Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
Still Not Sure, but thinking of getting rid of bed and mattress
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Mon Jul 9 2012 21:53:39
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Hello All,
I have yet to see a live bug or any other evidence of bed bugs except for the fact that I have been getting inexplicable bites about once a week for the past month- ankle, hands- and my baby (who sleeps in our bed) has the classic three bites in close proximity around his upper arm. My husband hasn't been able to confirm a bite, other than the all-body itchiness that we've had since we moved into this new apartment a month ago.
Since I do not have any evidence, and if there are indeed bed bugs in our bed, I'm anxious to get rid of our bed and mattress (and everything inside the bed- it's unfortunately the type that opens up and has a ton of storage inside. It's full of sheets and pillowcases and suitcases)- so we can start fresh with a new bedframe (metal, with the climbup traps on the legs) and encased mattress.
1. What is the recommended procedure for disposing of a bed/mattress in NYC?
2. Is it possible for the bugs to scatter in the process of dismantling the bed? What should I do to prevent this?
3. Is there a service that will come and take everything away in a responsible manner?
4. Have I forgotten to ask anything, and do you have any other advice? I'm starting to get very anxious about this, especially seeing the red bites on my baby's arm, but no other evidence of bugs.
I feel like we are sleeping on an infestation ready to begin, and I just want it out of the apartment now!!Thank you so much for any replies,
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Mon Jul 9 2012 21:59:12
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I forgot to make clear that we all sleep in the same bed... husband, baby and I.
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AshamedandScratching
senior member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 660offline
Posted 10 months ago
Mon Jul 9 2012 22:14:23
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Please read the FAQ about determining if you have BBs. http://bedbugger.com/faqs/
There is no reason to throw out a mattress. If you do have bugs, they're already there so you might as well sleep well. And if you don't have bugs? You just threw away a perfectly fine mattress. You may want to change the frames if you want to make your bed easier to inspect. Before you decide to toss anything, you need to make sure that you have a problem and really access whether that will help you eliminate it. You need good sleep to handle this type of situation.
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Mon Jul 9 2012 23:22:04
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Thanks for your quick reply, AshamedandScratching.
I have read the FAQ's, and without a sample or other evidence, I am at a loss. The bites look like some of the pictures, but since bites are not considered absolute proof and a PCO technically won't begin treatment on bites as evidence alone, then what?
I want to stop the bites and we need a new bed anyway. I am sleeping as fine as someone with a 1.5 yr old sleeping in their bed can sleep...
Can anyone answer my questions as posed?
Really appreciate it,
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AshamedandScratching
senior member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 660offline
Posted 10 months ago
Mon Jul 9 2012 23:44:10
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1. Call 311. Mattresses/box springs are required to be packed in a special bag. I'm not sure who's responsible for purchasing it. They would also be able to tell any protocols regarding the bed based on what's currently the law in NYC.
2. A PCO can best explain BBs behavior. I do know that this is an argument for not disposing of the bed or frame right away. To prevent disturbing the nest.
3. There are businesses that handle decoding people's homes. I did not use such a service so I can't recommend one. I do remember finding information on it by googling and then cross googling the bedbugger website for threads related to that business.
4. Read the FAQs. Google topics you have questions on with bedbugger.com as a cross reference. It will help you find threads that may have more details/information. Relax until you find a bug. Put your energy into detection right now. Know that you will get through it. It's uncomfortable, but they don't make us sick.
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seca46
newbite
Joined: Jun '12
Posts: 24offline
Posted 10 months ago
Tue Jul 10 2012 9:42:08
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Hi,
I know no one agrees with this, but I was in the same position that you are in and never could find any evidence good enough for a pest control company. I am sure it was bb's because in the beginning we did find and positively id them, but we threw out the old box spring and then when the bites didn't stop we were unable to find any more bugs to prove that's what it was. What we did was: encase mattress and (new) box springs; get new bed frame; vacuum like crazy and spray a lot of stuff with alcohol; put climb-ups everywhere; wash dry and bag all clothing in the whole house, getting rid of any clutter we didn't absolutely need. We are still living out of bags and putting sheets in the dryer and vacuuming every night, and we have not been bitten in 3 and a half weeks. When we threw things out we wrapped them in that plastic wrap that movers use to protect furniture - it comes in a big roll like saran wrap and is kind of sticky. I'm glad we didn't waste any more time trying to get evidence - by the time we'd have found any we might have had a horrible infestation on our hands. I'm still not sure we're out of the woods, but I do know one thing - if there are any bugs left, then they at least aren't breeding or growing in numbers, so we haven't made things worse. We live in a single family home, though, so we don't have the complications associated with an apartment. Anyway, good luck! I hope you either find some evidence or get rid of them soon.
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Tue Jul 10 2012 19:42:02
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Thanks, seca46!
I appreciate your reply and methodology. Where did you find the moving wrap and bags for the clothes? Everyone says Ziplock, but I am not aware that Ziplock makes bags over 1 gallon in size. -
bugtimeinnyc
newbite
Joined: Jun '12
Posts: 15offline
Posted 10 months ago
Wed Jul 11 2012 1:57:31
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NeedAdvice - 6 hours ago »
Thanks, seca46!
I appreciate your reply and methodology. Where did you find the moving wrap and bags for the clothes? Everyone says Ziplock, but I am not aware that Ziplock makes bags over 1 gallon in size.I'm using Ziploc bags right now for my clothes/belongings and couldn't recommend them more! They have double zip seals and are fairly sturdy. They have a range of sizes, from Large (3 gallons) to XXL (20 gallons). I got mine at Home Depot (did not find any at Bed Bath and Beyond), but I'm sure they're available at a lot of different places! Here they are on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ziploc-Double-Zipper-XX-Large-3-Count/dp/B003U6FMOK Just a recommendation - they have handles, but try not to use the handles if the bag is halfway filled or more. I ripped a couple bags along the zipper and was kicking myself for not being more careful. But otherwise, I haven't had any problems
Good luck!
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AshamedandScratching
senior member
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 660offline
Posted 10 months ago
Wed Jul 11 2012 2:59:00
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In NYC, Target carries the XL and XXL sizes. Best price I found.
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jul 13 2012 1:07:46
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So to follow up on where we are- two days ago I found what I thought might be a shell in our bed and on the basis of that, I called a PCO to do a canine inspection.
We passed. The dog did not alert anywhere in the apartment, and just sniffed around a bit more than usual around the radiator and electrical outlet in our bedroom, per the handler. I found it hard to be too happy, since I have an inflamed bite on my hand and at the time, still did not know where it had come from... so today I proceeded with the plan to get rid of the bed, and we put the mattress in plastic and dismantled the frame- and we found one bed bug!
The dog handler said that his dog was trained to detect 2-3 bug specimens, so this is proof that a dog can miss a single bed bug...
I still need to buy a new bed, so we will be sleeping on the mattress on the floor for now- I ordered some Climbups and a ProtectABed cover to use on the new bed, and will be purchasing a simple metal frame and a mattress with a bunky board underneath.
My plan is to monitor the Climbups to see if we catch any more bugs before proceeding with further treatment...
In the meantime, is there anything that can be done in the area of the radiator? Even though the dog didn't alert near it, he had increased activity- is this a valid concern? I saw some essential oil based products at the drugstore that I was thinking of spraying on and around the area.
Anything else you might do differently?
Thanks in advance for any input...
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NeedAdvice
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 10 months ago
Fri Jul 13 2012 1:20:24
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One point to clarify- when the inspector looked at my "shell" specimen, he said that it wasn't a shell.
Forgot to mention this...
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