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Tiny 1br, after first treatment, bed bugs all over apt. what?!
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arghwhy
newbite
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 9 2011 1:59:07
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Hi!
I just want to say really quickly that I've been having crazy mood swings and panic attacks because of these stupid bugs.. I'm learning to calm myself down and realize that this isn't the end of the world and that there are worse problems to have. I'm struggling with this everyday and want everyone to know that I'm right there with you.
Ok so I live in a small 1BR apartment. At the end of May I went on a 10week trip to Hawaii, leaving my boyfriend to stay in my apartment. While I was gone he was complaining of bites. Sure enough they were bed bugs. He moved from sleeping in the bed, to the futon we have in the living room which is basically smushed right next to my bedroom, save for a single door separating the two (I know this was a bad move, but he hadn't read anything about bed bugs at the time). Anyway, he has been sleeping there on the futon.
When I came home I was informed about the bugs, and was sleeping on the futon as well. He has been sleeping on the futon for maybe 2+ weeks and hasn't had any bites. I've slept on here for a week, and no bites either.
ANYWAY, we had our first bed bug treatment last Thursday August 4. Exterminators left the dust out and everything. Anyway, yesterday I found a lone bed bug (looked slightly rounded, like it just had a little blood meal) just sitting out in the open on a paper towel roll that was in my kitchen on my table (?!). When I examined the roll in my hand, the bug did not scurry or anything. It stayed completely still as a picked it up with a piece of packing tape. Is this normal bed bug behavior?? Perhaps it was exposed to and reacting to the chemicals of the first treatment? Was it concentrating on laying eggs? I have no idea!! It's driving me nuts because I don't know if this just means that the bugs are spreading to the rest of my apt or not.
More freaky stuff! I literally walked into my bathroom and the first thing that my eye hones in on is a bed bug that is crawling OUT OF MY TUB, off my bath tub edge and onto the floor. After it falls off the edge and hits the ground, it just LAYS there, again giving me time to pick it up with tape. My bathroom is right outside of my bed room, but I don't ever remember hearing of BB in the bathroom and it's making me really nervous. I'm thinking that the most reasonable explanation for a BB crawling out of my tub is from washing my bagless (canister) vacuum. However when I was that thing out I pay really careful attention to wash all that crap down the drain. I never thought they would crawl out?! Anyway I dumped some isopropyl alcohol down and around the drain just in case.
Last bit. I found two completely idle bed bugs out in the open on my windowsill in my bed room. Again. They were completely still and I know for certain that there had to have been a dust there. When I picked them up with tape, I saw that they were still alive because their legs were moving. One of the bugs was larger than the other, but neither of them were adult stage. Neither appears to have had a blood meal either.
So...is this normal BB behavior after treatment? have any of you guys witnessed this? Sorry if this is frantic but I'm very anxious. I want my treatments to be successful. I am a student and I start my final school year at the end of the month. I want to be able to be well rested and focused for my senior year of college. Gotta get rid of this damn bugs!!
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oldtimer
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 1,871offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 9 2011 4:34:23
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Are you sure it's a BBs infestation? Did the PCO confirm that after the inspection ?
Take a pic of a specimen and post it here... -
arghwhy
newbite
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 9 2011 10:05:37
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Yup, confirmed by the PCO. Caught several samples as well but no way to take pictures. 100% positive it's them
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Louise
senior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 444offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Aug 9 2011 23:23:27
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Could they be bat bugs or swallow bugs, perhaps? I understand that these bugs look virtually identical to bed bugs, but behave somewhat differently. Did your PCO consider the possibility? Is it possible there are bats or birds hanging out on (or in) your building?
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arghwhy
newbite
Joined: Aug '11
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Aug 10 2011 0:32:38
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I am certain that they are bed bugs.
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BedBugsIPM
newbite
Joined: Jun '12
Posts: 2offline
Posted 11 months ago
Wed Jun 13 2012 23:46:00
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It sounds to me like it could be normal if the PMP used Phantom. It's mode of action is to cause them to be unable to generate energy. So, yes; if exposed they could move around some but eventually mostly just sit there and finally die. This should usually take several days after exposure.
Please keep in mind bedbugs don't know what a bathroom is, what a tub is, what paper towels are, nor anything else like that. They're small insects with no brain whatsoever.
Potter and others have shown they move around quite a lot (at least at night) even when they're not hungry, especially if there's a source of CO2, despite also having a tendancy to hide. While moving around, if they extrude remnants of past feedings, those extrusions could possibly attract others to that location. If a female got attracted, her presence could attract males. A congregation of a few could attract others to aggregate there as well, possibly leaving more extrusions, etc etc.
Point being that I wouldn't really worry if a PMP is or is not causing them to spread around an apartment; the main concern is if they used effective treatment or not. They could spread around just fine all on their own, especially if given opportunity.
Hopefully your PMP did or will use treatment that'll be effective however they might move about in your apartment.
Disclosure: I have a competitive interest in treatment methods.
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