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what am I doing wrong?
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Going Mental
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Apr 13 2012 22:04:08
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Hi there
I am brand new to the forum so I hope this is an OK question to ask.I had a dog come in and confirm BB in my condo about 2 weeks ago. I immediately called a PCO and came in and treated the same day. 10 days later they came back for a follow up and I am still getting bites 3 days after the second treatment!!! I am losing my mind (not to mention my wallet). How is this possible?
I dried everything on hot, put it in ziploc bags and dried every outfit before I went out the door. I have put casements on my mattress and box spring and have purchased a high end steamer to steam the floors in my bathroom and kitchen and hall just in case anything dropped off. The dog did not sniff anything in the closet so I continued to wear clothes that were hanging (and could not be out in dryer for one hour on high). then i sent everything out to BugsRGone laundry. What should I do?? Is this normal. I found a live one on my clothes today that were supposed to have been cleaned and underwear i had personally dried on high for 1 hour before wearing to work!!!
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blargg
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Joined: May '11
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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Apr 13 2012 23:03:38
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Have any pics of the bugs? Might be something else.
On the other hand, if it is bedbugs, it sounds like you had no residual chemical applied. If bedbugs live in your bedframe, they can still come out and bite you because nothing has been done to kill them... plain and simple.
The fact you found a bug on your dried undies makes me question what you saw... Unless you dried them, layed them near the bed for a while, then picked them back up.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 1:12:31
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You've had two bed bug treatments spaced ten days apart, and bites 3 days later? Doesn't seem that unusual. Treatment can take more than two visits.
But blargg raises another point: do you know these were bed bugs? How did the dog "confirm"? Did the dog alert, and the handler say, "you have bed bugs"? That isn't really a confirmation. You need visual evidence.
Or did the dog alert and the handler visually inspected and found evidence of bed bugs (bed bugs, cast skins, fecal traces, eggs) and showed it to you?
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Going Mental
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 1:43:42
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Thanks for the feedback. This is sooooooo stressful.
yes I saw fecal and blood stains on sheets. I have seen blood spots on clothes as well (3 small spots on three occasions along with the feeling of being pricked). No doubt this is bed bugs. Not to mention the bites and crazy itching. I have also had a dog confirm bb on the chair at my office. My office has been treated as well as my house guess I am just wondering how much longer? How many treatments will it take? What about the laundry. i work in an office and the stuff I wear I can't put in the dryer for an hour. The dog handler thought it was safe to hang stuff in the closet given there was no evidence of bb there.
I guess its hard bc there is so much information out there and its hard to know who to trust. I have sent all my laundry out to a bb laundry specialist but how do i know my clothes are really being treated and not cross contaminated?
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 3:23:44
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Going Mental - 1 hour ago »
Thanks for the feedback. This is sooooooo stressful.
yes I saw fecal and blood stains on sheets. I have seen blood spots on clothes as well (3 small spots on three occasions along with the feeling of being pricked). No doubt this is bed bugs. Not to mention the bites and crazy itching. I have also had a dog confirm bb on the chair at my office.It is impossible to be sure you have bed bugs based on skin reactions (which can have other causes) or blood stains.
Fecal stains are indicative, but many of us non-professionals can't really determine with any certainty if we're looking at bed bug fecal.
So again, can you tell me what it means that the dogs at work and at home "confirmed"?
Did the dog alert, and the handler say, "you have bed bugs"? That isn't really a confirmation. You need visual evidence.
Or did the dog alert and the handler visually inspected and found evidence of bed bugs (bed bugs, cast skins, fecal traces, eggs) and showed it to you?
Thanks!
I know you may feel certain you have bed bugs, but understand that it is often true people jump to conclusions when they have some other issue. I have no way of knowing if what you thought was fecal was fecal. (Got fecal photos? A few of the experts here can probably ID them.)
Also, are the suspected bed bug bites decreasing over time or is the rate equal to what it was before the first treatment, or worse?
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Going Mental
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 7offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 9:42:04
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Thanks for your support
I feel fairly confident there are BB--let me tell you a story
Walking home from work one day and I feel this sharp pricking on the back of my arm. I pull off my suit jacket and sure enough there are three little blood spots and one large spot and a pin prick on the back of my arm. When I got home I put all the clothes I was wearing in a garbage bag and called the dog. The next day I showed them the jacket and when the dog sniffed out the bag it was positive for BB ( dog sat down and handler confirmed) This same episode of feeling like I am being bit and removing a piece of clothing to find blood spots has happened several other times
I have had 2 different dogs confirm BB had my office and my home so I don't put it down to bad/fraudulent K-9 detection. I have bites all over . There were black "marker like" dots on my white sheets accompanied by small reddish brown smears of blood on my sheets
Have I actually had a live bug IDd? No but my understanding is that many times you don't actually see the BB just the evidence
as for frequency of bits--increasing or the same--thats what is so perplexing--I live in a condo and fear they are coming in through the outlets
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loubugs
old timer
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 12:58:53
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The next day I showed them the jacket and when the dog sniffed out the bag it was positive for BB (dog sat down and handler confirmed)
Dog alerted and handler confirmed that he visually found a bed bug? Did he confirm that dog alerted? Did you look in the lint catch for bed bugs?I have bites all over . There were black "marker like" dots on my white sheets accompanied by small reddish brown smears of blood on my sheets
No bed bugs of any age class (any size nymphs, adults; fed, unfed)? If there are so many blood spots, dots, why aren't there some bed bugs to see?I have had 2 different dogs confirm BB had my office and my home so I don't put it down to bad/fraudulent K-9 detection. I have bites all over .
Locate bed bugs, handler visually confirmed bed bugs?as for frequency of bits--increasing or the same--thats what is so perplexing--I live in a condo and fear they are coming in through the outlets
Do you know if there is a bed bug problem in your condo system?
Have I actually had a live bug IDd? No but my understanding is that many times you don't actually see the BB just the evidence
But there are many times where these can be found, too. Do you have any traps, monitors in place? Take a small, non-white, washcloth and fold it twice to give you a folded square. Place some near the legs of your bed, against the post of your headboard/bed, near your pillow, on the seat of your chair near the back. These are now monitors and the non-white color will contrast against first instar unfed nymphs as well as older nymphs and adults plus eggs (if these are laid on the fabric). You have to know what you are looking for. Try looking at various images of infestations, bugs, etc., on bedbugger and on my flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lou_bugs_pix/ -
junior member
Joined: Apr '11
Posts: 119offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 13:30:01
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Lou,
that is a very interesting solution,re. the non-white wash cloth. Terry cloth I assume? Simple, easy and inexpensive to purchase if need be, for a quick harbourage that has easy access to check. Hmmm. Ken. -
edtt
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Joined: Apr '12
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Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 14 2012 14:51:52
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hello Lou,
great idea
could you clarify what you mena by "non-white"
sorry if this is a dense question,
as in any colour BUT white?
should be a lighter colour though, to show fecal spots.....yes?
thx!
edtt -
Going Mental
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 7offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sun Apr 15 2012 13:25:59
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Thanks so much
I have seen some dead bugs ( i think) after the treatment. I have also seen these things that look like yellow pieces of rice on my bed. And some little white specks on black clothing--could these be the nymphs? -
your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,740offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Apr 16 2012 3:36:01
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Posting photos for ID would be your best bet. It sounds like you're not sure. Lou and some of the other experts can ID clear photos pretty easily.
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BedBugsLoveSweetBlood
newbite
Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 15offline
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Apr 16 2012 10:36:53
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If you are worried they are coming through your electric sockets use Diatomaceous Earth inside of them. This stuff is organic, non-toxic and EFFECTIVE!
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