Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tales of Bed Bug Woe
Who bugged me?
(5 posts)-
WestSidebug
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 2offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Sep 8 2008 6:40:53
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I am single male musician working evenings as chauffeur in a NYC limo Co. Lived in my studio apt for over 10 years w/o any bugs: Studio w/ loft bed.
In the past 3 months 3 people visited my apt. I think I now have bedbugs. My landlord says it’s the girl who said she had bites. I say it could be recent renovations in the apt next door. Need insight. Can you tell who is guilty?
First person: July - a singer came over (who had pblms with bites in her apt) to sing a song. She left in under 10 min as she was not feeling well. No contact with her. She sat on the couch and stood in the vocal booth (briefly).
Second person: During August the adjoining apt connected to my apt by bathroom sink drains, was demolished / renovated. Complete walls were torn down and rebuilt as well as plumbing and a new bathroom. The contractor visited my apt briefly during this renovation to check on redoing my bathroom tub caulking.
Third person: super!! Came over last week to fix leaking shower faucets. I showed him how it's really done!! In gratitude that a tedious job was done by someone else (me) and that he could rush off to see his daughter’s soccer game, the super game me a sports hug/clasp. That was Weds 9/3/2008. Thurs I saw 3 bugs on my futon while reading. The second was small and red. When squished there was blood. I when nuts. Threw out the futon (13 years old anyway). Sat the contractor came by to caulk the tub. He then told the landlord about bedbugs in my apt.
Received call from my landlady saying I had to pay for an exterminator. Called 311 - was told NYC residents who are tenants - it's the landlord's responsibility to deal with what's inside the apt. When told this, my landlord said I should pay for extermination - or else I'd be vacated from my apt before it infected the rest of the building.
Sunday I bombed the apt with Raid MAX. All was cool until I say a bug on the down comforter I still had on the loft. Immediately bagged it / threw it out (it was old and falling apart). Washed the wood flooring of the loft bed with soap and water. Sleeping on blankets / sheets on the wood loft frame.
Landlord and contractor say keep bombing until all bugs are gone. Clothes are in a big plastic bag. Couch was sprayed by bedbug spray.
Could the girl have brought the bugs? The contractor? the Super? Could work on the nextdoor renovation have caused bugs to invade my apt? What about coming through walls? Climbing up drains? I'm the 1st in the building to report this pblm. What is reasonable to believe?
Comments? This is a nightmare!!
Do I still need to write a letter to the landlord about this so this incident is documented in writing?
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,755online
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Sep 8 2008 9:54:30
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Any of those could have been sources. You could also have picked them up at work, on public transit, in a movie theater or restaurant. They could have come from neighbors whose apartments WEREN'T getting remodeled.
Trying to figure out the source does not usually work.
People have been convinced to pay for treatment by landlords under similar circumstances and later found they were not the original source in the building. Often someone has them and either has no idea (because they do not react to bites) or has some sort of problem that impairs their ability to recognize the issue and seek help.
Bombs don't work, you may have just spread them deeper into your walls and floors (and possibly to neighbors). You need professional treatment. Read the FAQS. Call MET Council (in the landlords and tenants section of the http://bedbugger.com/links page) for housing advice. I am not a lawyer, etc.
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WestSidebug
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 2offline
Posted 4 years ago
Mon Sep 8 2008 19:05:26
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As of last night, on the loft wood frame I have a folded polyester /cotton blanket; a folded wool army blanket, a white sheet, a cover - a colored sheet. When I woke, I didn't see any signs of bugs on the sheets or that they were there: blood / bug fecal matter. Had earlier washed the wood frame with soap and water.
No signs of bites.
I see your point as to whether I am the pirmary source or not: that possibly other people have this pblm, and haven't yet reported it as I did. Even if I brought these bugs (if they are bedbugs) into my apartment, the landloard is still responsible for PCO TX under NYC rent laws. So far I've paid 32.00 for bug bombs and spray.
Will check with MET Council. Thank you.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,755online
Posted 4 years ago
Tue Sep 9 2008 3:12:24
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WestSide,
If you bought bug bombs, they may exacerbate your problem. We have a FAQ on that:
http://bedbugger.com/2007/05/30/bombs-dont-work-on-bed-bugs-citation-anyone/ -
buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 4 years ago
Tue Sep 9 2008 10:28:04
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We all would love to be able to trace infestations back to a specific place. It's a natural impulse. Bed bugs make you feel out of control, and knowing where they came from gives back a measure of control. In many cases, however, it's very difficult or impossible to figure out where they came from (EXCEPTION: you stay at a hotel and find a bug in your bed. Then it's pretty clear if you develop a problem only after that and you know what to look for because you realized what the bug is.)
It's probably more productive to try to focus your energy on getting rid of them now.
Please read the FAQs and get a pro in as soon as possible. Bug bombs use chemicals that aren't going to kill bed bugs, so bombs only tend to make them scatter and harder to fight. Reading the FAQs will help give you a good idea about the basics of fighting bugs as well as what to do with the whole landlord issue,
Hang in there. You'll feel much better if you can get a good PCO in to assess the situation.
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