Dear scrumptious fellow Ichigoians,

It has dawn upon me that I am in unbelieavably dire straits, and that I must reach out for ALL and ANY aid, be it in the form of intellectual advise, spiritual prayers or financial donations.

My room have been beset by a literal PLAGUE of FISHIN-A BEDBUGS, and as a direct consequence of their successful population boom I have been walking TEH FUNNEH for nearly a fortnight. That, and I am itching in places that I never knew I had.

Look, questionable as my sanity is, I am not an unhygienic person. I change (and wash) my bedsheets, duvet and pillow covers once a week. I wash the curtains on the same week. I vacuum my lair of darkness with a religious fervor nearly thrice every week.

But all of above has obviously been of little deterrence to the little FISHIN-A FISHERS, and I now desperately ask for ADVICE on how I should deal with this hellish scenario. It's like chicken pox, only worse. And the doctors are helpless.

Here is what I am going to do ASAFishinP:
1) Buy a BIGGER, BETTER, BADDER vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. Candidates: Allergy or Animal http://www.dyson.co.uk/range/range_overview.asp?model=DC15&sinavtype=pagelink

2) Buy some FISHIN-A housemites killing covers. I'll ring them up tomorrow to ask if they have it in stock. http://www.pharmacy2u.co.uk/healthcare-334249HE/asthma_and_allergy-s-260815AS/

If you are in possession of any advice whatsoever that MAY relieve my unholy anguish to rip out chunks of myself with my own nails, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, TELL ME.

PLEASE.

No smily can depict one-tenth of the suffering I feel at the moment. This combination will have to do. :cry: @_@ :( x_x :cracker: >.< :death: =_= :frusty: :what: :scream: :realmad: :ranting: :mad:

PS: Yes, I have also seeked advice from professional and homeless hobos alike, but I am not to proud to call for help to SAVE MY BLEEDIN' DONKEY.

Much apologies if any mental harm is constituted to the readers of this plea for aid.

Budget Constrain: Approx. £600

What should I get? A steam cleaner, proven to kill housemites? An uber vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters? Housemites-killing covers? Dehumidifier?

I feel like I'm taking on Diablo himself.

EDIT: Shit, I just found out that it may be bedbugs, instead of housemites.

where do you live? dorm, house, apartment wherever...

if its a house and only one room has it, clean yourself of them, then move into another room.

is there really no exterminators that work?

In an apartment. My two flatmates have not reported any dermatological anomlies to me; I am the sole victim of the Swarm/Horde/Flux. My window is facing a trainstation construction site, which may be the cause of this distressfully unpleasant episode (dust, dust, dust!!!), but -

I've asked exterminators, and they say that they really have no idea how to deal with this problem, as they usually deal with rats and termites and wasps. Just not housemites. >_<!!!

I went ahead and checked wiki. I mean, they usually have everything...and they did......kinda o.O but they only have info on bedbugs >< but they do have a lot on how to deal with them.

It might not be bedbugs, but heres help anyways, just in case. there is actually alot in here on how to keep them off you, but it might not work on housemites :\

Bedbugs (everything on them) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbugs)

I put what might help now, just in case, but I would check the link above to see if you do have bedbugs or housemites. They're in spoilers just to make my post a little more organized, nothing more.

*How to live with them for a while V* (you may have to improvise a little)

Living with infestation
If it is necessary to live with bedbugs in the short term, it is possible to create makeshift temporary barriers around a bed. Because bedbugs cannot fly or jump, an elevated bed can be protected by applying double-sided sticky tape (carpet tape) or petroleum jelly around each leg, or by keeping each leg on a plastic furniture block in a tray of water. A bed frame can be effectively ridded of adult bedbugs and eggs by use of steam. Small steam cleaners are available and are very effective for this local treatment. A suspect mattress can be protected by wrapping it in a painter's disposable plastic dropcloth, neatly sealing shut all the seams with packing tape, and putting it on a protected bed after a final visual inspection. Bedding can be sanitized by a 120 degree Farenheit (49c) laundry dryer. Once sanitized, bedding should not be allowed to drape to the floor. An effective way to quarantine a protected bed is to store sanitized sleeping clothes in the bed during the day, and bathing before entering the bed.

Vermin and pets may complicate a barrier strategy. Bedbugs prefer human hosts, but will resort to other warm-blooded hosts if humans are not available, and some species can live up to eighteen months without feeding at all. A co-infestation of mice can provide an auxiliary food source to keep bedbugs established for longer. Likewise, a house cat or human guest might easily defeat a barrier by sitting on a protected bed. Such considerations should be part of any barrier strategy.

The good news about bedbugs is they do not pose any known disease threat. They are more of a mental threat than anything.

*Self Extermination V*

Self treatment
Consumers can perform their own extermination using a very safe natural organic treatment - a mixture of pyrethrins and diatomaceous earth, which is readily available on the internet.

WARNING - If you try to make your own insecticide from diatomaceous earth, be certain to use the fresh water variety, not salt water diatomaceous earth which will seriously damage the lungs of any mammal (dog, cat, human) which inhales it. Salt water diatomaceous earth can also cause cancer, so be very certain you get the right type.

Fresh water diatomacious earth is used to deworm cats, dogs, and humans, and it is safer than table salt.

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Even though this is on bedbugs, maybe a vacuum cleaner might be better though, because of what I've found so far :\ (the bold)


Treatment
Exterminators will often apply a "contact kill" spray directly on bedbugs found in the apartment (such as a mixture of cyfluthrin, pyrethrins, and piperonyl butoxide), and then spray lambda-cyhalothrin on baseboards and other favorite hiding places. Lambda-cyhalothrin acts as a "slow kill" barrier which kills bedbugs after they cross it, and is usually microencapsulated, making it safe to pets and humans after it dries. Often, deltamethrin is also injected into larger crevices. The lambda-cyhalothrin and the deltamethrin are at their strongest for the first two weeks following their application, but usually retain effectiveness for up to 60 days. Success in bedbug control is largely dependent on the thoroughness and detail of treatment. This should include interior of electrical outlets, behind all pictures on walls, within dresser drawers and at cases, of night tables, at curtains, and within closets. Treatment of bedframes, and of undersurface of solid beds is also needed. Some exterminators also use steam cleaning instead of insecticide on mattresses, upholstered furniture, and sometimes at baseboards as well. This will kill all stages, but it is very time intensive and is available only with premium services. Vacuuming is also used by the better firms although homeowner should do this if possible.


Not just that, but it also said how exterminators might miss some of them them the first couple of times, and its hard to find one that knows how to deal with housemites or bedbugs in the first place so it might cost more =\, and/or be more trouble. (I'm not sure though) its the first quote that doesn't seem to good, mainly cause of fumigation, which isn't really affective in the first place.


Selection of pest control professionals
Due to their absence from North America for several decades, not all exterminators are familiar with extermination techniques for bedbugs. Those who are unfamiliar with bedbug extermination techniques may attempt to use ineffectual techniques, such as fumigation. Care must thus be taken when selecting an exterminator, in order to select a professional that knows how to conduct proper bedbug removal.

The National Pest Management Association maintains a Web site with a zip code locator. This will help you to find a pest control professional that has taken the next step in training, licensing and education by joining a national association.


...and also


An informal survey of pest control professionals conducted by a pest control professor at the University of Massachusetts stated that 68% of all bedbug infestations require three or more treatments, 26% require two treatments, and 6% require just one. [3] However, this survey does not seem to have taken into account the size of the infestation, the size of the venue being treated, the extensiveness of that venue's preparation for the treatment (thus enabling or inhibiting coverage of the poisons), the skill of the exterminator, whether popular nesting places have been disposed of, and the cause behind the original infestation.

it was after seeing all this that made vacuuming seem so much better. :\
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Hope this helps. :\

In my personal experience (yes, I *have* had personal experience with bedbugs...) there are only two ways to get rid of them:

1. Get rid of the offending mattress. (And that doesn't mean just throwing it away! It *must* be *BURNED!!!*)

2. Deny the bedbugs their source of oxygen and food. This means sealing the mattress inside of a large plastic bag which is then vacuum- and heat-sealed for approximately 6 months. (Sorry, I don't know where you'd find anyplace that'll do that nowadays...)

usually, you should really put your matress out in the sun for quite some time a year..........dont know how to explain it here.........traditional thing that my family does....but i suppose that its impossible to do so in this time of the year, in particular in this country anyway....

really.....move out of that room temporarily and get a total clean over and so that you are treated and so is your room! ...thats all i can suggest atm.....

EGH!!! I have the same problem with fleas! I don't know if it'll work for bedbugs but try putting a bunch of salt on your bed everyday, then vacuum. Do this until they're gone. Put Teatree(sp?) oil on your pijamas and covers when you wash them.

Update:

1)The only solution is to call the exterminator, apparently - yeah, found a few of them operating in my area that does bedbugs.

2)Here's the clincher: to get the landlord to pay for it. Where is she? (she's supposed to have returned from her holiday this Monday)

3)So I went to the Student Accomodation Office. Looks like I might have to call the exterminators first and send the landlord the bill later, yech.