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Paranoid or just Cautious?
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nowayhose
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 1
Posted 5 months ago
Fri Jun 19 2009 3:12:35
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I just moved into town, bringing with me a suitcase with all of my clothes and shoes, and a few books, makeup, hairbrush, and a few sheet and towels. The rest of my belongings (thank god) are still in storage while I looked for an apartment here. The problem, is that the temporary place I have rented this month has bedbugs!
I'm so upset because the people I am renting from knew there were bedbugs in the place and didn't bother to inform me before I moved in. They have diatomaceous earth in jars around their beds. I'd never experienced bed bugs before and am just now learning about the horrors. I have been here two weeks now and I was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor...who says there's no such thing as a free lunch!
The guys have not been bitten because I guess they have the jars around the bed, but I have been totally exposed. I went to visit my bf last weekend too, without knowing about it and there's a chance I could have passed them along to his place, since I brought a backpack full of clothes to his house and had of course left it in his bedroom all weekend. I don't know if the type of flooring would make a difference or not, but he has hardwood floors not carpet, so maybe that is less for them to crawl into and hide.
Luckily I have access to my new apartment already so I have time to move decontaminated stuff into the new place, and not very much of my stuff has been exposed. I'm just super paranoid about what to do about the things I do have here. I know how to deal with the laundry and can take care of that, I'm just wondering about my other belongings.
I phoned a couple local PCOs but got some conflicting advice and I'm not sure if anyone here can verify if what they said is true or will work or not.
- I have a down quilt which I can not afford to get drycleaned. PCO said to dry it on High for an hour, no washing was necessary. Is this true?
- One PCO said to freeze my things like books, shoes, etc. overnight or for a couple of days in my apt freezer, but the second PCO said it had to be in a deep freeze for a minimum of two weeks. Anyone got a straight answer?
-That second PCO said I could just bag up my stuff in black garbage bags and leave it out in the sun for a couple hours? Does that really work? It's been a little overcast lately, but I was wondering would it work to put the garbage bags inside a car that had all the windows rolled up and was parked in full sun all day if that would get hot enough inside the garbage bags?
- Also, I examined all of my stuff and haven't detected any bugs yet nor found evidence on any of my things, the mattress and sheets included, but I have been getting bitten and they have been here before as my roommates are taking precautions against them. I experienced little red bites all over my body, and some have swelled up to be big whitish-pink welts, particularly in the soft parts of my skin, like the backs of the knees, inside the elbows, my belly, etc. I definitely know they are here. Is that a good sign if I haven't detected any bugs? Does that mean that it's not a bad infestation? Does that mean that maybe if I am cautious enough that I won't be transporting them to my new place.
Also, if I have any items without cracks or crevices (like plastic coat hangers?) can I safely wipe them down with alcohol, bag them and assume that I won't be transporting the bugs to my new place? Can eggs be seen with the naked eye?
I am so devastated that this is happening and I really need to make sure that I don't bring this into my new apartment. I'm overwhelmed with all of the information out there and from reading these forums it sounds like you all are going through a horrendous nightmare with them. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. ANY advice you can offer to me would be greatly appreciated!
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