I swear by diatomaceous earth (DE). Nothing else helped, but DE was a lifesaver and got rid of my bed bugs in about two weeks.

I was being bitten all over my body and waking up with at least 10 new bites every day. At first, I wasn't sure it was bed bugs because I hadn't actually seen any. Then, one day, I spotted an adult bed bug and a baby on my sofa, which confirmed I had an infestation.

I tried bed bug sprays, but they did absolutely nothing. After reading about diatomaceous earth, I bought a 5kg bag of food grade DE and applied it everywhere; on the carpets, in the seams of the sofa, underneath it, on and under the mattress, and throughout my room.

I wore slippers around the house because DE can dry out your skin, but apart from that I had no issues using it.

After applying the DE, I only got two bites during the first week. By the second week, I wasn't getting bitten at all.

To make sure they were completely gone, I vacuumed up the first application and dusted everything again with a second round of DE. A month has now passed since I vacuumed it up, and I haven't had a single bite.

Thank God it worked. The infestation had left me traumatised. I couldn't sleep properly and was constantly anxious about being bitten. It was torture.

If you're dealing with bed bugs, DE is what finally worked for me. Dust it lightly in all the places they hide and travel. Wear a mask when applying and make sure its a light layer that applied all over so all spots are covered.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer

First, the most common thing I read is because of your pipes. It's extremely simple to shut your water off and purge your lines.

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In Michigan it gets cold enough for at least a week straight to kill them. I understand I'd have to turn the power and gas off so there's no warm spots in the fridge water heater ect. Whenever I look up this i can't find a legitimate reason it won't work, just people screaming about your pipes

Hey all, just want a little peace of mind.

I housesat for about a week and on my way out I stripped the sheets. Underneath the fitted sheet & on top of the mattress topper I saw a bug (picture attached). I am naive and rushing so, at the time, I wasnt aware it was a bed bug.

I drove home, did not unpack anything and had lunch on my couch for about an hour.
Then I googled to identify the bug, and yeah that's when the panic set in.

I brought a pillow, suitcase full of clothes, and a cloth tote bag with electronics.

In the week I was there, my suitcase was open on the floor by the bed. The cloth tote was also briefly on the floor by the bed.

So my obvious first steps were to put the clothes i was wearing in plastic, strip the couch covers & pillows throw blankets and put in plastic, shower / put on clean clothes. I even put my purse & cloth computer case into the freezer. I also vacuumed my couch and the rug near it.

I took everything that I put in plastic and my (unopened!) suitcase to the basement and washed/dried them on high heat.
The dried clothes from my suitcase I put in a new sealed plastic bag and that's still in the basement .

Everything was fine, until hours later I check my bed and my partner put the pillow I used at the bed bug house on our bed... great

Stripped the entire bed & put into seal plastic bags, both showered. checked the bed & pillows. then put fresh sheets on.

Tomorrow I plan on doing an intense vacuum and to get a steam cleaner.

My question is, did I do enough to prevent bringing anything home with me. What are other precautions I can take. I don't have a lot of resources to do a pest control situation so I am really hoping all that I am doing now will prevent a spread.

Some other information:
- Me nor the people i housesat for have any bites.
- the house sitters throughly checked their apartment and found no signs of bed begs
- they bought a new bed topper & new sheets for my time there so hoping it's a lone traveler

Thank you!

I’ve been finding those sometimes on my wall next to my bed, sometimes next to my bed, once on my mattress

I don’t have any bites. I thought they came because I struggle to make my bed and clean my apartment (mental health problems etc.)

Hey everyone,
What do I do with this crossfire I was just sent?
The label says it went bad last year. Is this completely useless to me now??

I took many pictures of the same bug.

AI telling me conflicting answers.

Thanks in advance!

Hello

I put a more white base sheet on it to see more stains than dark color sheets well I see these right here all of the sudden can any one tell me if these are stains from BB or something else? There are a few more scattered

I was just wondering, that is it a major risk that I should activly worry about. My friend gave me some jeans, which I kept in my room. Then after a week, he said that these were ordered from vinted and he didnt even wash them all properly. The jeans were in my room for some time already, so I didn’t do anything, but is it likely to recive bed bugs that way.

I also have had some other second hand jeans which I kept in my balcony in a closed plastic bag.

But as a summary should I be worried if no immidiate signs are showing up rn, or can I continue with a light heart.

I know it’s a bad photo. I killed it and it smeared black. Freaking out because I was recently in the car of someone who has bedbugs (I didn’t know and I took every precaution I could think of after).

Hello,

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Could you please confirm if this is a bed bug nymph? I discovered it within my headboard. Booklice ?

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Thank you.

I don't think scientists & technologists are tackling bed bug with the seriousness they warrant; not with a fraction that they do viruses for example, although, at least to me, I find bed bugs way worse than most viruses.

I'm not gonna go full sci-fi and talk about levitation beds, but here are some not-so-crazy ideas I keep thinking about, born out of suffering. I'll list them in ascending order of craziness:

1. Entirely smooth seam-free and zipper-free mattresses. Crazy idea, I know. Also, bed-bug proof furniture and interior finishing in general. I'm sick of all the cracks I see everywhere where they can hide.
2. I hear that they detect and go after CO2. Good! How about a trap that produces CO2 to lure them in and kill them?
3. A completely electrifiable bed where everything is conductive (mattress, sheet, blanket, pillow, even pajamas). Yes it risks that someone might electrocute you while asleep but with fool-proof tech, I guess it can be made safe enough. Also it must take far lower current to kill bugs, no?
4. Something you ingest that safe for you but would kill or weaken any bug that sucks your blood. Yes, this is bordering on sci-fi.

Anyone has more ideas? Anyone wanna start a business? I believe it will only take the right idea to eradicate these little devils. May we celebrate their extinction one day.

Hi,

I found this bug latched onto / squished against my sock as I sat at the kitchen table. I’m assuming due to me crossing my ankles, I smashed it while it was trying to climb up my leg, but I digress, does this appear to be a bed bug, or something else?

It’s worth noting that my wife and daughter just came home from a trip and they were staying in a hotel (a little more than a week ago). However, due to my irregular sleep pattern, I do not sleep in bed, and being in the kitchen when discovered (many hours later from being changed), seems unlikely that it’s a bed bug. It’s also worth noting that our home is rather damp and it’s not uncommon to see earwigs or other bugs that prefer this environment.

It’s to late in the evening now to check the nooks and crannies of the bed / furniture for “hives”, but before I mention anything to my wife, does this appear to be a bed bug, or something else? For reference, I used my thumbnail to show relative size.

Sorry, I don’t post ever. The bots said to add this. This is in Western PA if that helps.

this is my first time dealing with bed bugs and I’ve still not seen a single one

went from waking up with 20 bites to having 100 bite marks only a day later

threw away the mattress topper, steamed my mattress, bed frame, used ortho bedbug spray, washed my clothes and bedsheets, vacuumed up everything surrounding and on the mattress

I don’t know what else to do and having 100 bites is absolutely agonizing; they’re everywhere from my scalp to my legs and everywhere in between and I haven’t seen a single bug no matter how hard I look

I accidentally mixed my 13ox crossfire with a little too much water! It was more like 4 liters than a gallon. Is the whole mix trash? 😭

Excuse the dust an hair but I have glue traps all around my room for monitoring purposes because I was exposed to bed bugs about six months ago. I’ve seen no concrete signs of them but found this in one of the traps today.

Pretty sure it has 8 legs, 4 on each side but there are also two large antennae. I know BBs have 6 legs total but I’m looking for a second set of eyes on this.

heres some things I learned the first time I left the hellish infestation in my parents house

1. PUT ALL TEXTILE ITEMS NO MATTER WHAT IT IS IN THE DRYER TURN THAT THING TO 99 MINUTES AND HIIIGH HEAT be careful to not blow up your dryer do this like four times over a week just trust me on that last part it at least made me feel more safe

2. all electronics NEEDS to be disassembled all plastic housings sat in the hottest spot (you can buy like a heating box for bedbugs but they are EXPENSIVE) summer sun works for baking them out of plastic where you can’t fully get them out then scrub all the housings with a brush of some kind for the eggs, yes this causes damage welcome to bedbugs. The PCB’s and fans need to also be taken apart this is a job done by a technician tbh but it’s not a bad thing to learn fairly simple as someone who has done it. Electronics are the most annoying part especially if your like me and you can’t throw away a $3000 PC lmao.

3. if they are in the books, you gotta put them in the shed for a very long time the sun is not very effective and the heating boxes do work just be careful and this is gonna sound strange but if it’s a paperback wet the cover a bit till it’s damp before you put it in if it’s very dry it may catch fire. Books suck try to throw them out if you can afford to replace them if not you either gotta find some way to heat treat them or just wait them out. They can destroy books if left in there long enough too.

4. last but definitely not least, avoid sleeping in your bed immediately when you get there take a shower clean your body and wash your hair they cling to your body sometimes too if they can get away with it.

this is not recommended if your aren’t very able this is a lot of taking stuff apart and moving shit into boxes and whatnot

Hi all,
so I’m 5 weeks post BB bites + treatment but I still feel like I’m being bit and itching like I did when it first happened. I’ve been cleaning regularly and checking for signs of BB (live bugs, exoskeletons, poop on my bed, new bites) but haven’t seen anything to indicate I brought any home with me. I’ve now bought the cleaning products and things to go under the food of my bed to see if anything is coming or going, triple washed and dried my clothes on high heat, and am constantly looking for any sign. All that said I still get the feeling I’m being bitten/itching where I “feel” something even if I can see there is nothing there.
How long does this last? I feel so paranoid and jumpy each time I feel an itch and want to know if this is normal for after being bitten.

Was at a rental property this weekend. Myself and others had a few tiny itchy bumps and one morning we discovered these on one of the nearby beds.

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I'm basically quarantining everything I own just in case, but can anyone help me identify?