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Help! I need some positve reinforcement please!
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nomorebugs-nyc
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 13:30:18
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Hello, I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my nightmare. I keep reading stories of people who just can't get rid of these things and its a little discouraging. Around Labor Day weekend I started getting bites on my ankles and thought they were mosquitos. It took about a month of repeat bites until someone told me to check my bed for bedbugs. I came home one night after work and lifted my sheets and saw one crawling across my mattress. I crushed it and blood shot out. Gross. I then lifted my mattress and there were the rest of them, sleeping in the folds of my dust ruffle. I saw about 10-12 bugs. I'll leave out the details of my breakdown and get to the following day. My landlord allowed me to find a PCO. I found a company called pest patrol who deals solely with bedbugs. They sent me a preperation sheet and I started my mission. I live in a studio and I'm not the type to keep clutter. I threw out everything under my bed, cleared my closets and vacuumed everything. The things I didn't like shoes and belts were vacuumed and sealed in bags. They came the following day for the first treatment and were scheduled to come back 3 weeks later. I didnt see any bugs anywhere in the apt other than my bed so I was hopeful. I decided not to stay there in between treatments. They came on 10/22 and I moved back in on 10/24. They seemed sure they had gotten rid of them but I am terrified they will come back.
Does anyone know how likely it is that they will?
I know this is a difficult question but I am just wondering if it is common or is it more likely they will terrorize me again. My landlord choose not to tell the other tenants which I new was a huge mistake (her idiot lawyer told her not to) so I stuck notes under the doors of my neighbors making them aware of the problem. I am so paranoid and I have to take sleeping pills every night. The PCO used 2 chemicals and drilled holes in the wall next to my bed to "create a barrier". I plan on caulking every crack. It seems like every story I hear is about people dealing with this problem for months. Does anyone know of people who are rid of these after only 2 treatments? PLEASE SHARE!
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member
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 13:35:34
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The Orkin man who came to my apt seemed very knowledgeable. He deals only with bedbugs. He had great advice for me & discussed w/ me their treatment method, ad nauseum. Unfortunately, my ll did not choose this PCO
Anyway - he made it sound like most of his infestations are resolved in two treatments. He did have some "horror stories" where they took more, because the critters were hiding in some odd places.
I wish I had some first hand knowledge for you. Oustide of this board, I don't know anyone else who has gone through this.
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bitten123
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 13:35:46
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Hi there!
Welcome to the boards! It sounds like your PCO if he did two treatments, may have gotten them. What is unusual is that most want you to sleep in the same room so they don't venture off to spread themselves as they search for food.I am no expert, but the advice here by the experts has been to seal the cracks about a month after you are sure they are gone. You can do a search for sealing and you should come up with time frame.
It is good your PCO put the powder in the walls, etc, it is not good your neighbors were not treated. It is great you slipped notes under the door though. Believe me, we all want these monsters gone the minute we know we have them. Your panic and dismay is understandable. You have taken many positive steps and you should have a positive outlook.
I think you need to keep reading on this board, there is soooooooooo much info it is hard to process sometimes. I can tell you that many people are clear after 2 or 3 treatments when done by an expert. Maybe you will be one of those, but given your neighbors weren't treated, you must be very vigilant in looking for signs. Maybe check your mattress every week or two to make sure no bugs are around. Did you encase your mattress? You should do that.
Remember there is no magic bullet, so take one day at a time. You are doing things right, just hang in there.
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 13:42:57
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Not much to add, except that my fingers are crossed for you!
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 13:55:27
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< I did encase my mattress and my boxspring and will continue to check for signs of new bugs. My landlord is being cheap like so many are. I sent her an article from this site and a copy of the letters I gave to my neighbors in hopes that she would at least have them inspected. Her lawyer told her that if tenants had bbs they would know about it. My response was that I had them for a month and had no idea. I wish that nyc would do something about educating landlords and tenants so we can at least control this nightmare! Thanks so much for your feedback!
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 14:13:40
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bitten123 - 36 minutes ago »
Hi there!
Welcome to the boards! It sounds like your PCO if he did two treatments, may have gotten them. What is unusual is that most want you to sleep in the same room so they don't venture off to spread themselves as they search for food.Forgot to add that I choose to stay at a friends in between treatments, the PCO did not recommend I leave the apt.
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 14:26:46
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nomorebugs-nyc - 28 minutes ago »
Her lawyer told her that if tenants had bbs they would know about it.I think this lawyer should stick to Real Property advice and stop giving false information about BBs!! We had them for four months before we realized my daughter's rashes were an allergic reaction to bites.
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 15:16:27
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I know it's ridiculous. My landlord was completely on board about telling ALL the tenants in the building until she spoke to her lawyer. He told her that tenants would say they had them even if they didn't and it would end up costing her a fortune. He also said that people would know they had them if they did. I asked her to spend 10 minutes on the internet and she would see how wrong he is. I asked that she at least just have the surounding apts inspected but she wouldn't budge. She said she would treat the apts as they contacted her. I am so scared that one of the other tenats has them and doesn't know! I read that there is a law in Boston that if one apt is infested all apts adjacent/below/above must be treated. WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE LAWS IN NY? WE CERTAINLY NEED THEM!
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parakeets
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 17:35:45
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I think there is no hope for people who live in multi-unit buildings unless everyone involved unites and works together. To begin with, your landlord is not doing that. Extensive education is important, otherwise tenants will continue to do the behaviors that brought bedbugs into the building in the first place. Even if your landlord was able to hire a PCO firm that got rid of every single bedbug in your building, if there is a tenant who is bringing them home from a workplace that has bedbugs, or a tenant whose boyfriend lives in an infested building and stays overnight in your building, the bedbugs will be back in your building.
From my experiences in my building, I believe there is no hope when a landlord doesn't tell everyone and not everyone co-operates. (Which is nearly impossible because some people don't give a hoot about bedbugs. To them bedbugs are like ants or something). Even if a landord tells everyone, they can't make everyone treat or stop bringing bedbugs back into the building. So I believe that there is no hope for multi-unit buildings. I believe the problem will get much worse. I believe it will have an impact on our economy. I believe the only relative safety will be for fairly solvent people in single family homes who are able to avoid behaviors that might expose them to bedbugs (such as staying in motels, having children in college dorms, etc.), and even then they won't be completely safe.
I am concerned that bedbugs may be determined to spread disease, but it will be too late. Bedbugs in cities will be as ubiquitious as roaches and ants. As a society,we never got rid of roaches and ants and we will never get rid of bedbugs. There are insects that cause many deaths such as mosquitoes yet scientists can't control them, so the bedbug lags far behind them until we determine what diseases it spreads, and even then we probably can't control them.
I hope this positive message helped you: I'm positive bedbugs will be determined to be a health problem of some sort, if only due to allergies and stress, and possibly because of being a disease vector unknown right now.
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 22:38:37
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parakeets - 4 hours ago »
I think there is no hope for people who live in multi-unit buildings unless everyone involved unites and works together. To begin with, your landlord is not doing that. Extensive education is important, otherwise tenants will continue to do the behaviors that brought bedbugs into the building in the first place. Even if your landlord was able to hire a PCO firm that got rid of every single bedbug in your building, if there is a tenant who is bringing them home from a workplace that has bedbugs, or a tenant whose boyfriend lives in an infested building and stays overnight in your building, the bedbugs will be back in your building.
From my experiences in my building, I believe there is no hope when a landlord doesn't tell everyone and not everyone co-operates. (Which is nearly impossible because some people don't give a hoot about bedbugs. To them bedbugs are like ants or something). Even if a landord tells everyone, they can't make everyone treat or stop bringing bedbugs back into the building. So I believe that there is no hope for multi-unit buildings. I believe the problem will get much worse. I believe it will have an impact on our economy. I believe the only relative safety will be for fairly solvent people in single family homes who are able to avoid behaviors that might expose them to bedbugs (such as staying in motels, having children in college dorms, etc.), and even then they won't be completely safe.
I am concerned that bedbugs may be determined to spread disease, but it will be too late. Bedbugs in cities will be as ubiquitious as roaches and ants. As a society,we never got rid of roaches and ants and we will never get rid of bedbugs. There are insects that cause many deaths such as mosquitoes yet scientists can't control them, so the bedbug lags far behind them until we determine what diseases it spreads, and even then we probably can't control them.
I hope this positive message helped you: I'm positive bedbugs will be determined to be a health problem of some sort, if only due to allergies and stress, and possibly because of being a disease vector unknown right now.I think your post is absolutely awful. There people on here who are suffering and looking for support and you are completely negative. It's actually possible that I brought the bb in and they were all killed by my PCO.
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member
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 9:02:16
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I think parakeets has earned the right to be negative, w/ what she's been through. But we do all wish the best for you. It sounds like you are doing things right so far, though.
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 15:42:35
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barelyliving - 6 hours ago »
I think parakeets has earned the right to be negative, w/ what she's been through. But we do all wish the best for you. It sounds like you are doing things right so far, though.I understand people have been through horrible experiences, that's pretty much all you read about on the internet which is why I clearly asked for POSITIVE feedback. And I would like to add that I have been living in my apt in manhattan for 5 years and have NEVER seen an ant or a cockroach although I am aware they are all over this city. If people choose to focus only on the negative then that is what their lives will always be. I understand the reality and the gravity of the situation but I am choosing to stay positive.
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 16:10:44
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nomorebugs-nyc - 19 minutes ago »
barelyliving - 6 hours ago »
I think parakeets has earned the right to be negative, w/ what she's been through. But we do all wish the best for you. It sounds like you are doing things right so far, though.I understand people have been through horrible experiences, that's pretty much all you read about on the internet which is why I clearly asked for POSITIVE feedback. And I would like to add that I have been living in my apt in manhattan for 5 years and have NEVER seen an ant or a cockroach although I am aware they are all over this city. If people choose to focus only on the negative then that is what their lives will always be. I understand the reality and the gravity of the situation but I am choosing to stay positive.
I think parakeets was trying to be honest with you, she certainly did not mean to cause you any harm. Telling you what you want to hear & what you need to know are not always going to be the same.
It is true that it is "possible" that two treatments did the trick, it is also true that it is exceptionally difficult to eradicate bedbugs from a multi-unit property, reinfestation in such situations is very very common. It sucks and it sounds negative, but it's life and it's true.
I wish all the best for you & I hope that you don't have to deal w/ these any longer. For that matter, I wish I didn't have to deal w/ them any longer & that parakeets didn't have to & that this place didn't even need to exist.
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 16:17:53
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Parakeets has been here a long time and is usually very supportive. I belive she was simply trying to state the truth, as she see's it.
That being said, it is a very depressing thought. I've thought it a few times myself, but I just can't let my brain go there. I cannot afford to live in a townhome or house. If apartment dwellings cannot be rid of BBs, then I am destined to live with these parasites for the rest of my life.
Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.
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nomorebugs-nyc
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 17:13:32
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I do understand that most have you have had a lot of suffering and don't mean harm. We can not live in a world where we think that bed bugs are going to take over the city and never be contolled and will eventually spread disease. Eventually, people will have to pull together and the laws on treating bed bugs will have to change. If you do some research you will see that the laws are already changing in cities like Boston. NY is unfortunately behind but the more people that have bedbugs the more they can educate others on how to prevent them. People need to be eduacated and even though we can't currently wipe these things out they can be contolled as roaches have been controlled. My landlord unfortunately does not understand the intensity of the situation but I believe if someone else comes to her with the problem she will do whatever she has to. She has always been a great landlord, unfortunately it has to get worse before it gets better.
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nomorebugs-nyc
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 18:29:50
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bugbattler - 2 hours ago »
nomorebugs-nyc - 19 minutes ago »
barelyliving - 6 hours ago »
I think parakeets has earned the right to be negative, w/ what she's been through. But we do all wish the best for you. It sounds like you are doing things right so far, though.I understand people have been through horrible experiences, that's pretty much all you read about on the internet which is why I clearly asked for POSITIVE feedback. And I would like to add that I have been living in my apt in manhattan for 5 years and have NEVER seen an ant or a cockroach although I am aware they are all over this city. If people choose to focus only on the negative then that is what their lives will always be. I understand the reality and the gravity of the situation but I am choosing to stay positive.
I think parakeets was trying to be honest with you, she certainly did not mean to cause you any harm. Telling you what you want to hear & what you need to know are not always going to be the same.
It is true that it is "possible" that two treatments did the trick, it is also true that it is exceptionally difficult to eradicate bedbugs from a multi-unit property, reinfestation in such situations is very very common. It sucks and it sounds negative, but it's life and it's true.
I wish all the best for you & I hope that you don't have to deal w/ these any longer. For that matter, I wish I didn't have to deal w/ them any longer & that parakeets didn't have to & that this place didn't even need to exist.I'm curious to know where you get your information from as far as it being difficult to get rid of these things in a multi unit dwelling. I believe that most people who report problems are the ones that are having them and can't correct them. To be honest, if i go 6 months or a year without seeing these buggers again I most likely would not think to come back here to report a positive experience. Unfrtunately, it takes a long time to feel like you are truly free of these things so people may not visit these sights after several monts unless they are reaching out for help. I think these blogs are filled with people who are having a tough time and who's landlords are not handling the problem correctly. If you go on the bed bug regisrty and read people's stories they are always bad because noone is going to report a landlord that is tackling the problem. Sorry to keep bringing positivity to this forum but I think people need some hope.
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 19:49:00
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I think that's probably true, I hope so.
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Anonymous
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Oct 31 2008 22:44:39
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nomorebugs-nyc,
Yes. It is possible to eliminate a bedbug infestation after two treatments. It's possible to eliminate an infestation in one treatment. It's possible to eliminate an infestation, if detected early enough and if all harborage sites are identified, by cleaning... or whatever, you name it. It's possible.
You are right that most people do not return to advise of their success.
To the best of our collective knowledge (amassed over a very long period of time), the easiest and most efficient way to get rid of bedbugs is through the services of a highly trained and experienced pest control professional.
It is undeniable that there are special challenges in multi-unit housing and understanding what they are is important if you live in NYC.
So, as far as NYC and the level of the bedbug problem here and where we get our information, I can only suggest further reading.
Taking into account what you have described, I've prepared a reading list especially for you (sans news articles about NYC's bedbug problems since I imagine you've already seen your share) and I hope you will note that this, too, is the kind of support and information that this forum provides. And I hope you use it well.
1) FAQ: How do I prepare for pest control treatment? Should I put everything in bags?
2) Control of Bed Bugs in Residences - Information for Pest Control Companies (pdf)
3) Are Bed Bugs Difficult to Control?
and
4) Should I Vacate the Structure?
Good luck. Bedbugs are horrible but you can get rid of them.
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spideyjg
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Nov 1 2008 4:07:57
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We live in a multi unit apartment and after the second treatment never saw another live bug. That was mid June.
A buttload of effort on my part in follow up with DE and sealing the place that the PCO didn't do, we seem free.
Jim
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Nov 1 2008 17:44:30
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Jim,
What pesticide did your PCO go with? -
"I'm curious to know where you get your information from as far as it being difficult to get rid of these things in a multi unit dwelling."
Here is one of my sources: http://www.techletter.com/Archive/Technical%20Articles/bedbugsapts.html
I'm not telling you this to make you discouraged. I said in my first post on my thread that my first PCO indicated that in most cases 2 treatments does the trick. Everyone's sitch is different. It depends heavily on how mgm't chooses to deal with the situation and how cooperative all parties involved are.
I can't tell you for sure that 2 is enough, I can't tell you for sure that it's not. I can tell you that I have researched this ad nauseum & both of the PCOs I directly dealt w/ commesurated my research. They both said eradication requires time, patience, diligence, cooperation and understanding of the situation.
Again - I wish you the best of luck & I hope if you 6 months down the road you find yourself fee that you come back here & offer words of hope to those here who will then be new and scared.
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nomorebugs-nyc
newbite
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Posted 4 years ago
Mon Nov 3 2008 14:14:06
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Thanks to those of you that left positive feedback. I actually had some good news over the weekend. My upstairs neighbor saw a bug in her apt but wasn't sure what it was. After reading the note I left for her she decided to call the landlord to have her apt inspected. The landord brought in a PCO and they said she didn't have bedbugs. Yay! She also told be the girl next store to me doesn't see signs of them so that only leaves the people below me. I feel confident that they also looked for signs after receiving my note and would have contacted the landlord of they saw anything. They are a nice young couple and based on the reaction of the other tenants I told I don't think they would ignore my note about the bedbugs. I am starting to think it is very likely that I brought the bugs in to my apt and they didn't spread to the other tenants.
I am finally sleeping through the night and have stopped dreaming about bedbugs but I have to say its no thanks to some of the negative people on this site(you know who you are). I wish anyone who is going through this nightmare, especially those of you with children that are getting bit the best of luck and offer some advice: STAY POSITIVE! Nothing can come out of having no hope at all... I hope for myself and others we can stay bedbug free forever!
I will continue to keep my apt free of clutter and check for signs nightly. I will also take precautions when I travel. I will also frequent this site and offer any insight I have to people who need it. Hopefully I won't be asking for advice again but I know where to come if I do. Thanks again everyone...
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