Bed Bugs Support

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akela135

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Hey all… I haven’t been on in a while, but now that I have bedbugs in my home I’m coming back. I’m so stressed out. Okay here goes:

We found them early Tuesday morning about 2am. Then we reported them first thing in the morning to our apartment. As the only reporters it is our fault and we must pay all treatments and if we don’t do everything they say they can evict us. So already fun. They got an inspector in and he found 0 evidence in our bed or box springs. He finally found them in the walls and baseboards. Which makes us think they are in more apartments and we aren’t at fault. However the apartment seems shy to actually check the other units. They are charging us $500 to treat our apartment. We also have to buy all sorts of cleaning and storage supplies, and future protection items, as well as go through a giant hassle of bagging all our possessions and also washing and air tight sealing every single piece of cloth and linen we own. Really expensive and super time consuming.

To make things worse is problem two. The social stigma. The apartment doesn’t want us in the office, because they don’t want to get infested. The manager wore rain boots and refused to touch anything when she was forced to come with the inspector to our apartment. My family has agreed to watch the pets as long as we keep our distance as much as possible. We don’t have any help from our friends coming. In fact they want us far away as well. I’m trying to stay up beat and see the positives, but the longer this continues (and it has only been three days!) the more difficult that becomes.

Our first treatment is Monday and if they haven’t inspected or start treating the other apartments then or soon after we could just get the bugs back. Again through no fault of our own, but we’d be left dealing with this again. For the next two weeks everything we own must be sealed and left alone, so we will be living like we are moving or in a hotel basically. Hopefully Thanksgiving will see the end of these pest but I doubt we will be invited to celebrate with either set of family so it might be a lonely victory.

Have any of you experienced bed bugs? Have you beat them? How do you find ways through it? What about church? I don’t want to spread the infestation to my parish! Any prayers or saints you’d recommend? I’m sorry this is so long, I just don’t know what to do and feel pretty lost. 😦
 
You’re right–this does not sound like it is just your problem or that it is your fault.

Also, given how horrible the process is and the fact that the landlord is trying to stick tenants with the costs, would it be surprising if others in the building have problems, know they have problems, and are keeping their mouths shut?

I don’t have any practical advice, but I do want to reassure you that you are not in the wrong here.

If they demand more money for treatment, I would suggest a lawyer.
 
I’m sorry, that’s awful. Have you recently traveled anywhere? If not, the fact that they are in the baseboards and not your bed seems to indicate this is really not your fault.

What I would do is start talking to your neighbors. Even if it freaks them out. If my neighbors had beg bugs, I’d want to know for sure. If they aren’t going to even inspect any other units at your urging, you can bet that if you tell your neighbors you found them they’ll be going to the office. If they find them in even one more apartment, you shouldn’t have to pay $500.
 
Lorelei12 said:

“What I would do is start talking to your neighbors. Even if it freaks them out. If my neighbors had beg bugs, I’d want to know for sure. If they aren’t going to even inspect any other units at your urging, you can bet that if you tell your neighbors you found them they’ll be going to the office. If they find them in even one more apartment, you shouldn’t have to pay $500.”

Yes!
 
The last time we traveled was in May and we’re always really careful. We inspect the room for signs of bedbugs and keep all our luggage off the floor and on racks, etc. We only started getting bites less than a month ago but didn’t see any other signs and thought we were crazy. If they came back in May I think we would have seen them this summer.

I think we will talk to the neighbors. At the very least they have the right to know so they can check for themselves. If someone had warned us we would have been grateful. I also thought the same things as you Xantippe. I feel like we are being punished for doing the right thing and coming forward to report the problem and follow all the guidelines. I wandered if other people might try to self treat or just ignore the problem rather than risk paying the fee by admitting they have BB.

I’m documenting everything, all the signs, all the correspondence with the complex, all the steps we are taking, etc. in case we do have to get a lawyer. I’m hoping we can get this all worked out, and the treatments will work and we will be bedbug free by Thanksgiving. Thanks for the advice and support!
 
I am so sorry for what you are going through. I can’t imagine the upheaval of it all.

St. Jude is known for intercessions in times of despair. Perhaps a novena to him would be helpful. (I’m not saying you’re in despair, he’s just the saint that came to mind.)

My dad worked for Orkin. He said that bed bugs have been found in new clothes from the store. The bugs can have stowed away from other countries even in just the fabric that the clothes came from. I’m not at all saying this is what happened to you, it sounds like a structural infestation from how you describe it, just telling what I know for the benefit of others who may read this thread. Wash your new clothes before you wear it or put it in your closet.

To the OP, unscrew your lightswitch covers and electrical outlet covers and check behind there. My dad has found them there also when treating houses. I’m sure they’ve already told you but change the vacuum cleaner bags after every time you vacuum and throw them outside your apartment, don’t put it in a trashbag in your kitchen or whatnot.

I pray that they all be dead soon and never come back.

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.

Amen.
:signofcross:
 
I used to work in a shelter and we got bedbugs there. It was a complete and utter nightmare. I have nightmares about getting bedbugs at home. I just don’t know what I would do if we did. Before we got the problem under control we had to get rid of every piece of furniture in the shelter because bedbugs can burrow down into wood. They can also go for up to 1 year without feeding, so just when you think you have the problem under control - BAM! they’re back. We also had to get rid of all of the pillows and stuffed animals because treatments down work on them. They’re too dense. We also had to get special bedbug covers for all the beds and those cost about $100 a piece for single beds. I have no idea what they’d cost for a larger bed.

Also note: The exterminators kept telling us we didn’t have to get rid of all the furniture, but until we went to that length every couple of months residents would start getting new bites. After we got rid of the furniture it stopped being such a problem.
 
This is terrible and I empathize with all you are going through. I had bed bugs last year for approximately 4 months and it was a Hell on Earth that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

They were well entrenched by the time I finally identified and realized that the red bumps appearing on my ankles were from an infestation. I was sitting in a pharmacy one day and a live adult crawled across my shirt. I finally did some Internet sleuthing to identify “what’s that bug look like” and then I reported it to the psych clinic. They were well-equipped to help me because it is a practical epidemic among their clients (predominantly low-income and subsidized housing.)

My landlord was abysmal in dealing with the threat. They have never been so good at maintenance but this really took the cake. They sent in a third-rate “exterminator” to treat my room. He came in with a low-pressure spray and did, at best, a token treatment, while he indicated areas of possible reinfestation and made every effort to prove that it was all my fault (I never did find out how I got them initially.) A friend took pity and bought me a bug-proof mattress protector, and I began to meticulously wash dozens of loads of clothes and other laundry (the hot dryer will kill bugs and eggs.) I was given a “bed bug treatment” flyer from the “exterminator” who promised follow-up treatments. These never materialized.

I hassled my apartment manager time and time again about when they would re-treat my apartment. She gave me excuses and platitudes. The “exterminators” came a few more times but it was always the same cheap treatment. A full eradication was never attempted and they never intended to really solve the problem.

When it was clear that I had only myself to rely on and I had failed a housing inspection which threatened my subsidized rental assistance, I took matters into my own hands. I mustered charity assistance and interviewed a few professional exterminators. I decided on Truly Nolen. I was soon to find out that Truly Nolen is at the pinnacle of customer service and professional pest control, as well as a great price. I chose their “Four Seasons” service which was an initial fee plus a monthly charge that would provide a full treatment for the infestation as well as year-round treatments and follow-ups on demand for any future problems I might have. I must say that after the nightmare I endured I am paranoid enough to keep this year-round service for a good long time.

I followed all the pre-treatment instructions given to me to the letter (it was a lot of work, part of it was to move all my furniture away from the walls and into the middle of the room, and also to bag up all my possessions in plastic.) When I was done, my technician came in and did a thorough treatment from floor to ceiling. Every plastic bag was treated and every problem area was given attention. Two more intensive follow-up appointments later, I was completely bug-free. A technician comes every three months to check traps and make sure I do not have any infestations, and do routine treatments. I am 100% satisfied with my service.

If I had not taken matters into my own hands I would surely be homeless again, because my housing inspection depended on being bug-free, and I would not have been allowed to move into a new place while I was still infested. For a while I was sleeping on the floor in the kitchen so that the bugs would not constantly crawl over me in my sleep. I had to throw out my metal-frame bed due to the entrenched infestation inside the tubing. My comfy computer chair was thoroughly infested but between my own treatment and the professionals, we eradicated it. I could not have done it without a constant washing of all my clothes. My landlord was a thoughtless jerk and did nothing to help or offer to assist my own expenses. Due to the time constraints and a lack of will, I was unable to deduct the cost from my rent. I will be getting out of this apartment as soon as possible.

My neighbor(s) are still infested with bugs. A few months ago I had a package delivered to my neighbor and when I picked it up it was covered with them. I don’t know how they live with themselves but the manager doesn’t care. I seriously considered putting in a call to the County Health Department and I think you should consider the same. Once the bugs are allowed a foothold in one unit, they spread like mad.

You will be in my prayers and I hope for a speedy resolution to your problems.
 
akela135 said:
They are charging us $500 to treat our apartment. We also have to buy all sorts of cleaning and storage supplies, and future protection items, as well as go through a giant hassle of bagging all our possessions and also washing and air tight sealing every single piece of cloth and linen we own. Really expensive and super time consuming.
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Bed bugs are about the worst “pest” problem you can deal with; I’m sorry. You’ll get through it, but it is definitely a stressful and expensive time. $500 actually isn’t too bad, as these things run, although I concur with those who urged you to talk to your neighbors. You shouldn’t have to pay if other apartments have them.

**Make sure **you get a reputable company such as Orkin to do the treatment so that it gets done right the first time. Make sure that the company has a guarantee in their contract that their treatment will kill everything, and that if it doesn’t, they will come back and do it again for free. (A reputable pest control company should have this clause.) You definitely don’t want to have to go through this more than once. They will treat everything in your place including your beds, furniture, carpet, etc. The residue from the chemicals will stay for a while (about a month or two, I think?), and if by chance a lone bed bug escaped the treatment, the residue will kill him.

When you wash your clothes, make sure that you dry them on high heat for at least 45 minutes. If the clothes are already clean (i.e., hanging up in your closet), you can skip washing them; just throw them into the dryer on high heat; that will kill anything that could be living on them. It is the dryer heat that kills them; not the water.

Also,** don’t waste money buying the “future protection items” that you mention above, such as bed bug mattress and pillow covers. Those don’t do a thing.** Because bed bugs can and do live anywhere, such as walls/baseboards, behind picture frames, in furniture, etc. Those covers won’t prevent you from getting bed bugs in the future, and they won’t do anything to get rid of the ones you have.
akela135 said:
To make things worse is problem two. The social stigma. The apartment doesn’t want us in the office, because they don’t want to get infested. The manager wore rain boots and refused to touch anything when she was forced to come with the inspector to our apartment. My family has agreed to watch the pets as long as we keep our distance as much as possible. We don’t have any help from our friends coming. In fact they want us far away as well. I’m trying to stay up beat and see the positives, but the longer this continues (and it has only been three days!) the more difficult that becomes.
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Believe it or not, it will be funny a year or so from now. But it will definitely give you a phobia of hotels and clutter for the rest of your life. 🙂
akela135 said:
Our first treatment is Monday and if they haven’t inspected or start treating the other apartments then or soon after we could just get the bugs back. Again through no fault of our own, but we’d be left dealing with this again. For the next two weeks everything we own must be sealed and left alone, so we will be living like we are moving or in a hotel basically. Hopefully Thanksgiving will see the end of these pest but I doubt we will be invited to celebrate with either set of family so it might be a lonely victory.

Have any of you experienced bed bugs? Have you beat them? How do you find ways through it? What about church? I don’t want to spread the infestation to my parish! Any prayers or saints you’d recommend?
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Take it one step at a time. Really the only way to beat them is to get a reputable pest control company with a guarantee, as mentioned above. Do not bother with do-it-yourself home remedies.
 
EnglishTeacher said:
When you wash your clothes, make sure that you dry them on high heat for at least 45 minutes. If the clothes are already clean (i.e., hanging up in your closet), you can skip washing them; just throw them into the dryer on high heat; that will kill anything that could be living on them. It is the dryer heat that kills them; not the water.

Also,** don’t waste money buying the “future protection items” that you mention above, such as bed bug mattress and pillow covers. Those don’t do a thing.** Because bed bugs can and do live anywhere, such as walls/baseboards, behind picture frames, in furniture, etc. Those covers won’t prevent you from getting bed bugs in the future, and they won’t do anything to get rid of the ones you have.
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QFT. My bed-bug-proof mattress cover is crumpled up in a box right now. No matter how paranoid I am about a reinfestation, I’m pragmatic. When I applied the cover the bugs just burrowed into the velcro closure and infested that. The only thing the cover will protect is your mattress itself. If that is OK with you, then by all means use it. But it will not mitigate an existing infestation or prevent a future one.
 
Hey everyone I"m reading your replies and I’ll probably have a better response soon I just wanted you to know hiring an exterminator isn’t something we have a choice in. The complex I live in has a contract with one exterminating company and we have to go through them. No shopping around for other options. They sounded like they know what they are doing. We do have to bag everything and move all the furniture and bags to the center of the floor. They are doing a three attack treatment with some chemical name I can’t remember to kill them, growth regulators, and diatimaceous (spelling?) earth. They will be back in two weeks to repeat that treatment.

I did try to talk to my neighbors, only one was home and he was grateful that I told him. I think he will call the office to get his own place checked. I’ll try to catch the others later.

Oh and we are required to buy a mattress and box spring encasement/cover/thing if we want to be allowed to keep our mattress and not have to buy a new one.
 
I was aware that the fact I was an apartment tenant might have an impact on hiring a professional exterminator. At least one company I spoke to said that they would not intrude in a situation where another exterminator was already contracted to do work. I am thankful that Truly Nolen did not have any such scruples. Since you are dependent on this sole source I suggest doing everything you can to ensure they do their job correctly. Document everything. Take photos. Ask questions. Get invoices and contracts in writing. I strongly urge you to contact the County Health department and if possible, seek an attorney who is experienced in landlord-tenant disputes. These people would be able to help you ensure that your problem is treated with the care that it requires.
 
akela135 said:
Hey everyone I"m reading your replies and I’ll probably have a better response soon I just wanted you to know hiring an exterminator isn’t something we have a choice in. The complex I live in has a contract with one exterminating company and we have to go through them. No shopping around for other options. They sounded like they know what they are doing. We do have to bag everything and move all the furniture and bags to the center of the floor. They are doing a three attack treatment with some chemical name I can’t remember to kill them, growth regulators, and diatimaceous (spelling?) earth. They will be back in two weeks to repeat that treatment.
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I figured you might not have a choice; a lot of complexes have contracts with pest control companies. If that is the case, just document everything as Elizium advised. And be sure to go over the contract for the terms, especially the guarantee that they will repeat the treatment for free if more bedbugs are found within the next few months. I would insist on that, and talk to the landlord about it, too. After all, it is in his best interest as well as yours to make sure that the dreadful little critters are gone and not coming back.

It is odd that they are doing the treatment twice; Orkin only did it once in my experience with bedbugs, and everything was fine after that. But maybe your infestation is farther along, and that’s why they’re doing it twice.
akela135 said:
Oh and we are required to buy a mattress and box spring encasement/cover/thing if we want to be allowed to keep our mattress and not have to buy a new one.
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If that’s the case, then that’s what you have to do. But wait to get it until after they have treated your apartment and mattresses; there’s no point in getting one beforehand. The bedbugs can live in the folds of the case or in other parts of your bed just as well as they can live inside the mattress.
 
akela135 said:
Hey all… I haven’t been on in a while, but now that I have bedbugs in my home I’m coming back. I’m so stressed out. Okay here goes:

We found them early Tuesday morning about 2am. Then we reported them first thing in the morning to our apartment. As the only reporters it is our fault and we must pay all treatments and if we don’t do everything they say they can evict us. So already fun. They got an inspector in and he found 0 evidence in our bed or box springs. He finally found them in the walls and baseboards. Which makes us think they are in more apartments and we aren’t at fault. However the apartment seems shy to actually check the other units. They are charging us $500 to treat our apartment. We also have to buy all sorts of cleaning and storage supplies, and future protection items, as well as go through a giant hassle of bagging all our possessions and also washing and air tight sealing every single piece of cloth and linen we own. Really expensive and super time consuming.

To make things worse is problem two. The social stigma. The apartment doesn’t want us in the office, because they don’t want to get infested. The manager wore rain boots and refused to touch anything when she was forced to come with the inspector to our apartment. My family has agreed to watch the pets as long as we keep our distance as much as possible. We don’t have any help from our friends coming. In fact they want us far away as well. I’m trying to stay up beat and see the positives, but the longer this continues (and it has only been three days!) the more difficult that becomes.

Our first treatment is Monday and if they haven’t inspected or start treating the other apartments then or soon after we could just get the bugs back. Again through no fault of our own, but we’d be left dealing with this again. For the next two weeks everything we own must be sealed and left alone, so we will be living like we are moving or in a hotel basically. Hopefully Thanksgiving will see the end of these pest but I doubt we will be invited to celebrate with either set of family so it might be a lonely victory.

Have any of you experienced bed bugs? Have you beat them? How do you find ways through it? What about church? I don’t want to spread the infestation to my parish! Any prayers or saints you’d recommend? I’m sorry this is so long, I just don’t know what to do and feel pretty lost. 😦
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First I would get a lawyer who specializes in rental law, you shouldn’t have to pay anything unless they can prove you are the only one. Even then it should be their job to pay, its the price of doing business. And get another place if possible. But the problem is endemic these days. Don’t feel bad, you can pick up the critters on the buss, at the store, any where. Not your fault.

Linus2nd
 
Linusthe2nd said:
First I would get a lawyer who specializes in rental law, you shouldn’t have to pay anything unless they can prove you are the only one. Even then it should be their job to pay, its the price of doing business. And get another place if possible. But the problem is endemic these days. Don’t feel bad, you can pick up the critters on the buss, at the store, any where. Not your fault.

Linus2nd
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We had an apartment once that was infested with roaches. So much so that we would have to do dishes before we ate a meal. Finally we invested in some “bombs” and set them off in the apartment.
Then we took every washable item of ours to a laundromat and washed it. Then we went apartment hunting the very next day.🤷
 
Linusthe2nd said:
First I would get a lawyer who specializes in rental law, you shouldn’t have to pay anything unless they can prove you are the only one. Even then it should be their job to pay, its the price of doing business. And get another place if possible. But the problem is endemic these days. Don’t feel bad, you can pick up the critters on the buss, at the store, any where. Not your fault.

Linus2nd
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Yes. I have recently heard the local schools are having a bedbug problem. Thankfully, my kids go to charter schools and they haven’t been infested…yet. But I do worry. If kids can pick them up in school and people can pick them up anywhere from jail to hotels to taxi cabs I;m going to say that you shouldn’t have to pay for treatment since literally anyone in your building could have brought them in.

It’s possible a lot of people have been having problems but don’t know it’'s bedbugs, so get the word out and make sure to tell everyone that an infestation in an apartment building is NOT going to be successfully treated until everyone who even thinks they might have a bug gets their unit inspected and treated if needed.
 
This is a problem that my son is dealing with now. He is a contractor and is staying at a hotel that gives them a weekly discounted rate. They have moved his room five times. He has contacted the dept. of health, and they told him that they treated the room. He still has them!! He has spent over $200 on sprays. He told me that he slept in his bathtub!?

He was continuing to stay there because he had co-workers staying there. They were not bothered by them. My son is polluted with bites. These bugs love him! I am wondering if he is allergic to them, and the others aren’t bothered by the bites. He did not have a car and depended on these guys for getting to work. He came home to buy a friend’s car, so he can move and get himself to work.

His job is fairly new, and he has missed work due to these critters. I hope he gets everything together, and is able to be rid of these. I worry that he may carry one with them and never rid of them.

He took videos of them. Took photos of his bites. He plans on filing suit against the owner once he is settled into new apt. They would not even let him use the vacuum cleaner one night, as another person had it out for the next two days. He asked if he could store his belongings in double bag while he was gone, and they refused to allow him to store them elsewhere in the building. He found another person that lived there and had the same problem. they are filing suit together.

He is seeking reimbursement for supplies and for things he lost due to infestation, which included his mac computer.

I am nervous about him staying here next few days. I hope that he doesn’t have any clothes that have any remaining critters on them. He threw some of his clothes in our dryer.

I read where heat is the best way to get rid of them.

I hope that he gets this new apt. and is rid of them forever. I really feel for anyone that is dealing with these. Watching his videos was horrifying.
 
peaceplease said:
This is a problem that my son is dealing with now. He is a contractor and is staying at a hotel that gives them a weekly discounted rate. They have moved his room five times. He has contacted the dept. of health, and they told him that they treated the room. He still has them!! He has spent over $200 on sprays. He told me that he slept in his bathtub!?

He was continuing to stay there because he had co-workers staying there. They were not bothered by them. My son is polluted with bites. These bugs love him! I am wondering if he is allergic to them, and the others aren’t bothered by the bites. He did not have a car and depended on these guys for getting to work. He came home to buy a friend’s car, so he can move and get himself to work.

His job is fairly new, and he has missed work due to these critters. I hope he gets everything together, and is able to be rid of these. I worry that he may carry one with them and never rid of them.

He took videos of them. Took photos of his bites. He plans on filing suit against the owner once he is settled into new apt. They would not even let him use the vacuum cleaner one night, as another person had it out for the next two days. He asked if he could store his belongings in double bag while he was gone, and they refused to allow him to store them elsewhere in the building. He found another person that lived there and had the same problem. they are filing suit together.

He is seeking reimbursement for supplies and for things he lost due to infestation, which included his mac computer.

I am nervous about him staying here next few days. I hope that he doesn’t have any clothes that have any remaining critters on them. He threw some of his clothes in our dryer.

I read where heat is the best way to get rid of them.

I hope that he gets this new apt. and is rid of them forever. I really feel for anyone that is dealing with these. Watching his videos was horrifying.
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Heat is what they treat the clothes with. Be careful your son doesn’t bring them home to you!

Linus2nd
 
Good useful thread here.

I once lived in an apartment that became infested with roaches. The manager was a slow, old woman who couldn’t see any. I complained and asked the owner for treatment. She completely ignored me for months.

After a couple months of this, I simply wrote, in LARGE BLOCK LETTERS, at the bottom of my rent check, “ROACHES”.

I feel this might have encouraged her to move along and get the property treated. . . having to cash those checks.
 
My heart totally goes out to you. Bed bugs are a living nightmare and one of the thoughest pests to get rid off!!! The main ptoblem is that they reproduce about 400 a day and the eggs are almost impossible to kill and if they are on the walls, that is severe. I agree it seems not to be your fault but that they live in the building so I agtee with the previous advice.

My advice, buy Dimatocea Earth and spread it all over your place. They sell it at home depot and is a powerful chemical. The issue with exterminations is that if they missed one egg, you are doomed and eggs are easy to miss so you can’t rely on extermination only. After the extermination spread the DE on every corner, wall piece of furniture in your house.
 
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