Renter died last week. Super sad thing...young and had 2 kids.

She left me a nice crop of bed bugs in my rental house though.

Any tips? Ideas? Fugk I don't wanna deal with these nasty things....

How bad's the infestation?

Furnished, or unfurnished?

Hire the experts.

Sonofabitch!


Thats a hell of a deal.


Hire it done.

This is the one time you “call a guy” ...

Mattress - bag it and gone.

those dang things live in any crack they can find and come out to dig into people... call a pro with good chemicals and wipe them out.

Its empty and no furniture. Just a stove and fridge and no carpet.

She was 38 and had a Brain aneurysm. Not a clean type but a hard worker and loved her kids. Just frustrating that she let it get bad and didn't tell me.

professionals

God Damn.....not that it matters....but what happened to the kids?


They okay?

They are 12 and 9...with grandparents. But the grandparents are worse off than mom was. No teeth, 5 foot 5 and 300 pounds...never had one extra dime. Just very hillbilly white trashy types. Nice enough but I fear they will never figure life out.

Kids and mom were trying to get out of the cycle of being poor and dumb...she was taking classes and keeping the kids on the straight and narrow. Very sad.

She was better off than her parents and i wish she had gotten a break here and there.

The kids found her as she had her seizure/aneurysm and called the grandma and then they ended up leaving her on a ventilator for almost a week so they could harvest organs.

Then the funeral home tried to rape the parents for 25 grand for a funeral. Finally settled on cremation but still overcharged the hell out of them.

Gonna try to scrounge up some money to help the kids. My mom volunteered to watch and help them. She is a retired teacher and guardian ad litem with the court.

Very sad. Thank you for caring about those kids.

But i guess if i end up having to spend a ton fixing up the house and getting rid of bugs...won't be much left. I dunno...was hoping there was a trick or something to this

You need the house tented and professionally treated. All expenses are legitimate tax deductions, although if your rent house is like mine I don't need to lose any more money than I already am.

Over the years we have let her skip December rent to buy coats and christmas presents. We took them food and let them get way behind and catch up at tax return time each year.

Figured she and I were both better off with the house not being empty. Plus I could never boot out a mom and little ones as long as she was trying.

Seems like some stability couldn't hurt as well when it came to the kids.

Damm ..this is over my pay grade..

Sorta feeling like a fool now though. Mr nice guy got stuck with the Bill and a pretty torn up house...

https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/bed-bugs.htm

Never had to deal with bed bugs, but I've used their roach control chemicals and they work like a champ. I got turned on to them by a friend who does spraying and eradication for commercial properties.

Wonder if we could do something for the kids?



You got an address so my kids could send them a letter or something?

They seem like good kids?

Thanks I will check that out

mjbgalt - given what you report, you have been much more than a landlord and seem still to be trying to go beyond. This is good and praiseworthy - but whomever takes the over raising kids needs to make certain that they, and all of the stuff they bring, is thoroughly rid (fumigated) of the pests - and those little buggers are tenacious. As for the house - tented/fumigated as someone recommended - and then sitting empty for a spell without any human feed for bedbugs - and you should escape the infestation. I sure hope that something better can be put together for those kids.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Turn up the heat for a couple hours. 118°F for 90 minutes will kill them. You’ll probably need to rest a portable heater. Your local equipment rental should have one.

Fuggit.


The cat that guards the pearly gates dont see it that way.

Get enough heat into the room this time of year?

This

Superheat the inside

They are being taken in by the grandparents...they are aware of the problem and I know They basically threw everything away and let the kids start fresh.

Just really feel for them. The older kid is having blood sugar issues and the younger has only one kidney that functions and its not 100 percent either.

Their "dad" is a piece of trash and suddenly reappeared and wanted them for the money. The older kid (12) said nope...you only want us for money and we aren't going to you"

Now there's lawyers involved. Gonna get worse I suppose.

Do not bring anything to your place. Gawd, I’d throw away my clothes after working over there.

Hire a pro to spray. House won't need to be tented, but the poison is residual, and you don't want kids or pets at the house for at least a day. Follow up spray a few weeks down the road (as per pro's recommendation) and you're good to go.

Yep. Not a damn thing coming here from there.

https://www.domyown.com/alpine-wsg-p-2876.html

This is good. If you are tenacious enough you can get rid of them. Of course I have no idea how long this infections been going on, and how deep they are rooted, so that's something you should consider when deciding which route you want to pursue.

Fogger diatomaceous eart, and Ortho duel action spary are your main tools.

As previously mentioned, first steps are usually to get rid of any mattresses in infected room. Shampoo carpets, and give a heavy dusting with diatomaceous earth. They also seem to like drapes, especially those that were close to beds, so toss those too.

Pay close attention to any place someone slept. Spray the nooks and cranie etc with the Ortho spay I mentioned. If people are in the house, spray it around the beds. It's powerful enough to kill bed bugs that cross it.

Fog every room. After a few hours, put out some disposable traps and check them the next day. Where every you have bugs, fog it again. Keep fogging every day until all your traps are empty, then hit the whole place once more. Put out some new traps and check them a few days until you are sure.

Easy peezy .Bug bombs

My bud runs a pest extermination outfit in Maine. He uses the heat method mentioned above.

Call a pro!

Heed slumlord, king of the mud people.

Strip down and suit-up before ya go in with some cheap disposal coveralls.

Bag them or burn them when you are done then get back in your clothing..

Getting a little scarce due to current events but some are still on the shelf in the paint department at Home Depot by me priced @ 2 pair for $10...

Nope, doing the right thing makes not a fool.

Listen to whatever Higs says....

I don't like chemical pesticides. I have been using diatomacous earth for years on my dogs. This stuff is not a chemical, it is a kind of dirt that is ten million years old, made of tiny sea shells called diatoms. It looks like flour.

When a bug walks across diatomaceous earth, it is like a human is crawling across a floor covered with broken glass. It cuts the bugs left and right and they will bleed to death. If my dog comes back from the woods with some ticks on her, I powder her up with this stuff and the fleas are soon dead. It will kill any bugs.

So after you get rid of the mattresses etc, now that you have a vacancy, powder the place up with the diatomaceous earth and close it up for a few weeks and the bugs will all die.


https://www.amazon.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-10/dp/B00025H2PY

+1

Be thankful if the tenant (and their stuff) is all out. You're looking at a very thorough fumigation - electrical outlet/switch covers, duct work in/out covers, etc. all will have to be removed.

Is the house isolated enough that you could burn it without causing any other problems? if so that is the way to go. then claim it on your insurance..

Do an internet search Killing Bed Bugs with Heat.
Seems the little buggers can't take a lot.

Honest-to-goodness LOL!!

OP is a really good person. I would get a pest control guy and get it done once. Put all bedding in a bag to the dump or burn if if that is available.

Take Slumlords advice.

He’s had that problem a time or two at the “Freebird Mobile Estate and Put Put Golf Course”

Wife is still licensed GRC, Tn dept of Ag, runs her own exterminating business on the side.
I let mine lapse. Did it off/on for 20 years.

So blah blah blah wah wah I go with whatever rick bin says

That said, ain’t no fuggin way I’d sprinkle diatomaceous earth, fuggin pool filter Paul Harvey roach Prufe boric acid chit all over the house.

Make it look like Tony Montana detonated a suicide vest in there.


Simonkenton, brother, I luv ya man any other time, im even ok with the binocular deal. But no, no no no DE 😐

I hope God blesses you 10 fold for your kindnesses to others .

Yes....diatomaceous earth is a bit of a scam.

I am in this camp. I have seen it used a lot and always questioned its efficacy. Doesn't seem to hurt anything, just not real effective.

Sent you a PM.

Threads like this makes my decision to sell my rentals all the better. Those CD's at the bank don't have bed bugs, broken water heaters etc. Glad I'm out. But it's the only way I made enough money for retirement. Good Luck.

I know a guy that did that here in PA, he had problems with termites and bees, burn it to the ground, he done 8 years in the state prison for arson and insurance fraud.

Lol besides the fact that I have been licensed as an insurance agent for 12 years and they would immediately turn the magnifying glass on me.

Not that I would do it anyway, but I would be even less likely to get away with it than the next guy

I would much rather keep it and make it nice again and find a new person who needs a place.

Call the professional on this one. You will have a hard time getting it hot enough to kill the ones hiding in cracks and crevices. If your going to vacuum in there at all buy a cheap one at thrift store, new bag, and throw the thing away when done.

They are very hard to get rid of. Most good reputable companies will guarantee their work. Plus it’s a tax right off.

If you haven't figured out how to get away with stuff in 12 years, you aren't paying attention close enough.

Hah!

I have used diatomaceous earth for years on ticks on the dog, and on carpenter bees. Squirt it in a carpenter bee hole with a syringe, in about 20 seconds 3 dying carpenter bees come tumbling out. I like to watch 'em writhe around while they die. Takes about 3 minutes.

What is wrong with sprinkling it around a vacant house? Let it set for 2 weeks and then vacuum it up.

I remember you saying that about the carpenter bees. I might try that.

My bee traps are already luring victims in. And it’s still cool here.

Nothing against it except the cleanup. And I’m on the lazy side.

Being in the business for years, I used to see boric acid and DE in people’s cabinets. It always looked like a mess. Caked up, crusty, turning brown after a while.
Just that was something that stuck in my mind. Personal preference.

Pros, pros, pros. Bullshiet.

Obviously, none of you giving this advice have ever even sniffed owning a portfolio of rentals. You'd go broke if you hired a "pro" every time you had a problem.

And, that's assuming the pro did a good job. My experience? A LOT of "pros" don't. They shortcut or don't give you what you paid for. For instance, they'll water down the chemicals needed. You usually don't find that out until after the fact.

To each their own.

Yes the diatomaceous is hell on the carpenter bees. It kills every bee in the hole.
And it doesn't go away like chemical bug killers, this stuff is already 10 million years old. It will keep on killing in that same hole for several years, until the bees finally knock it all out of the hole.

I use the pills, Advantage or whatever on the dog, but if she come in after a run in the woods in the summer and I find some ticks on her, I powder her up with it and the ticks are dead in five minutes. And it is murder on fleas. I'm sure it will kill bedbugs. I agree, powdering up a house would be a mess but I bet it would knock out the bedbugs.

Knock on wood in our rental business we never have had to deal with bedbugs I hear they are a nasty mess.

I just came from there. Wow. She always made the front room look OK and we didn't walk thru every room...lesson learned. No idea how a human can live like that. Dirt and filth on every surface and my newer windows won't close and lock.

Hope I can figure that out fast because I don't have the kind of money needed to buy windows and we can't let people be breaking in...

I put 3 bug bombs in it and closed it up. Forgot to turn off the water heater so hopefully it won't explode or something but I am not going back in now that the bombs are going lol

Just hold your breath and go flip it off. Lol

City has now called. The "helpful volunteer" the neighbors let in was from the HOA and typed an email to the city to tattle befote i can even fix anything.


No good deed goes unpunished.

ORTHO® HOME DEFENSE MAX® BED BUG, FLEA & TICK KILLER. This is a do it yourself product and should solve your problem.

$1100 for bedbugs and about the same for flooring. My ass hurts lol

Yeah - we've only got 13. Hardly a portfolio.

So go hire a "pro" It's your money.

I've been doing it for over 20 years. What do I know.

Never ever ever let people you don't know enter your properties outside of the people you hire , when you're having a problem

Sell some guns and fix tha house . Or sell it if you can’t afford it. Good luck

Ok. Scraped together some money and a couple friends and my wife and I have begun fixing it up. We are about halfway and will be putting down carpet and vinyl in a couple weeks.

Thanks to the guys with advice and help with this. Wife and I decided to sell our house and move in to the rental since it will save us almost a $1000 a month. Going to pay everything off in about 3 years and then build what we want.

Also hope to put ourselves in a position to have the extra money to do some good in the world.

Sounds like a plan.

There are pesticides and I believe even a bit of heat will kill them Try a little surfing.

Had em done professionally.

Good for you, and best of luck. You'll look around in a few months and see that $1000 a month has built a little bulge in your bank account.

Hope you, your family and your friends are OK.