Merry Christmas; gratitude; the blasted 55-day rule
By nobugsonme on Dec 25, 2007 in 55 days, bed bug treatment, bed bugs, bedbugs, christmas, getting rid of bed bugs, gratitude, holiday, mangycur, new year, treatment
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.
And a special shout out to mangycur whose bed bugs unfortunately popped out on the 53rd day after they were last sighted, reminding us of the “55-day rule.” (If you remember, 55 days is the period of time Rich Cooper suggests you need to be free of bites and bug sightings in order to consider yourself bed bug-free; the relevant article is no longer online, but we quoted it here).
mangycur wrote om the forums:
I have had 53 days with no signs of bugs, no bites, no nothing. I am very allergic to their bites so I felt confident that if there were any around, I would know. Last night at a party, I actually told my best friend, “They’re gone. It’s over. If there were any left I would know.”
I started leaving my purse and shoes out, and tossing my coat on a table. I was ready to move on.
Last night a full grown, unfed bed bug crawled out of my couch. Merry F*cking Christmas! LOL
It actually suggests 55 days may not suffice–I note with some horror that mangycur does react to bites. Or did in the past, anyway. What if it took three or ten or twenty days more to see that bed bug?
mangycur’s story comes only the next day after a reader asked how a non-allergic person can be sure bed bugs are gone.
mangycur, May your New Year be better than this one.
Although we celebrate Thanksgiving in November here in the US, I feel every holiday is a time to give thanks. And I’m truly thankful for all of you.
content rss
Winston O. Buggy | Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
There is also the chance that a new bed bug may have been introduced.
One of the things we have found is that sometimes there is an external
reservoir. What this means is that someone may continually come in contact
with bed bugs and has a high risk of reintroducing them. Or they may continue high risk behavior. We have had this with other pests like fleas for meter readers. Examples for cimex might be friends, boy/girl friends, home attendants, case
workers and others who may come in contact with bb occupationally.
nobugsonme | Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
Winston, this is possible.
It’s also very possible in multi-unit buildings that a neighbor sent them over.
So this “re-introduction” can come secondhand, if a neighbor had been cleared and then was reexposed. Or if the neighbor was never cleared to begin with… shudder.
Winston O. Buggy | Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
Absolutely in a multi unit the possibility always exists. Moving along pipes and wires,
free space, hallways, laundry rooms and visiting neighbors. But not always the case.
Each case varies obviously, you need to create a target assessment and then lower your profile. It would be fascinating to get an actuarial to work on this.