http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:57:08 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ive-got-them-freaking-out-and-sad#post-62709 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:47:27 +0000 buggedout16 62709@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>So... I was here a little over a year ago, thinking I had bed bugs that turned out to be carpet beetles. Unfortunately, this time it's not such a happy ending. I found this little guy crawling up my bedroom wall today and it looks exactly like the pictures on here. I've been terrified of this since last year when I thought I had them- it's my worst nightmare and I don't know what to do. My mattress and box spring are already encased from the scare I had last year; and I don't see any stains or spots on the sheets or any of those areas. I didn't see anything in my couch either, but I sleep there occasionally by accident- falling asleep watching TV or something- so I'm sure they are there, too. I know "what" I have to do know; but doing it is going to suck. I was supposed to work all weekend; I just called in for tonight to try to start dealing with this; don't know what I'm going to do about the next two nights. I think I know where they came from- my littlest sister's apartment- I visited her about 6 weeks ago and she mentioned she'd been getting lots of mosquito bites- when I came back I had some bites too but they went away- I'd had other spots that could be bites or acne and kept inspecting my bed and etc. for signs- saw none until today. I'm going to have to let her know, too. Although you'd think she'd have seen them by now- maybe she just doesn't know what they look like. I live alone, in an apartment building, and I am not going to be able to do furniture moving by myself. I think I'm just going to throw away a lot of my stuff. I'm terrified of how this is going to turn out. I just wanted to vent here.</p> <p>Oh, going to try to post the photo if I can once I figure out how... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/being-bit-never-found-the-bugs#post-61075 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:37:55 +0000 bugged2 61075@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Going nuts... found my first 3 bites on Sept 15, 2009, on my rib cage...few days later had 7 bites going down my stomach. For the following 2 weeks, I'd randomly get bit on my stomach, breasts or shoulders every few days-all places always covered while sleeping. Finally called Orkin after finding out a friend had been at our house in July-Sept and he had bed bugs (thanks for not telling us!).</p> <p>Orkin sprayed the first time on Oct 6th. Started getting bit again on Oct 12th. Then Orkin came and did a 2nd spray on Oct 14th. I thought I was in the clear...then I realized bites on my stomach on Oct 22nd while in the shower. Truly going nuts. We've taken our couch to the dump, encased all beds and boxsprings. Orkin is returning on Mon (Nov 2nd) for our last spray. We have spent $400 to Orkin (living room, and 3 bedrooms done...I wasn't chancing anything and had every room sprayed) and have spent over $250 on encasements. </p> <p>Here's our biggest issue: we've NEVER found a single bug. The Orkin investigator found black spots on the underside of our boxspring, and claimed those to be fecal matter (though it sits where the frame is and the frame is black...). It's a brand new kingsize bed that we purchased in Feb, with no headboard, just sits on a metal frame. We've never found eggs, or skin shedding.</p> <p>I have washed and bagged all of our clothing and belongings. I found these zippered bags at walmart for $5.24 and they fit a TON of clothes in them:<br /> <a href="http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detail.gsp?image=http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_500X500.jpg,http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_500X500.jpg,http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_AV_60X60.gif&#38;product_id=11085278&#38;iIndex=1&#38;isVariant=false&#38;corpCard=false&#38;type=-9223372036854775808" rel="nofollow">http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detail.gsp?image=http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_500X500.jpg,http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_500X500.jpg,http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73/18/10/55/0073181055402_AV_60X60.gif&#38;product_id=11085278&#38;iIndex=1&#38;isVariant=false&#38;corpCard=false&#38;type=-9223372036854775808</a></p> <p>This bag is very similar to the ones we have.</p> <p>Here are my concerns:</p> <p>*I adopted a kitten from a shelter on Sept 11th (days before being bit) took him to the vet, and $90 later they said he is completely free of any mites, parasites, fleas, etc.</p> <p>*I am the only person being bit, possibly on the couch and the bed...</p> <p>*I've been bit numerous times on the stomach and breasts. Few bites on back, and one on thigh. All bites itch, and have left scars (even the first ones from 6 weeks ago)</p> <p>*We've caulked EVERYTHING-cracks, crevices, baseboards, etc...</p> <p>*We do not have carpet, the entire house is ceramic tile, so they cannot be living in the carpet</p> <p>*We have electric baseboard heaters along most walls in the house...father and boyfriend claim they are metal and get too hot for the bugs to survive...took 3 off today and did not find anything, so we are not checking the rest of the rooms</p> <p>*Could the bugs be in our electronics?</p> <p>I apologize for the long post, but I am going nuts. I am just thankful that I am out of work and able to do the necessary bagging and disposing of things. We had a lot of our belongings bagged up on the kitchen table, and our stupid kitten climbed up the bag and ripped holes in it. I caught it, but who knows how long it could have went exposed. I taped the tears... again, these are trash bags with our belongings that cannot be steamed, sprayed, or dried, and are going to sit in there until we inspect.</p> <p>Any thoughts, suggestions, or anything really to help me sleep at night would be great ;) </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/murphys-floor-cleaner#post-62729 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:52:16 +0000 BettyV4 62729@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>How long after treatment can I use Murphys Floor Cleaner? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/pcos-will-not-believe-me#post-62452 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:59:18 +0000 jasmine311 62452@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My co-worker told me she had bedbugs and we shared a hotel room for 3 days so when I started getting bit and saw the little black dots all over my mattress and pillow I knew what I had right away even though I never saw an actual adult bedbug.</p> <p>I was so freaked out I threw out my mattress right away and mopped and cleaned every trace out of my house. I guess that was a bad idea because the PCO said he couldn't find any trace of bedbugs and he didn't think I had any. He sprayed a little bit with Talstar and Gentrol but he won't come back. He says my problem is in my head--he says there is a technical word for it.</p> <p>Now I'm on my own with DE and Bedlam. What should I do? He left some glue traps but they don't go in the traps. The pesticide got rid of the adults but I have a million tiny nymphs that crawl on me every chance they get. I isolated an airbed but I'm still afraid to go to sleep. Any ideas will be appreciated. They're not in my head. They follow me everywhere I go and have kept me awake many nights. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/got-bugs-for-a-hotel-room-think-we-left-them-there#post-59657 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:13:44 +0000 bugged_in_WI 59657@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>About 1 1/2 weeks ago my husband, son and I stayed in a hotel for a wedding and woke to bed bugs. Lucky we saw signs (blood smeers in the bed - moving dots). The manger, after comp-ing the room, gave as info on how to make sure they didn't follow us home. We stripped on the patio, tooks showers and then took everything we could to the laundry mat, washed and dryed the heck out of it and bagged and/or froze everything else. At that time we didn't have any signs of bites. About two days ago, in a hot shower, the bites appeared. I haven't slept since that morning at the hotel. I feel itchy and crawly all the time. I have spent many sleepless nights pouring over bedbed sites and now know more than I care to about the nasty critters. Even though we haven't had any signs (I check the bed and matteress every morning and night) I want to get an exterminator. My hasband wants to wait and see if we have signs. He has been layed off - on and off - since Last Nov. and money is really tight. Staying is the hotel (a cheap one) was the only "extravigant" thing we have done in months - now I wish we had driven home! Not sure what I am looking for here, just can't sleep (again) and a wits end about this. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/need-to-know-that-this-will-end#post-62411 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:39:33 +0000 Susan B 62411@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am overwhelmed and need encouragement. For 2 months I have seen doctors etc only to finally find what we think is a bed bug...only 1. No fecal traces, no black droppings etc...nothing. Just me getting a few bites every few days. We had an exterminator come and inspect the room, he could not find any traces of bed bugs and is not certain we have them. They are coming back to treat in a few days. We found what we think is another one and will give them to examine. We have encassed all mattresses and box springs with bed bug protectors, we have heated all clothes in the dryer and put in tubs in the basement, we have vacuumed, steamed in the dryer EVERY item in our room. I have not been biten in 8 days, I know they live a long time....and we are pursuing exterminator treatment.</p> <p>At what point do you ever know they are gone? Will there be a day when I don't inspect all the covers? When will I not have to vacuum everyday....and will I ever sleep a full night again? Thank you for listening! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bugs-omg#post-60984 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:20:43 +0000 Deathlyallergic 60984@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I recently have been fighting a bed bug problem. I found out that I am severely allergic to the point that I have to go emergently in to the doctor for steroid shots, breathing treatments, and prescription antihistamines, causing my all ready heart murmur to worsen, the bites turn in to big welps. Im a single mother with kids and have no one to lean on for help with them. I have had the exterminator out 4 times now, and again this Thurs.<br /> Im exhausted and have done everything every website, exterminator, literature has said, and yet they still exists. I want to try the Climbup or your bug dome which is more effective, but have spent $1000+ on this issue and have exhausted my finances, trying to stay out of the hospital. Looking for anyway to get these things destroyed. Im scared. Im on anti-anxiety meds, due to the trauma these things have caused me.<br /> I sleep in clothing covering all my skin, including long socks and gloves, and wear Deet bug repellent to bed everynight.<br /> My bed is away from the wall, night stands, box springs and mattress are incased. I have bagged and washed everything washable, thrown out many things such as pillows, mattress covers, papers, magazines. Had the entire place, sprayed, dusted, fogged, and foamed twice.<br /> The exterminator is working with me unusually intense due to the nature of my life threatening allergic reaction from even 6 bites.<br /> I need anyone to help!!<br /> The company I bought the mattress encasement is sending me a complimentary incasement to double up to help ease my issue, due to the severity of my allergic reaction. Im not asking for a hand out, I just need help to keep these things from killing me.<br /> Tamara </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/a-new-infestation#post-62161 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:50:49 +0000 BoJenkins 62161@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello everyone,</p> <p>I posted this question in one of the FAQs, but I thought I'd also create a new topic to hopefully get advice from more people.</p> <p>I went to a camp at the end of summer 2008 for a class trip and ended up bringing bed bugs from the cabin I stayed in into my dorm room. I experienced severe reactions to bites until the middle of December. Throughout September-December, my university performed 4 total pesticide treatments in my room. Towards mid-December, I noticed that the bites had become fewer in number and healed faster for each new set of bites, until, finally, I stopped experiencing the bites completely. Until now, I had thought I had successfully gotten rid of my bed bug problem.</p> <p>I am at a new university now, and I fear I may have brought the bed bugs with me. I know bed bugs can stay dormant for very long periods of time, but how likely is this? The other day, I noticed a couple bites on my face and neck that appear very similar to the bed bug bites I experienced last year. Over the winter and spring at my last college, and then during summer at home, I had not experienced any bites. How possible is it that the bed bugs were in my belongings and simply dormant from mid-December 2008 to this November 2009?</p> <p>Last spring and winter, while still at school, none of my belongings were packed away. When I was home for the summer, all my clothes and even my comforter were unpacked in my house, so I find it odd that only now have I begun getting bites again. During the summer, the only things that were kept sealed away were my sheets and towels. I had washed these and put them in the dryer before packing them up (in one of those zip-up plastic covers you buy comforters in). Could there have been some bugs that survived in my sheets and decided to come out now? Or would it be more likely that my new dorm has bed bugs unrelated to my previous infestation?</p> <p>Sorry for the long post. I appreciate any input! Bed bugs are so freakin' frustrating!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/not-as-confined-as-i-thought#post-61869 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:58:46 +0000 fantastapotamus 61869@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>dammit. </p> <p>When I first discovered my infestation I was fairly confident they were confined to the bedroom I was sleeping in. I hadn't found any skins or traces anywhere else in the house when I pulled baseboards, etc. and since I got a PCO in as quickly as I could I didn't think they would be anywhere else.</p> <p>well, either I drew this one out to the front room when I slept up at the front of my place for the 3 nights prior to spraying and the 3 nights after, or it was there all along and I really have to worry that now my new couch is hiding them as well. there is one other possibility, that it fell off something I've been running through the laundry but I don't feel that is as likely.</p> <p>it was still moving so the chemicals didn't kill it, although it may be dying from the residual effect, I don't know. it has been 6 days since spraying and this is only the 2nd one I've seen since then.. and the first out beyond my bedroom.</p> <p>just when I was starting to feel better about my situation, one little bug and I'm back to square one with worry and stress. I guess the positive is that it doesn't look like a full grown adult based on this picture</p> <p><a href="http://bedbugger.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/common_bed_bug_lifecycle.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://bedbugger.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/common_bed_bug_lifecycle.jpg</a></p> <p>the dark spot near it's butt on the one I just found is fairly small so I'd say it is likely a 3, 4 or 5.</p> <p>I'm DEFINITELY getting some climbup interceptors to see if there are any more out front or in my bedroom, I'm DEFINITELY going to keep vigilant, and I'm DEFINITELY getting my PCO in for a second visit within his 30 day guarantee.</p> <p>siiiigh </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/so-overwhelmed-by-bed-bug-onslaught#post-61906 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:12:27 +0000 pillowparade 61906@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am in my early 20s and was living at home after graduating college to save money. Even though I get along fine with my parents, I decided it was time I moved back to the city where I went to school and get an apartment of my own.<br /> When I found place with a great set up, location and price, I didn't hesitate and moved in immediately, but since then nothing is going right. While I was moving, somebody stole one of my bags, which included very expensive jewelry, my iPod, and my camera.<br /> A few weeks later I found a chair on the street outside my building, and thought it would make a nice addition. BIG MISTAKE.<br /> I woke up with a dozen bites the next day and immediately threw it out. I reported bed bugs to the building manager, she still hasn't brought in the exterminator weeks later. She says he is ignoring her calls. She came in herself and sprayed poison even though that is not how you kill bed bugs, but I guess she thought it would be a temporary solution.<br /> I am still getting bitten, and I dry all my clean clothes every week and just don't know what to do. I've been sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor, but my bed comes Wednesday and encasements are so expensive.<br /> Also I don't know how to keep my clothes safe. I know they have drawer liners, but what about everything that I hang in the closet?<br /> How am I supposed to wear shoes every day if it means exposing them to the beasties in my apartment.<br /> Not to mention my suitcase and other bags.<br /> This is all such a nightmare.<br /> I think I should just move back home. Why </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-and-hints-for-a-first-time-infestation#post-61662 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:55:24 +0000 fantastapotamus 61662@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi everyone, </p> <p>apologies for the length, but I've had a LOT of questions building up since I've found this problem and I'm taking this time to get them all out and get some answers to give me some peace of mind.</p> <p>I am sure this is a sentiment held by many when they first go searching for resources on bedbugs, and don't take this the wrong way, but this is a site I never wanted to visit or become a member of. :(</p> <p>However, since I have a problem and this seems like an excellent community of people that can help since you have all gone through something similar, gather round as I tell my tale of woe.</p> <p>My name is fantastapotamus, and I have a bedbug infestation. How they got here isn't important (but in brief I blame the renters I had in here before me... biggest mistake of my life that just keeps getting bigger), how to get rid of them is. </p> <p>I found them on Friday night as I was going to bed. I was about to climb in between the sheets and saw some black "lint" on my fire engine red bedsheets. I reach to brush it off and think "I'll vacuum that up on Saturday"... except the lint started to run away. I grab it and it explodes in my fingers, leaving what looks like blood on my fingers.</p> <p>now, never in a billion years would I have thought I could have bedbugs as I keep a clean house, I vacuum once I week change my sheets regularly, don't travel / sleep in hotels much, etc., but after a few leaps of logic in my head (bed.. bug.. blood,... red bump on my forearm in late October.. ah !!@#!) I went to the internet and found this site (among others). A few checks on what to look for, and I go back into my room and find.. bedbugs! </p> <p>It wasn't as big as I had expected, but the fact that I could see 3 or 4 on the corner of the boxspring and <u>lots</u> of excrement (surprising for how few were visible), and then shuffled along the top of the boxspring to find more traces.. and then more on the other top corner, and the bottom corner, etc., I was outta there. I (barely) slept in the living room floor on my camping pad, and was up first thing on Saturday to start calling exterminators. </p> <p>I got someone to come in on Monday afternoon, so after three relatively sleepless nights I got an exterminator / PCO to come in and examine the problem and spray my place. It took over an hour, and he sprayed everything he could - all exposed carpet, edges (I'd pulled the baseboards) the baseboards themselves, bed, boxspring, dresser, nightstand, fogged a dust into the electrical outlets / light switches (I also removed covers), electrical panel and just as thorough leading out to the front door of the house. I've been able to sleep a bit better, but this has obviously left me a LOT freaked out so I have a ton of questions I hope you all can help me with.</p> <p>1) is there any way to estimate how big the population was in my particular case? Prior to spraying I saw maybe 30 bugs total (living or dead) in almost all stages of development (more "older" bugs.. half? maybe more?) and all within easy reach of my bed, none much further than the hallway outside my door, and off bed bugs were few.. maybe 6 of the 30?- clearly id'ing from stage 3 to adult with some guesses at mobile black dots as earlier stages after feeding (they all gave off that smell when I squished them).</p> <p>1) I know the chemicals they sprayed have a 2 week residual effect on the insects (and I've seen them working on my pre-bedtime "bug patrols" - dead ants / millipedes / bedbugs where there wasn't anything the time before), but should I be concerned about sleeping in the front room of my place vs. the bedroom - will I just move the problem out to the front and risk moving the infestation to my couch / front room?</p> <p>1b) should I be staying out of the infested room(s) to ensure I don't track away the residual from the chemicals and give them a chance to survive? or even worse, pick up a hitchhiker and take them to a previously uninfested area (still covered in chemicals, but not ground zero)?</p> <p>2) in relation to where I sleep, this infestation is in a room in the basement of a half duplex (I guess technically a fourplex) - do I need to worry about the surviving bugs heading upstairs or next door for a closer snack? ie. do I need to warn my neighbours of the problem? upstairs is already aware of what I found and what I've done, but I haven't talked to the other half yet... </p> <p>2b) how far away can they sense their meals? again - if I move too far away will I just be pushing my problem off to others around me?</p> <p>3) also in relation to sleep location - if there are survivors of the chemical treatment, do I need to get back sleeping in "ground zero" ASAP so that I can draw them out and through the chemicals so they can die? I haven't found many new carcasses on my searches so I'm thinking one of two things - the bigger guys have headed off to other "diners", or they are in hiding waiting for me to come back. the smaller guys (stage egg to 2) I'm thinking I will never be able to tell if they are gone or not. not such a comforting thought.</p> <p>4) preventative measures - I'm getting mattress enclosures dropped off tomorrow by my exterminator (part of their service / "guarantee"), but I'm looking at the following steps for preservation of personal sanity:</p> <p>4a) pillow enclosures - the pillows I had were pretty much at the end of their life, but when I buy new I don't want them to get infested, so enclosures = a good idea in my mind.</p> <p>4b) boxspring and mattress enclosures: a no brainer - the location of the majority of the bugs, lock them in, starve them out. I have no idea on the brand, are there any that are that much better than the rest?</p> <p>4c) climbup interceptors - I have been considering these for the simple fact that they will let me know if there is still a problem, and they are fairly cheap. anyone know how sturdy they are? do they work? what are their dimensions? I've got a sectional couch that only has about 3 inches of height clearance under the legs, so I'm hoping they are somewhat short to fit under those.</p> <p>4d) DE powder for the edges of the room, electrical outlets, etc. put down a coating of that, put the baseboards back on and viola an effective barrier to carve these little vampires up when they come for me. at least that is my understanding of how that stuff works.</p> <p>4e) annd possibly drawer liners / garment bags for clothes - it has only been a few days but I'm already very frustrated with living out of garbage bags. which leads me to </p> <p>5) laundry - hot wash, hot dry. does it have to be back to back. ie, if I run stuff through the wash and then it sits for a bit before going in the dryer, do I give them a recovery time to live again? how long does the clothing /bedding /fabric stuff have to be dried before eggs to adult are d-e-a-d?</p> <p>5b) the most curious question for me about laundry is this - I bag stuff prior to spraying because it is clothes and they may be infested. I then put it in the wash (Reaching in the potentially infested bag) and put it in the wash, possibly getting some on my skin. when dry, I pack into bags again and fold into other bags so I have some sense of organization (clear garbage bags were purchased after 1 day of "what @#$@# bag is my underwear and socks in... and do I have anything clean / bedbug free?). my question is - how do I know I've taken enough precautions to ensure I haven't just stored some lone survivor away to release into the wild after the chemicals die away and they can begin to rebuild their army of bloodsuckers? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/carpet-beetles#post-36021 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:18:43 +0000 buggedout16 36021@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>OK... I'm not sure what is going on. The guy from pest control came by just now, took the things I caught and is going to put them under a microscope, but said "looking at them, they look like the larvae stage of carpet beetles". I told him I first found them in my bedroom and on the bedskirt, and may have some bites but not sure, and he said he was pretty sure they weren't, but would call the landlord's office back after he looked at them. I'm going to *try* to post a picture of what I've found so you all can tell me what you think, here in a second when I figure out how... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bedbugs-for-the-third-time#post-61574 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:13:53 +0000 Sourgirl69 61574@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>HELP ME SOMEONE!!! I’m going absolutely insane! My apartment is infested for the THIRD TIME in a year! We did EVERYTHING we were told to do before the extermination and after. BUT My landlord was doing the same thing as Deedee’s, a unit at a time, months apart…so where are the bugs going to go? Into the units that no longer have the barrier, duh. I’m sick to death. My mental state is questionable. I don’t sleep at night. I get bitten and react BADLY! The bites swell and itch sooo bad. I have a job to keep, it’s hard when I’m not sleeping. I sit in my chair at work and scratch profusly at the thoughts of having to go back to my bug infested apartment after work.<br /> It’s also playing a toll on my love life: Who wants to be intimate on a sofa or a bed with BEDBUGS? Social life: Who wants to invite friends over and chance they get bitten or even better carry them back to their own homes? Not to mention my mental and physical states.<br /> I don’t care if you pay $1000 a month or $500 NOBODY should have to live like this. I paid for the first extermination cus I was the only one who seemed to be having the problem. PCO told the landlord to do the WHOLE BUILDING cus they would just move on and on…but he didn’t listen. Come to find out, it WASN’T ME who started the infestation it was the guy downstairs who we’ve seen hauling second hand EVERYTHING into his apartment. When he was finally evicted due to the stench coming from his apartment, it was discovered that he was SWIMMING IN BEDBUGS, as was the gentleman in the unit next to us. My “infestation” was mild in comparison. I didn’t pay for my second extermination and I’m not paying for my third. This is an epidemic, they are running rampid throughout our cities, people WON’T speak up due to the emabarrassment and the stigma attached. I think it’s time our government got involved and try to find a way to get a handle on this. It’s a viscous mind warping cycle that someone has to end. In the meantime I’m off wash my WHOLE LIFE in hot soapy water at the laundromat for the third time in a year.<br /> Frustrated and Insane in Dartmouth, KJL</p> <p>In reading this back, I’d like to clarify: I do NOT believe in the blame game; however, we were told by a professional that the guy who was swimming in an infestation downstairs was most likely where it started. The landlord was informed and advised by the PCO to exterminate the WHOLE building! As a result of the landlord’s carelessness, I think it’s now his responsiblity to provide humane living quarters for his tennants.<br /> Also, by opening this rant with a plea for help, it was more of a plea for the lend of an ear. I am greatful for this forum and my being able to vent. It’s unfortunate, yet comforting to know others are experiencing the same thing. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/oprah#post-3040 Fri, 18 May 2007 21:39:14 +0000 wantmyskinback 3040@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Her website is: <a href="http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml" rel="nofollow">http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml</a><br /> I recommend writing her daily. eventually someone on her show will see it and will contact you and try to get the "story" . And there is a story here. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/fired-because-theyre-afraid#post-61329 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:23:48 +0000 cjjeans 61329@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>We just moved into our new spacious and affordable apartment. It was perfect!<br /> The previous tenants left a couple of things behind. A poster, vacuum, air conditioner, and a bottle of bed bug spray. One week went by and we started waking up with large red bites. Spider bites? Dust mites? Anything but bed bugs! We searched all the symptoms and avoided anything that said bed bugs in the search results. We prayed it wasn't true. We prayed it was anything else.</p> <p>I was going to work and scratching and slapping the bites at my desk. I finally came clean with my boss... The first word out of his mouth was "bed bugs". So we started reading those search results about bed bugs. We accepted that we had bed bugs now.</p> <p>We called the landlord and asked if there were any previous complaints or reports of bed bugs at this residence. She denied any such knowledge. She did however send the exterminator out immediately.<br /> We still got bitten in the middle of the night. The exterminator has been out every week for the last five weeks.</p> <p>Because my boss is deathly afraid of bed bugs - I was requested to not come in until the situation was handled. After the exterminator came - we would go a day or two without any bites - so I figured it was safe to return to work. I mean - hell we even bought a mattress cover... how could we still have bed bugs? 3 weeks of this on and off of work has forced my employer to let me go.</p> <p>As if the bites on my eyelids weren't Hell enough...</p> <p>What do I do? Can they fire me because they're afraid i'll bring bed bugs to work?<br /> I want my normal life back. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/theyre-biting-me-and-my-toddler-but-not-my-partner#post-61400 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:16:52 +0000 bigbadbugs 61400@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Its so horrible; my little boy is itching and has learnt the word "scratch" because of this close encounter. We got a few bites about 6 months ago and had the bedroom sprayed 3 times since. Now I've woken up with little clusters of bites around my eye, my shoulder, my elbow, chest and my back. My little boy looks awful with red marks on his ears and neck plus scratches all over his hands. Funnily enough my partner never gets any!?! Don't they bite men? Moved the bed away from the wall last night - hope that makes a difference. I wash my sheets at 60 degrees but might throw out the duvet and buy a new one. Or just stick to sheets and throws which fit in the washing machine. I'm going to get a visit from a company called Eco-Lab. Hope they know their business. What else should I do? The bed is wooden with a headboard but the legs are metal. The matress is foam. I have foam pillows and foam ones. At the mo. I sleep in a King size bed with my toddler and partner so any heat seeking bed bugs will have no trouble finding us in our flat. The problem is in the whole block, not just our flat and we also have mice at the mo. so according to Wikipedia these will be an extra food source for these bed bugs too! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/packtite-should-i-order-it-for-my-books-shoes-etc#post-37588 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:40:27 +0000 buggedinbk 37588@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am moving... can't deal with it anymore. I am putting EVERYTHING in storage except my essential paperwork, etc, clothes and shoes...can i use packtite for that. Will it work?</p> <p>Thanks<br /> Please SOS </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/advice-support#post-61321 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:22:28 +0000 Counting Again 61321@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>I'm relieved to see there's finally a place where I can voice my concerns and questions and be heard by others who know what I'm talking about!</p> <p>I've been fighting BB's since June 17th of this year, and seen huge numbers. As large as the numbers got (170 found in the first four days after a chemical treatment when it was at its worst) I never had any outside of the bedroom, which has been a huge relief, but I haven't taken it for granted that they won't be if I'm not continually careful.</p> <p>Just at the time I thought I'd never win the battle, the numbers started decreasing, especially after I started getting up three times during the night, and with kleenx in hand, killing any I found wandering the bed. I went from finding 8-10 per night, to one or two, to sometimes none, and then counting days between finding none and finding the odd one here and there. First 5 days, then 8 days, then I think 2 weeks. </p> <p>The pest control company meanwhile would come and treat my place again, but not find any bugs while there. This happened on the last 3 consecutive treatments, that they found none, but in between, I would still find them - at night after they were out.</p> <p>I'm the only one in my apartment building who has needed now 6 treatments, each 3-4 weeks apart, and still has a problem. The pest control company doesn't believe that I really have a problem, because they say, my unit is very clean and always well prepared for the treatment and they haven't found any in the last 3 times they were there.</p> <p>The problem is WHERE they are. I have a wooden bed, with the head and footboard being made of 1x6" slats of wood, with a small crack between each. This is where they have hid. Out of the 'normal' places around the mattress, and hidden where they cannot be found at the top of the head and footboard. Because they are so hard to get to and find, the company doesn't find them, and so thinks I don't really have them.</p> <p>I've described bites that I was getting on my fingers, wrists and forearms, but was told it was not common to be bitten on your hand, that they usually go for the midsection of the body. I've been wearing a long, long sleeved nighty every night, so it makes sense to me that they are biting the only exposed part of me, but they still don't believe me. I'm starting to feel crazy, but only because they think I am. I KNOW what these bites look like on me, because I've had them since June, and they ARE BB's, but the guy at the company was trying to convince me they could just as easily be some other rash or allergic reaction. At the time of that conversation, it had been 4 weeks since my last treatment, and I hadn't found any new bugs, but I had found 3 or four new bites, one of which was very recognizable as a BB bite, on my arm.</p> <p>The day after that conversation, I woke up in the middle of the night again, searched and found 2, which (disgustingly) I've kept live in a ziplock bag. And just last night, I added one more.</p> <p>Are there others who have had this number of treatments and still the BB's persist?</p> <p>Are others not believed by the pest control companies?? I don't understand why they don't believe me, if I've done everything I can to be responsible with this problem. </p> <p>I run a tutoring business, partly from my home. After I found BB's I stopped having students come in. When I was sure they were gone, I had the students in again. Now the BB's are back - still in small numbers but back. None have ever been found outside the bedroom by myself or the pest control company, but I'm petrified to have people in again. I'd like to make different arrangements but don't know what to tell them. Any suggestions??</p> <p>Thanks all! Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/3-months-and-still-have-bb#post-60030 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:57:02 +0000 2manybb 60030@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am new to Bedbugger and feel I need help, I can't get rid of bb. This is my story: July 10-20, 2009 We had a boy stay with us from NYC. Stupid me let him carry his bag right into my son's room and put his clothes in a small bedside dresser, his suitcase then spent the 10 days in the room. We put a bed in my son's room for this boy.<br /> July 30-31st my son has bites (then we thought they were hives) all on his neck and arms.<br /> We went away for 2 weeks, came home for 3 nights, again my son has bites (we still think they are hives) on his arms and neck. Although bedbugs are going through my head i searched his bed and found nothing. We went away another 2 weeks (of course no bites when we were away). Came back Sept. 1 first night more bites. I again search his bed and find nothing. (at this time i was not the bb expert i am now and didn't know what great hiders they are). Sent my son to his grandmothers for a few nights, because i think he is allergic to something in his mattress. Now i know how stupid that was.<br /> Next 2 weeks I am crazy rewashing his bedding and clothes in Dreft and allergy free detergent , some bites here and there.<br /> September 18th my daughter sleeps in my son's bed and he sleeps in hers. She wakes up covered in bites. Hard to believe but I thought it was hives and she must have been allergic to whatever the problem was with his mattress.<br /> Now we are in the 3rd week in September, my husband is away so my son sleeps with me.<br /> September 25th. I am calling the mattress company to say there is something wrong with his mattress. (We bought in in May 2009)<br /> One final look at his bed And I Find Them!!!FReaaking out!!<br /> Sept 26th the evaluation and price for the Pest control. First treatment was Sept. 30th. They treated my son's room daughters room and the basement bedroom (because after the boy left in July we carried the bed, boxspring and metal frame back down the basement)<br /> Second treatment was Oct. 8th<br /> Since I found the bb, I have washed and dried everything in my son and daughters room. Nothing has been taken back into their rooms. Their drawers and closets are empty. I threw away anything they will live without. I encased all mattresses.<br /> We were not sleeping in those rooms until last week, in my son's room my husband got bit (he saw the bb after it bit him and killed it) The next day (Oct 11th) We threw out my son's bed (not the mattress) and his night stand (this is where the boy dept his clothes and bb were found in it) When we threw out the bed we found 2 live bb. We put the bed in large trash bags and wrapped it in plastic to carry it out. Now in his room is the encased mattress, one large dresser and a desk with bookshelves. All drawers are empty. Today i am going to but a metal frame and put each leg in the white plastic bug crawl up things to isolate the bed. I am going to "sleep" in there tonight (actually lay awake most of the night.<br /> Here is my newest problem. My kids (3) have been sleeping in my room on air mattress. There clothes are in my room in rubber maid containers. Last night my youngest daughter was bit on the arm. This means they have traveled to my room. It is way down the hall from the other bedrooms. Only one bit so i am assuming only one has traveled, unless more bites appear throughout the day.<br /> I bagged up the air mattresses. Tonight am sending the kids back to their own 'isolated" beds.<br /> How am I going to find one bb in my room? The air mattress was near the door. There are 2 chairs and a large dresser near the door (the sitting area in my room). </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bugs-turn-out-to-be-rat-mites#post-61180 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:01:39 +0000 amygirl 61180@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have been a lurker on these forums for the past six weeks or so. I was freaking out. The husband and I woke up one morning with trails of welts all over our bodies that itched like MAD!!</p> <p>We'd recently had Mormon missionaries over who had told us about their bed bugs. I uneasily showed them the door and didn't think much of it until I started trying to figure out what could have bitten us. I was almost positive it was bed bugs. I went berserk, convinced that I would flip over the box spring and find a huge, squirming mass of blood-filled bugs. </p> <p> I was so terrified that I couldn't go near my bed- not even to search for the bed bugs, not until I had an arsenal to deal with them. After reading people's horror stories of dealing with these pests month in and month out, year in and year out... I decided we needed to hit them hard and hot them fast. </p> <p>I ordered a 50 lb bag of diatomaceous earth(food grade), a garden duster to spread it around with, mattress encasements for all our mattresses and box springs, some nasty chemicals, vaseline for the bed posts, giant ziploc bags, etc. etc.</p> <p>When everything came, it was d-day. We flipped our mattresses over. I was puzzled. No tale-tell sign- blood spots or black droppings along the mattress or box spring. And no sign of a single bug. </p> <p>What was stranger is that I hadn't gone near our bed. I'd spent a couple nights sleeping on a stool at our counter- seriously, I kid you not. And I was still getting bites! I attributed it to having been previously bitten but having a delayed reaction.</p> <p>Anyhow, we went ahead full bore with the diatomaceous earth and wrapping up the mattress. I cooked all the bedding on "sanitary" in the washer and dryer. My husband and daughters who were sleeping in our bed did not get any more bites. I started sleeping in the living room and continued to get bit. I figured they were coming after me now that the bed was isolated.</p> <p>Then one night, I saw this tiny speck racing in crazy circles around my forearm. I was like "What the hell?" Then it dawned on me- I'd seen these things on plants before. They were mites. I got online and started researching. Turns out these things live in the nests of rats and birds and when their hosts leave or die, they go looking for a blood meal. I was serving dinner, apparently. </p> <p>Now that I knew what to look for I went hunting around the house. I found them coming in the bathroom. They were on the toilet, around the sink and there were quite a few in the tub and shower. I locked down that bathroom and coated the place in diatomaceous earth. They kept coming, though.</p> <p>Finally I read a vector control document that said the best way to get rid of these things was to get rid of the host and the hosts nest. My husband went under the house and found evidence that rats had been partying in our crawl space. Sure enough, they had been getting into some dry stores in the garage. We quickly blocked off all entries to the crawlspace and garage and proceeded to trap and poison the little buggers. My husband retrieved a total of 6 dead rats and cleared out the nests he found in the garage.</p> <p>The mites seem to have abated. We have not been bit in over a week. We bombed under the house and the garage and will continue to bomb regularly for a few weeks to catch any that hatch from eggs that were laid previously. I left the diatomaceous earth for about two weeks all over our house. It was a pain in the butt- got into everything and left a fine coat of dust *everywhere* but it was worth it to get rid of the buggers.</p> <p>These things are very insidious because they are practically invisible. They won't stay on your skin unless they are feeding and will hide in the seams of your clothes where they can survive the wash and dryer unless you run it really hot and for extra long. Then, you get into your supposedly clean clothes and they come out and bite you at night.</p> <p>Anyhow, I wanted to tell this story because I was SO SURE we had bedbugs and turns out it was mites which can be really hard to find and identify because of their size-- some people have been called crazy because they have this invisible bug biting them. So, always good to hunt down what's biting you!! It is important to do so as early as possible so you don't end up with a full on infestation. Once they get infested and start laying eggs... its really tough to get rid of them- mite or bed bugs or whatever.</p> <p>If anyone needs help- I know how difficult this can be psychologically as I get really freaked out by bugs- feel free to contact me. Also, thank you to all you level headed folk out there that posted sane and rational advice and made me feel like I could get through this. All I know is now, I am going to be super careful not to get bed bugs or let anything else infest us. The mattress covers stay!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/at-my-wits-end-after-almost-3-years#post-60537 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:37:40 +0000 Itchybutdealing 60537@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hi all. Me again. It has been a while. Our story is that we have been fighting these buggers on and off for 3 years. we had a few month reprieve just to get them again. We would like our coop to do something they say that no one else has complained and they don't want to spend the money to inspect other units. We have been treated full out at least 6 times with washing and bagging and living in plastic and frankly I just can't do that to my kids anymore. On top of it my 2 year old has terrible asthma and now has started reacting to the chemicals used on the bed bugs. At this point I really don't know where to turn. We just bag laundry and wash and dry hot hot. I spend my free time steaming and vacuuming, still we get a few bites. We are in NYC and frankly I don't know anymore where they are coming from: neighbors, kids' school...etc. I am really just done and can barely function anymore. I really need help but don't know where to turn as all of the exterminators only seem to eliminate for a period of time. We have caulked and everything. At this point we don't even see any bugs but occasionally get bites( invisible what the heck). Anyways guess I am just venting. Thanks. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/poor-abroad-and-at-my-wits-end#post-60644 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:21:47 +0000 niwatorimegami 60644@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>So, I recently moved to Japan as part of a job opportunity, and sometime around when I first arrived, I was getting bit on the arms and hands by bugs. At first I thought that I must be getting bit by some unfamiliar gnat or something, but research online and on this blog made me realize that the problem might be bedbugs. This was confirmed for me relatively quickly as I found a shed skin under my futon (I sleep in a tatami room) and a few weeks after that I managed to catch a few live bugs. </p> <p>Tatami mats are woven from bamboo, and there are many nooks and crannys around them. I think that the bed bugs have been living in the tatami itself, as I haven't been able to find any harborages. The problem is, I rent my apartment and I have no way of flipping the tatami myself to try and get at the bugs. Also, the fees for cleaning tatami are very high, and my income can't support it. I can't afford the rates of a PCO either, and I wouldn't even know how to go about finding a good one here. This is especially bad as I went into the empty apartment next door (for sale apartments are often left unlocked) and I saw many black flecks on the tatami against the wall that is shared with my apartment. So I can only conclude that all my efforts at eradicating the bugs are being thwarted by them migrating next door.</p> <p>I'm not sure what the laws are concerning bedbugs in Japan, but when I spoke with my landlord about it he offered no PCO service, but did not ask me to carry one out either. Ask I've only been getting bitten intermittently, and I've only lived here two months, I decided that I would try moving as the cheapest option. My landlord is allowing me to move to a different building that is close to my current one without having to sever my contract, which is a blessing on my pocketbook. </p> <p>I'm trying to take as many precautions as possible. I'm throwing out my futon, my sofa, and some of my cheaper bookshelves, as well as my desk. I bought kitchen bleach to wipe down my tables, my chair, and my bookshelf. I've been putting all my clothing in the dryer at 75 degrees celsius for the full cycle even though they're already dry. And while I couldn't afford a Packtite (the shipping is too crazy) I made a makeshift version out of a futon dryer and a plastic drawer. Futon dryers are small machines that fill a semi permeable bag with heated air and which incorporate a filtration system to weed out dust mites and such. You usually put them sandwiched between the top comforter and the futon itself. The temperatures get up to 150 degrees or so, Fahrenheit. I wrapped the heating device around the items I wanted to heat up, then stuck the whole thing in a large plastic drawer, to keep the heat trapped. I have no idea if this worked or not, but the items felt as hot all the way through as they do when I remove things from a regular dryer, so I'm cautiously optimistic. I don't want to take any chances with reinfestation, so I'm going to heat my electronics this way as well, and pray that they still work afterwards. </p> <p>I have an indoor use pesticide that has a nozzle with a needle that allows for spraying into tatami. I plan to spray my new place before moving in, and to continue to do so at one week intervals. I also plan to isolate my brand new metal frame loft bed by putting the legs into miso soup bowls filled part way with mineral oil. I also purchased some food grade diatomaceous earth, and I tested it on the live bedbugs I caught here. They all died in under two days, so I plan to put some in the cracks around my new apartment. Beyond this, I don't know what else I can do. I'm fairly confident that the new place I'm moving to is bedbug free, as my coworker has lived in that building for over a year without incident, and he's also bite reactive.</p> <p>I'm not exactly looking for advice here (though that would also be highly welcome) so much as some friendly words? When I first began reading this forum, I thought that other peoples' infestations sounded much worse than mine, and that I'd be fine. But the psychological effect of seeing this bugs next to my pillow has been unbearable. I can only hope that I can escape them this time. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/have-i-had-these-vampires-the-longest#post-60617 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:13:42 +0000 BettyV4 60617@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I so feel like having to come back on this forum after being bug free for a couple of months means I'm living the worst nightmare of anyone. In toll, I'm getting close to two years with a 3 month repreive. I've done everything possible. The problem has been a house next store (adjoining) that hasn't treated (insane people). So no matter what I've done, or the money spent, they are back. Bottom line it's going on two years. Anyone come at least close? I bet not. Except, of course for the other adjoining house who has been treating alongside with me. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/blotches-and-bites-help#post-60581 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:29:39 +0000 BettyV4 60581@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I checked myself after a little itch and found lots of large blotches and bites at 11:45pm. Woke up at 9:15am and they were gone. What does that sound like? Anyone know? HELP - going crazier than a bed bug </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/moved-still-getting-bites-mosquitoes-advice#post-60453 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:37:44 +0000 Kate G 60453@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've posted a couple times since I've moved, but I'm hoping for some feedback so I don't go nuts. </p> <p>My roommate and I took all of the precautions before we moved to a new apartment. The new place is older, and there are other bugs there. I've seen spiders, ants, and I am woken up most nights by mosquitoes buzzing in my ear. There's an overgrown backyard outside of my bedroom, and the mosquitoes like to find their way in after it rains. </p> <p>I'm getting a bite or two every few nights. The bites are only on exposed skin on my hands and arms (when I had bbs, they were always on my legs, under the covers, etc.). The bites are smallish, look suspiciously bb-esque, but often i'll panic, then swat a mosquito that has clearly just bit me. I've got my new bed encased, and I've put DE all along the cracks of the wall and by the bed frame. </p> <p>Does this sound like cause for concern? Any thoughts would be much appreciated. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-solving-my-bb-mystery-requested#post-60337 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:56:59 +0000 S.P. 60337@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello. Here's my BB saga as condensed as I can make it. I can't seem to solve the problem. Advice is appreciated.</p> <p>I believe I brought BBs home from a trip in January. A couple weeks after my return I begin seeing bites on exposed areas. Found a blood spot on my pillow, another on a blanket. I believe I found BB feces on my sheets once. I didn't see any BBs.</p> <p>I hired an exterminator highly recommended on Angie's List and a therapist highly recommended by a friend. I bagged, I drycleaned. I used the dryer. I encased. I cried.</p> <p>The exterminator probably sprayed four times at 2-3 week intervals. We never saw a live or dead BB.</p> <p>Bought a Packtite. Packtited my stuff that I couldn't clean. Still bites.</p> <p>I brought in a BB dog. It postively indicated my register and got excited about a couch and bag of linen. Threw out the linen. Discarded the couch. Sprayed the register. Foamed in the recesses around it. Caulked every crack I could find in my room. Tried an exterinator recommended by the dog person. He found nothing. Didn't really care for him.</p> <p>Saw a dermatologist: he couldn't identify the red spots. Don't feel he took me seriously.</p> <p>Tried the DE on the carpet treatment for a month or so. Still bites.</p> <p>Consulted with a leading U.S. entomologist. He sent an article to me of everything that it could be other than BBs. None of the explanations fit. He also recommended an exterminator in my city.</p> <p>Hired that exterminator. He found two dead BBs in my room. We began treatments at 2-3 week intervals.</p> <p>When I traveled, the bites went away (always Packtited my suitcase/clothes). I'm out of my house: the red welts stop appearing</p> <p>Put the exterminator-supplied traps around the legs of my bed (the BBs crawl in are unable to crawl out). I have found nothing in them. I switched them out for glue traps on the legs of my bed. Nothing caught in the glue traps. I did find one BB exoskeleton near my bed (confirmed by the exteriminator).</p> <p>So, to recap: three dead bugs found, no lives one found. Still getting bites 9 months into treatment. But no other evidence.</p> <p>My exterminator has been awesome. After approximately 4 treatments we brought the dog back: it gave a negative reading.</p> <p>Bites still.</p> <p>I live in a condominium of nine units, separate entrances. The unit diagonal to mine got BBs approximately the same time as me -- I figured it out because they used ozone treatment (I saw the truck, saw the signs on their door). Spoke with them. They said that the ozone treatment worked, but the BBs returned after a few months. They recently used ozone (once, then again three weeks later) again. Their infestation was visible and they said that the visible evidence disappeared. They felt the two incidences they experienced were unrelated. Ozone as a treatment is controversial: not a lot of data. It's also expensive. Would it drive the BBs to my neighbor? Did it drive the BBs to me? </p> <p>I think my exterminator is going to give up on me: there's no evidence other than my bites. My therapist, by the way, does not think I'm crazy (but I feel like I'm heading in that direction).</p> <p>I looked into heat treatment. It entails a lot of money and having a generator parked in your driveway.</p> <p>Questions:<br /> - If it's not BBs, why do the bites stop appearing away when I'm not home?<br /> - How did they get to me with the traps (both the plastic and the glue)? My bed (wrought iron: not a favorite material) is continuously doused in spray. It's been dismantled, wiped down. I've caulked around all seams. My mattresses are encased. I use minimal bedding, which I clean and dry frequently.<br /> - Where are they hiding? 9 months and we've found 3 dead ones, no live ones<br /> - What should I do next?<br /> - Could I be generating the bites psychosomatically? (except I know how far-fetched that is)</p> <p>Thank you in advance to anyone providing constructive input. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/we-live-in-a-sleeper-berth-semi#post-60357 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:27:51 +0000 mfindley 60357@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>We have had this truck (Sleeper berth semi) since March. Absolutely no problems until August. Threw away the mattress, sprayed. Only relief is cold weather. My husband gets bit much worse than me but how do we cure a truck? Have gone to motel twice, washed, cleaned, sprayed, spread vicks and absorbine jr around. Never saw any bugs, parts, anything like that except very recently one small beetle-like thing, black body, red head. Help! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bb-on-the-set#post-60089 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:34:45 +0000 cilecto 60089@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>On the way to work this morning, I pass a long vacant storefront that's buzzing with activities. Space being fitted out for a movie. At least 2 dozen people working. Equipment. Lights. Props. PADDING. DROP CLOTHES. Oh, I've heard "through the grapevine" that the building has a BB situation. How many of the people working there as I speak know? How about the next users of the rented props? How about the owners/tenants of the next space where the pads and drop clothes will be laid? How about the purchasers of new items in cardboard boxes from the store that will eventually open in this space? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/as-i-write-i-itch-like-some-drug-addict-in-detox#post-59858 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:49:53 +0000 kimintheeast 59858@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>As I write, I itch, like some drug addict in detox. I found bedbugger.com about two and a half years ago when I returned from Costa Rica on a Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning covered head to toe in welts and bites. I went to google of course, baffled by what I had found. And in my searching, I narrowed down my trails of red to either scabies or bed bugs. Off to the dermatologist I went, praying to my God that it was scabies or just something else! The dermatologist eyed my bites and reported that bed bugs it could be but he would not know for certain unless I found a bug. (and I learned that I could be bitten one night and not show the bites for 3 to 7 days! )So for the next month, I did not sleep. I vacuumed religiously, combed my mattress and sheets for blood, eggs, feces, something! I tossed and turned, constantly itchy. In fact, I often set my alarm for 3am, so I could pull back the covers with my flashlight trying to find one of those damn things! I never found one, no eggs hatched, they did not hitch hike home with me! I was relieved. The experience never left me though.</p> <p>In the last two years, I have been vigilant about checking every place I sleep. I love to travel so this is a must... I have looked like a fool to my travel mates. I tell ya, that education on bed bugs from this website and others is helpful, but it also haunts you. I have become a bedbug guru to my own detriment, perhaps. In fact, when someone has bites, they immediately contact me to determine if I think it's bed bugs or not.</p> <p>Just this past Spring, one of my co-workers and friend, called me to discuss bites she was getting. Bed bugs. Yep. She owns a row house with her husband and it turns out her neighbor had them and they migrated over for a little dinner at her house. Poor girl was in denial for two months before she attempted to deal with them. Interestingly, she consulted with an exterminator but decided not to go forward with it because they would just come right back if her neighbors didn't do it too. Instead, she encased her mattresses, has lived out of garbage bags, sprays alcohol on her frame, and puts DE wherever her bed touches the floor. She hasn't had any new bites for the last month. Nor has her neighbor...not sure how this is working given all that we know, but it is working for her.</p> <p>She and I had to stay in the same beach house for a wedding. I hated to do this, treating her like a leper in my mind, but I asked her to take preventative measures to ensure she didn't bring the little guys on her trip. Of course she took the measures, because she always does now. I checked our bed thoroughly for signs. None noted. We slept in different rooms. Also during this time, she left the job and I took a new one which landed me in her old office. Um, yeah, I didn't really think that one through.</p> <p>This was a time of great change for me. I had just bought my first condo, I had just changed jobs, and by golly gee, I was gonna quit smoking once and for all. Peace and good health I sought! Before I moved, I saw bites on my legs. They did not look like the bed bug bites I had before. They looked like mosquito bites and it would make sense that I would have them since I was inhaling my last packs of cigarettes on the back patio with the bloodsuckers. A little concern set in, so I started inspecting my sheets, and mattresses. Nothing that seemed out of the ordinary but you just never know.</p> <p>I moved into my new home! Yay Obama first time home buyer credit! I was still nervous so I kept inspecting and also not sleeping well. A few days after I moved, I found a bite that was larger and red, more welt like...I freaked out. I got home late from work that night and started washing and heating up everything. I put on my camping head lamp and diligently overturned every seam trying to find something. Nothing. I vacuumed my bed frame at 1:30am in the morning waiting for my new neighbors to bang on my door. After washing and drying my down comforter, I laid it out on my couch, did a few tasks, and returned to find a small bug chilling on it. Not moving, round, very small...perhaps a baby bed bug? I looked at the pics online. It might be. Did it seriously survive the washer and dryer and deadly hung tight to the white fabric? In a Tupperware container, the bug went. It was now 2am. On the verge of a nervous break down, I cracked open the bottle of wine my Realtor bought me to celebrate, dug out my old cigarettes, and headed out to the corner. There I was shaking, in pajamas, cigarette hanging out of my mouth, travel mug of wine in hand, and head lamp pushing my hair out of it's elastic band in the middle of the night. I could not believe that this was happening to me.</p> <p>I called out of work the next day telling them the reasons. I called someone to come from one of the pest control places that uses cryonite. The guy looked up my tupperware friend and said, yes, that's a bed bug. I had my condo frozen with the CO2, I packed up my wardrobe and fabrics and spent some time in the laundromat heating them up. I bought mattress and pillow encasements. For all my paranoia, I did not research these things, I just reacted. So who knows if the cryonite will have worked and who knows if my encasements are up to par (there is no research on them.) And seriously now, who knows if that little bug was a bed bug or if that guy was just out for my money. My once neatly unpacked condo was now disheveled. I hadn't slept in four days. All my home buying budgeting meant nothing. I was over a grand in the hole. Life has not been good.</p> <p>That was all last week. I'm still looking. I'm still not sleeping. I'm washing and heating up laundry as we speak. I sprayed alcohol on my bed frame. I put DE on the floor. I find tiny little bumps from time to time that look vaguely like flea bites. My guy friend just got two bites that showed up the night after he stayed over. Looks like mosquito bites but could it be? I really just don't know anymore. Every piece of dirt, lint, mark, the headlamp goes on and I inspect. I haven't found a bug. I haven't found blood on my sheets. And really can one tell the difference between dirt and lint and eggs and feces? I'm caught somewhere between "it's ok" and "freak the f* out!" Excuse me my language but it is seriously how I feel. Have I gone overboard? I want my life back.</p> <p>I sometimes play "Would you rather..." in my mind.<br /> Would you rather have bedbugs or scabies - SCABIES<br /> Would you rather have bedbugs or crabs - CRABS<br /> Would you rather have bedbugs or lice - LICE!</p> <p>I sometimes wonder "What are the chances?"<br /> That my co-worker brought a bug or two to the office and I brought a bug or two home (my bag now goes on top of a filing cabinet.)<br /> That my co-worker brought a bug to the beach house and I brought it home<br /> That those bites were just mosquito bites?<br /> That that one bug was something else and not a bedbug.<br /> And wouldn't I be getting those welts again instead of these little pimply flea bite things. I do have an indoor cat!</p> <p>Ugh!</p> <p>Tonight, I just felt like I had to write. I'm at a loss. I mean I can't even discuss the guilt I feel thinking I might have brought them into this building...oh and then I think, maybe they are already here?</p> <p>Seems like no one is safe anymore. I'm itching. I'm itching even when there's no red or bite...like a drug addict. Perhaps it a nicotine fit. Off to buy a pack of cigarettes. Alas!</p> <p>Thanks for listening. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/has-anyone-on-this-forum-had-bbs-a-long-time#post-59865 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:28:51 +0000 BettyV4 59865@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I'm trying to figure out if I should be on another forum. Has anyone here had bb's for a long time? I had them a year and a half and they may be back. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/mites-red-spiders-bed-bugs-ptsd#post-59815 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:20:55 +0000 BettyV4 59815@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I live in a large house in Brooklyn, NY and have had this problem BB, going on two years in Nov. Finally John was here and did his dusting work and actually haven't seen one single bug for months. I've occasionally gotten bites but they were just bites from something. Who knew what. We have those red, bubble like spiders, weavels and mites. I mostly find the spiders dead except once in a while alive in our beds. I have developed PTSD and every night prior to bed, I take the covers and matress apart for any evidence. I search my body for bites. Even with meds and therapy I live in terror. When I'm out in restaurants or other people's houses I check anything that even resembles a bb. So this morning I found 2 tiny bugs around the edge of encased mattress. Yesterday I think I smashed something on the side of my bed that I thought was a bb; however after smashing it was a brown mushed non-descript thing. I looked with a flash light and there were no signs of a bug. Anyway, thank God Ceasure is back and he's going to check out these two small bugs I found and we'll go from there. Anyone else out there suffer now with PTSD as a result of BB's? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/waiting-to-see-if-theyre-back-1#post-59813 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:59:07 +0000 BettyV4 59813@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I haven't been here in months. My story is that we've had bugs for a year and a half; treated alot; and finally thought they were gone. I think I was bitten last night and this morning found 2 tiny bugs around the edge of encased mattress. Sick as can be I called my Freedom Pest Control, Ceasure and found out he's back in action. I don't know if you guys were aware of the horrific motorcycle accident Ceasure had a couple of months ago. It's a major miracle he's alive. His assistant came by here to check my bedroom and took those two little critters with him to show to Ceasure. Ceasure had an inspection to do in the city and he knew I'd freak totally if someone didn't get here today. Like so many times, he saved me. I'lll update as I get the news. It's to much to even imagine. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/question-found-some-bug-legs-are-they-moltings#post-59463 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:43:50 +0000 Kate G 59463@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I just moved to a new apt, I was driven out of my old place by bed bugs. Roommate and I were extremely careful with everything we moved - hot drys, plastic bags, the works. </p> <p>I've been getting a few bites on my arms at my new place BUT there are mosquitos and spiders in this new apt. I have seen both, and have heard buzzing mosquitos in my ear at night. </p> <p>Yesterday I found some suspicious insect legs on my sheets. They were black and had joints. Should I be worried that these were bed bug moltings? Or should I continue to assume that all new bites are from other pests? I heard bed bug moltings are usually in one piece, not just legs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-etiquette#post-59470 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:15:19 +0000 scottili 59470@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>We have a rental unit in an upscale beach resort. A renter complained to me that her son had been bitten by bed bugs. Sure enough, we have 'em. We hired a PCO, threw out the mattress and all bedding, vacuumed every nook and cranny in the room, put diatomaceous earth down in the carpet edges for days at a time, etc. There is no evidence of the bugs in any other rooms in the unit. And yes, we refunded our renter's money.<br /> We were there this weekend, and noticed that people are staying in the rental unit next to ours. We won't have anyone in our unit for the next few months. What are the chances that the remaining bed bugs have migrated next door? It's a new, well-built building. I'm agonizing over whether to alert the HOA. Plus, we have the unit on the market. I would like to hear from those who have been in similar situations. What did you do? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/three-weeks-in-two-bugs-spotted#post-59398 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:36:09 +0000 Lise 59398@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Back story: I woke up on September 13 with three bites. We started IPM routines from Toronto Health. I've had no bites since then.</p> <p>This morning my husband found two nymphs on the tape surrounding the bed. They look like they were most likely coming from the baseboards, but unfortunately, on opposite corners of the bed.</p> <p>We had slacked off a bit on the daily vacuuming, but will resume that for a while... this week at least!</p> <p>We are going to visit my parents for (Canadian) Thanksgiving this coming weekend, and I really don't want to bring any hitchhikers with us. I will probably wash all our clothes and do a super-hot dry on them the night before we leave, taking them straight from the dryer to the car.</p> <p>Unfortunately we have to take the vehicle that we think we brought the original hitchhiking bug(s) home in. We haven't used it in about six weeks, and we won't be sleeping in it, so hopefully it won't cause any problems.</p> <p>I'm upset about having found the bugs, but grateful that I haven't had any bites since the original trio on the 13th. I hope there are no cases of people reacting to their first bites, then not reacting again! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/theyre-back-and-weve-gone-thru-3-companies#post-59170 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:28:06 +0000 DavidGarrison 59170@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>The first company came and sprayed five times, and finally gave up, they couldn't get rid of the bed bugs. Then the Landlord (we rent, and paid for the first treatment ourselves) sent HIS Pest Control Expert, he sprayed once a month for six months....couldn't get rid of the bedbugs. Then we hired ANOTHER company that charged us $1400.oo to "heat" our apartment. NO BUGS!! For four months!!! Now they are back!!!! How can this be possible??? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-after-7-months-of-fighting-them-theyre-back#post-56736 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:34:50 +0000 megan_the_bed_bug_slayer 56736@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>This is a bit of a long story, but I think in order to get all the information I need, I need to share a lot!</p> <p>My boyfriend lived in an apartment with a complete IDIOT that bought some nasty old couch from Craigslist. <strong>NEVER BUY SOFT FURNITURE UNLESS IT'S BRAND NEW OR YOU KNOW THE PERSON AND WHERE IT'S BEEN!!!!</strong> His roomate slept on the couch and then was bitten by bed bugs so started sleeping in his room without telling my boyfriend that he'd found the bugs -- or doing anything about it. So his room got bed bugs, and it soon went into my boyfriend's room. So we called a PCO. We cleared our clutter around the bedroom per the instructions of the PCO who had us bag our clothing and move it into the living room. Well the couch that this idiot brought in was the point of origin of the infestation -- which at this point he hadn't told us.</p> <p>So as the PCO is combating them in our rooms, unknowingly our other stuff was being infested in the living room. So the PCO moves in there spraying everything like a mad man, hte PCO tells us it is the point of origin. My boyfriend and I spent 3 days at the laundrymat washing ALL of our clothes, sheets, comforters, blankets, etc. He then stayed with me at my apartment.</p> <p>We threw away the couch, his bed, the bed frame, the computer chair -- basically anything we found them on. I swear we sprayed every inch of that place. We also had an inspector check my apartment and he didn't find anything.</p> <p>Well a few weeks later I found tiny ones that hadn't bitten yet on my bed. I stripped my bed, washed everything, RE-washed all of our clothes, and covered the mattress.</p> <p>We both moved out of our apartments (thank GOD!) my furniture went into a storage facility (it's concrete and has a metal door) and his dresser (the only furniture he had left) went into his parents garage.</p> <p>So I kept all of my clean washed clothes in bags,and I haven't opened them until now (3 months later) I am now washing them again - just to be certain - I'm PARANOID of these things! I looked through all the things I ever had at his apartment, things that were under his bed, etc. I couldn't find them.</p> <p>Well, his parent's house is now infested, despite all of our efforts. I am so scared that they'll re-appear at my parent's place too, and I don't want to bring them to my apartment which I move into in 3 weeks! I can't have anymore sleepless nights because of these stupid bugs - it's my senior year in college!</p> <p>My bf and his parents have been fighting the bugs for weeks now, putting mattress covers on but nothing seems to be working. I sent him this site and he's going to start following the suggestions here and continue consulting with the PCO.</p> <p>Like I said, I started going through my stuff from my apartment but I haven't seen anything, nor have I been bitten, but i'm scared since the bugs took 2 months before they appeared again at his parent's place.</p> <p>My thought was since all of my furniture has been sitting in that storage space (it's not temperature controlled, it's outdoors), and we've had a really hot summer. Those bugs are probably dead if there were any. We were also going to get spray (<strong>I need some suggestions of what product would be best</strong>) and spray everything in there REALLY well and then seal it off in the storage space for a few days.</p> <p>Also I'm getting mattress and box spring covers made to protect against bed bugs, and like I said earlier I'm in the processes of re-washing everything.</p> <p>Is there anything else I should do? Please any help is greatly appreciated. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-bed-bug-experience#post-59046 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:42:28 +0000 Iluvmardi 59046@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ok, so I am 17 years old. I am captain of my Poms squad. And it is my senior year. We went to poms camp around the end of July. We stayed and Northern Illinois University (NIU). I slept in a dorm room like everybody else there. I woke up the next morning took a shower and got dressed. After getting dressed, my ankled itched. I itched it and left it alone. Then a couple seconds later it itched again. Of course i itched it. Then it REALLY itched to the point where it really bothered me. So i look at it and it looked like a mosquito bite. So i didnt think anything of it. Well, alittle while later i find some more "mosquito" bites on my knees, elbows, ankles, and even the back of my neck along my hair line. Before I knew it, i was itching everywhere!!! My feet, hands, knees, ankles, and the whole back of my head itched and throbbed like no other. I talked to my coaches and i was texting my dad and told him i wanted to come home. My coach and i went up to my dorm room to get my sheets because we had a thought that it could be bed bugs. I get to my dorm room and look at my pillow and i saw 3 small blood marks. I started freaking out. I gathered all my things and my dad finally picked me up. My mom already scheduled a doctors appointment and 3:45 pm. I got home around 2 in the afternoon. As soon as i got home my dad put all of my clothes in the washer and washed them in super hot water. I took another shower. My dad gave me a benadryl and i fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 2:45 and my feet, ankles, knees, elbows, hands, back of my neck, and my forehead was competely swollen. My throat also felt tight and it was hard for me to swallow or breathe. My dad rushed me to the doctors. The doctor thought this reaction was from a medication i was on which is called minocin. She said that this medication was known for this kind of reaction. But I was already on this medication for 3 weeks? Wether or not she sent me to the emergency room anyway because of my throat. I got to the emergency room and the doctor there said it this was an allergic reaction to the bed bug bites. We told her that our real doctor said it was the medication minocin. The ER doctor said that Minocin can cause something like this but she said that this was not from the medication, it was from bed bugs. She put me on a 30 mg steriod perscription called Prednisone. That is a 3 pill a day to reduce the swelling. The swelling went way after 3 or 4 days. I was on this med. from Friday to Tuesday. They didnt weene me off of the steriods. Tuesday night i suddenly had a bad joint pain in my left shoulder. The next morning it was much worse. This joint pain moved to the right shoulder. Then to my neck. It also moved to my hands, knees, and my left hip. One morning I woke up around 4 am screaming in pain. My hip hurt so much i couldnt get out of bed. I had to call my dads cell phone to wake him up cuz i couldnt get up. I went back to the doctors and they put me on the same steriod perscription and finally weened me off of the steriod. Now i dont know if this mysterious joint pain was from the steriods or the bed bugs or what. To this day, my doctors can't agree on what it was. But i garuntee that it was those stupid bed bugs. I looked online and it said there are rare cases of severe allergic reactions to bed bugs. Who knows what it could have been. But i found this site and thought i should share my horrible experience. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/questions-regarding-weeks-after-first-treatment#post-58988 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:20:34 +0000 ghostbitten 58988@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>First off, I'm guessing it's normal to see bedbugs where there were none before? IE, in the bathroom (bathtub, along the wall, in the sink) when previously they were only in the living room and in my bedroom?</p> <p>Secondly, I was going bite-free for almost a week or two and then they started again. Despite the residual and spray and such, they're skittering across my desk when the lights are on and I'm actively raiding around 1/2a---they didn't used to before. Also, I'm finding bites/welts in the strangest places: underneath my underarm, kind of near my shoulderblade but lower? Where my bra would rest along my side. And then on my inner thighs and under my chin... wth. I'm glad it's not my arms as the scarring is horrific but still.</p> <p>Then, last night, one either dropped off of the top of my monitor or off of my ceiling.. I just saw it land on it's back and attacked it with my handy roll of Scotch Tape to add it to the half-filled paper that I'm using to track the amount//lifestages of ones I find.</p> <p>The PCO doesn't come again until October 9th and for the life of me I cannot find where they're housing. I've looked everywhere---inside my pc, shaken out my keyboard, lifting the rug from the baseboards to peer beneath and used cloth medical tape over all larger cracks in the wall--temporarily--and I just don't know where they are. It isn't the mattress as that's covered and since I've stickie-taped the legs of my desk chair (yet to do bed, oops), they're getting onto the desk somehow and waiting 'til I'm sufficiently distracted to bite me or crawl into me.</p> <p>It's not nice, wiping my whole raid because I'm too busy chasing a bb across my desk with a piece of tape. However, the bugs look to be unfed (save for one I found on the lampshade near ma's couch) and some are acting lethargic and stoned---I'm guessing this is the norm for First Treatment? I'm really trying hard to look at the bright side... that I'm at least halfway into winning the battle... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/all-for-nothing#post-58999 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:27:58 +0000 FrustratedInCincy 58999@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>The PCO came yesterday and sprayed...I'm quite sure he'll have to come back. Last night the bugs decided to retaliate and bite both legs. On spot is particularly large. Those bugs are smart they went for a bruise so not only does it itch, it hurts.</p> <p>I have to say the PCO did a horrible job. Didn't check anything didn't move anythying. He just sparyed around the baseboards and around the bottom of the furniture.That's it. Oh and there seemed to have been one wild shot that went across the front of my dresser. I seriously don't think the bugs are going to come out of their nice hiding spots, trek across the carpet for a bit then climb back up on the furniture to eat. Maybe I'm wrong but I was under the impression they might spray the furniture itself.</p> <p>I don't know what kind of chemicals they used to spray with but does anyone know how long it takes for the critters to die?</p> <p>It was also so much fun wasting $20 on laundry yesterday. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/moving-to-a-new-place-1#post-58952 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:34:12 +0000 arielh85 58952@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Well -- just found out I have the all-clear to move into my new apartment on Oct 1. I have a window between the 1 and 15th where I can slowly transfer clean things to the new place (I'm thinking right now that the strategy will be toss clean ziploc bags of clothes in the new apt without setting foot inside). Hoping I won't have too many problems...I'm not bringing much more than my clothing and a lamp. Any last minute tips would be appreciated, and of course I will provide updates on how well my strategy works. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/please-pray-for-me-that-this-nightmare-is-finally-over#post-55564 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:13:25 +0000 screwbedbugs 55564@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ok so if you guys don't remember me, I was that guy who was on the brink of suicide due to the strss from bed bugs. I have the exterminator coming to my apartment today, so please pray for me that this nightmare can finally end today! This is the 3rd time we are getting this place exterminated. We had it exterminated the first time 7 months ago, and then again a few weeks after that. So after 6 months of peace, we figured they were gone but in the last few weeks they have been popping up again. Now idk if this is a new infestation or the same one, but I'm hoping its a new infestation because then that would mean we really got rid of them the first time</p> <p>Our infestation SEEMS to be small, I'm the only 1 who is really getting bites and they only seem to be in 1, maybe 2 rooms. However, I know its impossible to tell for sure, we may very well have a TON of them without knowing it yet</p> <p>One other thing is that I live in a building with 4 apts counting the 1 my parents are renting and the landlord is only getting our apt sprayed and not the other 3 (the last extermination he got all 4 exterminated). This is the main reason why I'm so nervous as I don't think its gonna be enough, I'm willing to bet that 1 of the other apartments have them without knowing it. But there's nothig I can do about that right now, the landlord has already set it up to only be 1 apartment, and I know I need a miracle here so please pray for me! And give me words of encouragement that will make me feel better, it will be greatly appreciated! Ughhhh I'm not counting on it, I know the odds are against me and I so need a miracle, I just pray to god that it ends today </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ive-been-checking-relentlessly#post-58948 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:36:16 +0000 TeresaAnn 58948@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>As I posted in one post, I had unknowingly moved into an apartment and realized it was infested after spending only one night in it. I left everything behind from furniture to bathroom necesseties. in another post, I mentioned my mom (where I'm staying now) has a flea problem and my daughter is getting bites which I can not distinguish between bbs and fleas. So, lastnight every hour or so between the hours of 12am and 4 I went to her room and searched high and low. I found nothing. I have been looking everywhere, on the road to obsessive compulsive! Do you think I'm in the clear? Is it too soon to tell? I'm losing it, and driving my family crazy. Help! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-lord-i-think-i-found-their-base-of-operations#post-52143 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:32:59 +0000 DDavid 52143@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello there - cluttered Oscar Madison type with Captain's Bed here.</p> <p>It seems last night I found where they come out... a corner crevice in the headboard near my mattress and pillow. I wouldn't have thought there was a crevice, but I saw a small black substance "leaking" out of that corner. When I tried to get it with a piece of curled tape, a bedbug came out.</p> <p>I taped the entire line across and the corner as best I could, but couldn't sleep, thinking what I'd done probably would result in their relocating to get to me within the day.</p> <p>The management is looking into what poisons the PCO uses and whether he has a license (didnt know one had to be licensed per poison and not just to use poisons). They claim a success rate treating bldgs in the past but havent worked with this PCO before (remember he's the regular bug guy contracted to make the rounds and keep roaches out).</p> <p>I have a nasty job ahead of me clearing out my place and somehow bagging things (no one's come forward to explain what sort of bags are a "safehouse" against these things). But for now it SEEMS they haven't hit the closet. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bug-in-my-ear#post-49924 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:46:23 +0000 bunnybedbug 49924@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Yes, that's right: I was trying to relax in bed the other night (the first night after extermination #3). I got a little itch and reached up to scratch it... and there was a bug in my ear!! I hope this hasn't happened to you. And I know that I am supposed to be saving them for the PCO but I couldn't take it and I squished the little sucker. Thankfully no bite in my ear but all the same... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/landlord-woes#post-58858 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:12:16 +0000 sunshine1583 58858@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My ll just informed me after my second treatment that it would be best if I threw away all my possions and found a different apartment. They will not even let me have my third treatment!!!! The bb's are getting worse, and I don't want to get rid of all of my furniture. I think the bb's have spread through the building. The ll will not spray the other units. Any advice from anyone? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/think-i-did-it-all-wrong#post-54455 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:49:04 +0000 Bittenandnotsmitten 54455@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi guys.</p> <p>Ive discovered that I had bedbugs about 3 weeks ago! I waited til 2am and found 1 live one on my mattress and 2 live ones on my box spring. The public housing people told me they would spray in 2 weeks and being a freaked out student in summer school, I left my apartment. I took a bag of clothing that was washed in hot water and dried on high heat. On the other hand, I think I failed on other respects.</p> <p>1. I bagged my clothing without washing them for my PCO spraying (no inspection, just a curt 2 week spraying list placing)<br /> 2. I left my apartment<br /> 3. I have yet to go back since the the spray last week to put my mattress and box spring in encasements (provided by the public housing people which I am afraid to trust)<br /> 4. I couldnt be there for the PCO visit (was given a vague all day visit time)</p> <p>Here are my future plans<br /> 1. Return and wash the items that are bagged away<br /> 2. Put my box spring and mattress in an encasement eventhough its been 1 week since I was sprayed and steamed<br /> 3. Buy a climbup interceptors<br /> 4. Save to get a proper encasement </p> <p>As a student, I am extremely strapped for cash and which means that I cannot get certain items right away. I cannot afford to move away either which only increases my grief. Did I mention that my bites swell and itch really badly? I guess thats a good thing because it allowed me to deduce that I had a problem quickly (that and my paranoia about getting bedbugs after watching some television special).</p> <p>Is there anyway to salvage this situation?<br /> Is there hope that I can deal with this in MY apartment eventhough my neighbours/building is the source of this problem? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/isolating-bed-what-did-you-put-in-the-bowls#post-9236 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:22:20 +0000 TorontoBugged 9236@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Just wondering what everyone used to put in the bowls underneath their bed legs. </p> <p>Water vs. Mineral Oil</p> <p>What is the benefits of using Mineral Oil?<br /> From what I read it a petroleum product (as is Vaseline) so I would prefer not to have to buy/use this. And I would think that is also flammable. </p> <p>Has anyone found bb in the mineral oil or water bowls? Is this actually successfull? </p> <p>Also if my bed frame/legs are made of solid pine wood, is putting them in water or mineral oil OK? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/moved-into-an-already-infested-apartment#post-58542 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:25:01 +0000 TeresaAnn 58542@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>So my fiance, my 2 year old, and myself all moved into our new apartment on tuesday. Most of our furniture was moved in, with one more load in the uhaul. So, its 130 am and I've been in the apartment for aproximately 1 hour, my furniture has been there for maybe 12. I notice a small bug on the arm of my couch...one I've never seen before. I kill it, don't think twice about it. To me, it looked almost like a beetle of some kind. Then, maybe 20 minutes later, I go to the bathroom...there's another one! Now I'm wondering what the hell it is. My fiance mentions maybe its a tick, we kill it and go to bed exhausted. 6 am my fiance gets up for work, finds another one of these bastards in the bathroom. I start to worry. He leaves for work, I start googling bugs. Cockroaches, ticks, beetles, you name it! Finally, I come across bed bugs...sure enough, there are the bugs we found! Now I'm freaking out. I start tearing apart the couch I found the first bug on...I find 5 more! Two larger ones and three nymphs! I'm<br /> hysterical at this point. I have never seen a bed bug before, I knew nothing about them besides that they fed on humans. I strip my clothes off, put clean ones on...rip my child out of her bed, where I find more! One nyph extremely engorged! I strip her down, change her clothes...all the while on the phone with my fiance who keeps telling me to calm down and then on the phone with my landlord who says he will be right over.<br /> I'm out the door when the landlord shows up, I'm screaming like a psycopath. He says my unit was treated the week before we moved in, there shouldn't be any more bugs. Now I'm pissed! He knew about these bugs, didn't mention a thing and let me move in! Now my things are covered with these awful devil bugs! I tell him I want my money back, I do not want to live in an infestation. I moved in bug free, I want to leave that way. My landlord says okay, we'll meet later.<br /> I spend the entire day at my mothers house, crying my eyes out and doing research. Now the landlord tells me I can not have my money back unless I sign a release stating he is not at fault! He most certainly is! I can not take anything out, in fear ill bring unwanted guests with me! I had to leave my poor cats in there. Finally I went in and got the cats and took them to the vet. She combed them out agressively and found nothing. I pray she's right in saying they are safe! I took all of my clothing and linens out of the apartment and washed them on hot and dried them on hot for ever!both times I went into the apartment I stripped down, washed the clothes and changed. I sprayed my shoes with hot shot for bed bugs. I'm so paranoid and depressed. I left everything behind. Am I still at risk? I'm so depressed. I have lost everything so quickly. My world turned upside down in mere hours! I have no hope left. I am traumatized, can't eat, can't sleep, having nightmares, having feelings of bugs crawling on me and inspecting every spec of dust or dirt I see! I feel so bad for those of you who have been fighting this for so long! I pray for you and hope that you'll have some words of wisdom and comfort for me.<br /> I also had found out from a neighbor that most of the other apartments in the building have been infested and are dealing with the bugs as well! The whole building needs to be burned down to the ground! And that jackass landlord needs to pay for what he's done! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/st-lukes-roosevelt-hospital-nyc-may-have-bed-bugs#post-58210 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:38:25 +0000 depressedandconfused 58210@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I started getting bites after my husband had surgery at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in NYC. I just want to share this information to let people know to be careful after coming home from the hospital. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/please-help-me-6#post-58433 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:04:49 +0000 angelofmay 58433@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>hi all,</p> <p>i discovered i had bed bugs on the 31st of august and since then i have been hysteric and paranoid. i know i did not have any until that weekend when some out if town friends visited us. i immediately complained to the management of my apt and they set up a PCO to come in yesterday the 17th. i had not seen any in my bedroom at all but even then i went hysterical and cleaned everything. i had caught them just the day the friends left. since i have light carpet it was easy to spot them. </p> <p>here is wot all i did</p> <p>i bagged all my clothes into plastic bags.<br /> washed my bedding and sheets in hot water<br /> vacuumed the whole house like 4 times.<br /> cleared everything like the way the PCO asked me to.</p> <p>the time from the day i discovered them till y'day was the darkest days of my life....i feared everything and was almsot on the brink of losing my mind and even suicide. i am very paranoid abt bed bugs. </p> <p>well the PCO came y'day and saw around and said he doesnt see signs of infestation but he wud treat the house. he sprayed pyrethin all around the baseboards and stuff. sprayed some dust in the electrical outlets. he did not treat the kitchen and bathroom saying bed bugs dont usually go there. he treated my bedroom and living room, couch and everything.....<br /> we ahve another treatment in 10 days....</p> <p>my doubt is is 2 treatments enuf for the fuckers to die? since i had spotted and caught 4 of them in the living room itself is it safe for me to hope they are gone after the treatment or they will be gone after the 2nd treatment completely. i am kind of relaxed but still not completely at peace. i am scared of my own home....is it ok that the bathroom and kitchen werent treated?</p> <p>please help by giving some inputs. can i relax and hope they will be gone. i cannot live in this constant state of paranoia. i have lost 6 pounds in these 10 days. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/i-need-to-know#post-58423 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:48:05 +0000 lostnspace 58423@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have been wondering since last June if I had them or not. Twice I had bites on my legs and they fit the pattern, lines etc. I had many of them...like 40 or more. I had them the middle of June and again the middle of July.<br /> In June I tore up the carpet, took the bed apart, painted the room, etc.<br /> I moved back into the room after the re-do and got the bites again in mid July. I called a PCO and we are out in the boonies here so not sure how much they know about the problem.<br /> He couldn't find any trace but I talked him into treating anyway. I have the encasements on all the beds since July.<br /> The first part of August I noticed 5 or 6 blood droplets on the sheet. We then tried to treat ourselves with bedlam and other spray. Got along fine until the first part of September when I noticed a couple blood spots on the pillow. Self-treated again and got along ok until last week when I noticed a small blood spot again on the pillow.<br /> I have had everything out of the closet, drawers etc. I have had the climb up monitors on the bed for at least six weeks now and have found nothing. Also have never found a bug either dead or alive. I thought I found an egg once and have saved it but I am not sure.<br /> I have called a PCO again last week to say I want the place sprayed again but he hasn't showed up and frankly, around this area of the country the choices for PCOs are not good. They just don't have experience in dealing with this.<br /> I have spent many hours on this site and it has been so helpful in so many ways.<br /> I would like to hear any input that anyone has that can help me figure this out.<br /> I haven't slept a full night in months. I do a check with a flashlight at least twice a night. I also have moved downstairs to the sofa many nights.<br /> Thanks fot any help you can give. And thank you for this forum. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/itching-in-la-does-my-landlord-pay#post-58089 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:46:50 +0000 chicodeojosazules 58089@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I have been noticing bites on my body for a couple of weeks and thought it was a rash or a mosquito/spider, until this morning when i noticed a small, flat, oval-shaped, light brown bug crawling on top of my sheet. I looked it up online, and obviously it is a bed bug. I am going to be notifying my landlord about this. I was wondering if anyone knew if she is going to be responsible for the extermination. I live in Los Angeles and I am sure I am not the first person to be dealing with this. I have no idea where the bugs may have come from and there are 56 units in my building, I also live in one of the most densly populated areas of the city. Anyone have any ideas on how to move forward? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/mostly-a-vent-tales-of-landlord-woe#post-57149 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:24:16 +0000 SleeplessInVan 57149@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>So I had my place treated on Monday while I was at work. I live in Vancouver B.C. and I don't know who treated my place, what they did, or if they were certified (all information I was SUPPOSED to have). </p> <p>I phoned my land lady to let her know the pest control company's information on our prep sheet is the wrong company (I called). </p> <p>I phoned her to let her know that I still don't know who did the treatment, what their certificate number was and what pesticides were applied in what quantity (I was supposed to have BEFORE the treatment). </p> <p>I looked into the bi-law fines and it's a 100- a few hundred dollars for a violation (so cheaper for them to violate and treat themselves). </p> <p>I am so frustrated right now. Even if this does seem to get fixed I am considering throwing away all my furniture and moving once my lease is up in the Spring (regardless of how this get's resolved... I would rather have to replace most of my furniture than risk bringing bed bugs with me (I am a little upset to lose my bed - I bought a 1600 bed just before moving in here because I have lupus with arthritic symptoms and to lose a dresser I have from the 1920s)). </p> <p>First they tried to blame me for the bed bugs arguing that they wouldn't travel between suites (never mind every apartment around me up, down and on either side has opened up since Feb. when I moved in) so CLEARLY I have brought them in. </p> <p>I've been paying more attention to things now and I notice a lot of furniture, a lot of mattresses getting thrown out. </p> <p>I'm especially frustrated because I looked up the building on the bed bug registry BEFORE I moved in specifically to avoid this. </p> <p>Then even more so because I am taking this VERY seriously. I have spent 300 dollars now out of my pocket on bags and boxes and tape and... etc. That's only going to go up. </p> <p>I mostly just want validation of my frustration... and if anyone in Vancouver has any tips that have worked before to force a land lord into giving the required information / taking the proper action... please pass them on. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ll-claims-i-will-be-ostracized-if-i-ask-neighbors-if-theyre-infested#post-57486 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:22:31 +0000 ghostbitten 57486@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Taken from a letter I'm sending to Public Health via email tomorrow (they won't see it until Tuesday unfortunately, as Monday is Labor Day):</p> <p><blockquote>I suggested to my landlord that he should have the adjoining apartments checked out because I do not believe the infestation started with me, and he claims I "will be ostracized" (saying "you'd do well to note that word") if I ask anyone. This was after a false fire alarm in the building next door and I had managed to nab him as he came back inside.</p> <p>I am doing my part in preparing my unit, but my mother isn't and that, along with my landlord refusing to check other units because he says there haven't been any reports of bedbugs (note: not everyone responds to bedbug bites with allergies like I have, thus, they may not know of harboring them) could mean a reinfestation for me. </p> <p>I don't think he realizes other tenants might be ashamed of having them (as am I, though I realize it isn't my fault, my landlord is making it seem that way which only stresses me out more) or may not notice at all---I would not have noticed had I not begun finding welts on my arms and legs. My doctor suggested it was bed bugs and only after hours on a forum for bed bug sufferers and going through many pest control websites did I realize what the bugs were that I had found (not only in my kitchen (twice, at first) and once in my bedroom) were.</p> <p>I'm planning on having everything done by the middle of this coming week, and hopefully treatment can begin soon. Is there anything that can be done so that my landlord is further educated in bed bug treatment so that he might check other units, whether or not they have made complaints? I live on disability and all of the laundering and buying things to help with the issue (ziploc and garbage bags to seal my posessions in, the laundry and laundry detergent, drycleaning) is taking my entire cheque. I won't have groceries this month so on top of barely being able to sleep and becoming sick from stress, I'm not eating, either. I cannot afford to do this a second, third, fourth time or however long it persists because he refuses to see if anyone else has them.</blockquote></p> <p>-----------------</p> <p>I cannot believe my landlord is so callous. He's been acting as if it's my fault and I'm some big f-ing burden. Okay, you know, I get that I might not seem like a model tenant. I'm bipolar, I've extreme OCD (before this) and that, coupled with my mother's blatant alcoholism (that I'm sure, everyone in the building knows about) is leading him to be assholish to me. Him and his wife (who acts as second ll I'm guessing) suddenly treat me like I'm more trouble than I'm worth and it just starts the crying all over again. I've spent the entire last few days bagging my posessions and ziplocing and crying while doing so. I'm already ashamed and humiliated, and on top of that, it's as if my support system is nil. I want to give up before I've even started, because of him and his inability to do his f-ing job right. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/cherry-angiomas#post-10951 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:07:21 +0000 TorontoBugged 10951@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I've always been a little paranoid about these red prinprick spots on my skin and wondering why I only noticed these cherry angiomas (as my doctor identified them) since my bb exposure. The doctor said they are just a sign of aging but my family doesn't have a history of getting these and I've never noticed them on my parents who are much older than me. </p> <p>I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed the same? Maybe it's a generational thing? My friend has these and she is of a similar skin complexion. As far as I know she's doesn't have bb. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/need-an-exterminator-in-queens-new-york#post-10983 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:56:29 +0000 buggedinQueens 10983@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello!</p> <p>I have need of an exterminator for bed bugs in Queens, NY. Please send a private message to me if you have a good suggestion.</p> <p>Thank you! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/the-good-things-about-having-bed-bugs#post-54643 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:13:10 +0000 cmk4868 54643@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>10 Best Things About Having NYC Bed Bugs</p> <p>10) Great way to test your landlord’s character – “those are mosquito bite… maybe you have fleas… get that rash checked by a dermatologist… I’m sure the people next door to you are fine… my cousin Walter has some gas he can use to fix things up…”</p> <p>09) Develops a Sense of “24”-like Urgency about everyday life as you wait for PCO visit – “must get everything washed by tomorrow morning, then all books need to be bagged by noon, must get all furniture moved away by two, stand up mattress and get Ziploc bags by three..”</p> <p>08) Discourages Materialism – “maybe we aren’t really meant to own things like clothing, beds, books, and electronic devices…”</p> <p>07) Reduces Clutter – like a mandatory and really radical spring cleaning! And you can rediscover the aesthetic design pleasure of redecorating with folding chairs and plastic lawn tables!</p> <p>06) Fun With Dry Cleaners! – “hi, my clothing may have bed bugs. Do you mind if I drop some stuff off – just be extra careful with it and the odds are pretty good that you probably won’t get bitten, infest your own home, or shop, or other customers clothes…Hello? Anyone there? Hm, wonder why he hung up!”</p> <p>05) See How Important being Green and a PETA member Really is to you! – “Yes, I need to kill all of the little S.O.B.s: nothing but PERC on my clothing please, let’s bring back DDT, and do they sell small neutron bombs for home use?”</p> <p>04) Great Way to Avoid Awkward Social Entanglements! – “sorry, can’t make that party, have to prep for the next pest control visit!”, “Love to see you and Ralph, but hey, I might track some eggs over to your house, so some other time – maybe in a few months!”, “Sorry, Trixie, I’m afraid I can’t see you anymore – I’m infested with parasitic vermin!”</p> <p>03) Fun With Dry Cleaners Part II – “Great, you will take my clothing that might have bed bugs?! How much? Oh. $37 for a suit, $21 per pair of pants…. I see. Um, that’s more than triple normal dry cleaning rates… And then there’s also a materials and handling surcharge? Oh, sure, of course, it’s not like I haven’t already lost a third of my belongings, and spent $2,000 on ineffective treatments so far. Maybe I can get by with only one suit and two shirts for work after all…”</p> <p>02) The Many Beneficial Effects of Sleep Deprivation – “ Can you make that a triple redeye? And two pieces of the Dexedrine Sugar Fruit Loaf please! Wait, what’s that itching I feel…Another bite? A reaction to the insecticides I bathe in before going to bed? Psychosis?”</p> <p>01) Helps You Develop New Interests and Vocabulary – “what sort of residual will you use on my crevices?” “Do you carry food quality Diacetylsynchronouscontumaceous Earth in your pet store”? “Let me tell you about my research on neem oil…” </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/puzzling-bugs#post-57223 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:38:32 +0000 bbfiend 57223@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>This is our experience contribution:</p> <p>My husband and I recently got some bedbugs - the suspicion is that we got them from a local movie theater here. </p> <p>I was the original bait, my husband wasn't bitten for a couple of weeks. We thought the bites were from mosquito, after all, this July had been super rainy and going to the park daily with the dog does attract the attention of these mosies. How we realised the truth is a bedbug crawl around on my husband's jeans one evening (he got multiple bites under his jeans that day). That night, I called a friend who has had bbs for her pest control guy. Called the guy up and made an appointment for inspection.</p> <p>We kept the bug we caught. The next day, we bagged up ALL our clothes and threw a-third of our clothing away (call it purging). In the process, we caught 3 more bugs, of varying sizes. When the exterminator got to our apartment, he had an easy task, since all fabric stuff was bagged up. He spent about an hour going through 5 rooms, spraying and inspecting. Strangely, no bbs were found on our mattresses (we had just moved and had not bought a bed yet, so camping on mattresses temporarily). He suggested not to buy a bed till we are cleared of this pesky issue. The diagnosis is that we do not have an infestation, he could barely find a bug. However, that night, we caught 5. Somehow, the bugs came out after the spraying. </p> <p>Interestingly, I react instantaneously to the bites. Besides the itch, somehow I sense the bites. My husband's bite don't blow up till the next day while I start to see welts of distended proportions almost by the minute. The good thing to this is that I would wake up knowing I had just been bitten and would be able to catch the bugs. </p> <p>We started a new routine at night, being the obsessive people we are and driven by this insane desire to win the fight with these bugs, we took to staying up at night, taking turns watching, basically, I would sleep first, while my husband would sit on a high chair, watching the bed and after a few hours, we would switch and we did this for more than a week and then some after that. We did get to kill about 20 bugs in all, over the last 2 months. I choose to think that a dead bug is one that will not reproduce and grow more pesky vampires.</p> <p>In the day, we spend hours doing laundry - we spent days and quite a bit of money on it. Necessary, I know.</p> <p>I know we sound crazy, but luckily our work schedule allow us this routine without going crazy. This whole fight did get to us, my husband is more psychologically freaked out by it than I am. I am just thankful these don't transmit diseases.</p> <p>We also experimented with the bbs, after reading about heat and cold treatment on this site. We had found 2 once and kept them in separate ziploc bags. One was a full size and one was medium. Put both in the freezer for 8 hours, when we took them out, they looked still and dead. When we moved the bigger bug, something came out from it's end tip - white drop, possibly an egg? Fairly hard, used my nail to crush it. Not convinced, we kept them in the bags and let them thaw out, kept them on the table, in the bags, for about a week. What we wanted to see is if they could thaw out and come back to life. After about a week, their appearance changed. They looked drier, less glossy. Still dead. That was fun, torturing these bugs. I wish we could spank them and make them tell us where the others were hiding though. Wouldn't that solve a lot of our issues?</p> <p>The exterminator came each time we found a bug (or 2), eventually, it would be 2 weeks before we saw the next bug and now, it's been a month before we found one - last night! Yikes! Didn't think they could be in the living room, but I was bitten at about 11pm while watching Family Guy. Don't know why and how it was there, I was on the couch the whole night before when i had a sleepless episode but didn't once get bitten and then suddenly, one bit me last night. Again, my ridiculously superfast reaction came on, and it helped catch the little bugger. It was hiding under the back cushion of the couch. </p> <p>So this is what's puzzling me - how is it that we had been doing what we had been doing, according to the exterminator's advice and progressively not get bitten and then suddenly we would get one. Or 2 or 3 or 4? To date, the exterminator had been here about 5 times. Each time he sprayed, we would see dead insects the next day.. yes, the spray also killed whatever other bugs there were in the apartment. </p> <p>This doesn't make sense. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to rationalise their pattern of operation here, but I don't get how in 4 weeks, there was nothing and then suddenly, one would pop out of nowhere?!?!?!?!?!</p> <p>Could it be that the bugs were feeding off on my dog and not us in the past few weeks and decided that canine blood isn't the same as human?</p> <p>We are still living out of ziploc bags. All our books had been packed away and sealed up. Keeping up with the vacuuming and laundry. I don't want to live in denial, I need to still stay on top of this, don't want this to come back a year later to haunt us!</p> <p>Anyone ever have similar experience? Please share. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/advice-about-neighbor-situationnightmare#post-56876 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:34:30 +0000 neighborbugs 56876@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I could really use some advice, I am very on edge. This might be long.</p> <p>I moved into a new apartment in my building in the beginning of July. The apartment had been vacant for a few months before then. A month after I moved in my landlady called me and said "I have something to tell you and you're not going to like it." Apparently my neighbors had an infestation going for months and never told anyone. My landlady didn't find out until it had spread to the apartment on the other side. She told me the exterminator was coming to check my place and do some preventative work, and not to worry since the shared wall on their side was the bathroom, then kitchen. And since my apartment was vacant the chances were slim they came over here.</p> <p>Anyway, the PCO came a few days later, and he basically flipped up my mattress and box spring and glanced over them, and said "yeah you're fine." I've had an inspection before and it took the guy over 45 minutes just to check my bed so I immediately started to worry. The guy told me to lock my cat in the bathroom and sprayed Suspend all around the perimeter of my apartment and then went on to treat the infested unit next door. My super started putting DE down all over the hallways, and then the infested neighbors started throwing out everything they own. I found a dead bug in the hall and basically had a panic attack.</p> <p>The PCO came a week and a half later to follow up, at which point I told my landlady that I wanted a proper inspection. She agreed (she's really fantastic and on top of things), but this time the guy asked me if I had bites, then only lifted the corner of my mattress, sprayed some more suspend, and again declared me BB free. Now, I have insanely sensitive skin and skin allergies and basically have hives and welts 24/7, so there's no way for me to tell if I'm getting bit, or even if I'd react to that. My landlady ordered ClimbUps from this company, which still haven't arrived 2+ weeks later. It just seems like a joke. </p> <p>After a former scare with bed bugs, I'm pretty vigilant about checking my bed everytime I change my sheets. I haven't seen anything, no spots, no skins, no bugs, nothing. I am incredible itchy all the time with hives, which I am sure is probably stress related.</p> <p>Anyway, onto the latest news. My landlady is away for 3 weeks and her son is handling it now. The horrible neighbors who were infested are moving out. I've been seeing them carry everything out in open shopping bags, so obviously they didn't seal any of their washed clothes up. I am sure they will take the problem with them and a small part of me thinks that's pretty good justice since they did nothing for so long. Once they are out, they are bringing the PCO back again to treat the vacant apartment, and are afraid the bugs will try to migrate elsewhere. aka, MY apartment. So they are coming back into my apartment once again. The same tech from the same company.</p> <p>So my question, after all that, is: What should I do? I expressed my complete disappointment with this company to my landlady's son. I told him they did not inspect, did not educate, etc. I even gave my landlady KillerQueens contact info in hopes she might switch. But she told me this company successfully has treated her mother's house, etc. I can't force these people to do a proper inspection. I am going to demand the ClimbUps be brought with them on Tuesday, and am going to further caulk my apartment up, but what else should I do? I do not want to move, and actually cannot move. And if there IS a problem in my apartment moving isn't going to solve it anyway.</p> <p>ARGH. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/furniture-metal-v-wood#post-3264 Mon, 21 May 2007 16:40:48 +0000 nyjammin 3264@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I was thinking about throwing away my wood furniture. I have a wall unit and a nice dresser with a mirror on top. I was thinking of getting metal furniture instead. Does anyone here think that's a good idea and it'll help or will I just be wasting my money. I found a dead bug but it was a blood spot in one of my drawers this morning. It's only about 5 ft. from my bed. My bedroom is small so it really has to be that close. I was thinking of getting maybe some plastic shelving from Home Depot or a metal storage closet. I've had pcos come and treat these. Maybe I could just dust them with DE but I would have to go underneath the drawers as well as in them and then dust de all around the furniture. Any suggestions would be helpful. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/frustrated-with-im-not-being-paranoid-enough-while-moving#post-56923 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:26:56 +0000 jkim 56923@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>It's 3:07 AM and I am waiting for my packtite to reach 120 so I can unzip it and take the items out when it's done. The truth is this is taking a toll on my time and I am so frustrated with the pace I am moving to my new place.</p> <p>My apartment had its heaviest infestation in May and the tenants complaints have trickled down a little, although it has not stopped completely. Just in my apt. I had about 6 visits since April this year.I persoanlly was last bitten on 8/5 and the exterminator came on 8/7. I am not sure if it was a bedbug or mosquito but I got another single bite on my ear on 8/24. I want to say it is getting better, but not done yet.there are no guarantees.</p> <p>Now I need someone to help me be logical about this and not think from a panick -ridden point of view. I think I am not being vigilant enough when I should be about moving. On one side of my head I think I don't have any more bedbugs so I am very relaxed about closing my plastic bags and sleeping near the floor. on the other side I am so happy to have my packtite iwant to run everything I couldn't put in the dryer in it. These two world clash and I seem to have an illogical way of sterilizingmy stuff b4 moving. (Obviously I am so exhausted i need yo beg your pardon about my typos.) I packtite books and leave them open in boxes on the floor. What am I doing? But I don't know what else to do.</p> <p>I guesss my question is in my state of light or practically non-existent BB situation do i still need to worry that a bedbug can come alive after the two week period and be born into the new place I am moving to? Am I making sense? that was a pretty long question.<br /> I need guidance from a guru and also a menat check from someone who can think logically.<br /> I am crushed for time also because I am moving Monday, but i still have so much to packtite I am extremely overwhelmed.I am so distraught..... I may need to clean up this post tomorrow morning. ARRRRRRGHHAHHHH! That was a yawn. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/that-bug-just-mocked-me#post-56730 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:32:54 +0000 BittenBags 56730@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Lol. A bed bug just ran by as I started this post. That's a bad omen.</p> <p>I had a bugs for a bit now. They suddenly started attacking with no build up. I finally found evidence of them (not including just now) called my landlord. They're sending someone and I called Terminix for comparison.</p> <p>Doe anyone know what prices tend to be like?</p> <p>Also, I just bought new couches. Did I just lose a lot of money? Willl I have to toss them AND my bed? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/politically-correct-people-wont-speak-the-truth#post-56704 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:42:07 +0000 tisIsaidthefly 56704@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I am sorry but I'm tired of the bs. There is NO question as to where these critters came from.<br /> They came from Egypt and Africa, India and China and all the third world countries. I know for<br /> a fact that the clerks that work in the deli downstairs (from Africa) have had bedbugs for years. One of them even admitted to me that he wiped turpentine all over the floors and walls of his apartment. I told him<br /> that if he was my neighbor and did that I would absolutely KILL him. One, it doesn't help much<br /> and two, he could burn the building down. Meanwhile, all the politically correct people don't want<br /> to be honest about it but these bugs are here from world travel and unfortunate people from the less developed countries. For instance the tons of illegal Mexican aliens who come here to work for slave labor, they live ten in one room and sleep in shifts in the bunkbeds. Their landlords don't care if they have bedbugs. That's the reality folks and they are not going to go away until someone finds some way to deal with this once and for all. Please combat people - invent a bed bug trap. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bugs-came-back#post-56731 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:36:19 +0000 bedbugsinNYC 56731@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I live in New York City and before 2 months ago I had no idea what bed bugs were. I moved in with my BF in July (we both happen to live in the same building and moved into a 1BR together). We moved in July then I went to Fl that week to visit my mom came back and about a week later I had bites all over my back and body. We had heard off bed bugs possibly being in the building, POSSIBLY. So we call management and they have someone come in and spray, I am still bitten about a week or so after the spray even though we wrapped everything in bags and washed EVERYTHING that could be washed which was very expensive and time consuming. We call again and they send someone to spray again. Then we wait 2 weeks and it seems as though the bites had gone away and the bugs had died. It's been about 3 almost 4 weeks since that last spraying and I was bitten again this week. I freaked out and inspected my bed and sheets like a mad woman (my boyfriend of course tried to tell me the bites were spider bites and that I was going crazy, that this was all mental). I go into the room pull the sheets that were tucked into the right foot of the bed and low and behold EGGS and I freaked out! Then I insisted he pick up the matress that I KNEW there would be one there and THERE WAS! He cleaned the eggs off with alcohol pads and killed the bed bug with spray he bought from the exterminator. Then we took everything apart, vacuumed and sprayed everything. We also bagged everything in the room. I'm feeling like they will never go away. I was told by the superintendent that both apartments next to above and below me all have bed bugs. He went on to say that the building has a pretty bad infestation. He said that because I live in a building that is 98% hispanic and they don't speak English that they seem to think they're bugs from being dirty like a roach or something so they don't call to get sprayed. My solution is to go door to door and hand out flyers I made in English and spanish that have all sorts of pictures and all the information they need to call. And since I actually have bites on my body right now I figured I'd show them that too. We also saved the bug in a jar so I'll Show them that too. After all this happens AND the exterminator comes to spray our apt again does anyone out there think that they'll finally just go away? I can't live like this anymore. My boyfriend NEVER gets bitten (Im assuming because he's hairier than me), I read that they do not bite you on your head because the hair does not allow them to inject you properly which is why everytime I find bites I let ALL my hair grow out. Is there any hope that this will ever be solved if I do my part and get the building to come together and defeat them? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/the-do-it-yourself-approach-1#post-56042 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:45:14 +0000 StephenBrown 56042@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hello,</p> <p>I am a reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle looking to hear from people who have taken matters into their own hands in the fight against bed bugs. What methods did you use? How did it turn out? Were the results satisfactory, or a complete disaster? Why not use an exterminator? </p> <p>If any of you have a moment to share, I would appreciate it.</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>Stephen Brown<br /> The Brooklyn Eagle </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/delayed-reaction-to-bites#post-9546 Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:59:16 +0000 ScaredaboutBBs 9546@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>ok-i'm totally freaking out. we were exposed the bedbugs a week ago on a trip to Montreal.<br /> turns out the bed we were sleeping on was infested with the bugs, but we didn't get any bites. we got home and washed everything before we got in the house and have been SUPER cautious-didn't bring any luggage or anything in. BUT, my husband woke up this morning and a few hours later he noticed some bites on him!! about 20 developed, and now they are dissapperaing. is there any way this is a delayed reaction from the bugs in Montreal?? we don't see ANY on our bed!!<br /> please, any insight would be helpful<br /> thanks!! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/crazypregnantbitten#post-55745 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:25:59 +0000 crazygoing 55745@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> Here is my situation. Two years ago my family and I had a confirmed case of bb's. We went through the trauma of cleaning etc. and moved. Our landlord had been a real jerk about it and actually accused us of being dirty people. In our new place I basically went through bouts of paranoia induced depression. Anything that remotely resembled a bug or bite and I crumbled. I even once called in an exterminator because of my sons mosquito bites. The company found nothing and I regained some peace of mind. Every summer it seems we all get mosquito bites. Every summer I do a crazy clean and search everywhere. By fall they stop happening and I can sleep again. About a month ago I finally started healing from the trauma of our first infestation.<br /> Here is my predicament now. We have mold in our apartment and I am pregnant with my second child. We decided to move so have given our notice and started packing. At the beginning of the month we started getting bites and I got that familiar feeling of dread again. This time I have more reason to feel crazy because my mothers neighbours have bb's and her manager is having an exterminator check her apartment three times for them because she has had a couple bites. She thinks they are mosquitos. I had one on my finger and one near my elbow and my son had one on his leg and one on his elbow, two weeks later he got another on his leg and one on his ear, I got one on my arm, two around my ankle and one on my upper thigh. They are quite red but don't itch but take a while to entirely disappear. They do not look like the bites we were getting when we had bbs which were in typical rows and were very itchy especially after a bath. I have done an intense search for suspects but can't find anything except some book lice and a bunch of carpet beetles/larvae. I feel crazy and I'm scared because I'm pregnant and don't want to stress and need to be stable for my son. What if we have them again and move and bring them with us?and leave them here for someone else to deal with? Do I sound absolutely nuts? We move in two weeks, no choice and I feel immobilized. I'm not sure what to do or what advice others might give, I don't have anyone to really talk to. Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm feeling rather alone and anxious. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/ive-been-living-in-my-tent-and-still-got-bitten#post-55845 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:43:20 +0000 letbedbugsempoweryou 55845@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>i've set up my one person tent in my living room as a way to feel safe and was successful for a couple of months until a couple of nights ago when i got bitten badly. i want to say a few things about my process with bedbugs and maybe avoid what has already been said. The first is that i feel the bedbug's best weapon against you is paranoia - that running to extremes when you're bitten or first see them, with the exterminators, pesticides, extreme cleanliness, dumping responsibility on others, high tech gadgets, deciding if you should be using repellant, trying to decieve them with fake CO2 and heat, keeping new ones out of your house or apartment, keeping other people out of your place and fearing infecting others with yours and more. i think these all are important issues, but it's real easy to exhaust yourself and then lose the vigilance necessary when you think they're gone. With paranoia, you'll imagine them doing magical things and i've seen people develop or aggrevate emotional problems. Action is necessary - if you're bitten they will be in a position to lay eggs, right? But knowing everything about their life-cycle and abilities is really impotant to me. i feel a lot more research could be done. Are the differences in the characteristics of bite marks on the same person due to their gender or stage in development? i notice the wide-spread welts and wonder if it was just one bug being unsuccessful in getting blood due to it's immaturity. Other bites seem few and redder - are these from a mature bug who was able to get a meal? They evolved when humans first started living indoors about 50,0000 years ago, right? They use human blood but also bite animals. Can they use the animal blood and lay eggs or do they die from it? If they could use animal blood wouldn't they be infesting stables and farms? Also i wonder about the great ability to find and remember the route they take to where you're sleeping. i think they must have found the space between the zippers on my tent flap and gotten in that way and then out again. i think if i just changed the place of the tent in my room that would screw them up for a while. Can they actually communicate this route to others like bees do? Of course, i'll take all measures at this point - plug the hole with hand cream, spray the zipper with repellant, vacuum. Then on Monday i'm going back to the "simple bed in the middle of the room with legs coated with vasaline" idea. i'm thinking of designing a safe-space cocoon with mosquito netting and an effective zipper - giving or selling it to other people even. i' ve considered what i need to do to not take them with me when i move - the extreme situation - take nothing, not even the clothes on my back? The cat would need to be cleared as well as i've seen eggs on her and she'd never agree to a bath. i've put books and belongings in boxes sealed well with tape. Leave them there for the extreme estimate of their lifespan - 16 months. Now i've learned there is a product that you can include in the box to speed up this process - but can you be sure? - not a very good way to find out - after you made all the efforts in the move. i just discovered your website after wanting to start something like it on my own. i haven't explored it much yet but i like the idea of providing direct emotional support to people's crises situations, with factual information and a place for unique suggestions and new ideas and products. i feel the place for success stories is really important! Leaving issues with responibility and legal matters out of the process seems necessary. Another site i saw didn't have a moderator, only one person responding to another and i felt really lost. i've got to go now but i'll be back - and i still havn't vacuumed - i really hate seeing them in case i do. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/my-bedbug-story-1#post-55834 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:57:47 +0000 yelunatic 55834@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>My wife and I live in an apt complex that has about 30 units. We have lived here for 6 years with no vermin problems. About 3 weeks ago we started noticing itchy welts and didn't know what they were. When I first noticed them I thought I ate something I was allergic to. My wife did some research and suspected bedugs, so after looking online and matching my "2 in a row" bites with photos online I knew that we had bed bugs.</p> <p>We looked in our mattress and found nothing, but when we uncovered the boxspring we were disgusted to find the bed bugs in the seem near the headside. We discovered about 8 of them. I saved one in a medicine bottle that I ziplocked and we vaccuumed the rest. We immediated threw out the boxspring and checkd the rest of the apt. We found 1 behind a picture frame about 5 feet away from the bed, and a few in the wall outlet that was right under the headside of the bed. We vaccumed them, threw out the vaccuum bag and that night we slept in our car.</p> <p>Here is where the story gets interesting. I notified the building manager the next morning, an she didnt look surprised, because she said they had them in one other apt on our floor 3 months ago and they had them exterminated. I told her that I should let my neighbors know in the adjacent apts down the hall and she said "NO! Everyone will freak out and you will just make things hard for us!" When I replied that people could already have them and not know, she insisted we keep it quiet. She also said that I had to use the company that they have used in the past. The good news is that they were willing to pay for it, but the bad news is thgat their exterminator company couldn't come out until late next week. </p> <p>There was no way I was going to wait a week for them to multiply, so I called Connex and they they said that they could come out that day. They said they dry steam the furniture and rug seams, spray 3 different types of residual chemicals that conrol the bedbugs hunger, reproduction and growth, and they also spray an expanding chemical dust into the problematic sockets in the walls that kills the bugs as they walk across it. So, I told the bulding manager, they paid for it, and Connex came and took care of everything. The Connex guy was nice, and told me that our infestation wasn't so bad yet, but that they had definitely come in through the outlet in the wall from another apt, due to the feces the bugs left behind in the outlet and also due to the fact that another apt had them before.</p> <p>Connex said that they only have to come once due to the amount of chemical that they spray combined with the steam, and that 95% of the time they don't have to come back again. If they do have to come back within 90 days, they do the whole job over again for only $45. They sprayed and steamed our mattress and chairs and rugs and bedroom furniture and closets. they said once the chemical spray dries that it isn't harmful to humans or cats, of which we have 6 (they were taken to my parents during the spraying process).</p> <p>We slept at my parents that night to let everything dry, and the next day my wife and I sealed our mattress (now on the floor) and pillows with an alergylux bed bug protector from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I set up a trap with extra sticky double sided carpet tape on the floor in a 1 foot perimeter around the mattress, and I did the same on the ceiling. We slept last night and we have no new bites and only a spider was trapped in my tape perimeter. I know it is too early to say, but so far, so good. The Connex guy said even if we a bedbug, they should be dying, or their hunger and reproduction should be supressed, so not to worry. So far none have been seen. I know they feed every 5 days or so, but my question is how long will it be before I am SURE they are gone?</p> <p>My next question is, how do I deal with my building manager? We are in NY state (Rockland County)and I am not sure if it is her legal duty to let all the tenants in the building know. I know it would be the moral thing to do and the best way to get rid of this situation. My neighbors could be getting bitten and not know it, meanwhile the bedbugs would be multiplying. Plus, they could eventually come back to us. I want to tell all the tenants, but how do I go about it without getting the building manager (who has my keys and collects my mail packages) mad at me?</p> <p>Thoughts? Comments? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/freaking-out-1#post-55537 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:18:32 +0000 BittenandStressed 55537@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I suspect I may have bedbugs and I'm freaking out. </p> <p>About a month and a half ago I ended up with a bunch of bites. At first, I thought they were mosquito bites as I'd been out in a marsh the day before, but they were all localized in clusters along one hip, and it seemed pretty unlikely that I'd end up with 19 mosquito bites in a bunch and very few anywhere else. I kind of figured that maybe a spider had dropped into my bed &#38; I'd rolled over on it and it bit me, and I didn't really think any more of it.</p> <p>Then, a few days ago I ended up with more bites. I have about six clustered on my other hip, one on each knee, two on my left hand and eight on my right forearm. They're all bright red, massively swollen and insanely itchy. I went to the doctor who suggested antihistamine cream but didn't really have any ideas about identifying the bites (I asked specifically about bedbugs but he admitted that he'd never seen a bedbug bite before.)</p> <p>I don't know if I have bedbugs or not... I've got a lot of clutter in my house which I'm working to clear away, and I haven't seen a single bug or any indication of bugs, though I have dark sheets and just started looking for signs of them in the last two days. </p> <p>I know they're not flea bites, as the cats are fine and I'm not reacting in the same way as I have to fleas, and just the clustering and intermittent nature of the bites makes me think bedbugs, though I'm desperately hoping it's something else that would be easier to treat.</p> <p>The information on this site has been really helpful, and I know I'm not alone, but I'm still severely freaked out, and the idea that I might have bedbugs in my house is completely overwhelming and causing me a huge amount of stress. I can't help but imagine them everywhere and I'm paranoid that they're in my car or that I've transferred them to my workplace, and the more I think of it the more overwhelming and impossible the whole thing feels. </p> <p>I just feel like I'm on the cusp of a breakdown, because I'm covered in these nasty bites, I don't know for sure what the problem is and haven't been able to find any evidence to confirm it, my paranoia about spreading it around the house and to other locations is growing by the minute and if it is bedbugs, getting rid of them seems so complex, expensive and time consuming. </p> <p>Money &#38; time are two things I do not have to spare right now. </p> <p>I'm in the middle of a divorce, still sharing a house with my ex and I was hoping to move out and back home in the next three weeks. Now I'm panicking about the possibility of transferring them back to my mother's house, of having to leave my ex with a bug infested house that he can't afford to get dealt with professionally and how to deal with all my stuff. </p> <p>I was planning to get rid of a lot of my personal possessions anyway, but now I'm wondering, do I have to just throw out everything in the house that I'm not going to keep, instead of selling/giving away like I was planning to? Is there a way for me to disinfect my masses of books or do I have to throw those out too? Should I assume that they're everywhere in the house (assuming bedbugs is even what I have) when I'm the only one who has been bitten, or can I focus on treating just my room? I have these horrible visions in my head of them just being everywhere and swarming all over the place from every piece of furniture and from behind every electrical plate and baseboard. How likely is it that they might hitch a ride on a cat and spread around the house? There's no way for me to keep the cats out of my space as there's no door. Is there a good way to isolate my bed when I'm sleeping on an air mattress on the floor? I definitely can't afford to start buying bed frames or anything like that. If they're not hitching a ride on me or the cats, how likely is it for them to spread from one floor of the house to another? </p> <p>The more I think about it, the worse and more certain the problem gets in my head, and I feel just completely unequipped to deal with it, emotionally, financially and time-wise. I guess I just need some reassurance and some help calming down. I know I need to deal with my clutter, which I'm working on and then I guess I'll look at figuring out how to afford a PCO to confirm the problem and deal with it (yes, no? Is there something else I can/should be doing while I deal with the clutter?) And then, if it's not bedbugs (or at least if none can be found) I'm left dealing with these mysterious and awful bites. :(</p> <p>Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm just so distressed by all of this and I don't feel comfortable talking about it to any of my friends... I don't need to deal with the social stigma around it on top of my personal stress. I have no fresh bites after last night and who knows, maybe I won't get bitten again at all while I still live here, but this is all I've been able to think about since yesterday. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/can-i-sue#post-53508 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:37:42 +0000 refurbishmylife 53508@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Here's the situation:</p> <p>I just moved to Brooklyn after graduating college. On July 1st I moved into my new place. On July 2nd, I bought a mattress, box spring, and bed frame for 200 dollars from a place called Sunset Furniture in Brooklyn. I went on the advice of my brother who said I could get a deal there. I went in and asked about a "cheap" mattress. The guy there led me downstairs to a nice looking full size set wrapped in plastic and next to a bunch of identical looking mattresses. Great, I thought. Looks like new. Turns out I was sold a <em>refurbished</em> mattress and box spring. I had no idea people even sold refurbished ones, and the guy gave me every reason to think I was getting a new one besides saying so.</p> <p>So you can see where this is going. Three days later, I wake up next to two dead bugs. Now, I'm fairly neurotic about these things and had heard about the bedbug problems in Brooklyn. So I called my super right away. We flipped the box spring over to find the thing was <em>infested</em>. My super helped me carry the mattress out of the building. When I returned to the store, I was told for the first time that I'd bought a refurbished mattress set. I demand my money back but the lady says the manager is out of town until July 13 (a week later) and that I should return then.</p> <p>At this point, I clear out my room, begin freezing things, putting things in hot cars, dryers, washers. I spray the entire place with this deltamethrin spray my super recommended. I spend a week and a half sleeping on the couch downstairs before getting a new mattress.</p> <p>At the same time, I'm told by some friends that legal action may be a possibility and that I should submit a written letter to the store to document things. In the letter I ask for a full refund, compensation for the 50 dollars I spent on laundry and bug spray and a written promise to pay for future extermination in the case of a bedbug resurgence. When I return with the letter, the manager <em>refuses</em> to comply or to even give me a cash refund, saying that the best he can do is store credit. Additionally, he says he doesn't believe me that the bugs came from his mattress.</p> <p>Now, I know what you might be thinking. Maybe the bugs, in fact, did NOT come from the mattress. Maybe the apartment was infested beforehand? BUT, the super, who I trust, promised me this was not the case and that the building has never had an issue in the past. Plus, the bugs started in my room at the "new" mattress (the top floor of the building). If it were the case that the bedbugs had started in the building, wouldn't my roommates have had similar problems (which they haven't until very recently; see below). And would it be possible for the bugs to infest the mattress so quickly?</p> <p>And the worst part... The bugs have returned. This morning, I found one (a small one, fresh off a blood meal) under the box spring of my new mattress, which I got at Sleepy's this time and which I've only had for two nights now. Additionally, my roommate in the room right below me woke up yesterday with a couple bites that might be from bedbugs.</p> <p>Soooo, do I have a case against Sunset Furniture? I've already filed a complaint with the BBB and with 311 NYC, but am not really sure what to do next. I need to get an exterminator and maybe it's legally the responsibility of the landlord, but I feel the furniture store should be the ones to pay.</p> <p>Additional evidence against the store:</p> <p>Pictures of the infested mattress<br /> Testimony from super that there is no history of bedbugs in the building<br /> Testimony from super that the mattress was infested 3 days after purchase<br /> I've never lived in NYC and have never had bedbugs (nor have my roommates)</p> <p>Whaddaya think? Should I sue? And also, if I'm going to sue, do I need to wait to figure out who can pay for it before getting an exterminator? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/stuck-with-bed-bugs#post-55482 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:55:48 +0000 leanne1187 55482@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>Hopefully I will try and make this as short as possible. We moved in middle of February, had issues with our landlord making simple fixes. Anyways, we thought our 1 yr old son had the chicken pox, long story short, turns out we had bed bugs and we got treated in May, but the landlord decided that spraying the adjoining units wasn't necessary, so we have them again. I don't even think they told the other tenants, I am very suspicious that even though they swear they have never had them in this complex, which I don't believe due to the number of upstairs neighbours who have had their box springs or mattresses on their patios, and not to mention the one neighbour who moved and left all his stuff including his car. I just want to know if it is even worth getting sprayed if they other tenants aren't getting treated? Is there any action I can take against my landlord to possibly get compensated or to get help to prepare for treatment? I actually have it in writing that none of the adjoining units were treated, and have been making sure that I get everything in writing from them. Also, how could one go about making it public knowledge whether or not a place has had bedbugs? No one should have to go through this and I am sick of these big management companies taking advantage of us little people. If I had the money and wasn't tied to a lease I would move, because my son should not be getting up in the night because he is bug food. Also I have no place to go if I get evicted and I am scared that if I bring the health inspector or landlord tenant people into this, that I might get another fake noise complaint brought against me and get evicted. Any help would be appreciated as I am desperate at this point, I just want uninterrupted sleep, lol. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/i-need-a-pep-talk-please#post-55309 Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:20:05 +0000 crashed 55309@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I had a breakdown today. Long story short, found the bedbugs 2 weeks ago, had breakdowns daily until the PCO came, about 1.5 weeks ago. I haven't gone into my bedroom (I know maybe I shouldn't have moved to the living room, but I just couldn't stay in there) since. I've sprayed even more chemicals (flea/tick spray with permethrin). And I just.. have felt *safe* since. I haven't seen any bugs. I haven't really had any bites.<br /> My son got four bites the other day. But they looked more like mosquito bites than the bites he had 1.5 months ago (when I think the bbs came - those were the only bites since then, though.. no more). So I brushed it off. And I've been thinking, maybe I'm one of the Lucky Ones. Maybe they were only in my room. Maybe the first PCO visit killed them all, or at least the ones that are alive are still just stuck in my bedroom, awaiting the next PCO visit that will be this week.<br /> But this morning, I was sitting on my couch. And there was one on my jeans. One that was skinnier than I'd normally seen, but it was definitely a bb. Bright red, like it'd just filled up on my blood. I threw it in a container and froze it. Because I thought that would be a more horrible death than simply squishing it and getting blood on my jeans.<br /> But now I feel like I'm back to square one. What if the bites on my son are bedbug bites? Are they in his bed now? Is he getting them from the living room? If I found a bedbug alive while sitting on my couch, how can I truly believe that there isn't a whole bunch more of them, just waiting until nighttime? I've probably stopped reacting to bites.<br /> So, I guess I just need a pep talk. I'm a single mom, working only part time and going to school full time. I can barely keep a roof over our heads some months, but I'm ready to just live in the car. I wanted to go through everything I own today and throw it all away, except for the bare essentials. But I've tried to snap myself out of it. I keep saying, "it's JUST bedbugs. They're JUST bites. With proper procedures, they WILL go away. Other people have had far worse cases." But it just doesn't help most of the time. I've got a history of severe depression and anxiety, and I've taken more anxiety medication these two weeks than I have in the past two months. I just started a new job after being on disability for over a year and a half, the baby is trying to transition into daycare after having me home every day since he's been born, I have to deal with family court proceedings, and I just feel like everything is toppling and falling and nothing will ever get better.<br /> I just wanted to clean today. I wanted to clean but I can't even do that because I feel like it's worthless. I can't vacuum. I can't do anything.<br /> I have ordered the allerzip encasings, and they will be here by mid-week. Then the PCO will come again. Then I will try to sleep in my room again. I will buy the climbup interceptors for my bed/the baby's crib. And hopefully I am one of the Lucky Ones and two treatments works.<br /> But then again, it probably won't. And I am just freaking out. About everything. And trying not to cry.<br /> So I mean, sorry this is so long. I guess I just need a pep talk. A "don't throw your stuff away!" reiteration. Please and thank you. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/nervous-breakdown-in-progress#post-55336 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:42:45 +0000 beantownbugs 55336@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi people. I'm new and this is going to be a long one. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you can offer. The forum has been a great resource in my freakout.</p> <p>So I've got not one, not two, but <strong>four</strong> possible flavors of infestations/parasites going on right now. Fun, right? Here's the saga. A few weeks ago I noticed general itchiness. No large bites so far, but little pustules or pupules (sp? that look a little like ingrown hairs, itching worse at night, bad on my anus (sorry) and ankles, but generalized everywhere. I had what was diagnosed as scabies in college and had battled it on and off for the last few years. The itchiness and "skin crawling" feelings were familiar and continued to the point where I could no longer shrug it off and lie to myself that it was dry skin or heat rash. I made a doctors appointment so I could get a premethrin prescription and steeled myself for the inevitable embarrassing conversation with my housemates and tons of laundry. Simple, yes?</p> <p>However, in the meantime I noticed some bites on awaking. Mostly reddish welts on my legs and ankles, bigger than the pustules but smaller than mosquito bites, several in a two bite line or cluster, some that were actually still bleeding. I saw bugs in my room, on my stuff. In the back of my mind I thought of bedbugs (it's a college town and growing problem area) but didn't want to admit to myself that that was it. It's summer and bugs happen; it has to be mosquitos or something. I went to the doc who spent about two minutes on me, gave me a scrip for premethrin, and said it might be scabies... or bed bugs, so if the premethrin doesn't work check for that.</p> <p>I went home and checked for that. According the research on bedbugs I was frantically performing online, I had made an incredibly poor choice recently in buying some used wooden furniture. Not to mention I have bought used clothing and have not always washed it the same day. Also, my housemates and I have been on vacations (separately) and stayed in hotels and motels. Their luggage is stored near my room. <strike>It must be bedbugs.</strike> It must be scabies <em>and</em> bedbugs</p> <p>My room is a mess. Clothes everywhere, papers, you name it. I freaked out, found this forum. I captured some bugs I found in a little plastic baggie. I've tried to identify them by comparison on the website but haven't been able to determine if they are in fact bed bugs. I looked at my furniture and couldn't find nesting sites, but I have found pellets of what I took to be bed bug feces. More on this later. Meanwhile. A friend (and occasional visitor) had experienced a mite problem in her apt. not long ago, which got me thinking about mites. Out of curiosity, and with a looming sense of anxiety and doom, I did research online and discovered the existence of bird mites. </p> <p>Now, of course, I'm convinced I've got those too. I do have several tiny red pinprick like spots on my arms. My face and scalp have been itchy, as has my hairline, the inner rims of my ears and, (sorry again) pubic area. Those are not scabies-typical areas to be itchy (except for the last part.)I just haven't been paying attention to these symptoms because I was sure it was scabies. Not to mention that we had noticed bird noises for many months coming from our bathroom ceiling - it was clear there was a nest on the roof right above the bathroom (which has a window.)<strike> So it must be bird mites. Although the bird noises haven't been present lately.</strike><strike> Bird mites or bed bugs.</strike> Bird mites and bed bugs and scabies. </p> <p>Then I took a closer look at the poop. For some reason I had just assumed what I found was bedbug feces - I hadn't read that area of the forum carefully. Now I did, and realized that the droppings I've found have all been of the compact, easy to move irregular-pepper-flake flea variety. I have found these hard little pellets on my futon mattress and all over my room. I have not noticed any of the marker-line flat stain or hard-to-remove feces traces characteristic of bed bugs. On the other hand, my sheets are dark colors and my futon is coated with dark lint bits - impossible for me to distinguish tiny stains. There's a cat in the house, but she's an indoor cat who only leaves the apt. to go to the vet in a carrier. Still. Fleas. I think? I compare the bugs I captured with flea pictures. Can't tell. Compared flea and beg bug pictures. Still can't tell. I know you can't tell from the appearance of the bite. The poop is definitely flea poop. On the other hand, I have never seen any of these suckers jumping, just crawling. <strike> So it's fleas.</strike> <strike>Bed bugs.</strike> Fleas <em>and</em> bed bugs. And bird mites. And scabies.</p> <p>It's too dark right now to take good pictures, but I will do that in the morning and upload. In the meantime I need to tell my housemates what's up and possibly my landlord. But, what on earth should I tell them? How do I figure out, of all the possibilities, what is actually going on? What is the next step? I'm going absolutely insane. </p>