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Bedbugs ?

John Lever

Moderator
In light of the current epidemic in France and probable many other places, should we be worried buying used items off ebay from home or abroad ?
I used to blast items overnight in the freezer to iradicate passengers but no longer own a chest freezer and chemicals don't work.
 

mulceber

Moderator

I haven't actually found a good answer to the question of whether mothballs will kill bed bugs: most of the sources say "no," but they all seem to be assuming that the proposed way of using the mothballs would be to scatter them around your bedroom or under your mattress (which sounds MENTAL). If you read this article closely, you'll notice it does seem to imply that sealing a garment in a small container with a bunch of mothballs would do the trick:

For moth balls to work as an insecticide, the fumes released by moth balls should be restricted in a small space like an enclosed box for a long time to kill any bugs in the range of the fumes.

Bed bugs primarily harbor in cracks, crevices and fabrics of bed rooms and living rooms. It is not possible to achieve the required concentration of fumes to kill bed bugs in a normal sized room, unless you are using several kilograms of these naphthalene balls, which can be extremely dangerous.
 

Kermit3D

Well-Known Member
Well... from what I understand, yes, there is indeed an increase in the number of bedbugs. They are becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides. But you have to keep things in perspective.
From what I understand, there's been a lot of media hype and panic. Everyone started looking for bedbugs everywhere, so people ended up finding them.
Personally, I live in France, I've never seen any, and nobody around me has noticed anything.

There's a lot of talk in the media about this because some not-so-smart politicians are accusing migrants of being responsible for the invasion of bedbugs in France.

IMO, I don't think there's really anything to worry about when it comes to clothes from France.
 

John Lever

Moderator
Only very high temperatures kills them, specialist treatment raising the temperature so high it kills the eggs. And steam cleaning gaps in floor boards.
 

dinomartino1

Well-Known Member
DDT_WWII_soldier.jpg
 

Silver Surfer

Well-Known Member
sure, try to keep em out. even with good training, in the middle of the night when you and ms are asleep. the mutt knows this is the time to hop aboard.the only saving grace is that when they get old, its difficult for them to make it up.....but that is when they the need comfort of warm bodies and a soft [er] bed. lost cause.
 
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Chandler

Well-Known Member
Have had dogs since I was a kid. I know how to let them know their limits.

Here's your bed, it's where you sleep. If you want to sit in my lap, I'll let you know when you're welcome.
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
The media:rolleyes:

Bedbugs and some other insects that can feed off human blood can be picked up from a chance encounter, building or introduced to our domestic environment via infested materials sourced both nationally or internationally.

IMG_1458.jpeg
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Don't remember the episode of MASH, but I remember the answer to the crossword puzzle question: "Five letter Yiddish word for bedbug."

Anyone? ;)
 
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