Going crazy! Can't sleep! « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Psychological and Health problems caused by bed bugs (besides bites)

Going crazy! Can't sleep!

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memorandum52

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 31 2011 2:02:38
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My boyfriend and I just found out that we have a bedbug problem in our apartment. When I noticed the first sign, I immediately called the landlord. The landlord immediately called Pest Control and they came the next day. They confirmed that we do have a bedbug problem. He said it was a very mild infestation and that we were lucky because we caught it very early. He also said we couldn’t have had them for more than 1-2 months. My boyfriend and I hadn’t been to any hotels or spent the night anywhere else in the past six months, so the most likely source of the bedbugs would be another apartment in the building. (There are 12 floors and about 25-30 apartments on each floor). They began the first treatment to kill the bedbugs that day. The landlord told me there would be a series of three treatments – 30 days between each treatment.

When I asked Pest Control, they said it does not matter if we relocate where we sleep, because the bedbugs will relocate to wherever we are sleeping as well. We bought an air mattress anyway and tried to sleep in the living room but he was right, they found us!

When I woke up, I was itchy all over with bites and found blood spots on the sheets. After spending about $50 doing laundry to wash all the bedding, sheets, pillows, blankets, clothes, and anything else we kept near the bed that may be infested, we decided to stay with family until the treatments are finished and we no longer have bedbugs. This had already been a huge burden on us and has caused enough damage. I could not sleep somewhere knowing that there were bugs crawling around beneath me and I would wake to bites on my body and stains on my sheets. We would not be able to stay there for three more months until the treatments took effect.

The anxiety this whole situation is causing for me is ridiculous. I tried to reason with my landlord and asked since we felt it was not suitable for us to stay there, if we still had to pay rent while we were staying somewhere else. She said we would still need to pay rent.

Our whole living condition has completely changed, and we never agreed to pay rent under these conditions, what would she do if we moved out? The problem would need to be fixed before the next tenant moved in, and the apartment would be vacant until then, thus earning them no rent until the treatment was finished. My question is, should we really be expected to stay somewhere and pay rent somewhere that does not have suitable living conditions? Are our only options to stay there and pay rent, or to stay somewhere else and still pay rent on an apartment that is not being utilized because of the condition it is in? Either way, we will not be staying there until the problem is gone, so we will have to pay rent to the family we will be staying with. Two rent payments are way too much to pay when we are not to blame for the problem.

I am unsure about what my rights are and how to handle this, I need some legal advice, and if this is actually a decent winnable case, I may need representation as well.
theyareoutthere

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 31 2011 2:09:30
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I'm a newbie and don't have any advise. So sorry and good luck.
memorandum52

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 31 2011 2:35:06
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theyareoutthere - 24 minutes ago »
I'm a newbie and don't have any advise. So sorry and good luck.

That's okay, thanks for at least reading. Do you have a bed bug problem too?
theyareoutthere

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Oct 31 2011 2:49:15
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No, I had a bedbug scare in April, after doing quite a bit of work and pleasure travel. Seems longer. I had a long trip in Jan/Feb and then another set in March/April, then started getting what looked like bites. Still don't know what it was...

There is a FAQS section at the top. Take a deep breath and read about Dos and Don't, how to decrease infestation, etc.

The clothes probably should have been bagged in a contractors bag (not just a garage bag...then can chew through it). Don't beat yourself up about it. But read the FAQs and you'll have a better sense of what I can't articulate.