrorism' the common people are suffering from bedbugs.
>> anonymous
surface spray. leaves your place smelling like Auschwitz for a day, but it works for a good few months.
>> Anonymous
Dont sleep with dirty girls
>> Anonymous
dude i hope you don't go to bu and live in allston cuz the bedbugs in that part of boston are so magically amazing. :(
>> Gehirn
Ah, terriffic. I'm glad that someone else is helping to increase people's awareness of the next big pest to hit the United States.
Very honestly and truly, everyone who is reading this, READ THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE. Then go and do some more research. Just google Bedbugs and you'll find tons of information. You do not want bedbugs. Bedbugs are harder to get rid of than cockroaches. If you get them, there's a good chance that you will not be able to get rid of them.

I was going to post some info, but it's available on Wikipedia and google, so I'll just share my story instead.

I live in an older apartment building in a basement apartment with my girlfriend in Columbus, OH. About a year ago, I began to notice that I had some upraised bumps on my left arm and my left leg. They weren't really discolored, but they did itch. There weren't many at first, just a few, so I thought "mosquitoes, it's still summer", and dismissed it. My girlfriend began to get some soon, and I began to get more; a LOT more, on both sides of my body, but still mostly the left. Her bumps didn't itch, but mine itched like crazy. My gf suggested that it might be bedbugs, since she had heard that a friend of hers had had them once. I wasn't convinced. I had seen no evidence of bedbugs, and I honestly didn't think it could be the case; who gets bedbugs, right?

continued
>> Gehirn
I went to my father, a physician, and had him take a look at the bumps. At this point, all down the left side of my body was a mess of upraised itchy bumpy skin, with the notable exception of my face, for which I am grateful and bewildered. Since I told him that I didn't think it was bedbugs, he believed me and suggested that it might be scabies (a species of mite that burrows into your skin, making tunnels and leaving its allergenic feces behind), though he wasn't sure.

I went back to my apartment after that. I had gone to see my father during Thanksgiving break, so my gf and I had been out of the apartment for a few days. That night, I got DEVOURED. I woke up the next day with more bumps than I had ever gotten previously. I was distraught. The next night, I finally saw them.

continued
>> Gehirn
We had a sort of bunk bed; built on posts, with the mattress up near the ceiling and shelves and a desk underneath; a marvelous space-saver in our small apt., and made entirely from wood. The mattress itself was fit into a little enclosure and was lined on the left side and the head by a shelf that was level with the top of the mattress. We had a lamp up there but it was usually in the dark that we would climb into and out of bed, and with the entire bed made of craggy, crevice-filled wood, and with the sides of the mattress hidden except for the right side, it's no wonder that it took so long to finally spot the little pests.

I chanced to turn the lamp on while in bed that night, and I thought I'd take a look around up there just to make sure. Lo and behold, there they were; legs and shed skins and antennae protruding from a small crevice in the wooden shelf to my left. Lots of them. I very nearly vomited.

Continued
>> Gehirn
We slept on the couch that night, and the next day we got to work. I began to research online with a sample of the critters in a transparent container. It was confirmed, they were bedbugs. Possibly batbugs, but it didn't make much of a difference, since the two are so similar. We told our landlord and, much to his credit, he had an exterminator on the phone immediately. He also did his own research and presented us with instructions on how to preprare for treatment of the problem.

First thing was cleaning. We had to get the room ready for the exterminator, so everything had to be off the floor, away from the walls, and off of the bed. It was no small task, since we used the bed for storage, and there were many papers, books, and random clutter in the bed's shelves. It all had to be carefully examined, checked for eggs, and wiped down, then placed in an airtight bag. All our bedclothes had to be washed on hot, dried on hot, and at least twice. All the clothes in our closet also had to have the same treatment, to the best of our ability (This was expensive... $1.50 each for washing and drying adds up quickly). We had to sweep the entire apartment, thoroughly, then take the sweeper outside, empty the bag into a sealable bag, and place it into the dumpster.

continued