Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Treatment
Does anyone have a success story about having successfully gotten rid of them?
(9 posts)-
ohbugger
newbite
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 18
Posted 8 months ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 21:44:47
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The more I read on here the more I get freaked out - as it seems like nobody has gotten rid of these buggers.
Does anyone have any success stories? PCOs whose treatments have worked. It would be helpful to hear what DID work and how you got rid of them and also comforting too.
Thanks.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 8 months ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 21:53:31
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I'm still a little hesitant to say for 100% sure I'm totally rid of them (only because it was just last weekend that I brought the DVDs and CDs that had been stored in bins outside during the thermal treatment. Granted, those bins were sealed up for 8 months, the last two weeks of which they had DDVP strips in them, but still, I don't want to jinx myself).
However, unless I've reintroduced the bugs from the bins of items that weren't in the house during treatment, then, yes, I beat them with a single thermal treatment at the end of June in 2008. I have seen no signs of bed bug activity in the house at any time since then.
(I did have a scare in August when I had what I'm 90% sure are bed bug bites on my leg, but the PCO came out and inspected and found nothing. I'm pretty sure that I got bitten by bed bugs at a movie theater I hadn't been to before and haven't been back to since.)
Do remember that what you see at the boards is a classic example of what social scientists call sample selection bias. You're going to have a greater percentage of people with really intractable bed bug problems--the ones that are really hard to get rid of and seem to go on forever--on these boards because those are the people who are seeking help in the middle of the worst of it. Most people who get a rather simple infestation and get rid of it with one ore two treatments don't stick around on the boards. People with tough infestations haven't necessarily done anything wrong; they're just unlucky or at the mercy of people who aren't taking the issue seriously. A number of long term sufferers here, for example, live in multi-unit housing and live next to a neighbor who won't let the PCOs in to inspect or treat, or they have landlords who aren't hiring experienced PCOs and are therefore stuck with less than effective treatment.
If you haven't already, you might want to take a look specifically at the stories in the success story forum. I found them to be really encouraging reading when I began to despair.
And, although it doesn't feel like it now, it absolutely will get better. People told me that when I first got here, and I totally didn't believe them, but to my amazement it totally did. Hang in there.
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ohbugger
newbite
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 18
Posted 8 months ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 21:59:49
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Buggyinsocial,
Thank you for your words of encouragement. My PCO says I prepped well but I am so paranoid that one little egg has survived and I will be in a vicious cycle.
I've been trying to do my best to keep everything in bags. I'm between treatments 1 & 2 but I've been lazy about putting my coat or purse in a bag when I get home (I put them on a metal railing).
I've heard that they don't like bathrooms or kitchens so I've been a bit lax in the bathroom (where all my bags are stored) - leaving one item out for a day or not sealing the bags all the way. Then I read that someone saw one crawling up her bathroom wall. I have to assume that these were the extreme and biased cases to which you were referring - otherwise, it may seriously drive me mad.
Thanks again
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KellyAnne
newbite
Joined: Jan '09
Posts: 27
Posted 8 months ago
Mon Mar 2 2009 0:43:09
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Unfortunately, I found one in my bathroom. Mind you, I jumped out of bed at 6am thinking I felt something crawling on my leg...when I got to the bathroom I took my pants off, turned them inside out and shook them. I didn't see anything at the time so I just put my pants back on and went back to bed. When I got up at 9am, I found one sitting on the floor where the bathtub meets the floor. If you are leaving your bagged stuff in the bathroom, I've heard you should be putting it in the bathtub as they have a hard time crawling up the surface of the tub.
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You can see posts tagged success stories or success by clicking those tags above (or in this sentence!)
Also, there's the blog success stories page.
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bitten123
member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 326
Posted 8 months ago
Mon Mar 2 2009 10:04:44
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ohbugger, I know that feeling! I wrote a post similar to yours when I was several weeks into my nightmare. Nobugs kindly told me that their are many successes, but that when the people are successful, they often forget to write about that. I know I have seen many people come and go since I joined the board, so I"m assuming that their treatments did work.
Am I clear of the nasty buggers? Not sure, but I think so. There are no signs and there are no bed bug ddogs in my state to check for sure. It has been over 3months here and no signs of anything. I did my thorough check yesterday (I thoroughly check out the bedrooms on 1st day of month) and I found nothing. I had my super magnifying glass, high powered flash light, and lots of crawling, disassembling things and still found nothing. So I can say I am doing pretty good at the moment. :D
I'm sure in a few treatments behind you that you will be doing much much much better than you are now and hopefully will be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there, it does indeed get better. -
spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 8 months ago
Mon Mar 2 2009 15:37:17
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In the depths of the BB war it does get pretty bleak but you can and will win then life gets back to normal.
We are going on 9 months of freedom but I hang out for support to the newbites.
Jim
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ohbugger
newbite
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 18
Posted 8 months ago
Mon Mar 2 2009 20:28:50
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BItten and Jim,
Thanks so much for your support - I appreciate it and it makes me feel better. It's just amazing how this takes over your life and changes you probably forever. Thanks Jim for sticking around for newbies like me. You're doing a good deed. I am actually being a real loudmouth about this and telling everyone I know so they can be prepared and help prevent it as much as possible.
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buggy_eastharlem
newbite
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 11
Posted 8 months ago
Tue Mar 3 2009 9:24:31
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buggyinsocal -or they have landlords who aren't hiring experienced PCOs and are therefore stuck with less than effective treatment.
And how! If I could get rid of the bed bugs AND the landlord in one fell-swoop I'd be ecstatic.
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