Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs
advice for teacher working out of home?
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Mad_in_Maine
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Sun Oct 11 2009 16:03:09
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Hello!
We have what appears to be, and we hope actually is, a relatively minor BB problem, but the information here on this forum has impressed upon us the need for great care and vigilance in dealing with both the home treatment and prevention of spreading to others. Which leads me to my question:
My wife is self-employed and teaches students in our home. Can we continue to see her students here? Are there any particular steps we could take that would give some assurance that students could come and go again without picking up any bugs and bringing them home? We of course will tell her students about it, but it would be nice if we could at the same time tell them about what kind of precautions and arrangements we had made for their safety, and they could decide for themselves if they wanted to come.
It would be very difficult for her to go to her students, and renting a nearby space to use would probably cost more than the students bring in.
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If you just hold tight and keep checking back A old timer can help you!! But untill then they may need some more information like are you going to hire a PCO !! How big is the problem!! and what precautions have you taken so far!!this Is a busy weekend for most!!
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Mad_in_Maine
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Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Oct 12 2009 9:55:22
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Of course, you're right! I chose to avoid a lengthy "here is my story so far" because often, on other types of forums, that approach gets you skipped over, but in this case it's probably a necessity.
My wife started finding itchy welts toward the end of August, and we started to see the tell-tale bedding stains a short time later. She had a medical checkup scheduled and asked her doctor about the welts, and her doctor missed it completly - any mention of possible bedbugs would have put us on the alert two weeks earlier, but never mind that now.
I did some searching, and discovered bedbugs hiding within some of the gaps and voids of the plywood bed fame I made myself many years ago, and we did the usual panic reactions - I had a big roll of heavy plastic, and I literally bagged the whole thing, frame, mattress, bedding and all. We called a PCO right away! A tech came the next day to inspect and verify, which was easy to do since I could show him the bugs, and he took one with him. At this point, the bedroom was the *only* room with any BB evidence of any kind.
They scheduled a visit 5 days later (5 longest days of our lives!) and told us to prepare the bedroom by removing all clothes from closets and dressers, books off shelves, furniture away from walls, electrical cover plates off walls, mattresses turned up off bed frames (we were new bed shopping anyway, so I bagged and pitched the frame and mattress - took them myself, still bagged in an open trailer, to the landfill where I watched them go under the bulldozer. Very satisfying). We did much of the same treatment, though not quite as thorough since there is simply no place to put anything, to the upstairs "guest" rooms and the livingroom, and the bathroom, which shares a wall with our bedroom. These other spaces showed no signs of any activity.
The PCO came and was very pleased with our prep work. I don't know the exact chemicals he used in which exact areas (I intended to phone up today to ask, but they're closed for the US holiday), but I know there was an aerosol spray (which dries invisibly), a water-based spray (which dries leaving a visible white fine powdery residue), and a powder (which I think went into the electrical sockets). We left for the day, and when we returned we could see that he had done work in all the rooms mentioned above. Throughout his work he saw no evidence of bugs.
He believes we have a "minor" problem, and is hopeful that this one treatment will be enough, although I plan on insisting that they come for follow-up treatments - is this a good idea? We have been cleaning and bagging tons of hot water and dryer laundry loads, and we moved a smaller full-sized futon mattress (encased) and couch frame (PCO-treated) into our bedroom. I know it's controversial, but we isolated the frame with sheets of "tin" foil folded up between the carpet and the legs - we had to get some sleep, and we have been in the 5 days since he came. We are considering scrapping the foil barriers and buying the double-cupped talc "traps" to try to monitor the situation, since currently we don't see any activity anywhere but are too scared to assume our problem is cured. The PCO suggested that we could re-load our shelves and closets and dressers any time, but there's no way we feel enough confidence to do that yet.
That's where we are, and we have to start thinking about working again - which leads me to my post. Is there anything we can or should do to create a safe environment for students who would choose to come knowing we're fighting these things?
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