[quote name='Dead of Knight']That's a relief that diatomaceous earth is pet-safe. So many bug killers are bad for pets.[/QUOTE]
DE is nothing but pulverized diatom fossils. It is "safe" but you don't want anyone or thing inhaling it. It is very abrasive and can cause respiratory problems.
[quote name='ROB64']Diatomaceous earth is great for a lot of things (killing ants, cleaning pool filter, etc...) but I had no idea it could be used to get rid of bed bugs, thanks for posting that.
Also, my advice would be to freeze your clothes. I've always hear that kills bedbugs and their eggs. Just toss the affected clothing in a trash bag and throw it in the freezer for a week.[/QUOTE]
DE will kill any insect or arachnid with spiracles. It simply clogs the spiracles and suffocates the pest. The trick is to dust VERY lightly. If you can see it, it is too heavy and most bugs will notice an irritant and go around it.
Most pest control companies will even tell people that pest control products cannot kill scorpions. They are either too lazy or too cheap. When I did pest control (thankfully that is in the past), I would be told that all the time by my customers (or people I was trying to get signed up). I would show them otherwise. Scorpions have a thick cuticle layer on their exoskeleton that protects from absorption. And since they are arachnids and not insects they never preen themselves, so they never ingest the product. What we would do is dust with DE. When the scorpion walks through it the cuticle gets cuts and scrapes. Then when they come into contact with pesticide, it absorbs through those cracks. You see slow scorpions within the first couple of days and dead ones after that.
DE is great stuff.
[quote name='strayfoxx']Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the advice.
We're getting my girlfriends Volvo fumigated, at around $175. Spent about six hours yesterday washing/drying, and vacuuming out the car. I never knew these things were such a bitch.[/QUOTE]
I was worried for you at first, but so glad to read that this was in a hotel room and not your house. You're doing the right thing. First step is to bag everything. I see you were smart enough to do that. As others have said more important than soaps or bleach is high heat wash and high heat dry.
Anything that cannot withstand those conditions, I would toss. If you want to risk re-introduction you can try freezing, but I have never heard of that as a solution and know that some eggs can withstand extreme conditions such as being frozen. I don't recommend it.
As for the car, I would have recommended a high heat steam clean with an IR temperature sensor. But I see you already took care of that with a good cleaning and fumigation. So it sounds like you have everything taken care of besides your suitcases. Again, I recommend a really hot steam cleaner.
I'm glad you didn't find them in your home. That really
does become a pain...
EDIT: [quote name='Eviltude']They don't vector any diseases, so the biggest worry is just being an annoyance. Like everyone has said, wash your stuff in hot water and you should be fine. Make sure they don't make it to your place because you will never get rid of them.[/QUOTE]
Strangely, there has not been enough research in this area to say conclusively that it is not possible. The best they can say is that they have no evidence of disease transmission yet. Seems strange since they have found 27 human diseases in bed bugs.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/12/news/la-heb-bedbug-disease-20110512
my girlfriend says they are) when we peeled back the sheets.
