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Bed bug in new appartment
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vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 16 2007 11:20:09
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I recently moved from Northern VA to Exton PA. Due to the move I was to buy all new furniture and hence stayed in a Hotel for the first 2 days till I could arrange for a mattress.
Since the day I stepped in the new apartment I have been getting bites. Initially I thought they were just ants or mosquitoes and hence requested the apartment management for pest control which they scheduled for the Friday July 20th.
But for the last 2-3 days it went really bad and my feet and hands were full of rashes. On inspection and through vacuuming I found a bed bug under my aerobed.
I looked up on google and to my horror came to know that it was bed bug.
Please guide me as what my next step should be. Should I wait for the exterminator coming on Friday to hand over the sample or just give to the management and request for a earlier visit?
I dont know if I got them from the hotel or this appartment already had them.
The good thing is I haven't gone furniture shopping yet so I hardly have anything in this appartment.
Also do you recommend any good PCO in the EXTON PA area that has knowledge of bedbugs?
I will be extremely grateful for your response. -
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 16 2007 11:49:30
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If you have many bedbug bites, I am not sure they came from the hotel since while you could conceivably transport some bedbugs with your suitcases, it probably would not a number that would cause many bites. The bedbugs would not reproduce so fast since it has only been a few days. So my guess is that they were already in the apartment.
How many units are in the building? Can you speak to neighbors? If there are bedbugs in your unit, they probably are elsewhere in the buidling and the entire building will have to be treated. Have they treated before and it didn't work? (Not a good sign). Have they refused to treat repeatedly when tenants report them? (A far worse sign). Do you know why the last tenant left? Bedbugs?
If you rented this unit through a rental agent, can you get your money back? Of course where will you move now that you have bedbugs?
I think you first have to decide if you are even going to stay in this place. If you are, I like the idea of not moving your new things in until you are not being bitten. Until then you can camp out in the apartment using plastic shelving, ziplock bags, and the aerobed. Your style will be very trendy Brooklyn New York!
How discouraging to begin a new life in a new place like this! At least you haven't bought new furniture yet. I wish you the best.
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parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 16 2007 11:58:20
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PS: Until you can trust the new landlord, I would show but not give your bedbug sample away unless you can get other samples. It would be too easy for an unscrupulous landlord to say they weren't bedbugs at all but that they were carpet beatles and you'd have no proof.
Also, you can start to research PCOs in the area by phone even before the exterminator your landlord has hired comes. Look on the FAQ's here about exterminators. That will help you know what to expect and some questions to ask. Ask the PCO if they will even do one unit in a multi-unit builidng. (Many won't since it eventually is useless just to do one unit). Ask how many times they visit and if they give a guarantee. Very cavalier attitudes towards bedbugs often indicate the PCO is not familiar with them. Watch a PCO who says "No trouble. One visit will fix them. We guarantee it." A really good PCO will be much more serious about them.
Make sure you are there when the landlord's PCO comes. Ask the PCO as many questions as possible. He probably won't answer but you want to know if he's treated bedbugs in your unit before, if there are other units in the building that have them, what chemicals he's using, and what his treatment plan is. In your case, with no furniture and a bare apartment, they can't blame your clutter or housekeeping, but they might try to blame it on the fact that you stayed in a hotel and tell you you brought them in. It is not a blame game. The imporant step is action. They have to treat.
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parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 16 2007 12:02:34
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PPS: There's also a small chance the hotel had a lot of bedbugs and you didn't start to show reactions to the bites you got at the hotel until you got to your new place. However the fact that you already saw and captured some bedbugs in your new apartment means there are many, many more. Many people here have infestations where they are being bitten nightly yet never see a bedbug. You can try putting carpet tape around the floor around the aerobed to see if you capture some more, and possibly keep them away from your body (though my bedbugs can somehow avoid carpet tape, I've heard it catches some).
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vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Jul 16 2007 12:06:17
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Thanks a lot parakeets...I will do as you suggested. Will hold on to the sample until the PCO comes on Friday. Also will start speaking to the the PCO's in the area jsut incase I have to go with my own.
I have been going through the FAQ's and I think as I dont have a lot of stuff mainly I will have to launder and bag my clothes.
Also I had a question what kind of protection steps can I take for an aerobed? -
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jul 18 2007 7:59:59
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Some people are able to put aerobeds up on low platforms or frames (one person even put theirs up on a table). If you can do that, you can isolate the "aerobed" by using Vaseline on the legs of the platform, or putting the legs in cups of mineral oil. If you do raise the aerobed, make sure the sheets and covers don't touch the floor because bedbugs will just climb up the sheets onto the bed and all the work you did isolating the bed will be for naught. Like all beds, an aerobed should be pulled out from the wall.
There are sprays that are safe to use on mattresses and something like the aerobed, but they kill "on contact" only and don't have a residual effect. KleenFree is one. There are others. If you inspect the aerobed carefully and don't see the bedbugs or nymphs, it probably doesn't do much to spray except to make you feel better.
You can put a line of sticky carpet tape on the floor surrounding the bed. That might catch some bedbugs and help you monitor the situation (and any bedbug you catch is one more out of service). I've heard people put masking tape down and putting the carpet tape on top of the masking tape so that the carpet tape is easier to remove and doesn't damage the floor.
Keep the aerobed where it was when you were bitten so the PCO can see where "Ground Zero" is. The bedbugs will most likely be close to the bed, but if you've moved the bed it can confuse the issue a bit. Your place will be much easier to inspect since you don't have much there.
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Bugalina
senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 508
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jul 18 2007 10:03:06
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vidsin...Parakeets gives you excellent advice..I suspect the bugs were already in the apt...I purchased an inexpensive metal frame to put my aero mattress on top of...they aren't hard to find, these frames..I got mine from Sleepy's...
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scratchy
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 28
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jul 18 2007 10:20:42
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Did you just put your air mattress on a regular frame? I'm trying to find an inexpensive way to get my friend to stop sleeping on the floor.
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Bugalina
senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 508
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jul 18 2007 10:28:14
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Scratcy..yes the mattress sits atop the metal frame ...this particular one I am speakiing of is a single person frame...like a cot frame..all metal..it can be sprayed down..soaked...I also purchased a queen sized metal frame that that was a little more costly..Why don't you search for a camping supply store...Or go to a Sleepys;;;I think the single sized metal frame cost about 100 dollars..
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Bugalina, are your punctuation keys broken? One ; turned into ;;; and all your periods seem to end up as a trail of three. Bedbugs got into your keyboard?
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vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 13:43:38
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You guys are not going to beleive my story...The PCO said that the bug I gave him was identified as Lice!!! When I said I was sure I was sure it was a bedbug and I wanted the sample back jsut to check with another PCO. He said that they don't have it any more as " they move on". In other words they have trashed my sample. And now the situation is I get bitten every night and its impossible to sit on my sofa for more than 20 minutes without getting bitten. I dont get bitten at work only when I am home and more on weekends which I have spent at home. Unfortunately I am unable to get hold of more samples or see black spots etc near my bed ot living room. So I cant get treatment from any other PCO either. And this PCO which my building management use says lets hope we find another one so that we can id it properly! What the hell did they do the first time around. Please guide me here...I feel so tired stressed and lost! This isn't happening to me....
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lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,162
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 13:58:42
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Next sample you get send it to Harvard University for $20.00 and you will get an email and/or letter, you will then have proof.
I would not trust PCO or landlord, hell the PCO maybe the landlord's cousin.Chances are that you can't go wrong with Harvard. -
bugsbite
junior member
Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 60
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 14:36:08
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vidsin, I have had that same experience with regards to an ID made as a "louse". I wrote a post here just recently on it:
http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/793?replies=5
I've been doing a bit of research and have come to find out that there is certainly a resemblance between a louse and a young bedbug - I'd link to some pictures, but I see by one of the sticky posts that too many links in a post may cause it to be caught by a "spam filter", so do this to see what I mean:
open two windows or tabs, and go to google image search in each
in the first one, type in "body louse" without quotes
in the second one, type in "bedbug nymph" without quotes (the without quotes is simply because that's how I did it and I wanted you to hopefully get the same image results - and yes, I forgot that bed bug is actually two words. But these are the phrases I used right now)
Compare the pictures that you see of the louse and the nymph, and you will see a strong similarity.
I've also read in a few spots that lice and bed bugs are related in some way.
Now, mine was identified by an entomologist at a Science center University place, under a microscope, so I'm fairly secure in believing that that particular sample I have is indeed a louse. The entomologist was unable to state whether it was a head or a body louse though, as the sample was a bit squished and head & body lice look very very VERY much the same (and some say they are technically the same species, just that the body louse adapted to the body and such).
As you can see from my post I linked, I am not certain as to whether it is lice plaguing us or not. I am still searching for bed bugs or bed bug evidence (and doing what one would do to eliminate lice as well - though I have concerns as to whether the lice elimination stuff will conflict with bed bug searching, spread any we may have, etc). We are also being treated with scabies medication - this is probably pointless, but our not-very-useful doctor suggested it, though he hardly looked at us. Public health nurses viewed us and they say that it doesn't look like scabies (which, by the way, are not body lice, despite the term being used for them sometimes. The scabies mite is a different creature than the body louse - there are 3 types of lice: head, body, and pubic aka crabs, the third looks a lot different than the first two) but that it's "possible".
In your case, I would continue looking for sure - it's possible that the PCO identified it incorrectly, due to the resemblance between the bedbug nymph and the body louse. But it could be correct. I think you'll have to keep watching for any other creatures, much as we are.
According to the searching I have done, body lice lay their eggs in material - clothing, bedding, and such. They don't LIVE on the body, the prefer to live in the material and come to the body to feed. And many sources say they prefer to feed when the body is at rest - like at night.
It could be possible that the previous tenants left some lice behind. Body lice are "hardier" than the head ones (another apparent adaptation, I've read) and can live in the environment for longer, most sources I've checked have said up to 10 days.
Frustratingly, many sources also say that body lice are "only seen" in transient populations, homeless shelters, that type of thing - people who wear the same clothes repeatedly, have a lack of hygiene, and such. But, I have also come across some references that say this is "often" but not "always" - in our case, this is a home, not a shelter, and we bathe and wash laundry. But nonetheless, a louse was found in the bedroom.
I doubt I'm being much help here, but I just wanted you to know that there was someone else around who has had something ID'ed as a louse, and about the resemblance.
Oh yes, I've also read that, like the bedbug, it's possible for some people to not even realize they have body lice - that it may take some time for them to show a reaction. That was interesting, given that we have 1 unbitten family member who shares a bed with a bitten.
We're still looking and wondering.
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vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 14:52:48
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Thanks for your reply guys...I truly appreciate your help. Next time I find a sample I am sending it to Harvard University for sure jsut to know that is it a Bed bug or a Louse. Is there any control treatments for Louse? Persoanlly I have kept my appartment very clean vaccum every alternate day and change bedding every 3 days.
To top this all the PCO called me and infact suggested to goto CVS and buy some lice shampoo...I was speechless and so angry that I could even retaliate to him. I hope to find a good PCO soon even if that means to take the cost on me. -
vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 15:28:37
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Can someone please guide me, if this is a fairly new infestation where exactly should I be looking for the samples? I get bitten mainly on my sofa.
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bugsbite
junior member
Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 60
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 20:52:37
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In terms of lice - your PCO saying 'shampoo' seems to be referring to the products used to treat headlice, which is different than body lice. If you had headlice, you'd know it more than likely, and they don't tend to bite anywhere other than the head (with the exception occasionally of the lower neck area). Checking for headlice is fairly simple - to do it on yourself, use something like a tail comb to part the hair and check the hair shaft for very tiny nits attached - these are quite different than the usual head junk (dandruff, product residue, etc) because they're adhered to the hair itself. Somewhat oval shaped, and glued to the hair. New nits will be close to the scalp, older nits will be further from the head.
Body lice lay their nits in clothing/bedding/etc - as far as I've been able to tell from my searching, the nits look pretty much the same. I've not been able to find any on anyone's clothing or bedding here, but when you consider all the possible places for a nit to be attached (all the threads and such!) it's possible to miss them. Spotting them on a hair shaft would be a lot easier (if you know what to look for).
As far as controlling a lice infestation - the majority of the reading I've done has just referenced getting the individual cleaned and the clothing & bedding cleaned in hot water. But most of the sources I can find reference homeless populations and such; I don't know yet if it's really possible to have a lice infestation in the home - I mean, it seems possible (and obviously a louse was found in our house - but as it was dead, who knows when/where it came from).. one article I read mentioned that furniture has occasionally been implicated as "as source".
I also saw something about how if an "infested garment" is removed at night, the lack of warmth delays the cycle - or something to that effect. I'd have to go back and search for that; I've read so much about them that some of it is blurring together in my head.. but I remember thinking that perhaps we did get some lice in here and the reason that we aren't 'swarming' with them (as perhaps a homeless person who has worn the same clothes for 2 months might be) is because we do remove our clothes, change for bed, shower, and such - so perhaps we have an infestation of them TRYING to take hold and not quite making it to the degree seen in the example of someone unable to bathe or change clothes. This is mostly speculation on my part though, in my hunt for what is biting at us. The public health nurses weren't very familiar with 'body lice' - they're much more used to seeing kids with head lice. I'm considering it because of the identified louse and the fact that our bites have been mostly in clothing covered areas (very covered, in some cases)-- mentions in articles in body lice often say that they will bite areas close to the seams of clothing, such as the waist, underwear area, neck, upper back, and such. Our bites are nearly all in those areas.
As far as control measures - the biggest thing for body lice that I have read has been cleaning, so I'm upping the cleaning BIGTIME. Everything (and I mean everything) that can be washed is being washed, beds are being vacuumed every day, floors and walls are getting washed, people are getting bathed/showered more than they usually do. Bedsheets are being washed every day. I'm considering getting a louse spray for the mattresses - but this is one of the areas I have concern in, as if we do have bed bugs as opposed to lice (since finding a dead louse doesn't automatically equal no bedbugs) then would the louse spray cause any problems, make the bedbugs scatter/migrate/etc. I don't know, I haven't done it yet. My other concern is the cleaning - will that erase evidence of bed bugs if they are there. PCO here requires evidence. More specifically, the one here needs a bug. Or piles of black inky spots. Classic evidence. But I can't ignore the possibility of lice, as one was identified, and I have young children being bitten.
The fact that you keep your place that clean doesn't seem like it would allow a lice infestation to have much hold - you keep yours cleaner than ours has been (in terms of changing bedding every three days - I wasn't that good of a housekeeper LOL ). . But, anything is possible.
There seem to be others here who could offer much more bedbug advice, but from what I have learned, some of the signs would include: fecal spots (black inky marks is what the PCO that came here said to look for - some people here talk of small pepper marks though, I see), skin casings (I think this is the skin left behind when they molt?), blood spots on sheets or clothing, and of course, bugs themselves.
You said you get bitten mostly on your sofa - If it was me, I would take the sofa and look it over VERY carefully. Does it have the fluffy bottom ruffle thing? Look through that, in the folds. Remove the cushions, take the covers off if they have them. Does it have back cushions that can be moved? Deep tuck-in edges? Flip the sofa right upside down and look in any nook or cranny that it has. I'm no expert though, others may have better sofa-searching ideas.
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Thanks, bugsbite, for that information. I agree the situation is tricky since you absolutely need to treat for lice. I would consult another PCO, frankly. As for the beds, have you tried encasing them? Ideally beds should be treated before they're encased, but in your situation, it may help the immediate problem.
I think it's a good idea to consult other PCOs; get a different perspective and maybe you luck out and find someone willing to play detective to help you figure it out.
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vidsin
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 9
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Aug 30 2007 13:35:36
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Thanks for your replies guys...bugsbite thanks for such a descriptive informational reply! I did buy a magnifying glass yesterday and looked up real close on my sofa and guess what found a tiny sample! I had called in a local PCO called A Bell Termite and Pest Control (They are NJ based but service in PA). The inspector came, saw the sample, and agreed it is a bedbug and not a louse. He said he could start treatment right away/ I have signed a contract with him.
Unfortunately, he did not give me a preparatory sheet, which kind of rang a bell…, and I asked him about it. He said he would first start the treatment by spraying all baseboards, crack crevices bed frame sofa etc with an odorless water base micro encapsulated stuff and follow up the same areas with an aerosol spray especially for bed bugs.
He asked me to wash the bedding in hot water but not required for the clothes. He did spray the closet area.
I was so desperate to start the treatment I agreed and signed the contract and handed him the check. I do not know if I did the right thing when now I read on the FAQ that no preparatory sheet is not a good sign.
He said to report back in 2 – 3 weeks about the effects and he will come back and spray for free within the same month. In addition, he said he would be back for monthly spraying after month. He mentioned I should see some immediate effect in 24 – 48 hours.
I asked him about eggs and he said that the stuff he used has a reproduction-controlling agent in them that should help.
Bedbuggers please let me know with your vast experience with PCO’s that I did the right thing or I have hired someone who does not know much. The only thing that bothers me was there was no preparatory sheet given to me! -
lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,162
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Aug 31 2007 9:58:21
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vidsin,
In my opinion PCOs are a hit or miss thing and I still beleive that many PCOs are not educated well enough on bed bugs.
The industry has made some improvements but it still needs much work in that area. If I were you I would email Dr. Pollack at Harvard and overnight him samples and have him reply formally in a letter or email explaining his find. I would not trust the PCO and his company because the sample may not be a bed bug and they could intentially claim that it is just for the opportunity of making dollars. The other possibility is that they may make an honest mistake since many PCOs and PCO companies until recently have never actually seen a bed bug. You have the right to ask for your sample back also. I had posted comments recently about my feelings on the extermination business in this site, you can read them if you wish.
Also do your research and ask questions. This site is a great site and it can help you a greatly it has for me.If you have bed bugs prepare yourself for a long battle, it is war, take no prisoners. You must win you have no other option!
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