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Bedbugs came with rental furniture
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Feb 12 2008 16:39:52
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This is my first post on the board but I'm reading the blog and the forum for two weeks now.
I'm renting my furniture and last year August I had a mattress exchanged. We have seen black spots on the replacement matress but never heard about bedbugs before. Then we had some bites right after but we thought it is mosquito. Then the bites were gone and we did not worry about it anymore. We have seens one bug we have never seen before crawling on the wall once but we did not think about anything bad.
Then about a month ago we found a lot of bugs when inspecting the box springs closer. Bunch of eggs and skin. We were freaked out. I researched the internet and found this site. It helped me to confirm that we have bedbugs. We collected some bugs - it was easy they were everywhere in the boxspring and showed to the PCO inspector, he confirmed it too but they seem to be very confident that they can get rid of them.
Of course the rental company says it is not their problem and we can't proove that the bugs came with their mattress. Now they want us to treat their mattress or buy it from them and do whatever we want with it - they don't even want to take their furniture before I went through at least two treatments. I have a PCO scheduled for Thursday, he said through the phone that the mattress cannot be treated and should be discarded. Originally I wanted to get rid of the bed by the time the PCO comes in, now I can't until we figure it out with the rental company what should we do and who should pay. We find 3-5 bugs every day in our room, found eggs and some bugs in my daughters room. This tells me that the infestation is pretty bad. We started to wash all our clothes and bag them in the basement, vacuum every day and all the good stuff. Yesterday we have found a bug in the basement as well. It seems we werent carefull enough :(
Here are my questions:
1) Does it still make sense to call the PCO or it is better to get rid of the bed first? I have the vinyl mattress cover and boxspring cover and tape so I could isolate the mattress and the springs. If I must keep the matress for a while should I do the isolation before or after the treatment?
2) is there a way to prove that the bugs came with the mattress in the first place?
3) our PCO (nationwide service) quoted $450/room for the treatment, is this the normal price? Do you have a recommended PCO in the Metro Detroit area?
4) We can't find marks of bites on us - is it possible that our body got used to these suckers and won't react to them anymore?
5) in general I'm struggling to understand how the things should follow each other - what to do first when to call a PCO etc...Your help would be greatly appreciated
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I don't know enough to comment on the rental situation other than suggest you consult a lawyer.
The mattress and box spring can be encased after the first treatment. I'm surprised the PCO did not suggest this and instead said you must throw it out. If you do throw it out, then you must do so responsibly by destroying/defacing it so that no one can pick it up and take it home and inherit your problem.
1) start the process with the PCO right away. Whether or not you remove the bed, you will still have bedbugs so it's best to start without delay.
2) not that I know of (consult an attorney)
3) the price sounds within a common range but I cannot know what the fees are like in your area; I strongly suggest you speak to several companies before hiring one; there are FAQs here that can help you figure out who might be good
4) yes
5) call several companies with a list of questions (see FAQs), get a list of instructions from the company you hire and complete those tasks. If you can read the 101 FAQs plus the FAQ written by a PCO on how to find a PCO, if you can read those today, and then read the rest that may be relevant as you proceed
Good luck. Don't panic. Don't throw out things without due consideration to not spreading bedbugs. Do not move things around in your home indiscriminately. Make sure you have a protocol for your clothes and personal items to prevent the spread of bedbugs when you leave home every day.
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MixedFeelings
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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 13 2008 14:30:04
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BTW, if you *do* dispose of anything, please ensure it is completely sealed in plastic and also labeled as infested. The sealing is to prevent bugs or eggs dropping out of the item as you dispose of it. The labeling is an attempt to deter others from "finding" your infested item and taking it home! Especially your neighbors.
When we tossed our couch, we bought 2 heavy, plastic queen-sized mattress covers (ie: moving covers). We put one on one end of the couch, taped it down with duct tape, and then the slid the other cover over the other end, and taped it down and sealed it (plastic on plastic, the overlapping seam duct-taped down). More difficult to carry, but it would have been awful to be shedding bugs and eggs down 3 flights of stairs, that could later infest our neighbors...
Here's to hoping others would be as responsible...
MF
PS - We try to put all infested trash in black garbage bags (as opposed to orange or clear). My hope is that by not seeing the contents, people should be less tempted to go through it looking for "treasure". lol
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lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,170
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 13 2008 15:56:56
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I'll bet you will never rent furniture again.
My neighbors rented a bed and two weeks later I got bed bugs but I do not think the bugs was from them. Bed bugs aside I cannot understand how anyone could rent a bed and sleep on it. Who knows where its been and what has been on it.
How do people think of these things? -
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 954
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 13 2008 16:11:41
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At the National Pest Management Association's 1st International Bedbug Convention in Herndon VA, September 2006, they had a speaker from a furniture rental company. He was his company's "Bedbug Tzar," and he reported directly to the CEO. It was humbling and scary to hear the story of how bedbugs have totally affected his company and industry. Like the hotel industry, furniture rental is on the front line when it comes to bedbugs.
I'd keep pursuing things with the furniture rental company, since places like that are usually told to say "no" at first if it involves giving the customer's money back but maybe you can get to a higher level and get action. Do you have a consumer affairs reporter on a local tv station or newspaper who can call for help? Even if you might not want to be on tv, sometimes they have information and can help you behind the scenes. Everyone can relate to your story.
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 16 2008 12:34:24
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I have some pretty interesting update on the issue:
The company refused to pay for anything, they offered me two choices
1) get the whole house treated and all the furnitures in it twice, they will take the furniture back only when I get a written guarantee from the PCO that we are not infested anymore
2) buy all the furnitures from them for $4000.The PCO told me that they don't treat mattresses so it has to go.
Mixedfeelings: I bought zippered covers for the mattress and the boxsprings and ducttape. I plan to put them on when disposing the stuff. We live in a neighboorhood where people don't touch their neighboors trash.
Liutenantdan: My employer covers the expenses so it seemed like a good idea. BTW rented beds are not too different from the ones in hotels, but I agree with you.
Parakeets: you should hear the manager of the rental company, she is so full of it. Obviously she has no clue whatsoever what bedbugs are and how hard to get rid of them. She said it is for sure not from them because there was no outbreak in their warehouse... no comment
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MixedFeelings
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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 16 2008 20:02:17
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Hi Buggynights,
I'm really sorry to hear about how difficult the rental company is being. I can only imagine more and more rental companies are going to be dealing with this issue.
Thanks for disposing of things in a responsible way. That's great.
BTW, we live in a well-to-do neighborhood where most citizens would never dream of going through someone else's trash. HOWEVER, I know that people from other neighborhoods come here for specifically for the pickings because many people are wealthy (ie: the pickings are better). Know what I mean? I think that all trash in all neighborhoods is at risk of being picked through, unless it is locked in a dumpster, etc. I also like sealing infested items because I wouldn't want the garbage collectors to be at risk either. BTW, I'm just sharing this info, it's not meant to imply you or anyone else here is not being responsible. And PS - We are not wealthy ourselves, just apartment renters here!! Most people in our area own gorgeous victorian townhouses and condos. We do not. lol
Okay, I obviously have issues with this disposal issue, I'll get off my soapbox now. ;)
MF
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fightorflight
senior member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 694
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 17 2008 4:21:52
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Buggynights:
>you should hear the manager of the rental company, she is so full of it. Obviously she has no clue whatsoever what bedbugs are and how hard to get rid of them. She said it is for sure not from them because there was no outbreak in their warehouse...Like..um, are her employees *sleeping* on the beds in the warehouse? Is that why she's so sure? ;o)
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Feb 18 2008 11:44:55
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The PCO will come in tomorrow and treat the two infested rooms. I have matress and boxspring covers for everything. Should I put them on BEFORE he treats the rooms or AFTER? (remember he claims that the mattresses cannot be treated - he did not say anything about boxsprings).
We plan to spend the night outside of the house (they will treat the rooms late in the afternoon) is this a good idea or we should stay as bait?
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 20 2008 13:45:53
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So we've got our first treatment yesterday. The PCO treated all three bedrooms and the perimeters of the rest of the rooms. He used three type of pesticides, a powder a liquid and an aerosol and made us to leave the house for 4 hours - he did not have to tell this twice :D we were out in 5 minutes... I have a list of what kind of stuff he used if somebody is interested.
This morning when we returned I saw some dying bugs but he warned us that this stuff kills slowly so we may see them for an other 7 days, then we should contact him and he will come out for inspection and possible repeated tretment - I think I will insist to the second treatment no matter what.
I put the mattress and the boxspring in the covers and used about a hundred yards of tape to seal them...What should we watch out for in the next days? We still keep all our clothes in the basement and put everything (clutter) in plastic bags. When can we start reintroducing the stuff we need to the rooms? Is it safe to let our 3 year old to sleep in her bed? What if she starts licking the headboard of the bed - she does not normally do stuff like that but you never know. Should we wipe her bed clean?
My deepest fear is that this treatment will only help to spread the bugs in the house. The PCO used a lot of poison in our room and much less in the other rooms. If I was a bug I would run away as quickly as possible from the MBR and try to find a place to hide somewhere else. -
I am not lawsuit-crazy (as any old-timer here will tell you) but I'd call a lawyer. This company's attitude is lousy.
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MixedFeelings
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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 20 2008 14:29:27
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Hi buggynights,
Yes, I'd be interested in the names of the products he used if you know them.
MF
PS - I would not clean your daughter's bed.
PSS - Next time a PCO comes over, I'd recommend you stay behind to watch what they do. I do every time, I want to know what's been done or not. I also sometimes assist with moving things if they ask for help. -
buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 20 2008 15:33:54
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Mixedfeelings: I wanted to stay and watch but he said we should leave because the stuff is pretty toxic. On our way out I've seen him wearing a simple $1 dust mask. It made me think how bad the stuff really is. When I get home I will check the receipt he left behind he told me he will list the chemicals on it.
Nobugsonme: add to the story that we rented the furniture from this company for over 3 years now, they only replaced stuff which wear out - like the mattress (dumb me - I would have never wanted them to replace the original mattress if I knew bedbugs exists) and a couple of chairs. My employer paid a sum over $20k to these guys ($500/month). So they paid off the furniture 5 times already... and trust me it was never worth $4000... I would not get $500 for everything on a garage sale :D
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Feb 22 2008 18:09:38
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It's been 3 days since we had the PCO visit. We did not see a bug in the last two days... I believe most of them got stuck in the mattress and boxsprings when we put on the covers but where are the rest??? There are no new spots on the sheets so it seems like they are dead or they went hiding... I will schedule the next visit of the PCO 10 days from now and we'll see.
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senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 545
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Feb 22 2008 18:30:56
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buggy,
Here's hoping you're in the clear.I also think I'd call a lawyer about this rental company,I'm not a big fan of lawsuits either,but that's just wrong on so many levels. -
The thing is, it is not just the rental furniture that's affected. It's your home, you, and your other stuff. Rental companies need to take preventive measures (we heard one outfit was using heaters in trucks to kill bed bugs between rentals--but we did not get a name). Preventive measures do exist. This company is totally responsible if you got them from an item (if there's clear evidence, which is not always the case--for example, were the black marks on the mattress when it arrived?).
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jerronman
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 1
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Feb 26 2008 12:34:00
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The rental company that "bakes" it beds, frames and headboards is American Furniture Rentals. They deliver in the eastern part of the US, form New England to North Carolina. But the don't do "rent to own". They are primarily a rental company for business travelers, apartment communities, and corporate housing companies.
The heating chambers are in the warehouse, not on the delivery trucks. The heating kills the bugs and the eggs.
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buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Feb 27 2008 17:35:24
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I have found black spots on the mattress when inspecting it after it was delivered. I had no idea what are those and I knew the furniture we are getting is not new. Of course I did not take pictures. There is no way to prove that the mattress was infested before it got to us. And the rental company knows that.
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Jerronman,
You're the second person from the same IP address to write a positive message about American Furniture Rentals this week.
What are the odds!?
In any case, it is great that AFS is baking its headboards, mattresses, and frames. However, if an infested item is picked up in a truck and taken to the warehouse, and a clean item is loaded into the truck, it can become infested.
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Rental furniture has been a problem and at least one major company was sued over the matter. You should check what there policy is. If any of them seem not to know what you are talking about I'd be concerned. If they inform you of a program in place to prevent
relocation it's a good thing. Other wise you are taking in used furniture. -
buggynights
newbite
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Mar 1 2008 20:42:45
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At least those guys at AFR are not ignorant like the ones I'm dealing with. This company could easily fumigate or bake the whole set of furniture but they won't do it they will just pick them up after the second treatment and ship it to the next unlucky guy... at least that is how I got the bugs...
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