Avoiding Bedbug Stress « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Psychological and Health problems caused by bed bugs (besides bites)

Avoiding Bedbug Stress

(4 posts)

BB_Slayer

newbite
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 21

Posted 2 weeks ago
Sun Nov 1 2009 16:00:16
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Don't think of them as nasty annoying biters. No... instead... imagine....

Bed bugs are magical creatures. Only a select few are lucky enough to be Chosen to receive the magical Kiss of the Bed Bug.

If you could see one up close through a magnifying glass, they look like My Little Pony.
wchicago

newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 29

Posted 2 weeks ago
Sun Nov 1 2009 16:58:46
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my little pony. . .lmao :)
or maybe care bears? or smurfs? they are AT LEAST as annoying as smurfs.

actually, to reduce the creep-out factor for myself, i've started referring to them as "little goth ladybugs," as if somewhere in evolution, some ladybug's little sister just went all bad-ass and rebellious. kinda like angelina jolie pre-her UN save the children transformation, when she still wore a vial of blood around her neck. indeed, should i ever (unlikely unless forced to do by PCO for repeat treatment) do what some here have done and catch and keep one live in a ziplock baggie, i shall name her angelina.
bitebedbugsback

newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 32

Posted 2 weeks ago
Sun Nov 1 2009 22:05:01
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Earlier this week when I thought there was a good chance I had them, I wasn't as stressed. I was seeing bed bugs as no different than getting mosquito bites when you window is open while you sleep. How quickly things change in a few days.

On Thursday it was confirmed that I have them and was kind of creeped to sleep in my bed. By the end of the week, though, it seems the bites have been happening a lot less. I figured they were mostly (or all) in my living room futon, which I stopped sitting on; so the whole idea wasn't bothering me as much.

Then last night I found the first live one (thought I found one earlier but it may have been a flea). I woke up about 4am and decided to turn my light on to inspect, not really expecting to find anything, since I haven't yet. Didn't see anything on the mattress. Then I turned over my pillow. There was one!!! Unmistakable bed bug. I encased it in wrapping tape and looked at it for a bit. Then went back to bed with the light on.

The bed bug is still sitting on my dresser in the tape, still alive and trying to get out. Now I don't want to go to bed tonight and I'm exhausted. Plus I'm also stressed trying to get all the prep work done before the PCO comes back on Wednesday.

Anyway, my point is, I wish I could go back to viewing them as really no different than mosquitos biting me at night and not being so creeped out by them.
Counting Again

newbite
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 7

Posted 2 weeks ago
Sun Nov 1 2009 23:05:14
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Hey BBBB, I've talked to my mother before, on a night I was particularly stressed about going to bed with them again, and she would say "just go now, it's the same as it was before, only now you know" Well, once you know it makes the task that much more difficult. And certainly after I saw them. I saw when they found the first seven by inspection underneath the board underneath my mattress.

After I started getting up three times a night though, and inspecting the bedding, square foot by square foot (they run in open space but will sit still or slow down if covered by a crease, or if underneath the blankets) I could go back to bed after I knew I'd killed all the ones that were out. And I'd set the alarm 1.5 hours later, when I figured, they had enough time for more to come out, but if I kept myself wrapped tight enough, they might not be able to get under the blankets to bite me yet. A lot of the time that worked.

The My Little Ponies... Not sure if that will help me sleep, since I know I'm kidding myself, but it was a wonderful thing to chuckle at in the middle of this nightmare. I played a solitudes CD every night for the first two weeks, at a loud-ish volume just to try to force my mind into a bit of distraction, in the beginning. After that, I became a little 'braver' - either that or a little more exhausted and it took less to fall asleep, but I still stay up much later before forcing myself to go to bed at night.

Most nights, after inspecting the bed briefly before climbing in, I imagine walking along the beach on a warm summer night, where there's sand between my toes, and water nearby to run through if I feel like it.