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Frustrated and need to vent

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I.m.not.paranoid

newbite
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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 14 2012 20:29:23
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Here's some background - over a year ago, we brought back bedbugs (confirmed by K9 inspection) from a resort in Mexico. With PCO's recommendation given the minimal evidence, we started with simply vacuuming like crazy, encasing the mattress and boxspring, getting rid of the headboard and making the bed an island.

Issue seemed resolved, until I started getting bites again 2 months later. My hubby doesn't react, so from the start he's been saying I'm delusional and too obsessed with the mere idea of getting bed bugs. At that point, we fought intensely - I wanted to call in an exterminator, he thought I was crazy and would expose our unborn child (I was pregnant at the time) to unnecessary chemicals.

I bit the bullet and dished out close to $1000 on treatment. Unfortunately, I didn't do much research on the company I used and ended up with a useless PCO who told me after 3 treatments over about 8 weeks (July and August 2011), that it was all in my head and that the biting culprit was probably just springtails (though after research, I found they don't bite).

I got rid of the mattress and box spring, a chair and a couch and that seemed to resolve the issue. In September, while hubby was away for a three week vacation, I started getting bitten while sitting on the new couch. Typical bites in threes, multiple times a week.

I called back the k9 unit, but was told there was nothing. To be safe, the PCO said he'd come back a couple weeks later, free of charge. This inspection again found nothing and the PCO tried to reassure me saying maybe I wasn't getting bitten but was just reacting to something else due to the pregnancy.

Well, I had my baby late November, and have noticed more and more bites. Of course, hubby keeps saying they're not bed bug bites because he says he's "done the math" and if we still had bed bugs, by this point they would have multiplied like crazy and we'd have thousands of them. I keep telling him he doesn't get the reproductive cycle, but he tells my I'm just being paranoid. Over the past two weeks, I've noticed bites on my infant son as well. His father's reaction? They aren't bites, they're just random marks. I think he's in complete denial, and he thinks I'm being psychotic about the whole issue.

As well, last night we finally lifted the boxspring and I found some black spots that rubbed off where holes appeared in my encasement (boxspring is double encased - holes are in the outer encasement only). I think it's fecal matter, hubby thinks it's just the metal bed frame rubbing off. We keep going around in circles.

I feel like I let my husband and the PCO convince me that I was just imagining things rather than trusting my gut. If I'd pushed further, or maybe called someone else in, we could have had this dealt with before I set up the baby's room and unpacked all the baby gear. Now, I cringe at the thought of having to bag and launder everything we own (2 storey home), all the baby stuff, plus the risks of exposing the baby to pesticides. And I think the baby is being bitten in his playard, so I'm worried we'll have to get rid of it in addition to more furniture. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I've got some savings that I can tap into to help deal with the issue, but I'm sick and tired of it. How much money do I have to dish out to get this dealt with? And to top it off, hubby thinks it's better to deal with a few bites than to get the house treated again.

Any thoughts and strategies on staying sane? I've contacted the PCO with the k9 unit again and explained the situation. Hopefully he'll be able to come by soon. Another $175.
rs1971

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 14 2012 21:24:54
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I know that this isn't the response that you want to hear, but in my opinion your husband is almost certainly right both about this all being in your head and about the fact that after a year you would have a large infestation and be seeing a lot of evidence. Last year when the K-9 inspection came up positive, did the inspector confirm with hard evidence (live bugs, cast skins, fecal)? Or was the result based just on the dogs indication? If it was the latter I wouldn't even think of giving him another $175.

-rs1971
KillerQueen

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 14 2012 21:48:16
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Sounds like your husband is correct, sorry. You could very well be looking at black marks made by the metal staple that also caused the rip on the box spring encasement. It's something I see almost daily.

Also something I see with new moms and babies is skin blemishes on the little one. As others have told you the math is wrong and if you in fact lifted up the box spring with an encasement on it you probably would see live bugs at this point.

I would do nothing but if you're not convinced get a better visual inspection by a company you research and trust.

Forgive any typos - good luck!
theyareoutthere

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 14 2012 21:51:03
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KQ is an expert. I would listen to him. I thought I responded but I have skin issues pop up related to stress and I thought babies were prone to blemishes. I know you have a 2 year old, but 2nd babies are sometimes different.
MsLadybug

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 0:45:03
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Could you compromise and set up a monitor (Nightwatch is one) before baby becomes mobile and can disturb it? If the monitor nets nothing maybe you will rest easier and if it collects bugs you will have hard evidence. Good luck!
cilecto

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 14:06:18
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MsLadybug - 13 hours ago »
Could you compromise and set up a monitor (Nightwatch is one) before baby becomes mobile and can disturb it? If the monitor nets nothing maybe you will rest easier and if it collects bugs you will have hard evidence. Good luck!

Based on what's been discussed here, "active" monitors, such as NightWatch or Beacon are primarily for unoccupied spaces (as BB prefer the real thing over the traps). For an occupied space, a "passive" monitor (such as BB Alert Passive, or Climb Ups) may be better.
KillerQueen

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 14:12:53
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You can still use the above mentioned active monitors with success. Both "active" and "passive" monitors are not 100% in any one setting so you can try both and hope for the best.

Still based on what I read from the original OP I think its best to have a real visual inspection done by a professional who can also explain what is there and more importantly what is not there and why.
djames1921

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 14:43:19
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I'm with the majority here, highly doubt you have bed bugs, they breed like rabbits and aren't hard to find after the time frame you have mentioned.
cilecto

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 14:44:40
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KillerQueen - 31 minutes ago »
You can still use the above mentioned active monitors with success. Both "active" and "passive" monitors are not 100% in any one setting so you can try both and hope for the best.

Thanks, KQ.
KillerQueen

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 15 2012 15:08:45
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NP ... Fact is, I use the Bed Bug Beacons in active infestations to help monitor activity and try to track migration paths as well as empty rooms and apartments to monitor even questionable areas.

When you're under treatment with chemicals sometimes "passive" monitors will be less effective then "active" monitors because the bug may try and stay away from the "common" harborage areas that PCO's focus most of their application on. That's why I setup Beacons in areas away from the bed to trick the bug into safer "active" pathways.

I'll even try to avoid putting chemical in certain areas that I find fecal traces away from the bed or sofa so that the bug will be drawn to the sent of their own feces - not be intimidated from chemical - and be tricked into thinking a host is close by ... AKA the Bed Bug Beacon. Bam!! Trap a bug (possibly a pregnant female) moving away from the known harborage areas in search of a new host in a safer environment but stopped in her tracks from the beacon.

So basically what I'm saying is ... Don't limit yourself with the products available to you ... Not everything is typical with this bug so your monitoring shouldn't be either.
I.m.not.paranoid

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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Feb 17 2012 11:16:17
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Thanks for all the feedback everyone - I really appreciate the advice. I probably should have given a bit more info.

The initial consultation with the K9 unit (PCO1) that came up positive showed plenty of fecal matter in the boxspring, but no live bugs. Until we treated over the summer, we had some stains on sheets. Throughout the ordeal, I only found 1 live nymph as it was preparing to bite me (identification by PCO2). There was also lots of fecal matter on the bottom of the boxspring encasement between treatments 2 and 3 (similar to what I saw this week on the encasement). The treatments certainly helped, but I think getting rid of the furniture did the most help because PC02 was not very thorough and only treated the bedroom during the second and third treatments, despite me telling him I was concerned about infestation in the living room. My fear is that since we kept our leather lazy boy, there may have been some hiding in there (transferred on clothing). Up until about 1.5 months ago, I didn't get any bites in the bedroom (only in the living room). Could they have taken that long to migrate? PCO 1, when he came back with the K9 didn't think so. Given how much time hubby spends in the lazyboy however (often for a good chunk of time between 5 and 6 a.m.), I figured they could just be munching on him with his realizing it.

PCO1 is coming back next week with the K9. He'll do the visual inspection as well and I'll talk to him about the monitors (we already have the climb ups, which didn't seem to net anything... and PCO2 had used the useless sticky paper monitors that only attracted spiders and springtails).

For those who question the bites... can you tell me what else bites in a straight line in clusters? (2-4, but usually 3) I've been getting at least one set of those bites each week since September. As for the little guy, he does get random marks that go away within a few hours or a day at most, but these other marks a red and raised for a few hours, then leave a small pinprick in the center that takes between 1-2 weeks to heal.

I guess I'll wait until next week to see what PCO1 finds. I would MUCH rather this be in my head, but my gut says otherwise.
CA-BedBugPro

newbite
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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Feb 20 2012 0:31:44
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Bites might not be bites. Everyone reacts to bed bug bites differently. Some people get huge welts, some get no sign at all, and everything in between. Even more frustrating is that a bite on the same person can vary in appearance from body part to body part. What all that means, is that it's not a reliable factor for diagnosis. Too many variables.
I tell my guys to focus on the inspection and don't spend time looking at bites.
Most of the time, people have no problem finding bed bugs when they have an infestation. If you haven't seen one crawling around, you might not have them.
Take a look around. LED flashlights aren't so expensive any more. Around 80 lumens is plenty. Don't get a 500 lumen super bright one. More is NOT better.
I once came across a similar situation and found a small mosquito on their ceiling. Squished it, and that was that.
But more often than not, it's a dermatological issue beyond the scope of our license.