Bed Bugs!

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Bed Bugs!

Postby Hikin_Jim » Sun May 15, 2011 8:38 pm

So, you know those news reports you've been hearing about how bed bugs are making a comeback? Apparently those reports are true, because the HJ household has a bumper crop.

The typical treatment involves throwing away your mattress, replacing carpeting, and other "convenient" measures. It's usually a multiple-month battle requiring treatment after treatment. This sounds like lots of fun. :(

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Postby Kevin » Sun May 15, 2011 10:22 pm

Any ideas about how the bedbugs were introduced into your house?
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Postby Hikin_Jim » Sun May 15, 2011 10:25 pm

Several other units in the apartment complex have them, so it may be a general infestation. There was a set of neighbors, now evicted, which were the most slovenly people I have ever seen. Food dried on to the floor, piles of literal dirt; it was amazing. The infestation may have come from them.

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Postby Hikin_Jim » Mon May 16, 2011 1:56 pm

Exterminator came today for a preliminary inspection. Definitely bed bugs. He says we have a pretty bad infestation.

Good news: we might be able to save the bed and the carpet. Bad news: pretty much everything has to be removed from the apartment in order for them to treat it. And it has to be treated twice. :shock: Oh, joy.

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Postby Ellen » Mon May 16, 2011 3:45 pm

Oh Jim, what a complete PITA :cry: I am so sorry. These things aren't supposed to happen to nice people :?

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Postby Hikin_Jim » Mon May 16, 2011 4:57 pm

Yeah. All the closets have to be emptied, all the furniture pulled out from the wall. We'll basically have to rent a storage unit -- I mean where are we going to put the contents of our closets.

And it has to be done twice. :lol: Guess you won't see me on the trail any time soon. :(

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Postby tinaballina » Mon May 23, 2011 12:35 pm

OMG<this is horrible. how did you know you had them?
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Postby Hikin_Jim » Mon May 23, 2011 3:19 pm

tinaballina wrote:how did you know you had them?
That's a story in and of itself.

We saw little Joyce had what appeared to be bites all over her. They didn't seem to be bothering her, but we were concerned. The doctor said, "baby eczema". So we bought skin cream.

Then the bites started showing up on Michiko. They were driving her crazy. This ain't no baby eczema! She went to see a doctor. "Insect bites" was the diagnosis. But what? The doctor wasn't able to say.

Michiko then went on an internet hunt. She suspected bed bugs. I tore apart the bed, and there they were. Yuck!

The problem with this whole story is that it took us a month from the time the bites started showing on Jocye until we figured out what was happening. The bed bugs are now well established. :(

Michiko won't even spend the night in the apartment anymore. We're going to be staying at my mother's -- and we'll strip down into fresh clothes the minute we get there and all our clothes will go straight into the washing machine.

In the mean time, I have to finish moving our stuff out of our unit, and we have to figure out how to de-bug everything we move out -- otherwise the bugs will be back the minute we move things back in.

For those that travel, take precautions. Your luggage is normally how you bring home bed bugs. Don't set luggage down on beds. Some even recommend putting your clothes straight in the washer after travel. Bed bug precautions are worth reading up on. Its a HUGE hassle to get rid of them once they get in. Every item laundered. You have to move out so they can spray. Everything you move out has to some how be treated. And even then there's no guarantee. Bed bugs hide deep in cracks and it's hard to get the spray to them. And bed bugs are very pesticide resistant. And of course how special to have pesticides in one's home. :roll:

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Postby tinaballina » Mon May 23, 2011 4:22 pm

this freaks me out beyond belief.
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Postby Hikin_Jim » Mon May 23, 2011 4:57 pm

Yeah, you and my wife both. She's been spending the night in the bathtub. She's now refused to spend another night in the apartment.

In some ways, this is worse than moving. Every non-launderable item has to be bagged and sealed and then treated in some way before being moved back in. Or left in storage for a year. Supposedly bed bugs can live for about a year with no food (food: that would be you).

Nasty little suckers. They look like small cockroaches. Even worse is when you realize that they're rusty brown color comes from what they feed on -- your blood.

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