A bedbug timeline - normal to get bites after 3rd treatment?

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Treatment

A bedbug timeline - normal to get bites after 3rd treatment?

(6 posts)

Tags:

lagirl31

junior member
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 101
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Tue May 24 2011 14:35:35
#

Login to Send PM

I thought we were one week clear on the bites, but yesterday I found more! We just had our third treatment, I had really hoped that it might be it for us. My landlord's PCO doesn't normally do more than 3 treatments, so I'm not sure how we'll proceed. They mentioned it might take a few days for the bugs to die after they come in contact with the residual.

Between day 8 and day 18 we had no bites, which was amazing. I'm guessing that our cleaning and treatment killed the adults but some eggs that didn't get treated hatched after that time and that's why we're getting bitten again. I consider us lucky because we both react to bites without any delay, so it makes it easier to track bug activity.

Day 0 - woke up with 3 clustered bites (had received sporadic bites before this, but hadn't been keeping track)
Day 3 - woke up with 3 clustered bites, 1 lone bite, marked bottom of mattress cover in the evening (~ 20 fecal stains)
Day 8 - several bites around shoulder in the AM, in the evening - inspected bed slats, found 3 - 4 bugs in a slat, with lots of fecal stains, triple bagged, saved for PCO, cleaned out all screw holes on the bed, found lots of eggs
Day 9 - Notified manager, set up appt with PCO, started prep
Day 11 - First treatment (steam + spraying Phantom/Gentrol + Drionne in walls - all adjacent units treated as a precaution)
Day 18 - woke up with 2 bites, 2nd treatment (baseboard spray only - adjacent units treated as well)
Day 19 - woke up with 1 bite
Day 21 - 3 bites in evening, nymph caught immediately (I'd been sleeping in the bed for a couple hours when my partner came to bed - he got bitten and then found the fed nymph)
Day 22 - Found 1 bug in the AM (in the pages of the book I'd been reading when I fell asleep! - now I bag my book before I fall asleep and never take it out of the bedroom)
Day 25 - Third treatment (steaming + spraying Phantom/Gentrol)
Day 25 - 27 Had to go out of town for wedding, apt left empty for the weekend
Day 28 - woke up with 3 bites in cluster
Day 29 (this morning) - woke up with 1 bite

I was feeling hopeful and now I feel really let down. Should I call my PCO and try to schedule another treatment for this week? I'm not sure if they'll agree to do it. Is it okay to wait and monitor another week before calling it in? My main concern is keeping the life cycle under control. I'm hoping at this point that we don't have any egg laying adults, but I don't want to give any of the nymphs a chance to mature enough to start laying eggs.

I know it's only been a month and many of you have been dealing with bugs for much longer, but I'm so sick of having all our furniture in the middle of our rooms and living out of ziploc bags. I had really let myself hope that we were getting near the end, now I'm wondering if we're doing something wrong and we won't ever be able to get rid of them.
Totally Bugging

junior member
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 51
offline

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Jun 23 2011 11:16:30
#

Login to Send PM

Lagirl, what happened? this wasposted 4 weeks ago,,what is goin on now?
lagirl31

junior member
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 101
offline

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Jun 23 2011 18:00:19
#

Login to Send PM

Totally Bugging, I'm still in wait and see mode.

Days 30 - 38: Clear
Day 39: Woke up with a three bite cluster
Day 40: Partner woke up with 2 bites, we searched the bed, found a lone male bedbug

At this point, I thought about calling and getting another spray. This is probably what I should have done, because it had been over 2 weeks since the last treatment. However, life was a little overwhelming and my dad was being admitted to the hospital. I didn't schedule another treatment. I continued to vacuum and clean and heat treat all our bedding on a regular basis (every day or so for vacuuming, twice a week for the bedding).

Currently, we're on day 59 and nothing has changed. That means we are 19 days clear of bites and activity. I'm scared to even write that for fear of jinxing it!

We are continuing to keep our clothing isolated and away from our bedroom and we follow the standard precautions. We have passive monitors up but haven't seen anything in them.

I'm well aware that we could still get bitten and in the event that we do, we're going to call in the PCO again to spray. We are considering calling them in to do another baseboard spray (with Phantom) before moving our furniture back in place, just in case there are any stragglers.

I'm hoping to post a success story at some point, but right now it's too tentative.
bbgirl

member
Joined: Feb '11
Posts: 338
offline

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Jun 23 2011 18:07:19
#

Login to Send PM

After 4-5 weeks clear of bites following 2-3 sprays and applying Pyrodust (pesticide laced DE to rooms edges) I had a cluster of bites on my arm. Since I had recently been outside with many moquitoes I tried to convince myself that they weren't really bb bites. Then last night I woke up in the middle of the night scratching my shoulder blade and turned the light on to see blood spots on my sheets......no doubt about it. They're back... sat there with the light on for a while too stunned to cry. Fell into a troubled sleep a while later and dreamed about being at a party with the Trenton bedbug man......he was crawling with bugs. Think I may be losing it.

I have a box of supplies sitting ready in the basement......some Suspend concentrate, a sprayer and a crate of Bedlam. I may try treating the walls as I suspect this may be a reinfestation from the neighbours (who on both sides deny that they have any problem). I didn't do any caulking as I read several times that this is not advised as it may simply seal bugs into the walls and you want them to come out and cross poison but now considering all options
lagirl31

junior member
Joined: Nov '10
Posts: 101
offline

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Jun 23 2011 18:13:54
#

Login to Send PM

bbgirl - I'm so sorry! I'm not an expert, but a 4 - 5 week gap time would make me wonder if it is a re-infestation rather than a resurgence of the original one. You mention that your neighbors say they don't have a problem - were they inspected or treated when you were? Do you have any reason to believe they might have had a problem?

Our adjacent neighbors were treated as a precautionary measure when we got our treatment. Our PCO put Drionne dust in the walls to discourage the bugs from moving between apartments. I think it did help, because none of our neighbors has had a problem. Maybe you could ask your PCO about this. Ours actually drilled holes in the walls and puffed the dust inside (I wasn't there during the application, so I'm not sure exactly how it was applied, just that they drilled holes and then patched them).

Do you have passive monitors up? Have you inspected for signs of bugs?
bbgirl

member
Joined: Feb '11
Posts: 338
offline

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Jun 23 2011 19:24:42
#

Login to Send PM

I have been watching like a hawk and have climb up interceptors and a passive monitor on the bed -actually on the back of the box spring. Nothing....I've been vacuuming all around and keeping the talc in the interceptors fresh. It's hard to actually tell as I clean them by vacuuming the talc out and the legs of the metal bedframe are sort of hollow and the casters are sectioned. It's possible that the vacuum cleaner could pull a bug out with the talc and I might not notice but you would think they would leave some fecal and castings around as they did the first time. I've removed all harborages though - my bedroom has no furniture aside from the isolated (?) bed and a small table that I check often. All the clothing is bagged and processed after it is worn. Must be in the walls...that's what I meant by treating the walls - drilling holes and puffing some delta dust in then re-sealing. The wall outlets were done last time.