Some, however, are longer and more detailed than can fit into the page. So I have decided, from here on in, to give each its own post, and to link to that from the success stories page.

Now, I give you Collette’s bed bug success story (10/2007):

First phase, the discovery:

I had been scratching my arms like crazy at night for several weeks. This started to really impair my sleep. But I never suspected anything gross, and the reason was that my husband slept through the whole thing without even as much as a scratch. So first lesson: Not everybody scratches. One very early morning, after a sleepless itchy night, which I like to call my last night of innocence, I stumbled my way to my iMac and googled: arms itching night.

I was instantly flooded with allergies-related results, I was to take an allergy test, and find out what it is my body cannot take. Had I recently changed soap? Was Zytec right for me? I knew I was not allergic, never had been allergic to anything, and thought never will be. (Second lesson: Now, I am allergic, but the details will come later).

Buried, almost hidden, within the sea of allergy sites, one result line grabbed my attention. More exactly, one word in the line : bedbugs. At least it sounded different than the rest, I clicked. I was faced with the picture of a round-shaped brown bug, not exactly ugly. There was even a Latin name for it, and a very long story about what a terrible thing they are, and how impossible it is to get rid of them, and how they can make you scratch all night long.

I shrugged. Yes, I shrugged, so comforted by my own naiveté, that I could not possibly harbor such a repulsive thing in my very cozy pricey king-size bed. I headed back to the bed, making a mental note to self: Get an appointment for an allergy test. As I was walking around the bed to occupy my rightful side, passing by my snoring open-mouthed husband, I noticed a dark spot seemingly moving on top of my white-as-snow comforter. I got closer, and there it was, doing his morning jog, the exact reproduction of the image I had just shrugged at on my iMac screen. A bedbug, and a big one. A rounded one, which means his belly was full. Full of blood. Full of yours truly’s blood. I had bedbugs. I would never be the same person again.

Second phase, a naïve and hysterical attempt to get rid of the bedbugs:

Luckily, it was a day off. I immediately woke my husband up, and announced to him that we were infested. He had no idea what we were dealing with. Neither did I, but I knew more than him. We had to clean up. We did. We lifted the king-size mattress against the wall, and started inspecting it. We immediately found them. They were hidden under the mattress seams. We cleaned that. Should we throw the mattress away? We decided we should. So we started to shop on line for new mattresses. Nothing happens in a day, so we kept sleeping on infested mattress for a few more nights. We had an exterminator come in. A nice fellow, who quoted us $2,500 to take care of the problem, with no warranty, and a lot of prep work to be done by us. We decided we would do the work alone. I read everything there is to read about the issue on the blessed internet, ordered a whole case of deadly poisons online and we started spraying around. I literally threw half of my bedroom contents in the garbage. Everything that was worth saving, but that I could live without, I sealed in to plastic bags and stored in a container located in my back yard for a period that was set to 18 months. (Based on the assumption that the bedbugs can live a little over a year without food). Overreacting? Nope. Under-reacting. They kept biting me. I searched all the rooms in the house to finally come to the conclusion that they were only in my bedroom, but some forensic evidence suggested they might have once resided in the guest room, and then migrated to greener and bloodier pastures, my warm sleeping body.

Began the era of suspicion, which guest brought that questionable gift? We started gossiping about the hygiene of everyone we knew and had been kind enough to pay us a visit in the middle of our woods. We were mean. We were desperate. And then the worse came, the karmic punishment, my daughter told on us to the neighbor. Innocently, as a perfectly legitimate response to the question: Did you have a good week end? She decided to describe my epic battle against the bugs to my closest neighbor. We were exposed. I got sympathetic displays of support, was told that New York is infested, that it is not my fault, that I am not dirty, etc.. I spent a few more evenings spraying and cleaning. I bought a mattress cover. I bought white sheets, washing them daily, to be able to spot the tiniest intruder. My husband decided to keep our prisoners alive in a Tupperware box and experiment on them various pesticides. I was not sleeping much.

Third phase: Getting smart and desperate

By then, I was almost philosophical. I was thinking I am being tested by some higher powers. Had I been a believer, I would have certainly gone far into that path. My husband, on the other hand, was simply happy the house was getting cleaned much more frequently. Have I mentioned he slept though the whole thing? Well, he did. I, was not sleeping at all. First I had adopted an anti-bug attire to go to bed: Socks, PJ pants stuck into the socks, long sleeves shirt stuck into the pants, rubber bands on the wrists, and insect-repellent spray all over the whole package. Probably the part that my husband did not really appreciate, this attire was not working for him, go figure. And then I read that bedbugs will find their way to your blood no matter what, and will not hesitate to bite your eyelids. I got the hint, and took the socks off. Bite my feet, if you want. They did. I was sleeping by periods of 10 minutes, waking up at every real or imaginary itch on my body, and immediately grabbing the flash light to catch the perp in action. My husband had KGB inspired dreams, I had no dreams at all. Why didn’t I move to a hotel or another room? Simple, they would have migrated out of my room, and I wanted them in there. Also, it had evolved into a principle. They will not drive me out of my room and my bed. I started following them at night, and establishing theories about their habits. I was now able to recognize them at their different stages of life, the egg, the nymph, the adult. I knew their hours. I knew their paths. I learnt more and more about them. They are not social, they are resilient, they scatter when threatened, and they can go dormant for months if needed. And the more I knew, the more I realized it would be very hard to exterminate them. By the way, before the bedbugs, I honestly believed every life form should be respected. Like I said, I will never be the same person again.

Then one night, I got bitten by a tiny one, a baby if you will, very energetic. That was one bite too much. I stood up in the middle of my room and started crying uncontrollably. My husband opened an eye and looked at me, he then asked me to turn off the light because it was disturbing his sleep. He was smart enough the next morning to deny any remembrance of that request, and claimed he was probably sleep-talking. Nevertheless, I moved to the living room, and ordered him to keep sleeping in the bedroom as a bait. Which he did, gladly.

Fourth phase: War and victory

And one day, I knew. I had to kill them all, in all their stages, wherever they were, whatever it took. Obviously the pesticides were not working. They were only killing me. By then I was highly allergic to the Drione powder I had purchased to allegedly melt their disgusting little bodies. I was sneezing twenty times in a row every time I moved an item in my bedroom. I had read that the diatomaceous earth I was practically sleeping in could cause cancer. (Editor’s note: see response below.) I was slowly dying, and they were in great shape. It would have to be mano a mano. The conventional way. I had to go to battle against them directly, not hidden behind a sprayer.

I made the smartest purchase of my life, I bought a dry steam cleaner. $1,500 of killing steam. This would be my weapon of choice. And I went to war. The war lasted 8 straight hours, during which I went through every inch of wood and mattress in my bedroom, with a flashlight in one hand and a steam nozzle in the other. I crawled into unbelievable spots, I moved unbelievable weights, I was super-human for a day. I made no compromise, did not skip one crevice, I followed them home. I found them, everywhere. I found their eggs, found their hiding places, sometimes in the tiniest little nail holes. And I steamed them. 310 F of burning steam. They did not have a chance. I knew that even one survivor could mean re-infestation. Then I left the room and took a shower. I had a cold beer. And I came back into my bedroom, sparkling clean, smelling like a dry-cleaner shop. And I knew they were gone. I just knew. Since then I have been sleeping like a baby. So does my husband, but he always did. They are gone.

Some will say maybe they scattered, maybe they are hiding, maybe there are eggs. I know there aren’t. They are ALL dead, I killed them one by one with my bare hands.

This is my recommendation: No pesticides. Just steam and good hard work.

Colette

—————

Editor’s note:

Thanks Collette!

I have a few comments.

First, we generally recommend professional pest control operators (PCOs) because they can often get rid of bed bugs faster and more fully than self-treatment. Pesticides are imperfect, but in many cases, necessary.

That said, steam absolutely does work. Some PCOs use it and later apply dusts or sprays. PCOs may also use steam in lieu of other treatments in sensitive cases where pesticides might pose a problem to residents. It certainly can work well for individuals who do their research and (as you note) do a lot of hard work.

We do have to keep in mind that it will not work if the steam cannot penetrate every place where bed bugs are living and laying eggs. (For example, this can be deep within a sofa, or inside the wall.) If steam alone, as per your tactics, did not work, or if readers wanted to be sure they got rid of bed bugs quickly, they might combine steam and then pesticides and/or freshwater DE (all properly applied, of course). We haven’t heard again from you, and we hope they were all killed, but in most cases, it would probably be best to have some residual pesticide or food grade DE waiting in case they pop out.

I note that you used a $1500 professional steamer. Less expensive dry steamers in the $400 range can be found in the Useful Stuff page and have been recommended by readers and PCOs. (Dry steam, we’re told, is better than the wet steam cheaper steamers put out, because that can lead to mold and mildew growth, along with its own health issues.)

Regarding diatomaceous earth: first, you should not be sleeping in it, and it should only be used in small amounts and in crevices that won’t be disturbed. Used correctly, I have read that food grade freshwater DE should be safe. If you have articles suggesting otherwise, please share them.

On the other hand, inhaling any dust, or drione, is not a good thing, and so your sneezing was a sign something was wrong.

Thanks again for sharing your story! Steam has many fans in our readers, and your story will no doubt inspire many who are willing and able to do the work.

• Bed bug dog Joni: fighting bed bugs in New Zealand and Australia
• more on bed bugs in New Haven: they’re only using steam cleaning?!?
• Tales of bed bug woe: Allergicgirl’s questions
• Bedbugs in literature

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“… on the advice of our exterminator, we intend to do the entire building,” Jackson said.

The fumigation will take place on three separate dates in June, he said. While the extermination is going on, tenants will have to vacate the building for several hours; those who have health conditions, such as Quinlan, who has emphysema, will have to vacate the apartments overnight.

“We are doing this at our own expense, at the cost of $8,000,” Jackson said.

“The extermination company said if we don’t handle the problem this way, and do the entire building, it could end up costing us a lot more later,” he said.

But some tenants, including Davina Waring, say the building management’s action comes too late.

She said she had to chuck her living room furniture after it became infested with the creepy crawlers nearly a year ago.

Strike one: if residents chucked furniture and other residents picked it up, that probably contributed to the spread.

Waring said she reported the problem to management, which brought in an exterminator to spray the couch. “After he sprayed the couch, the exterminator told me to vacuum it, but it didn’t do any good,” she said. She eventually threw it away.

“People used to come to my apartment, sit on my couch and start scratching,” she said. “One person thought she was allergic to my couch. I was too embarrassed to say what was really wrong.”

Strike two: not talking about the problem spreads the problem.

The building, located on Bergen Avenue between Grant and Orient avenues, is owned by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency and provides affordable and low-income housing.

It is subsidized through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 program.

One tenant, who did not want her name used, said she was able to get the building’s management to respond to her complaints about the bugs only after making calls to both HUD and the NJMFA.

However, Jackson said his office has responded to the problem whenever tenants called to complain. In fact, he said some tenants haven’t cooperated with their extermination efforts.

Strike three: education and cooperation are not extra bonuses. In the bed bug war, everyone needs to be on board with the problem, the treatment, and the follow-up.

“We even called a building meeting to explain what we are going to do about the problem but only 19 tenants showed up,” Jackson said.

Jackson also said bedbug infestation is becoming a problem throughout the state.

“The reason we have to wait until late next month to exterminate 277 Bergen is our exterminator is so backed up with similar jobs we have to wait for him to train more men to handle it,” he said.

I don’t mean to sound like I am blaming individual tenants–and certainly not the one quoted in the article. And I do understand the resistance of tenants to listening to what management tells them. This is why tenants need to organize and educate one another about bed bugs, with the help of management, in order to help prevent this happening again (more on that in a moment).

This article answers one question which came up in the comments on Jess’s post: the management paid $8000 for a 44-unit building. That’s only $182 per unit. That’s extremely economical. But sadly, unless at least 1/4 of the units are infested, the management is unlikely to see it as cost effective compared with traditional sprayings. And they should, assuming they feel they can prevent a repeat (again, more in a moment–bear with me).

My baseball metaphor is weak. The management company made a hit, a palpable hit, by using Vikane. I applaud the management for using Vikane and I hope other companies will do this when needed. But now comes the real test. As the comments on Jess’s recent post about another Jersey building undergoing the treatment suggested, education is most important–before people get bed bugs, while they’re fighting bed bugs, and perhaps most of all, once the bed bugs are entirely eliminated by Vikane.

Tenants need to feel some shared responsibility about not bringing in “found items” like used and secondhand furniture, found or bought. Even things given away by social service groups, relatives, or friends can be unknowingly infested. Tenants also need to be educated about signs to look for–I’d venture a guess that even more tenants had bed bugs than knew they had bed bugs (remember, many people do not react to bites). Still others knew and did not speak up. In order to make this bed bug-free situation persist, the management company, PCO, and tenants need to realize the precarious position that brought bed bugs into the building still exists, and they can come back. And this can be prevented (at least for a while), if everyone takes responsibility. Everyone.

If I were a tenant in 277 Bergen, or any other building using Vikane, and I were reading this, I would organize my fellow residents and work with management to bring an expert like Winston in to give a talk about how to prevent bed bugs coming back. Despite the fact that they are going to be wiped out, there is much to be learned. Otherwise, Vikane will only wipe the bed bugs out temporarily.

I know management can’t force people to attend, but residents should be the ones encouraging others to go. If I were a manager, I’d offer an incentive, say a free buffet meal, or a pair of movie tickets, to encourage attendance by residents at an educational session. It would be money well spent.

• Vikane Fumigation Successful in New Jersey
• Shameful landlord AIMCO: biggest landlord in USA refuses to deal with bed bugs
• ABC 7 Eyewitness News: Edison, NJ infestation
• Bed bugs in North Jersey

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The team of professional technicians spent approximately 12 hours sealing the building. Then the area was cordoned off and the gas was shot in for an exposure period of 24 hours. At the end of the exposure period, [the fumigation company] completed a nine-hour aeration with fans.

After a two days, the building was turned back over to the property manager, who brought in professional cleaners to clean before allowing tenants entrance to the property. So, that’s a grand total of less than a week to rid an entire building of a heavy bedbug infestation. Nice.

Two things amaze me about this fumigation. First is the level of caution taken by a multitude of interested parties, including Royal Fumigation, the company hired to tackle the task; representatives of Dow Agrosciences, the company which manufactures Vikane; the State of New Jersey EPA; and of course, the tenants and property manager of the building:

“Planning is critical,” noted John Achzet, Royal’s Vice President of Operations. During the preparation process, the company communicated with local police, fire departments, emergency aid workers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. “Marty Morgan of Dow Agrosciences was right there with us, providing [us] with the kind of experience and knowledge about the fumigant that made this a precision operation.”

Sounds like Vikane fumigation is a little more complicated and involved than I had imagined. It’s comforting to know that so many groups were able to collaborate to orchestrate a successful extermination. They’re paving the path for the future.

The second thing that amazes (and inspires!) me is the attitude of the property owner, who, apparently, showed incredible compassion and concern not only for those involved in the fumigation process, but for his tenants:

“Getting all the components together to make this work was a challenge,” said George Milyo, manager, Royal Fumigation. “A great help to us was the property owner’s cooperation. The property manager went out of his way to take care of the tenants and support us, from arranging for tenant housing to educating them on how to prepare their apartment units for the building fumigation.”

It’s so important that property managers, building owners and landlords get educated about bedbug infestations and actively involved in treatment efforts. And it’s high time to get over the “blame game,” folks. At this point, it doesn’t matter WHERE the bedbugs came from or WHO brought them in. It sounds to me like this building owner sucked it up and took responsibility for his property, which is probably the smartest and most financially sound decision he could have made. While others are refusing to pay for relatively cheap PCO treatments (and allowing bedbugs to spread throughout their buildings), this guy played it smart: Vikane the building, solve the problem, game over. Good for him, and good for his (lucky) tenants.

• More from Edmonton bed bug evictions case
• Another Jersey building goes whole hog for Vikane; but will they follow up with the necessary preventative education?
• FAQ: what is Vikane gas fumigation?
• reader question: bed bug treatment options

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Good times!

Yay Caryn!

• Caryn, on fighting an infestation in 2004 vs. 2007, and a few words about the banner
• Caitlin of the bed bug blog was reinfested.
• bed bugs not fun anymore (part 2)
• bed bugs: not fun anymore!

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This, however, was another story, the known universe. The blogger’s friend had bed bugs:

She changed apartments since the last time I saw her, too. The previous one having been infested with bedbugs. “They were everywhere. Falling down from the ceiling, even. I started having these phantom bug attacks even when I went outside.”

When the exterminator came to fumigate, he told her, “Listen: don’t tell your landlord I told you this, but this isn’t the first time I’ve fumigated this place. There’s a real problem here. Between you and me, I think you should move.”

The next day (she) checked craigslist, found a listing and jumped ship immediately.

I was touched by the PCO’s advice to this sufferer. I wonder how often this happens. I know PCOs can’t normally do this without losing the landlords as customers, but I wish they would.

Oh, and the blogger’s friend moved by clever means: she moved during a cold spell and left everything outside in freezing weather en route. I guess your chances for that have passed, New Yorkers, for 2007. Now you’ll need to wait for a week of 104 degree heat and leave that aluminum U-Haul truck baking for a week. In a very sunny spot. And hope it reaches 140 F for more than four hours, and kills them.

I’m waiting for the drive-in-and-park frozen meat locker we can rent for a week while moving. Any investors for that idea?

• Comedian moves into NJ Ikea store
• 80% of Single Room Occupancy units in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are infested with bed bugs; also Rensselaer Polytechnic’s dorms
• More from Edmonton bed bug evictions case
• Toronto tenants camping outside to avoid bed bugs: update

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Holidays are a bad time to be suffering from bed bugs. We could all use a little cheering up now and then, and many of us now more than ever. Here are the greatest hits of bed bug blogs: those who fought them and won. Remember, to get the full inspirational feeling, go to the oldest post in the blog on bed bugs, and work your way forward.

First, single-family home, light infestation: Bed Bug War: this fellow fought bed bugs in a single-family dwelling. I hesitate in sharing this as my one example of a single-family home dweller fighting bed bugs: I am not sure it’s representative. He did not hire an exterminator, just isolated the bed (see FAQs) and used Raid. But he did get rid of his problem. (Editor’s note: this was probably a light infestation and it was in a one-family home. I would not recommend that anyone try to fight bed bugs without an experienced PCO. If you’re in a multi-unit dwelling, you’re definitely going to need more than this. Even in a single home, remember, if your first attempts do not work, you can make the problem much harder to treat, and allowing the bed bugs to breed. You’ve been warned!)

Second, multi-unit dwelling, serious infestation: BBRUG. Start at the bottom to get the whole story. In a nutshell: she was fighting them by herself (no PCO) for 14 months, at which point the whole building was found to be infested and was treated. A year later they came back, but a month after that, she was bit for the last time. I think this tells us a few things: first, try to get your landlord to treat your whole building, or at least to check the whole building (an experienced-with-bedbugs PCO should do this). Second, do not simply treat yourself–get the landlord to have someone experienced come in. Even though BBRUG does not think they started with her, the fact that she was working on treating them in isolation probably did not help. Third, even when you see them come back, or are still being bitten after multiple treatments, and feel desperate, don’t give up. One thing a lot of these stories have in common is that even when they’re almost-almost-gone, you will be bitten. And then you won’t. Keep treating until you’re not, but don’t assume it will go on forever. Yay, BBRUG!

Like BBRUG, Caitlin of the BedBugBlog (founder of the Yahoo Bedbugger Group, from which we sprang) also had a serious situation in a multi-unit dwelling, and also did not move to solve her infestation. Again, the whole building had to be treated for there to be any success. And again, there were additional bites without the whole darn thing starting all over again. Start at the oldest posts, and note that she stops being bitten sometime around October 2005, over 14 months ago. Yay, Caitlin!

A Picture of Me’s Caryn also did not move. Read her Bed Bug Diary.

Finally, there are those in multi-unit dwellings who made the hard choice to leave for a new home. Please note that we know this does not always work. You can actually get rid of everything you own, move with what’s on your back, and nevertheless, somehow, end up with bed bugs in the new place. With that in mind, it’s worth studying what people did who managed to move without the suckas following them. I give you Windy City Mike (initial battles documented here, and how he handled his move is covered here and here).

A Big Fat Waste of Time offers a harrowing story, in which the hero felt she had to get rid of everything she owned and move in order to escape bed bugs. Though this would seem to represent what is many bed bug sufferers’ worst nightmare, the conclusion is spiritually uplifting, and this account made me feel like the worst case scenario would be okay, if that’s what it comes to. After moving to escape the bed bugs, ABFWoT tells us:

I start my new job on the 23rd and spend the first week going back and forth between work, the new apartment, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have only three shirts to wear to work. Out of fear of carrying luggage on the plane from Texas, I bought only enough clothes as I could fit in a small duffle bag, which I kept on my lap. On the 29th, while liberals march through Chelsea with anti-Bush signs, I run from Rockaway Bedding to Jensen Lewis to find a platform bed made of steel. I tell the saleslady at Rockaway that I am glad I found a steel bed.

“Bed bugs?” she asks. She knows.

It arrives tomorrow between 8 and 12. In the meantime, I am sleeping on an air mattress on the floor.

At the end of my first week back, I make one final trip to the old building to pick up the cable boxes I’d left in such a hurry. It turns out the cable company will charge me $200 a box if I don’t turn them in. I wear one of my parent’s old t-shirts which I brought with me from Texas especially for this day. I wear some new Addidas shorts, which I am sad to part with. I meet the landlord there. He gives me the boxes. I turn in my keys. I go to the cable office in my t-shirt and shorts and turn in the boxes. I go to my gym, throw away my t-shirt and shorts, shower, and put on one of my work outfits and go to work. I can’t believe I never have to set foot in that place again.

The next day is my birthday. It feels more like a rebirth day.

“I’m starting over in a new apartment, with a new job, with nothing,” I tell my friend Margaret, an immigrant from cold-war Poland, herself.

“Like a baby,” she smiles at me.

Yes. Like a newborn baby.

Now some of my readers are going to say, but Nobugs, that’s not the worst-case scenario. (Again, you can move and not escape them.) But I think we can learn a thing or two about the degree to which ABFWoT went to move away from the bugs.

The point of this post is inspiration, and I hope these accounts provide you with some, as they do me. There are many other wonderful bed bug blogs out there; I’ve chosen these partly for their inspirational and educational value, as well as the fact that their bed bug posts were easy to find, which is not always the case, when bed bugs take over a personal blog. There are also blogs that mention ongoing bed bug struggles and I’ve left those out here. But in reviewing the blogosphere, I want to mention one more source of inspiration: a priceless story of bedbug romance, from Bugged Out.

If you successfully showed your bed bugs the door, please add your own success story below. 

Still fighting bed bugs? Click here to read the latest “Tales of Bed Bug Woe,” and leave your story there instead.

• Caryn, on fighting an infestation in 2004 vs. 2007, and a few words about the banner
• Nicholas Brown’s “The Bedbug Chronicles: Part 6″ sounds pretty familiar
• Bedbugger readers: multiplying faster than bedbugs?
• Good news: forums fixed

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