The Anatomy of a Bed Bug War

Currently, all NAACLS accredited pathologists' assistant programs are located on the east coast. Unfortunately, the east coast is also the home to a growing tide of crawling, blood-sucking, satan-spawn known as bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). As a native of California, I had never had the displeasure of experiencing a bed bug infestation and if you are accepted into a PA program, there is a very real chance that you too will need to fight off these alien invaders.

It started when I responded to a Craigslist ad for a used futon. The student that previously used it was graduating and I bought it for a lowly sum. Later on throughout the week I would wake up with multiple itchy bites in a row that resembled mosquito bites. One night, I was so irritated that I got out of bed, turned on the lights and looked on the internet as to what it could be. Just then, a small bug ran across my textbook on the ground. I caught it and realized that this was indeed a foot-soldier from hell, a bed bug.

Bed bugs, once nearly eradicated from the US due to DDT, have been making a resurgence because of international travel. Since bed bugs feed off of blood and are attracted to the CO2 that you exhale, they don't care how clean your room is. If you discover bed bugs and you're not willing to move, it's time to go to the tactical operations center.

Upon discovering the first bed bug I immediately threw out the futon, but I knew it was too late to prevent my apartment from becoming infested. Bed bugs are active at night and don't fly, so if you erect physical barriers that will prevent them from getting you while you sleep, mission accomplished. While netting might prevent adults from reaching you, bed bug nymphs are incredibly tiny and may be able to pass though. I set out to the store and promptly bought a camping style cot, a sleeping bag and a king size white mattress sheet cover. 

Since my apartment room is carpet, I needed a way to visualize the bed bugs. Using double-sided carpet tape, I laid out the white sheet and taped down the whole perimeter. This would serve both to visualize the bed bugs and hinder them from coming onto the white sheet.

For the cot, I wrapped the legs with the double sided carpet tape as well as some extremely gooey fly paper strip traps. And if that wasn't enough, I put each leg into a plastic container filled with liquid dish soap. I have read stories that because of the surface tension of water bed bugs are able to "float" across a surface of water. The dish soap is much more viscous and I doubt that any bed bug would be strong enough break free of the surface.

In addition to all of this, I've wrapped my clothes fresh from the dryer into plastic bags. Hopefully, this should keep them from hitching a ride on me into the sleeping bag. 

To keep the white sheet clean you'll definitely need a lint roller.

-------------

Last night I enjoyed my first uninterrupted sleep with no bites! I was curious as to whether or not bed bugs had gathered around the base of my bed, so at 4AM I got up, turned on the lights and found these two uninvited guests. They were very easy to find on the white sheet. (They must have developed teleportation technology to have got past the tape perimeter.)

After catching them I needed to see if my defenses were adequate. I experimented by shooing the adult towards the carpet tape and it would always turn around before crossing over. The tape seemed to be working. With the small one, I put it in a square tape prison to see if it could get out. It would travel onto the tape for a couple of millimeters, get stuck and then backtrack. With the big one, I dropped it in one of the plastic dishes filled partially with liquid dish soap. It avoided the soap and tried to climb the plastic walls of the container, but could never make any progress. Eventually, it partially climbed about 1/4 of the way to the top, fell down into the pink liquid soap and actually died within 5 minutes! (Bed bugs have been known to survive all kinds of pesticides, nearly freezing temperatures and adults can stay alive for as long as a year without feeding.) I will need to rename this liquid dish soap to "Pink Death". 

Thus, my first victory over the bugs has come at a small price to my wallet (~$100) and a few hours of set-up work. Now that this has become a war of attrition, I am certain that these bed bugs will rue the day they ever set foot into my home.

-------------

Update 12-31-2010

Today I saw a bed bug that was a casualty of the carpenter's tape for the first time. This confirms two things for me.
1) Tape can not only deter the bed bugs from crossing, in some cases it can entrap them.
2) The bed bug became caught in the tape that I had laid over the entrance to my room and it was pointing towards my room. This suggests that the source of infestation is not in my room, but rather coming from outside of my room. If I fortify this area with more tape, I should become even more protected.

-------------

Update 03-24-2011

Man, these bugs just don't give up! I was sure I had seen the last of them when mysteriously I woke up with three new bites a couple of days ago. I hadn't been bit for nearly two months.
For those of you battling bed bugs, I can say that the double-sided carpenter's tape at the entrance of your room (that is if the source is from outside your room) and the plastic containers filled with fluid underneath the legs of your beds are the two best barriers to the little devils. Insecticide doesn't work at all so don't waste your money.

Of course, the best way to beat bed bugs is to not encounter them in the first place.