Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » General Topics
Dreams or Nightmares?
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Newbeebugger
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 22:20:31
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Hi everyone! I've a question for you all. How are you all sleeping these days? Do you have Sweet Dreams or Nightmares? I'm so stressed with this whole bed bug thing that I usually go to bed around 12:00 a.m. and them obsess about these bugs in my sleep too. Is totally freaking out during the day and at night normal? Sometimes I think I'm going loopy. I heard these things (bb's) are in movie theaters too. I have a friend who loves to go to the movies. Yeah...let's go to a dark place, with fabric seats that aren't cleaned and have a great time! I don't like horror films and never did but this bb stuff is scarier than anything else I've ever seen on screen! How do we continue normal life the way it used to be before exposure? I miss going to bed with a book in my hands, or having friends over and waiting on them hand and foot and bringing some comfort in their lives. Now I can't even step into my own apartment without being afraid and stressed. How are you all coping? Am I nuts or normal in consideration of this circumstance? To quote Joey from "Friends"..."How you doin?"
Newbeebugger -
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 22:30:37
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This is a small part of what you're discussing. But I would say, going to bed with a book might help you sleep better. I could not fall asleep without one. I am not sure why you'd give that up.
Yes, bed bugs can crawl into and harbor in books. But they can also do that in your bed, and you haven't given up sleeping in one.
The precaution I would take is to inspect and possibly isolate the book after keeping it in bed. After a time, a pile of books which have been in bed could be treated. Don't toss it in your purse or car or anything. Don't throw it back on the shelf in another room where the books may not have been exposed.
Inspect the book daily, too, to make sure they're not making a home in, or laying eggs in, the book.
Another simple option if you read magazines would be a magazine you just read in bed before discarding. Don't move it around the home or take anywhere. But do give yourself that comfort, and take precautions to not allow it to spread your problem further.
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livinginahorrorfilm
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 22:42:30
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Oh I am feeling really crazy. Sometimes I think I should be in a rubber room and nothing else. Everything in my life was sort of on the frits and holding on by a string. This is like a really bad joke now.
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Newbeebugger
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 22:53:10
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Nobugsonme...I love books. Other than clothing, books is what takes up most of the space in my dwelling. How do I protect them? Do I lightly spray them. I've read about some kind of dust but is that for packing them up? I really hate to ask this question but must I pack, spray, dust it all? I'm still learning but everything I hear..well I can't tell if it's about prevention, protection, or giving everything up for two years. Just one pregnate female bb...and all this. Yes, I love to read...but right now I feel so discouraged. Don't get me wrong..I'm no quiter. But reading for pleasure right now seems a bit out of order? I've been having bad dreams about loosing everthing I own...my furniture, my books, even my family and friends because of all this. How is it that a bug can do all this? And I just wondered if anybody else had such dreams too?
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oldtimer
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 23:02:38
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Imagine dreaming about bed bugs covering you by the thousands. Wasps attacking you, making you run into the street only to be hit by a bus. Rats taking over your house and attacking you. Trapped in a room with 10 thousand spiders looking at you as their only meal. The list goes on and on. The dreams have to be the worst part of this job for me.
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livinginahorrorfilm
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 23:07:47
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At times like this, just try to get through. Don't beat yourself up about your thoughts, they are all warranted though perhaps extream. I have had to socially pull back and make weird excuses, and I dread the day a friend knocks at my door and they know I am home, but won't answer. I know I will never ever climb into a bed anywhere without pulling it apart. I know I will never see a harmless bug again, and not think about these dark days. With every movement of my arm hair, withevery odd little pinch sensation on my skin....I just want to jump out of my body. You are not alone at all. But, we will get through this and things have to get easier.
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Newbeebugger
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 23:18:58
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KillerQueen...I'm so sorry. I guess it's normal for all of us. I think it's the way they attack us....sleeping, at night, in our beds. What kind of coward does that? I'm going to bed tonight with a dream and prayers too, that soon, very soon, we will overcome these insects and be better and smarter people for it. I hope that an answer to our anxiety and disrupted lives come for us soon. I miss my family and friends so much. I've stopped hugging them. I live alone...I never married 36 y/o male with a lot of physical health challenges. So my friends and family mean so much to me. I feel that they have been taken away from me or rather I from them. I never even though that these bugs exsited. I thought they were a myth. In Greek mythology there was a hero for every monster. Maybe we are our own heros? Hang in there gang.
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Newbeebugger
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 23:24:06
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Thank you livinginahorrorfilm for your inspirational and candid words. I'm sorry for your sufferings too. Keep the faith.
Newbeebugger -
Adele
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Sep 10 2008 23:47:01
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Killerqueen - I love you to death and will be forever grateful for your ongoing help - but I really have to tell you that I think that posting was a bit scary and probably not helpful in calming our friends on the forums!!
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 1:49:18
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The irony is, I am posting at 1:30 a.m. having awakened an hour ago from a nightmare. I've been having a reoccurring nightmare about my wood floor being infested in every crack and crevice. I wake up in a panicked sweat.
I wonder, too, if I will ever continue with a normal life after this experience. Will I ever lay in a bed without inspecting it first? Will I ever be able to ignore the pin-prick feelings? Will I ever feel safe enough to stop using Ziploc bags for everthing? Or will I suffer some sort of BB post-traumatic stress syndrome forever??
At work, I can lose myself in my job and pretend that everything is OK. But oh, the nights are so long...
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spideyjg
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 2:05:05
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KQ I always wondered how you and your fellow PCOs cope with the stuff y'all must see every day.
I've seen videos of real bad infestations and I would forever have the heebie jeebies going in to some of those.
Kate, I don't think any of us will ever feel comfortable laying in a bed unless we checked it out. With the BB resurgence that is not paranoia. We know better.
FWIW I have stopped using bags for everything and am pretty much back to normal after 4 months of this.
Jim
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Adele
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 2:18:12
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after 4 months - Jim you are lucky - I am going on 7 months and I am still using bags and probably will until next month
They are closer to being gone but not quite gone right now
life is more normal now - but I think my sense of a normal life has been forever changed
and Yes kate - I too suffer from a post traumatic stress issue over these things
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your host
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Sep 11 2008 5:01:21
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Newbeebugger - 6 hours ago »
Nobugsonme...I love books. Other than clothing, books is what takes up most of the space in my dwelling. How do I protect them? Do I lightly spray them. I've read about some kind of dust but is that for packing them up? I really hate to ask this question but must I pack, spray, dust it all? I'm still learning but everything I hear..well I can't tell if it's about prevention, protection, or giving everything up for two years.Giving everything up for two years is probably not needed. Back in 2006 everyone was trotting off to storage with their stuff in boxes. Or sealing it for 18 months at home.
Honestly, I think that's off. Bed bugs may or may not be anywhere near your books. (Which is why I am saying if you read one in bed, don't take it BACK to where you got it.)
A good PCO will help you figure out where they are and how to kill them.
You need a PCO who can consult with you on your stuff.Some people may have to go through every book with a magnifier, and then will end up bagging some for 18 months. Others won't touch their books and will get rid of bed bugs. So much depends on where bed bugs are in your home. And how long they've been there.
Good treatment MAY involve bagging your non-washables briefly but will likely NOT require this for 18 months. And unbagging non-washables bagged briefly MUST be done while treatment is still in progress.
(I did a FAQ about this issue of whether items besides washed / dried clothing should be bagged and if so, for how long. Let me know if you try to and can't find it.)
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Newbeebugger
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Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 56offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 12 2008 0:28:03
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Thank you Nobugsoneme and Gang! I just got home a couple of hours ago and I'm catching up on what your all writting. I appreciate all the time, thought, and candidness ( even when a little scary ) because I don't feel so alone. I guess these intense feelings will never completly disapate but will gradually subside over time learning about the enemy. I recently had to stop a beautiful collection of leather books comming to my home due to financial reasons. I've been collecting them for 3 years and I was hoping for them to be gifts for my 2 little nieces someday. The last book I recieved was "Red Badge of Courage"...Ironic! I'm surfing the other topics your all talking about. I think I'll go to Bed ( how I hate bed these days ) a little late tonight. Good Night you guys.
Newbeebugger
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