Angela, I had to deal with two infested wooden bed frames. We still use them &
yes, they are bugfree! One is an antique bed frame with an attached head board
& foot board, the other is a big, bulky oak bunk bed with headboards & foot
boards instead of rungs. Both BB paradise!
I was cleaning the antique one with Murphy's Oil Soap when I discovered the
insecticidal properties of Murphy's. It killed all of the BB's it came in
contact with immediately. So, when we took the frame apart to store it through
the decluttering process, I sprayed it down liberally with Murphy's, & let the
soap soak & seep into every crack & joint in the frame. I turned every piece
every direction so that gravity would take the soap into every opening it could.
After the soap had soaked in, I wiped off the surfaces of the frame. We did
store the frame for a few weeks in the garage. After we brought it back in, we
used DE to dust the areas of the frame we wouldn't come into contact with. We
never had a problem in that frame after that. We did the same several weeks
later with our sons' bunk bed. The frame was stored out in the garage while we
cleaned the carpet & painted the room (two projects that we had planned to do,
anyway), along with the decluttering. We brought the frame back in & no one has
been bitten in that bed since.

I used Murphy's the same way on every piece of wooden furniture in infested
areas of the house, and on anything non-porous (metal & plastic) that had small
cracks that I couldn't clean or vacuum out

I'm not claiming that Murphy's is the magic bullet, but I think it was our most
effective tool in our situation.
Some disclaimers: Murphy's is only a contact kill. It doesn't have a residual.
It may have a repellent effect, according to some of the info I've read about
d-lymonene (the insecticidal ingredient in Murphy's).

Dee
________________________________
> To: bedbugger@yahoogroups.com
> From: chibishrinkage@...
> Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 03:24:16 +0000
> Subject: [Bedbug Support Message] Re: a long story and request for advice
>
>
> Sorry for the late response / update... I'm a bit short on time so
> I'll list everything as it is now.
>
> * Will try to get white [or at least light colored] sheets.
> * Will ask dad to buy a caulk gun and caulk. [Out of curiosity, do you
> think a hot glue gun would work? A bad idea to go around hot-gluing
> everything, perhaps, but as long as I have one...]
> * Will ask mom to bring her steamer home from work.
>
> * Not sure what to do about the wooden bed frame :/ Would steam /
> chemical spraying be enough to get rid of any bugs? Could I, maybe,
> attempt to seal all crevices / spaces for screws with caulk?
> [Basically, is there any way to save the furniture?]
> * Smearing Vaseline on the zipper. Hmm. The thing is, I've also been
> using a bedspread on top of the vinyl-covered mattress. The Vaseline
> would probably just get rubbed off. Should I not be using a bedspread?
>
> * I should probably wash, dry, and bag my clothes. [And ask family
> members to do the same for theirs.]
> * I should also probably clean up some of the clutter in my room.
> [Question: Can / Will the bed bugs spread to other rooms, such as the
> kitchen or living rooms? If so, that's sort of really terrible.
> There's even more clutter, not to mention large appliances / furniture
> and lots of little hiding places in the walls and such.]
> * Vacuuming would probably be a good idea. And steaming every nook and
> cranny.
> * Should I ask my parents to invest in some DE? Seems like the most
> effective way to kill the little nasties right now.
> * Quarantining unneeded junk would probably also be a good idea. But
> there is a lot of junk to quarantine. Any suggestions on how to do
> this? Cheap and bed-bug-proof storage devices? [For big things too--
> my brother has an pair of huge dusty speakers.]
>
> Parents are still spraying and routinely buying more chemicals. I've
> found a total of 4 adult bugs and 1 nymph since I started suspecting
> bed bugs. [I think it's a nymph since it's smaller and sort of a
> translucent yellowish color with a darkish middle-- probably my blood.
> Ick. Sprayed the sucker with some 91% rubbing alcohol and then taped
> it to a tissue for future photographing.]
>
> My insane precautions have been working pretty well, I think. I've
> only gotten one bite on my arm in the past week or so. There have been
> a few more on my chin, but they're almost gone. My face *is* the most
> vulnerable part, after all.
>
> I'm mostly worried about the cost. Washing and drying all those
> clothes [water bill + quarters for the laundromat since we don't have
> a dryer], storage materials, possibly DE and caulking stuff, all the
> things my parents have been buying, etc etc. The idea of adding PCO
> costs to that list makes my knees go all wobbly.
>
> I *think* that's it. If you can answer any questions or offer any more
> advice, I would appreciate it. A lot.
>
> Thank you, everyone, for everything you've already done. [And for the
> compliments, Deb and Cheryl, although I don't think I deserve them :P]
> I don't know what I would do without this awesomely helpful group.
>
> [Thanks for the plan, Vanessa, and congrats on the nursing and bed bug
> success :D]
>
> I tried to keep this short. Honest.
>
> Angela
>
> --- In bedbugger@yahoogroups.com