Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs
Moving after the all clear.
(3 posts)-
MI-Infest
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 20offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 30 2011 14:59:47
#
Login to Send PM
Hi folks,
Well, my 60 day all clear is coming in about another 10 days. I am breaking my lease in my apt to move into a BB-free house for cheaper than what I am paying in my apt. My anxiety is at all time high levels, but is gradually coming down. I think the reason for all of my luck so far is they were harboring in my ripped foam mattress which I disposed of under PCO advice and common sense and have been sleeping on plastic lawn furniture since then.
The reason I am moving is my landlord is blaming me for bringing the bugs into the apt. and I don't know where I would have brought them in from. Although, I have a neighbor to the left who works as a baggage handler at the local airport, so that is where thye may have come from. I have never had bb till I moved into this apt. And the PCO that was hired will only come out and spray again if I see live bugs, they ignore me otherwise. He also has not, and will not be spraying(ed) any adjoining apartments. I have called the health dept., filed a renter's insurance claim, contacted the local news channels "Problem Solvers" news team, tried legal aide, and none of them have helped me. My renter;s insurance denied my claim because bb are considered vermin to them and not covered under my policy. My family has done all they can to help me, and I am out of other options. I should also add I have contacted other PCOs in the area myself and I can't even get anyone to come out for an inspection because they need the approval of the apt. management, who obviously won't let me go through with that, and I've asked believe me. So I can't stay there as I risk the bugs coming back if I hang around any longer, and I can't get any help to prove that I am bed bug free, hence the need to move.
I have not seen any live or dead bugs, cast skins, fecal traces, or eggs in my apt since my last PCO spray which was on June 25th. In this time, I have been watching the walls, vacuuming, keeping up with bagged laundry, examing cracks, and have calked all visible ones. I have pulled off light and electric socket covers and seen nothing. I am still getting flare-ups of old bites but I see nothing anywhere in my place.
My car doesn;t have bugs and I have not spread them to college or work. The new place I am moving to is a clean house and has a garage that gets rather humid. I am going to store sealed plastic bins and my bagged DVDs and video games outside in the garage of the new place, which I will spray off before I sit in there for 3-18 months time before bringing them into the house. I have a pair of shoes and sandals in my car that has never gone into my apt. and I wear a clean pair of socks everyday I wear shoes. I spray my shoes and sandals off everytime I leave my apt, and shower with a clean change of clothes and bag the house sandals into a ziploc which stays sealed in my car till I return home.
I am only bringing my TV, laptop, XBox 360, and BluRay player with me into the house, after being bagged up and aired out with compressed air, after sitting in my car for 2 or 3 days, as all the cheap furniture I will be buying new will obviously never have been exposed to my old apt. I will have a new bed with a steel matress frame and I will encase the mattress with a protect-a-bed encasement, and I will vaseline or double stick tape the legs of the steel bedframe. I will also pick up a steam cleaner and steam clean my floor at least twice a week.
The last day I come out of my apt, I will wear clothes straight from a sealed bag and toss the old ones and sandals. I will re wash all of the laundry when I get to my new house. All of my toiletries and sundries will also be bought nhew from the store and I will remain vigilant for 3 months after moving in.
Vikane/Heat treating my stuff is not available here in Michigan. So I want to know, having taken all the precautions, and with no activity inside my apartment, is this excessive/too much? How long will it take before I know I am bb free at the new place? I am seriously exhausted from going through all of this, but it's the only thing I feel I can do to rid myself of these things.
-
junior member
Joined: Jul '11
Posts: 69offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 10:05:27
#
Login to Send PM
MI-Infest,
Wow, what a summary! Sounds like you have it all covered, without having access to Vikane to be sure. You may want to consider getting a temperature probe/thermometer that you can use to measure the heat levels in the stored items in the garage. Once you are able to confirm that they have reach thermal death target for BBs (122-130F depending on exposure control time - how hot + how long = dead bb) you are safe to remove those items. Best of luck and Sleep Tight in your new place!
BBFS
-
MI-Infest
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 20offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 31 2011 15:10:08
#
Login to Send PM
bedbugfumigationspecialists - 5 hours ago »
MI-Infest,
Wow, what a summary! Sounds like you have it all covered, without having access to Vikane to be sure. You may want to consider getting a temperature probe/thermometer that you can use to measure the heat levels in the stored items in the garage. Once you are able to confirm that they have reach thermal death target for BBs (122-130F depending on exposure control time - how hot + how long = dead bb) you are safe to remove those items. Best of luck and Sleep Tight in your new place!
BBFSYes, I shall look into a thermometer, that's a great idea. I also hope the sunny weather will hold out for another couple weeks.
I sure do hope I can sleep tight in my new place. *fingers crossed*
Reply
You must log in to post.
