http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:32:03 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/hmmparanoid-in-ga#post-69634 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:06:55 +0000 Paranoid in GA 69634@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Don't quite know where to start. First, I've been lurking on this page for some time and really appreciate all the information. It's good to know there are others out there either dealing with this scourge, have successfully been through the scourge and are now free-and-clear, or think they MAY be dealing with this scourge. </p> <p>A bit about my situation in as brief a nutshell as possible. </p> <p>1. We're an average middle-aged, middle-class family who own a single-family home in GA. </p> <p>2. Son was on a MISSION trip overseas and actually ended up with an actual, bonified, HORRIFIC infestation that was almost impossible to deal with (300 people living in close quarters, old facilities with lots of hiding places). </p> <p>3. For several years, I've been dealing with undiagnosed hives. What I have is a fancy name...dermatographic urticaria. In other words, I can scratch a word on my arm or leg and it swells up and shows up like a pink relief -map If I have an itchy back, when scratched it looks like I've been beaten with a cat-of-nine tails. Also, the hives beget new itching, other hives, etc. Some of the hives can be round-ish like bites.</p> <p>4. Also as more background, in the late summer of 2009 husband went on a business trip to Costa Rica around the same time I learned of our son's real bed bug infestation overseas. </p> <p>5. Sometime after hubby came home, the hives I got occasionally became worse. Hubby not affected, however. Also, besides hives very real bite-like wheals that had a red dot in center. These particular bite-like things don't seem to be hives, because hives fade after a few hours and the "bites" would remain a week or so. </p> <p>6. Becoming paranoid that hubby could have brought home bed bugs from Costa Rica, I went on a mission to try to uncover whatever infestation we might have had. This was fall 2009. I emptied all our nightstands and chest of drawers, vacuumed them thoroughly. Found we did have carpet beetles (I've researched pics enough to be certain of this...larva were hairy.) We also removed the mattress and box springs for inspection. Found a few carpet beetles, nothing more. No blood spots, fecal stains, or other insects. Went ahead and encased them to be safe. Luckily, our headboard is a metal frame one and is attached to the wall, so our bed can easily be rolled away from the wall.</p> <p>7. Still dealt with occasional bites all winter long...even in the car. Began rigorous cleaning rituals and regular vacuuming ever y few days...once a week in the car (and sprayed pytrethrin - Ortho Home defense) in car and around baseboard of bed). I vacuumed the bottom and creases of sofa and sofa cushion (along seams), vacuumed the mattress/box springs and vacuumed night stands and behind bed. </p> <p>8. Flash forward to 2010: Time comes for son to come home mid-Feb,. By now I'm TOTALLY nervous about what should be a great homecoming considering the fact he'd been gone a year and a half. When son arrives, we immediately encase his electronics in black plastic sealed bags with Nuvan strips, throw away his suit case after inspecting AND spraying, and washing all his clothes in hot water and drying on high heat. I even inspected and vacuumed his shoes. </p> <p>9. Now it's mid-March and I'm still itching and getting occasional "bites" on my face, neck, legs, and arms. Still get hives, too, but again...hives fade after a few hours. Bites, although they do stop being so swollen and itchy after a while STILL remain for at least a week and sometimes get "re-activated" by heat. </p> <p>10. Hubby has NO signs, still. I know that some people react and some don't, but he's pretty well convinced I'm simply being paranoid and is sick of the whole deal . Admittedly, since first getting itchy in the Fall, six months later there's STILL not the slightest bit of evidence to prove an infestation. Still no fecal stains (I wash the sheets once a week), no blood stains, no carcasses, and no adult or nymph-stage bedbugs. </p> <p>11. Hubby is unwilling (and our budget IS pretty tight right now) to hire a K-9 detection service or get a PCO until we have some obvious sign. What we took the time to do today is to isolate the bed completely. I read elsewhere how to make your own passive traps for the legs of the bed. We took tupper ware bowls and coated the interior with powder, and the exterior with double-sided carpet tape. We placed the legs of the frame in these. We made sure to pull the bed away from the wall. </p> <p>12. FINALLY to the questions: I've only read generalities in the FAQ, so if it's been said somewhere, please forgive me for asking for a redundant answer! It's been six months. In that time, shouldn't we have PHYSICAL signs of infestation by now? We have STILL NOT seen bug one. Am I really just being "paranoid in GA"? What else could be biting me, I wonder. I think that I wash my sheets too regularly for this to be dust mite sensitivity. We've not seen any more carpet beetles on the bed, either. I HAVE found a few dead gnats recently in our night stand and on window sill....tiny... like "no-see-ums" and am now wondering if that could be the issue. </p> <p>Thanks for wading through this long post and for any insight you can provide. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/lets-just-hope-in-overreacting#post-69587 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:24:50 +0000 ohgodwhy 69587@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I noticed bug bites on my upper leg and thigh about 2 days ago. Didn't think very much of it, to be honest, although they did itch like hell. Noticed a few more yesterday morning and still didn't think much of it... until I went home (well, my parents' house) and mentioned it to my mother who thought they were scabies. That's what freaked me out. So I went and researched and... well, I think I'd rather have scabies because bed bugs seem like such an absolute hassle for EVERYONE and everything I come to contact with. The bites are extremely similar to the pictures as well as the clusters of 3 or 4.</p> <p>I'm currently still at my parents' home. Absolutely freaked and it's about 1 in the morning; I can't even think about sleeping. Completely changed the bedsheets here and in the process of washing/drying clothes I've brought from the apt. I currently live in (I'm a college student) as well as my laundry and backpack. I also feel like I might contaminate this house!</p> <p>Perhaps I'm freaking out too much, I haven't even been back to the apt. to check around for these bugs, but still... I'm complete and utterly terrified of what I might find there. And I can't sleep.</p> <p>This is going to be absolutely humiliating to address this with my roommates as well as the apartment management. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bedbugs-3#post-69608 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:32:06 +0000 vivyou 69608@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hello everyone! i've been reading a lot of the threads and there's so much information. i'm really hoping that i don't have bedbugs. there have been bedbug incidents at work. the only evidence that i have so far are some bites every couple of days and maybe a discarded shell. honestly i have yet to do a really thorough check. i go back and forth between an apt in brooklyn and a house in nj. i'm worried that both places have bedbugs. i did find a dead carpet beetle (i think) on my pillow one night and a live one on my comforter last night. do carpet beetles bite? what else could i be mistaking bedbug bites for? i'm thinking of putting down some double sided carpet tape around my bed tonight to see if i can catch some evidence. any other suggestions and advice is welcome. thanks! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/just-need-to-share#post-69536 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:34:19 +0000 HopingforEnd 69536@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>After looking at this site for several months, I finally decided to join and post. I have had so much good advice from this site and I dare say, I would not have lasted as long and sane, without all of it (special thanks to freakedoutandbroke who I could totally relate to). I really need some encouragement by those who truly understand how I feel. Several friends know and have been so supportive but really don't understand the level this has disrupted my life. So many of you have faced much longer struggles. </p> <p>My fight began 16 Dec when I got curious about the second bug I found and looked it up on the Internet. To my horror, the only description it fit was a bedbug. After looking at this site sometime in the middle of the night that first night, I followed instructions as to where to look and found 1 on my box spring, 1 at the head of the bed, and 1 on leg of bedside chest. Fortunately, I react to bites and within 5 days, I had 16 welts. Some of them scarred me. I called PCOs the next day and settled with a national company mostly due to the long guarantee and the good customer service feel I got from them (still do). I have had five treatements since that day. I am still finding them (1-2 per week or two) which is less than in the beginning. The treatments have reduced the number and frequency. I haven't had any bites since the first ones in Dec. I own my condo so this has all been my expense and wow, it has been alot! My PCO (and I agree) believe that my problem started with the condo below which the co-owners (a construction company and a landscape company) rent out to 4-5 seasonal workers. My problem appeared very shortly after they left for the season. sigh...</p> <p>I agreed with the PCO about leaving pamphlets in the doors for the 6 units in my general area. I am part of a large building with several entrances and a group of 6 units around each of those. I also personally spoke to several of the tenants and they were suprisingly understanding. I have decided to send all of the building owners/occupants a letter letting them know about the problem and to inspect and seek treatment. I am sending a letter to the owners of the one below me asking them to contact me for a problem that may affect their unit. I want to speak to them instead of tell it in a letter. I am afraid they wouldn't call otherwise.</p> <p>I found a little blood stain on my pillow last night and it freaked me out some. I do have acne and it could have been that. I have my bed encased and isolated (legs in metal bowls with oil in bottom). If one is on there, I don't know how. I take shower before bed and put on pjs that stay in my bed (take off there and wash 2x week). I wipe my feet off with alcohol before climbing into bed. In the morning I leave the pjs in the bed and take a shower and get dried and dressed while standing in the shower. My work bag and purse are in bags from the moment I walk in the door along with my coat and shoes. I put on my shoes and socks outside after I leave and yes after I wipe off my feet with alcohol. I can totally relate to those talking about OCD. This really brings it out in you while going through this. </p> <p>Hopefully I can live a normal life again one day. On good days, I feel like a fighter and feel God's presence. On bad days (like today), which are fewer, I feel like I can't possibly live the rest of my life like this and no one understands. I am a follower of Christ and believe that He will not give me more than I can deal with, but some days it is so hard.</p> <p>Anyway, thank you for letting me unload and I thank you so much for all of your posts, responses, advice that I and other new fighters have clung to in very dark moments. God bless you!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/cannot-make-myself-go-home#post-69275 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:17:39 +0000 we_are_NOT_amused 69275@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello.</p> <p>I am a messageboard lurker with over a decade of lurking experience on a wide variety of publicly accessible messageboards. I am an avid reader and absorber of information, but I do not sign up for these things. I do not post. I do not participate. It has never been my way, but given my recent discovery, I think my way is about to change drastically no matter what, so I thought I might as well...post something and say hello to all of you. Here goes, in no particular order:</p> <p>- The couch. I unscrewed the legs of MY COUCH and there the little f***ers were. I only ever found one in or on my bed and have been only minimally bitten, which I realize is doing better than many.</p> <p>- I cannot make myself go back there. It took two days to turn all the wooden furniture (and ALL my furniture is wooden) upside-down for the PCO, and get everything away from the walls, yada yada, you know the drill, but I cannot make myself go back there and turn it all right side up again and sleep in the nastiness and I know that is bad because it disrupts the pattern of the infestation, etc.</p> <p>- I packed some clothes hot from the dryer into Hefty zipper bags, scraped off the top layer of my epidermis in the shower, dressed myself out of said Hefty zipper bags, and escaped to the BF's. Whose couch and boxspring I will be flipping over and inspecting. Who doesn't seem to fully grasp how BAD this is.</p> <p>- I am going crazy and picking at microscopic pieces of lint and panicking because they look like bedbugs to me.</p> <p>- It has only been like ten days.</p> <p>- I can sense uselessness and incompetence radiating from my building manager in waves. Yes, building manager = very large multi-unit building smack dab in the middle of a major city (not NYC.) Sincere wanting-to-help, but also uselessness and lack of understanding how BAD this is, as evidenced by:</p> <p>- "First, I'd like to say that I'm so SORRY about this..." Why is he apologizing to me? I suppose it's nice to see someone take personal responsibility for ANYTHING these days but-- "I'm afraid I have to tell you there's another infestation in the building. Your next door neighbor has had them since November, but he hasn't been very cooperative with preparing his unit for the exterminator, so it's been a challenge to get rid of them..."</p> <p>- Are. You. KIDDING. Me.</p> <p>- PCO seemed all right at first but then on my way out the door as he was spraying crap all around I heard the words, "...and I'm going to set off a fogger too, so when you get back here, make sure to open the windows and really ventilate!" Fogger? PCO? Fogger? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?</p> <p>- I took all the covers off my outlets and light switches for this? PCO promised "powder" during the inspection but I sure as hell don't see any. Fogger not the same as powder. Fogger bad. Powder (DE? who knows?) potentially good, but where is it?</p> <p>- Speaking of which, where is the pesticide reek? My place didn't smell like anything post-treatment, which makes me suspicious that NOTHING GOT DONE AT ALL. I could be paranoid.</p> <p>- I know they only treated like 3 units and there's like 70 in my building and the one BELOW my lovely neighbor is infested as well.</p> <p>- Packtite is on its way. Sigh.</p> <p>BASICALLY:</p> <p>My situation has all the earmarks of the "multi-unit dwelling + total ineptitude/lack of cooperation" nightmare that I have read on these boards over and over and over this past week. I am not eager to deal with this for the next several months to over a year. I may be flat-out unwilling. This could be enabled by the fact that I am not too attached to most of my things and am basically happy to write off my apartment and 90% of its contents IMMEDIATELY. You can't get infested stuff picked up around here without a huge hassle, so I guess it would be straight to the city dump under my own power.</p> <p>Did I mention I cannot force myself to go back there and sleep? Or even be there AT ALL? And how BAD this is?</p> <p>Sorry this got long. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/neighbors-have-bedbugs-what-are-the-chances-ill-get-them#post-68628 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:09:31 +0000 S13 68628@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi All...</p> <p>I live in an apartment with 4 floors, 8 apartments total. Everyone has lived here for years with no BB issues. Alas, someone moved into a newly renovated apartment (of one of our deceased tenants who had lived here for years) on the 3rd floor &#38; announced that they have bed bugs. I am on the 1st floor.<br /> Our Landlord didn't announce this. Our Super told us in confidence....<br /> The tenants claimed that they only noticed a few days ago.<br /> An exterminator came today, but I don't know what they found. They tossed their mattress &#38; approximately 10 bags are out there in the garbage....</p> <p>What are the chances that we'll all get these?? Is there anything that I can do to prevent them?<br /> Ugh. I am SO upset. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/disheartened-any-advice-or-comments-appreciated#post-68491 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:00:11 +0000 justdiscoveredbb 68491@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello Everyone,</p> <p>I found out 4 days ago that I had bed bugs. I told my land lord immediately and he had a PCO (ecopest) come by within 2 hours to do an inspection. The PCO found them in the corners of my box spring and eggs were found in a nearby hamper on a washed pillowcase. The PCO gave me two hours to pack all my clothes into garbage bags before he commenced spraying Tempo and Prelude onto my baseboards and (mattress???). The PCO has been rebooked for two more treatments.</p> <p>I live in an apartment building and read online that these infestations are common in multi family units. What I find disheartening is the low success rate. All I read about are failures and multiple treatments and reinfestations. Are there any successes after the initial three treatments as recommended?</p> <p>We took all of our clothes to a laundromat and washed and dried everything and rebagged them. We took them to my parents to store and am now worried that we may have infested them. Is the laundering and bagging of clothing fairly effective? We also stayed at my parents for two nights which after reading the FAQs, we moved back to our apartment. I believe we were careful when we were there. We stripped out of our clothes immediately upon arrival and bagged the clothes. We washed them in hot water and dried on hot for over an hour. I didn't bag my purse or totebag but I read that while hitchhiking can occur, it is rare. What do you guys think?</p> <p>I talked to the PCO technicians when they came and the manager at the PCO and he seemed to think that people have to be careful what they read online. I don't think that I have a heavy infestation but how do I really know?</p> <p>When I asked about my stuff, he seemed pretty non chalant about everything other than laundry. He was quite certain that they would not be in the kitchen or the bathroom. My friend had bed bugs last year and they had everything behind light panels and the kitchen cupboards sprayed. Why is mine so certain?</p> <p>My prep sheet says to clear 'clutter'. What does clutter mean? I own hundreds of books and DVDs and CDs so does that mean I throw it all away? I have a 1000 sq ft apartment and own lots of things as I have lived here for a while. Does that mean I start to throw things away? From what I have read they can be in anything.</p> <p>We were also about to move and now don't know if we should just escape with the clothes on our backs. We really don't want to move with this problem and how do we actually know? What should we do? We are thinking about storing everything for two years. Our PCO also said they just got a heat chamber? Are those effective?</p> <p>When I questioned the landlord on bed bugs, he finally admitted that the suite below mine and next to it had complained about bed bugs and they were also evicted shortly afterwards. I told him they were obviously spreading and he refuses to treat the unit next to us. However, he just told me yesterday that the bed bud canine will be coming next Tuesday for three days to check every unit. I guess that is slightly comforting. They will obviously treat all the affected units but they warned me upfront that a building this size (36 units) can easily become reinfested during and after treatments.</p> <p>I know I have a lot of questions here and would appreciate any feedback, recommendations, or past experiences.</p> <p>1) did we infect my parents?<br /> 2) are my parents safe with our clothing in garbage bags in their basement?<br /> 3) are these online forums 'worse case scenarios'<br /> 4) is there a chance of success with a multi unit dwelling like in my case?<br /> 5) What should we do with all our stuff? litterally things stacked to ceilings<br /> 6) when can I safely move? noting the risks of an apartment building<br /> 7) how should I move? storage, heat chamber? abandon suite?</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>Anna </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/confused-paranoid-and-seeking-advice-after-discovering-bed-bugs#post-68332 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:15:30 +0000 buggybug 68332@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello, all--</p> <p>This is my first post to the forum. Thought I'd share my story with everyone and get feedback because I am unfortunately very much in the green about bed bugs, despite reading about them fanatically for the past week since I discovered them.</p> <p>I guess it started about a month ago, or at least that's what my boyfriend and I have estimated. We both started to experience some bites (maybe 3 or so every couple of nights), typically in groups of threes which I had been told previously were indicative of fleas that travel together. It was the first month of the year that I hadn't applied flea control to my cat because the ground had frozen and I deemed it unnecessary, so I attributed the bites to that. I applied flea control to her almost immediately and still had the reactions. Then my mind went to a new prescription I was on that was known to dry skin, plus the fact that it was winter and already dry in the air, plus I thought my laundry detergent had possibly started to irritate me in combination with these other factors. (My boyfriend doesn't live with me, and we also attributed his symptoms to detergent since he makes his own and that perhaps sleeping in my bed with my commercial detergent was irritating his skin.) I found information online that supported this theory, with an entomologist saying a lot of people experience bite-like symptoms without ever having being bitten, and that 1 in a 1000 people actually have a pest problem. I changed my detergent to something milder, and for a bit of time (maybe 7-10 days) it seemed it solved the problems. I didn't find any "bites" on me anymore, and my boyfriend visited for the weekend and the first night didn't experience anything either! The second night, however, he did wake me up to say he felt itchy again, but I attributed it to psychological factors.</p> <p>The following day, my roommate's sister came to visit with the family dog, who didn't get along with our cat at all. What happened next turned out to be a blessing in disguise: my cat, terrified to chance an encounter with the dog, confined herself to the upstairs for most of the day. Apparently she had to urinate very badly, but was too scared to go downstairs, which no one realized. She peed on my bed. I then borrowed a small steam cleaner from a relative to clean it, and when I flipped back my sheets, lo and behold I found a bed bug. I trapped it in a Ziploc bag, identified it through photos on the web, went upstairs to investigate further and found about 10 more hiding in the very thick ribbing around the perimeter of my mattress on the side that was pushed against the wall. I contacted my property manager and a PCO immediately, set up a date for extermination, and began to freak out. I left that evening and did not get back til about 3 am, went to my room and found two more bugs, which I washed down the sink. Then, during the preparation process for the PCO, I found one more which seemed smaller than the others I had found. I didn't find anymore in any of my belongings.</p> <p>My roommates had not experienced any bites at all, and we also found no evidence of bugs in their rooms. However, I know from what I've read that the bites don't effect everyone. I myself haven't been bitten in at least two weeks (unless my body has developed something to keep me from having an allergic reaction like I did before). I began sleeping on the couch a week ago when I found them (I showered and washed clothes in hot water and dried on high heat before doing so to prevent spreading). The exterminator came two days ago (Monday, February 24, 2010). I was at work when they came, but they asked my roommates questions and their responses made me worried. They asked how many we had found and my roommate said she thought a little less than 20 (which was slightly high, it was more like 12-15), and the PCO said "Oh wow, okay." We had been operating under the assumption that the number wasn't a lot and his reaction unnerved us. They're coming back in two weeks to spray again.</p> <p>I guess I have several questions/concerns:</p> <p>First, since I've been sleeping on the couch and the bedbugs possibly only exist in my room, is it possible they're not coming out of hiding because they don't sense a host to feed on, or that they sense the chemicals and won't risk it? Should I be using myself as bait to lure them out? Since the spray, I've checked around my bedroom many times and haven't found any dead bugs lying about. The PCO said we may see some heightened activity that first night while they're trying to escape the spray, but I haven't seen any. No one has experienced bites since the spray, either.</p> <p>How do we know if it was successful? When should I start living in my bedroom again and unpack my belongings? I am pretty positive I haven't been bitten in the last 2 weeks or so (I had a lot of itching for many days following previous bites), but I'm very concerned about moving back into my room and taking the risk of giving them more blood so they can continue to molt, breed, and lay eggs. Is it only a matter of time before they move into my roommate's neighboring bedroom for food?</p> <p>In your opinion, does my situation seem like a light, beginning infestation or possibly more serious considering what I've found/experienced?</p> <p>The PCO said we did a good job with the prep work for the extermination, and that after the second spray we should be good, but I've read loads of stories of people who have a lot more treatments than 2 and can't get rid of the suckers. What is your experience with sprays, etc.?<br /> I realize this a lot to ask, and that I've written a lot, but I feel like this has consumed my life and it's only been a week since the discovery. I feel nervous in my own home, I'm paranoid that I'm spreading them about unknowingly, I can't stop reading about them. Any help/advice/input would be so greatly appreciated. </p> <p>Thank you all in advance!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/oh-please-god-no#post-68234 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:05:57 +0000 LaSiren 68234@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>99% sure that I am infested. I have yet to see any detrius or an actual bug, but the bites are pretty much undeniable. And, to make matters worse, I just spent the weekend with my family... I'm terrified to tell them that I think that I have BBs, and I'm terrified that I might have infested them. </p> <p>Just moved into a new apartment in SF, and stupidly hired a guy to transport my mattress for me. That is the only way that I can think of that I could have gotten these damned things. I'm assuming that he previously transported BB infested stuff. </p> <p>I've laundered everything, and went a little crazy with the DE on my floors two weeks ago. I had removed my pillows (handmade down) and had placed them in an elevated place for awhile. Didn't have any new bites for those two weeks. I thought I was either in the clear or had just put myself into a paranoid state. </p> <p>Well, I was so exhausted last night that I totally forgot that my pillows were NOT on my bed for a reason, and I put them back on my bed and slept on them... Guess what! New bites in the morning. Ugh. </p> <p>I just got my tax refund, and I'm just now purchasing two mattress cases and pillow cases. I really don't think that they've spread anywhere else in the house (roommate has not reported getting any bites at all). I'll be doing a new launder cycle tonight, and spraying down EVERYTHING again with the rubbing alcohol that I purchased the last time, then another round of DE. I can't currently afford a packtite, so I'm doing it all the hard way. Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, my mattress and box spring sit on the floor, so there is no bedframe to worry about, however, then the darned things have an easy way to climb up. I think the ring of DE around the bed should do the trick along with the sealed mattress and freshly laundered linens.</p> <p>This is the worst thing that could happen to someone who already has borderline OCD. The roommate really doesn't want to notify building management about the possible infestation (and she's the master tenant, I am just sub-leasing), and I'm rather confident that I can handle the current situation. It seems to be rather mild in comparison to others (a total of 10 bites in over a month and a half). Am I missing anything? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/hello-there-questions-about-bbs-in-europe#post-68564 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:22:50 +0000 Jen 68564@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>We encountered these horrible creatures at a hotel stay about six months ago while waiting for housing (we're military) and they decided to come to our new home with us. 2 PCOs and 3 failed chemical treatments later (and several thousand dollars later as neither the ll or hotel are required nor will help pay) we have finally found a company that will heat treat the home. Our goal is to get rid of this light infestation quickly and remain bb free as we move overseas in just a couple months (I am not looking forward to any more hotel stays, but at least now know what to look out for and how to prevent them from following us home). </p> <p>My question is to anyone who may know, where can I find information on proper protocol for defeating the bb's while overseas just in case these boogers are to come back. I am fairly familiar with the treatment options available in the US, but we will be moving to Germany and I would love to know what kind of treatment would be appropriate there if for some reason the bb's returned (or never left) during our move. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/devastated-but-so-glad-to-find-this-site#post-68457 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:15:08 +0000 Creeper 68457@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello all, I have been reading up a lot on this site and will be joining you as a safe haven and oasis of knowledge. I am about to go and make a preliminary start on the bagging of my bedroom. I will go into more detail elsewhere about just why this is an extra devastation for me (it's horrendous for everyone, I know). </p> <p>Salient points at present are that my home/sanctuary was the only thing keeping me sane. I have no money to buy all the serious kit and replacements I now know I need, I have no family and few close friends around to offer moral support. My insurance excludes vermin damage. I have no washing machine (did it all by hand before which I know is impossible with this ). A friend offered use of her washing machine for the all hot laundry but it's just broken down. I'm in a one bedroom council flat which I made really beautiful after a few nightmare years of illness and trauma, loss of career, major surgery, mental breakdown and chronic fatigue (oh, and a broken heart!) all crammed into a roller coaster period I had no control over. The one thing I had control over was the total refurbishment and decoration of my home, finding serenity in Buddhism and looking forward to working with my cupboard full of art materials. </p> <p>And now I'm devastated to be having to trash/dismantle my sanctuary. Of course my sleep is disrupted, and my capacity for meditation (as vital to my daily health as insulin to a diabetic) is disrupted. I'm terrified of my health breaking down again, I'm good at living well on a budget (I'm on long term sickness benefit) but this feels like it's going to ruin me. I understand I have to do this systematically and totally but it still feels unreal. I'm in shock and have been shaking from anxiety for ten days now.</p> <p>My PCO (picking up the lingo!) is my local council Environmental Health officer - I'm in England. I have crammed as much information as I can in these ten days, but my faith in the council PCO is not great. Our council's trusty motto is 'False Economy' (in latin of course to make it sound classy). </p> <p>Why does my heart sink about their pending treatment? Because on day one of realizing, I rang and was told to take samples of the debris I'd found round the wooden bed slats to them and they would test it for confirmation. Days later they rang and said that I was supposed to hand in an actual insect (so why was I told the debris was enough?) By this time I was phobic and cracking up at the very idea of these things, I had an offer of help from a mental health worker in seeking a bug, but it was days later again, and he didn't know what he was doing and didn't look even when I pointed out faecal grits under his nose, which he dismissed. So I asked more advice from the EH office. They told me to empty and bag up/ hot launder/throw out stuff in a cupboard where I'm sure they are nesting, spray residual killer round it to collect some corpses, then they might do something. That is what I am steeling myself to do now. I'm crying as I type. I don't want to have to turn my home upside down again but I know I have to.</p> <p>Thing is, I have two cats, they are my only affection and I adore them. ONe sleeps in that infested cupboard, and I know she has got bitten in there - one day I saw a bb in the fold of her ear, though I didn't know what it was at the time, it looked like a scab but something wasn't right. What am I going to do with the cats as all this happens? I know that cat movement can make a nonsense of isolation and such like. How long would they have to be removed from the flat during spray treatment? Is DE (I have ordered some online, food grade of course) rubbed into their fur enough treatment to consider them sanitized? It's only a one-bedroom flat, I don't have spare rooms etc. The EH officer sounded withering when I mentioned them, but they are my buddies and they keep me going through the low times. I'm sure there are plenty of cat loving de-buggers on here who will know how to approach it all.</p> <p>The EH offcer said on the phone "You probably don't have bed bugs if you haven't seen them wandering around. If you had them, you would easily find one (to send for ID) I have read enough to know that this suggests my council don't know what the hell they're doing. </p> <p>I am scared of going mad. I am scared of having to give my cats away (to who? They're contaminated!) I am scared of getting into debt. I am scared of my physical health collapsing and being unable to do this stuff. I can make a start, but there are so many precautions and steps and things that make it worse etc. Yes I've read the FAQs and all sorts of other posts, but my head is swimming about what order to do everything in.</p> <p>I am so so sorry to ramble, I only meant to say hello! I know I'm in safe hands here regarding support and advice. Already I am horrified about the level of assumption and ignorance when I've tried discussing BBs - I even saw an advert for a mattress to tackle the bed bugs - that's how they described them. It turned out to be an allergy thing for dust mites, they use the names interchangeably. And I can only confide in a tiny handful of people.</p> <p>Well thank you for reading, pleased to meet you and I'd better go and start the necessary.</p> <p>xxx </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-herelots-of-questions#post-68325 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:08:43 +0000 amyb 68325@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>OK...I moved into my current apartment last July. In August my downstairs neighbors moved out, left tons of furniture on the street with big signs that said "BED BUGS" on them. I called the management company and asked them to come inspect my place for bed bugs too and was told that there were no bed bugs. Then in September my neighbor on the third floor (I live on the second floor) got bed bugs. Her apartment got treated. Again I called the management c ompany, and they wouldn't send someone to check my place. I kind of let it drop. My third floor neighbor ended up moving out.</p> <p>Last week I woke up and had about 10 bites on my arm. They are identical to my upstairs neighbors bites. So I called the management company AGAIN and they finally agreed to send someone out.</p> <p>I spent all weekend prepping my apartment, my parents came down and took all my clothes. The PCO came on Monday. He said it would be safe to take my cats back in the apartment 4 hours after the treatment. </p> <p>I came back after the treatment, got my cats back in, and went to bed. Tuesday I woke up to my kitten foaming at the mouth, so took her to the vet.... I have since been keeping her in the kitchen, where I don't think they put poison down.</p> <p>OK...sorry this is long and unfocused, I think I am having a nervous breakdown.</p> <p>My questions are:</p> <p>What else should I do? The PCO is coming again in about 2 weeks.</p> <p>Why the heck wouldn't the management company inspect and/or treat the other apartments? Aren't they just going to move from apartment to apartment?</p> <p>How long should I keep my cats out after treatment? Obviously 4 hours is not enough.</p> <p>My mattress encasements should be here today, should I put them on now or after the next treatment?</p> <p>Shouldn't I have gotten something that said what was done what poisons were used, etc.?</p> <p>Should I report the bed bugs to the health department?</p> <p>My boyfriend is treating me like I have leprosy, and I just need some sort of help and support right now? Is there anything I can do to reassure him or something? He lets me come over as long as I take a shower and change clothes as soon as I walk in. I am at my breaking point though, and he is nervous about me sitting on his couch even.</p> <p>I am completely stressed to the max, my bites are like fire, I am totally depressed and scared and alone right now. I am also completely broke and can not spend any more money on stuff. I can barely get all my laundry done. Help, please, someone.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-experience#post-68140 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:30:55 +0000 Bug E. Curious 68140@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ok, here's my experience with bedbugs.</p> <p>Looking back my experience started back in late August, early September of last year. I was staying with a friend of mine due to financial constraints and I was noticing I was, well, itchier than normal. I chalked it off to fleabites because there were three inside/outside cats that lived there as well as a dog. When my daughter came to stay with me (I'm what amounts to divorced) and ended up with several big welts I wrote it off to fleabites and her allergy to Tide detergent---she's severly allergic to Tide and ANY insect bite. A bite from something as innocuous as a flea will produce a quarter sized welt at times on her. As for Tide, if she merely sleeps with a blanket that was washed in Tide she hives out something awful.</p> <p>Anyways, when I went to move out towards the end of September to my new apartment my friend offered the mattress from the guestroom since I didn't have a bed of my own. After a few times of sleeping on this mattress I noticed that every once in a while I would wake up with a mild rash and very occaisionally woke up with three or four big welts for me. I chalked it off to fleas yet again as the cats used to sleep on the mattress when it was in the guestroom. Daughter still got welts when she came to visit but I wrote it off to possibly being allergic to the roach spray that the landlord had used on the apartment before I moved in.</p> <p>My first inkling that it might be bedbugs came when I had to move back to the same friend's house that I had just moved from three months earlier. I was moving my stuff into what had been the guestroom and I saw a strange bug crawling across this piece of driftwood that was in the guestroom. I crushed it with my thumb and when it came away smeared with blood I immeadiately thought "bedbug". Searched it up on the internet and and it definitely looked like what I had killed when I moved back in.</p> <p>Looked all over the room for signs of infestation including on the mattress and I didn't find anything. Never did find any evidence of infestation---no cast skins, no fecal matter and most importantly to me no blood spots or smears on the mattress or bedclothes. Over the past two months that I've been moved back in I've killed maybe six or seven altogether. Even with twice weekly inspections in my room I still haven't found any evidence of infestation outside of the occasional BB.</p> <p>My plans are to encase the mattress I sleep on with a zippered plastic cover and dust my room (and most of the house) with food-grade DE under the guise of treating for fleas and any possible roaches that may stray into the house (I already wash my clothes on an almost daily basis in hot water and dry until nearly toasted). Notice I said "guise" because my friend has no idea that we have bedbugs and to be totally honest I don't plan on telling her. Why? It's complicated but the simplest explanation is that I'm afraid that the idea that she has bedbugs will emotionally unhinge her to the point (she has OCD, depression and severe moodswings) that the friction will result not only in an unhealthy emotional breakdown for her but it will end with me out on the street. It's a screwed up situation I know but right now my need for a place to live not only so I don't freeze but so I can see my kids outweighs any thoughts in my mind of telling her of the POTENTIAL bedbug problem.</p> <p>Here's to hoping the DE will contain/eliminate the problem. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/no-signs-for-2months-but-bitesplease-help#post-67845 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:01:49 +0000 scaredsayscared 67845@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>So, I will begin my telling my story and see if there is anyone on this forum that can please offer me some knowledge, advice, and information. On Christmas Eve Day I woke up with many bites on the side of my right hip. Thought it was kind of strange but did not think too much of it until the following day when I woke up with my right ribcage area covered in bites, just above the first set of bites. There were about 30 or so total bites. They looked like raised red bumps, kind of like mosquito bites. I was really worried that it could be bed bugs or scabies or anything else and I had plans to travel the following day to visit my sister over NYE and did not want to contaminate her house with anything. It was a Sunday and no doctor was available so I went to a Walgreens Take Care Clinic and saw a nurse practitioner. We ruled out scabies and she thought no to bed bugs, but she seemed very stumped by what they could be. She even pulled out a book with photos of bug bites to guess and said just bug bites before I left and these skin conditions are hard to diagnos..lol. She put me at ease, as I did not know much about bed bugs at the time and traveled to see my sister. I then went 30days with no other bites.</p> <p> About a month later I got more bites, but nothing as severe as the first episode. A few in breakfast,lunch, dinner on my stomach...then another isolated one on my stomach, then 4 in a row on my right knee. The ones on my knee, however, should during the afternoon when I was sitting on an area rug. I showed the bites to my mother who said that looks like bed bug bites and I freaked immediately! Called one pest control company. The "area/sales" manager came out and examined all over the mattress, box spring, bed frame no signs of bb but said my bites were bed bug bites and they are hard to find and we signed up to spray the house the following day. The guy assigned to spray our house came out and did another inspection and he felt strongly that we did not have bb and advised us against spraying. We had a few samples collected, gave them to him and they ruled those bugs out..were not bb. We then called another PCO and the area manager came out did a better inspection even over the den area downstairs and couch said we definitely do not have bb and his best guess was it was a reaction to dust mites. I am highly allergic to them btw but still out on the verdict that they cause bite marks similar to bb? We still did not feel satisfied b/c of what we read on the internet that they could be hiding in the walls, outlets, baseboards?? (we have no carpet thankfully:) So we called a third PCO that uses the heat treatment instead of pesticides. He barely inspected the house..kind of went on the other PCO's word that we did not have them bc of nothing in or around the bed area. Said probably dust mites too. </p> <p>Okay, so what to do now? My husband (who has no bites btw) and I have been freaking out! We live in a townhome community and worried they could be behind the walls or something? We looked all through our nightstand and dressers in the bedroom too around the screws, etc and zero signs. All the PCO's tell us if I had bites starting 2months ago that we would have seen obvious signs of an infestation around or in the mattress, headboard, box spring by now..is this correct????? We have been sleeping (at least attempting to sleep :) on our couch the last two weeks and I did get a few more bites..nothing crazy and more isolated though. </p> <p>We plan to maybe rip into the box spring fabric this weekend when we have time prior to encasing it. Previously we had not encased the mattress or box spring but are going to now. Also, we are located in South Florida so if anyone here knows a reliable company that specializes in bb's maybe one that uses a NightWatch for early detection please let me know. And urggh...we have such a large wooden bed frame that the posts will not fit with the Climb Ups so we cannot use that method. We might buy them and attempt it's use in my 2yr old son's room on his crib, however. He has had 2 bites on his face this whole time but he does go to bed in those slipper pj's so his entire body is not exposed. Also, I had contemplated going the dermatologist if I get another round of bites like the first..can they really tell what you have though or do a skin scrapping for accuracy? My bites have been taking about a week to go away and only itch midly now. The first batch when I had the 30 was more itchy but the itch was easily controlled with benadryl cream. Finally, I wanted to mention I have had 3 bites around my ankles, but one on my back and back thigh too, had a row of 3 on my forearm near my elbow...basically I'm getting bites on all areas of my body, so I'm confused by that too.</p> <p>Sorry for the long post and details and I really appreciate if you have taken the time to read this and respond :) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/boyfriend-gave-me-bedbugs#post-67691 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:30:29 +0000 laurae 67691@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi all. I'll just cut straight to my situation. My boyfriend's sketchy apartment got bedbugs, probably a long time ago, but most of the tenants didn't notice. My boyfriend didn't either, because he either doesn't get bitten or he just doesn't feel or show it. They only found out when a new girl moved in and made a fuss about it. I started getting bites at my place around the same time, about a month ago or so, and I had an exterminator come do my room. My bf's sketchy landlord had his own guy do his apartment. We've been really careful since then about transporting stuff between our apartments, but I guess we haven't done enough. A little over a week after my room was treated I started getting bites again. Last week I had to stay at his place one night and I got bit there too, so he definitely still has them. My infestation is very small and manageable, according to my exterminator. But I suspect my bf's is large and unmanageable and all over that decrepit bug's paradise some would kindly call an apartment building.</p> <p>So now we have two wars ahead of us:</p> <p>1) Re-treat my place and keep new bugs OUT.<br /> 2) Move boyfriend out of untreatable apartment to somewhere nicer without bringing his bugs with him. (My other thought is if he does bring the bugs to a new place, at least it would be much, much easier to treat there.)</p> <p>The hardest part is that I am not him, if you know what I mean. I love him but he isn't going to be as vigilant and careful as I would be. It would suck to have to end a lovely 2-year relationship over bed bugs but it crosses my mind :(</p> <p>Sorry this was so long. Any advice would be appreciated. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-to-bedbugger-looking-for-friends-question-about-infesting-others#post-67474 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:06:18 +0000 no_one_sleeps 67474@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Yes, that's right. I'm looking for friends who have or have had bedbugs. My story, being that I'm completely isolated and feeling like a pariah, is here. </p> <p>In August, I completely started my life over when I moved to New York to start my first full-time academic job. I left my old job, my friends, my family, and my entire support network. Coming from upstate NY, I had barely heard of bedbugs and none of my family or friends had heard of them, either. So, arriving to the city sans mattress cover, I prepared to start my exciting new life. </p> <p>Did I ever! In addition to adjusting to a new career and city life, I started to get some bizarre itching in September, and by October I had convinced myself I had fleas. I googled everything, including bedbugs, and found nothing until one crawled across my pillow in January. </p> <p>Now my entire life is in ziplocs and plastic totes. I cried like an infant when I packed away my books and art. I live in a studio, so I have totes packed up to the ceiling and stacked in the bathtub. It takes me twenty minutes to unload the bathtub in the morning. Did I mention that I'm young and single? I realize that not sharing this experience with a spouse or family member makes it easier in some ways, but the isolation is very difficult. Unsurprisingly, my friends don't want to hang out with me anymore, and my friends elsewhere are aghast that such a thing as bedbugs exists. </p> <p>I was treated about ten days ago. It didn't work. Or perhaps it did, but I'm bitten up again. They're coming again Friday. I'm considering torching a bunch of items. I kind of have fantasies about burning everything and moving.</p> <p>Here are a couple of questions (I actually have questions)</p> <p>1. What is the likelihood, do you think, that I have infested others? I had two friends come and stay with me in November, and they slept in my bed. I went home for Christmas and stayed with my family. I am worried for them to the point of sickness. They live in small country towns and I sincerely doubt that very many PCO's are familiar with bedbugs or know what they're doing. My heart is breaking. How easily can I infest others?</p> <p>2. Every day I walk down the streets in my neighborhood and I see a mattress and boxsprings, unwrapped mind you, tossed on the side of the road. Since I've been traumatized from this bedbug experience, I see these things and freak out. I cross the road. How common is this? Do people not have enough common courtesy to wrap their beds up and label them properly? </p> <p>3. Something needs to be done about this. People can't live this way. </p> <p>4. If anyone would like to be friends with a Bedbugger who feels guilt, shame, and isolation but has a fabulous sense of humor despite all of this, please private message me. This board is really what keeps me going these days.</p> <p>Thanks so much for listening. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-to-bedbugger-infested-fighting-need-tips#post-67176 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:13:57 +0000 BuggedOutInCT 67176@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I live in a small rented house. The Landlord is good but I have not approached him yet as I have not been able to find a live (or dead) bedbug. (I found some dead ones on my bed frame but was too freaked out at the time to think of saving them). I'm sure he will call in an exterminator but will want some kind of proof of what is here first. I tried a hand warmer on a glue board trap - 3 of them - but no luck. And he IS a landlord, so I want to be prepared to deal with this myself in case he balks or chooses his best friend's cousin's uncle Fred as the exterminator. I am pretty sure most are not really up on bedbug treatment methods; and I AM in the Connecticut suburbs, where nice people (see people with money to spend on exterminators) don't acknowledge BedBug's existence.</p> <p>My bites started around Christmas (ironic, yes) and I'm in the midst of the fray right now. I'm also allergic, so the bites aren't just annoying: without immediate and continual topical cortisone treatment they grow to the size of a quarter, are incredibly itchy anyway, etc. Doctor verified Bed Bug Bites when he saw them.</p> <p>So far I have:<br /> - double-bagged my mattress<br /> - sprayed with "Real Kill" (d-trans Alethrin, Lambda Cyhalothrin) in cracks around walls, baseboards, etc in living area. In basement sprayed it in all corners and on boxes. Claims to have residual kill properties for 6 weeks. I vacuumed first.<br /> - steamed my two futons<br /> - Sealed up all clothes and linens, dryer-treated same.<br /> - Sprayed closets and around bed with "Rest Easy" repellent (cinnamon, clove, and mint oils; lemongrass). Sounds harmless and smells good. Can't tell if the pesticide or the Rest Easy slowed the bites.<br /> - Am dryer-treating my clothes and jammies before dressing. May start doing the same with my bedding, or buy a sleeping bag for that (lose the pad/sheets/blankets: one item to dryer-treat and nothing can hang down to the floor).</p> <p>TIPS I NEED:<br /> - What pesticides are effective and have residual kill qualities? I can find plenty of "kill on contact" stuff but what's the point; steam kills on contact, is free, and is totally non-toxic.<br /> - What natural repellents work best?<br /> - Have a basement full of infested stuff, mostly boxed: any thoughts?<br /> - Am going to take a try at turning my bathroom into a "heat-treating" room. I understand heating above 120 F kills all stages and eggs. I have two hot-air heaters that I think will do it. Any thoughts? (I plan to be on premises during any heat-treating sessions and have fire extinguisher handy)<br /> - I have wood floors with lots of cracks/spaces. I have thought of filling those with DE. (I am NOT spraying pesticide on my floors!).<br /> - Will the Murphy's Oils Soap do it for the floor cracks? What strength?<br /> - My steamer is small: took three fills to steam the futons. Do I need a bigger one?<br /> - I have read some references here to "DDVP strips" and "Hot Shot" strips. Why are these different from foggers/bombs? Are they safe for the basement?<br /> - I have also seen positive statements about Permacide. Any stories/warnings?</p> <p>Will be shopping for Steri-Fab, Bedlam. Also a sprayer for the DE suspension spray. I am still getting bitten, but much less frequently - and the bites are much, much smaller (head-of-a-pin sized), so I assume I wiped out the first wave of adults. My next trapping idea is dry ice on a glue board.</p> <p>Any feedback, tips, warnings, thoughts welcome. Emotionally I'm a wreck, but fighting back helps me deal with that. I am seriously short on money, so any Big $$$ solutions are wasted on me. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/afraid-to-sleep#post-66568 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:40:08 +0000 MiserableinSF 66568@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've been getting odd welts all over for the past dew weeks, Thursday morning I found a bed bug on my pillow. I freaked and flushed it, I realize now I should have saved it. I vacuumed everything, went out in torrential rain to buy mattress encasements, a steam cleaner, DE and a bottle of wine. I steamed my bed and couch, took my laundry and bedding out to be cleaned. I spread DE everywhere and put clean bedding on. But I couldn't sleep on the bed, it creeped me out. I skept on the couch. Got 6 bites the next morning, or at least they started stinging and swelling that night. Yesterday I sprayed the couch with DE and have avoided it. I slept in my bed Last night and got no bites but told the landlord. His first response was what do you expect me to do about it. So I TOLD him what he needed to do. To ight I showed him my bites, now swollen up to the size of golf ball patches. I cried. He says he'll call an exterminator Monday. Meanwhile I am afraid to sleep. I feel like there are things crawling on me all of the time. He tried to blame me for the infestation saying I'm the only one ever with a problem. I haven't been anywhere excep t my parents home and public busses, restaurants.</p> <p>I just want to die. I have no health insurance and if the bites still look this bad I'm going to a city clinic for a check on them. Benadryl and cortisone cream aren't helping the itching. I am trying to look for a job and it's hard to interview looking so gross and bitten. </p> <p>What else can I do? Should I take all my clothes in the closet and carpets to the laundry too? I can prob leave them there cleaned until an exterminator comes. I have no where to stay while this is going on. If I have to be out overnight will the landlord pay fir a room somewhere?</p> <p>Meanwhile, I'm staring at the click, the lights blazing and wishing I felt safe enough to sleep but I don't. Thanks for listening. Such a shameful feeling. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/im-supposed-to-be-on-vacation-no-empathy#post-67167 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:42:14 +0000 buggedaboutitall 67167@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I'm visiting Florida from Iowa and just saw a doctor today about these horrendous, unbelievably itchiy bites all over me. She suspects bed bugs, and really I think it's true. I have been misearble for four days trying in vian to get rid of the itch and then waking up every mirning with new bites. We are in an old, used RV that has carpel\t on the floor ceilings and walls. Apparently someone in the 1970s thought that was a good idea. </p> <p>After spending hours reading entries on this site I am both frightened as hell and coming to the realization the all of the carpeting must be removed fromt the RV. My husband has agreed to do this, as he is devoted to this [/quote]classic<blockquote> RV, but now I am thinking that I should just go home. I am staying in a hotel room alone tonight, as hubby is not bothered by the bites and he needs to take care of our dog who came along on the trip with us.</p> <p>I feel terribly depressed, both about the bugs and the bites but also about hubby's totally lack of empathy for what I am going through. He seems to care more about the rv and our dog then he does about my suffereing and welfare. When I first starting talking about my discomfort with the bites, he said </blockquote>only you could find something to complain about in Key West.[quote] When I mentioned how weird it was that he was not getting amy bites or experiencing any discomfort and I was he said it was just mind over matter.</p> <p>So there you have it. My bed bug bites are due to my failings as a person: I'm weak-willed and complain a lot.</p> <p>Has anyone else run into this with friends or spouses? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/thanks-to-allexit-strategy#post-67015 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:20:37 +0000 bug_off 67015@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi folks, a guy here from the West of Ireland. I moved from a townhouse last October after being 3 yrs in the place, I don't think I noticed anything there. I moved into a very nice apartment in a block, very different from the other place. It was great I thought, great furniture I thought, though the beds looked old. My girlfriend lives abroad, and I'd been a little suspicious around Dec ( I can't even remember what started it, was it itchiness or what, but I did get big spots that I didn't know what they were). Just before I was going out the door to get the plane to visit her, I found a bug on my pillow!! I research things pretty carefully, and I'd been looking at all manner of pictures of lice etc in relation to the spots, and this thing looked like a head louse, but bigger! It was sitting on the pillow under a bedside lamp that gets quite hot, this was around 1.30am. Unfortunately I squashed it straight away and had to run for the flight, but I laid down some duct tape on my bed before leaving. Sure enough when I came back, there was a tiny bug on the tape, and I found 2 more when i pulled out the mattress and more in the headboard too. PCO called in, problem diagnosed, spraying done yesterday. </p> <p>I have to say a big thanks to all here and how glad I am that this forum exists. From diagnosis to treatment options right to the mental stress involved, this forum's covered it all and made me feel less alone. I've been just utterly shocked by my own reaction to discovering the bugs, I've had very deep depression that came on very suddenly, paranoia about spreading them everywhere and even thoughts about how it'd be easier not to go on. What the hell!! It crazy what these little bugs have done to my thoughts, when I had returned back to my apt so happy. I can't believe it's only been two and a half weeks since I found them. One of the PCO dudes reckons it's relatively new while his colleague who did the spraying reckoned it might have been there when we moved in and become more noticeable when we switched on the heating in December. </p> <p>So. I'd been thinking that I wasn't that happy in that new apt anyway. I'd like to develop an exit strategy so as not to take them with me when i move. I've been living at home since I found them, and i was here at Christmas too, and I've been paranoid to the max that I brought them either now or then. I've done extensive searches of this room and found nothing though, so hopefully I didn't. I've also been terrified I brought them to my girlfriend's place, or that they came from there from the last time I visited. I'd like to get my stuff out of that apt, but I get the feeling the best option might be to go back there for a while to draw any insects out of my stuff that wasn't sprayed and get them across the pesticide laid down. There was quite a lot of stuff not sprayed, electrical equipment, clothes, books. I'm hoping that the infestation was light and the treatment will get em. I've bought a steam cleaner and will be doing all the "protect the bed" stuff from here when I go back - I've been doing in here in my home since I moved back. I have a lot of sensitive electronic equipment that I can't spray or steam. I paranoid about my car too. Any recommendations for leaving without taking them with me? This is a country without Packtites :D </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/faqs-about-bed-bugs-for-bedbugger-forum-users#post-40530 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:46:09 +0000 Nobugsonme 40530@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Forum "newbites" (Bedbugger newbies) often have trouble navigating the <a href="http://bedbugger.com/faqs/">FAQs</a>. And yet so many of the questions people have can be partly answered by FAQs. (And then the person can come to the forums for more infomation or specific help.) I have tried to pull out the most relevant ones below. I encourage you to read them and to point others to them (here). </p> <p><strong>Please note:</strong> I try to update them as I can, but the FAQs may be dated. It simply isn't possible to go over them all regularly, so please let me know when something needs to be updated to reflect the most current information. If you wish to suggest changes to an actual FAQ, please leave a comment on the specific FAQ in question. This will help me make the changes more quickly.</p> <p>Please comment below if a FAQ is missing that you feel should be here. </p> <p>If you have new questions or problems, or want to tell us your story, please do NOT post them in this thread. Instead, go to <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/" rel="nofollow">http://bedbugger.com/forum/</a> and click "Add New" to start a new thread.</p> <p>Thanks!</p> <p><strong>Think you have bed bugs? You must read these <em>Bed Bugs 101</em> FAQs:</strong></p> <p><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/01/20/faq-think-you-have-bed-bugs-some-dos-and-donts/"> Dos and Don'ts if you think you have bed bugs</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/10/22/faq-what-are-bed-bugs-do-i-have-them-what-else-could-be-causing-this/"> Do I have bed bugs? What else could be causing this?</a></li><br /> <strong>Identifying a bed bug problem</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2010/03/10/bed-bug-sniffing-dogs-what-you-need-to-know/">Thinking of hiring a bed bug sniffing dog? Here's what you need to know.</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/photos-of-bed-bugs-and-signs-of-bed-bugs/"> What do bed bugs and their signs (feces, eggs, cast skins) look like?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2009/05/05/what-do-cast-skins-look-like/">What do cast skins look like (comparison photos with other insect cast skins)</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/bed-bug-bites-photos/"> What do bed bug bites look like? (includes many photos)</a></li><br /> See also: <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bite-primer-information-on-bites-and-reactions">Bed Bug Bite Primer and Reactions</a><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2008/07/04/faq-is-this-a-bed-bug-photos-of-creatures-mistaken-for-bed-bugs/"> What insects are mistaken for bed bugs?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2008/02/18/how-to-catch-a-bed-bug-how-to-detect-bed-bugs/"> How can I catch a sample bed bug?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2010/01/25/bed-bug-or-not-bed-bug/">Where can I get a bed bug sample identified?</a></li><br /> <strong>Getting proper bed bug treatment</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/10/22/faq-tenants-landlords-owners-and-bedbugs/"> Who pays for bed bug treatment in a rental situation?</a></li><li><br /> <a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/12/07/faq-advice-on-getting-treatment-to-eliminate-your-bed-bugs/"> Choosing a PCO, questions to ask them</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/27/faq-how-do-i-prepare-for-pest-control-treatment/"> Should I put everything in bags?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/07/03/faq-do-i-have-to-tell-my-landlord-co-op-board-condo-association-residents-of-attached-house-next-door/"> Do I have to tell the neighbors? Do neighbors need treatment?</a></li></p> <p><strong>Methods of killing bed bugs</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/01/08/faq-should-i-do-my-own-pest-control/"> Should I do my own pest control?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/faqs/pestcontrol/faq-killing-bed-bugs-with-steam/"> What about steam?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/05/30/bombs-dont-work-on-bed-bugs-citation-anyone/"> Why don't I (or my landlord/PCO) just set off a bug bomb?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/30/faqde/"> What is diatomaceous earth (DE)?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/04/06/vikane-gas-fumigation/">What is vikane gas (sulfuryl flouride) fumigation?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/07/11/lavenderoil/"> Aren't there any natural remedies for bed bugs? Will lavender oil, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, sweet rice, thyme, talcum powder, or boric acid kill bed bugs, repel them, or keep them from biting me?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/19/faq-is-there-an-insect-that-will-eat-bed-bugs/ ">Is there an insect that will eat bed bugs?</a></li></p> <p><strong>Getting bed bugs out of your stuff</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2009/03/29/what-is-a-packtite/">What is a Packtite?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/11/08/updated-118-faq-how-do-i-deal-with-clothing-during-treatment-for-bed-bugs-and-for-a-while-later/"> What about clothing?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/05/18/dryer/"> To get bed bugs out of your stuff using heat, try the dryer FAQ</a>.</li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/faqs/pestcontrol/faq-killing-bed-bugs-with-steam/">Steam may be useful for some items.</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/06/26/dry-cleaners-and-bed-bugs/"> What you need to know about dry cleaning.</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/08/04/faq-leaving-stuff-out-to-freeze-walk-in-freezers-etc-how-cold-and-how-long/"> What about cold? Can I just put things outside? In the freezer? (It's more complicated than you might think.)</a></li><br /> <strong>Keeping bed bugs out of your mattress or bed</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/encasements/"> Read about and find out how to purchase good mattress encasements. Some with a discount for readers!</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/11/02/faq-how-do-i-protect-my-bed-from-bed-bugs-part-i/"> What does it mean to "isolate" or "protect" a bed, and how do I do these things?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/01/06/faq-how-do-i-protect-my-bed-from-bed-bugs-part-iii-avoiding-things-that-can-go-wrong/"> If I "isolate" the bed, what can go wrong?</a></li><br /> <strong>Where can I buy diatomaceous earth, a White Wing steamer, an Aerobed, or a respirator mask?</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/usefulstuff/"> For these and other items, try the Useful Stuff page.</a><a href="http://bedbugger.com/encasements/">(For encasements, click here.)</a></li></p> <p><strong>Skin snd bites</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/bed-bug-bites-photos/"> What do bed bug bites look like? (includes many photos)</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/05/12/faq-bed-bugs-are-crawling-on-me-all-the-time-i-am-being-bitten-all-day-long/"> Bed bugs are crawling on me all the time, everywhere I go. I'm being bitten all day long! What do I do?</a></li><br /> <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bite-primer-information-on-bites-and-reactions">Bed Bug Bite Primer and Reactions</a><br /> <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/urticating-hairs-and-scales-a-mystery-bite-cause#post-59297">Another conversation on mystery bites</a> ("Urticating hairs and scales...")</p> <p><strong>Travel and bed bugs</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/11/02/faq-how-can-i-avoid-spreading-bedbugs-to-others-when-i-visit-their-homes/""> How can I travel or visit others (or go to work!) when I have bed bugs, and not spread them?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/10/19/faq-how-can-i-avoid-bedbugs-while-traveling/"> How do I avoid picking up bed bugs when I travel?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/08/05/faq-i-stayed-somewhere-that-had-bed-bugs-what-do-i-do-to-keep-from-taking-them-home/"> I picked up bed bugs somewhere. Now what do I do?</a></li></p> <p><strong>Legal issues</strong><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2006/10/22/faq-tenants-landlords-owners-and-bedbugs/"> Who pays for bed bug treatment in a rental situation?</a></li><li><a href="http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/17/faq-where-can-i-read-about-bed-bug-lawsuits-can-you-help-me-find-a-lawyer/">I want to sue somebody. Where can I read about bed bug lawsuits? Can you help me find a bed bug lawyer?</a></li> </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bedbug-or-booklice#post-66976 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:47:44 +0000 SteveV 66976@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello,</p> <p>I woke up around 5 and anyhow, it was time for my daughter to get up. I turned the light on, pulled off her blanket and saw something, alittle bug, running out from under her going towards the wall. I caught it.</p> <p>I put it in plastic. Looked just like a bed bug. This is what I assume. She has sensitive skin, mild eczema etc.</p> <p>Anyways, there are no signs, no spots, no shedded skin. Can't afford to get a professional right now. Problem is, my wife threw away the bug. I'm going to put out her rug, we are cleaning everything.</p> <p>We told the landlord, because I know we are going to have to get someone, plus buy covers and everything. </p> <p>So, if I put the rugs out for a month, it's really cold, I mean with wind chill it's been like -30.</p> <p>Should that be ok? I'm going to wash etc, but how can I catch another one for the professional?</p> <p>What is the chance of it being booklice? I want to confirm either way, as it's making me paranoid.</p> <p>Thank you for reading. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/oh-sweet-lord#post-66521 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:22:43 +0000 Beth 66521@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I hired a pco at my last place to eradicate these demons from hell. They had made me anemic and insane. I moved the day after the last treatment. Mattress encased. Couches tossed. I am tossing my dresser and nightstand today (4 days post move). I put most papers in a plastic tubs. All laundry in plastic bags. I did shake out books and put themon shelf. Shoes and cd's in back of pick up truck (should I spray the front seat of my truck). No idea what to do with them--I live in a cold area but not cold enough. Discarded all picture frames I couldn't clean well. Got bit 2 days ago. Gave dog flea bath, flea treatmnt just in case. She was outside a lot lately and is itching shemay be allergic to bedbugs too though. Vacuuming daily. Word is a surge can happen after a treatment, to wait two weeks. For them to infest my new home? What can I do to prevent them from staking hold here? I am only hoping to god it was a straggler. The tops of my kitchen chairs are upholsterd---vacuumed them. I did have cardboard boxes with stuff in here a few days. All gone, all boxes. vacuumed. cleaned vacuum. Dusted electronics, wood furniture. Can't see them anywhere of course. Should I toss my dresser and nightstand? Ibet they were in the boxes. They didn't fumigate, just residual.</p> <p> I can't deal with this again. I was infested 9 monhs before I could afford extermination. Picked them up in agecy housing which they are not helping with. Am suing my landlord for failure to take care of them. Small claims court but I think I have a huge personal injury case here. There was also black mold where I lived. If they don't go away do I tell my nice new neighbors and amazing new landlord?</p> <p>What can I do on no money? Can't afford a treatment for a few weeks. thanks. I am allergic to them. As well as chemically sensitive. The pco's used bedlam, phantom, steam, tempo dust at my old place (the dust was too much for me).I was told they should have used gentrol. Where are the most likely hiding in my new place? Just around my bed for now?</p> <p>I have no one to stay with and am not sleeping and already have an anxiety disorder bad.This has helped my slight hoarding problem but enough is enough. Should I put the plastic tubs in my truck? What do I do with all my stuff that can't be laundered? Like books and trinkets and stuff--already tossed a lot. $200 on laundry. $600 extermination. $500 moving. $1200 hotel. $400 miscellaneous. I AM BROKE.</p> <p>Beth </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-and-have-questions#post-66478 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:32:16 +0000 Stacyhpt 66478@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I think I got bed bugs from a hotel Near Disneyland. We were there only one night. I saw a bug in the evening, looked at it, didn't recognize it ans squashed it. The place was clean, recently remolded so I didn't think anything of it. The next morning I woke with three bites in a row on my shoulder. They looked like flee bites and never put two and two together. I just thought "flees!" I can deal with flees. I had put the one suitcase we had next to the bed and unpacked it over a three day period.That was a month ago. Two days ago I got the same three bites in a row on the other shoulder. I immediately thought of the hotel and bed bugs. I looked up what they looked like and shazam!</p> <p>Its only been a month. What is my next step? I live in a single family home on an acre near Houston. So not a multi family. That should help. Do I go straight for the experts? Go buy a mattress and box spring cover tonight? Not really sure. Any advise would be a big help. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/2-months-no-bbs-but-still-mystery-bites-help#post-63859 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:31:51 +0000 Jane Doe 63859@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have had 4 treatments ( 3 were 3weeks apart and last 1 month from 3rd treatment which I hear does not work) but bb seem to be gone. First had them in July/09 and have only found 2 instars. It has been over 2 months and no sign of bb. What I do have is crawly feeling all day ( I work at home ) and now I'm getting this mystery bites with fine scrathes on different parts of my body. My bed bug bites were only on my face. So I thought if I was being bitten during the day I would feel it on my face. Also isolated my bed, covered my box and mattress with protect a bed and used climb-ups. One month ago I lost it and freeked out (couldn't take it any more) I thru out my expensive bed and now sleep on a air mattress with medal frame with climb-ups. No bites except these mystery bites and long scratches.<br /> I have been reading posts about post bb and possible mites from bb. Anyone have any up to date information on the possiblity of bb's giving a person other bugs to deal with? I haven't had a life for 6 months now and it is pretty depressing and would appreciate any help. There is no one to talk to here as most if not all my friends feel I'm just plain crazy. Thanks for any help. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/hello-newbie-here#post-64975 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:42:19 +0000 red-faced 64975@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Well, as my name says, I am red-faced about having bedbugs. </p> <p>I live in a townhouse-style apartment. A few weeks ago, the people in #6 were evicted, and their stuff was put out in the parking lot. That night, my next-door neighbor asked me, "You didn't take anything from the pile did you? They had bedbugs really bad." No, I didn't take anything. </p> <p>A week ago this past Friday, I came home to a note on my door, saying that an exterminator was coming on the 23rd. Okay, no problem. The next day (Saturday), I noticed something on my white dust ruffle. After closer inspection and a look in the internet, I realized that I have bedbugs also. (I'm in #2).</p> <p>I called the apartment manager the following Tuesday (the office is closed on Mondays) and I told her what I'd found. She said the exterminator would be coming and inspect all apartments, and then we'd be told what to do next. </p> <p>So, I've known that I have these little $#@$@ for over a week and I HATE it! I've done tons of research online and have bought some vinyl mattress covers (one for mattress, one for box xprings), but haven't put them on yet. </p> <p>With the holidays thrown in the middle of it all, I've not been told what to do by our apartment complex. I'm hoping to hear something tomorrow. </p> <p>I've told very few people about this, because it's so embarrassing. My parents and one aunt know but that's it. Oh, and my vet's office knows, because I did call them to find out if there's any danger to my two cats. </p> <p>I don't have a washer/dryer, but do plan to take stuff (especially bedding) to the laundromat for a hot wash and dry, but what about stuff that can't be put in the washer, like purses and shoes? Oh, and my cd's are in boxes under the bed. What should I do about them? What about the few books in my bedroom? What about the clothes in my dresser &#38; closet? Do I need to wash them? Do I need to wash the clothes in the other room, even though I haven't seen any bedbug evidence in there and it's used as an office and not a bedroom? What about the stuff that's in storage bins in the closet? </p> <p>Thanks in advance for your help! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/long-time-reader-first-time-poster#post-56836 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:43:11 +0000 EricInHB 56836@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Greetings all,</p> <p>I just wanted to introduce myself. I've found this site quite helpful over the months I have been fighting my bedbugs. I discovered them in my bedroom in April, and have been fighting ever since. I've been living out of a suitcase in my living room and dining room since I discovered them, since I found I absolutely could not sleep upstairs in the bedroom once I knew they were there. Fortunatly, I've never seen a bite or a bug since I moved downstairs, or I wouldn't be able to sleep in my apartment at all. I've been through four spray treatments and one heat treatment so far. I kept finding more of them upstairs after each spray treatment. I haven't seen a live one yet in the ten days since the heat treatment, so I'm really hoping the heat finally finished them off.</p> <p>I'm venturing back into my bedroom tonight for the first time since April. I'm going to sleep on a cot isolated with climbup cups hoping to lure out and trap any live ones that have eluded my inspections so far. I think I'll need a couple Advil PM to get to sleep.</p> <p>I'm hoping that I wake up in the morning and find no bugs in the cups. Wish me luck!</p> <p>Eric </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/need-moral-support#post-64786 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:30:46 +0000 Anonymous 64786@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>It is kind of tough waiting for the pest control man to come on Monday. In the meantime, how do you get a night's sleep, waiting for the time when the bugs come out? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/intro#post-64444 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:17:43 +0000 bugsb3gon3 64444@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Happy holidays, ya'll!</p> <p>So sometime in October my family and I got 2 new (to us) couches. Around the same time we acquired 2 new kittens (they adopted us), had a friend stay the night and bought bed pillows. A week after the friend stayed I noticed odd bites. No one else got them, so i assumed mosquitoes (it's Florida).</p> <p>My baby brother was coming to visit, so I flea-bombed the house because if there is a flea, it will find him. I wasn't confident I wasn't getting bitten by fleas, even though the cats and everyone else were clear.</p> <p>After the bro left the hub started getting bitten (and not me!). Then, a few days later, I was being bitten again. I, in a fit of creepy-crawlies, tore the bed room apart, but found nothing. However, I painted everything near the bed with vaseline and sprinkled flea dust all around the bed as well. I bug bombed our bedroom and stupidly huge closet/bathroom area . We found 3 dead bugs on my husband's bathroom floor (we have ajoining bathrooms in the master bedroom -- don't ask me, all I know is I have 3 bathrooms to clean).</p> <p>A few days later, a few bites later, and I insisted we tear the room apart again and *lo* we find 3 or 4 small buggies in the box spring plastic cover thingy. I insist we toss the box spring and go over the mattress like crazy (linens in the dryer for an hour, too). No bites that night.</p> <p>Next morning I bug bomb our bedroom and bathroom again, with the bed torn apart (with a higher-concentration bomb). Four days later (and 5 cans of spray stuff for all the cracks and crevices and a bomb for darling daughter's bedroom since that is where houseguests stays, but no one is bitten there), we are all still bug bite free, but we've now found 5 more dead, adult bugs -- 2 half the house away.</p> <p>Are we in big trouble? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ethical-question-1#post-63189 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:51:07 +0000 bb_gave_me_ocd 63189@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi everyone. I found bed bugs three weeks ago, about two weeks after moving in to my new condo. I don't know where they came from of course, but my roommate thought they were from a dresser that I'd hauled in off the street (nobody had ever told me how dangerous this was). I might have had them already because apparently they were in my bed and I didn't know it, no reactions to any bites. I wouldn't have realized anything was wrong except that the roommate found one in his bed and recognized it. So we threw away the dresser, threw away my bed, and the next three weeks almost led me to a nervous breakdown, cleaning, throwing away junk, doing laundry at high heat, etc., etc., etc., etc. I had told my new neighbors through our Google group for the building and even offered to pay for treatment of the neighboring units...the places on each side of me took me up on it but the ones above and below didn't. Anyway, the second PCO visit was yesterday and they found a bug. Today I found another on the bed--my cats were sleeping nearby, I'd been up for hours but suddenly felt like checking the bed.</p> <p>My question is, should I tell my neighbors that I am still finding bugs? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/negligent-landlord#post-63900 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:27:40 +0000 BuggyinCt 63900@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I noticed my first bed bug 2 weeks ago (in hindsight, i can now attribute a bloodstain on my sheets about 2 weeks prior to that to bed bugs). Since it was two days before Thanksgiving and I was expecting guests, I waited until the Friday after Thanksgiving to notify my landlord. He wasn't reachable by phone that day so I emailed his wife. I received a call later that day saying he would get someone over right away. 5 days went by without hearing from him or an exterminator. I called him and two days later I got a return call - he said he was down and out with the flu, but that he'd set up something and I should be hearing from the exterminator soon. I did and set up an appt at 8am Monday morning (yesterday). The exterminator shows up, confirms I have bed bugs and draws up the paperwork. He's about to start when he asks for the check that the landlord was supposed to give me. This was the first I heard of it. Both the exterminator and I try to reach him on 2 different numbers. Neither of us can get through. After an hour the exterminator understandably has to leave. By 9:15 I reach the landlord who tells me "I'll drop a check off at their office". I call back the extermination company receptionist who informs me they don't have an office! Both she and I unsuccessfully try to call the landlord the remainder of the day and can't even get through to leave a message.</p> <p>Thanks to this site I learned last night that my town has strict laws -- if one apartment in a building with six or fewer units has bedbugs the entire unit has to exterminated (not just my apartment like the landlord wanted to do -- my building has 4 units, so I'm covered). I thought about it for a bit and figured I gave the landlord plenty of time to respond on his terms. So I went down to the government center with my sample bed bug to start the process. I should hear back from the health inspector tomorrow. Assuming they confirm that the sample is, in fact, a bed bug, they'll come inspect the apartment, reconfirm, and then issue an order to the landlord to exterminate the building. At that point I should get resolution quickly (at least I hope so :-)).</p> <p>At the time I did this, I was thinking I have nothing to lose and everything to gain (the landlord's been negligent on some other issues and the new neighbors are noisy, so I'd be happy to break my lease). Of course there's the nagging concern about what type of backlash I can expect from the landlord. By the way, he's a lawyer (not sure what specialty); even though the law is on my side it has me a little worried. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Was there any recourse from your landlord?</p> <p>Thanks in advance. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-mystery-your-thoughts#post-63475 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:26:27 +0000 durham-nc 63475@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hi all, </p> <p>i'm new and i wanted to introduce myself before posting questions in the relevant forums. i've been reading this incredible site every day since about ten days ago when my girlfriend and i both came down with tons and tons of bites, apparently out of the blue. fleas (i've had em before) and scabies have been ruled out. but we have yet to find a confirmed bed bug. </p> <p>i live in a small apartment in a 35-unit building in durham, nc.<br /> she lives in a 2-unit rowhome in philadelphia, pa, but none of her 3 roommates have bites.<br /> six days before the first bites showed, we stayed at a super 8 motel (not listed on BBregistry).</p> <p>we'd been at my house for a couple of days when the first bites showed. first i had four bites in a curvy line on my chest, didn't think anything of it; the next afternoon a few more on my arm, and that night as we drove up to her mom's for thxgiving 50-100 itchy bites started popping up all over our arms and legs. we still didn't know what we had, but when we got there we were freaked and washed all our clothes and backpacks in hot water and vacuumed my car several times. the next day we had even more bites -- i guess they can take a while to show. we probably had 200+ bites between us, so it's hard to tell if we have new ones. from what i have read here, this seems consistent with a massive infestation, but we haven't found a single bug</p> <p>now we're trying to figure out where we got bit. we tore up her room in philly and didn't find anything, but washed and dried all her clothes and bedding anyway, vacuumed and threw out a bunch of stuff (just to reduce clutter). all we found was a roach nymph skin and a single carpet beetle larva skin.</p> <p>then i drove back to NC and started looking at my place. i checked the mattress and cut open the boxspring, looked in and under most of the furniture, the baseboards by the bed, the couch -- all i found was one single maybe-poop stuck to the vinyl top of my boxspring. one. poop. i still have to check drawers, bookshelves, books, an armchair...</p> <p>how could we have hundreds of bites between us and not see a single bed bug?</p> <p>could we have gotten so badly bit at the motel the week before, and *both* not shown any bites for that long?</p> <p>neither of us have slept at home since then, but lived out of our decontaminated luggage from thxgiving, which we've been washing and rewashing... i'm going to sleep at home tomorrow to see if i get bit, and a pco is coming friday to inspect.</p> <p>what do you all think? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/overwhelmed-and-dont-know-where-to-start#post-63579 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:39:55 +0000 Spun 63579@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>This is a nightmare. </p> <p>I feel worse now than I did before spending 5 hours researching these bloodsucking little cockroaches. Everything is hit or miss. There is no quick solution. The price tag for anything with any proven success is so high. I don't even want to go into the room where they are laying in wait. I've abandoned that ship and sprayed an entire can of raid in the door jams and surrounding carpet. </p> <p>Now, I'm terrified that they migrated out of that room before I even knew they existed. Everything i read makes me more depressed. All, I know is that they aren't going anywhere, and they're probably getting hungry. I'm numb. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/got-bugs-on-vacation-had-a-treatment-not-sure-if-theyre-gone#post-63498 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:54:04 +0000 nytravelbug 63498@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi, I am a new member here and have been combing the site (FAQs, forums, all of the links) for all of the great information. I appreciate all of your wisdom and I wish it didn't come at the expense of everyone having to go through this craziness too. </p> <p>My story is that I recently went overseas on vacation to visit a friend and slept on a mattress I had no idea had bedbugs. Needless to say, I got tons and tons of bites that were still breaking out three days after returning and a doctor confirmed that they were indeed bedbugs. My heart sank. </p> <p>I got back late on a Sunday eve and as I had been super busy, luckily I hadn't really unpacked. So that Thursday when I had discovered everything, I took all of the clothes from the suitcase and put everything directly into either the wash or the dry cleaners. I didn't know enough to vacuum out the suitcase but I put it up into a storage area in my apartment and has been now thrown out. That Saturday, a PCO came to give an estimate whereupon he recommended a treatment. So basically about a week and half after I had gotten home, I had already gotten a treatment complete with packing up my apartment into bags, weeding out clutter, sending dry cleaning / laundry out again + any textile I could find. I should mention the management of my building and my maintenance guy who helped me did not think I had them. Indeed, I hadn't gotten any bites, until the first couple days after treatment (Scary!). When bringing it up to the PCO, I was told to just wait it out for awhile.</p> <p>I guess my point is that I hope I'm not delusional in hoping that I took care of my bb problem. I haven't had any bites for about 5 weeks. I'd like to believe so much that the new marks are not them especially when I had gotten it so early and not really all that sure if they made it back here. I have indeed checked the pix and I already had plenty of evidence of what bb marks look like. </p> <p>And that was the last I had dealt with.... until 2 days ago ( 5 weeks later). I found a very minute small row (4) of bites on my stomach. They are not welt-y nor do they itch and they are the size of pin pricks. I'd dearly appreciate any perspective / advice you could give me on this topic. Thank you very much. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-me-please-1#post-63400 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:01:48 +0000 anneski 63400@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've had three treatments, although I don't think they were very good. I've washed, pdried, packtited and bagged every tiem of clothing, every shoe, every book in my place. I've inspected every piece of furniture. I've encased mattress/ boxspring, isolated the bed, vaselined the legs,continually dusted and treated and inspected my couch--and after 5 days bug-free, I felt an itch on my back last night (while sitting on the couch) and when I went to look, also saw 3 huge new welts on my back which itch like a mother. I finally slept due to sheer exhaustion and woke up this morning to see a live one at the foot of my bed. (Second time I got one in the same place on my bed, and both times it was, ick, unfed--probably because I get up at 5 am when they're just starting after me.) Now I find out there's def. an issue in my building and I raised holy hel with the LL today and need to give them a little more time to resolve the issue. But WHY am I still getting bites in the meantime? Where are they coming from? I have a metal bed frame--there's just not much room to hide! But I haven't slept in a week and it's affecting my job. What can be happening here? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-for-a-new-member#post-63227 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:43:17 +0000 anneski 63227@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have a lot of questions...</p> <p>I started getting bites about 6 weeks ago. I ignored the first one, assuming it was mosquito, but then a coworker said it looked like a bedbig bite--she's had them before. About a week later I got two more, and called the landlord. She sent the PCO that day--he was very nice but not very thorough. He isnpected the bed, tok a flashlight to the bottom of the boxspring, vacuumed and sprayed and then checked the areas around the bed. He recommended encasements and left.</p> <p>Because I'm paranoid I bought the encasements and a bunch of airtight platic bins for my clothes. I did not clean my comforter--which I know no was a mistake. I kept being bitten and one day my super came around with a guy from the pest control co. and asked if I'd had any bug problems. I said I was still being bitten so the next day the same PCO came again. This time I removed and washed the bedding and he treated my couch as well--I felt like that's where I was being bitten. Still, he was kind of haphazard, it seemed. Two weeks later Nov. 24, my damn bday!), I woke up with a new bite and finally saw one of the little bastards on my blanket. I killed it but it was awfully flat so I don' t think it was the one that bit me. The PCO came back yet again and this time I was pretty forceful--I'd also bagged everything in the damn bedroom. He sprayed vacuumed, checked me encasements for tears, treated the sofa again. (I'd thrown away the couch pillows earlier.) Not 5 minutes after he left I sat down on the couch and got two new bites on my leg.</p> <p>The next day, my coworker friend lent me her Packtite--and for the last several days I've done nothing but launder, heat, bag EVERYTHING. I'm still going through the books--I have a lot. My bed and sofa are isolated, and I very thoroughly vacummed the sofa, including the underside (it's an Ikea, pretty simple to get to the cracks, etc.) In case they were coming from another apt. I treated all the baseboards with DE, although some of the cracks are just too large to caulk. I used DE, dusting it on with a makeup brush, on the underside of my couch, sprayed everything with spot treatment Bedlam, retreated the legs of the bed frame (metal) and like I said, I'm now in the process of emptying bookcases and inspecting/ treating them. So far, nothing. No fecal stains, no blood, just the one bug. My parents told me that they had them when they first married and that the blood stains were hard to miss--they are both non-reactors so that's how they knew they had them. Of course, back then they just doused the bed with DDT and went about their business---and since they're both near 80 I guess it didn't do too much harm!</p> <p>I'm just paranoid as hell. I'm moving out of NY next summer and I've already decided that no matter what, most of my things will remain bagged until then, and that I'll just retreat the books et al before I move. It's going to be a pleasant way to live for the next 8 months---</p> <p>Questions: I'm a public school teacher in Brooklyn and I know my school has to have them. And since I "travel" I'm exposed to several different rooms and a couple hundred kids every day. Is it possible that I just brought a couple home from school and I (hopefully) got on this early? I've been paranoid about adjacent apts. because this bldg. is so old, but the couple of people I've managed to track down so far have reported no issues. (Although I'm sure I scared the hell out of them.) My landlord and the PCO aid they know of no other issues--the PCO said that one tenant in another wing thought she had them a few months ago but that he treated once and she had no futher issues. I have a feeling they were in my sofa, which was not thoroughly inspected/ treated until I did it a few days ago. The one on my bed (Since my bed was already isolated at that time) could have been brought in from my couch, where I tend to sit for several hours each evening.)</p> <p>Now I won't let anything I've been wearing anywhere near my bed till it's been cleaned. I keep my nightgown in the ned. I'm bringing an XL ziploc to work to keep my backpack and coat in, and I will no longer bring ANY of my work home. I won't use the lockers at me gym. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing, because I feel so crazy obsessive! I was once infested with dog ticks when I lived in S.Fla.--it turned out that the crawlspace was infested with bats and my landlord refused to have them removed, so I stored my things and moved home for awhile (I was renting while I awaited completion of my home and was terrified about bringing ticks with me.) My paranoia paid off--even though I had a dog, I never saw a tick in my new home. I hate the thought of living this way for months but I don't want to take chances--am I crazy? And how long should I wait till I can breathe again? I'm stuck with this PCO because it's who the LL sends, and although I'm not sure he's very good at it, at least my LL has never given me a moment's grief about it and is very proactive--I think she'd certainly take on a building-wide treatment if she thought necessary. Any thoughts? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/oh-no#post-62939 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:09:52 +0000 Bedbugs and Ballyhoo 62939@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I live in an area that is known for having a fairly bad bedbug problem (Astoria, NY), and it's been a fear of mine for the 6 years I've lived here. I even walk far away from discarded mattresses on the street for fear of one jumping on me.</p> <p>Just last night I noticed dots on my sheets and thought WTF could they be? Today I woke up to find a bug on the mattress. I came online to have my worst fears confirmed regarding the marks on my sheets. It also explains the crazy itching I've been having for the last week or so, which I thought was the work of a few mosquitoes that got in - and which I smooshed.</p> <p>I've been looking around the forums but have some questions I didn't see addressed, and would love any input.</p> <p>1) Since the marks on my sheets are new and the itchy bites are relatively new, could that mean that the bug(s) have only recently been introduced, or is it likely that I have a full blown infestation?</p> <p>2) I am going to move without a doubt. I will notify my landlord tomorrow so he can get an exterminator in. My question, to what extent do I have to worry about my things? Are my dishes safe? cd's, dvd's, books? framed photos on the wall? computer/electronics? Or is everything contaminated?</p> <p>3) What do I do with/for my cats?</p> <p>4) Should I sleep on my couch or will they find me there too?</p> <p>Any answers appreciated, even funny unhelpful ones as I could use a smile too.</p> <p>I feel completely overwhelmed (and crushed) but I'm glad I found this website.</p> <p>Thanks. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/single-room-treatment#post-62995 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:51:37 +0000 sosad 62995@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Help! Helping my son deal with new bed bug problem. He's only there for two more moths and his roommates aren't bothered with bites so aren't motivated to participate in proper treatment. Will my son get at least some relief if we have his room properly treated (his room is upstairs and all other rooms are downstairs), and we use interceptors, mattress encasement etc? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/fecal-matter-dry-ice-home-made-interceptors-and-aerobeds#post-62544 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:56:41 +0000 samson 62544@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>A few questions, please respond even if you know the solution to just even one of my questions</p> <p>How sticky is the BB fecal matter? I see a few dark specks on my linens but they are very easily swept away. Not sticky at all. Should I rule out BB's because of this fact? Perhaps another insect, ash or specks of dirt?</p> <p>Has anyone used dray ice as a detector? This being the theory of BB's being attracted to carbon dioxide. Anyone know of any dry ice suppliers in NYC?</p> <p>I would like to buy the inteceptors for the legs of my bed but the bedframe legs are much, much larger<br /> than the ones advertised. Any homegrown solutions?</p> <p>I see many posters seeking temporary refuge before/between treatments on an areobed. What makes it so magic? Is it jus because it is removed from a bedbug harborage? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/seriously#post-62391 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:25:40 +0000 catdog 62391@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hi- new, and unsure what todo..longstory short, approx.6wks ago, found about 10 bb's on pillow - seen the streaks &#38; blood spots too, threw it all out in trash ~ and vacuumed all over the bed, in tufts and floors, cracks,etc... havnt slept in bed since, been sofa city....kept cking bedrm and doing vacumming constantly and used bb spray from store that i read some ingredients off many sites/cant recall name, medicated talcum, alchol spraying like and idiot.... no bb's in bdrm visable to my eye...BUT...seen one on couch 5nites ago... lovely.<br /> After searching and determined to find where their hideout is, I cannot locate a one. No signs anywhere? So confused.<br /> did the whole routine again...and have been cking like a madperson every other second... cant find one anywhere! No stains, streaks since the first sight...</p> <p>figured i best call the PCO, and have been rreading alot on here...just wanna be sure i get the right one!</p> <p>Please Advice would be so greatly appreciated!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/need-serious-help-found-in-my-suv-too#post-61766 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:16:04 +0000 shaye 61766@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I need help! My mothera apt bldg became infested with these vampire bugs and wouldn't you know they ended up at my 3 bedroom house. I was having itchy spots all over my arm in August. I didn't think much of it really since mosquittoes love to get me, but once they were not going away I became wary. Inspected 1st bedroom, nothing. Inspected second bedroom and found 1 on a curtain, no droppings, nothing else. Then came my bedroom, found the colony in the crease of my pillow top mattress, about 10-15 of them big and little. I freaked out! Since we rent our house I called the landlord and she will not hire a professional, so I called around and only 1 company had any experience with them, wanting $2100 to treat our home. Needless to say we do not have since my husband just returned to work after 6 month layoff. I super vacuumed, decluttered, encased every bed in encasements, sprayed with this stuff from lowes bayer advanced labeled for bedbugs and put down DE. I continue to spray every week since I know it kills them seeing it first hand, but I have serious questions. Am I spraying too often? Should I remove my dog from his bed in our room? All was well, we went two weeks with no bites then I started to notice them only on me about the time my daughter said a bug just bit her in our suv! Upon searching, sure enough they are in the suv! Have I been carrying them back in the house? I'm paranoid every where I turn now, uncomfortable every where! This started at end of August, its November now and I'm going insane! We had already planned to move in january or february since we are always having some issue here, but now I'm afraid to go, our couch is brand new and I hate the thought of having to toss it. Beds will be replaced but how do I be sure not to take them with us? Steam clean? Leave our stuff in the moving truck in those frozen temps? But for how long? Am I being impatient? How long does it normally take? And how do I get them out of my truck with all its hiding spots? Winter? Please help me, I feel so alone in this fight, my husband shows no signs and has never seen them so he just thinks I'm crazy! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-victim-advice-of-leaving-needed#post-61288 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:14:10 +0000 kalie2under2 61288@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello Everyone! </p> <p>My story in brief: I<code>ve been bitten for thelast 2 weeks. I washed sheets, looked for bugs and couldn</code>t fnd any, then yesterday I found one. In our room, not my sons. Called the landlord and will be sprayed on Wednesday. I have two small children and I am going to my mothers. I am washing all the clothes and putting them in clean plastic bags. Do you think I will take them with me é Any tips on how to escape the right wayÉ </p> <p>I want to cry really I do. My neighbour just told me they have lots of them and didnèt even know. My daughter is only 7 weeks old and my son is one. I am thankfully the only one that got bit. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/can-you-see-just-one-and-thats-it#post-59832 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:16:21 +0000 crazy2day 59832@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have been bitten up and down over the past 4 weeks or so. Yesterday, I found one bug on my bed in morning after I got out of the bed and put the lights on. I [/i]think<em> it's a bed bug...anyway, is there any way you can find just one or two bugs and that's the end of it?</p> <p>I have a suspicion that my neighbors downstairs had the bed bugs earlier this summer because back in June I recall that they threw away their mattresses and couch. I figured they were redecorating. </p> <p>I do have a question: should I encase my mattresses from now? I have not even contacted a Pest service yet; I first have to tell the superintendent of my apt. complex. My husband is saying stuff like, "Well we just saw </em>one [i] so we shouldn't jump the gun and we're really not certain it's truly a bed bug." Yet I've been bitten on my lower leg, my neckline and my forearm over the past 4-5 weeks. I chalked it up to mosquitoes. </p> <p>If these <u>are</u> bedbugs, then would I be foolish to have pest contractor service my apt. while the people downstairs probably get pest service done? </p> <p>I am sick to my stomach over this , I hate my bed now and want to just buy new furniture and go to a new apartment somewhere else and start frest. To make it worse my husband is chronically ill and would have a difficult time to be out of the apt the 4 hours it'll take for treatment. He is so ill, he cannot help me put the mattress protector cover on - I'll have to get my brother and sister in law to help me. </p> <p>Has anyone used the "heat treatment" unit as advertised on this board? Does it really work?<br /> Does a "steamer machine" really work to kill the bugs and eggs/larve? </p> <p>Has anyone successfully and permanently gotten rid of the bed bugs? Can it be possible?</p> <p>Thank you. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-tale-of-bedbug-woes#post-60887 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:11:44 +0000 bbboogie 60887@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>OK, finally getting around to telling my sordid tale. :-) In August, after returning from vacation, my husband was told there were bedbugs at his job. Not to worry though, it was taken care of. Ha! Mid August I started getting bites but not seeing any bugs or evidence I assumed they were mosquito bites. My husband didn't have bites and wasn't worried at all. (men!) I found this website and started reading the forum and really suspected bedbugs but still couldn't find any sign of them...skins, poop, etc. Lo and behold I woke up at 6 AM one morning to feeling itchy around my neck. I pick up my head and see a lovely, well fed bug, slowly cruising along the sheet. I grabbed the handy tape (thanks for the tip) and snagged it. I ran downstairs to the computer to look at the pictures on the website and YES! I was right! (unfortunately) We had bedbugs!!!!! I promptly burst into tears and my husband had to agree that yes, we had unwelcome visitors just as I had been insisting for the past 2 weeks. OK, we stripped the bed and carefully examined everything. We found a cluster of assorted sized bedbugs on the tip of the boxspring. (probably 10-15 in all) My husband went ballistic with a can of TAT which is a good contact killer although bb's are not mentioned on the can. Then he ran out and bought encasements plus 5 more cans of TAT which he proceeded to spray like the enemy was at our front door! I am a big chicken so I refused to sleep in that room for the next 2 weeks and it stunk like bug spray anyway so it probably wasn't too healthy. Twice we caught a bb in the spare bedroom but I think they were wandering because we haven't had any since and I've had no bites since I initially moved out of the main bedroom. (I moved back in 3 weeks ago) The room has been decluttered, caulked, painted and redone entirely in white. (you all know why I went from peach and chocolate to white, white, white. LOL) So far so good but I'm constantly checking the sheets and pillows for signs and also check myself for bites. I also refuse to sleep without a night night and this from a person that wanted blackout curtains! If our luck continues I will have to believe that the infestation was small and that we caught it at the very beginning. I'll keep you posted. I did want to say that this forum is a godsend. It's so encouraging to "talk" to others that have been through this. Thank you all! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bad-allergic-reaction-to-the-bitesfirst-infestation-2#post-57330 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:43:59 +0000 ghostbitten 57330@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Long story short, my mother had a mysterious rash in June. I went away up North for a week near the end of June (after her rash appeared), came home with so many bug bites I wasn't sure what was from up North and what I might've gotten at home when I came back in July. It wasn't until just last Saturday (August 29) that I noticed funny things I thought were hives//an allergic reaction. Much Googling after my doctor suggested they could be bb's, and here I am. I've read most of the forums here, a ton of "popular" or most-read bb-related blogs, and am joining the ranks I suppose.</p> <p>My apologies if this is long.. most is posted off of my blog as well, but here goes:</p> <p>I’ve a few questions… first off, about my situation, it’s not that heavy of an infestation. About a 4 on the 1-10 scale. It’s contained to my mother’s couch she sleeps on and a few ‘droppings’ on my box spring. So far nadda. Nothing dropping off of the ceiling or skittering across the floor, though the nymph I found the other day was on my desk and I caught it with tape for my landlord. Anyway: I’m living with my semi-cooperative about the whole ordeal mother who had a stroke last year due to alcoholism. She is highly prone to succumbing to stress and is narrow-minded. Until today, when I spent awhile educating her, she thought bed bugs were a personal problem. She isn’t cooperative in preparing for treatment so I’m doing my own room (I’ve the bedroom) and she can be fubar’d and get evicted for all I care. I’m frustrated. I also am on geared-to-incoming housing for my unit, and on disability. I live on a few hundred a month and my 200$ grocery money for the month? Going to laundry, dry cleaning, plastic garbage bags and Ziplocs. I’m getting rid of everything I own furniture wise except one dresser (if not infested), my desk (same), and my electronics as I need my computer for school//work.</p> <p>I won’t eat this month, not like my stomach’s holding anything down anyway (I get sick from stress, badly, I guess it’s part of bipolar disorder and the way this whole thing is affecting my germphobia//contamination-OCD). I’m preparing for the initial treatment as I’ve read on many blogs over the past four days, but my main question is the itching. I’m severely allergic ( photo one &#38; photo two for example of my bites and how they flare without itching ) and the itchiness is about an 11.5 on the 1-10 scale. I’m fighting against it but it’s worse than the itchiness of getting a new tattoo (and I got my first one a year ago, I still remember) and having something like head lice at the same freakin’ time. I’m currently using <a href=" <a href="http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info_details.asp?brand_name_id=1151" rel="nofollow">http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info_details.asp?brand_name_id=1151</a>">Anugesic-HC </a> (yes I know what it's actually for) for the itchiness and Reactine, an OTC allergy medication. Also, rubbing alcohol. I was wondering if something like GoldBond would work, or if there are any creams readily available OTC for under ten or twelve dollars that’ll last me a month? I live in Canada (Ontario) so anything that Shoppers or Dell Pharmacy would have is preferable. Ordering online isn’t an option as I don’t have a credit card.</p> <p>Urgh. On top of it, my landlord and PCO (for the wasps, he’s the one who inspected) laughed at me when I suggested they check the units above and below me. LL said no and implied it started with us, the bastard. If that was so, WHY ARE WE HAVING ISSUES JUST NOW, AFTER LIVING IN THIS UNIT 11 YEARS?! Good thing, I’ve public health on my side as I called them first. The man I spoke to assured me this isn’t my fault, esp. with the background history I gave him.</p> <p>Hello, my name is Mis and I’m yet another one bitten (harhar) by the bed bug fiasco. I’m leaning towards Zen about this: get rid of it all, start over with steel furniture and keep a clear, level head about it. Do we get free coffee to aid in our sleepless nights? :s</p> <p>(hope I tagged/categorized correctly :3 ) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/hello-all#post-60318 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:54:43 +0000 ruthven78 60318@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ive posted a few times but havent really introduced myself. My name is Craig. My wife and I picked up our bed bugs on a trip to Southern California from a hotel we stayed at near Disneyland. My wife works for the chain's corporate office and therefore I was reluctant to sue, even though someone at the hotel had told my wife they recieved a complaint a month ago about bedbugs in that very same room! We stayed at the hotel two nights and didnt receive any bites during our stay (or least none that showed). We first noticed the bites about 4 days after our return home. My wife was fairly reactive were myself and our 4 yr old son werent nearly as bad.....her bites would welt the size of a dime. We spent a week and half getting ready for Orkin....I hired them just out of name recognition. I think we ended up actually throwing out half of the clothes and linen, mostly due to poor fit or over abundance. I know I personally spent at least a cumulative of 40-50 hours perp work, my wife spent quite a few as well. We had moved in with my wife's grandpa after her granma passed away back last February. My wife's grandparents had accumulated a lot of junk over the years and therefore we threw out a lot of clutter. We live in a large 4 bedroom house with full basement , living room, and family room. It was so much work I literally worked 18 hours straight the day before Orkin showed up. Thankfully we have a hot tub I can go soak in. Orkin was here last Friday, we opened out windows and doors around noon Saturday....was about 50 degrees here. We got most the house put back together yesterday and today will just be the finishing up the loose odds and ends. Luckily we used clear plastic garbage bags to seal our clothes. </p> <p>The day after I learned about the bed bugs I had called the hotel's general manager and let him know. My wife was reluctant to raise a stink because she was afraid of getting fired. I was treated very politely and professionaly and was speaking to the hotel's insurance company a couple days later. They agreed to pay for our extermination and the cost of the hotel stay during treatment. I havent sent them all the invoices or receipts yet but I do plan on asking them to reimburse us for my wife;s lost wags, might even ask for compensation for the time it took for us to prepare for Orkin.</p> <p>It has been really difficult with an 88yr old. People tell him things to do or give him bad information such as to use foggers, that BBs will die after 10 days in a sealed bag. He also sprayed raid not only in his bedroom, but also all over his clothes! He said he did that because we were hogging the washer &#38; dryer even though we told him twice to bring us his clothes and we would process them. I had explained to him prior during the fogger debate why foggers and OTC sprays arent very effective and they will just chase the bugs into the walls. And today, only two days since treatment, he is vacuuming his room even though I told him that Orkin has used a dust &#38; residual sprays to treat the crevices and such. He also refuses to reseal his clothes, doesnt think the BBs can climb onto the clothes that are hanging in the closet, etc. He wont change clothes he had sat around all day in before going to someone else's house. He also went into the house, before we got back from the hotel, and only opened one window to air it out...I told him I was surprised we hadnt found him laying dead on the floor from the fumes. My in laws live next door, he stayed with them instead of opting for the free hotel room because he wanted to be near his house. He only stayed in the fumey house for about 45 minutes before going back over to the inlaws. While my inlaws ran an errand, he decided to turn their heat up to 80 degrees because he got a chill. I dont know about you but when Im a guest in someone's home I dont touch their thermostat, I may let them know its a little chilly to me or ask for a blanket, but never help myself like that. He wanted the PCO to guarantee their treatment for a year...I told him that was quite unrealistic considering the dust is active the longest at say 60 days. Dealing with him has at times been quite exasperating to say the least, if I had know then how it would have been we wouldnt have moved in. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/forum-messages-cut-off#post-60248 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:50:33 +0000 sal930 60248@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Why are the messages cut off? I can't read half the messages people post.</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/found-single-adult-bed-bug-on-floor#post-60180 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:52:21 +0000 alan 60180@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hello, I'm really freaked out! I got home last night and I found an alive adult unfed bedbug on its back on my floor. I searched my apartment for any others and found nothing. I have lived in that apartment for thee months and have had no bites, my mattress is a futon which is brand new three months ago. I searched it and found no signs. </p> <p>I had just gotten home from a coffee shop and i had been sitting in a chair with cloth upholstery. I suspect the bug hitched a ride on me from the chair, god only knows how many people sit in the chair per day, some with bed bugs. I will go back to the coffee shop tonight to inspect the chair.</p> <p>I was wondering, has it ever been reported that bedbugs walk from one apartment to another? I trapped this one in a plastic bag to get a better look at it, it is moving very slow, seems close to dying. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/happy-to-find-you-guys-#post-60002 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:27:48 +0000 bbboogie 60002@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi all! I've been lurking since Sept 1st and finally registered so I can put in my 2 cents! I never, ever thought I'd get bedbugs and thank God I found this website where I could get some great information, but more importantly....a feeling of not being alone with this problem.<br /> I'll write more details on the weekend but wanted to say that while I get horrendous bites my husband gets nothing! Is that fair? For 2 weeks I kept telling him that we must have bedbugs but he didn't believe me until I woke up at 6 AM one morning and caught one as it was walking away from it's meal (me!). I showed him the pictures on this website and yep...he finally agreed with me. Back in early August he was told that there were bedbugs at his job but he insisted that he never brought home. Ha! I wish he hadn't! Anyway, I'll get into details &#38; how we are coping when I have more time to write but wanted to introduce myself and thank you for being here. :-) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-newbie-my-story-advice-and-thoughts-wanted#post-51530 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:21:02 +0000 weeseweiss 51530@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ok so last week I randomly found a bug clinging to a sweater I had taken from an under the bed storage box. I have had both grain beetles and carpet beetles at different times so I at first assumed it was one of those. Upon closer inspection I knew it was not. I investigated online and determined it as a bed bug. Only then did I realize that the " rash" on my arm three weeks ago was not a rash at all. Then of course I start to remember a few other times I have found a mysterious bite or two.<br /> I live in a 30 story condo building that had an exterminator come out every week so I saved the bug for confirmation. It was indeed confirmed to be a bedbug.<br /> The extermnator inspected around my house and bed and I spent days de-cluttering and turning the place inside out and nothing else was found except I did find what might have been a shell of one on a drape that hangs behind my bed. Though It could have also been the shell of a grain beetle which I had a problem with last year. I should explain that I live in a studion apartment where the kitchen and bed are in close proximity so the grain beetles made it to the living area when I had them.<br /> The exterminator did not seem to think I was infested. He said he felt it was pretty isolated but that my box spring had some holes in it and that I should get rid of it because that would be prime real estate to them. He put own glue traps and sprayed my bed frame and surrounding area and said we would give it a week to monitor and if we catch even one we should do the whole house treatment.<br /> I took it a step further and bought a whole new bed the same day and the Protect a Bed covers reccomended here which were installed on the new bed upon delivery. The old bed is now gone I just couldn't take the chance that the thing was infested.<br /> I am washing and cleaning and vaccuming and inspecting every crack and crevice. I am really anxious about this stuation since they are so insidious and hard to get rid of. I don't want to be naive and assume my problem is gone. Am I taking the right steps? Is there any thing additional you guys can suggest? Could I be badly infested and not find anything other than my lone friend? Was it a dumb move to buy a new bed when I still may have a problem or will the covers at least protect my new investment? Can you beat these things or is it almost impossible?<br /> So many questions so little time. I am just grateful to have a place to ask questions and feel like there are other people out there going trough the same thing.<br /> There is such a stigma attached to these things. It's embarassing and yet I don't know why. I am such a worry wart as it is-- this is making me a crazy person! Amy comments and advice are much appreciated.<br /> Freaking out in Chicago </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/regarding-dogs-and-bags#post-59394 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:25:43 +0000 geoclintwash 59394@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hi, this is my first post. a couple of nights ago i came home, looked at my bed, and actually saw an adult bed bug crawling across my sheets, calm as you please. i trapped it in alcohol and taped it up to verify it was indeed a BB and sure enough it was. a pretty cursory examination of my bed turned up a concentration of bugs on my box spring on the far side near the wall -- the matress and sheets looked oddly pristine. i had received some mysterious bites before but only on my legs, not anywhere else on my body, and concluded due to other places i'd been hanging out and the shape and frequency of the bites that they were just from mosquitos. i got in touch with my Super next morning and he immediately called my building's PCO -- they went in with my permission while i was at work and made an inspection. now, a few days later, the same PCO is scheduled to come in and administer treatment -- i don't know exactly what he plans to do but he recommended i prepare by getting mattress encasements for post treatment, and also advised to my relief that he believes it to be "a minor infestation." i definitely plan to ask him to come back for a secondary examination and treatment a few weeks from now. </p> <p>one reason i'm posting my story is that i'm hoping a few facts will be helpful for others: one, that my bites had little to no resemblance to pictures of bites one might find online -- infrequent, mostly single bites, and concentrated on one area of my body. this is just a reinforcement of the facts on this site, that no two people manifest the same reaction or symptoms of bed bug bites. two, as a sort of hopeful story for those living in big old buildings in brooklyn -- my super was very responsive and the fact that the management company retains the services of a professional PCO is also very encouraging. if you get on it right away and practice candor and respect you may very well have an easier time of it. </p> <p>the second reason i'm posting is to ask some questions:</p> <p>1) what do people think about the "minor infestation" diagnosis in light of the fact that i actually SAW a bed bug crawling around? this seems pretty rare from all i've read and was at first suggestive to me that it was a pretty serious problem. of course i was relieved to have a pro contradict this, but i still have my doubts. </p> <p>2) my significant other has already ordered encasements for her own bed -- she has experienced no suspicious bites and has as yet been unable to find any evidence i carried any of the little devils over to her place, but she wants to be vigilant and is thinking of having an inspection either by human or by a trained dog. does anyone have any advice for her on this? if she has no circumstantial evidence of bugs does it make sense for her to throw down for a dog?</p> <p>thanks so much in advance. i have really appreciated having all the info on this site at my fingertips at the last few days, it's made me feel more grounded and in control. i'll also report back when i know more about my PCO's methods.</p> <p>GCW </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bugs-at-work-and-at-home#post-59161 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:03:39 +0000 kos 59161@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello,<br /> I moved over to New York at the end of June and I've been staying in a long term hostel with 5 other girls. All 6 of us came over from England for a 6 month internship and it had been going fine until a few weeks ago.<br /> About 2 weeks ago one of the designers at my work found a bed bug crawling along her desk. Work said it was being treated, they got people in that night and then the next they bought in a dog group etc. That weekend my Aunt asked if I'd like to move in with her as she had a room coming free in her appartment. I jumped at the chance, the hostel is very lonely and I'm a bit homesick.<br /> But then thursday I woke up in the morning and started reading this website and freaked myself out. I finally braved to look for bedbugs and didn't have to look very far, I found an adult right in the corner, didn't even have to lift by matress up. So I know I have bb's.<br /> Work sent me home straight away to deal with stuff. I gave all my clothes, bed clothes, quilt and pillow to the laundrette and the manager of the hotel/hostel said that although he couldn't call the exterminator in until tuesday (tomorrow) he'd 'spray' the room himself to start with.<br /> Now, it was very silly of me, I should have looked before. I've been getting bites all over since I arrived in june but I thought they were mostly mosquitos (which I think they were to begin with). But then I got bitten more and more at work. I'd go into work with 1 bite and leave with 10.<br /> It's hard to know where they came from and it's not good to point fingers (although the middle aged women at work are all giving me dirty looks... oh and directly mentioned me to the whole office when there was a Q and A with the exterminators - nice) but I'm sure I bought them home from work.<br /> Anyway, I digress and I'm making everyone bored.<br /> I desperately want to move into my Aunts appartment because I can't stand being in this hostel any more. But I can't move in until these bugs are gone. All my clothes are in an airtight bag. But what about my shoes, my books, my toiletries, my paperwork? I don't have access to a freezer and the vacuum cleaner at this place isn't one with a nosel it's a big floor one (if you know what I mean?). I'm worried about my food because my miniture refridgerator is at the end of my bed, and to be honest I just want to go home. I can borrow a hand held steamer from work to go over my suitcases but I'm not sure how hot they get.<br /> This evening I found a baby bed bug crawling along my bed. The exterminator is meant to be coming tomorrow but I dont know how well I trust this hostel anymore, I'm sure it's going to be a conman or something. How can I make sure they (a) come tomorrow (as I leave at 8:20am for work and don't get back until the same time pm) and (b) do a good job?<br /> My matresses are covered in plastic anyway so the bugs I've found have just been on my sheets, and the base of the bed is just a metal frame. I'm too weak to pull it out properly to look (and too scared).<br /> So basically, I have those few questions raised above, but the most important one is how do I know when I'm clean enough to go to my Aunts? How long do I have to leave it before I know they're gone for good?</p> <p>I'm practically alone in NY and I'm ready to jump on the first flight home but I know I can't because I'll just bring the bed bugs home to my parents and then they'll hate me too! haha.</p> <p>HELP! =( </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/horrible-nightmare#post-59575 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:58:39 +0000 golders 59575@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> My flatmate and I have just figured out that our entire flat is infested with bed bugs... it is now nearly 5am and I can't sleep... can't go near my bed at all.</p> <p>We moved in a month ago. Had no idea such things existed, didn't look at mattresses at all. Idiots.</p> <p>Just over a week after moving, I noticed bites. I assumed they were hives, as I had suffered from them briefly a few years ago, due to stress I think, for a short time. My flatmate had no bites/hives, which made me think 'Yep, hives... I'm obviously stressed by the move.' Had noticed a few bugs, one or two in bed, in lounge, etc, but assumed they were harmless bugs. Have spent the last 3 weeks suffering horrible ichy welts, all up and down my arms, hands, backs of calves, knees, feet, shoulders, back. Must have had a hundred of them. Went to medical surgery but as wasn't registered with NHS couldn't see anyone. In process of registering, but is taking 2 weeks to see a doctor. The 'hives' would lessen at times, so I was basically waiting for them to go, like they had (apparently) years earlier.</p> <p>Anyway... came home from work today and was chatting to flatmate who had noticed she had developed a few of these ichy places too over last week. Just a few on her feet mainly. So we are thinking.. must be something in the flat, not just me getting hives again. We had been racking our brains to figure it out. My room has always smelled v strongly of mothballs.. was wondering if I was allergic to mothballs, etc. So naive! Finally my flatmate googles 'red bug' or similar, a last resort... and we see the pic and recognise immediately. We have seen these bugs round the flat. We read up on them via wikipedia. I peel back the undersheet on my bed, just one corner. At least 6 full adults in plain sight. Loads of the black specks. Stupidly, when we moved I had just put my sheets over the plain undersheet thing already over the mattress here... was tired, couldn't be bothered removing it, it looked clean enough. Checked the flatmates bed... exactly the same thing. She's now sleeping on floor in less infested lounge, while I obsessively read about bugs online.</p> <p>I have a couple of questions:</p> <p>Does this sound a very heavy/bad case?<br /> I am worried the ladylady will blame us/not believe we didn't bring them here. I don't earn a lot and can't really afford all the pest control stuff. Especially when it is clearly an ongoing problem-- no wonder my room stinks of mothballs (carcinogenic too... perfect!)<br /> Are we within our rights to leave (our tenancy agreement is for min of 6 mnths)? It has a clause about the place needing to be habitable. I don't now if I will ever feel Ok here. I have been sleeping on bed of bloodsuckers for a month, oblivious.</p> <p>I feel like this is a nightmare.</p> <p>Thanks so much for this site and especially this forum. It has been great for info and has made me feel a bit less cursed. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/lawsuit-anyone#post-59228 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:05:55 +0000 scaredasheck 59228@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi everyone.</p> <p>I need some serious advise! I just moved into an apartment with a bed bug problem. I've lived here one month. It took me a while to figure it out...not long!!</p> <p>The management here has sent pest control here...they've been here twice and are coming again this week for another treatment. It's been better but I'm still getting bit at night.</p> <p>I asked the community manager to let me out of the lease and reimburse ALL my moving expenses. They agreed to release me from the lease but pay my expenses.</p> <p>I FEAR that they will NOT be able to get rid of these bugs completely and am considering taking them to small claims court. Does anyone have any info on this? Stories or experiences?</p> <p>I've been reading up on bed bugs and I'm scared outa my ever loving mind!! </p> <p>Please help. Also...I've never been on this kind of forum before...hope I can navigate through it and find any and all responses. Thank you </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-blood-here-long-introduction#post-59260 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:32:31 +0000 NewBlood 59260@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hey everyone, new blood here (pun intended) with a story of how I may or may not have these things, and what I'm currently going through now. I want to say first off, that this website is wonderful - great to see a place that offers support, FAQs, and ideas on how to combat these little monsters.</p> <p>So August 30th I awake with bites all over my feet and ankles. I attribute it to walking around outside (grassy area) the day before in flip-flops (must have picked up some chiggers) as an area I had walked through for about 30 seconds or so was damp and shaded. I also had bites a bit further up on my left leg though - which was odd for me as usually chigger bites get me only near my feet. The bites area also lined up around my sock line though - so I'm pretty sure that's the problem. Just in case I wash all of my sheets, linens and clothes - I don't want these things walking around on me and eating my skin!</p> <p>A week later though... I wake to find more bites on my inner right thigh. That's odd... I don't remember them there before, but they itch like the others. I start to become a little more worried now. I wash ALL of the clothes I ownAGAIN, and all the sheets/linens on my bed again. I also begin researching on-line what else bitesyou and leaves welts.</p> <p>Chiggers. Fleas. Bed Bugs. Bed bugs? Those are real? After spending 4 hours reading about them I become worried. VERY worried. I live in an apartment complex -and of course I have friends and family visit from time to time. None of my friends have ever complained about getting bitten by anything and I don't talk to my neighbors very often... I'm also a hypocondriac so I panic about all sorts of things (but since I have almost died two years ago to a blood clot, and I have a host of medical problems wrong with me I tend to panic easily).</p> <p>I decide to keep track of how many bites I have, and see if I'm bitten again. The problem is that the bites don't always itch - the itch comes and goes randomly throughout the day. However, I do wake up with new bites on my arm - a single one. I go to the real estate office and let them know I may have bed bugs. They are surprised, and say that they'll have their pest control guy stop by to deal with them. During this time I have been sleeping with a flashlight to see if I 'get lucky' and spot one, but no dice. I have also looked throughout the bed, and box spring but don't find any either. I have set my frame (metal, no headboard) in plastic dixie cups with soapy water in them to try to catch the bugs if they're crawling up from somewhere else too - nothing has been caught. This would have been two weeks ago - September 17th.</p> <p>Sure enough - later that day the PCO stops by. He's a really nice guy and takes a look at the bed for the tell tale blood specs. He doesn't look all that long however, (no lifting up the seams as I had done) but he, like me, doesn't see any sign of them. I lift up the box spring and there's no obvious sign of them there either.Just to be sure he sprays the entire mattress and box spring down with cedar oil which supposedly kills them (I've not heard of this treatment before) and the bed room certainly does smell nice. The inspection though, lasted only about 4 minutes if that - as it was only a really brief look for the bugs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/self-treat-or-not-to-self-treat#post-59011 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:02:22 +0000 bbbegone 59011@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I had a PCO which seems to know his stuff come in a treat my apartment about 2 weeks ago for what seems to be the beginnings of an BB infestation. The problem started about 1 and a half months ago. It could be that the bugs were already in my apartment when I moved 2 months ago or I could have brought them in coming back from my vacation. I was unable to find any sings of BB's besides the bites on my body. Suspecting BB's I was able to find 1-3 nymphs when I placed some sticky mice traps under the legs of my bed. I've showed them to the LL and he arranged from the PCO to come in. The treated with Onslaught and some regulator (not Gentrol something that strats with "en..."), Perma-Dust(Boric Acid) and some D-Force on my bed frame. 2 bedrooms were treated with good detail and the rest of the apartment not that well( some spraying around the baseboards). I am moving in about 2 weeks. I've started desinfecting my stuff with PackTite and will throw out some furniture. The landlord is not picking up the phone anymore and since its been 2 weeks since the last treatment I'm considering self-treating before I move to kill as many of them as possible. I have only been bitten once or twice over the 2 weeks after treatment compared to almost every day before. I'm afraid the Onslaught might have repelled the BB's, I'm seeing other insects being killed but no BB's or they are just small for me to see. I've bought the WhiteWing steamer(which I will not use on the Onslaught sprayed areas) to steam the furniture and some of my stuff. I've also bought some D-Force, Bedlam, PyGanic dust, and Phantom bottle and spray. I need some advice. Should I self treat with Phantom(carefully following the label) on top of Onslaught. How long does Onslaught last, I know its microencapsulated but is it still as effective after 2 weeks? Please help! Thank you.</p> <p>Sorry for the lenghty and bit chaotic explanation. Wanted to give as much details as possible to explain my patricular situation. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/do-i-have-bed-bugs-4#post-58434 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:11:26 +0000 denial 58434@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>over the past 7 weeks i have woken up every 2-3 weeks with 3-6 bites on my stomach. i am the only one in my house with any bites- my husband sleeps with me and our 4 year old often ends up in bed with us. do they bite this infrequently ?i have checked with flashlight for any evidence of bugs can't find anything. my mattress, box spring, and pillows are all in allergy encasements since we suffer from dust mite allergies. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ibm-pest-control-san-francisco#post-58622 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:55:49 +0000 BugZapped 58622@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>ouch! They got us...its three months after a trip and here they are biting away. Me, I'm terribly allergic, asthma, skin reactions and all. Ditto the cat (at least the skin reactions, sneezing and cough). My partner? Just a bit of itching, almost nothing. We're at the beginning of the infestation as I've not seen that many and the biting seems to have occurred only the last three weeks with reactions becoming intolerable three days ago. I called an IPM company - Pestec the day I realized what was going on and lifted the mattress and found one fat one and a few smaller oneson the floor by the headboard. There are a few in the kitchen that look different, black and hang out during the daytime in public. I could have two different types of bug infestations going. Then in the living room off the kitchen there are more bugs that look like the bedroom ones. They're in between and below the sofa cushions and there's a blood stain on the couch from when one of us sleeps out there with the cat. </p> <p>I've trapped two - one from the kitchen and one from the sofa and double bagged each one separately in baggies and labeled where they came from. Creeps me out!</p> <p>Has anyone had any dealings with Pestec in SF? They've been in the media a lot and seem to have green practices (bedbug dog detection, heating, steam, avoiding pesticides unless necessary and then only using the least harmful when starting down that road). Any other recommendations for or experiences (good and bad) with IPM companies in San Francisco?</p> <p>By the way, I'm new here...and I'm BugZapped and exhausted and fed up already with these critters. I've been lurking for three days now here and reading everything I can to get up to speed. Thanks for a wonderful site and forum. Its been a big help and, even though I obviously don't want to be here, I'm glad to be part of what seems to be, for the most part, a decent, caring community.</p> <p>-BZ </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-experience-with-de#post-58091 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:23:48 +0000 cterese 58091@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I felt compelled to at least add one thing I still hadnt read about DE. I have a perimeter line around where i sleep and have noticed great results so far, but more importantly, I caught adult bedbugs twice, put them on the floor near the dust, and within seconds their quickly moving legs gathered dust, slowed down, and they came to an immediate stop and died. I was frustrated not to find similar stories because its just a reminder of how some important helpful information is escaping us. Good luck everyone, Craig </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/is-my-landlord-liable-brooklyn#post-58113 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:56:48 +0000 nomore123 58113@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>My boyfriend and I moved into our apartment last April. About one month after we found out through a mutual friend of the old tenants that they had bed bug right before they moved out. (approx. February.) Around the end of June, I started to get bit, checked and washed all of our bed linens and vacuumed everything, and found no signs. My friend had recently taken in a stray and I figured through us / her our cat had gotten fleas. After getting her a flea collar I stopped seeing bites. Two weeks ago, I came home from work and there were bags and a couch on our curb with a sign stating that the items were "infested with insects." At that point, I knew we were in trouble. At the beginning of this week I started to get bites again, and found a dead bed bug in a cup of water on the side of my bed. Our landlord immediately sent out a PCO that came the next day (our third treatment is tomorrow), but when she stopped by on Saturday refused to talk to us and only talked to the PCO in the hall. Through hearing her though, we found out that the building had been infested before, and the tenants whose bags I saw on the curb were just below us. We live in a six apartment complex. The PCO insisted that the entire building should be sprayed, but she refused. We saw our first live bed bug last night, and our PCO told us to get rid of our couch. I anonymously tried to call 311 to see if they could tell me my rights regarding the landlords liability, but as per usual were unsure. My question is, before we moved in was the broker and / or the landlord liable to tell us that the previous tenants had bed bugs only a month or so before? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/im-getting-bites-still-havent-seen-a-bed-bug-i-have-seen-these-bugs-though#post-57965 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:51:00 +0000 acs80 57965@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>As the subject line reads: I've been getting bites, but still no signs of bed bugs (though I know that absolutely does not rule out the possibility of me having them). I have TONS of the little flying bugs shown in the picture below in my apartment, though, and strangely enough, I often find them in my bed. Does anyone have any idea what they could be? I know it looks big in the picture, but in reality, it's probably about 3 or 4 mm long. I'm secretly hoping that I can blame them for the bites on my legs, but I have a a feeling this is just a shot in the dark.</p> <p><a href="http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad150/acs80/?action=view&#38;current=flyingbug.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad150/acs80/?action=view&#38;current=flyingbug.jpg</a></p> <p>Also, I found this in my bed, too. I'm embarrassed to say that I think it might be a raspberry or tomato seed...I'm not even sure if it's a bug! But now I'm really paranoid. I don't even think it has legs or a head. It's super hard; I couldn't even break it in half. Can someone confirm that this is indeed an inanimate object?</p> <p><a href="http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad150/acs80/?action=view&#38;current=Whatthehellisthis.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad150/acs80/?action=view&#38;current=Whatthehellisthis.jpg</a></p> <p>Clearly I'm losing my mind. And by the way, I never realized how much crap was lying on my sheets before I became so anal-retentive about inspecting them inch by inch.</p> <p>Any ideas what that flying bug could be? Someone please tell me it's some kind of biting insect known for feasting on the calves of young women. Please HELP! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-here-glad-to-have-found-you-but-not-glad-to-need-the-help#post-58067 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:15:16 +0000 Lise 58067@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I woke up this morning with three itchy bites on my left hip, and three on my right ankle that I found later. Both sets are in a line, about 1" from the first to the last. A co-worker had bedbugs in an apartment last year, so I knew immediately what this was about.</p> <p>I'm glad to have found this site, and I will be reading through as much of it as I can in the next few days! I'm sure I will have questions and I will certainly post again if there is a "success story" I can share.</p> <p>We have a detached house, so I'm not sure where they might have come from. We live in Toronto, and I've heard they are becoming increasingly common here, so I'm not terribly surprised, though. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/senior-living#post-57963 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:28:27 +0000 ilovemyseniors 57963@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am a manager of a senior building in Michigan. I love my seniors and I do not want them to live with the problem of Bed Bugs, but they are taking over. High Rise apartments are the hardest to deal with when it comes to these pest. They move to the next apartment as soon as we get control of one. We have a POC, and they are very compassionate in their work, but they are being defeted by the problem. They say to use Alcohol, but it seems that the alcohol only makes them mad and they come back with a vengance. We have spent over $30,000 for extermination and we still have a big problem. </p> <p>I have a friend that had the same problem in her building and she told me to get Bayer Advantage. So I did. I only purchased a couple of gallons at $9.77 each and the stuff works. Me and my staff strapped up and went in for battle. I like to deal with problems that go on with my seniors first hand so that I can see what the true problem is. So I strapped up and what I seen I do not wish on anyone. Most of them did not even know they had them. These little things are slick and fast. Seniors tend to use alot of bedding and they are embaressed to say that they have anything. </p> <p>So me and the guys suited up and went in for battle and Bayer Advantage really works. The bed bugs began to run like roaches, but it had a horrible effect on my seniors and us. The seniors began to cough and sneeze instantly. This was a lesson learned. Make sure that you are prepared before you use this product. Use a mask, not the painters mask as we did the first time, but the heavy duty one, with the ventilators on them. </p> <p>Another thing about seniors is that often they have no one to help them and they do not have money to buy new furniture, so we have to do the best we can to work with them and for them. But, some things can not be saved. We found one resident that had the protective covers that were purchased for $110.00, but it was still full of fecal matter from the bugs. That only meant to me that my senior was still being attacked, even though they said they only seen one on the bed. From my experience if you only see one that means there is a whole family waiting to attack.</p> <p>Well the two gallons only lasted for three floors and we have ten. We ran out way to fast and that only put a small dent in the problem. Seniors like to visit each other and sit in common areas. This is were the bugs transport from place to place. The POC uses cedar oil, which seems to work well, but they only come every two weeks. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. They come in the day time and as I have researched, these buggers come out at night. The POC is good at saying "No Activity Reported", but the very next day my seniors are coming down showing me bite marks. </p> <p>I need a solution and I need it fast. I go to sleep at night thinking about my residents and I can not take it. I am going to purchase 20 gallons of that Bayer Advance and spray my whole building. I have learned that these bugs are very smart, they will migrate to an apartment next down, downstairs or upstairs in order to get away and find a new host. </p> <p>If anyone has any suggestions, please help me to help my seniors. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/introduction-1#post-57992 Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:10:23 +0000 Lotus Blossom 57992@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Forgive me if I do this wrong...never posted on a site before. Not very computer savvy.<br /> So ...I suspected... long story but anyway, yesterday I finally called Orkin because I bought a new bed and it is supposed to be delivered on Monday.<br /> He found no BB in my mattress seams but a few sheddings. Looked everywhere he could think found none. He said my guest room was ok so I slept in there (not having found this site yet). I found a dead adult in the guest room and was woken up scratching at 4:45 am. So...obviously I have them in both rooms and maybe the rest of the house. I have a few questions. </p> <p>1.) He is charging me $400 for the one room is that a fair price?</p> <p>2.) I'm guessing I should have him treat the guest room tomorrow as well. (getting ready to buy a new bed for that room too)</p> <p>3.) He seemed to think I only needed one treatment, can that be right?</p> <p>4.) should I hold off on the new bed delivery for a few weeks/months to be safe . (how long does it take to get rid of them anyway) or just go a head with the delivery and use the cover recommended on this site.</p> <p>5.) We were planning to get new carpet...should I go ahead and do that or wait on that too</p> <p>6.)If I'm gonna wash and dry and pack in plastic all our clothes (OY!!!!!!) what kind of plastic bags do people use that are not too expensive.</p> <p>Thank you so much.<br /> Thank God for this site.</p> <p>oh ..7.) Will I ever actually sleep again? lo...l </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/brand-new-to-forum-freaking-out-question-about-feces#post-57954 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:12:15 +0000 acs80 57954@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Real classy subject line: "question about feces." This is what I've been reduced to. </p> <p>This post may be a bit long, but this is my first time here, and I want to explain my situation. I've read many of the forums on this site thoroughly but want to give a little background to my story. Please, please, if you have any time to spare, take a moment to read through this...I'm getting pretty desperate. I think the easiest way to explain my bed bug concerns of the past few weeks is with a timeline:</p> <p>last week (Wednesday, Sept. 2): I wake up with what I think are a few spider bites -- one on my right thigh, and two (spaced about six inches apart) on my left thigh. I don't think anything of it, assuming that I was bitten by a spider or mosquito or something. </p> <p>Over this past weekend (Sept. 5th and 6th) I go away to a friend's beach house in Indiana with my boyfriend (I live in Chicago). No problems there. Return to Chicago Sunday night. My boyfriend and I do not sleep together Sunday night -- he stays at his place, I stay at mine. </p> <p>Monday morning (Sept. 7th): I wake up and see that I have about twenty bug bites, only on my calves -- about ten on the left, ten on the right. The bites are INSANELY ITCHY. I freak out, and immediately think bed bugs, since I've NEVER been bitten by a spider so many times, and I had heard talk of a "bed bug infestation" in Chicago. I talk to my boyfriend later that night and he tells me that HE has weird bites on his foot -- about five of them. This actually makes me relieved, since we hadn't slept in the same place the night before, and I wonder if this is all coincidence? I HOPE that maybe I was experiencing a delayed reaction to being bitten while I was gone in Indiana...? Just to be on the safe side, though, I put both my boxspring and mattress in those zipper aller-safe covers. No new bug bites on Tues-Thurs. morning, as far as I can tell. I even went so far as to circle all the old bites on my legs with a permanent marker, so I'd be able to see if I got any new ones. Yes, that is crazy.</p> <p>This morning (Friday, Sept. 11th): I wake up with what appear to be two more bites on my stomach. BUT. They aren't itchy (remember that the ones I found on the morning of Sept. 7th. were CRAZY itch). And these new ones almost seem to be gone by tonight, about twelve hours later, where the bites from Sept. 7th are still there (albeit much smaller than they were the first day). So the nature of these new bites seems to be different from those that I found on the 7th. But it's still weird to have these bites, all the same.</p> <p>So here I am now. Like so many others on this site, I've taken apart my bed. Looked at mattress and boxspring (both top and bottom), along the seams and the ticking. Looked in the crevices of my bedframe and headboard. I don't think I've found anything. Certainly nothing alive. I washed my sheets in hot water and dried them for about two hours on the highest temp. setting in the dryer. I usually have beige or green sheets on my bed, but I replaced them with white sheets so that I'd be able to see any of the tell-tale signs (blood stains, fecal smears). The only thing I *have* noticed are some small dark specks on my sheet, but they actually look more like little dark flakes. They are dry, and I would equate them to the flake-like consistency of goldfish food, if anyone knows what I'm talking about. I probably found four of these on my sheet since changing my bedding. They're super tiny -- about 1 mm long. Are bed bug feces normally dry like flakes, or do they appear as actual smears in the fabric? It's hard to tell from the pictures I've found online. It's also possible that this is just dirt I'm carrying into the bed on my feet or something (I have hardwood floors). Since I usually don't have white sheets on my bed, every little speck of dirt is obvious now...plus, I'm really scouring (sometimes with a magnifying glass, no joke) my sheets for signs of these critters, so any tiny speck, even lint, is cause for me to freak out.</p> <p>I have found a bed bug-sniffing dog online that's in the Chicago area. I gave that number a call and left a message. I also spoke to two exterminators today, both of whom didn't seem overly concerned, even though I was pretty much hysterical. The second one with whom I spoke told me to go buy a bunch of glue traps and put them all around my bed...I had read this many times before, and I actually have double-sided tape on the legs of my bed already, but I'm going to go out and buy a buttload of glue traps and just make a little glue moat around my bed. </p> <p>I live in a condo and I called the management company today to tell them about the problem. They didn't mention that anyone else in the building had complained. Nor did they seem overly concerned. Maybe they don't realize the severity of this problem, when it gets out of hand?</p> <p>I'm not sure what else to write, at this point. I'm literally scared. I've always been a bit of an anxious person, and this has really helped ratchet up my anxiety. I purchased my condo relatively recently and the knowledge that I actually OWN this problem, in a sense, is overwhelming and terrifying, to put it bluntly. </p> <p>I guess all I'm looking for is an answer to my question about what the bed bug feces looks like...if it is actual flakes, like I described, or smears. Other than that, I wrote you all an entire novel and if you have any words of support or hope, they would be *much* appreciate at this really miserable moment.</p> <p>Thank you!!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/new-and-chewed-in-seattle#post-57960 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:06:52 +0000 chewy 57960@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello all -</p> <p>I've been reading this GREAT site for a couple of months because my apartment building has had a bed bug infestation for almost 2 years now. I really appreciate all the advice, information, and support offered here. It all helped me tremendously to deal with it when I got my first bites almost a month ago. :(<br /> While I am sleep-deprived, paranoid (and occasionally despondent), thanks to you all I had a clue what to do in terms of identification, inspection, laundry, bagging, steam cleaning, mattress encasement, dusting DE (and maintaining a modicum of sanity in the process) and so was able to go without being bitten for 12 whole days-and-nights straight.<br /> I've been empowered and given a bit of hope through this site. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.</p> <p>~"Chewy" </p> <p>P.S. This is my first post! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/desperate-help-new-and-having-a-nervous-breakdown#post-57764 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:57:43 +0000 nervousbreakdown09 57764@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello. I have read and read this entire site over and over again. I need help and I need it fast. I am 32 years old and having a serious breakdown. Not just a mental one but a physical one as well. The reason for this is because I am a serious asthmatic who has bites all over my body. Just got back from the doctors where they injected over 17 of my bites with a cortisone steroid-including my stomach. I have been getting these unknown bites since August 17th.</p> <p>My husband and I went to Colorado on a road trip. I came home and noticed the bites right after. They were on my ankle in a line of five, and on the back of my knee in a row of like 6. None of them ever itched. Didn't think anything of them. I then started getting them regularly. I called an exterminator who surveyed the house and couldnt find a single thing. He did however find tiny blood dots on my white sheets so he said I probably had bed bugs. Shocked, I asked him how I could have gotten those. He explained I could have brought them in etc. He then used the Delta Dust everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. We took over 30 bags out to the laundry to clean and dry. He put that dust on the bed, couches, cracks, eveywhere. He said since he couldn't find a single bug, we didn't have a big problem and that the dust should have taken care of the problem. I was relieved.</p> <p>Sadly, two days later, I started getting bites again. A week went by, and the bites continued. So he came out a secong time and this time he used the spray. Again, we moved out and took out 40 bags to the laundry. We wahed and dried everything in 180 degrees. We threw out all the luggage- we did things to the extreme. We also have no carpet in the entire house. All hardwood. He even sprayed the inside of our car.</p> <p>So here I sit. It's been 5 days since the 2nd spray. We brought all the clean bags in and did not open any of them. They are sitting unopened in the laundry bags still closed tightly. I slept here last night for the first time in a week and I have 4 bites on my stomach. I have no clue if they are brand new but they weren't here yeaterday. I read on here that at times it can take 9 days to show sometimes so it might be old bites??? Also, my husband isn't getting bitten at all.</p> <p>I need help. What do I do next? Do i need to get a 3rd spray? Should I use a completelty different company? How can a company be spraying for a bug if they aren't sure what it is? If is was bed bugs wouldn't I be able to see one somewhere? On the bed? Dead? After all these treatments? Why aren't these treatments working? We live in a condo and have talked to all neighbors on all sides below and on sides and no one is having problems.</p> <p>PLEASE HELP! This is costing a fortune and really affecting my health as a I am severe asthmatic. My doctor said that I can't take much more of this. I live in Los Angeles. Thank you for any insight you could give me. Also, we have 3 cats but all were taken out of the home, bathed and are on Advantage. None have fleas and none are itching etc. I am not itching. Thank you.</p> <p>Wanted to add- At no time has the professional been able to find a single bug in our house or I would be more specific and post pictures. I did go to the dermatologist this morning as I noted and the DR confirmed they are bug bites. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/freaking-out-looking-for-hope#post-57802 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:57:10 +0000 paranoidinlv 57802@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Discovered the bugs yesterday and the PCO confirmed them today. We're being treated on Saturday. So far this forum has been incredibly helpful to calm my paranoia.....although the stress level in the house is pretty high right now!<br /> What I'm wondering is has ANYONE gotten rid of them and how long did you live out of bags/live as a paranoid crazy person (totally describing myself here!) before you resumed a new-normal life? This could NOT have happened at a worse time and the thought of having to endure this for a year or more just devastates me! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/what-to-do-with-makeup#post-57660 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:47:23 +0000 Koo27 57660@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My unit has been treated and before this was done my handbag which was near my bed contained items such as makeup, hand lotion, lipstick ect. The bag has since been treated now I need to know what an be done with those contents? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/thank-god-for-this-forum-well-thank-you-all#post-57523 Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:41:08 +0000 goin buggy 57523@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am new at this but already distressed, despondent, depressed, anxious, scared and terrified. Not to mention a little itchy. Too much info on the internet, some is contradictory. But reading your forum and being able to search out my dilemas and see how others deal with issues like telling the boss, (as well as having a source of practical info at this site that seems reliable), this really helps me to take a deep breath and lower my panic a notch or two. Unfortunately, it seems for everything I am doing right, I guess I am doing something else wrong. I washed &#38; dried clothes &#38; towels &#38; sheets, etc and put lots of my stuff thru the dryer, however, although I am keeping it all out of the infested bedroom, it turns our I was supposed to bag everything. I haven't been able to sleep in my bed (and rarely enter my bedroom) since I found a moving BB larvae (which confimred my suspicions), and I lined the bedroom doorway with DE and vaseline so the bugs wont come looking for me, and now I find you advise me to remain in the bed, as I may be spreading them all over the house now (despite daily showers and clean clothes and constant self-examination.) I don't feel I can bring myself to get back in that bed. So some things on your site increase the despondency I already feel, but other things I read give me hope that I wont have to live with this plague for the rest of my life. It is the first place that I found any hope. and although this is not a community that I want to be eligible for, I am glad to find people who understand and support each other through this horrendous ordeal. Thank you thank you thank you. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/introductions-1#post-57593 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:44:59 +0000 EcoPest Guy 57593@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi. I am Jeff Ledford, Owner of Eco-Pest in Hailey, Idaho. Been in the business since 1989. Looks like a busy forum. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/praying-we-had-just-fleas-but-need-advice-just-in-case#post-57511 Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:41:10 +0000 buggedinky 57511@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Dear All,</p> <p>Thank you for this forum--it has helped me immensely already, but this is my first post. I apologize in advance for the length of this post... My husband and I have so much sympathy for those of you who are suffering with bedbugs...</p> <p>We live in KY on a farm--our nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. My husband and I sleep in a double bed which belonged to my grandmother in a home with wooden floors throughout. Teh bed has a wooden frame with a wooden headboard and a wooden footboard. We have a number of wooden dressers in the bedroom. The bedroom has a pine wall behind the headboard and a pine beam made running above the bed. We have a cat which used to sleep at the foot of the bed. We have a dog who sleeps downstairs in the living room next to a sofa. So, suffice it to say, we have many, many, many places where bedbugs could harbor.</p> <p>Because we live in the country, we are used to mosquito bites and the occasional chigger incident. Because we have pets, we have seen the occasional flea, but we try to keep fleas under control with Frontline. So, when we got a few bites, we thought nothing of it. </p> <p>When my husband gets bitten, the bites do not usually bother him. Because we live on a farm in Kentucky, chiggers are a nuisance that we constantly battle--of course we try to wash them off before getting into bed. I have severe allergic reactions to many types of bites, so we try to be vigilant.</p> <p>Here is our story...</p> <p>About two weeks ago, I got a few bites between my toes--they blistered and itched. More and more bites started appearing on me each night, so we looked at our calendar and realized that it had been nearly 2 months since we Frontlined our pets. So, we applied Frontline to them both. Things worsened dramatically for me. By about a week and a half ago, I had several hundred bites and they all formed blisters and itched like crazy. We have both battled fleas before and this did not seem like it was fleas to either of us because flea bites never blistered on me before. In addition, we had seen no fleas. We spent one night away from home to get some relief and then started looking and looking for what it might be. A week ago Saturday, we ran across this site, worried that it might be bedbugs, because we both occasionally travel and we have occasional houseguests, so we called the 800 Orkin number that day and told them we were fearful we had bedbugs.</p> <p>Orkin made an appointment for Monday at 10 am. The Orkin exterminatior did not show up, so at 11:30 am, I called them again. The office said that they would have him call me. He never called. So, we called a local Orkin office and asked for a different exterminator. We also called Terminex. Late Tuesday, the exterminator from Orkin showed up and inspected. He removed the mattress and boxsprings. He turned the bed frame over and inspected the headboard. He also turned over the nightstand. He found nothing. I mentioned the possibility of fleas and he looked at his pants, seeing nothing. He showed me a photo of a serious bedbug infestation that he battled. I talked to him about what we planned to do... namely use diatomaceous earth and encase the mattress and boxsprings. He suggested that we treat the electrical outlets with the DE as well as the woodwork. He left after about 1/2 hour of inspecting. He left me with one single gluetrap, telling me to put it near the headboard and call him if we found any bugs... He had never heard of Climb-up Interceptors, so we are not completely convinced he has sufficient experience with bedbugs.</p> <p>My husband continued to sleep in the bed as bate, but I moved into a tent outside to get some relief. In the meantime, we purchased Climb-up Interceptors, diatomaceous earth, a duster, a bedbug oven, mattress, box springs, and pillow encasements. My husband continued to get bitten (small red dots primarily in lines all over his body but mostly on his legs. Fortunately, his bites do not itch.) Mine are now healing...</p> <p>I dusted the spare room first and we carefully inspected and encased the spare mattress and boxsprings. We saw no signs of bedbugs. We baked the pillows in the bedbug over before encasing them. That bed has a metal frame, so we put mineral oil under all the feet.</p> <p>Then I inspected and dusted the rooms below and beside our bedroom, again seeing no signs of bedbugs. </p> <p>Then I inspected and dusted the sofas in the living room. We saw nothing, but we put Climb-up interceptors under the feet of all of the sofas.</p> <p>Yesterday, we began to tackled our bedroom. we inspected and encased both the mattress and the boxsprings. We did find two suspicious areas which looked like they might be dried blood trails on the sides of the mattress. There were 7 or so streaks in one area and 2 in another--the Orkin man had not seen them. The boxspring was difficult to inspect because there is a great deal of batting inside. We isolated the bed and put Climb-up Interceptors under the feet. We bought new white sheets and washed them and the white cotton blanket in hot water. We dried them both in a hot drier for 70 minutes. We baked the pillows in a bedbug over before encasing them. Then we slept together in the bed. Apparently, we got no new bites, at least none that have shown up at this point. There were no bugs in the Climb-up Interceptors and no evidence of bedbugs on the sheets or encasements. We do plan to keep sleeping in our bed trying to lure any bedbugs out to feed on us. We are now keeping the cat out of the bedrooms so that his claws do not damage the encasements.</p> <p>I am now methodically inspecting and emptying one dresser at a time, washing all the clothes in hot water and drying them in a hot dryer. The clean clothes are going into plastic tubs in a far away room.</p> <p>So, we are praying that one of two things is the case: 1) I had a severe reaction to a small flea infestation which has now been eliminated by the Frontline, but both pets continue to scratch, so we are suspicious that this is not so. 2) We had a minor bedbug infestation which has now been contained in our boxspring encasement.</p> <p>Given the seiousness of catching a bedbug infestation early and that this could be bedbugs that are not yet contained, we would very much welcome any advice from those on this forum. </p> <p>We have an appointment with an inspector from Terminex coming Wednesday. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bb-prevention#post-57221 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:54:33 +0000 prella 57221@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>An apt. on another floor, got BB's, PCO's came and treated "that" apt. what can I do to PREVENT them from coming to mine. Ordered Mother Earth diatomaceous, safe for my cats. Will order the bed encasements. My mattress and box springs are very old and on the floor. Should I not buy a new mattress even if the are encased, and should I buy a metal frame to raise the bed?? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/newbie-fighting-to-keep-bbs-at-work-from-infesting-my-home#post-57116 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:38:06 +0000 DeathToAllBBs 57116@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ah, the nightmare of it. I work in a group home that's currently on it's third treatment and I think getting it's fourth this week. We suspect we had them back in the fall and probably got them from a newly delivered bedroom set, which really makes me sick about getting new furniture or mattresses. We aren't certain that's where it came from but it is an odd coincidence that the infestation just happened to start in that room. </p> <p>A few weeks ago I got bitten all down my arm after sitting on a couch. Same thing happened to my coworker whom I had called to ask to pass the message on to the managers. They were very fast in dealing with it. I love my managers and coworkers. They're really trying their best to deal with this but the house is old with lots of places for the BBs to hide. And right now, I'm getting the impression that the PCOs we're using aren't on the ball because from what I've heard they keep looking for evidence, where as I think that they should presume that if they've been in one room and then were found in another and then someone had bites after being in another room then they should be smart enough to know they've spread and might not be hanging out on mattresses any more but rather going into cracks where they lived since the first infestation. But what do I know? I'm not making hundreds of dollars every time I show up. I just don't think they're really on the ball with this or they would have right off the bat recommended follow up treatments for any BB infestation, and as far as I know they didn't come back after that one time until two of us were meals for these things which was several months later.</p> <p>Now I'm trying to avoid them taking over my home. I didn't really give it a thought back when the first infestation happened so I just came home and threw my clothes in the laundry basket in the hall or in the hamper. *What was I thinking?!?!?!? ARGGGGGHHHHH!!!!* Luckily there are no signs that they're in my house, but I don't think they moved to any of the rooms I've been in at work until a few weeks ago when I was bitten. And that day was when I came home and tossed my clothes in the hamper and laundry basket in the hall not realizing how well they travel.</p> <p>So I'm on the lookout and throwing clothes in the dryer right when I come home and letting my car bake in the sun to kill any that might have gotten in there. Also changing at work just before I leave now and throwing those in the dryer as well. </p> <p>I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations anyone could give on how to keep these things out of my home and car.</p> <p>Thanks and I'm glad there's this forum where we can get help and support. I sure hope scientists come up with a way to kill off these things soon. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/questions-about-ziplocks-in-dryer-and-treatment-and-treatment-preparation#post-56929 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:38:55 +0000 depressedandconfused 56929@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi -- I'm new to this site and forum and am finding it very helpful. I feel really #@*#-ed up about our situation. I'm obsessed and can't focus on my regular day-to-day life at all. Also, just to give a little more info, we own our apartment, and, of course, I'm terrified to tell my neighbors.</p> <p>About 14 days ago, I started getting bites at night--3 on top of one foot, two on the side of my knee, 3 on my breasts, 3 on the top of the other foot, a few on my behind. It seemed like I was getting bitten every night for about 4 or 5 days. I have heard other people's horror stories and was immediately suspicious. Before I read all the controversy on this site, I hired a canine to come in (Champ from M and M). He indicated our bed, a chair near our bed, a basket hamper in the bedroom and a basket in our bedroom closet.</p> <p>I have found some "specimens" on the chair and on the bed, but they don't look anything like the bed bug pictures I am seeing. Instead of being somewhat diamond shaped, these are oval and ridged or segmented almost like an armadillo and they have teeny tiny legs all along the outside of the oval. I've saved a few and on Monday I will call the PCO to try to get an appointment for identification. I know that I have bugs. I know that I have bites, and I know that I need to exterminate. However, I'm still not sure that I can confirm that these are bed bugs. Any thoughts?</p> <p>I have talked to M and M about treatment, but I'm freaking out about the prep. We have so much stuff. Forgetting the cost of treatment, it will cost a small fortune to buy enough seal-able plastic containers to store our stuff. It could easily take me days to launder all of our clothes and fabric items and pack them away. It's a nightmare! I had bought my father two brand new polo-style shirts for his birthday, and I am afraid to give them to him even after laundering. That made me really cry.</p> <p>Now I have a million questions -- first, I don't have a packtite yet, but I do have a bunch of super large ziplocks leftover from a vacation. Can I put these in the dryer for 20 minutes on high heat? Will I start a fire/burn the whole house down doing this? Will they melt in the dryer? Can I spray alcohol in the bags to "sanitize" them? Or should I just wait for the packtite? Is it safe to put the clean clothes in a lawn/leaf garbage bag that's knotted at the top?</p> <p>As for my belongings, rather than spend a lot of time packtite-ing our hundreds and hundreds of books and our many other belongings. I'm wondering if I can just put a lot of stuff in traditional cardboard boxes and move them to one of those self storage places for two years. The idea is that the bed bugs won't have access to live humans to bite and will die. Then we can retrieve our stuff. I'm especially concerned because I have thousands of dollars worth of expensive baskets. The other option is a fumigation pod or truck, which costs about $1000 or more. Any advice is welcome. If we lived in a house, I would just Vikaine the place.</p> <p>To complicate matters further, we have a bird, and they have very sensitive respiratory systems. Birds have been known to die from things like Febreeze, Oust and non-stick cookware fumes. This is why I went to M and M -- they use Eco-Smart, which is supposed to be safe for birds. I am definitely going to let them treat and seal all the cracks in my apartment, inject pesticides into the walls and ceiling and treat all the baseboards in my house. I'm still not sure about doing the dusting though. That would require all my belongings to be cleaned/treated and packed in air tight containers. Unless you use a packtite, how do you clean/inspect toilet paper? tampons? rolls of ribbon and wrapping paper? a food processor? a package of stickers? What if things don't fit in a packtite? Then what do you do? Can I really get this all done before they come on Thursday? One is also supposed to dismantle all the furniture. How do you dismantle a dresser other than taking the drawers out? I have two solid cherry armoires that weigh a ton. I don't think I can even move them away from the wall by myself. I also need to call and ask if the dust is Eco-Smart too or something else that's more harmful.</p> <p>What a mess, I'm so depressed and confused that I have barely been functioning the last week and a half. Any advice/support/help is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post--there are just so many details. </p>