Does it REALLY ever end??? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Does it REALLY ever end???

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Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 13:03:09
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As I'm getting closer to being treated professionally for my bedbug problem, and maybe my mental problem, a thought occures to me , which causes me more panic than even haveing these bastards.... Can they really be vanquished?? I have read sooo many stories on here of re-infestation, either from bad prep, neighbors, friends, school, greedy PCO's. Its very scary to think that I;m going to spend thousands on being treated , just to turn around and still have the same problem. It seems to me the only way to remain bedbug free after treatment is to never leave my house, never let anyone in, home school my children, never buy new furniture or clothes or books or anything, and never recieve mail. That is just depressing.
onmylastnerve

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 15:34:33
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I felt exactly like you did prior to my first treatment I'm thinking its a normal process to worry, is it gonna work isn't it. do I have to live my life this for the rest of my life. And after you come home after your first treatment you look around and see all your furniture torn apart but you don't smell anything atleast we didn't and wonder did they do anything to get rid of them. I am 5 days past second treatment and I have seen 1 bed bug in 17 days and that was the day before our second treatment and I was seeing 5 or 6 a day prior to treatment so it does get better and you do start to relax and feel it is working. I won't know if my treatment has been a success yet or not but it is looking that way. But I think after living with this once all ready we all are wiser and do our best to prevent it from happening again in the future and if it does will know what to do and catch it a lot sooner. But please understand your no alone in the way your feeling and it will get better.
bedbugsuptown

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 15:56:57
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Hello Ihatebedbugs1, o
Having read your right-and-true account of where you're at now--I can say with certainty that you would be absolutely capable of home-schooling your kids! God bless you--being a somewhat
border-line type, a life spent on the fringe....that would be mis-spent life lol I must say that I could never have home-schooled mine.

That being shared I will conclude by posting YES! I really do believe that this will end.

I'm feeling on the cusp of all clear. I'm not planning on throwing a party just yet--but I've reason to believe that YES, we killed them all. BTW: Did you go with Thermal/Chemical/or Vikane?
If you did chemical, did you purchase a PackTite? I did.

All the best to you and the family
Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 16:13:31
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Bedbugsuptown... I actually have not had treatment yet. Had to save and borrow ! These are my " pre-treatment" worries and fears. These thoughts scare me more than the bugs. I could never live that way. It almost makes me wonder if going thru the treatment is even worth it. Crazy huh! As for home schooling my children... Never... I love my kids, but not enuff to b with them 24/7
Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 16:18:47
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Onmylastnerve... Congratulations on being close getting ur life back. Success stories make me feel calmer , even the " almost" ones!
mam417

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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Oct 16 2011 17:34:24
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Ihatebedbugs1, I echo your sentiments....I truly fear that they will never be gone, and that all my efforts and money has been wasted. I truly, sincerely hope that your treatment will be successful, that you will get rid of them very quickly, and that your life, too, will return to "normal"...or as normal as we all can now be, having experienced this trama. Best of luck to you!
Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 17 2011 22:38:48
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mam417 - 1 day ago »
Ihatebedbugs1, I echo your sentiments....I truly fear that they will never be gone, and that all my efforts and money has been wasted. I truly, sincerely hope that your treatment will be successful, that you will get rid of them very quickly, and that your life, too, will return to "normal"...or as normal as we all can now be, having experienced this trama. Best of luck to you!

so.. u are bedbug free? If so, that's awesome! I kno my fears are shared by many and I wonder how do they get past it? It makes me hate these bugs even more that they have invaded my sense of confidence and control. Bedbugs are truly a traumatic experience and I bet one day there will b a psychologist just for bedbug sufferers Good luck remaining bedbug
Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 17 2011 22:39:30
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Free...
buggyinsocal

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Oct 18 2011 4:12:01
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Can they really be vanquished??

Yes.

I had bed bugs in June 2008.

Since then, I've continued to fly cross country several times a year for work, staying in hotels. I still sometimes take public transit. I bring home student papers and grade them in my home.

I am happy to report that I was bed bug free by July 2008 and have remained so since. My very unpleasant experience with bed bugs was one of the worst experiences of my life, but I learned a lot about the bugs, made my home less bed bug friendly (although it has a ways to go still), and take reasonable precautions in my everyday life (like inspecting hotel rooms, never picking up good looking furniture that's been left on the curb, setting my bedroom up so that it's easy to inspect, and so on.)

If you're feeling extra pessimistic, sometimes it can be helpful to go read the stories in the Success Stories area.
lsdrg706

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Oct 18 2011 9:23:09
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If it's any consolation, I understand how you feel.

I live in a large apartment complex, in a city/state that does not force my landlord to cover the cost of treatments. So in part, for now at least until the laws change, I am going to be continually be at the mercy of other tenants.

Our best defense in almost any situation is knowledge. I am surprised how many believe bed bugs to continue to remain in fairy tale. My ex husband is included as one of those sorts. Because I consider myself to be a responsible person, when he told me a few days ago he wanted to get his son on the weekend, I informed him we were having the apt. treated for bed bugs, at which point he promptly asked me with a smirk, "what, don't you wash your bedding every week?" Of course I took the opportunity to inform him that that alone won't prevent bed bugs, and shared with him all the extensive information digging I've done over the last couple of weeks. Turns out he's also got a visit coming to the most infested city in the country in a week. I think I convinced him to take alot of care in preventing bringing one home.

The anxiety does lessen. I also have a diagnosed anxiety disorder on top of dealing with these things, so it has not been easy. I've spent hours in tears outside, gone to being angry, then decided I was on a crusade to change our laws and increase awareness, even if I can only do it at the level of making other tenants aware of what I consider to be a nationwide problem. Eventually you will reach a level of acceptance, and it will get easier.

Some things will never be the same for me. I probably will always be chronically vigilant. Granted, I live on the outskirts of a city with a known problem with bed bugs, and an hour from a city that is I believe to be #2 on the worst cities in the US for bed bugs. I will probably at the least spray alcohol on my son's belongings when he comes home from school. I will be inspecting his things visually as well. I will also probably be inspecting our mattresses and box springs once a week, even after our second treatment is done this weekend. It is unlikely I will be visiting any movie theaters ever again, nor sitting in any library seats. And if I do decide to borrow a book? I will be inspecting every page...if I even ever decide to bring one home. I will probably be too broke to even buy new furniture anyway, so that vector is out of the equation.

And I will continue to fight with my local government to help protect people like me who live in apt. buildings with 40+ tenants.

While at first I was broken down and this level of vigilance made me feel overwhelmed, I think this problem will continue to grow until the public as a whole starts doing things to protect themselves. I truly believe a lack of knowledge as allowed them to spread as much as they have already. So my mission, and what has gotten me through the nights, is deciding to inform as many people as I can. You never know...some of them might have a problem with them already. 2 people in my household (myself included) do not react to bites. It is only my 8 year old son who does, and he reacts very uncomfortably.

Knowledge is power. It will get better. You might never be the same, but think of it this way; maybe it's for the better. As hard as this has been, I would rather be aware of all the things I have learned, because if you do have a problem? You could catch it before it gets out of control.

I will admit though I would be happy if I woke up one day and found out we had nuked the BB's and ended up extinct.
Koebner

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Oct 18 2011 9:47:34
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Yep, even in places with a high prevalence of BBs it's possible to return to life without them.

The biggest single thing we can do as BB survivors is to promote better awareness of the problem. The earlier each individual infestation is identified & eradicated, the smaller the overall population of BBs & thus the fewer potential exposure events.

As people who have had BBs, we know that regular monitoring & intervening as soon as any problem is evident is the best way to deal with the little varmints. Passive monitors make this easy & give very early indications of BB presence. Even if we are re-exposed, dealing early with a few hitch-hikers or invaders from an adjoining property, is infintely less disruptive, as well as a good deal cheaper, than trying to eradicate an established population.

I had two birthday cakes this year - one for my actual birthday & one for my one-year anniversary of being bug-free.
lsdrg706

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Oct 18 2011 9:54:19
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Koebner - 5 minutes ago »
Yep, even in places with a high prevalence of BBs it's possible to return to life without them.
The biggest single thing we can do as BB survivors is to promote better awareness of the problem. The earlier each individual infestation is identified & eradicated, the smaller the overall population of BBs & thus the fewer potential exposure events.
As people who have had BBs, we know that regular monitoring & intervening as soon as any problem is evident is the best way to deal with the little varmints. Passive monitors make this easy & give very early indications of BB presence. Even if we are re-exposed, dealing early with a few hitch-hikers or invaders from an adjoining property, is infintely less disruptive, as well as a good deal cheaper, than trying to eradicate an established population.
I had two birthday cakes this year - one for my actual birthday & one for my one-year anniversary of being bug-free.

You know who I have to thank for being aware? A tv show about hoarders. I didn't know they still existed until I saw that show a year ago, and if I hadn't seen it? I would have squished the tiny bug I found and never identified it as a bed bug....

Congratulations for both birthdays!
Ihatebedbugs1

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Oct 18 2011 10:22:30
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Koebner - 19 minutes ago »
I had two birthday cakes this year - one for my actual birthday & one for my one-year anniversary of being bug-free.</blockquote/> congratulations on being BB free! I think it is awesome when someone get to reclaim thier life from these demons. I usually deal really well with my fears and most times these thoughts of becoming a recluse are quickly diminished by the thought of being free one day. Then my 5yr old baby girl wakes up with 10 New bites and I freak out all over again. Once these vampires are gone I NEVER want my children to go thru this again. It's heartbreaking to see the little bumps on her and not be able to make it all better immediately! I do kno there are ways to detect if u get bedbugs again and I plan on taking full advantage of every product out there that helps, once I get them gone, that is.
buggystudent

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Oct 19 2011 19:56:23
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Ihatebedbugs,
I just had my first treatment. I live in an apartment building that is ALL over the bedbug registry website here in Vancouver. My first thought was to get out of here right now, however after all the hours of research I've done, I realized that moving may be the dumbest thing I could do, as I'd probably take them with me. I'm not sure if you're in the US or Canada, but in Canada, I feel even more stressed because we don't have the nice option of Vikane or even some of the really cool chemicals. (I don't think). My apartment building has a company who comes in every three weeks and uses tempo. I was super sketchy about it and am still very hesitant to believe any success or end is coming, however, I will tell you this. I just came back into my apartment for the first time and when I looked around, I found two VERY dead bed bugs on a recliner I knew for a fact had them. Though 2 is not a lot and by NO means anywhere near all of them, even this little bit was reassuring. Two down was two less that could bite me and two less that could make more of the little nasties. It's not a lot, but it's a little. And I've found that focussing on the little successes has helped keep me a little less insane during this. Do you have someone supporting you? That has been my other saving grace. My mum has been helping me clean and prepare and risking bringing them into her car/house by coming into my hell-hole and also letting me stay with her when it gets to be too overwhelming. I hope you have someone like that. If not, you have everyone here. I have found everyone on this site to be a TREMENDOUS amount of support and relief, as most people in my life who know about my problem (other than my mom) really have no idea what a nightmare this is. My ex-boyfriend even said to me "Doesn't like, 60% of mattresses have bed bugs? It's not even a big deal." No, those are mites. The other one I get is "I'm sorry. I hope it's over soon." Anyone who knows anything knows that it's probably not going to be over soon.
Jenn28

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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Oct 21 2011 15:03:26
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It's not that bad and you don't have to spend your time living life like that. It does end I will be 18 months bed bug free on November 17th! It is hard to imagine the end when you are in the middle of it and it is also hard to imagine your mind and your life going back to normal but it is possible. Bed bugs will always be in the back of my mind but I feel so much better today than I did say a year ago. Time heals! It is important to live life as normally as possible and enjoy yourself (even mid-infestation)!
laststrawsue

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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Oct 21 2011 19:56:46
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Thanks for pointing out the success stories section of the forum!!!
I really need it.
Yeah, I worry & worry & worry that they'll never be gone from here... and that when I'm finally able to move (can't right now, or I'd move tomorrow!)... that I'll take them with me and have to spend the rest of my life being bitten in my bed and keeping all my belongings in plastic garbage bags. I worry about being forced to throw away everything I own...
Well, you get the picture.

I got some relief when I was able to make a room at the family vacation cabin (which we may have infested before we knew we were infested in our apt - and which will not be used or lived in until next summer)... We made a Nuvan fumigation room and I've taken quite a bit of stuff there to leave in it for, perhaps a couple of months, until we can move.
Somehow, just knowing I'm doing something gives me a little hope.
That, and thoroughly researching success stories and strategies, and coming up with a thorough plan on how to move bed bug free. (As I have no hope for where I live - a simply awful landlord bought the bldg I live in, and I see no reason the people who brought them in the 1st place won't bring them again - long story but they're acting, and saying, that there's nothing wrong.)

So the best I can do is just keep living for now in a way that's least likely to allow the bed bugs to breed & harbor in my stuff. Work on a plan to treat all my stuff, and move without them as soon as I can.
(This happened at a time that both me and my SO are unemployed, at the same time. And after a series of other crisis for us and my family members - including a flooding, 2 hospitalizations, and several problems.)

So yeah, it can be really difficult to stay positive sometimes.

I said I feel a bit like Debbie Downer these days... only it's not feline AIDS - for me it's bed bugs.

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Does it REALLY ever end???

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