Bed Bugs

During the decontamination process do not use carpet cleaning machines, steam cleaners, heat guns, hair dryers or any types of liquids, oils, pesticides, bug bombs, fly sprays, natural remedies, or anything else that 'you think' will be effective -because it won't be.

If the following advice is not followed your likely to make your situation worse. Our kits supply you with everything required to completely eliminate all bed bugs. My advice is based on many years killing bed bugs in New Zealand and the U.K

 No one knows more about bed bugs than www.bedbugs.co.nz

Safety glasses, masks, plastic bags and overalls are not included in our kits.

Mattress and base encasement's  Encasement's must be fitted to the mattress and bed bases before starting any decontamination work. Around 25% of a bed bug infestation is hiding 10mm-100mm inside the mattress or base. Encasement's trap the bed bugs inside and prevents them getting out, eventually they will die of starvation, they also prevent any future bed bugs from entering your bed. Our encasements are a luxury item that actually enhance your bed, the thread count is around double that of the expensive 'high thread count' sheets available in stores.

BB8 Pesticide Have this mixed in a spray bottle ready to use. We recommend having this with you when decontaminating your premises. If you come across bed bugs or a nest of bed beds you can spray them instantly. Same applies if you discover bed bugs on the back of the bed headboard or bedside cabinets etc Bed bugs  - spray them before they get away. Bed bugs don't jump or fly, they crawl at around a meter per minute.

Eco-Kill Powder  Have this powder pre-made up in the powder puffer or the powder shaker provided

Bed Bug Repellent  ONLY used in very specific parts of a decontamination procedure

White overalls (Disposable type available at Bunnings for $5.90) White overalls are useful as you can clearly see if you have a bed bug on you during the decontamination process

Respirator or Mask Compulsory

Goggles or safety glasses Compulsory

When decontaminating bed bugs. Your freezer, washing machine, clothes dryer and your bath become your most effective tools for killing bed bugs. Freezing bed bugs is 100% effective - put clothes, blankets, sheets, soft toys, pillows etc into plastic bags and seal the bags with tape so there is no opening and no chance for bed bugs to escape (The black budget type rubbish bags available at Supermarkets are ideal for this purpose) Do not over pack the bags as doing so will prevent all items being frozen even and adequately. Have your freezer set to the lowest temperature. Bed bugs die in minus 18 degrees in just a few minutes. We recommend putting the sealed plastic bags in the freezer for 30-45 minutes - again, do not over pack the bags as all items need to reach minus 18 degrees. After removing the plastic bag from the freezer put it in a 'safe' area where its contents will not be re contaminated with bed bugs. Spray the outside of the bags with bed bug repellent.

Killing bed bugs with heat is also 100% effective. Put washable items through the washing machine on hot water temperature only, this will instantly kill bed bugs. Using your clothes dryer in a similar way to the freezer works also, put appropriate items on the hottest cycle for 30-45 minutes. Note: Older less efficient clothes dryers may not reach a hot enough operating temperature compared with newer type machines.

A bath full of hot water (above 46 degrees celcius) will kill bed bugs instantly, put the appropriate items into the hot bath water and the bed bugs will die on contact, very quick and 100% effective.

Firstly vacuum all areas of the premises thoroughly. Put half a cup of Eco-Kill in the vacuum cleaner bag or canister to immediately kill the bed bugs and eggs that get sucked up. After this vacuum clean you will go through with the decontamination process, we recommend that you do not vacuum the premises for another 7-10 days, this gives time for the Eco-Kill powder and BB8 to settle in and do the job.

Vacuum cleaners are one of the most bed bug contaminated objects in your home (because you've sucked them up and dragged the vacuum cleaner around the floor) Bed bugs can be in the vacuum cleaner head, wheels, motor and inside and outside the vacuum cleaner casing.

How do you decontaminate a vacuum cleaner? If you have enough space in the freezer, it can be put into a sealed plastic bag and placed in the freezer for 45 minutes. Or can be put in a sealed plastic bag with 2 cups of Eco-Kill, the bag/vacumn cleaner then needs to be turned upside down and shaken daily to disperse the fine powder throughout the vacuum cleaner, do this after the decontamination process when you cannot vacuum for 7-10 days. Or you can dismantle the vacuum cleaner and put most parts (except electrical parts) directly into hot water.  If your vacuum cleaner is old and tired, think about destroying it or throwing it out and purchasing a new machine. 

www.bedbugs.co.nz accept no responsibility for damage caused to vacuum cleaners when attempting to decontaminate them. Our best advice is to purchase a new vacuum cleaner.

Clear the clutter, now is the time to throw out worthless or unwanted items - the rack of newspapers or old magazines, old clothing etc. Clear the clutter or decontaminate the clutter.

After and during vacuuming pull all furniture out about 50cm from the walls, this gives you easy access to the skirting boards and bed bug hiding spots later.

Weather you use BB8 or Eco-Kill first depends on the level on infestation in the room or house. For most infestations apply BB8 as a fine spray to carpets and allow to dry for 4-6 hours before applying or dusting with Eco-Kill. (Pressure sprayers that you pump to pressurise are best for this, around $7-$12 in stores) However if you believe your infestation is minor, you could skip applying the BB8 first but have it close by ready to use as a spray when required and start with using Eco-Kill first. For best results we recommend using BB8 first to kill bed bugs on contact in its liquid form then applying Eco-Kill. After the liquid has dried it has largely done its job and does not kill bed bugs when the solution has dried. At this point we can assume many bed bugs and eggs have come into contact with the liquid pesticide and are now dead, but there's still the bed bugs that escaped the liquid shower or were hiding and were not affected. Now its time to use Eco-Kill, puff, shake and disperse this powder around the room, we like to think of this product as 'land mines for bed bugs' and by puffing this fine powder throughout your house will effectively create billions and billions of microscopic 'land mines'. When a bed bug sneaks out from its hiding place it will come into contact with Eco-Kill powder, one microscopic grain of Eco-Kill will kill a bed bug (See label on Eco-Kill bottle) often within a few centimeters from where its come into contact with the powder. Eco-Kill is a 'residual killer' meaning you leave the powder in place, brush it into carpets and furnishings, place between all carpets and skirting boards as this will prevent bed bugs from entering under the skirting boards and into the wall cavities, or if the bed bugs are already in the wall cavities it kills them as they come out from under the walls. Puff or shake Eco-Kill all around the skirting boards, completely over the carpet surface, walls and ceiling and corners of the ceilings, over both sides of curtains, doors etc. All furniture needs to be dusted, for example when dusting a scotch chest - remove all clothes from drawers and freeze or heat the clothing as described earlier, remove all drawers and place on the bedroom floor, when dusting the room puff or shake Eco-Kill over all surfaces of the scotch chest and drawers, inside, outside, under - everywhere. This applies with almost every object in your home, many things like lamps, ornaments, or the outside surface of objects will be dusted or coated sufficiently as you puff clouds of the microscopic Eco Kill powder into the air and around the room, this is because the powder is ultra fine and floats in the for a period of time and will settle over everything in a couple of hours. Hard or impenetrable, surfaces like steel, china or glass etc will not house a bed bug, bed bugs do not sit on top of a surface, they are always in constant hiding under, in, or between objects, or cracks and crevices. The dusting process is messy, dusty and needs to be done extremely thoroughly and accurately, it requires absolute vigilance and effort. All of this may seem very inconvenient to you as you didn't want bed bugs in the first place - unfortunately you do have bed bugs and they must be eliminated or they will never leave.

When decontaminating a room work from the outside first, apply BB8 or Eco-Kill around the skirting boards first, then the walls and ceiling then process the rest of the room and furniture. Do not work in a room when the BB8 is still wet, spray a room and allow the solution to dry completely. Depending on the weather and temperature this will take 3-8 hours to dry. When applying BB8 just a very fine mist is sufficient and effective and dries quickly.

Remember our Eco-Kill powder is your friend, it is organic and a very natural product. It is so safe it is certified as a food grade product in New Zealand, so is obviously harmless if inhaled, digested etc. (although being as it is a fine powder, it can cause minor throat and nose irritation or dryness) You will be living with this product but mostly for the next 7-10 days because you have just put it everywhere throughout your house, your house will be dusty, there will be a lingering fine dust cloud of Eco-Kill throughout your house. This is not the time to host a dinner party as your carpets will be un vacuumed with different shades of Eco-Kill powder where you have applied it in areas or brushed it into the carpet using a broom. Brooming or brushing the powder particles through the carpet and on to the underlay is extremely effective as most often bed bugs will live below the carpet out of sight just waiting for the lights to go before looking for a human victim to bite.

After you have applied BB8 to the carpets and other areas and allowed to dry completely, you have then used the shaker or puffer provided in your kit to completely cover all surfaces (all surfaces!) with Eco-Kill, you have moved, inspected and dusted all items and surfaces in the room and have probably put too much Eco-Kill here or there, and the room looks a mess and is cloudy with powder dust but thats OK because you have just decontaminated your room from bed bugs! and have gone a long way to prevent future invasions from occurring again. Hopefully during the treatment of the room you haven't been lazy and overlooked, assumed or thought you might get away with not moving that large piece of furniture in the corner because there's "probably" no bed bugs on the back of it or underneath it, or on, in or under the skirting board behind it - there could be! Or how about that light shade on the ceiling? the curtain track? or the tv aerial box on the floor in the corner? Inspect and treat everything. After dusting, furniture can be put back together and placed in it's original position, pictures or posters can be put back in place. Soft items that were in the room like soft toys, bedding, cushions, clothes, shoes, etc have already been treated with heat or cold as explained earlier and are in a safe area sealed in plastic bags, these can now be re introduced back into the room you have just decontaminated without fear of any cross contamination. Remember before leaving any room you have decontaminated or about every 30 minutes through out the day check the white overalls you're wearing to ensure a bed bug hasn't latched onto you, this carries a very high risk of cross contamination or transferring a bed bug to other areas so check yourself extensively in front of a mirror, a hand held mirror is handy too. The overalls have a built in hood, this must be put over your head when decontaminating as cross contamination can occur if a bed bug transfers to your hair (although any bed bugs on your person will die after a hot shower at the end of the decontamination cleaning day)

At the very end of the decontamination process, go into the bathroom that you have already decontaminated and have a hot shower dressed in the same clothes, mask and footwear etc that you have been wearing during the decontamination process - Yes shower with you clothes on for the first minute or two, the heat from the hot shower water will kill any bed bugs on your person and clothing. Remove your hot wet clothing then shower as normal. After showering dress with clothes that have been frozen or heated, then place the bag with your wet clothing in the freezer for 30 minutes just to be safe

There is no other way to decontaminate your premises from bed bugs - absolutely none. 

Take hope that www.bedbugs.co.nz have assisted many people to completely eliminate 100% of bed bugs from their homes and restore peace and quiet again. In some cases this decontamination process may need to be repeated simply because the initial decontamination was not done sufficiently and one or two bed bugs were left. One or two bed bugs will cause a rapid re infestation of your home.