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freaking out in ny/found out i have bed bugs right before a big move!
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kaliflower
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 4offline
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Apr 20 2012 16:29:38
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okay, so i'm completely stumped. i mean i know there are ways to deal with this, but i'm pretty broke, my father is stubborn about getting professional help, and i'm set to move out in two weeks! on the one hand i'm kinda glad this happened BEFORE the move. also, because i had a feeling for a long time i have accumulated too much stuff and knew somehow i should get rid of stuff (for mental clarity). my room is packed, and i've been incredibly lazy about cleaning. i'm neat, but not necessarily very good about dusting and vaccuuming. and i know i have to get rid of my furniture now... but i don't want (it's not even feasible) to get rid of all my clothes. also, what if the new place is infested? it's my friend's apt and i have been there many times. for all i know i could have spread them to him, or whatever. i'm so freaked out i haven't been able to eat ALL DAY and my mind is in a fog!!!
i don't even wanna tell him or the landlord. the landlord seems kinda judgmental, and my friend is also a bit neurotic. this wouldn't help the situation at all. but i can't stay in my father's apartment any longer. and i don't think i can delay the move. can someone suggest something please??? i want to get professional cleaning done but the pest control professionals say i need a bare minimum of two weeks for the chemicals to start working. and my father THINKS because he's the super of our building he can solve it himself!!!! i was thinking i can move one thing at a time. the new place already has just about everything. there's a dresser in my vacant room. thank god no carpet anywhere. i want to check the apartment but i don't want to alarm my friend!
since this is costly and i can't really afford to go through this alone, i'm just freaked out. i'm plagued by bites. this week it's just so bad i'm itching everywhere. i found three bedbugs when i started investigating this morning! all day i've been on and off crying, i'm just so shocked still i can't even begin to think clearly. i hate bugs. i'm terrified of them. and now i feel like a societal pariah!!! i ended up telling this guy i'm sort of seeing and now he must think i'm infectious. i told a couple of people when i should have kept my mouth shut. i don't wanna alarm people. we have a HUGE bed bug epidemic in nyc but it never occured to me i could get them. i must have been out of my mind. i suspect i had them for a while because i don't think these are my first bites. i probably thought the others were just mosquitos and ignored any bugs i saw crawling in my room as being something OTHER than a bed bug. how ill-informed i must have been and now i'm paying for it!!!
i'm desperate!!! mostly i just need some ease of mind... i'm so freaked out i don't wanna sit anywhere, wear any clothes, be at my office or in my apartment. i'm afraid to stay over anyone's house because i worry i'll infect them. i know a few people personally who had/have bed bugs but i haven't been around any of them in years.
i've had a series of problems this year. i've been dealing with so much, and now this! i know i need a new mattress and to encase it. i'm also going to wash all my clothes in hot water. i have so much clothing, it's insane. this really is the universe telling me i need to clean out my closet, i just know it. in the meantime, what do i do? i can't buy a mattress asap and washing ALL my clothes and cleaning everything right away seems damn near impossible!!!
help!!! please!!! even just some kind words will do...
i'm at work and terrified i spread them here or got them here. this place is all carpeted, our chairs are cushioned with cervices, there are many wires and holes for these buggers to crawl into. i can't stop ithcing and i'm all alone in this office all day. i needed to vent somewhere, please forgive me! everything from my legs to my head feels itchy. i don't know if it's hypochondria or i'm really infested!!!
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nervous breakdown
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 9offline
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Apr 20 2012 19:47:46
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First of all, just remember that this most likely won't kill you. So try to keep it in perspective. It's bad, but it can be beat. But the treatment is difficult. After you get over the mental hurdle of committing yourself to the treatment you will be much better off. Things will have to be thrown out. Things will have to be treated. You might not be able to move when you have planned for the risk of infecting the new place.
You are not alone. Take it from me, the treatment sucks. But after you get past that idea, you have to commit to the treatment plan. Treating it halfway won't help at all. Doing nothing won't help at all. Moving to the desert might help, but that's not feasible. So you are where you are and you will have to do something about it.
Let us know how it goes.
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oldtimer
Joined: May '07
Posts: 1,969offline
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Apr 20 2012 20:24:05
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Your best bet is to have a rental truck with your possessions fumigated with Vikane gas... You will need to leave the truck overnight, but you will be bed bug free when you drive away... It is the best solution given that you will not need to throw away expensive furniture or clothing... The money you will save on replacement items may cover the cost of the procedure.
Th efficacy of Vikane gas (99.7%) should help reassure others that the bugs have been successfully eradicated
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kaliflower
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 4offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Apr 22 2012 9:33:39
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i'm only planning to move a few things. i want to get a new mattress, new linen and a protective cover. no bed. no furniture. my friend already has just about everything i need. the room there already has a dresser. i'll have to check to see if the place is not infected itself. clean the place, steam it. i'm also going to steam my room tonight. and whatever clothing i plan to bring with me will have to be limited, steamed/dried on hot temperature. and i'll bring some toiletries and makeup and stuff. i'm not sure what to do with that stuff. i don't imagine they'd be hanging on my toiletries? 0.o but i want to steam everything i bring. i want to bring as limited fabric things with me as possible. i'm wondering if that's a good plan? i have a lot of crap and honestly, i'm not even interested in bringing much of it. i am hoping a minimalist lifestyle might just be the best way to remedy this.
i'm not so sure about the chemicals because of resistance and toxicity and such. i think steaming repeatedly might be a good measure.
any ideas or suggestions, guys?
thanks a bunch.
-- neurotic in brooklyn @__@ (lol)
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kaliflower
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 4offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Apr 22 2012 9:37:05
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also, what about shoes, handbags and jackets? how do i take care of that situation? those are the things we wear most often and outside in places where we can pick up pests.
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oldtimer
Joined: May '07
Posts: 1,969offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Apr 22 2012 15:42:27
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Steam will work for most of those items... Use a good quality steamer and utilize fans to dry them out before you seal everything up to prevent mold issues.
A PackTite might be a good choice to treat those items before you move... it will also be useful in the future to treat possessions that you take into places that might pose a risk.
There are two sizes... The PackTite Closet may be large enough to treat everything you intend to move.
Consider placing bed bug monitors like BB Alert Passives or active monitors like the Bed Bug Beacon for surveillance of live activity in your new apartment... Unfortunately bed bugs and their eggs are stealthy hitchhikers that often manage to sneak from one location to another... even when people take extensive precautions.
Given the social issues you outlined earlier and the potential consequences of a treatment failure... You might want to consider utilizing a professional for the treatment
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kaliflower
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 4offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Apr 23 2012 15:30:19
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my father and i hired a professional. he swears this guy is the best and i hope he's right. i worry i may have made the problem worse. i left my place for a few days. i did try to make sure i heat treated everything i took with me, but you never know what you're spreading. i even worry the bed bugs are at work. we also bagged up a bunch of my stuff, and my dad moved it to the basement. now i read we should have kept it at all where it was. also, my room is huge. to bag everything up seems damn near impossible. i figure i'll just bring the sealed bags back up for inspection. i caught a few of those suckers and put them in a jar. they look like bed bugs to me (from what i have seen online) but everyone i know who claims to have seen them claim mine don't look like them (they're not flat, and they don't make blood marks when you squash them). but they really look like images i saw online. i have, however, seen some bugs flying (with wings). they looked the same/similar, but maybe a little bigger. i have no idea what the hell is going on. i found a whole bunch of round looking bugs hanging out on my ceiling lamp where it was scorching hot and bright enough to burn your eyes. there was also a bigger bug there with wings. does this sound like bed bugs to you? i feel like i might even have a whole biodiversity of insects for all i know. i don't want to be at home until the PCO comes and tells me it's safe. i'm always watching where i'm walking/sitting.
all i know is there are visible bugs trailblazing in my room, and i have bites on my body to prove that something has been sucking my blood.
in the meantime, buying new linen and mattress for new room. hope to keep it sealed air tight before actually placing it in the new apartment. i don't trust furniture anymore. i'm okay with living very minimalist... enough to keep the problem managable and in plain sight.
and shoes??? i'm only going to keep three pairs. and i have no idea what to do with all my fancy dresses and fancy winter coats. i also am a collector of costume things like headdresses. i have a room FULL of feathers, flowers (decorative) and other things. that's the stuff that concerns me. they are sooooo delicate.
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edtt
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Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 147offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Apr 23 2012 17:07:21
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Can you take a clear, close-up picture of the bugs you have caught?
there are many experts here that could identify them.
oh and I am NOT and expert, but I do know that bed bugs do not have wings
good luck
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