Some of them are really funny, some are very sad, and some have very bad advice indeed.

(Updated 1/10/2007):

There’s now a third and final installment: “Bride of the Son of Share your tales of bed bug woe!” Or, make that the “Share your tales of bed bug woe here!” page.
There, you can leave your own story, and read all those posted after 1/9/2007.

Comments below are disabled so we won’t have three simultaneous discussions on the same issue.

What you’re doing is not easy, but ABigWasteofTime’s and WindyCityMike’s stories (linked in “Personal Stories” links, left sidebar) give me hope.

You might do a little proactive dusting at your new place (yes, yes, I know, I said no DIY pest control, but moderation, knowledge and caution are the words of the day!) I think you had a friend who was an experienced PCO (do I remember that rightly?) so you may have already decided on this. Your other precautions are likely to have prevented any from travelling with you. I do believe that if (God forbid) you cart one or two of the monsters it may still be abated with such a response from someone who knows what’s what.

Since people surf in every day, often new to the problem and looking for easy answers, I feel like I have to echo Hope’s sentiments about how difficult it is to move without moving bed bugs, and to emphasize the amount of research and preparation I know she’s done to try and avoid it.

I also want to thank you, Hope, for your contributions. I believe you’ll be a success and we want to hear about it. Hope you’ll drop in again when you’re wired at home.

I think everyone should ask their landlords proactively about bedbugs. If current and especially prospective tenants all ask then they will have to think about and articulate policies. A low-key way to begin the conversation is to ask about the building’s general pest control measures. The more these conversations take place, the more people might be educated about bedbugs. It’s actually not difficult to say you bring it up because you find news reports worrying.

I think many of you will find like I did that it helps if, even in the middle of your own bedbug misery, you reach out to others or try to enlighten those people within your reach.

Finally, if you are looking for an apartment in NYC, hopefully in a non-bedbug emergency search since we know the evidence is quite strongly against moving with bedbugs (I am making a very tough choice to escape the quickly approaching slum conditions in my building that I would not make if I saw any hope in staying–is there a special circle in hell reserved for people who throw away books?), a few not very original but useful links: perhaps check for bedbug violations for your address at the city’s HPD site. Most likely you’ll find nothing, but you have to at least check because you might be surprised–although you might be equally surprised by a good and frank answer when you bring it up. Also run the address through The Bedbug Registry to see how close the reported infestations are–and how many. (Those moving to Astoria should be especially wary.) Check your neighborhood at this city map against this NYT graphic to get an overall idea of what you are up against. And talk to your brokers and landlords.

I hope that everyone succeeds in their battles, most of all I hope that parakeets, who has been living with this nightmare longer than anyone should have to, finds a solution she can live with. I don’t even know you parakeets but I noticed your absence and think about your situation often.

You guys are the best, take care. If I move successfully, I’ll come back to let you know, not sure what happens if I fail. All the best…

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2004/06/01/bedbugs_are_back.php#comment-44938

first site is where you can buy chenicals and 2nd is hilarious.

i work in the legal field, im out of touch with all this stuff ie blogs, tags, itunes, etc. so thanks for the patience.