What to do if the neighbors have bed bugs, where to go and complain, so that parasites do not crawl into the apartment neither from above nor from below

Reader Question:

Alice

I want to share my problem and ask for help in solving it. A few months ago, bed bugs appeared in our house. And I am sure that the problem is external: at the neighbors' house, or maybe one of the guests brought them in. But I am more inclined to the first option, because disadvantaged people live next door. I will describe the situation in our house: there's no junk, the apartment is cleaned regularly, there are no pets. This means that there is no reason for bedbugs to appear.
But I am sure that my neighbors have bedbugs, how to protect your apartment, advise me. We have tried to fight the parasites in our apartment, but it does not give results, their number is only increasing. We need radical measures. We would call the exterminators, but soon the parasites will come again if the neighbors do not destroy them. It's a great misfortune when you can't solve such issues at home. Help us understand what we need to do in this situation. Thank you in advance.

The author of the portal answers the question:

Detection of bed bugs in the apartment. What they look like. Close-up photos of bed bugs

If bad neighbors live nearby or there are other factors that contribute to the spread of bedworms (old building, lack of repair, a lot of junk that creates hiding places), you need to take action. First of all, study the external signs of bed bugs, which will allow you to recognize them immediately upon detection:

Often detected Insects with the same features, but red-black in color. Their bodies are larger in length and volume. They are also bed bugs, which is how they look after eating. Insect eggs are found in the pests' nests. They are white in color, but closer to the time of larvae emergence, they acquire a light brown hue.

Juveniles superficially resemble adults, but have differences: milky color, weakly expressed segments on the back, the body size of not more than 1.5 mm at the initial stage of development.

Bedbugs at the neighbor's house, what to do?

It is necessary to protect your apartment and yourself from uninvited guests. It is also necessary to choose means for preventive treatment of the premises: repellent, insecticide.

How to prevent parasites in your home

Different ways are being considered:

• Eliminate leaks, cracks that have formed in the supporting structures;
• create unsuitable conditions for parasites;
• pest repellent agents are used.

Not all of the methods are easy to implement. For example, creating unacceptable living conditions for pests is only possible by using agents that smell strongly (ammonia, ethyl alcohol), they are mixed with water to wash the floor.

If parasites start crawling out of the neighbor's apartment, they can bypass that dwelling.

When a small amount of the substance is mixed with water, there is a constant foreign smell in the room. It will be difficult for the insects to navigate and they will not be able to find the source of food. In comparison, it is advisable to apply the method of high and low temperature exposure, not for prevention, but to combat pests that have had time to get into the apartment.

Bed bugs crawling from apartment to apartment in the middle of the night

The insects move to new territories during the activity period, when darkness falls. Bed bugs do not emerge from their hiding places during the day because they do not tolerate light. You could say they are sleeping, but in fact, the pests are simply not active during the day.

The parasites conquer new territories when people are resting, as this allows them to move safely across surfaces.

Bed bugs can climb into purses, backpacks, bags, and easily get from house to house

One way of moving between apartments, from host to host, is inside things. However, the parasites do not choose this method purposely, because they cannot be aware of the relationship between different things, for example, "purse-bag". When bed bugs get inside such items, they cannot get out or, on the contrary, are going to hide here from the person. As a result, there is an accidental spread of pests. One must remember that parasites get inside purses and handbags only if these items lie near the bed where a person sleeps.

How to determine the source of bed bugs

When a room is infiltrated parasitesWhen the pest population increases, they begin to settle in - they immediately find the source of food, aided by a heightened sense of smell. After receiving a portion of blood, the females can lay eggs; as the number of pests increases, excrement remains on surfaces and clutches appear in hidden places.

All of this contributes to the odor, it is felt stronger in the infected room.

In addition, you should pay attention to other signs: in some places you will see traces of excrement of bed bugs, their shells (the chitinous shells that the pests drop). The bed may have red spots, dots - these are traces of blood left by the parasites.

How to make neighbors poison insects. Where to complain if your neighbors have bed bugs. To which authorities and institutions to apply

Unfortunately, there are no levers to influence the neighbors who have an infected apartment. You can go to the district police, call the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, but these measures will not produce any results. No organization, institution has sufficient power to force treatment of an object, which is private property. The apartment owner can decide on his/her own about the measures to exterminate bed bugs. It is not possible to influence the owner via authorities or institutions, but it is always better to reach an agreement without conflicts.

The neighbors have bed bugs and they have decided to treat them. What to do to stop bed bugs from coming into our house

Parasites communicate with each other by means of signals. When they sense danger, they transmit information using a special substance. As a result, the other individuals are simultaneously aware of the threat. This allows them to leave the apartment if a large-scale extermination begins. It is possible to prevent the infestation of your home when destroying parasites through the wall, only it is not easy.

It is better to agree in advance with the owner of the other apartment to treat it together. This is the best option for protecting the property. Parasites There is nowhere to escape, they crawl from apartment to apartment, but everywhere they are trapped by insecticide on surfaces and furniture.

Joint disinfestation with other neighbors in an apartment building is the only right solution.

Bedbugs from drunk neighbors - what to do?

People suffering from alcohol addiction have a low level of social responsibility. They do not take care of their appearance, do not care about their health, and pay even less attention to their homes. You should not rely on their conscience. It is better to protect oneself from possible infection by one's own means:

• A barrier is created by spraying the poisoning agent into areas where bed bugs are most likely to be expected to come from;
• powders, crayons are used - a physical barrier to pest penetration is created: near the vent hole, along the baseboards, next to the tubes that enter the apartment from the neighbors, along the perimeter of the door frame, window opening (for this purpose, lines are drawn with a solid agent);
• preventive means are used: herbs with bitterness, strong-smelling substances (essential oils, vinegar, ethyl and ammonia alcohol).

And these actions will have to be performed not once, but regularly. Periodically treat all surfaces with a barrier agent, constantly change dried herbs in the corners and inside the furniture.

How to block bedbugs from the neighbors

To prevent bloodsucking insects from coming and settling in new territories, it is recommended to create a physical barrier as well. In this case, the parasites lose the opportunity to migrate to neighboring territories. They crawl to familiar places, but do not find the way, return to where they came from. It is possible to achieve such an effect if you follow the recommendations:

Can bed bugs come from neighbors on the side

Parasites can come from anywhere. They come from the neighbors above and below through cracks in the ceiling. Parasites climb from apartments that are on the side, but in this case they choose the ventilation duct, micro cracks in the supporting structures.

In addition, insects can even travel through doors, which is why it is so important to protect the doorway with a barrier as well.

What's the best way to deal with your neighbors

If it is known that bed bugs live through the wall, you must remember that there is no leverage on the tenants. Forcing them to compromise will not work, on the contrary, a conflict will arise. If the neighbor does not want to poison bed bugs, denies the problem, there are several options for a solution:

• Explaining the dangers, providing information about the consequences of infesting an apartment with parasites, sometimes people know little about bed bugs and think that sooner or later they will disappear, but this is a misconception that must be carefully conveyed to the tenants;
• The possibility of paying for the service of calling exterminators to your neighbors is offered, not everyone is ready for this solution (no desire to pay for the treatment of other people's apartments), on the other hand, if you do not remove bed bugs in the initial stage of infection, then you have to spend much more money (services cleaning company to clean furniture, treatment with expensive drugs, etc.).

Video clip (photo + video): how to effectively protect against neighbor bed bugs, a sure way to get neighbors to keep clean

Where to go when there are bedbugs in the village

Parasites can live in people's homes or in barns where poultry or livestock are kept. In this case, the answer to the question of whether bed bugs can pass from neighbors is negative, because they usually do not leave the private home, do not crawl outdoors to find food. In the village, if possible, you should solve the problem of bedbug infestation yourself, because the cost of professional pest control can be unreasonably high: the amount includes the cost of work, travel to the site where the work will be carried out, and include consumables.

And you need to call employees of a private firm, which also increases the cost.

Measures to control bed bugs

If the parasites were able to move from the neighbors to a new place of residence, they are poisoned with the most effective means. These include:

• chemical preparationsused in the home;
• methods of creating and spraying cold and hot fog.

The first option should be chosen if bed bugs from neighbors have recently arrived and have not yet had time to bring many offspring.

Call an exterminator at home

A team of 2-3 people is invited to thoroughly treat the entire apartment. At the same time, exterminators use the most effective methods: they spray an insecticidal solution; when the liquid passes through the nozzle of the equipment, a finely dispersed suspension is released, which remains in the air for a long time and does not settle for 2-4 hours, which depends on the method used (cold or hot fog).

Effective chemicals (insecticides)

You need to be prepared for insects. For this reason, it is important to know what to do if your neighbor has bed bugs. From your side (in the apartment) treat surfaces with insecticides. Means that can be used:

The last two remedies can remain on surfaces for a long time without losing their properties are powders. They damage the outer coat of the parasites and help to drain the liquid from their body. The other preparations from the list are available in the form of concentrate, aerosol.

Where to Buy Means. What is the price

The cost of remedies varies greatly, which depends on the structure of the substance, its composition and volume. You can buy the preparations in any hardware store, through online stores. The average price of aerosols is a low price tag. Powders are more affordable, pencils cost even less. The most expensive products are in the form of concentrates.

Reviews

Tips from the experts

Anna

Entomologist, researcher. Work experience of 16 years.

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- It is impossible to guess which neighbor has bed bugs, because it is not always possible to catch the moment of disinfestation, when the fog rolls even outside the apartment, so you should protect yourself: on a permanent basis every 1-3 months (depending on the type of product) treat the ventilation hole, pipes, doors, windows, baseboards;
- Reluctant neighbors are more willing to compromise on extermination, if you offer them to order the service "in stock", in the conversation you should emphasize that bed bugs do not give you life, they bite, allergies appear;
- when bed bugs get into a treated apartment, they die quickly, but you can further speed this up if you regularly apply non-toxic insecticides to the outside of the couch and bed frame and inside.

Conclusion

Insects from neighbors in apartments that are close by are considered the most common cause of infestation. Recommendations and tips on how to behave and what to do to prevent bed bugs in your home:

1. The insects move from apartment to apartment via utilities (pipes, ventilation) and through doorways, where there are gaps. It is necessary to close all access ways - fill cracks with mortar, silicone or other material.
2. Periodically treat their homes with poisonous substances with prolonged action, but belonging to the third class of danger. This creates an invisible barrier to pests.
3. You can use products in the form of a pencil, powder, aerosol, and spray. Periodic renewal of the surface layer is recommended, but it takes much longer for a hot or freezing fogsprayed by professional exterminators.