i'm a newbite in 2008 « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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i'm a newbite in 2008

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jewel073

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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Jul 11 2008 17:08:40
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hi
i've lived in my apartment for 14 years with barely even a cockroach to deal with and recently found out i have bedbugs!! like most people, i never realized this could even be a problem. in fact, my daughter was the one complaining we had bedbugs for months and i kept telling her she was nuts!! well, after an attack that left her right arm completely swollen with welts, i pulled aside her bedspread and pillows and saw the little critters crawling away. i managed to catch one and put it in a ziploc. still in denial about what this bug was, i went online and googled bedbug images. that's when i realized what i was dealing with. thankfully, my landlord took immediate action and the POC told me i caught the infestation early. still, the task of clearing everything out and having everything washed/ dry cleaned has exhausted me and put me in financial hardship. i got rid of most of my furniture (beds, couches, book shelf and armoire) and any other furniture that was in my bedroom or close to the infestation. since the first extermination we have been bitten but not as severely and i have only spotted 3 bugs crawling around. tomorrow (july 12th) is the second round of extermination and my POC believes it will be the last. i am now living in an almost empty apartment and my daughter and i are sleeping on cots besides having all of our clothes and personal belongings in tightly sealed clear garbage bags (and must remain this way for at least 6 weeks according to my POC). i live in a 3 family home in sunset park, brooklyn and my landlord has taken the initiative to have the other apartments inspected just in case. however, i did find 2 other homes on my block are infested as well. i have learned a couple of lessons i want to share with all of you since i have been reading this blog extensively and haven't seen any mention of the following:

1. vacuum everything every 3 days or so. when you're done vacuuming (furniture, floors, cracks and crevices) discard the vacuum bag immediately in a tightly sealed plastic bag and outside of your home.
2. fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol. if you see any bugs, spray them immediately and the alcohol kills them almost instantly. the fumes can be a bit much but alcohol tends to evaporate pretty quickly therefore eliminating any leftover fumes quickly as well. alcohol is also good for spraying on your mattress, furniture and any obvious cracks and crevices to keep bugs away from you. if you have any carpeting in your home, spray it with alcohol first, then vacuum to suck up any bugs the alcohol could've killed.
3. keep all of your clothes and personal belongings in tightly sealed plastic bags for at least 6 weeks after the last round of extermination. this could mean you will have to live like this for 3 months depending on how bad your infestation was to begin with. i have one friend that found the bedbugs everywhere. i was lucky enough to find them only in my boxspring but i've heard of people that have them in almost every room of the house. for a case like this, you might have to live out of your plastic bags for about 6 months or until you are certain the bugs are totally gone.

since discovering i have these mighty MOTHER F&%$ERS in my home, i have become quite obsessed and have done a lot of reasearch on them. i must say this website is the most informative i've found. but i wanted to share what i learned since i've discovered them and i hope it can help you all in your war against them.

i do have one question, does anyone know if the mayor is looking to help with this problem? judging from the financial hardship this problem incurs on anyone affected, i would think the mayor would offer some type of grants to help people get back on their feet. similar to what the red cross does when you suffer a fire or flood in your home. if anyone knows of any type of program like this, please let me know!! i will keep you posted on the outcome of my situation.
Adele

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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Jul 11 2008 17:14:40
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just from my own experience - 2 rounds of exterminations are rarely enough to eradicate an infestation

by the way - why did you get rid of so much furniture and stuff? why couldn't the PCO treat it?

that's a shame

Adele
jewel073

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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Jul 11 2008 17:34:49
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hey adele
i'm new to this blog so i replied to you privately in error... anyway, i wanted to say i chose to get rid of my furniture because i've had most of it since i moved into this aparment (14 yrs) besides my daughter's bed which is about 5 yrs old but an inexpensive ikea model and the armoire that is also about 5 yrs old but really large and heavy and i was afraid the bugs would be impossible to kill inside that thing. i did wait until everything was treated and i called a junk removal service to haul everything away to a junk yard.
bugbasher

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Joined: Dec '07
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Jul 12 2008 15:14:46
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jewel,
sorry to hear you're indoctrinated.there's many ways to help get the mayors attention,since he doesn't seem to give a hoot.write your representatives today and you can make a difference,if you really want things to change.otherwise be prepared to live in fear of this happening repeatedly.good luck
there are links all over this site with your representatives emails and phone numbers.make a difference.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Jul 13 2008 1:19:18
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Jewel073,

All three of your points are covered extensively in the FAQs, but perhaps you did not read them.

1--I am not 100% in agreement. Frequent vacuuming CAN be a useful tool IF your treatment does not include DUSTS but you must discard bags properly (and this is covered in the FAQS). Frequent vacuuming if you ARE using dusts (and probably your PCO is the one who knows) can be a very bad idea--both because it will remove the mechanical killer dusts, but also because many of the dusts will harm a vacuum.

2-- 91% alcohol is a contact killer, but there are others and the FAQs go into detail.

3-- Dealing with clothing, we have a FAQ on that too.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Jul 13 2008 1:20:18
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Oh and if you want the mayor to help, which he most certainly has NOT done so far, definitely get involved in writing letters. See http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org for more.