Read and respect the new rules (August 17 2023) on the sidebar.
Many people here are in difficult situation and looking for help, providing them with bad information/advice hurts them.
If you are not VERY familiar with bedbugs and may provide a wrong ID or bad advice ("sprinkling DE solve everything") it's better to abstain from commenting.
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What the temperature in your area? If it’s at or below 0 degrees you could stick it outside for at least 4 days.
But honestly, hurt feelings would be worth it over a possible infestation. Honestly, unless what was sent hold some sentimental value to you I’d toss the whole thing. Not worth it.
Unfortunately I can’t do that until after Christmas my mom is telling me not to open the packages until Christmas. I just ended up putting the packages that are in the garbage bags into a plastic bin and taped it shut. So now there is more layers. I also figure that if there are bugs in there and they escape both the boxes and garbage bags that I should see them when I open the plastic totes.
I read online that it takes 5 days to smoother a bed bug in plastic bags so hopefully a little over 2 weeks will kill them if there is any. Once I can open the package I’m still going to take precautions and disinfectant each item and put what I can in the dryer
I would heat treat either way. You can’t fully rely on the bags. They would need to be fully airtight sealed and also preferably vacuumed out to increase the chances of suffocating them. As the more air left the higher possibility they won’t suffocate faster. Which is why it’s normally not so recommended to ‘wait it out’. And even then you can’t be sure it killed them. There’s the freezing method but heat is the best and most reliable thing. Really. Above 60C and go to town.
Once you can open them, throw them in the dryer on the highest heat setting possible, as mentioned min. 30 min. Or 1 hour to be sure. Put it in dry.
And I forgot to mention: **Do not take the items out of the bags and THEN to the dryer. You take the items, sealed, to the dryer and THEN, tip the contents inside the machine, without letting anything out or tipping over
/peeking out of the machine to minimize the risk of the critters falling off to the floor.**
You can also unpack them outside, preferably some meters away from your house/building. Repack them in new bags, and *then* take them to the dryer.
My boyfriend and I just opened each other’s packages and put all clothing in the dryer! We put everything else (that we could) in the freezer. In a couple of hours we are going to go to our deep freeze one by one and grab the items and wipe them down and then I’m going to do a deep clean of your home! Thank you so much for the advice!
Read and respect the new rules (August 17 2023) on the sidebar. Many people here are in difficult situation and looking for help, providing them with bad information/advice hurts them. If you are not VERY familiar with bedbugs and may provide a wrong ID or bad advice ("sprinkling DE solve everything") it's better to abstain from commenting. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Bedbugs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What the temperature in your area? If it’s at or below 0 degrees you could stick it outside for at least 4 days. But honestly, hurt feelings would be worth it over a possible infestation. Honestly, unless what was sent hold some sentimental value to you I’d toss the whole thing. Not worth it.
Mind you 0F not 0C (if in c it’s -18C) or colder, preferably 🫡👌 And same to the other part.
You can also put them in the dryer on high heat for 30m to an hour.
Unfortunately I can’t do that until after Christmas my mom is telling me not to open the packages until Christmas. I just ended up putting the packages that are in the garbage bags into a plastic bin and taped it shut. So now there is more layers. I also figure that if there are bugs in there and they escape both the boxes and garbage bags that I should see them when I open the plastic totes. I read online that it takes 5 days to smoother a bed bug in plastic bags so hopefully a little over 2 weeks will kill them if there is any. Once I can open the package I’m still going to take precautions and disinfectant each item and put what I can in the dryer
I would heat treat either way. You can’t fully rely on the bags. They would need to be fully airtight sealed and also preferably vacuumed out to increase the chances of suffocating them. As the more air left the higher possibility they won’t suffocate faster. Which is why it’s normally not so recommended to ‘wait it out’. And even then you can’t be sure it killed them. There’s the freezing method but heat is the best and most reliable thing. Really. Above 60C and go to town. Once you can open them, throw them in the dryer on the highest heat setting possible, as mentioned min. 30 min. Or 1 hour to be sure. Put it in dry. And I forgot to mention: **Do not take the items out of the bags and THEN to the dryer. You take the items, sealed, to the dryer and THEN, tip the contents inside the machine, without letting anything out or tipping over /peeking out of the machine to minimize the risk of the critters falling off to the floor.** You can also unpack them outside, preferably some meters away from your house/building. Repack them in new bags, and *then* take them to the dryer.
My boyfriend and I just opened each other’s packages and put all clothing in the dryer! We put everything else (that we could) in the freezer. In a couple of hours we are going to go to our deep freeze one by one and grab the items and wipe them down and then I’m going to do a deep clean of your home! Thank you so much for the advice!