Moving Out of Infested Apartment, Please Help (long)

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed Bug Treatment

Moving Out of Infested Apartment, Please Help (long)

(2 posts)

Tags:

thesuze1987

newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 1

Posted 1 month ago
Wed Oct 7 2009 19:22:49
#

Login to Send PM

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster here. A little background... My husband and I have had a bed bug infestation since June, and it took us about a month and a half to realize what the problem was and start treating it. Since then, our landlord has sent in an exterminator, who did 4 treatments over about 3 months (maybe a little less) with Tempo 20. I have my suspicions about the competency of the exterminator. He had very little prep suggestions, wanted to wait until we saw more bugs to come back and treat again, etc. However, my landlord owns many, many apartments, and this is his "guy", I assume they have a deal worked out, so he won't use anyone else. There are 2 other apartments in the building, both below me. I BEGGED my neighbors to at least have the exterminator come in and look around, but they say they are not having any issues, so they won't. The landlord also will not arrange for the exterminator to inspect their apartments.Well after the last treatment, we had no sightings and no bites for 30 days, now all the sudden they're back. The only one I've actually seen was a dead nymph stuck to the back of my pajama pants (gag!). I've been bitten at least once, and my son had a bunch of bites on his back the other night, but nothing like it was before, where everyone got multiple bites EVERY night, and they were hanging out on the doorframe, etc. So we think maybe we got rid of them up in our unit, but a few stragglers, deterred by the poison, made their way downstairs, multiplied, and are now coming back up. I am pregnant, due in early January, and am panicking because I just can't bring a newborn home to a house covered in poison and infested with bb's. I also can't even set up a crib, take out baby clothes, or anything. It is so depressing. My mental health is suffering. I'm sleep deprived and paranoid. Our landlord still refuses to have the other units inspected because they haven't complained, SO, long story longer, we are moving.
We really want to put all our stuff on a truck and have thermal remediation done, but the places in my area charge upwards of 2000$ for a treatment, and only warranty it for 30 days. We can't afford that. A lot of our stuff is sealed in big ziploc bags and has been that way for at least 2 months... Is it safe to assume that any bb's/eggs in those bags would be dead? One exterminator told me sealing items in bags without any kind of pesticide, no matter how long, would not kill them. Is that true? I thought they die from lack of oxygen... If they do, how long does that take? I have 2 kids and they have TONS of toys, books, stuffed animals, etc... None of it is kept in the bedroom, although we do bring books in at bedtime, and they are put back on the shelves in the playroom next morning. So that stuff SHOULD be bb free, but all it takes is a straggler or 2, right? What if we bought a packtite and used it to treat all the toys... Do you think it would take me forever to treat everything? We have to be out in 3 weeks... If I put the books in a plastic bag with some DE,a nd shook it up and left them in their for a while, would that work? PLEASE... Any suggestions to help me make a bb free move would be forever appreciated. TIA!
bedwarrior

newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 34

Posted 1 month ago
Wed Oct 7 2009 19:52:07
#

Login to Send PM

Hi thesuze1987-- I feel for you and your family- my wife and I are in almost exactly the same boat. We haven't seen as many as you appear to, but my wife is getting multiple bites every night even after we have done all the standard vacuuming/bagging/steaming/PCO protocols. We too are moving- a move planned before these nightmarish bugs showed up on the scene- but are very concerned on how to avoid bringing them to our new home. You should get some great replies here. As far as sealed bagging goes, though, my understanding is that at ambient or colder temperatures, a minimum of 18 months of sealed storage is recommended- I am planning on 20 to make sure I don't have the one bug trying to break that record. The packtight should work for those items you don't want to store but be sure to verify that the core temperature of whatever you are heating is at the recommended 120-130F minimum for an hour- which for thick items could require several extra hours of heating.