Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Introductions
Is there a welcome committee on here? (Kind of freaking out right now)
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ughbugs67
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 8offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 12:13:11
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Hey all.
I live in NYC and have said over and over that it's only a matter of time before we all get bedbugs. Well, looks like our time is now. I have a company coming this afternoon with a dog -- I wasn't positive my bites were bedbugs -- but in going through my bedding again I found one on the sheet. And it was full of blood.
I'm going ahead with the inspection to get a sense of the scope of the problem. I started getting bites/itchy last week at a hotel, and actually had them check my room for bugs (they didn't find any). My roommate had no bites, just me.
On my second night home I started getting bit, and thought it was mosquitos. But the bites continued to proliferate so I called a company today. Then I found the bug.
I'm pretty freaked out right now, and trying to start preparing for a total upheaval in my life. I was supposed to go on another trip this week and am going to cancel. I can't afford to let the situation get worse while I'm away, and worry about bringing the bugs with me and spreading in the hotel (and with my roommate there).
I'd appreciate any words of wisdom, condolence or anything that will calm me down. My anxiety level is through the roof. My husband is away right now for work, coming home tomorrow night, so for the moment it's just me dealing with it.
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czguest
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 30offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 12:19:30
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i know you are planning on canceling your trip, but I'm a strong believer in not letting the bugs run your life. You can take precautions to not bring them with you. Read the travel FAQs.
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ughbugs67
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 8offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 12:40:53
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Thanks for the suggestion. I know what you're saying. It's just a lot to figure out in too short a period of time. I'm due to leave Wed morning, and I really can't just leave this all to my husband. We have got so much crap to go through; it's going to take us weeks.
And I know how I am. It's not going to be possible for me to enjoy my trip knowing what's going on at home. The sooner I can get this situation taken care of the better for my mental health.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,698offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 13:26:14
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Welcome, but sorry you're here.
Before you pay a canine scent detection team, ask if the handler visually verifies all alerts. Dr. Michael Potter says, "Show me the bugs!"
Without visual confirmation, you can 't be sure it was not a false alert. Other teams will do visual verifications if this one won't. We have a FAQ on canine scent detection.
I would also recommend getting someone to ID the bug sample, just to be sure. You'd be surprised how often bed bugs are misidentified. Experts here can do this from a photo. PCOs in your town will often do it for free.
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bedbuggio the wise
junior member
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 43offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 13:58:12
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Welcome to buglife, UhBugs!!
Last weekend, I was feeling just like you do now.
I began feeling far far better after I
1. Got the exterminator in
2. Isolated the bed (FAQ)
3. Decluttered (a major pain in the ass but worth it for many nonbug reasons as well!)
4. Stopped seeing bugs in the bed and feeling bites. -
ughbugs67
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 8offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 16:31:40
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Thanks, everyone.
The canine inspection was actually a relief in the end. The dog identified two areas which made perfect sense to me: one corner of the bed and a purse that I had used on my trip (and otherwise never use). This confirmed for me that they were in my hotel room and I brought them home. I hadn't had bites before the trip, and neither had my husband.
Here are my next steps. Please let me know if any of these seem like a big mistake:
1. I threw away the purse and a bunch of other stuff.
2. I'm washing the bedding and anything washable from under the bed in hot water and drying for an hour, then putting it in ziplock bags.
3. I'm spraying items and surfaces that were recently near the contaminated items with 91% alcohol.
4. I'm about to go buy a mattress casement (we have a futon, so no box springs)
3. I will talk to the exterminator first thing in the morning to figure out remediation efforts.The last thing I don't know what to do about is where to sleep. Do I stay in the bed to encourage any bugs that they shouldn't wander through the apartment? If I sleep in the living room, are they likely to leave their current spot? And if I spray the wooden bed frame, will that also encourage them to find other hiding places?
Any other advice to get me through the night?
Thanks again.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,698offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 19:35:27
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Did the inspector visually confirm the alerts and show you actual evidence of bed bugs?
I would actually have the pest management professional in before you do anything. You could seal the purse in a bag in an airtight manner. The sheets and clothing items you mentioned could be sealed in a bag for laundering and laundered as you describe. No need to throw anything out.
Let the PMP see the evidence and decide on treatment. If you start spraying things and encasing before you get someone in there, it's harder for them to assess the situation and treat it.
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ughbugs67
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 8offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Jun 13 2011 21:45:45
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Thanks, Nobugsonme. Yes, the inspector identified streaks on the sheet (I had seen them too). I know I don't have to throw stuff away, but honestly, getting a couple of items out asap felt really good. Most things I expect to be able to launder or put into the packtite when it arrives on Wednesday.
From my conversation today with the PMP, I'm going to have to go through stuff, clean, discard or whatever, for them to do their work, so I'm just getting a head start. And most of what I'm laundering, sorting, cleaning or tossing is stuff under the bed, which the inspector said we should clean out.
I'll know more tomorrow, but in the meantime I at least have some "safe" clothes to put on when I leave the house
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,698offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 2:42:19
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Hi ughbugs67,
Many PMPs want to inspect before they come to treat, while others give you a prep sheet and want the prep done before they ever set foot in your home for the first time. It sounds like that's the case here.
You're on your way. With any luck, it will be over soon.
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scaredpea
member
Joined: Mar '11
Posts: 141offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 9:45:02
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ughbugs67 do you mind posting photos of the streaks the inspector identified? a bunch of us are dealing with mystery streaks and I'd be curious to what official bb identified streaks look like.
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ughbugs67
newbite
Joined: Jun '11
Posts: 8offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 9:56:45
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Hi scaredpea. Sorry, but I washed the sheets not long after the inspector was there, so no longer have the mark to photograph. It was dark and about four inches long and very straight. It tapered slightly from one end to the other. But I have no idea whether this is typical or if all streaks look that way.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 13:35:00
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I'm going to warn you before I provide the link below.
EffeCi is a PCO in Italy, so he sees a lot of infestations. I asked him for a collection of photos of fecal matter on different surfaces so that people could get a good point of reference for what fecal matter looks like on different stuff--since it looks really different on porous and non-porous surfaces.
The link below contains photos of really good quality, but . . .
They may really gross you out.
Some of the photos may include up close pics with a lot of bed bugs in them. (I haven't looked at them yet, but photos of a bed from a big infestation inspired me to ask for them.)
Please understand that if your anxiety level about bed bugs is already pretty high, these photos may trigger strong emotional responses from you.
I know that when I was still in hyper-vigilant mode, I couldn't read the boards for about 4 hours before bed time, or all I could think about was bed bugs.
So if you're in that headspace, you may not want to look at the pics linked to from this post.
But if you're trying to find out what fecal marks look like, there's a good selection for you.
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oldtimer
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 1,872offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 14:40:15
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I have a new job... now I'm a fecal terrorist... lol
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 15:12:53
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lol, EffeCi. I don't think you're a fecal terrorist. Frankly, the fecal marks didn't set me off when I was at bedbug DEFCON1.
But pics of that many squirmy bugs all hanging out together would trigger an anxiety response on my part.
Other than that metal bed that just had so many of them, I mostly don't even flinch at photos of insects and arachnids anymore. Every so often, though, there is a photo that has so many that I get shivers up and down my spine and I hear myself going "Oh, icky, ugh, ew" at a particular photo.
I have been bed bug free, however, for about 3 years. If some photos can still do that to me, I figure a little extra warning for people who are still in the throes of real freaking out stages can't hurt, right?
You're not a fecal terrorist. You're a bed bug fecal documentarian. It's a very useful job, even if it's thankless.
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oldtimer
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 1,872offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 15:18:46
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Ok.. from fecal terrorist to fecal hero in less than 40 minutes....I guess it's a sort of record...
I'm (and I was) joking, of course...;-) -
cilecto
oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 15:20:38
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> It was dark and about four inches long and very straight. It tapered slightly from one end to the other.
I'm not an expert, but this does not sound like BB poop to me, unless it was "smeared" while wet by some mechanical action. Having read/heard supposed professionals inaccurately describe BB poop, my guard is up about this.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,698offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 14 2011 20:15:01
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cilecto - 4 hours ago »
> It was dark and about four inches long and very straight. It tapered slightly from one end to the other.
I'm not an expert, but this does not sound like BB poop to me, unless it was "smeared" while wet by some mechanical action. Having read/heard supposed professionals inaccurately describe BB poop, my guard is up about this.Mine too.
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