Oh Please God, No... « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Oh Please God, No...

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LaSiren

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Joined: Feb '10
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Posted 6 months ago
Mon Feb 22 2010 21:05:57
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99% sure that I am infested. I have yet to see any detrius or an actual bug, but the bites are pretty much undeniable. And, to make matters worse, I just spent the weekend with my family... I'm terrified to tell them that I think that I have BBs, and I'm terrified that I might have infested them.

Just moved into a new apartment in SF, and stupidly hired a guy to transport my mattress for me. That is the only way that I can think of that I could have gotten these damned things. I'm assuming that he previously transported BB infested stuff.

I've laundered everything, and went a little crazy with the DE on my floors two weeks ago. I had removed my pillows (handmade down) and had placed them in an elevated place for awhile. Didn't have any new bites for those two weeks. I thought I was either in the clear or had just put myself into a paranoid state.

Well, I was so exhausted last night that I totally forgot that my pillows were NOT on my bed for a reason, and I put them back on my bed and slept on them... Guess what! New bites in the morning. Ugh.

I just got my tax refund, and I'm just now purchasing two mattress cases and pillow cases. I really don't think that they've spread anywhere else in the house (roommate has not reported getting any bites at all). I'll be doing a new launder cycle tonight, and spraying down EVERYTHING again with the rubbing alcohol that I purchased the last time, then another round of DE. I can't currently afford a packtite, so I'm doing it all the hard way. Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, my mattress and box spring sit on the floor, so there is no bedframe to worry about, however, then the darned things have an easy way to climb up. I think the ring of DE around the bed should do the trick along with the sealed mattress and freshly laundered linens.

This is the worst thing that could happen to someone who already has borderline OCD. The roommate really doesn't want to notify building management about the possible infestation (and she's the master tenant, I am just sub-leasing), and I'm rather confident that I can handle the current situation. It seems to be rather mild in comparison to others (a total of 10 bites in over a month and a half). Am I missing anything?
wchicago

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 14:12:24
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hi and sympathies!
toss the down pillows. given they seem strongly linked to the biting, do you really want to have to worry about the pillow encasements constantly for 18 months? also, down *anything* is a pita to treat -it is almost impossible to heat it completely through (i tried heating my down sofa cushions in the dryer, on high, for 45 minutes and it was STILL A FAIL). you could put the cushions in a contractors bag with DDVP strips for a few weeks to treat them (PM me if you want to try this option and i'll walk you through it), but then you probably wouldn't want to sleep on them for awhile, which kind of defeats the purpose. so my thought is just double bag them, slash them while they are in the bag (so no one is tempted to "rescue" them from the garbage) and seal the bags and toss them in the garbage.
sorry.
LaSiren

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 14:24:50
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Well, that is a pity, but is something that I can definitely handle getting rid of. They were a gift from my ex M-I-L, and quite lovely to sleep on. Ah well. Perhaps now is the time to burn the wedding pictures too! Hey, if I'm doing a purge of unnecessary items... ;)

I'm eagerly awaiting my mattress encasements now. I'm getting the Mattress Safe ones, and I purchased both the box spring cover and the Sofcover Superior. I'll do the big launder and DE dusting when I receive them. I paid the little extra to get them 2nd day air, so I hope to have them by the end of the week.

I'm really trying to do my best to not completely panic about the BBs. It's hard though, especially when the bites from the pillows are along the areas that my bra sits! Thank god for Hydrocortisone cream!
anniec

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 14:34:16
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wchicago,

You said above that down is almost impossible to treat because it is to difficult to heat it to the 120 degree mark. Would the same go for comforters? What about taking down comfortors to the dry cleaners (that use PERK of course)? As far as LaSiren's down pillows, a Packtite wouldn't work to treat them?
wchicago

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 15:35:37
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hi annie

i was just speaking from my own experience -ymmv. my down cushions (overstuffed) did not heat sufficiently and evenly in either the dryer or the packtite to kill everything. i know others on this board had issues with comforters, even those that were drycleaned (one dry cleaned comforter reinfested a poster's apartment when she took it out of the dry cleaning packaging after 6 months. ugh!) .
i guess it goes back to how attached or one-of-a- kind the item is, but in lasirens case, sounds like she's ok with letting it go.
i threw out my brand new down comforter <alas> but managed ultimately to save the sofa cushions because without them the sofas would have been unusable and i was too afriad to replace the sofas (got the bedbugs that way in the first place -yup, new sofas). it was lots of angst however, and required ddvp, and maybe i just got lucky. if its not irreplaceable or sentimental in some way, and you can afford to let the comforter go, let it go. just my 2 cents.
anniec

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 16:02:10
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I will let it go. Thanks for the advice.
Beth

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 17:35:43
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yes I hadto let my down jacket go. couldn't get rid of them in there. got bitte every time i put it on. also every comforter is trashed, every thick thing like that.

amy
LaSiren

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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 19:51:57
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Slept last night without the pillows, no new bites. However, I am not sleeping well at all... I keep waking up to check the bed around me.

I hate this. So much. I can't wait for this Saturday, when I'll be going over to my boyfriend's house (yes I read the FAQs on that, and will be using EVERY precaution) and I can actually sleep well.
buggyinsocal

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Joined: Jun '08
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Posted 6 months ago
Tue Feb 23 2010 21:24:46
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La Siren,

Do keep in mind that there are a lot of other things that could be causing the bites besides bed bugs. I wouldn't assume that you have bed bugs until you can find proof. If it's early in an infestation, you might not see signs yet, but if you've had an infestation for a month, if it's bed bugs, there should be signs.

Also keep in mind that it is also possible that you're getting bitten by bed bugs somewhere other than in your home. It can take hours between being bitten and showing the response to the bites. For people who haven't yet been sensitized, it can take days between being bitten and showing a response.

It might help to keep a careful log of when you notice the bites and where they are on you so that you'll be able to clearly identify when you're seeing new bites.

Also inspecting both for bed bugs and for other possible sources of the bites might be a good idea.
LaSiren

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Joined: Feb '10
Posts: 14

Posted 6 months ago
Wed Feb 24 2010 11:26:34
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Thank you for your kind words, buggyinsocal. I don't spend time anywhere in my apartment other than in my room and in the bathroom, so I doubt that I am getting bitten anywhere else.

My previous bites had almost completely healed when I got the new blemishes. My roommate is convinced that I just have an allergic reaction to something. The new blemishes look different from the previous ones. These new ones are slightly swollen and, yes, they might be hives or some other sort of allergic reaction. The previous itchy spots bore more of a resemblance to a regular sort of bug bite. I thought that perhaps I had just scratched the bites in my sleep and that was why they were swollen. The one on my decolletage is monstrous. I'm doing pretty well at NOT scratching at them when I'm awake, and I actually put socks over my hands last night so that I wouldn't scratch at them in my sleep either.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that I've over-reacted to something on this kind of scale... I really really really hope that I don't have BBs and I'm just freaking out over nothing.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 6 months ago
Wed Feb 24 2010 12:43:05
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First of all, I want to be clear--you say that you've overreacted before. But I don't think you're overreacting now.

Trust me, I get that the idea that small blood sucking insects have invaded your home and you can't find them is a thing that produces a lot of anxiety.

The reason that I asked whether you were sure you were being bitten at home (as opposed to work or on public transit or at the gym or at the movies) is not that I think you're overreacting. It's because the way that today's pest management professionals treat, finding out exactly what pest is biting is really, really important. Twenty five years ago PMPs used broad spectrum chemical pesticides that killed many pests, while today they use ones that are more specific to individual pests. If you have carpet beetles, for example, or you're being bitten at work or the gym as opposed to your house, all the treatment in the world in your apartment won't solve your problem.

A few months after my treatment in June of 2008, I developed what I was sure were bed bug bites. My initial infestation was easy to spot (I saw the bugs which was when I suspected something besides mosquitos or fleas), and my reaction to the bites was different than my reaction to other bug bites. That August, I developed about three bites on my legs that I just knew were bed bug bites. My home was still under warranty, so the PMP came out and inspected and found nothing.

Eventually, we managed to put together that while they might be bed bug bites, I'd likely gotten bitten somewhere besides the home. Since I didn't get any more bites, within a few weeks, I had confirmation that the PMP was right since there were no more bites and no evidence in the home, which there would have been if I'd had a reinfestation.

Part of the reason that bed bugs are so hard to treat is that unlike, say, ants or roaches where we usually see them and know what's going on is that it takes a while to confirm that it's bed bugs because of the behavior of the pest in question.

The fact that you weren't bitten for two weeks makes me very suspicious that it's not bed bugs. There have been instances in bed bug infestations in which people were not bitten for weeks on end, but they were usually caused by treatment killing off a wave of the bugs only to be followed by reinfestation from an item that had been sealed in a bag without being thoroughly cleaned of bugs, or something similar. If those pillows were infested and in a home with a CO2 exhaling human being, the bugs would probably have climbed down and gone for food. I'm not saying that I'm definitely right and you're definitely wrong; I am saying that the details you've described here make me suspect that it's at least as likely that you're either being bitten/reacting to something else besides bed bugs or being bitten outside the home as it is that you've got a bed bug problem in an early stage.

If you don't get confirmation of the specific cause of the bites, you run the risk of stressing yourself out profoundly. We've seen plenty of people spend tons of money on expensive bed bug prep and treatment only to find out that they never had bed bugs at all. Add in that you're using DE in a way that can be dangerous (don't believe the hype. Even food grade DE isn't 100% safe just because it's natural. Arsenic is natural and plenty dangerous. DE is an inhalation hazard that should only be applied lightly in places where it will not be stirred up so as to be breathed in, and while applying it, you ought to be wearing proper protective gear like an N95 respirator mask.), and what I worry about is that you're putting yourself at risk to treat a pest that you don't have without getting to the bottom of what is really causing the bites, so you're going to get stuck in a cycle of feeling like the infestation never goes away and put yourself and others in danger while you do it.

Again, I'm not saying that the bites don't exist, or that it's impossible that it's bed bugs; I' m saying that without confirmation that it's bed bugs or something else you run the risk of not resolving the problem effectively and safely.

I know that when you're a renter things get complicated--more so if you're not an official renter, but maybe getting a PMP with bed bug experience in to inspect the place would help. Someone who really knows bed bugs and the pests that are confused with them might be able to confirm one way or the other so that you're taking the most effective path to ridding yourself of whatever pest you're currently up against.
LaSiren

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Joined: Feb '10
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Posted 6 months ago
Wed Mar 3 2010 13:25:20
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I found one. I put it in a plastic ziploc baggy. It's crawling around and being crazy in the bag... I itch everytime that I look at it.

I haven't had ANY new bites in the past week. Nothing. Is it at all possible that I just had the one? I finally got my mattress encasements, and I'm going to be doing another crazy laundry cycle, DE-ing my mattress and then encasing it.

I'm devastated.
LaSiren

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Posts: 14

Posted 6 months ago
Wed Mar 3 2010 17:38:29
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Just spoke to roomie via text... She does not want to contact the Property Manager because "there is no deposit on the apartment".

We live in San Francisco... I read the little pamphlets in the FAQ. Can anyone else here give me information that will put her mind to rest?
LaSiren

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Posted 6 months ago
Thu Mar 4 2010 21:34:57
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Looks like I'm on my own. Roomie is adamant that we do not contact Property Management.

Here's my current plan of attack:

Mattress and Box Spring encasements - done (I slept SO MUCH better last night! I'm really going mental over this...)
Complete launder and hot hot hot dry cycle of all items that can be laundered, followed by airtight bagging - Saturday
De-cluttering and Nuvan stripping all items that cannot be parted with - Sunday

I'm seriously pondering getting some of the Phantom aerosols that I have found online and spraying in my own room. I would really like to get some feedback on this idea. I plan to Phantom the doorframes and the floor near the doors, as well as the area around my bed, and in all of my wooden furniture, as well as around the areas that I know are not properly sealed up. If I am wearing a respirator and take just as much precaution as I did with the original DE, would it be okay for me to do this, or should I just stick to the DE? I would do two Phantom treatments... One this weekend (if I could get it that soon), and another in three weeks, to get any stragglers.
wchicago

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Posts: 268

Posted 6 months ago
Fri Mar 5 2010 0:08:36
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hi lasiren
can you post a picture of the bug in the baggie here to get a definitive id? and maybe expand on why your roomie doesn't want you guys telling property management? someone who has more knowledge of phantom than i have will have to answer your phantom questions. one of my pcos used it, but he was a professional and i had to stay out of the apartment for 4 hours after spraying. the only thing i've used on my own is sterifab and ddvp and de (and a packtite). sorry! what does the phantom msds say about precautions while spraying?
LaSiren

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Posted 6 months ago
Fri Mar 5 2010 14:09:00
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Sadly, my camera isn't working, so no, I can't post a picture. :( And my cell phone doesn't have the resolution necessary to get a good one. I've examined it thoroughly through the bag, it has the 4 segmented antennae, 6 legs, and looks exactly like the pictures posted. I have a good eye for detail (and better than 20/20 vision); there is no doubt in my mind. I have an adult bedbug in that baggie.

As for my roommate... Oy. When my roommate took over the lease on our apartment from a friend, she did not have to pay first and last month's rent, nor a deposit. She's terrified that if she does talk to property management about the bedbugs, then they will request these payments from her. Neither of us can afford to pay these at the moment. Instead, she is sleeping over at her boyfriend's house and leaving me here to deal with them on my own. Not the best of situations, and I cannot afford to move again. I just moved here in January! I've had some experience in property management, and I know that they can't retailiate in that way. But she's like an ostrich, one speck of trouble and she puts her head in the sand, hoping that it will just go away. I don't know the name of the property management company (and can't seem to find it anywhere online), or I'd contact them myself. I'm seriously considering asking her to pay for the costs of the items that I've had to purchase to take care of my room. Or deduct it from my rent... I did call my mom and tell her that I have bedbugs. She doesn't think that I transported them there. I really hope that I didn't.

I spent last night laundering and bagging everything that I wear on a regular basis... And working my way through a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Everything stayed in the dryer for an hour and a half on the hottest setting. More laundry on Saturday, just the dryers, to heat up all of my other clothing that has been either hanging or in drawers. Then into Ziploc XL bags they go until further notice. I certainly won't be having guests over anytime soon... My room will look rather odd with all the bags around!

The MSDS sheet on the Phantom Aerosol says that I should be using a respirator, goggles, and gloves, which is fine. I can do that. No problems there. Murphy's for the drawers, the bookcase and the cabinet, with my alcohol spray on hand to kill anything that might be living in them. The Phantom and the Nuvan or DDVP strips will have to be delivered, so bagging up other items that cannot be laundered and spraying down the room will have to wait until next week. I'll do another DE dusting for now. I really want to use the Phantom around my doors (which do not seal) and windows (which also don't seal). I don't want them spreading to the other side of the apartment, and if they have already done so, I don't want them coming back over to my side after I've treated my room.

I don't feel as hopeless as I did yesterday. My roommate's refusal to contact the PM for a PCO was really getting me down. But whenever I face adversity, I always feel better with a plan of attack.

I will beat this. I know that with the proper tools and information I will beat this.
LaSiren

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Posted 6 months ago
Fri Mar 5 2010 14:11:14
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I'm really sorry if that previous post seems a little disjointed. I am eager for any information that can be given to me, and I want to give as much information as possible to let you all know what I'm dealing with...
LaSiren

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Posted 5 months ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 16:00:13
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A slight victory, and a way to work around the roomie.

We received a 24 hour notice last night that a PCO was coming to do a mandatory inspection today. My roomie works early on Wednesdays, so after she left, I took the bug (now dead in the baggie), and placed a note inside of the baggie saying "Found on bed 2 weeks ago, no new bites since" and taped it to the wall.

I did find two tiny little white bugs that I am assuming were instars recently. One was on the sweater I was wearing, and was crawling rapidly towards my neck, and another ran into the pocket of my jeans. I squished both of them before I even had time to think "I should save these!"

Still freaked out, but doing the best that I can to NOT have a meltdown. Still the PCO should see the baggie on the wall, and I'm assuming they'll take it from there. So I've had a little bit of relief in that.
florida st

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Joined: Mar '10
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Posted 5 months ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 17:13:57
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LaSiren - 2 weeks ago »
Just spoke to roomie via text... She does not want to contact the Property Manager because "there is no deposit on the apartment".
We live in San Francisco... I read the little pamphlets in the FAQ. Can anyone else here give me information that will put her mind to rest?

Hello,
I live in SF, too. After a lot of research and some calls to the Board of Public Health, this is what I've learned:
_DO NOT SELF-TREAT unless it is absolutely your last resort
-Notify your landlord immediately!!! It is your responsibility to tell them ASAP!
-Good news- it is 100% your landlord's responsibility to pay for treatment.
-The Board of Health even mandates three treatments 2 weeks apart
-Save your bedbugs!! You'll need them for evidence when the PCO comes
-You are legally protected against retaliation.
florida st

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Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 43

Posted 5 months ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 17:15:48
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LaSiren - 2 weeks ago »
Just spoke to roomie via text... She does not want to contact the Property Manager because "there is no deposit on the apartment".
We live in San Francisco... I read the little pamphlets in the FAQ. Can anyone else here give me information that will put her mind to rest?

Hello,
I live in SF, too. After a lot of research and some calls to the Board of Public Health, this is what I've learned:
_DO NOT SELF-TREAT unless it is absolutely your last resort
-Notify your landlord immediately!!! It is your responsibility to tell them ASAP!
-Good news- it is 100% your landlord's responsibility to pay for treatment.
-The Board of Health even mandates three treatments 2 weeks apart
-Save your bedbugs!! You'll need them for evidence when the PCO comes
-You are legally protected against retaliation.
LaSiren

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Joined: Feb '10
Posts: 14

Posted 5 months ago
Wed Mar 24 2010 17:16:16
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As I said above, a PCO was just in my apartment this morning. I was unable to stay to talk to them, so I taped the baggie with the BB to the wall with a note inside.

We should get treatment promptly now.
LaSiren

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Joined: Feb '10
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Posted 4 months ago
Thu Apr 8 2010 14:12:44
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An update!

The PCO did not make it into my apartment previously, and came one week later. He confirmed that the two specimens in my ziploc bag were indeed bedbugs.

First spray is the 15th. Thank god. I seriously wanted to do a happy dance when my roomie told me!