Bed bugs, eeeuuuuuooooo!!!!!

[Changing4Best]

First, let me say that I am not a filthy person. I don't leave dirty dishes in the sink, I have a lady come in once a week and help me keep things clean and neat, I do my laundry every week and clean my pet's cage then too. I take out the garbage regularly, etc. I'm not the most neat person in the world either. I am kind of a clutter-bug. However, I don't see any obvious reason that this has happened to me, other than it happened to some neighbors and affected me after that too.

One would think that one's own bed would be the safest and most cleanest place in the world, especially when one takes special care of it, but this week, that is not so in the apartment building in which I live. We have been attacked by BED BUGS!

One outdoorsy person who lives in the opposite side of the building from me, and at the opposite end of the building, got bitten by bugs. He had no idea what was going on, he just thought it was the usual run of the mill bugs you run into while hunting and fishing. NOT! He even got Impetigo from these bug bites! That's serious!!!

He washed his cloths in the communal laundry, and then we all eventually did the same that week, last week, and now the whole building is infested to one degree or another by them!

I have 3 bites on my person. These bites REALLY itch! Like at a 9 on the 1-10 scale where 10 is the worst. And if you scratch them, they can, of course, become infected.

I bought some BED BUG insecticide made by RAID and have been using it to some degree, but I have a pet Guinea Pig so I have not sprayed near his cage. I am scared that they will get into his cage and bite him too. I don't know what to do about that!

I read up on these insects in Wikipedia and it says that they have become immune to every type of insecticide known to man except DDT. However, the use of DDT has been banned in the U.S.A. so that is not an option for me. I just hope that RAID knows what they are doing.

There is another problem. It says on the can of RAID to wash all bedding with HOT WATER and use the highest setting when drying them. Guess what? My comforter cannot be washed in HOT WATER or dried at the highest dryer setting. It shrivels up if you do that. Then you have to iron it for 3 hours or so to get it back to some semblance of what it once was, but you can never really succeed. I did this one time, not having read the washing and drying instructions and paid the price.

I LOVE my comforter. It is green, my favorite color, but green comforters are hard to come by. Not a lot of companies make them, and if they do, you often run into the same problem, the catalog will describe them as "machine wash" but mentions nothing about drying them. This means they have to be hung to dry or dried on the lowest setting. SIGH....

Besides, who wants to go out and buy a new comforter? These things are expensive!

Last night, I don't think I got bitten at all. I don't feel any new bites upon my person since I sprayed the Bed Bug Spray. However, with these things are in our building, there is no guarantee that I will continue to have the same blessing every night that I sleep.

Our building manager has promised to have the whole building treated for this scourge. However, how soon, and how she plans to have it done concerns me, for my fish tank, for my pet Guinea Pig and for ME! Poisons are poisons. If you kill the bugs you affect all living things in that environment too. Simple.

So I am scared of the bugs, the insecticides, and just going to bed to rest or to sleep. What used to be my safe haven has become a place of horror.

Oh, and one other thing. There was a building down the street that got treated for this already. So it may have come from there. We are not at all sure how we got it, but we heard, and I read on Wikipedia, that it is a growing problem in the U.S.A. especially in the south, so BEWARE!!!

Oh, and they carry staph and strep germs, so getting sick badly from them can happen, apparently, too! Oh dear Lord, help me please!

 

[Deleted member 541]

I'm dealing with this with one of my customers.

First of all a professional is needed and they will have to do the ENTIRE building if everyone has them. There is no other choice. Every piece of bedding and clothing must be put into plastic bags, carted to the laundry and dried for at least 40 minutes on high heat. EVERYTHING That can be washed or dried has to have this done. Bed bugs get into woodwork, carpeting, night stands dressers, and all furniture must be sprayed too.

Bed bugs travel. They follow the carbon dioxide that we breath when sleeping. They are insidious and not easy to get rid of. I recommend a product called Hot Shot that you can buy at Home Depot. It will help control them, but not completely get rid of them, because everyone else in the building has them.

For them to be throughout the building, this has been going on for a long time!!!!!

They are through out the country, and the east coast where I live has been hit hard by them.

 

[Neverthesame]

That really sucks.

I'm not sure what you can do for the comforter.
What about a steam cleaner? Does that kill bed bugs?
If it does it shouldn't shrink the comforter.

As for your pets. If/when the exterminator does his sweep. Removing the gerbil and cage should be sufficient for his safety. I'd also recommend replacing the filter from the water pump as well as draining the water 3/4 then adding new water.
If you're still worried, change the water a second time in a few days. That should remove most of the contamination, without stressing the fish too much. Also, remove the food, woodshavings and anything else from the flat during the spraying.

None of that is probably anything you haven't already thought of, but that's the best I can think to suggest.

Though there is good news. Best as my powers of Google can deduce. Like most diseases, the diseases carried by bed bugs don't seem to be transmissible to different species.
That and they apparently prefer to feed on humans, only seeking a blood meal from a pet as a last resort.

 

[Eagle3]

We had an infestation that lasted 2 years at my parent's house. We have two dogs, so we needed to keep things safe for them. We tried the chemicals, but those just didn't work. Instead, we went with a heat treatment plus chemicals. THAT killed them all!! What the extermination company did was bring huge heaters into the house, they heat the entire building to an internal temp of 120 degrees for at least 6 hours, and spray all furniture, nooks, and crannies. This is the best, safest way to kill those nasty vermin. And yes, anything that's not immediately necessary has to go into plastic bags and be completely separated from all human contact for at least 6 months, all clothes and bedding MUST be washed in HEAT, but if you can't do that with the comforter, just double-bag it and put it out of the apartment for 6 months.

 

[Changing4Best]

I'm concerned that the Health Dept. might try to condemn the building, since it is so widespread throughout the whole of it. There is no place in town to rent either, as a casino opened in a nearby town 12 miles from here, and their employees took every available apartment in town! I am SCARED. I am SO SCARED!!!!! If you pray, please pray for me. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@SheilaKathy Well, I hope that someone has contacted the owner of the building and informed him/her. This needs to be handled ASAP. Yes, the heat treatment is a much better option, as I just spoke with a professional today. Although their co. recommend a temp of 130-140 for 6 hours/ 2 days in a row. This is the process my customer has chosen to do. They also give a 90 day guarantee. If this fails, they also have a canine that seeks out bed bugs and they could go through the house with the dog to pin point hot spots and the use the chemicals.... They do use chemicals on the mattress both times!!!!

You may also need to get rid of your box springs. They really recommend doing that, and you keep your mattress. There are also mattress contraptions that you can get to put over your mattress that locks and can't be taken off for over 2 yrs. it suffocates, and starves the bugs to death. But that's after the place has been treated!!!

This is an expense so just know this ahead of time!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Sheila Kathy I am so sorry this is going on in your life right now. I hope that you will get a lot of help in getting rid of the bugs out of your home.

 

[Nessa7]

I'm so sorry that you're going through this. Hopefully your landlord takes action soon. I can't imagine how upset I would be if I was in your shoes.

Do you have your own vacuum? Getting into the habit of vacuuming your floor and furniture and emptying the vacuum outside now might give you a little bit of relief from the bites.

 

[Friday]

If you have renters insurance bedbugs is usually -but not always- one of the things it covers (replacing fabric furnishings, clothes, etc. which can run into the thousands; as well as hotel stays during times when your building is tented, etc.).

 

[Changing4Best]

They have the exterminator coming in on Monday morning at 10:30 AM. I think that is the soonest they could get anyone. The building manager did not tell me what they would be doing, in fact she did not even know. All she said is that there are "preliminary things that have to be done before extermination can take place." So I have to take Monday off from work. "Great!" NOT!! Who knows if I will have to take Tuesday off too, or even Wednesday.

I just about emptied the can of Bed Bug Spray out onto my baseboards. As much of them as I could access anyway.

One thing the Building Manager did say is that they will inspect each apartment first, before they decide if that one needs treatment, and then I guess they might have to decide what treatment is needed, according to what they find. I am supposing that last, but I don't know.

If they do HEAT, I am concerned for my fish. They can only withstand a certain amount of heat. Also, who would pay for the heating to be done? If my power bill goes sky high for the month, that would be just more of a financial disaster than this already is looking like, if I have to buy a new box spring and so on....

 

[Changing4Best]

Tented, crap! Motels can have these critters too! We could end up bringing them back in here from a place like that. Also, we are in the path of the Total Eclipse of the Sun, which takes place later on this month. Every motel within 200 miles of here is already booked SOLID! Oh dear GOD!!!! @Friday

 

[Deleted member 541]

They have trucks that are equipped with heat stuff. It's not charged to the customer for the electric. Every apartment/ the whole building should be done.

Your fish and pig will have to leave the premise. Either with chemicals or heat. There is some prep but it would depend on what they are going to do. One customer had to wish or dry in dryer EVERY piece of clothing she had in her bedroom, and everything had to be emptied out of dressers and endstands as they had to spray this places too. It's a process........ and the spray that you are using.... is only keeping the bugs AWAY it isn't killing them and they will come back!!!!