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Day One: The Exodus
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Merriweather
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Sun Jul 5 2009 21:52:32
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Let's rewind back 6 days ago. My girlfriend had told me some mosquitos must have flown in her window, because she had tons of mosquito bites. (She lives in an apartment building in Chicago.) Thought it was odd and gross, but continuing on, the bites kept coming - and were itchier than normal. I told her I suspected bed bugs. She looked, but never saw any (she also doesn't have the best vision.)
I came to stay this weekend. Saturday night/Sunday morning, I look and see a little tiny bedbug crawling and jumping around, and surely enough, two little bites in a line on my foot.
We pack some stuff (in sealed garbage bags) and head out to her mom's house in the 'burbs. We leave everything in the garage, strip, and proceed to launder (with super-hot 140+ drying) all of our clothes.
The two things that we are concerned about are whether her mom's house could become infested and whether I will be taking them back home with me.
The only clothing I had that wasn't laundered is a pair of dry-clean only trousers, which remains in a sealed bag that I will get dry cleaned tomorrow.
I have three pairs of leather shoes with me and a plastic suitcase. What can be done with them? Obviously the leather can't be going in the dryer or oven. (Same goes for her leather purses.) She also brought her suit that was hanging in the closet fairly far from the bed.
The shoes weren't near/under/on the bed, but I still want to make 100% sure I'm not bringing any of these bastards with me home. (I also had a canvas bag[now dried on super hot heat] with electronics and stuff - assuming that all the paper/electronic stuff is fine?)
The infestation can't be all that bad yet - less than 6 days and only two sightings (one by me and one by her on her shoulder.)
She vacated because she has been having a severe allergic reaction and can't stay there - she'll be talking to her landlord tomorrow and possibly breaking her lease - definitely getting a PCO. For now, we're just concerned about anything we possibly brought with us.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
ON EDIT: As an afterthought, what about stuff hanging in the closet? Rugs? Paper/books/DVDs?
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Merriweather
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 6 2009 2:06:29
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Since freezing appears unhelpful, would swabbing inside of shoes and suitcase w/91.% alcohol help?
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HI Merriweather!
Before you treat this as a case of bed bugs, did you verify this is what the creature was?
You said,
I came to stay this weekend. Saturday night/Sunday morning, I look and see a little tiny bedbug crawling and jumping around, and surely enough, two little bites in a line on my foot.Bed bugs crawl, but CANNOT jump around. They aren't designed to do that.
Please have a good look at the photos here.
If it might be a flea that you saw, consider a cheap plug-in flea trap, which will help you confirm.
Maybe you did not mean they literally "jumped," but I wanted to make sure. If it's fleas, the response is different (and: good news: probably much easier!)
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Merriweather
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 6 2009 14:22:05
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Hey Nobugs!
It kind of looked like it was jumping around. The thing was freaking TINY. It was reddish brown and about the size of a little speck. It was crawling around on one of her sheets.
It's pretty hard to check out the bed, the sheets are all pretty dark and the mattress/frame are black. She has tons of bites that itch terribly and have swelled/increased to the size of quarters/50 cent pieces, clustered and occasionally in a line. From staying there two nights, I got about ten bites, all on my feet. They're mildly itchy, fairly small, and all in a linear pattern.
edit: is it unusual that she went from 0 bites to 6-10 per night instantly?
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Fleas tend to bite feet and legs. (As I understand, they CAN bite elsewhere, if they can get there. For example, they could hop off the cat or off a blanket on your bed, onto you...)
Bed bugs will bite anywhere. If your friend has bites all over, then this may be more telling. Bite appearance is still not a definitive identification, however. There are other things (like bird mites) which can cause similar problems.
It's important to confirm a bed bug infestation before treatment occurs (and you would not want to do prep and decon if you did not have bed bugs). A professional who knows bed bugs well may be able to find definitive evidence if not spot a bug.
You could also catch a sample and a good PCO or local university extension or entomology dept. should be able to identify it.
You could post a photo here and someone can identify it for you.
You can even send it away to an entomologist at Harvard who will ID them for $25.I also have to say that if they ARE bed bugs, then seeing two separate bed bugs in six days suggests she MAY have a lot more of them. It is very unusual to see bed bugs in the early stages of infestation, because they hide very well. They generally come out when you are at rest, and avoid detection. People have them for months and months and see no bugs.
It is fully possible to have bed bugs for a long time and never react, or to react after sustaining many bites (others have noted this). Some people are not allergic. Some people develop sypmtoms as they are bitten more. (Incidentally, some people also stop reacting after being bitten for a long time.) Your friend may have had them for some time, and she may have just started reacting.
The important thing is to get a positive identification. If you have seen two in six days, you should do everything you can to get a sample. I'd hold off on the other measures until then. Some of the links in our "resources" tab at top will help you learn more about how to look. The photos of bed bugs and their signs which I already linked to should help too.
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Merriweather
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 6 2009 14:38:26
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hey and thanks.
it's not just her feet and legs. only my feet (i also read that body hair is a significant impediment to bed bugs, and i'm italian.) she has bites on her feet, legs, back, chest, and shoulder. i saw the one in the bed. she saw one on her shoulder as it was biting her. it was also very small, the size of a speck. she wouldn't be able to identify it, as she has pretty poor vision even if it was larger.
she has no pets.
she's going to call her landlord and get a PCO out there. for now, she's grabbed some clothes, washed/dried them, bagged a few other belongings, and headed to her mom's place. she's got so many bites that are so severe she can't sleep longer than 15 mins without itching. although, benadryl helped (she just got some today.)
i live kind of far away this summer, and given her vision, i don't really think she'd be able to get a sample. she also doesn't want to go back and sleep as the bites have already taken an intense toll on her life in just the span of 6 days.
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If she is getting bites elsewhere, then it suggests this is more likely to be bed bugs or possibly another issue besides fleas. It's good to get a confirmation, and of course, she will need treatment. Traditional spray treatment is unlikely to work if she does not stay in the home.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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Merriweather
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 6 2009 15:01:42
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will do, thanks alot :)
edit: am i going to be stuck throwing my poor suitcase away, or just leave it in this bag tied for now?
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Merriweather
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Mon Jul 6 2009 15:40:35
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update: landlord said they have had this problem in another building and are aware in this building. they're going in to "inspect and spray", but they won't do the whole building, just the room. they also have another company they contract which will come to exterminate the bugs. he said that would be two to three trips, which is consistent with what is necessary - but no preliminary preparation or anything of that sort.
edit: it worked in their other building apparently. and they don't do every unit because there are too many(90) and there's a high likelihood someone has something left on their clothes. doesn't this basically sound like "reinfestation might happen anyway, so we won't bother?"
break lease time?
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Treating the infested "room" (NOT apartment) and NOT inspecting adjoining units (above, below, all sides) is not a great protocol.
On the other hand, there are some good PCOs who do not want prep. She should not try and clean and remove things, since you want them to SEE evidence when they inspect.
One positive is if this does not work, and in 2-3 treatments, she still has a problem, then the company may wise up with their protocol and start looking into attached units and treating the entire unit (if they do not in fact inspect and treat the whole unit to begin with). Hopefully.
In addition, I want to mention that it's my understanding (though I am not a PCO) that sometimes people develop infestations quickly because a neighboring unit is vacated or mistreated (in ways which cause bed bugs to scatter). In other words, though your friend could have had them a while and not reacted for a long time, she also may have gotten an influx more recently.
Do you mean the PCO coming for bed bugs is not the one who does the routine monthly roach sprays? If so, that's somewhat of a good sign. It does not mean this company knows their stuff, but it is usually the case that the monthly roach "baseboard jockey" does not know bed bugs well enough to treat for them.
Anyway, these are all just some thoughts, nothing definitive here. It's good someone is coming and that they want to inspect it as is.
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Merriweather
newbite
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 9
Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jul 7 2009 2:36:59
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hey, will update more tomorrow with what went down. not sure if it's the roach guy or not, but they did say that they had bedbugs in a different building and this got rid of them.
room/apartment are used interchangably in my post - she's in a studio apt. sorry about not clarifying.
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I thought my bites were a skin rash, which would have been a relief. I know I have the dreaded BB's.....The exterminator is coming tomorrow to verify, and start the process of "BB" exodus..."I hope"!!! I placed a few rogue bugs in a jar so the Exterminator will confirm what I already know!
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