Fight_Me_Mr_Tusk

Not OP but I've been through this nightmare and done countless hours of research.

If I had to do it again here's how I'd do it, step by step (est. cost: $150 for guaranteed removal)

1. Verify. Make sure you have them. It's not a cheap infestation to manage. If you don't know how to properly check, you can usually get places to do a free inspection for you.

2. Prepare for battle. Order/buy the following:

Cheap wal mart bed frame (this can be returned) Climb Up bed bug interceptors (for under the bed frame) Mattress/box spring encasements Cimexa (food grade DE is cheaper but far less effective) Duster (a nozzled ketchup bottle can substitute this) Temprid SC (3 pack of concentrate) 1 gallon sprayer Shop vac If you don't have a dryer buy a steamer.

1. Protect your sanity.

This is where I fucked up. I slept in the tub, waking up every 30 mins feeling like they were crawling on me. It's been 2 years and I still feel them occasionally and check. haven't slept as well since because of it.

To do this step, create a safe island where you know they won't be. I chose my bed. Order a mattress encasement off amazon rated for bed bugs. Get climb up interceptors to put anywhere your bed frame touches the floor. This actually will reduce the population significantly as well.

Bed bugs naturally want to go up. Move your bed away from any walls or drapes. You now have a bed bug free island you can go to any time you start to lose it.

1. Prep your home.

Anywhere that is a corner or hiding place, get it accessible for a liquid spray. They can even be behind pictures hanging on the wall, so be thorough.

This is a good time to start running all of your clothes through the dryer on high heat for at least 90mins to kill both bugs and their eggs.

1. Go to work.

Around the entire perimeter of your home, apply cimexa to the base boards.

Vacuum constantly. Use the shop vac for nooks and crannies, a regular vac for under furniture after moving it. Constantly empty (preferably sealed) bags outdoors after vacuuming.

Remove backings to all chairs, couches, etc and spray them inside and out with temprid. Broadcast the temprid anywhere they might be EXCEPT the baseboards as it will negate the effect of the Cimexa.

Also spray any furniture. Don't let the name "bed bug" fool you. They could be in bed frames, dressers, anywhere dark and near you.

Repeat this step every 3 weeks until you can go a full 6 weeks without finding any signs of bedbug.

1. Prevent future infestations.

Any hotel you stay in from now on, you'll check. Furniture you buy used, even dressers, you'll check. Welcome to paranoia.

That's basically it. Enjoy a job well done. You've just done for $150 what most people pay $1500+ to do, and you didn't have to throw out a single thing.

Disclaimer: if your house is just absolutely fucked with bed bugs and you've been knowingly living with them for years, ignore all above steps, call an expert, and get a heat treatment.

Actually it's already happened. Not OP but I believe Rutgers is did a study where they have a bed bug population that's unadapted they've kept around and one they pull from infestations that are "modern."

They found a significant reduction in DE effectiveness because the bed bugs had thicker cuticles? Basically thicker skin, not positive the term.

Cimexa was far more recommended because it had a higher kill rate.

I used DE on my infestation I had a while back. It wasn't even close to effective as a standalone treatment.

Usually it's recommended to leave a seal on it for longer. Bed bugs max life without a meal is around 6 months, so if you take it off and there's still even 2 alive, you could have just retriggered the infestation.

I'm currently on one now. Have been for a long time now.

They make some that are very nice and help with stain prevention and other things too. Idk if I'll ever take mine off.

You can't identify bed bugs by bites. This might be an occasionally noticeable pattern but don't make people paranoid every time they get a bite.

The real way is

1. Look for their casings (shells they leave behind as they mature) in mattress folds.

2. Look for their droppings (little brown/black spots they leave behind after a blood meal)

3. Look for them directly. They'll be in the same areas as the casings, just moving. They're slow, and generally huddle together in nests. So don't worry about having to "catch them" before they scurry away.

Will you guys look into it further and try getting more emails leaked of individuals involved? Seems strange to me as well.