Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tales of Bed Bug Woe
Fear and Loathing in Wyoming....
(24 posts)-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 10:47:05
#
Login to Send PM
Ok, so hi everyone on here! I have found comfort in this forum since I discovered my bed bugs on Sunday night... It's a lot more assuring than all my friends who say "oh, those are so difficult to get rid of!" "oh, so you've also experienced them?" "no, but that's what I've heard." THANKS BUNCHES!
My story starts in a hotel in NYC, or so I think. We went to NYC for a job interview that my husband had scheduled. We stayed in a pretty decent hotel. I don't recall seeing anything on the mattress or anywhere else for tell-tale signs of bedbugs (although I was unaware that I needed to look for them) I always pull the sheets down while looking at them (I grew up on a farm, and who knows when a spider is lurking). I don't recall seeing anything...
Day 1 I woke up with rashes on the inside of both of my knees. They were in a line and majorly concentrated on my inner knee. My husband did not have any symptoms. We could NOT figure out what this rash was from, but the shape it was in made me think it was from the new pair of pants I bought at Kohl's right before we came to town, we thought it could be a small irritation exacerbated by both the cold and heavy walking. When I got into the hotel hot tub it burned like crazy, same with when I showered. We stayed in NYC for 4 days, returned to our home on the 6th of March. I wish I would have done more research and not have taken our suitcases inside the apartment... or SOMETHING.I had no other symptoms after I got back to Wyoming. I have acne and am really sensitive to some things, so I imagine I had some signs but just waved them off and thought they were other things. We left for spring break (to stay with family, trust me, I feel terrible) for 8 days in Texas. We had no signs of bugs. I am hoping we did not take any of the bugs with us, but I can't be certain. I have notified all family members involved. We took our pillows with us, but did not have bites. We packed a separate suit-case that we hadn't been using and had washed all our clothes before we packed... I'm hoping that did enough to not spread the bugs to my family members' houses.
I got home late on Sunday night, brushed my teeth, and crawled into bed. I could not fall asleep for the life of me (thankfully in hindsight) and I started getting this crawling sensation. I got out of bed and used my cell phone to see what was crawling on me... alas, bed bugs. I saw them EVERYWHERE! (I think, I was panicking) I did not sleep well that night, not knowing what to do I crawled into my bathtub to sleep, because I had no clue where they all were. I have called an exterminator and they are coming to check it out tomorrow and going to de-bug (Not sure exactly how) on Saturday. I live in a pretty geographically isolated area, so I can't be picky with who comes and does the job. She has done 50+ bed bug infestations and has only had to go back one time, is that pretty good?
Here is my conundrum... and any advice from people who have done this successfully would be greatly appreciated. I talked to my landlord about the problem, her great response was that it wasn't her problem. I live in an apartment of about 20 units, I am on the middle floor with at least 5 units touching my walls (including corner) and that doesn't include the people accross the hall. I am fairly certain that I got the bugs in NYC, I have read that if you are gone (Like we were for 8 days) that they will migrate to people. I have seen them crawling accross my living room floor, about 10 feet away from my bedroom which is about the same distance as from my bedroom door to the neighbors front door. Since it's not the landlords' "problem" she is not going to check other units. She is also not going to pay for my exterminator ($500 seems reasonable, and although it makes me sick to think this could have all been avoided, I would rather pay and not deal with it anymore.) I have decided, since she is refusing to inspect other units, or even tell other tenants what is going on (she said she didn't want people getting paranoid), that I am going to move. I signed the lease yesterday, and although it seems hasty, I am sure, I don't know what else to do. If they have migrated to other apartments, there is a chance they will come back, and I don't want to have to deal with all of this again due to her ignorance about bed bugs and her stubborness (she said that bed bugs only move from bed to bed, and that a bug has to be on you and you have to sleep in another persons' bed in order to spread them). I have read that this is a terrible idea, to move.... but here is my plan...
I have already started to toast everything in the dryer and then bag it up in trash bags and using packing-tape to seal the bags, taking those bags to my car, and transporting (4 so far) to the new apartment. I do not put the bags into the apartment without inspection of the bag, to make sure there are no hitch-hikers, and I don't walk into my new apartment, I just drop the bags near the door, reaching in as far as I can. I plan to wait to move anything that I don't have to wash (in preparation for the exterminator) until after the exterminator comes and does what she does. I know there is a 2 week after check. My lease will expire a week and a half after the 2 week check, so I was planning on leaving ALL of those items in the old apartment until I can be sure that they are all dead. I have already purchased bb encasements for my memory foam mattress and have tossed some very old memory foam pillows that I thought I could see eggs on (but they were really old and needed replaced anyway). I am sure this sounds like a really stupid idea, but I am totally lost at what to do since my landlord is so uncooperative.
The only hope I have is this... I read that I need to sleep in my bed to contain the infestation... I have a pretty bad anxiety disorder so the thought of sleeping in my bed with bed bugs ready for dinner is impossible, even after sleeping pills. I am not sure HOW many I really have seen, but I would guess maybe 50 (including translucent baby bb's). However, I have only ever seen two bb's crawling accross my living room, I do have a cat, so maybe it caught a ride, idk. The only other sign I found was a dead bb and an encasement in my living room. I have a 2 bedroom apartment with living room, kitchen, bathroom, and storage closet. I am hoping that the infestation is just in the bedroom. Do I need to wash all soft things even in the storage closet? I have some clothes my husband and I put in there for storage in a big rubbermaid tote (I know they aren't air tight), but it is at the back of the closet and we don't go in there very often and when we do it's usually after we've showered. Can I wait to see if the exterminator find any in those rooms or should I just start washing everything. The prospect of washing all the clothes is very overwhelming and I am stuck doing it alone. My family lives far away and right before I came home my husband got a job in Florida and left from Texas to go there. I have told him what has happened here and instructed him to dry everything on high heat for at least 20-30 minutes as soon as I found out. I am also fearful of a bb getting back into the clean clothes from falling off my clothes, or having an egg on me, or something like that... I just don't know what to do. I've been crying on and off since Sunday, I have not been sleeping well, and I am dealing with anxiousness, fear, and depression since the discovery... Does the size of the infestation make a difference in the ability to get rid of them? Is getting rid of bb's easier when a professional is hired? I am sure some of you will say that moving is a stupid idea, I know some have done it with success and others without... I need help. Nobody I know has ever dealt with this...... I am just lost.
-
diesel
member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 196offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 11:02:43
#
Login to Send PM
Can you take a picture of one of the bugs and post it here for the experts to look at? Just want to make sure of what you are dealing with.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 13:23:36
#
Login to Send PM
http://s1056.photobucket.com/albums/t367/BuggingOutinWY/
I can upload more if I need to... this is my "best" picture...
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 16:37:02
#
Login to Send PM
After reading up a bit about Diatomaceous Earth (Food grade) I am wondering if I should just buy some and sprinkle it around the new apartment before I move in... what are any thoughts on that? I figured if I sprinkled it down BEFORE I moved any items into the house any bed bugs still around (and not located on my soon-to-be-fumigated then encased mattress) would die... I have a professional coming from Terminex on Saturday... do I need to take the precaution of using DE in the new place or should I have some sense of security of the woman coming in to do whatever she's going to do to my current living space? I just don't know what to do/where to go... Luckily Wyoming is very dry, so I am not very worried about it getting wet in the new place...... thoughts? I don't want to infest the new place!!!!!!!!!!!
-
diesel
member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 196offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 16:59:01
#
Login to Send PM
An expert will come along and ID it.
-
senior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 630offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 17:17:39
#
Login to Send PM
Looks like a bed bug, sorry. I have a hard time believing you brought back 100's of bed bugs, if you saw that many soon after coming back from nyc I would lean more towards an infested neighboring unitthat was glad to have new victims to feed on. It seems strange that you would bring back 100's of bed bugs. I did skim through your post so maybe my facts are wrong here, still jetlagged from an australian trip.
-
diesel
member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 196offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 17:46:02
#
Login to Send PM
Does seem odd, that you got back from NYC, and then had that many bugs just 6 weeks after. I agree with djames, that this may have been a problem before you went to NYC. I guess my though is if you went to NYC, and brought home a BB or two by the time all of the eggs were laid, and hatched (that is if all of them actually did hatch), in 6 weeks it seems odd that you would see loads of bugs. I am not sure how many you saw in bed, but to see them walking across the floor in the living room and seeing them all over seems odd for this short amount of time.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 18:02:01
#
Login to Send PM
The biggest problem is that since early December 2011 we have traveled a lot... I know I had a rash in NYC, so I'm not sure if it is from there... but I wouldn't be surprised if it was from a neighboring unit... I live in a town where the hotel industry is one of the biggest industries IN OUR town... so I wouldn't be surprised if someone from there brought them... In the last few months an apartment complex across town was infected and the hotels in the area have been known to have, and then get rid of, bed bugs, but that doesn't consider housemaids who might take them home with them... I don't know... that is the main reason I am leaving this apartment soon after I get the place treated, because the exterminator also said that she didn't think they could infest this quickly. I have also been keeping my apartment pretty cool... I like it to be about 65... For the past few weeks it has been even colder than that, so I'm hoping to slow their growth down to limit the amount of eggs that can be laid... This has all been so stressful.... I am just grateful that I have the financial ability (even if I don't LIKE SHELLING out about $500 to have an exterminator come, 100$ for bed bug mattress encasements, moving costs, double rent for a month, etc) to take care of this...
-
blargg
member
Joined: May '11
Posts: 338offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 18 2012 22:03:37
#
Login to Send PM
BuggingOutinWY - 3 hours ago »
The biggest problem is that since early December 2011 we have traveled a lot... I know I had a rash in NYC, so I'm not sure if it is from there... but I wouldn't be surprised if it was from a neighboring unit... I live in a town where the hotel industry is one of the biggest industries IN OUR town... so I wouldn't be surprised if someone from there brought them... In the last few months an apartment complex across town was infected and the hotels in the area have been known to have, and then get rid of, bed bugs, but that doesn't consider housemaids who might take them home with them... I don't know... that is the main reason I am leaving this apartment soon after I get the place treated, because the exterminator also said that she didn't think they could infest this quickly. I have also been keeping my apartment pretty cool... I like it to be about 65... For the past few weeks it has been even colder than that, so I'm hoping to slow their growth down to limit the amount of eggs that can be laid... This has all been so stressful.... I am just grateful that I have the financial ability (even if I don't LIKE SHELLING out about $500 to have an exterminator come, 100$ for bed bug mattress encasements, moving costs, double rent for a month, etc) to take care of this...Any reasonable rent houses near where you live by chance? If you can move without taking bb's along, it's much easier to prevent bb's in a house since you don't have to rely on neighbors to keep them out.... just sayin'...
-
cilecto
oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Apr 19 2012 1:27:43
#
Login to Send PM
My reaction was similar to David and Diesel, regarding your suddenly seeing so many bugs "at large". Bed bugs are normally secretive and prefer to remain hidden (hence "bed bugs", feeding at night). That they're running around is likely that they have outgrown their habitat and/or are being disturbed. The most likely scenario to me is a neighboring unit, that's gotten real bad and/or bombed, in which case, I suspect most legal experts/tenant advocates would say it is your landlord's responsibility.
Points to consider in deciding to stay or go is if you believe the landlord can ultimately be turned around and solving the problem in the building, not just your unit. If you need to go, bear in mind that some serious steps will need to be taken to prevent your taking bugs with you to your next place (at which point it would be your fault).
Please review our FAQ start to finish, to get a solid background on what you need to know to fight BB and to advocate effectively for yourself and your family.
Also, check, (but do not post, please) if there's anything on your building on bedbugregistry.com. People have had eye-opening surprises after being told by their landlords that they are the only ones complaining.
-
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Apr 19 2012 2:19:30
#
Login to Send PM
Just to chime in-- I too agree that it doesn't sound like they came from NYC.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon May 14 2012 23:58:19
#
Login to Send PM
So... my Landlord refused to do anything... so I found a new place to live... I had Terminex come and spray (they are the ONLY people near me that will come to my town to do extermination so I didn't have a choice.) The exterminator who came used to work for Orkin and now works for Terminex. She said she has never had to go back to re-spray, ever.. so I was confident. I took what few things I needed in the new apartment and left... I ran all my soft things through the dryer then packed them up in those spacebags and ziplocs and took them to the new place... before leaving my apartment to either go to the new place or do laundry I took a shower, placed my "bb zone clothes" in a bag, treated those, and after the shower put on the clean clothes before working on heat-treating the rest of the clothing... I held everything at an arms length and made sure that they went directly into a sealed bag with the rest of the heat-treated stuff as soon as it came out of the dryer... anything that even BRUSHED the floor was re-treated... I sealed up that stuff, as I said, and took it to the new place... no bed bugs... They came in and sprayed almost 3 weeks ago... they advised that I toss the box spring and bedframe/headboard... just to be sure. They said I had been more than thorough... My actual memory foam mattress was thankfully saved by the medical-grade bed bug case that was on it... I pulled off the old mattress cover, washed it in hot bleach-water and dried it on high heat... put it back on the bed quickly, as the exterminators suggested so it wouldn't GET infested (it was moved out into the hallway and out of the bedroom after they had sprayed just to be sure). Zipped it back up, loaded it in a truck, and brought it to the new place... Zipped it up even more in an Allerzip bed bug proof mattress encasement and moved it into the house... no bed bugs...
waited the two weeks... Got the "all clear" from the exterminator... so Saturday (this last) we moved all the rest of my things from the old place to the new place... Was chatting late to the husband and before going to sleep I did a perimeter check... found a bug... didn't think it was a bed bug... looked like a kind of beetle... so I did more research... all the bed bugs I had seen before were not well fed... this one had just finished eating... I of course... panic... SO... I look at all the furniture that I had just moved in to the house in the morning... I found ONE other bug crawling on the underside of a drawer in the night stand... I promptly removed the night stand out of doors and left it out there for the night... the next morning I promptly wrapped it in black garbage bags and duct taped it completely sealed (I hope). It is still out there... and on top of that is another black trash bag with the two boxes of things that were IN the night stand.. that were supposedly "ok" but... I can't be sure so I'm freaking out...
I'm hoping I caught it early enough... I stripped the bed and washed the bed in HOT bleach water (I now have what appear to be tye-dye sheets... lol) I also vacuumed with my new vacuum, emptied the canister into a gallon ziploc, didn't see any friends in the ziploc... still have it so I can keep looking for movement... Then I promptly washed the canister, filter, etc, in hot bleach water from the vacuum.
What I think happened is that these were eggs that had hatched... recently. I only SAW TWO... but they were NYMPHS. I've been re-checking all the other bedroom furniture and have found NOTHING... What I think made a difference is that the night stand was placed DIRECTLY AGAINST our bed... so I'm guessing they harbored in there... I never had any trace of bed bugs in the other furniture either when I was heat-treating all the clothing from inside the drawers or since, and I've inspected it every evening and morning since Saturday night... nothing... The problem is my drawers are unremovable... which sucks... so I don't know if I should toss the night stand or let her come back and re-treat it... When she does come back I want her to spray all of the carpet and spray the boxes that are now in the new places basement (that were formerly in the storage closet of my old apartment where no bed bugs were found). I even ripped off a little triangle piece of particle board that was part of the under-part of a drawer for my chest of drawers... I thought this would be a perfect hiding spot for bed bugs because even if you pull out the drawer, this part is completely protected... I found nothing, no poop, no eggs, no casings, nothing... I've looked as well as I can at the other furniture... found nothing.
I also have been checking my bed the whole time and haven't found anything since that ONE on Saturday night...
Is there a small glimmer of hope that they were only still in the night stand? that they had been eggs and had since hatched?
I am leaving in 6 weeks to go to FL to be with my husband for a month in a half... The exterminator IS going to come re-spray free of charge, but I still am very concerned about the night stand... I think, luckily, that there are only nymphs left, and hopefully the exterminator will be back within the next little while so that they are not turned into adults and start laying new eggs...
All the clothes I heat treated are still in the bags they came to the new aparment in... so they are good, thank God... except my shoes, which I had opened... I will re-examine each bag though, to make sure that no holes exist.
HERE IS MY MAJOR QUESTION... Can I seal up my new place with those seals you use for the winter time... place nuvan strips all around the new place, a few in each room, and then when I return take them out? Will that be a good plan of action? Is that just nuts? I read as much as I can about the Nuvan strips... I have no pets, and nobody will be re-entering my place until I get back... Will this take care of any stragglers? Will it reach everything? Is this a completely bonkers idea? I have had no bites since the one... I have had reactions to them before, so I know I react... but I also haven't found a single bed bug near my bed, in my sheets, or on my anti-bed bug encasement or in the vacuum stuff...
Thoughts? I'm losing my mind... the only comfort I have right now is that the exterminator will be coming back soon... however, my 30 day guarantee will be up almost immediately after her respray... will my 30 day guarantee extend to start after this second spraying since the first one OBVIOUSLY DID NOT WORK?? Should I just toss the night stand? It is 90+$ and I already lost enough by tossing the 300$ bed on the exterminators advice... i need help... I haven't really eaten since I discovered them again on Saturday... -
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 15 2012 0:04:16
#
Login to Send PM
I was so chapped from over-showering... And the exterminator said she used her method on the rest of the stuff but her boss came to show her how Terminex exterminates... he did the bedroom stuff... she's sure he doesn't do as good of a job as she does... so when she returns she's doing it HER WAY... Idk what to think... I'm at the end of my wits... I see them in the short distance ahead of me...
-
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 15 2012 1:53:08
#
Login to Send PM
BuggingoutinWY asked,
HERE IS MY MAJOR QUESTION... Can I seal up my new place with those seals you use for the winter time... place nuvan strips all around the new place, a few in each room, and then when I return take them out? Will that be a good plan of action? Is that just nuts? I read as much as I can about the Nuvan strips... I have no pets, and nobody will be re-entering my place until I get back... Will this take care of any stragglers? Will it reach everything? Is this a completely bonkers idea? I have had no bites since the one...
Honestly, DDVP strips emit a highly toxic (deadly) gas and I would not employ them except in strict accordance with labeling instructions (if at all).
And this is NOT how they're labeled for use.
In an apartment situation, you may not be able to seal your environment entirely. And what if someone comes in in an emergency or maintenance situation and does not know what you're doing?
If you have a couple of bed bugs, then get the Terminex folks to retreat, and have them follow up AGAIN after you come home -- because bed bugs are not likely to come out to feed until you come back (though they might try to migrate), and after six weeks, the residuals might be weak. I know you'd rather come home to a bed bug free environment, but if you're anxious by nature, the plan you outlined ('nuvan strips all around the new place") should make you a bit worried too.
And look, I know bed bugs are scary, but if you have one or two and have to sleep in the bed for them to come out, cross poison and die, and you're not reacting right now, then try not to stress about this. If the poison is down and fresh, and they cross it, they should only feed once.
You can leave out ACTIVE monitors when you go away, with the hope that you catch some hungry bed bugs. If someone's willing to change the bait for you about six days after you leave (note they should NOT hang around long), your chances are even better of attracting hungry bed bugs to a monitor.
I am not an expert, but these would be my suggestions.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun May 20 2012 18:08:23
#
Login to Send PM
Ok, so I had the exterminator come back and respray. She sprayed residual over my entire bedroom floor. I found one dead bb on Friday night (she came and resprayed on Thursday around 2pm) and one live one last night (Saturday Night). The live one wasn't moving very fast so I wonder if it was already in the process of dying. My 30 day money back guarantee expires this coming Friday. I live in an area with no PCO's in town, so I'm not sure if she'll come back before the expiration of my 30 day... I've seen 3 (that I've killed) to 5 bedbugs since she's sprayed the first time. I've found 1 dead one and killed the one last night since she's resprayed. I have seen no other bedbugs (but that doesn't mean they're not there!!!) The biggest problem we've approached is that my drawers in all of my furniture DO NOT COME OUT. When she came back she only resprayed the bedroom stuff/carpet, she did not spray the stuff in the living room, which I believe was less infested (I think). Do I need to push her to come back and respray since I've found the 1 live on last night? How long does residual usually take to kill bbs? (I saw that DE takes up to 10 days). How long will I need to be lifting up my mattress and checking for bb's on all my furniture like someone with OCD? I'm trying not to fall into despair about this but I thought this was all over (she's sprayed twice now). My PCO seems very sick of me... I did "more than I needed" in order to make this successful but I still haven't reached success... Any advice would be very much appreciated. I really don't want to throw my furniture away (I've already tossed my bed/bed frame and my box spring as they suggested... My mattress has been encased since the first spraying, even though there were no signs of bedbugs IN my memory foam (I had a medical grade mattress cover on it since I bought it) so I kept that... Unfortunately I am now sleeping on my mattress on the floor, because I have no bed, and the place where I live has only one overpriced furniture store anyway...
What should I do? ANY ADVICE would be great... should I be very weary of 3-5 bedbugs? I have seen NO adults, and all the ones I have killed have been in either stage 2-4 (I can't tell exactly what stage, but def. not adults yet). Should I be somewhat confident that the residual she sprayed will nab the rest? She said that the residual she sprayed will last about 60 days, but since she sprayed with only about 8 days left with my 30 Day money back guarantee (Terminex, only option) she was very vague with all the questions she answered... She didn't want to say anything, I think, that would make her liable for anything appearing after the next 8 days. Do I have her come back and respray (if she will) because I saw that ONE alive???SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!! I don't have enough money to just shell out for another exterminator to come after the 30 days is up... Any other PCO on here... please let me know! It's been since Thursday that she came back and resprayed, I killed a live on last night (Saturday) to sum up my post... is that normal?
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun May 20 2012 18:10:23
#
Login to Send PM
The 3-5 is because I have only ever killed the 3, and the other 2 may have been two of the three that I killed, when I saw the "other two" I did not kill them, I was unable to get to them before they escaped into a crevice or what-have-you.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun May 20 2012 21:37:54
#
Login to Send PM
Advice anyone???
-
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon May 21 2012 0:19:04
#
Login to Send PM
I am not an expert. I think if you are still seeing live bed bugs after your last treatment, you should ask them to retreat. I would hope they would come at least a week after the last treatment.
They may not be able to treat again sooner than that . And it probably has a better chance of working if it's spaced a bit more than a few days.
It seems like you're seeing improvement so you might want to persist with them rather than calling for the "money back guarantee" but it sounds like that's another option and if so, reminding them of this may get you somewhere.
If you call, ask to speak with a manager.
Finally, products vary. They should have given you a slip listing the products used (and where), so check this and if you let us know, it may mean pros here can tell you something about how long these products last.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 11 months ago
Mon May 28 2012 23:56:35
#
Login to Send PM
UPDATE! :-)? Anyway... I called Terminex back, the woman has been overly helpful. She came to the new place to spray since I said the bugs came in my STUFF, even though she informed me that moving would void the warranty. Then, after spotting the live (but I think it was dying BB) after she had sprayed (2 days after, to be exact), and knowing that my 30 day expired LAST FRIDAY, she is coming again THIS NEXT THURSDAY! I am going to make sure to write a glowing review since she has been ever-so helpful...
Here's my real reason for writing... EVERY NIGHT I pull up the sheets and check for bed bugs... I look in every drawer and under the drawers in all my bedroom furniture, I shake out my sheets, and over-turn the furniture to check for bed bugs.. I have NOT seen ONE LIVE (or dead) bed bug for a week now. I am trying not to celebrate too early because I've done that already and it bit me in the behind... SHOULD I be seeing bed bugs? Are they so elusive that this constant checking would not turn up evidence?
I have even set my alarm for 4:30 am to check (I usually sleep from 11pm to 7am) for the little buggers... What are the odds that they would STILL be here, but I wouldn't see a single one? -
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710offline
Posted 11 months ago
Tue May 29 2012 1:33:05
#
Login to Send PM
It's not a normal thing to see bed bugs out and about even if you have some. They want to hide when you are awake, for the most part.
Do you have some passive or interceptor bed bug monitors in place, which will help you see if there is activity? (See this FAQ-- the sections on BBAlert Passive and Climbup Interceptor TM monitors) Check them weekly. It really is too soon to know if you've gotten them all.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 11 months ago
Sun Jun 3 2012 1:44:42
#
Login to Send PM
I asked my PCO what the length of time was on the "residual." It was something called "Acton" or close to that... I'll be honest, my brain is so scattered when it comes to this. I got some of the cheaper monitors' that I will slide under the corners of my bed. This time, when she came to treat, I was able to pull out the drawers to my furniture (unable to first two treatments). She's treated 3 times now (within the time span of 35 days), with both this spray that turns into powder and the residual (sprayed on the entirety of the carpets in my walkways, bedroom, around the other cloth furniture from my living room). The PCO said the residual was good UP TO 60 Days. Does "Acton" sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone know how effective it is? I'm hoping I'm finally able to post a "success story." How long should I give the passive monitors until I believe I'm bb free? I have until the end of June before I head to FL for a month and a half. I purchased bb free luggage liners and bb laundry bag. I will not lie, I am very hesitant to travel right now, which is a really sad realization for me because I view myself as a world traveler.
I did see on Pinterest, however, that they have a bed that is suspended from the ceiling... I like the idea... LOL -
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 11 months ago
Sun Jun 3 2012 1:47:09
#
Login to Send PM
Oh, and I have no signs of bites... I am still wondering if we picked them up in NYC... because I had a rash on the inside of my leg the length of our stay there, that went away as soon as we got home... and it was in a linear shape (the inside of both of my legs).
-
L.
newbite
Joined: May '12
Posts: 12offline
Posted 11 months ago
Mon Jun 4 2012 11:12:48
#
Login to Send PM
Wyoming, Did your relatives in Texas ever get bed bugs? I visited my boyfriend before I knew I had bed bugs and I'm really worried he might have them. Its been two months and he says he hasn't gotten bites or anything.
-
BuggingOutinWY
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 18offline
Posted 11 months ago
Wed Jun 6 2012 22:35:38
#
Login to Send PM
L.-I contacted all family that I had visited after I discovered the problem. They have no signs of the bugs. The thing that I think may have prevented that (luckily) is that, for some reason, we took a plastic suitcase that seals as you shut it, it has a rubber seal that runs all the way around the opening of the suitcase. We had kept that suitcase in our storage close that had no sings of the lil buggers. We had also washed and dried ALL the clothing we were going to take, we actually did ALL of our laundry before we left. We had done the laundry, packed, and left. I will not know for awhile for CERTAIN if my family had gotten the bugs. We had taken our pillows with us, which was very upsetting when we returned, to have found out about the bugs. But we had had NO bites when we were visiting family. I instructed all family members to strip the beds we had slept in and throw everything in the wash on HOT. When I went back to my aunts 3 weeks later, I inspected all beds on the property for sings of bugs, feces, etc, and there were no signs what-so-ever. So I'm hoping they didn't get them. The more I think about it the more I think we got them in NYC. That is where I developed a rash that ran from my calf to my mid-inner-thigh, in a linear fashion (I thought it was an allergic reaction to my jeans because it followed the in-seam pattern). I guess what I'm saying is that I HOPE we got them in NYC... because if not, who knows how long we had them, and I've been living in fear worrying that we took them to my parents house... I guess we won't know until we know...
Reply
You must log in to post.
