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Canine inspection in the East Village
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shiner
newbite
Joined: Apr '09
Posts: 4
Posted 3 months ago
Thu Aug 13 2009 12:27:06
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So where to begin. I live in the East Village of Manhattan. Fifteen months ago I was working on a project and bedbugs were discovered in my dressing room. I suddenly was breaking out in what i thought at the time were mosquito bites, but upon further inspection they of course turned out to be bb bites. A friend of mine on my block who had suffered a terrible infestation the year prior came over immediately and inspected my apartment. The day before I had just started to spray rubbing alcohol everywhere to see if there was anything on the surface. Sure enough I flushed out an adult bb which I still have suspended in alcohol in a film cannister. My friend then very patiently waked me through the ins and outs of diy pest control. I ordered the NY apartment package from domyownprestcontrol.com and set to work. I removed everything from the apartment, and either trashed it (labelled of course) or ran it through the wash and hot dryer. The treatment included drione dust, bedlam, and gentrol. I went easy on the gentrol and was able to control the problem.
I had no further bites for over a year. Or so I think. I'm fairly certain my significant other is not allergic to the bites or just hasn't gotten bitten. We found that the bb we found was resting and defecating my digested blood on my side of the bed. Well, it's a modern Italian sleeper sofa made of two foam pieces covered by a wool. The bb was in the velcro seam where the cover attached to the bed. At the time it seemed as though I may have brought the bb in from the job I was working on. Who knows. I live in a 40 unit building in New York City so it may have happened anywhere.
About 11 months later (this past June) I got a bite on my arm that reacted very differently from my previous bb bites. It was indurated and had a ring. I did not test for Lyme, but that's what I thought it was. I now know it was the return of the bb saga. I'm still not sure how long it takes for my body to react so I don't know if I got bit at the beach where I was spending a few weekends or whether it was the apartment. Over the next few weeks I got one or two large welts (never 3) that itched intensely. I wanted to believe they werre just bad mosquito or spider bites. yes, even after having confirmed bb bites the previous year, I was in denial. Until one night this week, I got 3 large welts spaced fairly far apart on my back, and I knew a bb was biting me.
Yesterday I hired a canine inspection from M and M Environmental. i called the night before and they arrived the next morning at 9:30 am. I decided to just pay the dough and not deal with my landlord (he's not the most responsive of landlords). The dog came into the studio apartment and had positive hits on the feather bed we use on top of the sofa bed and on the sofa bed itself. The inspector said it was a 'localized' finding, meaning that there were not signs of major infestation, and there were no other hits in the apartment. To be honest, the inspection felt a little quick, but I guess once you get a positive result, you just want them to go back again and again to confirm. He told me that wasn't necessary. So I started bagging things up. I put the feather bed in a trash bag which I sealed and put a sign on it which said "do not take...BED BUGS." But that was just extra precaution because I walked it down to the trash this morning and waited on the sidewalk with my coffee until the garbage trucks came to pick it up and make sure no one took it home. And last night I encased the sofa in a tarp with duct tape, not before steaming every inch of it with a garment steamer. I know dry steamers are supposed to be better, but the heat I'm told in a garment steamer is high enough to destroy bbs and their eggs. Strange thing--as I was laying out the tarp (probably 2 am or so) I noticed a red splotch on the underside. I lifted the clear tarp and saw that it was blood and that there was a smashed bb next to the spot. I guess I stepped on it as it was trying to run. I hadn't seen it earlier. It was an adult and it is now saved in the film cannister. Not sure if he/she has friends, but am proceeding as if that is true. I called the landlord this morning but haven't heard back yet. Not sure where they are coming from, but I am going to protect my apartment. Probably not with M and M though. I spoke to them after the inspection and they gave a very long and expensive sales pitch of what needed to be done.
I just wanted to share my story. I seem to be a lot more freaked out this time than I was 15 months ago. You'd think it would be easier to deal with it a 2nd time, but I think what I'm responding to is the seeming futility of it all. I was very diligent in treating my apartment, but one false move, by you or a neighbor, and you're back to square one. I know many will say I or my landlord should have hired a PCO in the beginning, but the treatment and materials I used were very close to what i would have had to pay 20 times as much for. I have a house in the country so tomorrow I have a canine inspection there with Charlie of Quest and we'll see if there was cross contamination. God I hope not. But I'm prepared. Seems like it will be easier to deal with in a structure with no neighbors. I know that's not entirely true, but at least I will have more control. And yes, regardless of the results tomorrow, I have mapped a plan for traveling between the two places and making sure there is no traveling of bbs with me. I'll keep you posted.
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Let us know how the inspection goes.... I hope you get good news
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shiner
newbite
Joined: Apr '09
Posts: 4
Posted 3 months ago
Mon Aug 17 2009 11:35:47
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Well. Great news. Charlie from Quest came up on and inspected the house and no positive hits!!!! Thank God. Charlie was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. He came with 2 dogs both certified by NESDCA. When the dogs were done, Charlie showed me how the dogs search. He had a vial of bbs and placed them in a hidden spot--yes, the container was secure (I was terrified of it opening up, esp after getting the all clear)--and the dogs went right to it. In fact their sense of smell is so acute that they indicated a cushion that Charlie had only minutes before touched with his hand that was holding the container. Amazing. I was able to sleep a lot better after that. I still encased my mattress in an Allerzip (pricey!) and had the dogs smell the luggage of some friends who were visiting (never can be too careful). I still have to deal with the NY apartment. My landlord is doubtful that there is a problem. I'm going to have Charlie come in and help. I am not going to wait for my landlord to do something, but at the same time I have to alert the building so we can deal with this together and try to stop them. I called 311 in NYC to report but they wouldn't take the report until my landlord refused to something. I thought the Dept of Health would want a registry. Very frustrating.
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