Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Success Stories
Is it that there are few success stories?
(24 posts)-
skeevedout
newbite
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 7
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:00:29
#
Login to Send PM
Or are people, once they have successfully gotten rid of them, unwilling to spend any more mental energy on the subject?
-
insomnia
junior member
Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 53
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:10:03
#
Login to Send PM
Excellent question....I've been disappointed that there aren't more stories in the success department.
-
Beatrice
member
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 125
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:36:26
#
Login to Send PM
I had the same question when I joined but months later I see why there aren't. It can be really hard to let yourself believe they are gone.
-
pleasehelpme
newbite
Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 22
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:41:29
#
Login to Send PM
I was just thinking about writing a success story the other day.
I think I got bedbugs from either a headboard or a chest I bought at the end of June. It took me a few weeks to figure out something was up and then another week or two before I was able to get a PCO. It only took me two treatments before I stopped getting bitten.
When I was infested, I couldn't sleep, couldn't concentrate at work, couldn't do anything. It was awful. I went through so much hydrocortizone cream. I was coating my body with DEET and taking benadryl as a sleeping pill. I would wash my sheets every night, spray my sheets with rubbing alcohol before bed, sleep with soccer socks as gloves over my hands, lived out of ziplocks and garbage bags. I got bitten everywhere- my chest, my face, my arms, legs, thighs...
I've been bite free for about two months now. I've almost unpacked most of my stuff and I noticed that the scars from my 100+ bites are starting to fade. I plan on moving sometime in the first half of next year and am really excited about getting a new apartment (without roommates) and a brand new bed. Within the next two months I hope to be scar-free and then I'll be really pleased. Actually, once I pay off my credit card bill I will be really pleased. All in all this probably cost me about $12-1500.
Anyway, everyone here was really helpful and supportive. Thanks to everyone and good luck with your battles!
-
Beatrice
member
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 125
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:44:05
#
Login to Send PM
Also, a lot of it depends on the person with the infestation.
I know five people that have recently battled infestations inclduing myself.
-Two of us are somewhat obsessed and can't seem to go back to normal, meaning I still bag my shoes and purse and keep up with the cleaning and wash routines. I still insect my skin several times a day. I still worry when I visit people's homes . etc-Two of us have started moving on and relaxed a bit by assuming their clothes and shoes are ok to leave out again.
-One of us is totally back to normal besides needed to replace some items.
I think the two in the middle have it right because they are relaxed but still cautious. Letting them go on with their lives.
All five people had 3 plus treatments and saw atleast one bug.
-
Beatrice
member
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 125
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 12:44:46
#
Login to Send PM
I meant inspect my skin*
-
Pleasehelpme,
If you like, I can add that to the success stories page.
skeeved, Yes, most people don't bother. I think it can be the mental energy issue or a wish to move on, in many cases.
In others, people are not entirely sure. It does not mean they still have bed bugs, but it takes several months to gain any level of confidence that they're gone. (When people are bite free for a week and want to post a success story, well--it won't be one people can really rely on, you know?) By the time you are two months bite free, you're probably not on the site anymore. Human nature: people move on, enjoy life as before, more power to them!
Finally, some just never get round to it for whatever reason. If anyone's in that boat, please email it to me nobugs at bedbugger.com and I will add it. Make sure you tell me you want it posted. (I get emails all the time from people who don't want things put up on the site for whatever reason.)
-
I have not been bitten since July, but I am still hesitant to say that I am a success story. I still have some of my clothes on bags, and I continue to keep freshly laundered clothing in the bags. I have only recently began to sit on my couch due to an irrational fear that bed bugs might be hiding in there somewhere. I have recently stopped putting my backpack into a garbage bag every time I come home. And I've started putting some clothes back onto hangers in my closet. I think they are gone, but at the same time I keep a look out for them, and bites. Every time I get an itchy spot, I get a flash of panic, and am extremely relieved when it doesn't get bigger/itchier. I will not push my bed back to the walls, and I will not remove the isolation from my bed-- it was a lot of work to get it isolated, and if the bugs come back, it will save me from having to do it over again. I am slowly moving towards normal, but I don't know if I will ever go back to the way I lived before.
-
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 15:04:54
#
Login to Send PM
Maybe the reason we have so few success stories here is because, overall, there ARE fewer success stories than there are stories of people getting bedbugs. The number of people who are getting bedbugs is obviously increasing much faster than the number of people who have gotten rid of bedbugs.
-
Parakeets,
I'm not sure exactly what you're saying.
Most people DO get rid of bed bugs--the vast majority. Most people HAVE success stories--most people who do simply do not come here and write about them.
-
jstplntired
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 10
Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 5 2007 17:39:10
#
Login to Send PM
I know exactly how some of the previous posters feel. My husband and I think we are bug free, but every itch causes a panic... and we just can't bring ourselves to push the bed back against the wall. As a matter of fact, my son just got two mosquito bites on his ankle and I am all in a lather that what if, what if, what if.....
aaaauuuuuggggghhhhhhhh!
Our first big step was to buy a cheap futon at Target (metal frame, as if that would stop the little bastards) so we can have some semblance of normalcy in our living room. But still... every itch or bump is cause for alarm. I can't wait for the day when I've finally relaxed, all the way.
Good luck to all!
-
pleasehelpme
newbite
Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 22
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Oct 6 2007 8:11:27
#
Login to Send PM
Nobugs, feel free to add to the success stories page
Don't get me wrong, I still check my skin every time I feel something crawling on it and get a little scared every time I have an itch, but I have so many other things to worry about with school and work and general life that I can't let this get me down.
If I ever discovered that I got bitten again, I think I wouldn't get as scared and would be very methodical about preparing for treatment and protecting myself and my belongings.
Good luck! It gets better eventually.
-
Bencannon
junior member
Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 60
Posted 2 years ago
Sat Oct 6 2007 9:44:35
#
Login to Send PM
We feel we are one of those fortunate people with true success stories. We have over 20 people in the building that share our sentiment. We fought the battle together with the same strategy and pco. We still have regular tenant meetings and none of us had had bites for a long time now.
Interestly enough, we are still very interested in this forum because of our experience. I don't think anyone can relate to our true "hate" for bedbugs until they have gone through it.
-
Thanks, Pleasehelpme.
Ben, you mentioned before that your landlord's PCO did not work (I believe there were several) and so you got your own PCO, who did a good job. So do you mean that you organized your entire building to get a good PCO? If you did, how did you convince the landlord to change to the new PCO?
Lots of people have asked for tips on organizing tenants, so this would be good to know.
-
Bencannon
junior member
Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 60
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Oct 7 2007 2:09:56
#
Login to Send PM
Yes, they found two well known pco but they just didn't do what we wanted. It was a difficult process to change pco and get all our neighbors to do the treatment together but here is how we did it:
(1) We first organized a private tenant (management was not invited) meeting in the lobby. We had to have two meetings (one on a weekday night and another on the weekend)
(2) We conducted a thorough survey of everyone's experience
(3) We got EVERYONE to agree that all the apartments infested and adjacent/up & down neighboring infested apt must be treated at the same time.
(4) We then presented everyone with the new pco's strategy and why we should change.
(4) After we all agreed, we wrote a detailed letter with everyone's signatures expressing our concerns and desire to change pco.
(5) We presented this to the management company. The letter also included the dates that the pco and tenants agreed to do the services.Management finally agreed because all of the difficult part were done for them. Yes, it was painful but completely worth it. Nothing in NYC is ever easy. Lesson here, unionize and work as a team and hire the right pco for the job - it makes all the difference in the world.
-
That's great Ben. I added it to this FAQ on organizing tenants:
http://bedbugger.com/2007/02/19/bed-bugs-tenant-organizing-dont-take-this-lying-down/I think it is really important that you did not just get your own PCO--it had to be the whole building, working together. No point having one well-treated unit.
-
nyjammin
senior member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 664
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Oct 8 2007 10:44:32
#
Login to Send PM
Bencannon, you knew that the bbs were already in your apartment when you moved in. Since you were a new tenant, how did you know that other apartments were infested? Something like "Hi, I'm a new tenant and have bbs, do you?"
-
BeenBedBugged
newbite
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 21
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Oct 8 2007 12:37:34
#
Login to Send PM
Hi there,
Coming out of long-time lurk mode to let you know that we feel we've most likely been successful, but we're still not relaxed enough about it to fully claim that success. Ironically, this is the one year anniversary of when I discovered BBs on the seam of my luggage after a hotel stay. We live in a single family home, and the beginning of our story is documented in "success stories". Due to my line of work, I have a PCO license, but any PC work I do is very tangential to my business, and is done outdoors, so I did not consider myself qualified to do my own treatment. However, after interviewing three PCOs and determining that they were either even less qualified than myself, or just didn't believe that we had bed bugs, I reluctantly took on the job myself.
You can read about the protocol we used in "success stories". I posted there under another screen name, and now post as BeenBedBugged. Essentially, we did it al- the bagging, the caulking, spraying, constant vacuuming, and we threw out anything that wasn't essential. Back in those days, however, we didn't have access to the solid FAQs and info that nobugs has put toghether on this blog, so there was lots of back-and-forth as to how much to bag, etc. I opted, once we started spraying, to leave anything I couldn't launder in hot either outside of a bag or bagged in storage. I feel that contributed to our (maybe) success.
We have since moved, and worked extremely hard to be sure we didn't leave behind a problem. Our landlord was informed all along. (I brought the BBs in, and took responsibility, it was not her problem, really.) After we got our stuff out, we throroughly cleaned the old place and caulked. Then she got the whole place painted, top to bottom. This seemed to work, because we have not heard anything about a new infestation at the old place, and have been in touch with the landlord.
We have had a few scares. Bloodstains on the brand new pillow of my nephew who was staying with us put me in a tailspin until I realized it was probably from his acne. We also had bloodstains on our own pillows at about the same time, but could trace them to irritated mosquito bites, which for us were totally different from BB bites. I still get "lingering sensations" and sometimes feel bites in places where they originally occured over a year ago. Scary. But this is an allergic reaction that is flaring up, not a new bite.
We are far from complacent, and this is where we are now in the battle to ensure there are no lurkers:
The entire house gets thoroughly vacuumed once a week, with a deep, deep cleaning once a month (moving all the furniture, checking seams of upholstered stuff, etc.) I have the flashlight handy near the bed just in case I suspect we have activity in the night.
When we have visitors, I inspect their luggage. Most of our friends and family know what we've been through, and no one minds. In fact, they are grateful, and I don't make a big deal of it. I just ask them to humor me, and they do.
We still have stuff in storage 12 months later, I have gone in to get some power tools and other hard metal or plastic items that I could thoroughly inspect, but the rest has stayed there. We plan to remove that stuff in six months, in April or May, and to very carefully inspect everything before it goes into the car, steaming anything we can before it goes into the house, and then steaming the car. We may wait until it's hotter so the car can get a good heat treatment after transporting that stuff. I don't want to rent a moving truck, because I think they could be infested.
We've had our share of scares, but have tried to stay calm and carry on, with the willingness to go through it all again, but we have not had to do so. There was a week or so last August when I was convinced that we had them again. We had just removed a huge stand of ivy from a fence in our yard, and got bitten up by spiders and mites, and that combined with some blood stains on the sheets started to look like a perfect storm of reinfestation. But this passed, and there have been no more blood stains or skin irritations for at least a month.
So, we have not felt we're ready to report success because we haven't been sure, even until now, that they are gone. But looking back, it seems very reasonable to say that we got rid of our infestation with three treatments, and that we may possibly have missed something because we found a dead BB and had one bite in December after having no bites for some time after our third treatment in November. Overall, thought I think we really did lick it in three tries, even though I chose to spray proactively for another couple of months thereafter, since we were convinced we still had them in a new, expensive leather couch, and I was absolutely not willing to throw out my furniture.
Again, the disclaimer- I would not have self-treated were I not trained to do so. And if the problem came up again, I would look again to see if we could get professional help. Things have really improved and changed out there over the last year, and there are PCOs in the area that could probably help us now.
Just wanted to let you know that there's light at the end of the tunnel!
-
paulaw0919
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 997
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Oct 8 2007 13:21:12
#
Login to Send PM
Hi BeenBedBugged. You it be okay if I PM'd you with some questions?
-
nightshirt
senior member
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 455
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Oct 8 2007 16:16:56
#
Login to Send PM
although i started on this site when it was another outline, like last september i and my bb's were gone around the end of jannuary i nevre fully said i was bb free. that thakes alot of emotional strength and a knowing. i was too scared to "know" or "assume". now i can say i am bb free.
but alot of people before this thread did write their success stories on the tales of woe - success stories. and i recognize alot of people, or used to that kept on keeping on even after they were bb free to help others going through this terrible plight. as time goes on maybe its a bit less frequent but i can asure you that we are coming back when we can and offering our advise when we can.
-
coopbugged
member
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 173
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Oct 8 2007 19:28:00
#
Login to Send PM
Probably the vast majority of people suffer in denial then silence and shame through their infestations, but they eventually achieve success to one degree or another. Those who do post here are unlikely to be representative of the bedbug afflicted population at large. I come back here from time to time (almost 5 months bite free... I think... though I don't know since it's weirdly still summer here and mosquitoes are still out) when I either get worried that they're back or because I've experienced something that worries me (like seeing a lot of discarded mattresses in front of one building, or noticing that my new boss is covered in bb bites!)
-
BeenBedBugged,
Welcome and thanks for the update!!!
It is good to hear from you.
-
BeenBedBugged
newbite
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 21
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Oct 9 2007 1:43:40
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks, NoBugs! I just wanted to chime in with some encouraging words, shaky as they may have seemed!
We get more confident every day, but will of course never forget this experience.
We even got a beloved dog, who has really brought loving energy back into our home after so many months of exhaustion and frustration. We love our new place, which we bought in May, and have even bought new furniture, despite the fear that they could come back.
We're moving on with our lives, but I check here almost every day to read the blog, and thought I should weigh in to say that there is a kind of peace after going down that long road, but it is a tenuous one, and I suppose like others, I am superstitious about trumpeting success. I don't want to jinx myself.
Still, even if they came back, we are so much better equipped to handle it emotionally and practically. I hesitate to write that for fear that the universe might think I'm ready for a new challenge. I'm not. I'm wounded and still in recovery from this scourge, but life goes on and it's worth fighting the fight to get even to this tenuous place.
Wishing every one of you who is now in battle rapid and unequivocal success. (Feel free to PM me if you think I can be of help, Paula.)
-
Life does go on, BeenBedBugged. And I think you're right about re-infestations being easier to catch. Most of us waste so much time figuring out what's biting us. Caryn and Caitlin both were reinfested after years, treated right away, and in a week or two, all was back to normal. It's very reassuring to hear this from two bed bug bloggers. Yes, it can happen again, but it will not be such a big deal, really.
(Hmmm... that is unless no one in your home is allergic to bed bugs. Perhaps we can run a dating service, matching the non-allergic with allergic mates to serve as their early warning system?)
Reply
You must log in to post.
