Can you catch Bed Bugs from a Charity Shop?

It has been fun here lately with getting ready for Halloween and Christmas. Now, though, it’s time for the post that nobody wants to think about. Can you catch bed bugs from a charity shop? This post will look at what bed bugs are, and how we can stay protected while thrifting.

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs, or cimex lectularius in science-ish, are small brownish coloured insects that are about half a centimetre in length. They are a flattened, roughly oval shape. After feeding they will be more red in colour, and more rounded in shape.

The University of Florida have more information and some pictures here to help with identification.

Although the name suggests they will live in your bed, they don’t. They cluster together in groups called harborages, and could hide anywhere in your home. They like small spaces such as behind loose wallpaper or behind skirting boards. This, and the fact that they come out at night, makes it hard to know whether you have bed bugs in your home.

Where do bed bugs come from?

If you are watching the news lately, you might be forgiven for thinking that bed bugs are invading the UK from one main source. This isn’t really the case.

Bed bugs are, and have always been, a global problem. In fact, infestations have always occurred in the UK,. Numbers rise during the summer months because of the increase in travel during these times.

According to the University of Florida, bed bugs don’t have the ability to cling to their hosts. This means they won’t be travelling on your body. If they travel home with you, it will be in your clothing or suitcase.

Why is everyone suddenly worried about bed bugs?

It is hard not to worry. The news seems to suggest that armies of critters are beating a path to our door. And they drink our blood! In bed, while we sleep! it is the stuff of nightmares.

However, experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine show that this increase in bed bug numbers is not a recent phenomenon in an interview with Science Media Centre.

Bed bugs have become immune to many of the pesticides used to treat them. This, combined with the increase in foreign travel, has increased the numbers of bed bugs in homes in the UK.

What do bed bugs do to humans?

Bed bugs come out at night and feed on the blood of whatever warm-blooded animal they can find. It might be a pet dog, or your yard full of chickens, or it might be you.

They only take a drop or two of blood, so you won’t be waking up shrivelled away to nothing. Their bites are painless; many people don’t realise they have been bitten. They don’t transmit diseases to humans, although they can leave an itchy red mark on your skin. Also, their droppings can aggravate allergies if you breathe them in.

Can we catch bed bugs from a charity shop?

Bed bugs cannot make their own way from home to home. They cannot fly and only really crawl about when they are looking for food. We, their main source of food, are the ones responsible for transporting them from one place to another. So when we buy second hand items, what is the risk?

Bed bugs on furniture

Bed bugs can hide in furniture, such as sofas and, obviously, beds. So, yes, you could inadvertently bring them into your home if you buy something from a charity shop.

However…

Big however.

We should think about how likely it might be that this will happen.

First of all, the bed or sofa needs to be donated from a house with an infestation.

It is difficult to find reliable information on how many houses in the UK might have bed bugs. Much of the info online is provided by pest control companies using their own data from their own areas.

But if we assume that this can happen (as many people can have bed bugs without even realising it);

The piece of furniture would then be examined and cleaned by the charity shops staff. It might be put into storage for a period of time before it reaches the shop.

Both of these factors reduce the risk of bed bugs remaining on the furniture by the time you see it. That is, if it reaches you at all; the charity shop will not sell you an item that they have found bed bugs on.

The shop staff are often under pressure, however, with lots of donated items to get through. This means that their checks and cleaning might not be as in-depth as we would like. Not only this, but the cleaning might also remove the traces of bed bugs that we need to see to know that they are there.

It would seem that we can’t win. If there is evidence of bed bugs, we know there are bed bugs. But if there is no evidence, there might still be bed bugs.

This risk is present when buying anything though, not just from charity shops.

In fact, if you buy directly, such as through an online marketplace, your risk will be higher, as you are cutting out the charity shop in the middle, that acts like a buffer between owners.

So yes; there is always a degree of risk when buying second hand. There are things we can do to reduce that risk, that I will cover further down this post.

Bed bugs on clothing

Clothing is much easier to examine, and therefore much less likely to harbour bed bugs, even when buying second hand.

Telltale signs to look out for include small spots of reddish-brown on the clothing. These are made by the bugs’ droppings, and suggest that a bed bug has been present at some point.

Eggs and larvae are smaller and much more difficult to spot. It is understandable that people might still be worried about accidentally bringing bed bugs home with them.

So, what can we do?

How can we stay safe?

You are most likely to come across bed bugs when you are sleeping in a bed that is not your own, such as on holiday. The advice here is not to unpack your luggage into drawers, but to hang it in the wardrobe or keep it in a zipped suitcase. Don’t put your suitcase under your bed, and don’t leave things on the floor, especially at night.

If, like us, you want to continue to thrift, but definitely do not want bed bugs, there are things that you can do to protect yourself.

Buying Furniture

Ask the charity shop what their policies are on cleaning/steaming items before they go on sale.

A hot wash or steam clean will kill most of the bed bugs, but they can still hide inside a deep mattress or cushion.

Ask how long the item has been in storage, and where.

This is useful information because very low temperatures can help to kill off any bed bugs that might be present. An unheated warehouse that gets very cold at night is a great weapon against the spread of the bed bugs.

According to the University of California, bed bugs can survive for up to 400 days without food. Now, that’s not great news because it is a very long time to wait for something to starve to death, but if you know that the item has been in storage for that long, your risk of bed bugs is greatly reduced.

Check, check and check. Lift up cushions, get in close, shake things, turn things over. Look for evidence like the empty exoskeletons that are left behind when the insects moult. These look like tiny, papery, yellowish coloured casings, and you might find them trapped in gaps in drawers or along cushion seams.

Unzip cushion covers and look inside. Take drawers out and shake them, use a torch and get as much light in there as possible. The bed bugs will freeze when the light hits them, but then scurry for cover, so a light is a great way to spot anything lurking in the darkness.

If in doubt, leave it behind. While you can minimise the risk as much as possible, no bargain is worth it if you are going to be worrying that you have brought some unwanted guests into your home.

If you do make the purchase (because many of us have no choice but to buy second hand due to budget limitations,) bring it home and check it again. Clean it thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner, getting into all of the crevices, and keep a close eye on it until you are sure there is nothing there.

Buying clothing

If you have checked it thoroughly but still feel worried, bring it home and unpack it outdoors.

Give it a good shake, then a hot wash, if it is not liable to shrink.

The tumble dryer, if you have one, is a great weapon against bed bugs. The high temperatures will kill them, so if the garment is dryer-safe, give it a good blast of hot air.

You could also seal the item into a plastic bag and pop it in the freezer for a few days.

I would also follow these tips when buying clothes online from a site such as eBay or Vinted.

That’s not to say that I think everyone I buy from has bed bugs – of course not. But it is better to be safe than sorry.

As Resellers

As resellers, we check and clean all of our stock. It is then kept sealed in individual plastic bags in a cold storage area. Then when it is sold, it is checked again for any signs of anything that shouldn’t be there.

In the two years that we have been thrifting, we have browsed and purchased many thousands of items. We have visited charity shops across Ireland, from Belfast to Galway, and from Cork to Donegal. We have bought to resell and to keep, and have furnished our home second-hand. In all of that time, in all of those shops, we have never, ever come across a bed bug, or any evidence of one.

Now, this doesn’t mean that it will never happen, or that it doesn’t happen. But if it does, it must surely be a very rare occurrence. We will continue to look, of course, but so far it has never been an issue.

What to do if you think you have found a bed bug

If the worst should happen and you think you have at least one bed bug in your home, call in professional help.

The internet is filled with “home remedies” to kill them off, but they won’t get you the results you need. I’m not knocking anyone’s online content, but this is one area where you just can’t afford to waste time.

In the meantime, clean your home with the vacuum cleaner. Afterwards, bag up the dust and put it straight into an outside bin.

Stick down any loose wallpaper and seal up gaps behind skirting boards.

Check behind mirrors and hanging pictures, and behind large furniture.

Wash clothing and bedding on a hot cycle and use the tumble dryer if you can.

Don’t soak your furniture or clothing in harsh chemicals. These can linger for a long time and make you ill – and cause a fire hazard, as many are extremely flammable.

It is almost impossible to know where your bed bugs came from, because they may be in your home for months before you spot them. They may have come from your recent second hand purchase, but they could just as easily have come into your home on the jacket of a guest six months ago.

If you think the bed bugs in your home might have come from a charity shop purchase, let the shop know as soon as possible.

Is it safe to continue to shop second hand?

It is every bit as safe as it has always been.

There have always been bed bugs, which means there has always been a small risk.

However, the risk is also present in other settings, such as travel and shared spaces.

If you are careful, and vigilant, there is no reason why shopping second-hand should put you at risk of bed bugs. You are far more likely to encounter them when you go on holiday.

If we all take the same level of care when we are purchasing and when we are selling, we will protect ourselves and each other. Let’s not make charity shops the unnecessary casualty in our war on bed bugs.