changing PCOs mid-treatment? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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changing PCOs mid-treatment?

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stricken

junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 75

Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jun 15 2009 2:21:50
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Hi, I'm a newbie at this, just found my bugs a couple weeks ago (after being treated w/antihistamines for 2 months of welts that 2 docs diagnosed as "hives") when they showed themselves after a bedroom renovation. Other than that I had no symptoms - no casings, no blood trails, no feces.
I'm using my landlord's exterminator but I'm not sure he's thorough enough. He has sprayed twice and keeps being surprised when I find more. He also gave me piecemeal instructions rather than a comprehensive checklist of the type I found here. I called a couple of companies that use some sort of three-tiered approach, and this guy is simply spraying. I am still seeing them in the supposedly exterminated bedroom, which is completely empty since I had moved all my stuff into the living room for the renovation, not knowing I had bed bugs (and yes, my living room now has them too). This guy says I caught it early, which makes sense considering the lack of signs but doesn't make sense given that I've seen at least two dozen of the things.
Last week I threw out my couch and wooden bed frame, both were old and had bugs. I am still washing & going through my stuff, so who knows how many are in there. I'm sleeping on an air mattress on my living room floor and still getting bit.
I'm wondering if it's advisable to change exterminators while I'm still going through the process, or if I should finish all my cleaning and then have a follow-up with another exterminator. The building is old, and the apartment is filled with built-in wooden shelves, desk, closet, etc. I would hate to rip it out.
Any advice out there?
Thanks so much.
buggyinsocal

oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,160

Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jun 15 2009 14:36:13
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I would agree, based on this, with your assessment that your landlord's PCO may not be as experienced and good at treating bed bugs as is ideal.

And that might be incentive enough for me to try switching PCOs myself.

However, in many places, PCOs won't treat except when authorized by the landlord. Ripping out built in furniture is also not exactly going to endear you to your landlord or get your security deposit back.

I would think that the first step for you would be to get a list from your landlord's PCO about exactly what chemicals were applied where. If you have that info, people here familiar with chemical treatment may be able to give you a better idea of whether it's just a matter of a PCO with a communication problem or a PCO who is providing less than effective treatment.

If you decide that the PCO isn't working out, then I would take it up with your landlord first. It may not may not work, but if you approach the landlord with the attitude of trying to help him or her out before the problem spreads to other apartments or makes the apartment harder to rent if you move out, you might get further. (Of course, all landlords are different. I can't make any promises, and only you know if that's likely to make your landlord angry. We have heard horror stories from PCOs who just want to hire someone to do something so no agency breathes down their neck while not being concerned about getting rid of the bugs at all. We've also seen great landlords who go above and beyond what's required. No telling from here which yours is.)

If you decide that the PCO isn't working and your landlord won't budge, then you need to find out if legally you can hire your own.

I also think that either way you're going to need a list of chemicals since most PCOs won't come in and treat without knowing what's already been used.

I wish I had more specific helpful tips to pass along, but I didn't go with chemical treatment alone myself, so I don't have much personal experience to draw on since I only had one PCO visit for treatment, although there were I think three inspections as well.
stricken

junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 75

Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jun 16 2009 9:13:36
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You helped a lot, thank you! I think this guy is alright, actually, having talked to him more. He came back after I found a few more bugs and said he thinks they are stragglers but will bring a crew (he's affiliated with a larger company, I just didn't know it) and fog the place on Friday. So now I'm doing all the protocol for a larger visit, though the whole thing is being done backward. However I am inclined to believe him about the stragglers, because I'm really not finding anything other than 3 or 4 yesterday, which I killed. And today I'm not bitten.
Anyway, thanks for the comments, because they gave me an idea of what to look for.
stricken

junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 75

Posted 4 months ago
Fri Jul 3 2009 19:27:50
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Update: He's so fired. Found a bb on my air mattress this past Monday. As well as a few right after he sprayed (mid-June) that he called "stragglers." I haven't even told him about this latest one. I am starting again from scratch, shopping for a bedbug-specialized PCO. The built-ins were put there by my brother, who had the place before me (w/o bb's), so it won't matter about ripping them out, though I hope it doesn't come to that!