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I will do almost anything....just tell me what!
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livinginahorrorfilm
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 78offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:05:59
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Oh....I have known something has been wrong for about a month and just figured it out on Tuesday around 3am. After much debate I went and talked to my super - I was so scared that Iwould not only be on the hook for my apartment, but for any other that become infested. I am pretty sure it is from us, as about 8 weeks ago the symptoms started at a friends cottage up north, but I just thought it was misquitos as they were really bad. We brought our bedding with us...and of course home.
Anyways, the blanket we used was from our spare bed, and because it was just an old futon we through out the mattress - we still have not thrown out the frame, but plan on it. We washed all of our bedding and put it in garbage bags on the dining table. The PCO came today. When the came they yelled at me saying we did not do a good enough job. ALmost all of the furniture was away from the walls, but only the laundry we got to was in bags so far. To us it made more sence to let it stay out, and get washed as we can...it has only been like 48 hours and we have had to go to work. Anyways, they used a fogger and some spray. There is also powder around my door and the others down my hall....and they are coming back in 11 days.
Lucky I logged on tonight becasue we were sleeping out in the livingroom. My husband is braving the bed tonight for the team - I simply can't do it. My question is what do I do now?
I am going to get the bed cover tomorrow - where can I buy one of these?
We have a steam mop...should I start just going around the walls with it - I know I can not clean the floor during this process.
Is there extra powders and sprays that I can use?
Should I just do load after load? Should I take absolutely all of everything the laundry matt every week...or is my apartment washer and dryer strong enough? Should I buy plastic bins and store most of it on the balcony after a good washing? Is garbage bags enough?
Shoudl I just through evverthing out?
SHould I have a gargae sale and sell my life to some poor unsuspecting person, or just walk away????????I swear I will work at doing something every day.....just tell me what to do!
I can not beleive how uch my whole world and my future sanity has been torn upside down in just a few days! I don;t know if I could handel months...I honestly would crumble, lose my job and everything....
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horrorfilm - feel free to click my username and peruse my topics for my saga - you will not go crazy. You will think you are going crazy and "normal" people with their "normal" lives will not understand the hell you are in. It's ok - one step at time - start with laundry - get ready to spend like crazy. Ziploc bags are now your best friends. Laundry, laundry, laundry - read the FAQ's, look at other discussions - many times a topic will veer off and you stumble onto something that can save you that day. I am working 7 days a week and have to have a smile planted on my face all day long in an office environment where people would seriously freak if they knew i had bedbugs. You can get through this. This forum is a lifesaver - I personally will be jumping ship ASAP - but my landlord is a piece of crap - it sounds like yours is working with you so you can probably stay and not have to walk away from everything. Good luck - keep reading and don't forget to thank nobugsonme - he runs the site and I swear if I hit the powerball, that guy is set for life.
Try to laugh once a day - it's hard I know. I have been crying daily and it's just overwhelming. The forum is here. Type away....
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Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 665offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:15:26
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I am saying this for your benefit - you really need to try to calm down and take a deep breath. You won't be helping anything by working yourelf into a frenzy
you have a lot of questions and all of them have been answered here before - you see we've all gone through the same thing
take some time to read the FAQ section and you will at least feel better with more knowledge
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livinginahorrorfilm
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 78offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:25:56
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Oh...I am not so sure right now. Does anyone know if there are people who do what they shoudl get two treatments and are rid of it for good. That would calm me down....if I can find out that statistics might be on my side. But if for some reason I am suffering for months....I will snap. Normally a really strong person, I have het a really rough year. I have never been so mentally weak in my life. Any other year of my life thus far I could have taken it....this might be the staw that sends me to the rubber room. No kidding.
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ok -horrorfilm, just sent you a pm - refresh your screen and go there. You are not going to a rubber room. You can get through this. I'm telling you - we are all in the same bug-infested boat. It is hell. Just breathe, focus - grab a drink and cigarette or whatever you need to help you chill out. Start calmly and slowly reading the FAQ's and the discussion topics. Everyone here has been awesome to me and I feel like I am having a meltdown on a daily basis. You can do this. Right now - this moment. You are ok.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 3,201offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:34:17
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You need to take a step back and get your bearings.
To remedy a BB infestations is tons of work and you have to do it piecemeal or you would go mad.
Ask the PCO what needs to be done before his next visit and his advice based upon their inspection and first visit.
Wash and dry all that you can and bag them airtight as safe. Keep a few days worth of clothes to cycle through and then proceed per the PCO instructions.
You need to get educated on what is successful and apply it to your situation. Lots of reading and research ahead. I read, asked, researched, thought, investigated, analyzed and thought like a General planing a battle.
I made a list of crap that needed to be done at one point and it was tough to swallow. I had to pick one thing and work on that prioritizing on doing what I could while the treatments were going on and then a post treatment process.
It is a daunting task and you and your family need to all work at it. It is not an overnight thing.
Jim
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Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 665offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:34:56
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if it is any consolation to you - I suffered with them for nearly 7 months in 2 apartments - and yes - I am almost done with them
you need to remain as calm as you can - but stay focused and keep up the battle and keep educating your self
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livinginahorrorfilm
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 78offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:42:36
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I have a drink and a smoke going....and my husband and I have made a plan of attack for this weekend. We have nothing but a dinner on Saturday - so lots of time. I have booked a doctors apointment for Monday, and I am going to get some headmeds and some adivans to sleep at night. Our apartment is very large and I am a clean minamalist - so have that on my side when it comes to getting throguh everything - who - a postive thought..imagine that!
I am going to get the mattress cover after work, and I want some of that DE --- what is that (ie. the full name)? And where do I get it
Thanks for all your encouraging words everyone!
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 3,201offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:43:37
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We discovered them in late May and after the second treatment and all the work we have not been bitten nor seen a live bug since about mid June.
I've been very aggressive in my battling them on every front.
Jim
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livinginahorrorfilm
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 78offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 0:47:00
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That sounds very very promising! I expect we had them for 8 weeks before doing antyhing. Do you know how long you might have had them before is clicked?
No one ever says how they got them really.....do people not know?
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 2:59:59
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First up, I'm sorry you've joined our club. Really, we're all totally sympathetic to how awful it is to find yourself among us.
I'll try to tackle the points one at a time. But, in both this thread and another, I get the sense that you're still very much in the early stages of dealing with bed bugs in the sense of being totally panicked, totally new, and totally overwhelmed, and that means that it's probably going to be hard to sort through the amount of information here.
So first off, you won't believe this now. Because I didn't believe it when people told me the same thing, but it's true.
Things will get better. You will start to feel better and in more control once you have a clear plan laid out in front of you. Half of the battle with bed bugs is fighting ourselves--trying to learn all this new stuff about the bugs while being overtired, strung out, sleep deprived and totally skeeved out all at once. So hang in there and keep plugging away at things, and know that no matter how much you doubt it, if you keep at it, it will be better than it feels right now.
Try to remember, hard though it is when we're sleep deprived, that when people here remind you to take a deep breath that they're saying that from a place of recognition--remembering what it's like to be exactly where you are right now and looking back with hindsight and seeing that being so overwhelmed means that you're going to miss details of stuff that can help out.
So, on to your list of questions.
Bed encasements. You have some options. The ones that are most comfortable and most bed bug proof are linked to from this website. Look up at the banner across the top of the main page (bedbugger.com, *not* the forums) and click on "Useful stuff" on the far right side of the words above the logo at the top of the page. From that page, follow the link for"remember to shop for encasements here". The word <i>here</I> is the link.
Those encasements are expensive. If they're out of your current price range, you can probably find cheap ones locally that might help tide you over until you can save up for the better quality ones.
The steam mop. Don't go crazy with the steam mop. The reason some steamers are suggested over others is that many other steamers produce a lot more moisture, and then you can end up with mold problems. If you're seeing bugs on the walls, then steaming them might be good, but if you're not seeing bugs on the walls, you're not gaining anything by steaming the walls.
Extra powders and sprays. DO NOT use anything--powder, spray, steam, encasements, bagging items--without talking to your PCO about it. There are different ways to treat bed bugs, and your PCO knows what method or methods he or she is using. Before you introduce any chemicals or naturally remedies, talk to your PCO and ask whether you can use it. PCOs are professionals and understand the interactions; they know what they're using in your place and how to maximize the effects. Everyone here, including the PCOs, understand your desire to do everything you can But the best thing you can do is ask the PCO on the return visit "What can I do to help support treatment?"
Laundry. I don't think it makes a difference whether you do one load at a time or all the loads at once. What does make a difference with laundry is this: wash in hot, dry on hot for 20 minutes past when the stuff in the dryer is totally dry. Take the items from the dryer and put them directly and immediately into a brand new ziplock bag that you have not used before. DO NOT reuse bags. You can use garbage bags tied really, really tightly, but you're much better off buying the really big ziplocks and using those. I would choose those over plastic bins because it's really hard to make plastic bins 100% airtight, and for things that you know are clear--like freshly laundered items,--they need to go into air tight, sealed, clean bags/containers that are plastic, not cardboard.
If you want to use plastic bins on teh balcony, I would put the clothes/linens into the ziplocks and then put them in plastic bins on the balcony. The plastic bags take care of the air tight factor, and the plastic bins keep the plastic bags safe from tears while out there.
Throwing everything out is not only not going to solve your problems, it may make problems for others. If you don't seal everything up, as you remove infested items from the apartment, bugs and eggs may end up in hallways or other common spaces, and bed bugs can travel, so just moving them elsewhere in the building will likely only lengthen your struggle as they come back from other places.
As for having a garage sale and foisting your problem off on others who are unsuspecting . . . I'm going to assume that what you meant was that you were so sick and tired and at your wit's end that you were just venting out loud about the possibility of foisting bed bug infested items onto other people who were unsuspecting. I think we've all been that strung out and despairing at some point, but you're not actually considering inflicting this misery on someone else, right? Okay then.
Many of these questions are answered in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the website. Maybe you haven't read all of those because you didn't know they were there or had trouble finding them on the site. However, I have a feeling that reading them will give you a lot more information and help you feel a lot more in control of a situation that makes most of us feel pretty out of control. I wanted to take the time to write up a personal response because maybe you're not much of an online person and navigating the site was overwheming, or maybe you didn't know about the FAQS. Do take a look at them; they'll probably have a lot of info to help you feel more in control.
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livinginahorrorfilm
junior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 78offline
Posted 4 years ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 3:34:01
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Hi there, thank-you so much for your response. Your right, I would never sell my things - that would be horrible and I am a strong beliver in karma. (Still trying to figure out what I did :oS) Actually, while I am 90% certain I got it from a friends cottage, I also bought an antique (or old and used, but beautiful) chest about a month ago - but it looks clean. But maybe they cleaned it first? So it could have just as easily been that.
Our situation is kinda in that wierd one where we are about to move and buy a house, but just not sure the time is right - now this seems like a good push. Dump a lot of it ya know? And get out. I think I am going to go for whatever I can get my hands on, as my hubby is being bait for the bed, and we are going to put in place one of the meathods discussed for the bed and drawing them accross poison. Our PCO guy seemed OK - better than the super who yelled and screamed at me. I was trying to get so much info from him - but language was a barrier and the super finally just pulled him away. I understand why the super was so mad, but I thought after he saw my apartment he would have a different perspective on me - I am very clean and have very nice things.....sigh. I think it is evident, even with everything pulled out and upside down that I am not some freak who would live in filth or make bad decesions intentiaonally. I will try talking to the super tomorrow because he is misinformed. I luckily found this site and prepared properly, but he thought everything I own should be in bags....
It is just such unfortunate timing for me. I have honestly been holding onto my sanity by a thread for about a year now due to a whack of factors. The complete craziness that everyone goes through is just multiplied in some who are having a rough go at life already. Head meds and adivans are coming monday - I have put it off and tried to pull myself out, but I know I will never make it through this now without it. I just pray I hold my job.....
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