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Please evaluate my reaction to an infestation

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SomervilleBugs

newbite
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 2

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 20:54:15
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I got the keys to my new apartment two weeks ago and moved all of my stuff in over the following week. This included an air mattress as I didn't have a bed yet. I started sleeping in the apartment last Wednesday night. Sunday during the day I killed a suspicious bug on the bed, about mid-day. Paranoid it was a bed bug (my landlord had just been warning us about second-hand stuff the day before and I had noticed a couple of new red marks on my arm, but no itching) I set my alarm for 5am Tuesday morning where I caught one after flipping on the lights.

My landlord sent over a pest inspector Wednesday morning and confirmed it was a bedbug. I decided to leave at that point. I took all my clothing, bags, bedding, pillows and washed them in hot water and dried on hot at the local laundromat. Put the washables in garbage bags and left them outside my building.

I then went inside and put my computer equipment in a new plastic tub which I sealed shut with tape, and put some books, my shoes, and some kitchen equipment in another tub which I also sealed. The rest of the stuff I was saving (printer, tools from my tool bag, bowls and plates) all got put in garbage bags and taped up. Everything got physically inspected for bugs before it got put into a bag or bin I was taking. All furniture was left where it was and anything in a cardboard box was left in the room.

The bags and tubs went into my mom's car along with a loose bin of non-perishables from the kitchen, two unbagged computer monitors and a laptop computer. My bike, which was stored in the hallway inside the apartment, was put on the back of the car.

I went into the bathroom with a taped garbage bag with a clean outfit, including a pair of shoes from my parents house. I took off my clothes and shoes and put them in another bag which got sealed. I then took a shower, dried off with some paper towels, and put on the clean outfit and shoes. We then left the apartment.

I am now at my parents house, the only things that have entered the house are the bags of cleaned clothes and the laptop. And a sealed bag of work documents that is currently sitting in the freezer.

Was bringing in the laptop a mistake?
It's staying pretty cold here in MA, can that kill any bedbugs that might be in the bagged equipment which is still in the back of the car?
What are the chances bed bugs got into the computer monitors or computer case, and what can I do to make sure they would be dead?
I had a printer sitting on the ground next to the bed which is now in a bag, it was never turned on at the apartment. Should I just throw it out?
Is there anything I can put into the tubs/bags to kill anything that might have gotten in there?

Can you see any other mistake I might have made?
eatingmealive

junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 107

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 21:17:33
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I am not sure about many of these items, but I know that while it is cold in Boston (I'm a few miles away), it isn't cold enough to kill these little terrorists!
F@ Bed Bugs

junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 42

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Oct 30 2008 21:38:24
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You can never be too careful when trying to avoid bringing these bugs into wherever you live. I wish I had been so obsessive because I am still paranoid and if I had gone though all the precautions you did, I would feel pretty certain I was safe. A laptop or any other electronic is probably not the bed bugs first choice to reside, so you should be ok, but you never know...until you know.