3 ms·

New research may beat back bedbug epidemic (2017)

10 points by danielam 9y ago

xkcd-sucks 9y ago
Imagine sharing lab space with the Bedbug group... or first-date interactions of such researchers
sunstone 9y ago
Bedbugs are best eliminated with heat not pesticides as this article mentions. The beauty of heat is that it's 100% effective and you don't have to know where the bed bugs are in order for it to kill them. Take the "divide and conquer" approach in your living space. Isolate one room with masking tape (and perhaps plastic sheeting). Go over all the fabric and upholstery with a steam gun. Then crank up the heat to over 50C for 24 hours. Then move on to the next room. Bed bugs travel at night up to 200 feet so be careful of re-contamination. There are companies that will bag your entire house and then heat it up to kill everything at once. With your clothes just use the dryer on high. Washing will not affect the bugs at all. Full disclosure, yes I had them and I killed them using these techniques. Your mileage may vary depending on the details of the structure you in.
- hendersoon 9y ago
  So your argument is that masking each area in plastic like a Dexter kill room then heating each room of the house to 130F for a full day is easier than spraying a pesticide only toxic to arthropods around your bed a single time then going about your life. Did I summarize it accurately? Basically, you need to read the article. They're saying this pesticide actually _works_.
  - sunstone 9y ago
    Heat is available now. My post is primarily for people who have bedbugs now. If they want to wait a few years for this research to become a commercial product then that is their choice.
    - hendersoon 9y ago
      Per the article, it's a commercial product now and already available in a couple states.
pc2g4d 9y ago
A new pesticide is like a new antibiotic: it's useful for now, but evolution will catch up with it soon enough. There are non-chemical means of eliminating bedbugs that should be preferred for this reason. Though I guess bedbugs could evolve to withstand heat/cold/starvation....

10 points by danielam 9y ago

Imagine sharing lab space with the Bedbug group... or first-date interactions of such researchers

Bedbugs are best eliminated with heat not pesticides as this article mentions. The beauty of heat is that it's 100% effective and you don't have to know where the bed bugs are in order for it to kill them. Take the "divide and conquer" approach in your living space. Isolate one room with masking tape (and perhaps plastic sheeting). Go over all the fabric and upholstery with a steam gun. Then crank up the heat to over 50C for 24 hours. Then move on to the next room. Bed bugs travel at night up to 200 feet so be careful of re-contamination. There are companies that will bag your entire house and then heat it up to kill everything at once. With your clothes just use the dryer on high. Washing will not affect the bugs at all. Full disclosure, yes I had them and I killed them using these techniques. Your mileage may vary depending on the details of the structure you in.

hendersoon 9y ago
So your argument is that masking each area in plastic like a Dexter kill room then heating each room of the house to 130F for a full day is easier than spraying a pesticide only toxic to arthropods around your bed a single time then going about your life. Did I summarize it accurately? Basically, you need to read the article. They're saying this pesticide actually _works_.
- sunstone 9y ago
  Heat is available now. My post is primarily for people who have bedbugs now. If they want to wait a few years for this research to become a commercial product then that is their choice.
  - hendersoon 9y ago
    Per the article, it's a commercial product now and already available in a couple states.

pc2g4d 9y ago

A new pesticide is like a new antibiotic: it's useful for now, but evolution will catch up with it soon enough. There are non-chemical means of eliminating bedbugs that should be preferred for this reason. Though I guess bedbugs could evolve to withstand heat/cold/starvation....