I’m sure you’ve not been wondering where the hell I disappeared to over the past month, as I don’t post often enough to have a readership. Still, there is a very long story behind it that I will go into now.
First a visual aid:
Take a good look at it, people, because you’re going to be hearing a lot more about it before it gets better. It’s called a bed bug, and if you think the Republican invasion of New York was newsworthy, wait until you find out about the other invasion that's going on all over the city in epidemic proportions. Pull up a chair (what are you doing surfing the internet standing?) and heed my tale.
It started in late June. I awoke, not to the usual cooing of pigeons on the fire escape or rumbling of the garbage truck hurling last night’s taco wrappers deep into its bowels, but to the incessant itch of not one, but four welts on my foot. Hmmm, must have been a mosquito. Though the windows are closed. How curious.
Next day, same shit. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain are two words, “bed bugs”. I don’t know why. I must have overheard them on some Fox News promo during the Simpsons. I have no idea what they mean, but I have a sneaking suspicion I should look them up.
I looked them up .
If I have them, I am totally fucked.
They are like impossible to get rid of. They are paper thin and live in the tiny cracks and crevices of your home, especially on or near your bed. They live in baseboards, picture frames, and, of course, box springs and mattresses. They can also lay eggs in your clothes if your clothes are, say, lying in a hamper. It doesn’t matter how neat or dirty you are. You get them from someone else who has them. Either by sitting on their furniture, or by having your suitcase next to theirs on an airplane, or by sitting on a movie theater seat that has them. They feed, of course, on your blood, but they can live up to a year without eating, so there's no going away for the summer to starve them out.
Apparently the reason I’d never heard of anyone having bed bugs before is because they were wiped out in this country around WWII thanks to the widespread use of DDT to kill mosquitoes. With the banning of DDT use in recent years, along with the increase in international travel, (bed bugs have continued to be a problem in other countries all these years, apparently), bed bugs are on the rise. And in New York City, their numbers have reached epidemic proportions.
So what do you do? First, you wash everything you own in hot water, or have it dry- cleaned. This is supposed to kill the eggs. I live in a fourth floor walk up. The laundromat is 3-1/2 blocks away. It is July. This is not fun.
Continue washing everything you use, especially bedding, as often as necessary to keep bugs out of your bed (Daily? Every other day?) I begin washing my bedding every other day. I’m still getting bit.
I call the landlord who agrees to pay for his exterminator to come down and spray the whole place. I call the exterminator who tells me to wash everything I own in hot water and strip the bed so he can spray it. I tell him I did wash everything I own.
“Did you wrap it in plastic before you brought it back from the laundromat and keep it there?”
Shit. I have to wash everything I own all over again. I think I’m starting to lose weight from all this manual labor. I’ve spent about $200 in laundry and dry cleaning and about $100 in clear plastic bags for my clothes in a span of about two weeks.
I wash everything I own and keep it in plastic bags. I strip the bed. The exterminator comes and sprays. He tells us we have to wait 15 days to spray again because that is how long it takes for the eggs that are already laid to hatch. The poison apparently doesn’t kill the eggs. We will continue to get bit, he says. But if a bug runs across this stuff, it will die instantly.
“So, I’m supposed to sleep on a bed sprayed with it?”
“It’s fine. Put a plastic cover on it, if you want.”
The day after he sprays, I come home and proceed to put a plastic cover on the mattress and box spring. As I flip the box spring over, I see my first one. It’s alive and well.
Two weeks later, we’re still getting bit. The exterminator comes back and this time we take EVERYTHING out of every piece of furniture because they really like wood and pretty much all my furniture is wood. We put everything in plastic bags that isn’t furniture. My house looks like a crazy person lives there. From lack of sleep, I’m starting to feel like a crazy person.
We make the exterminator examine every inch of the place. He says he doesn’t see any bugs.
“We’re probably almost there”, he says.
“Really? You think we’ll get rid of them?” I ask.
“Listen,” he says. “If you lived in a house, maybe, but this is New York City. They could have come from a neighbor. They could go to your neighbor’s and hang out until the coast is clear and come back. Insects have been here long before you or I and they’ll be here long after.”
Thanks for the science lesson, asshole. That’s not what I asked you.
No one can seem to tell me how to get rid of these bugs for good.
He sprays everywhere. Even our books, our luggage.
“They love zippers,” he says.
The next night, I go to sleep, hopeful. The next morning, my roommate and I both wake up with bites.
Meanwhile, my partner at work is starting to become a little paranoid, though she doesn’t let on just yet.
Back at the ranch, we decide, fuck this poison shit, we’re going natural. There’s a spray I’ve seen on the internet. It’s made of natural enzymes that break down the bug’s exoskeleton on contact. I order the biggest jug. It arrives on a Friday afternoon—broken and spilled out all over the box. Like the bottle, I am gutted. I look inside, there’s still about a 10th of the bottle left. I pour it into the complimentary spray bottle and guard it with my life.
This spray is so safe, you can wash your sheets and clothes in it. You can even bathe in it. It kills bed bugs, lice, and mites. It sounds perfect. My roommate and I wash everything in it that day. I read on the internet that if you put the legs of your bed in glasses of water, the bugs can’t climb up. I do that and go to bed. I wake up bite free. My roommate does not. This goes on for a week. Me, no bites. Her, lots of bites.
Finally, my partner at work, who knows about everything, breaks down.
“I’m terrified you’re going to give them to me,” she says. Our work calls for us to sit in each other’s offices all day.
“I don’t blame you,” I say. “I can’t promise you I won’t give them to you.”
“I think you should move,” she says.
“I’ve considered that,” I say, “But it would mean leaving everything behind. Otherwise, I’d most likely take them with me.”
“My boyfriend,” (who’s very well off), “will lend you any money you need to move,” she says.
“What?!” I’m humiliated. Not only do I feel like a leper, now they’ve gone and thrown my financial situation into it, too.
“Well, we’re building the new apartment and if we brought those things into it,” she doesn’t have to finish. I understand her concern. It just feels cold and callous.
I go home feeling dejected. The incredible pressure I put on myself to try and keep this situation under control and not spread it to my friends is taking its toll on me. I have been losing sleep due to my anxiety over getting bit coupled with the need to wake up about 6:30 every morning to wash my bedding. I’m ready to throw in the towel. I bring up the possibility of moving to my roommate who is far poorer than I am. She becomes hysterical, crying. She can’t afford it and she refuses to leave all her things behind. I now feel caught between both of their needs. I’ve hardly had time to consider my own.
I call my dad who helps me realize that I can’t let anyone else pressure me into a decision. I have to do what is right for me. I dissect my anger at being pressured into moving from my knowledge that moving would be the best thing to do.
I’m almost one hundred per cent decided when a bed bug runs across the TV table while my roommate and I are watching. The lights are on. The TV is blaring. This is the first time we’ve seen one be so ballsy. It isn’t the last. Five minutes later, another one runs across the TV table convincing my roommate to move, too.
I call the landlord. He agrees to let us out of the lease and give us each a glowing recommendation to any potential new landlords. He will refund our deposit and most of August’s rent. He also agrees to dispose of our stuff for us since we don’t want to put it out on the sidewalk.
The next day, I go out and look for a new apartment. My roommate and I have decided to go our separate ways, partially because she refuses to get rid of a few things. For fear of carrying eggs to my potential new apartment, I go to Old Navy first and pick out some new clothes without trying them on. I am headed to my gym to shower and put the new clothes on, when a broker returns my call. He’s right around the corner and has an apartment to show me. I decide it will be safe not to shower, but simply to change clothes. I go into a nearby Whole Foods and ask for the bathroom. The lady says she must escort me to the bathroom. It’s their policy. She looks at me up and down since I don’t have any groceries, but takes me to the back anyway. She waits outside the door as I change into my new Old Navy jeans and t-shirt. The jeans are way too tight, but I have no choice. Fortunately, the shirt is baggy. I stuff my old clothes in the trash. This will be the first of many that will go in the trash in the coming weeks. I feel like a homeless person or a refugee. I walk out of the bathroom and catch the lady doing a double take as she realizes my clothes are different. She must think I’m homeless.
The six apartments the broker shows me are all shit holes. The foundations are literally slanted. The floors are soggy (?). There are huge leak bubbles in the ceilings. They rent for $1800-$2000 a month. More than double what I was paying when I had a roommate, but I am afraid to have a roommate now. I need to cut down on all the bed bug variables I can.
The day turns out to be one of the hottest of the year. The tight jeans and cheap t-shirt I purchased allow for no breathing. I go to my office at the end of the day with chafing on my thighs. I call my mother and cry for the first time about the whole situation. I bawl like a baby.
I decide to spend the night in a hotel because I can’t face the bed bugs. Not tonight. The cheapest room I can find that still feels “safe” is $200 before taxes. That night I feel awkward as I check in carrying nothing but the plastic bag from Old Navy and one from Popeye’s. Comfort food.
The hotel is completely dead and there’s no one else for the front desk staff to focus on but me.
“Where are you from?” the jovial bellhop asks.
The desk clerk is holding my ID. I can’t lie.
“Here,” I mutter.
“Oh,” the bellhop looks like I just slapped his hand. I feel the need to explain. I start to.
“I just couldn’t stay in my…” I trail off with the sudden realization that they probably think I’m like Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy, fleeing in the middle of the night with nothing but a few spare things in a plastic bag.
That night I find it hard not to think of the fact that the number one way to pass bed bugs is through international travel. How many foreigners do you think have stayed in the average Manhattan hotel room? I manage to fall asleep and sleep the best sleep I’ve had in weeks. The curtains in the room are heavy and the room is so dark that I don’t even know it’s 9am when I awake to the sound of my cell phone.
“I’m moving back to my parent’s on Long Island,” my roommate’s voice informs me. “I’ll be out of there tonight.”
That’s it. It’s just them and me. Alone in that godforsaken apartment.
I can’t do it. I decide I will never sleep there again and I will never wear any of my old clothes again. This is the beginning of my life as a bed bug refugee.
That day I go to work like everything is normal, but I sneak out to spend the day apartment hunting—to no avail. That night, I call two of my oldest friends who live in the city to see if I can crash with them. The hotels in the city are just too expensive to keep up for more than one night. One of my friends tells me he’d be glad to put me up, just not now. He’s expecting weekend guests. (It’s Thursday). He’ll gladly put me up Sunday night, but then, only for a day or so. His boyfriend has a deadline and needs quiet in the apartment. My other old friend who knew nothing about the whole bed bug thing calls me back and says he is afraid to put me up. He doesn’t know enough about the bugs and feels worried that I’ll bring them to his home. I fight back the urge to cry or get angry with him. How can I blame him? He’s absolutely right and I’d feel the same way. I tell him not to worry about it.
I stand on a street corner, holding my cell phone, mentally going down the list of friends who don’t have cats. (I am deathly allergic.) I can’t believe I’m actually without a place to sleep. I feel like a leper.
I know who to call. My good friend from work, Ben.
“Ben, I’ve decided never to sleep in my place again. I’ll understand if you don’t want to put me up, but I assure you I’ve taken every precaution. All my clothes are new. I’ve thrown out my old bag.”
“Sure. Just be careful,” he says.
Ben, have I told you lately that I love you?
The following week gets better. I buy pants that fit. The weather cools off. And I find a kick ass apartment in the neighborhood I’ve always wanted to live in—the East Village. I also, (and this is for another post), managed to have a job interview and get a new job during this whole drama. So, I am able to move into a sizable apartment in the East Village thanks to the salary boost. The last day of my old job, Ben and I go see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan in concert in a minor league baseball park in Fishkill. On that same day, my old landlord sends some men with a dump truck to our old apartment to dispose of all my earthly possessions. As the sun sets over the concert, Willie sings “Living in the Promised Land” and I identify with the refugees in the song more than I could have ever imagined.
I plan my new job start date far enough away so that I can go home to my parents in Texas for a week of much needed r and r, simultaneously alleviating Ben from his lifesaving duties. I return on the 21st of August to my new apartment, which is completely empty. Moving in consists of simply walking in the door with the (new) clothes on my back.
I start my new job on the 23rd and spend the first week going back and forth between work, the new apartment, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have only three shirts to wear to work. Out of fear of carrying luggage on the plane from Texas, I bought only enough clothes as I could fit in a small duffle bag, which I kept on my lap. On the 29th, while liberals march through Chelsea with anti-Bush signs, I run from Rockaway Bedding to Jensen Lewis to find a platform bed made of steel. I tell the saleslady at Rockaway that I am glad I found a steel bed.
"Bed bugs?" she asks. She knows.
It arrives tomorrow between 8 and 12. In the meantime, I am sleeping on an air mattress on the floor.
At the end of my first week back, I make one final trip to the old building to pick up the cable boxes I’d left in such a hurry. It turns out the cable company will charge me $200 a box if I don't turn them in. I wear one of my parent's old t-shirts which I brought with me from Texas especially for this day. I wear some new Addidas shorts, which I am sad to part with. I meet the landlord there. He gives me the boxes. I turn in my keys. I go to the cable office in my t-shirt and shorts and turn in the boxes. I go to my gym, throw away my t-shirt and shorts, shower, and put on one of my work outfits and go to work. I can't believe I never have to set foot in that place again.
The next day is my birthday. It feels more like a rebirth day.
“I’m starting over in a new apartment, with a new job, with nothing,” I tell my friend Margaret, an immigrant from cold-war Poland, herself.
“Like a baby,” she smiles at me.
Yes. Like a newborn baby.
We have reached the three month hallmark of "bedbug free" but I think they are lurking, waiting to emerge again. I am finally sleeping again which is good because I have a new job that is very demanding.
The chemical assault. I have had a sinus infection since the middle of December. Nothing seems to shake it. My own extreme reaction to the bites of these disgusting insects has left discoloration and scarring at the base of my back, on my shoulders and lower arms. I am now considering some sort of procedure to "erase" these marks. This should be expensive.
My daughter, 20, refuses to consider a move. She loves this apartment even though we live in little "islands" in it. What little furniture is left (also doused in chemicals) is set out from the walls, nothing touches anything. We continue to have no beds and camp in the living rooms on chemically soaked couches. One of our three cats developed a persistent eye infection. My daughter lives in a state of denial even though she was devastated by the Bug Invasion and blames milk / cheese for the cat's conjunctivitus. For the most part, she acts as if this never happened. I continue to be devastated by the whole event.
If my daughter was not involved in this "house", I would have left the day after I discovered the problem. I would have taken a few personal valuables, checked into a hotel room and to hell with the rest. But without the cooperation of my daughter, I could not abandon this infested ship. I know that she will think back, in ten, twenty years, and see the folly of it all. But that's all hindsight. We live with our mistakes, sometimes we learn from them.
I have a new revulsion - people touching me on the commuter trains, using changing rooms at clothing stores, touching the walls of elevators, etc.
For the time being, we continue to live here.
I think of New York as my sister city now and writer of this blog as my bugged soul mate. This blog gave me comfort of sorts when there was none. Thanx.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Sunday, March 13, 2005 at 11:23 AM
It will be ok... don't despair. I refuse to give up. I have them too... It is such a relief to say it aloud. It must be like admitting you have a sexually transmitted disease. There REALLY needs to be a support group for bedbugs. They take SO much out of you, physically and mentally. It is not just the bits, or the knowledge that these fould creatures are crowling over your bed, your belongings, your clothes. It is the physical wear of fighting them. So much laundry, so much taking furniture apart, moving things, wrapping things in plastic, the endless chores, the disarray your home is thrown into. And often to no avail. You continue to have them... So you fight and fight and it goes on... COuple with this the bites themselves, which are, needless to say, horrible, but the lack of sleep. You are tuned in to every little skin irritation, you jump awake at the tiniest itch you'd never have noticed before. You search your bed... now you are up. The tension never dies and when you finally relax enough to get those couple hours of sleep you so desperately need, your paranoia is proven to be well founded by the bites in the morning, blood on the sheets, moltings on the floor. The next day, exhousted, frustrated, bitten, itchy, you must continue the very physical battle. Despite your sleep deprivation and your physical wounds, keep at it... clean, wash, spray, dust... keep at it.
My relationships and work are suffering. I am not the person I was before this. It has made me slightly mentally ill. Just the lack of sleep alone would do that. It is all I can talk about. I cannot move on to other topics. It truly is like having a disease. When you are around others, normal people who don't have it, they cannot understand. They think you are crazy or obsessed. But they sleep each night and their skin is comfortable, and clear and wound free and their homes are safe and clean, and they do their laundry when it is actually dirty, not when it came out of a plastic bag for 24 hours and is still celean but could be infect. They don't know. No one knows. Except those who have sudffered the same. WHere are they? I need them now.
I will not give up. I have moved already. I left New York City and am in a 2 family house now. They came with me, though I was very careful. I will win this battle. I have heard of people winning. It is incredibly hard, but I will do it. I am educated on the matter now. That is the first step. And trial and error... You make mistakes along the way, then correct them. I had pretyt clothes, to be washed only in cold water. I did, thinking it would be safe... They survived. I will not make that mistake again. I clung to possessions of sentimental value. This is war. They are gone now.
I will win this battle. Everyone suffering it will. It is possible. It must be possible. It is hard. I moved. I bought all new stuff... emptied my bank account on new clothes, new furniture, new everything. My new home is adorable and new and clean. And infested with bed bugs. But I am NOT beaten. I have every product available. I spray and dust and wash daily. The bites become more rare. I will win.
Posted by: Lisa | Saturday, August 06, 2005 at 08:41 PM
I feel for all of you. I work in a social service agency in Maine. We have had two homes infested since May. We keep having Terminix come back and spray the homes. The house parents keep having to clean everything and set up for the next spraying. It is such a pain in the ass and frustrating. It is sad, but I long for DDT's return sometime just to stop the damn mess.
Posted by: shane | Monday, August 15, 2005 at 11:42 AM
Two major dailies have recently reported that bed bugs are epidemic here, 8 out of 10 service calls to pest management companies are for bed bugs, 40 some downtown hotels are infested, etc. I am not alone. We have stayed in our apartment. We continue to live on sheet draped couches in the living room; our former bedroooms are closets and a computer room; we rarely have guests and only under very controlled circumstances (and no, you don't need to take off your shoes) when the guest(s) sit at the dining room table, drink a cup of tea and leave within an hour. Our lives are not normal and I have woken up in the middle of the night, grabbed a flashlight to inspect the couch I am sleeping on simply out of paranoia. Lisa's posting above says it all.
I started a new job in early April. I chose it in part because it is located a bit off the beaten path in a building with very few offices in it, less traffic in the elevators, etc. My own working area is somewhat isolated and because of the recent spate of news articles about bedbugs I have been able to broach the subject with my colleagues who share my horror of possible infestations. At least I can speak about it without "incriminating" myself. Our last fumigation was in early December 2004. We have not seen any further evidence of infestation. But we do not trust our "home". We continue to live on "high alert" based on the fact that these nasty insects can and do live for as long as 18 months without "food". While that might be an "extreme" it is our benchmark. Given that we did not destroy all of our property and that this apartment is beautifully floored with hardwood (more cracks in the flooring to hide in) and that we do not know the extent of the infestation in this building in the first place, we continue to run the risk of continued or "new" infestation. We are afraid to move based on "better the devil you know than the one you don't". We are well aware of our storage locker that we have not touched since Dec. 2004. We continue to be livng walking targets for the horrors of it all again. I am not sure how I will handle another round of this nightmare. It is constantly on my mind. I wait for an "empty" train to commute on (and I notice a growing number of commuters doing the same). I do not go into the cafes in any downtown hotels now with co-workes. They think I am a bit anti-social and they would be correct. It will take me another year to recover financially from this ordeal. Come December I will "do" all the drapes (again, again, again), super-duper vacuum, cull the closets (yet again), and call in the fumigators for a "last blast" (for prophylactic purposes) then I might consider getting a bed again. Meanwhile, we are vigilant.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Sunday, August 28, 2005 at 12:01 PM
Auuughhh.....I feel all your pain! I feel better at least knowing I'm not alone, because NOBODY understands till it happens to them. Just call someone, talk to a lawyer, it's not that simple.......if only. My landlord is claiming they are not legally liable because they claim I broght them in when I've lived here for 4 years. I have not traveled or brought anything used.....so ok? I have 4 more months on my lease. I am counting the days.
They did spray my bedroom when I first discovered the buggers, out of the kindness of their heart according to them. I have thrown away my bed mattress and all and have been sleeping on an air mattress for the last 6 months. My boyfriend is not allergic to the bites because hes never had a bite, but I have.
I washed everything I could, sparayed raid in all my windows apprently they like to live there especially the window in my bathroom when I take a shower I see them sometimes. And sprayed with a general bug bomb in my whole apartement every two weeks for a month or two before giving up. It was costing too much and didn't seem to work, although I have found some dead ones. I think it helps the investation but doesn't stop it.
I gave up and decided to just armer myself while sleeping untill i can move. I sleep with two pairs of knit magic gloves (I will purchase leather gloves as soon as there in the stores)and a turtle neck tucked into my gloves,and with sweat pants tucked into my two pairs of socks (one is a slipper sock.)and a white sheet wrapped around me tightly at night and a pillow (new threw the old one out) with a vinyl pillow case that has duck tape covering the zipper as a precaution. apparently this was not enough because I woke up today with threee huge bites. The worst I've ever had since my discovery. And I just fumigated my apartment a week and a half ago again myself. I'm losing hope!!!!! Help I'm tired and desperate any advice from any survivers????
Posted by: Bugged in Atlanta | Monday, August 29, 2005 at 06:35 PM
I just noticed them a few days ago in my apartment. So far they only seem to be inside the sofa and around the carpets. But it's only been a few days. I no longer sleep in the sofa bed but on a small mattress on the floor. I do see the once in a while, especially at night. I am very paranoid that they will infect the mattress but I doubt they will as long as I got my guard up.
The first few nights I noticed them it was really bad. They were crawling all over me at night.
So far they have not gotten past the living room. My couch is currently white with Diatomaceous Earth powder while covered with sheets and the bottom is surrounded by it too. Today my plan is to cover the floor under the carpet (medium sized center carpet) with this stuff. I have found this stuff to be somewhat useful against the bugs.
I have been vacuuming, powdering, inspecting and killing them the last few days.
I have been waking up around 3-4 am last few nights trying to find where they're hiding. Last night I killed about 10-12 of them hiding inside the couch and under the floor. But I only seen 2 small ones on me during the night. The night before about 5-8 bigger ones.
I am hoping I go them under control. I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment and I only stay and sleep in the living room.
Some of these stories are really freaking me out. Today I will be buying some more spray cans, another tube of that powder stuff and more vacuuming.
I may also have to take the couch apart and see what I find there. Do these bugs tend to stay in colonies or are they just living any place they find on their own? I know they only feed on blood but is there anything I can do to somehow poison them from their insides?
Does anyone have any advice on what else I can use? Would this product work;
http://www.killsbugsdead.com/fop_cdrf.asp
I WILL find a way o getting rid of them for good.
Feel free to email me.
Bye for now.
Posted by: Tom S | Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 02:34 PM
I'm the above poster. For some reason my email is not displayed.. It is tomsztur@gmail.com .
If anyone knows any good products or wants to correspond with me about this send me an email.
Regards,
Tom
Posted by: Tom S | Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 02:45 PM
Wow - more bugged folks. Look, our beloved host did it the right way .. she abandoned ship. This IS actually the best way to do it. Take nothing. Cut the losses and move on. WHEN I leave this apartment, which is barren for the most part, I will take nothing but the cats (who will be put in the Cat Hotel for grooming, just in case) and start all over again. I can't even think about our storage unit here. It's the only way I can hope to have a bug free place in the future. Meanwhile, we still live in a state of siege. Bug Bombs? we tried all the products - major fumigation worked after the 4th time (we think). IF a couch is infected / infested - get rid of it FAST. Get rid of the carpeting too. Dump it all. You MIGHT be able to kill the "living bugs" .. but you can NOT kill the eggs (and remember one bug reproduces approximately 300 eggs). BEFORE I had the professional waste management folks take this crap out of here, we went through 3 fumigations, steam cleaned the futons, did it ALL .. as the waste removal guy was here with leather gauntlets to the elbow and a hazmat suit, I saw a cluster of FRESH eggs on the corner of the mattress .. I knew I was right to destroy my property. This is a war you can not win with conventional weapons or attitudes. This is "nuke" time.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Friday, September 02, 2005 at 11:05 PM
PS: don't know about the USA, but in Canada the Landlord is OBLIGATED to fumigate no matter WHO may or may not be "at fault". Check your local health laws / tenancy acts .. etc. Good luck.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Friday, September 02, 2005 at 11:14 PM
Tom, abandon ship! I'm with Bugged in Vancover. I plan to when my lease is up in 4 months, I'm counting down the days. Don't be fooled they are everywhere in your apt and in everything you own. Even if you don't see them, trust me. Plus if you live in an apt. your neighbors probably have it too, and they can just jump to your apt again even if you do the impossible and get rid of them.
Posted by: Bugged in Atlanta | Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 08:03 PM
I certainly wish Tom the best of success but having gone through this shared experience with our host and others on this blog, I do not for one silly second believe in any fast "cures" nor "products" aside from DDT which is banned. Major hotel chains in Vancouver are dealing with this growing epidemic with no success. Folks don't want to talk about it because it is disgusting. I get the shivers even thinking about it. However, sleeping on draped couches has taken a toll on us. She gets the big couch and I have been scrunched on the "love seat" since November 2004. My daughter purchased an air mattress a few days ago and we are now "on the floor" between the couches. Our bedrooms remain (a) an ironing room (b) the computer room. Our next door neighbors moved after 4 years tenancy. I note they left a mattress set by the garbage. In fact, I have noted a number of abandonded mattresses, couches and rugs by the bins and growing vacancy in a building that is in a prime location for commuting to "the city". In fact, the building manager has moved the bins far far away from the entrance to the building using the "reason" that the binners were making too much of a mess dumpster diving. I saw two such "divers" by the bins last Saturday and noted the plethora of "bites" on their legs - shudder. These bugs travel. My daughter recently went to Cuba (yes, during Dennis). Both she and her seasoned travelling companion did bedbug tests every day in every hotel / guest home they stayed in. They were happy to report no findings. One would hold the luggage while the other checked the mattresses, then they would settle in for their holiday. Perhaps they took them to Cuba - a new invasion.
Bugged in Atlanta is right. If they are in one apartment in a building, they are IN the building. They are in the hallways as WE move in and out of our units / suites. They are in the cuffs / seams / folds of our clothing; they are in our laundry as we trudge up and down the elevators / stairs frantically doing the MASSIVE loads of ENDLESS laundry that may or may not be infested in our FUTILE efforts to END this nightmare. WE are the carriers, our property the hosts.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 09:24 PM
More on the same. I was having coffee at a local cafe and overheard this: "How's so-and-so doing?" "Well, he's gone a bit nutty. He got bedbugs about a year ago, did 4 fumigations, nothing worked, so he sealed off his bedroom with duct tape and hasn't been in it since." I fully understand.
My daughter moved our luxurious airmattress into her bedroom a few days ago and moved the ironing board into my X-bedroom (now a computer-ironing room).
I moved to the Big Couch, a huge improvement over the love seat. December 04, 2004 to date, about 9 months. Human gestation ... I can only hope that we will survive our remaining tenancy here bedbug free and that there will be no further breeding in this apartment.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Saturday, September 17, 2005 at 11:42 PM
Last night I sat on my love seat to do homework and I kept feeling like a bug was crawling on me or something. Due to the circumstances of living with bed bugs for I forget how long now I looked saw nothing figured I was just being paranoid. Only to later look again and to my horror see on actually biting me during the day while I'm awake sitting on my love seat! I didn't even get a chance to kill it, I just freaked and scremed and it came off of me in the excitement. That's the second time I've been bitten on my love seat.
I think I'm just going to get rid of it now instead of waiting until my lease is up in 3 1/2 months(yes I'm counting), and I guess just use my office chairs, my only chairs left,(one's vinyl and ones leather). I hope Bugged in Vancouvers couch is ok since that's where they're sleeping.
I'm running out of ideas and patience. I feel like my boyfriend thinks I'm nuts, since he's never seen them and is not allergic to the bites so he never knows that he's been bit. When I showed him the mark that I'm positive was a bite though oddly did'nt swell up or itch. It was a tiny tiny hole on my back shoulder that was open, meaning my skin had not tried to heal itself yet. My boyfriend said "oh it's probably a scratch from itching" even though it's a tiny hole right where I saw the bug and I didn't itch it. So he's in denial and I feel alone stuck with dealing with this problem looking like I'm crazy.
Posted by: Bugged in Atlanta | Monday, September 19, 2005 at 05:22 PM
Poor Atlanta!! My daughter's "live-in" boyfriend also presented no signs of being bit while she was a mass of bites. He dismissed her and treated the entire calamity very casually. Since he was likely the source in the first damn place and not overly helpful in resolving the problem, we finally threw him out. There is no doubt in my mind that he took the bugs with him to his new digs listed as "affordable luxury". The trick is to CATCH one of these little *78$3!@)(&)*. We caught several, put them in sealed containers and used them as evidence for the Landlord and the Exterminators.
Our progress has been labourous. We have not found a dead / live bedbug / egg since December 04, 2004. Trust me, we check. We have not had any more "bites". Our last extermination was massive. To date there are still traces of the chemicals along the baseboards. Remarkably the couches were spared. We lived through a difficult period of bizarre life-style including hundreds of "redundant" laundry trips, putting personal items in the freezer for weeks at a time in Freezer Bags, changing into clean clothing IN the bath tub after a shower, putting our laundry immediately into sealed bags BEFORE we got out of the tub, not to mention the wholesale destruction of most of our property and clothing. We washed the drapes many many times. Our vacuum is pretty well worn out. I have woken up at night to a small "itch", grabbed a flashlight, gone into a challenging "paranoia" and so far .. so good.
What was most upsetting was my daughter saying to me one morning "Mommy look". This was after doing "everything" - 3 fumigations, ETC. Sure enough a bite on her belly. I went ballistic, called the waste disposal people and watched as my property was destroyed and hauled away in steel containers to a burn-dump site. THEN I called the Head Office of the pest control people and went ballistic on them WHAT IS THIS !!! 3 fumigations !! etc. When the pest control people returned it was with a vengeance. They doubled the chemical they used and that was December 04, 2004. The last we saw of the BUG.
There is a life cycle to these infestations. A batch of live bugs are killed by the fumigations, a little time passes but the chemicals do NOT kill the eggs which then hatch, starting yet another cycle. This was all calmly explained to me by the Public Health Authorities (small comfort).
In spite of the fact that we seem to be "free", I am still VERY leary. I believe that it is mostly by LUCK that we have made it this far. I believe that the problem continues to exist in this building but that the precautions we continue to take have been helpful. The real solution will be when we move.
My daughter is happy to have a "bed on the floor". I am less so. She has her "privacy" back (keep in mind we have shared the living room since December 04, each on our own couch across the room from each other - truly Mother-Daughter bonding).
I will continue to be "vigilant" (read that as paranoid).
Were it not for my daughter's refusal to move and my own waning financial situation, I would have been out of here long time ago with barely the clothes on my back. Materialism can be a burden to say the least. She has yet to learn this lesson. I, on the other hand, have started from scratch more than a few times and would LOVE to do it again. As I have said many times, our WISE blog host did it the right way. SHE ABANDONED SHIP.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Monday, September 19, 2005 at 10:41 PM
Last seen, last week. A couch set, bed and other furniture piled up by a dumpster in East End Vancouver. Large signs taped to the pile "BED BUGS". Within ten minutes people were carting away the "booty". The former owner was shocked, "Can't they READ!!"
On Sunday my youngest son announced, "hey Mom, read it in the papers, Vancouver is the bed bug capital of Canada". Lucky us.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Tuesday, October 04, 2005 at 10:19 AM
I just discovered today that I too have bed bugs. Initially, I thought the culprits were fleas so I flea bombed the apartment and did hours of cleaning thereafter. This morning, I woke up with more bites and, for the first time, saw two of these monsters (one under the matress and one on the capret). I squashed one and decided to capture the other so that I may identify it online. Yup, they're bed bugs alright. Does anyone have any suggestions for exterminators? Will Terminix do a good job?
Posted by: Ariel | Wednesday, October 05, 2005 at 02:39 AM
Prepare the way for the Exterminators: clean, clean, clean; wash those drapes, bag the clothes, remove everything from the walls, do whatever you can to maximize the "operation". Make sure there is a clause in the agreement with the Exterminators for a "guarantee" / return within 30 days if the fumigation does not work; get ready for a long term battle. Prepare to abandon ship. Get ready for extraordinary expenses and labour. Good luck.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Thursday, October 06, 2005 at 10:09 AM
I leaved 10 yrs in my apt neva have I had any problems and one day I woke up with terrible bites, had no idea what it was and went to a demo a couple of weeks lata I personaly did research and thought I had scabies spend over 200 on creams & going back and forth to the derm Nothing! I was still waking up with bites. Then went back to do some more research of my own after seeing one tick looking bug crawling from underneath my bed Did the research and started looking under the mattress and allaround my bed I was shocked completely I couldn't explain how it had happened to me I had never heard of this shit. I did what you all did and still I was getting bit but I found I wasn't the only one,so were my neighbors. Thats when I decided I had to get the hell out of there so I moved out of town into a house I saw that as the only solution,though I just moved recently I was very Paranoid of bringing any bugs with me Im still paranoid I just hope Im bug free!
Posted by: Long Island | Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 05:25 PM
I leaved 10 yrs in my apt neva have I had any problems and one day I woke up with terrible bites, had no idea what it was and went to a demo a couple of weeks lata I personaly did research and thought I had scabies spend over 200 on creams & going back and forth to the derm Nothing! I was still waking up with bites. Then went back to do some more research of my own after seeing one tick looking bug crawling from underneath my bed Did the research and started looking under the mattress and allaround my bed I was shocked completely I couldn't explain how it had happened to me I had never heard of this shit. I did what you all did and still I was getting bit but I found I wasn't the only one,so were my neighbors. Thats when I decided I had to get the hell out of there so I moved out of town into a house I saw that as the only solution,though I just moved recently I was very Paranoid of bringing any bugs with me Im still paranoid I just hope Im bug free!
Posted by: Long Island | Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 05:26 PM
I'm in Texas. My landlord refused to remedy the problem and now has evicted me. I wrote a blog about it here: http://blog.myspace.com/shawnamouser
I am moving next week and panicking that anything will travel with me. I have so many books and paintings that I can't let go of and my kids toys. I am abandoning all furnishings and starting over...packing everything in plastic bins, but still completely paranoid that these things will go with us. I can't afford to start completely over with all of our clothes and things....so screwed up over all of this.
I can't believe there are so many out there with the same problems. bioterrorism!
Does anyone know of any attorneys who handle this type of thing specifically because my landlord should be sued.
Posted by: Shawna | Wednesday, November 23, 2005 at 09:30 PM
It continues. CNN had a video on the Bug on line today. Bring back DDT. Fast. We are nearing our ONE year bed bug free but I continue to live with anxiety. We did not leave the building. Quite likely the problem continues to exist in this building. We have just been lucky. We continue to live in a state of seige. I found myself leaning on the back of an office chair the other day. Touching it. Then I realized I rarely touch anything anymore. I actually keep my coat and purse by my desk in the only clear space - the garbage can. No more office closets. One year and still I am paranoid. I continue to live on the couch. Nothing in this apartment touches the wall. I read the Texas blogger. The nightmare continues. I can relate. Wishing folks well. The best way to deal with this is to get rid of everything. That will work. Get metal frame beds / furniture (some actually very attractive). Change our life styles. Now we have - Bird Flu. Mass poulty slaughters here on the west coast of canada. The slaughter in 2004 was intense. I am going to give up chicken too. Duck is off the menu.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at 10:10 AM
testing to see if i can post
Posted by: bugs here too | Monday, December 05, 2005 at 07:35 PM
well i was researching my new found friends on the net and found this blot. You all are scaring me ,, really bad. I just bought a new bed in aug/05. girlfrined moved in with dogs in aug/05 then had the battle of the fleas. Not as bad as bed bugs it seems but real close. first of Oct it just wasn't working living together so she moved.Any way noticed a smear on my wall like blood thought that was odd( i sleep heavy)startied noticing little spots (like little freckles)on her side of the bed under the pillow a couple of days after she moved. started looking further and noticed these bugs under the fold of my brand new mattress,,fear,gross and panicked i tore the bed a part , and vaccummed everything down to the metal frame and floor.thought well got what ever that was. Well to my suprise i was cleaning today and found more. Thought i better find our what these things are. Yep you guessed it bed bugs, i could never have imageined getting these things. And you are all freakin me out. I dont live in an apt.and moving out is not really an option since i would have to sell and that would intell killing them for the new owner anyhow.
well for the last couple of hours i have been moving eveything in my room out of the house, opening basebaoards finding them. I have started treating them with a termite killer active chemical is perethrin. After researching chemicals this is secong on list. So i will try it first. I will post again to let you all know if it works. Was spotting them in other parts of your house easy ?
arizona with no bed
Posted by: Arizona with no bed | Monday, December 05, 2005 at 07:51 PM
I ask about spotting them because I dont seem to react to there bites nor do I wake when they bite me. help
Arizona without a bed
Posted by: Arizona with no bed | Monday, December 05, 2005 at 07:55 PM
Good luck. CNN posted a bedbug video on line last week. We fumigated the beds and still the *&*(&(* popped up. The exterminator on CNN said that he has cut open mattresses to show the owners that the insides of the mattresses were in fact infested. You stand a chance ifn you get rid of the beds, rugs, etc. and fumigate, fumigate, fumigate. It took 4 fumigations for our 2 bedroom apartment (about 1500 sq. ft.) One woman I recently met purchased a lot of funiture on credit she could not afford. She declared bankruptcy on the credit line and a few weeks later found her new furniture (ala bankruptcy) was infested through and through with the little feckers. She called a waste disposal unit and now she is bankrupt with no furniture (in BC a person is allowed to keep a certain abount of furniture during bankruptcy). The stories are legion now. We had our last fumigation on December 04, 2005. We have passed the benchmark of one year "bed bug free" and I still don't have a bed. My daughter's airmattress deflates in the middle of the night. Hard core fall to the cold floor. She has returned to the other couch in the living room. We hope we can get our act together in 2006 .. best of luck to you Arizona. As to the "spotting" those are likely crushed bugs and not everyone "reacts" to the bites, in fact a lot of people show no signs of being bitten while sleeping in the same bed with a person who is covered with visible bites. Really, I wish you the best of success. Sacrifice it all. Larger residences / buildings need to be "tented" for a "successful" fumigation. Very very expensive. Shudder.
Posted by: Bugged in Vancouver | Tuesday, December 06, 2005 at 12:33 AM