Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs
Bedbug on the bus, what should I do?
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AhDC
newbite
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 1offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jan 25 2012 9:27:38
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So as I was getting ready to get off the bus, I notice what was definitely a bedbug crawling on my leg. I flicked it off, but I don't know how long it was on me. I searched my backpack and everything inside and I didn't see anything, but I am still really paranoid that I am going to bring a bedbug home.
What are the chances that it could have laid eggs somewhere on my clothes or in my backpack? Can I find them and kill them? What should I do with my stuff to make sure I am not going to bring any bedbugs home. Unfortunately I am at my office and don't have access to an oven or anything that I could heat my stuff up in.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jan 25 2012 13:26:50
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You don't want to use an oven to heat things up in anyway. That process is very dangerous; it's very easy to set things on fire that way.
Take a look at the section on this website that lists FAQs. There is specifically one that talks about what to do if you've been exposed to bed bugs while traveling.
Depending on how the backpack is constructed, I would suggest placing it inside a plastic bag when you get home until you can put it through the dryer on high heat. (If it cannot tolerate high heat in the dryer, lower heat levels will do. Again, the FAQs and previous posts on these boards give some ideas about how long and what temps and settings and such.
Hang in there. Just being possibly exposed to bed bugs can be scary, but you're doing the right thing by being proactive and trying to make sure that you don't bring them home with you. (In fact, if you think you can do so without freaking people out at work/putting your own job at risk if your bosses fear that you might have bed bugs) and you can get one now, you could bag up your bag at work so that you're doing something right away.
For what it's worth, bed bugs seem to push our emotional buttons. I think a lot of us when we first learn about them see them as a lot like Tribbles made of Velcro: they are EVERYWHERE! and any exposure means we'll DEFINITELY take them home with us forever and we will NEVER get rid of them.
It actually turns out that that's not true, but that kind of reaction to exposure is really common, partly because we don't get an immediate answer of whether we dodged a bullet when we were exposed.
Hang in there. Keep a close eye. Run the backpack through the dryer before leaving it unbagged in your home. Carefully inspect the items in the backpack. But try not to totally panic--even if bed bugs are scary and gross to most of us.
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