slbram17

I got an article from Bargain Babe on what not to buy from garage sales. The link follows. But one of the things she lists is pillowcases and sheets because of the potential for bedbugs.

http://bargainbabe.com/buy-garage-sales/

Tartan

Everything bit of fabric from garage sales or the thrift store goes into quarantine in my garage. I seal them in the large ziplock bags for a couple of weeks and then I wash and dry them.

Painiacs

Will putting them in a ziplock bag kill bed bugs???

slbram17

I don't know. I did search and there were some suggestions to put in plastic and put in your car on a hot day???

Tartan

Putting them in a zip lock bag will not kill the bugs unless you put it in a hot car for several days. I keep mine in the bag to check for any signs before bringing it in to wash and leave in the hot dryer as well. Extreme heat is the only sure way to kill bed bugs. Poisons have a limited effect and the best way to rid your home is an exterminator that can heat the whole house up.

Geri B

This bedbug infestation is so puzzling to me.....we live in an age of so many controls, rules, regulations, -health and personal- where and why this "old problem" is back I just cannot understand. I really think I am not going to go to garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores etc., anymore.....but then even regular shopping is getting hazardous too....have to wash everything one brings into ones environment........

Ellageo

I also 'wonder' about furniture and roaches!! My parents moved to a smaller home and soon after my Dad said "there are sure a lot of bugs in this place" The exterminator showed us(aghhh) that it was ONE bug, a roach. It looks different as a young bug, teenage bug & adult bug. Must use poison they will eat. They eat the dead & die from that too. BUT, bottom line, they bought a piece of used furniture, and we believe there must have been 'eggs' in that furniture! So check EVERYTHING!! & clean everything well.

lclang

Well, I did not have the list so bought about everything listed except a mattress. No problems. Look at the people having the garage sale and the area of town and then decide what you want to buy. To get rid of bedbugs bag them and stick them in your freezer for about a week. Sheets and pillowcases and fabric goods can be washed immediately and then put in the dryer on high. I've purchased lots of kitchen stuff and run it through the dishwasher on "heavy". You can buy new blades for food processors, etc. I don't know where that person got the information but I think it is a little overworked.

willferg

We started getting ants in the house this year, after not having had them for a long, long time. My husband bought several kinds of poison before he found an old one that worked decisively. It seems like all the new controls, rules, and regulations have weakened the weapons against these bugs, and that's why they are back. I have read that about bed bugs, specifically – that the one poison that worked well on them is no longer legal. Whaddya gonna do?

Grandma Bonnie

Seems to me that list contains about everything you would ever find at a garage sale!