help I need to be calmed down, I found a bedbug today

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help I need to be calmed down, I found a bedbug today

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shannon101

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 1:36:44
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I live in Chicago and I recently just moved into a room May 17th at my friends house because the previous girl couldnt pay the rent. about a few days after I moved in my friend had stayed over and said he had gotten bit by something while he was staying at my house. then the next day I woke up with 5 bites on my foot that itched like crazy, I figured they were fleas because my roommate has a cat. then the next day I woke up with about 5 bites on both my legs. these bites did not welt up at all, however one day I woke up with three bites in a row on my knuckle and they welted up into one big welt. then all hell broke lose the next few nights after that, I got about 7 bites on my index finger on my right hand, one on my wrist that also welted up and on on the back of my hand that welted up. then about a week ago I woke up with 8 freaking bites in a l shape (almost in straight lines) that welted up on the back of my arm, the next night I got two on my elbow, and 4 on my left arm, and also a few in my armpit area and some right under my shoulder. this made me rule out mosquitoes.

I stripped my bed and washed all my blankets and pillows, I also vaccumed my bed and box spring and everything around my bed....that next day I only woke up with one new bite and it calmed me down a bit.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vanityfacade/Photo130.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
HEY thanks you little jerks!!!! right through my tattoo.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vanityfacade/Photo129.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
this is the one that welted up. a few days later all that was left was a few little pricks but i scratched them and they got bad.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vanityfacade/Photo131.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
my hand, bad pictures i know, but two of these bites are 2 weeks old and the three on my knucle in a cute little line which you probably cant see....are a little bit newer. again i picked the hell out of these so they got worse. and the skin peels off all around them its DISGUSTING.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vanityfacade/Photo132.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
again, i should have taken pics of when i had welts, they were huge red and scary looking, people looked at me on the trains like i was a freaking leper. :( two of the spots on here are actualy freckles, but the big red one if the welt i couldnt stand any more and i popped it so it got really bad. these are about a week old.

NONE OF THE BITES IVE GOTTEN HAVE HEALED even the ones i havent touched at all, they are still there, still red, but thankfully dont itch anymore. ive been self medicating with anti itch cream and bendaryll pills or something that my mom gave me, they are little pills that are pink and white.

then today I came home tired from my long day at my summer class and found a nice little visitor chilling on my box spring. my old cat from my old apartment had torn my box spring to shreds on one part, so there was a long peice of fabric and at the end of it this ugly guy was staring me in the face: <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vanityfacade/Photo128.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> its really horrible quality photos but me and my roommate just talked and looked at it for awhile and were pretty sure its a bed bug. and she told me she had been getting bites for a few months but once every few weeks and she also was looking online for bugs to look for but the bug she found was a carpet beetle. but she lives upstairs on the other side of the house. whats weird is the lights in my room had been on for a long time and the little bugger didnt even move when i cut off the peice of fabric. i put him in a ziplock bag so i can show it to my landlord and to the exterminator im calling tomorrow.

my roommate who lives in the room next to me said she never gets bites and hasnt gotten bites since ive been here either, and our rooms are connected with our beds right next to each other divided by a wall and that the cat doesnt have fleas.

the thing is, im a neat freak, i always clean and never keep anything cluttered or piled up (mostly bcause i hate cockroaches) now i learn bedbugs love those things too! UGH. ( i know now that being super clean doesnt help, because they dont care!) and ive always gotten freaked out by ANY bugs in my room or around me and always inspect them. ive also had all my furniture and my bed for two years and have NEVER NEVER NEVER gotten any bites or ANYTHING until a few days after i moved here..........

i threw away all my pillows and blankets and bought new ones that im going to put on after the exterminator comes.

im sorry for such a long post.

but i have questions maybe you can clear it up for me, ive been thinking of every possible answer:

------is it possible that the uhaul truck i used had bed bugs in it and they hitched a ride on my bed?

-----is it possible that the girl who lived in the room before me had bed bugs and just didnt react to the bites?

------why would the first bites i got not swell up into hives, but the most recent bites in the past week and a half would swell into hives? is there a difference between adult and baby bug bites?

-----also, why would bedbugs only bite one of my arms and one finger on my other hand? i havent gotten any new bites on my legs since i first cleaned my sheets and bed.

and i checked everywhere on my bed for the signs of bed bug infestation, and sadly i did find two spots that look like the pictures shown, only they were nothing as bad and big as the pictures......there were only about three to four short black streaks around the flippy part surrounding the edge of the bed but NO bugs or anything that was movable, it seemed to be like someone just dragged a thin eyeliner pencil in a few fat lines.

WHY would i only find ONE bug after getting so many bites? and why was he just sitting out in the open for me to see? ugh like hes freaking taunting me. i cant sleep, i constantly feel like they are crawling on me even right after i take a shower, and belive me all ive been doing is sitting at the kitchen table because its made of glass and the chairs are metal, and showering.

OH! and can bed bugs hide in my laptop? I would really cry if they could. its only been about a few weeks and already i feel like I want to give up and just get rid of everything.

ughhh i cant sleep and i have a test tomorrow. im just sitting here with my light turned on.
terrifiedtosleep

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 86

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:08:39
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Shannon-
You just described my situation.
I've been going through this the last few weeks.

If you have multiple bites in the same area and they all look similar odds are it's from the same bug.

I started getting bites after the 2nd night here and could find NO signs what so ever on my mattress. I've only caught 1 almost-adult bug and 1 baby bug and there are no other signs on my mattress. Only my last two nights here have I started to get blood spots on my sheets.

The PCOs have all said that the infestation is new and that odds are they were in the building already or I picked them up in the rental truck which seems unlikely but a possibility.

As far as patterns of bites, your arm and hand might be the most easily reachable while you sleep depending on the position you sleep in. In my case I've also found they like to hide under my pillows which has caused them to start biting my face.

I've also noticed I started to react to bites differently. They don't immediately start itching in the morning but start around mid-day or in the afternoon.
shannon101

newbite
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:15:34
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terrifiedtosleep-

thanks for responding....im seriously starting to freak.

yeah, i sleep on my side with my arm and my other hand on top of each other under my pillows. and ever since i cleaned its the only spot ive been getting bit at. im wondering if they were living in my pillow?!?!? i called my parents and they said it was maybe dustmites living in my pillow because i had feather pillows ( I seriously just threw them out in a big plastic bag with the trash) until i found an actual live bug crawling around on the floor today. greaaaaaat.

so one bug will bite in rows even if its more than three bites? i read they will only bite about three times in a row. the one on the lower part of my arm is in a diamond shape its really odd.

so maybe the uhaul i rented did have bugs in them....?

grossss. i dont wish this on anybody, but im just kind of relieved that other people are dealing with this as well and im not some dirty freak or something.
fightorflight

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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 692

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:19:19
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Ugh. This is awful.

As for all your questions, start with the FAQs here. Read them and read them again.

A few things you should probably do, pronto: Per the FAQs, start taking precautions so as not to spread the bugs when you leave the house. Also, they can hide in your laptop, so the best thing to do now is start quarantining your laptop as much as you can when at home.

As for how bugs got there? If you don't have a very strong suspicion (i.e., stayed at a hotel and saw bedbugs), then there's not much way of knowing.

Lots of info in the FAQs, including some ideas that might make your life more liveable while you fight these bastards, like the right way to isolate and/or encase your bed. Take it one step at a time. If you're already a neat freak, you're in a great position for the treatment. Hang in there, you'll get through it. We're all veterans here eventually.

(And one more thought? - possibly anti-anxiety meds, have helped some folks. And don't read the forums too much if you're stressin', just the FAQs.)
terrifiedtosleep

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 86

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:31:44
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Yeah that's been my problem. I think I've been reading this board way too much and freaking out about EVERYTHING.
I just don't know what's going to be the right thing for me to do.

Shannon-
I think they could be living in your pillows, That's what I suspect in my case actually.

Also fightorflight- I was told not to isolate my bed until after treatment. Do you think getting a cheap vinyl cover until then would help?

Thanks!!
shannon101

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:41:31
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thanks guys, and i really hope they dont go in my computer, i hope it burns them alive since my macbook gets really hot after a few hours of use, im a graphic design student so about most of my day is spent on this damn thing. and now im wondering if they have gotten into my portfolio and my books. i cant part with these things, and again before i moved here i never had a problem.

well anyway i bought new pillows today but im keeping them in the plastic until i can get a PCO to look at my room. and im actually glad i caught this bug sooner rather than later, maybe it will be easier to get rid of them (if they arent already in the house, that is)

im just bumming. my two roommates upstairs said they get bug bites but none like mine and not in large numbers. we all sleep with our windows open. but i stopped that about a week and a half ago since i thought maybe there were bugs from outside coming in.

and i trying not to stress, its just really tough not to. i mean, they are sucking my blood when im asleep. they are living in my house.

i read not to self treat this, but I am febreezing my sheets when i pull them out of the dryer, i know it wont do anything except maybe give me a little peace of mind since i obviously HAVE to sleep eventually.

im hoping they say its not a big infestation, because the bites are all concentrated on where i sleep with my pillow, nowhere else (since i washed my sheets two times), not even my face or neck, just the arm and finger under my pillow. but i found the bed bug today at the end of my bed on the floor. UGH. i moved my bed from the wall and im putting my sheets on RIGHT before i go to sleep tonight and pulling them right out of the dryer.
terrifiedtosleep

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:46:36
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You're also singing my tune about the portfolios.
I have 2 custom made leather portfolios that I've spent a ton of money on and a custom bag. The artwork inside is irreplaceable and it was all sitting under my bed until bed bugs were confirmed.

I have the whole thing sealed in a zip lock and I'm going to have to go back through tomorrow to see if it's save or not. I'm throwing out all the acetate pages and wiping the whole thing down with alcohol.

I have no idea what to do with the paper and prints. Baking really isn't an option.
shannon101

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:51:12
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yeah i dont want to jump to any conclusions this far in but i would hate to throw out years of work. the pillows and blankets i can deal with getting rid of. my portfolio is just a 50 dollar faux leather but the things inside are what im worried about, i keep it between my bed and one of the walls. ughhhhhh. i just moved everything away from my bed. i read they like paper . blahhhh
terrifiedtosleep

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 86

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 2:56:47
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inspect in your bathtub and wipe down everything with 91% alcohol that you can.

good luck with that.

I seriously just want to run away from all my stuff..
fightorflight

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Posts: 692

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 3:18:14
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> Also fightorflight- I was told not to isolate my bed until after treatment.

This is a good question, since people here have reported that their encasements were ripped or removed during treatment. If that's what your PCO tells you to do, then do it. I see this question pop up a lot here and I don't know what the consensus (if any) is, so once again, I'd check the FAQs on bed isolation and then look for some of the threads on this question.

Shannon - Do NOT rely on the idea that your MacBook will get hot enough to make it uninhabitable by bedbugs. Only parts of your laptop will get that hot. The bugs can live in the other parts. Better to take measures to isolate (DE/Diatect moats maybe, safe desk surface,...) and quarantine when not in use.
shannon101

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 3:46:29
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yikes. this really sucks. i mean my computer is my life and often times when i dont use ive left it on top of my bed for the whole day. UGH. im hoping that they didnt scout it out to be a good hiding place. but i mean, i dont get bit at all when im using my laptop so maybe not.

lately after washing all my sheets i ONLY get bit on my arm and hand that i sleep with wrapped around my pillow. but again, i threw these out and bought new ones but i feel a bit silly because i kept them in the plastic and just put my new pillowcases over the plastic. at least until i can get someone to come and check out my bed.

still makes no sense because the bed bug i caught (it looks flat with the lines across the body and looks like blood in the middle of it, exactly like every picture ive seen of a bed bug on here) i caught the bed bug on the floor on a strip of fabric hanging from my bed at the foot of the bed, not up where im getting bit.
bedbugvictimperthaustralia

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Joined: May '08
Posts: 88

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 4:54:02
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------is it possible that the uhaul truck i used had bed bugs in it and they hitched a ride on my bed?
Yes

-----is it possible that the girl who lived in the room before me had bed bugs and just didnt react to the bites?
Yes, and more likely.

------why would the first bites i got not swell up into hives, but the most recent bites in the past week and a half would swell into hives? is there a difference between adult and baby bug bites?
I had the same thing and I have a theory it's related to either
a) The stress you get once you realise it's happening to you, makes the hives happen.
b) You've suddenly crossed a threshold of the number of bites you're getting and so start reacting more strongly to them.

-----also, why would bedbugs only bite one of my arms and one finger on my other hand? i havent gotten any new bites on my legs since i first cleaned my sheets and bed.
They seem fairly particular about where they like to bite, if you've seen the youtube videos they actually walk around sniffing for just the right spot with the most blood in it. Yuck.

-----WHY would i only find ONE bug after getting so many bites?
Because there are probably lots, lots more, and you just haven't seen them. It's pretty much unanimous - when you see the first bug, it's the tip of the iceberg. If you just had one bug you probably wouldn't notice it. It's just that the population has gotten so large you suddenly start seeing them.

-----OH! and can bed bugs hide in my laptop?
Yes, so, precautions:
a) Check the laptop bag really super carefully, turn it inside out, go over the whole thing, especially the seams.
b) Try not storing the laptop in it. Buy some food-grade DE or permethrin dust and do a circle of dust around wherever the laptop sits and leave it there when possible, to see if there are any bug trails overnight as they enter/leave.

There are other ideas like sprinkling that dust inside the keyboard but it could have really negative consequences. You could possibly take your laptop to an Apple store, tell them the story, and have them take the whole thing apart and re-assemble it for a fee.
shannon101

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 20

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 4:59:10
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bedbugvictim....thank you for answering and sharing questions. im getting a PCO here tomorrow
buggedmama

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 10:29:55
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Shannon, do you use a box spring? That could be where they are hiding. Otherwise, the other place the bugs might be hiding in your case is between the floor and the baseboards. Good luck with the PCO.
lieutenantdan

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Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,146

Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 17 2008 10:40:39
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Shannon101,
Sorry that it appears that you are now one of us.
This site has much to offer in how you should go about taking care of your bed bug problem. Spend less time obsessing and more time doing. I had gone through what you are now going through way back in October 2006. I advise researching this site and then applying the tactics to your situation, this is the only way that you may eventually win your war with bed bugs. It will take much work on your part.
lil_bit_obsessed

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Posts: 495

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 18 2008 23:42:51
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in regards to the computer... if you have a pco come in and treat your home, it is most likely that s/he will use a residual pesticide that kills the bugs even after it is dried (although it works more slowly then, is my understanding). eventually the bugs will have to come out of the computer to feed (on you), thereby crossing the residual poison and dying. i think the same theory would apply to the portfolios. after you are sprayed by a pco i would try placing both laptop and portfolio in a location (preferably not on the floor) not too far away from the bed, on a surface that has residual pesticide on it (a desk top for example). then each night as you sleep you act as bait, luring any bugs that may potentially be in the laptop/portfolio to come out and cross the poison.

i'm a graduate student, and i continued to use my laptop throughout the course of pco treatments in my apartment. i had to, i didn't have a choice. you can still USE the laptop, i just wouldn't take it out of the house if you can help it, so that if there are any bugs in it you won't spread them to others.

i realize in the case of the portfolio, not being able to remove it from the house for awhile is a bit trickier, but hopefully if you start getting PCO treatments quickly it should help take care of the problem and you will feel more comfortable using these items again.

hope this helps.
lil_bit_obsessed

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 18 2008 23:44:33
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oh and p.s. laptop cases and other such items can generally be placed in the dryer to de-bug, similar to ways in which you would kill bugs in clothing/fabric.
MidnightSnack

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Joined: May '09
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Posted 3 months ago
Wed Jul 29 2009 15:36:31
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Shannon, I have only been dealing with the BB problem since I moved into an apt. in March (but the bites didn't start til mid-April) and I totally understand your pain. I was up all night last night preparing for the PCO to come today - what a pain in the ass, but I am praying that it works. I tried sleeping with the lights on - didn't work. I tried covering as much of my body as possible with clothing when I slept - didn't work, they just went for the places I couldn't cover up, like my face. One thing that did definitely help minimize the number of bites was doing some good serious vacuuming twice a week. I used every attachment and vacuumed every nook and cranny of my furniture, between the carpet and baseboards, etc. It didn't stop them altogether but there was DEFINITE improvement. One thing that I am glad (now) about is that because of my work hours and stuff, I still don't even have all of my belongings there yet and since I moved in, have been sleeping on my mattress on my living room floor instead of in the bedroom. I spend 95% of my time in that one room because that's where my computer and everything is. It makes me feel a tiny bit better that at least in MY apt., they should mostly be concentrated in that one room. As soon as I get the ok from the PCO, I am getting a new mattress and box springs and putting my bed together - in the actual bedroom. I hadn't done it yet because I noticed the problem less than a month after I moved in and then I didn't want to spread them all throughout the house so I left everything as it was. I am not looking forward to going home to clean up everything, though.