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The Last Part is the Hardest

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makesmenuts

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 11:05:04
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We're so close to success. So close, yet the stragglers seem to be the hardest to deal with. It's been a long time since we've seen hard evidence of actual bugs, like a live or dead bug or cast skins. I'm a reactor and had a line of four bites a week or so ago and found blood spots on the bed sheet but am not sure if I got bit there or on the couch (which has been hell due to all the nooks and crannies). My non-reacting spouse sleeps in the bed in the other room, which was the origin point and is the one spot we've treated with chemicals. We knocked them down good there and the electronic detector came up clean for a week, then hit in one spot near one of the original harbors, which we figured was newly hatched nymphs. Sure enough, today we found a blood spot on the bed, which is the first visual evidence in there in weeks.

At this point I think we're dealing with nymphs and stragglers, but it's so frustrating because it's like they're little ghosts that you know are there but you just can't pin down. The hot spot room will be getting another chemical treatment, and the couch and other bedroom are vacuumed regularly and DEed so I'm hoping the four bites were from a bug or two that was desperate enough to cross the powder of death.
AshamedandScratching

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 11:27:28
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At this point I think we're dealing with nymphs and stragglers, but it's so frustrating because it's like they're little ghosts that you know are there but you just can't pin down.

Sounds like you're getting it under control and making some progress. That's good. I hope you get to start a countdown soon!
BarelyLiving2

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 11:31:31
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Sounds like the BBD has been a useful tool for you guys. I read all the threads, and I realize it's far from perfect, but it seems like it has been useful for how you guys are using it.
makesmenuts

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 14:39:05
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I keep thinking we can start the countdown and then it's a blood spot or bite or some such sign that it's a long haul. Deep, heavy sigh.

Yes, the detector has helped a lot. We drove the BBs behind the baseboard in the original infestation room, and it pinpoints them there. We know it's accurate because when we first got it, it hit in the spots where there are originally harbors on the outside of the baseboards, which made sense. It's also found some strays on the mattresses, although thankfully not for a while now, and gives us some idea of what's going on in the couch. Otherwise I think it would be even more frustrating because at this point the physical evidence is so minor. I don't want to fall into a false sense of security and give the stragglers a chance to breed or the nymphs a chance to get to the egg laying stage.
makesmenuts

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 15:27:08
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Damn, damn, damn! There goes my "no blatant signs of activity." Caught a fairly young looking one running across the couch in broad daylight just now. Thought it had fed because it looked dark, but no blood when I squished it. Since it dared come out in daylight, I hope it was really really hungry because of being deterred for a long time by the DE. That makes me wonder if I got the last bites sitting here although I did find the blood on the bed. No signs of actual bugs on the bed though and the setup we have is very easy to inspect, which makes me think maybe the couch.
OhNoes

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 17:19:51
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Sounds like your couch may be the hotspot. Big thing I ran into was that the bed was easy to treat, but the couch was a nightmare. I actually threw it out after cleaning it and wrapping it.

As to blood spots... I think the consensus is that it is not a good indicator of anything other than you bled.

I had blood (big spot) on the sheets 3 nights after treatment 2 and freaked out and got treatment 3 as a result. (also saw a bug, at a later time), but, the bed has been isolated and I was fairly certain no bugs on the bed anymore.

That said, today I had a very itchy bite/spot/thing at work and had a near panic attack. It doesn't itch now which is completely inconsistent with past reaction on legs and ankles. At the same time, I noticed on my shin I had blood, scrapped skin... wtf. Moral of the story is, we bleed sometimes, not necessarily BB related.
makesmenuts

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Posted 8 years ago
Tue Oct 11 2011 17:44:25
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The blood was between the sheet and the mattress cover, so that makes it more likely to be a bug who was probably trying to avoid the DE while leaving (hopefully it didn't). But I know what you mean because I tend to freak out about anything that even vaguely looks like a BB bite, although when I calm down I can usually tell the difference, and nicks and cuts can certainly make those scary spots.

Our old couch was definitely a hot spot, although probably not the start of the infestation. I saw bugs occasionally on it and though they were something that got in from outside. We tossed it because it needed to be replaced and never realized it had BBs until a few weeks after, at which point I had already reinfested the new one. They might have been hiding somewhere in the room, but unlikely since it was a couple weeks until we got the new couch and we did cleaning, painting, and other work in the meantime so would likely have spotted them. If only I had known, I never would have gotten the new furniture till this nightmare was over.

I'm taking comfort in the fact that this was a fairly young one and I haven't seen adults in a long while. I hope we're just dealing with hatchlings now in both spots rather than the original adult colony.