This is all not as much of a deal if you’re dealing with a new mattress and no bed bugs, but it’s a huge worry if you follow the standard advice to encase, and let them die a slow death.

(By the way, I had a cover on my bed before all this started. When I inspected, I saw nothing, but removed and replaced the cover anyway. I wish I could throw out the old, rickety, crevice-y building I live in and keep my mattress.)

When this whole thing started for me, I got very sick and was trying to self-treat and that was making me sicker, and I physically couldn’t lift the mattress and box spring all the way to cover them. I mean, I tried, but did a bad job–the box spring especially was not fully covered. And I was alone and desperate. So I asked the super to help me throw them out. I fully disclosed why and explained the safety precautions I had planned for both of us, and so he did. I had plastic sheeting and duct tape and I sealed them up and we took them outside. It never occurred to me to ask him to help me properly cover them instead, because the first thing I saw when he helped me put the mattress upright was a big, round hole in the vinyl encasements. When I remember this hole I have a vision of a mass of bedbugs converging on the spot to plan and execute their escape.

I had a nice firm bed and I never thought I’d miss it this much.

Incidentally, what made you decide to toss the mattress? (I realize that might sound almost comical to some, as this is a site about bed bug infestations… but I ask since we’re often encouraged to treat and cover rather than toss them. As creepy as the idea can be…)

Thanks again!

Absolutely! That’s why the policy of carting used furniture and mattresses away, which so many full-service stores offer as a special “bonus,” is spreading bed bugs.

It’s also why the move to make reselling mattresses illegal is such a limited attempt at stopping this epidemic.

Frankly, moving truck rental companies, as well as delivery truck services, are going to have to take drastic action ASAP to stop spreading bed bugs.

Moving services and Rental trucks are probably a huge conduit for bed bugs right now: think how many people with bed bugs move (some even unaware); they load their stuff on the truck for a few hours or a few days, they get in the truck themselves, they move their stuff, and a few hours later, the process is repeated. So people who move with bed bugs are spreading them to those who move without them. Mover’s blankets and trucks should be treated between uses.

* a customer who returns a mattress during their 30-day comfort trial pays a disposal fee and a restocking fee and that used mattress is taken to a warehouse where it, he admits, may be resold “as is” (without any cleaning or treating), but is clearly labelled as a used mattress or floor sample and will never be sold to a consumer as a new mattress; he says Macy’s beds are factory-ordered and so take about two weeks for delivery (as opposed to those other same-day-delivery companies)

* they do not cart away used mattresses for the customer after setting up the new mattress at home–he assured me that this is their policy and that, at most, they may take the used mattress to the curb at the customer’s request but do not put it in the truck–he said that doing so would expose them to so much liability that they cannot risk their reputations yadda yadda (actually, a very nice guy)

Obvious follow-up question that I didn’t ask: when a mattress is returned by a customer during the 30-day trial, do they keep a fleet of segregated trucks for that purpose? I was tired–I was only there browsing because I had to kill 2 or 3 hours during my latest treatment–so, yeah, no investigative journalism skills here, that’s for sure. But I have his card and will call him.

This is a salesperson. I will also try their corporate offices to get a written policy. It makes sense if big department stores have policies to protect them from suits. It’s also good, for me, that Macy’s has a bed for every budget. I am not going to call Swedish custom-made bed purveyors or any other companies that cater to the very wealthy. It’s distressing that bedbugs have made me jealous and resentful. I don’t want to be this way! I long to be free…