Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
What to do now?
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iwannabebugfree
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 6
Posted 11 months ago
Sun Nov 30 2008 22:43:10
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Hi everyone. I'm a newbie here and would definitely love some of your advice.
Currently I'm living in a relatively large apartment building and over the last few months there have been some rumors of bed bug activity, though I have not been bitten nor have I seen any bed bugs. I have seen a couple small white-ish looking bugs, but thanks to the site I was able to identify them as book lice (I have a lot of large hardcover books around). The building management is finally doing something about the infestation and has come to vacuum our baseboards twice and brought in a team of bed bug dogs. The dog scanned my apartment just as I was leaving to go out of town for Thanksgiving and indicated a positive on my suitcase. There were other bags (duffels, etc.) contained inside and those were indicated as well. I bagged all the smaller bags in trash bags and sealed them before I left. Unfortunately I didn't have time to repack my suitcase, so when I reached my destination, I unpacked my old bag into the washer and threw the suitcase away, showered, and washed all my clothes in hot water and dried them on high heat. What I couldn't wash (shoes, etc.) I put in a deep freezer that sits at about 5 degrees for about 2 days until I had to repack and return.
Now I'm back in my apartment and I keep feeling imaginary bugs crawling on me. I've scanned my bed, my couch, my carpet, everything -- and I can't find a trace of bugs. Is it possible that this was a limited infestation? Could the dog have had a false positive? I'm pretty paranoid at the moment which is problematic as I'm a grad student and am approaching exam time. I need my sleep and my sanity more than ever.
Also, now that I'm back from my vacation with a brand new suitcase, what can I do to clean it up? It's already sealed in a garbage bag. What else can I do to make sure this one doesn't get infested?
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It sounds like you have handled the situation correctly.
I suspect that your mind is projecting some of your fears and producing the physical sensations you are experiencing. The phenomenon can be quite involuntary. People frequently start itching when bed bugs are discussed in a group. Sometimes, our minds can play tricks on us.
The alert might be a false positive. If the k9 cleared the rest of your residence...it is unlikely that you have an established infestation throughout the unit. The alert could be to a nonviable (dead) specimen in your suitcase that may not have posed a threat of reproducing in your home.
If you had an established infestation.... I would expect the dog would be hitting on other harborages around the beds or furniture.
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iwannabebugfree
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 6
Posted 11 months ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 10:43:28
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Thanks Doug!
To add to my previous post, I've been living in this place since the beginning of August and the last time this particular suitcase was anywhere but my apartment was before I moved in. I stayed in a hotel for a couple days then, but had no other signs/symptoms of bed bugs after my visit. I would expect that if I had picked up viable bed bug specimens on my luggage before I moved here that I would be seeing signs of an infestation elsewhere by now -- 4 months later. Right?
To add to the stress, I'm particularly concerned about an infestation as I'm visiting my family in a couple weeks for the holidays and would hate to bring any bugs home (Can you imagine? Merry Christmas Mom!). Any tips/preventative measures you guys know of that I could take would be helpful. Until the building management finishes a full inspection and extermination of the building, I'm going to proceed with caution.
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iwannabebugfree
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 6
Posted 11 months ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 19:41:01
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Just a little update and a few more questions:
I spoke to the building management today and it looks like they're going to exterminate the entire building (about 80 some-odd units). However, they have yet to decide when they're going to go about doing this and sort of hinted that it wouldn't be immediately. However, after my mild positive indicator, I've become increasingly concerned, particularly because people will leave for the holidays with buggy things in tow. I've written a complaint letter to the powers that be, but what can I do personally to prevent being affected until the management can get their act together and do something?
I've thought about the following things. Are any of these good ideas? Or do you bed bug experts have any other suggestions?
- Put an encasement on my mattress
- Seal up the cracks in my walls
- Apply DE around the bed, in the cracks, and around baseboards
- Steaming my mattress and furniture (and applying DE) before encasing itI hate that I'm faced with such uncooperative management. If I could call someone in myself he'd be here tomorrow. I just feel so helpless.
Thanks guys.
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Hi,
I am not sure if I have read this correctly but if your building management want to treat all units regardless of if they are infested or not that is a really bad idea.
At the most they should only treat confirmed infected units and adjoining ones. To do a whole building treatment when not all areas are infected is not only not good for the environment but it also promotes and encourages the development of resistance to insecticides.
If they are not getting accurate "hits" from a K9 unit send in an experienced human, with 80 units to check it should only take someone a half day or so to check them all in detail.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
www.Bed-Bugs.co.uk -
iwannabebugfree
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 6
Posted 11 months ago
Mon Dec 1 2008 21:50:42
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BBcoukHome - 50 minutes ago »
Hi,
I am not sure if I have read this correctly but if your building management want to treat all units regardless of if they are infested or not that is a really bad idea.
At the most they should only treat confirmed infected units and adjoining ones. To do a whole building treatment when not all areas are infected is not only not good for the environment but it also promotes and encourages the development of resistance to insecticides.
If they are not getting accurate "hits" from a K9 unit send in an experienced human, with 80 units to check it should only take someone a half day or so to check them all in detail.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
www.Bed-Bugs.co.ukDavid,
Thanks for your response. I'm not sure why they are exterminating all the units, but I think I have an idea. When the dog teams were here I got a chance to talk with one of the handlers briefly. I got the sense that they were turning up positives in every room, mostly on peoples' suitcases (like mine). I imagine the problem is the fact that the building is close to a university and is inhabited by lots of students, so there's quite a bit of turnover (and quite a risk of spreading the bugs). Unfortunately I've been unable to reason with the management company in any capacity. There's been rumors floating around the building about bugs for months and the management has only recently decided to do something about it. They have also been terrible at giving us any information about the infestation or their plans. I didn't know about the extermination plan until I personally called our building manager. The last I heard they were vacuuming our baseboards to prevent the spread, which we all know isn't an effective method of control alone.
Judging from the management's incompetence, I imagine we all have a long road ahead. That being said, what can I do in my apartment on my own to prevent/manage any sort of infestation? I'm not sold on the management's capability to do this extermination effectively.
Thanks.
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iwannabebugfree
newbite
Joined: Dec '08
Posts: 6
Posted 10 months ago
Wed Jan 7 2009 22:11:49
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I just wanted to give everyone an update and seek a little more advice.
The management opted to treat the entire building following the dog inspection. We were all instructed to wash and bag our clothes and linens. Every apartment was treated once with pyrethrin. The apartments where the dogs indicated bed bug activity (like mine) have been treated twice thus far and we have another treatment coming up. They also paid for mattress encasements with locking zippers(though it's not as nice as the Protect-A-Bed one). After the final round of treatment, the dogs will pay us another visit. Does this sound like an acceptable treatment plan? Can it be effective or do they need to do more?
As I mentioned above, the dogs only hit on my suitcase, which has since been thrown out. I still have yet to get any bites or see any bugs (despite constant inspection). My boyfriend stayed here last weekend and also was never bitten. As of now my apartment has been treated twice. Could I possibly have bugs at this point? Or does this sound like a false positive by the dog? Am I being paranoid? Could I be in the clear?
Finally, I'm taking a short trip at the end of the week and am absolutely terrified of bringing bugs along. All my clothes will be washed and put directly into ziplocs, but what can I do about my suitcase? If I steamed it with a wet steam cleaner and then left it outside once I got to my destination, that should prevent any spread of bugs, right?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm driving myself nuts!
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