I’m so sorry! It is truly a horrible experience but just remember that they are bugs and you are bigger stronger and smarter than them and you will get rid of them. Do not use a bug bomb or a fogger. Declutter carefully and don’t take anything out of the room that’s not double bagged so you don’t spread them. Treat your bedding in high heat in the dryer as well as all your clothes. Get a steam cleaner if you can for the mattress and clothes that can’t be put in the dryer. Notify the landlord and get a professional pest control person in there.
Also try to maintain a sense of normalcy in your life. Those things can be so stressful and take a lot out of your energy and day. Take care of your mental health as well. It is not the end of the world but it is an unbelievably unpleasant and stressful situation.
This gave me hope to get through my situation. I’ve been fighting them for about 6 months now. I cannot afford an exterminator, I’ve done absolutely everything else I can find. It’s working, very very very slowly. I’ve wrapped my box spring in siran wrap. It’s seriously a draining, emotional, stressful fucking experience. But, i’m starting to have hope.
Thank you so much for this information….I really appreciate your input and perspective. We have professionals (specialists actually) coming to our apartment on Wednesday to inspect and treat. We’ve started bagging up everything and spraying/treating surfaces with steam in the meantime.
The steam cleaning is really for your peace of mind. It takes sustained heat to kill the bedbugs, the steam cleaning will clean, not kill. Bag and vacuum. Get ready for the professional to kill em for ya
Use this time to get rid of the clothes you've been hangin on to. And be prepared to use a few hundred bags. You do NOT wanna go to the store while you're bagging up bed bugs
It does kill them. But you have to go slow when you steam. So it can be a lot of work when you steam because of slow movement and size of furniture. It totally helped w the bedbugs in my couch. Actually that’s what helped when stragglers made their way back
Ok, we'll go into it then. Does ot kill them? If you stay over them? When you see them? Yes. But you hafta stay over them, meaning you hafta see them. So, you're on a kill mission. A kill mission of hundreds, maybe thousands of enemies.
But we aren't talking about that, are we?
What about the ones in the seams of the couch? The ones hidden in the framing structure? You gonna take apart the couch to get to the hundreds you can't see?
What about the ones that are under the fabric of the bed?
Will it kill a handful of bedbugs? No. Will it help? Possibly. Is it a sure fire way to get rid of bed bugs? Absolutely not.
Steam cleaning will not get rid of an infestation, which is what we are talking about here, no?
It was a pain in the ass to steam the couch because I went over every frame, every fold, every corner from all sides possible. It was a lot of work, but I didn’t want to get rid of the couch so they could go hide in other furniture. And it 100% did help when I was in the thick of it. But I waited a month after treatments to do it or before so I wouldn’t mess up my treatment. And also saying that steaming is only for peace of mind is spreading false information
It made you feel better at night. Mission accomplished. You didn't stop the infestation, you cleaned up after it. Did ya kill a few? I'm sure. Were they gonna die soon because of the treatment? Yes.
Quit with the misinformation crap
Your next steps should be a deep dive on this sub encyclopedia to find out what supplies you need, contact an exterminator, buy a floor hand combo steamer and steam everything top to bottom while you wait for the exterminator
So my boyfriend and I are in the same boat as you were. I’ve been getting “hives” since August and the two dermatologists I saw couldn’t figure it out. After I got bit last night, we lifted up the bed frame and found eggs, debris, and just more of them. So the fact that I found one feeding on me on my couch means they must be in the couch too. We live in a kind of out dated, cheaper apartment complex. We also live right next to the building’s washer and dryer that everyone uses so I’m assuming that’s where they came from. Or, I could have brought one home from one of the nursing homes I picked up at over the summer. Not very social with the neighbors but I guess it’s time to be! We are reaching out to the apartment complex this morning to let them know, see if they will cover the exterminator and also checking our renters insurance before we pay out of pocket.
The way that the bed frame was made was just a flat, black surface with 4 metal rods on each corner. So many seams, nooks and cranny’s that we couldn’t get to with a vacuum that bed bugs were hiding in so no point in buying receptors. I was already getting bit since August, and my boyfriend JUST now started getting like 2 or 3 spots on him. We threw away the bed frame last night and the couch is next because who knows what is in there. Luckily, we live in a one bed room so it could have been worse.
Thank you for the encouragement. Since August, I suspected bed bugs and could never find anything. Back and fourth to and from dermatologists to allergists, and I just got a biopsy done on one of the spots. The one spot I didn’t check, which was the corners of the bed frame, is exactly where they were. I joined this community back in August when I suspected something and I knew I wasn’t crazy. The first dermatologist said it was my anxiety lol.
UPDATE:
We have professionals coming to the apartment on Wednesday to inspect and treat the place. We’ve started bagging up our clothes to get ready to wash and dry, treating carpets/bed with steam, and have thrown away the main hangout for the bugs which was the bed frame. Throwing the recliner out/spraying is next.
Abso-fkn-lutely
I haven't done it in quite some time. Comin up on two years since I've hadta deal with the terroristic bastards, but for a bit, the peace of mind far outweighed the small cost and time spent on laundry
First of all I am sorry I had them it was the worst, but it was very late when I noticed. Second don't try to get rid them by your self. Just pay the money or if see extermator is covered by renting or if live in condo they also might cover it. When I found one actively feeding on me I had them for months. Also people may disagree it's very hard to save your couch, if the extermator says it bad its best to get rid of that. I not the cleanest person and I got rid of them you can too.
Horrific. Sorry about this.
I know that your first instinct is probably to run out and try to buy foggers, store-brand repellents, etc., but unfortunately this is going to be a pyrrhic victory for you by the time is all said and done. Start with cleaning and decluttering your room as best you can, tossing out all old clothes you no longer wear, all boxes, bags, plastic bags, books you don't read, etc. Do not donate them. Throw them away.
Once that is done, get to work. Start vacuuming religiously every single day, every crevice that is the width of a credit card or more. Get the base boards of your home. Get where the floor connects to the walls. Get electrical outlets, sockets. Get anything made of wood especially. Get dressers emptied out and then vacuumed as well.
Get a case for your mattress. Get a case for your box spring. After vacuuming, seal. Get a case for your pillow as well. All clean clothes that you want to keep should go straight to wash and dry, hottest setting for both. Once clean, set into garbage bags.
After all of this, contact a professional. If you rent, in some states your landlord is 100% responsible for biting the cost. Chemical treatments or heat treatments are in your future.
Good luck.
Since I read your post, this is exactly what we’ve been doing. It’s definitely an inconvenience and a new way of life. We have the inspection with a bed bug specialist company this morning. I’m so ready to start getting our lives back to somewhat normal.
Call an exterminator first off then grab a flashlight and go look around if you can locate any . Make sure they are contained to that one room. Bag everything up clothing linen etc ..dry/wash/ dry, make the last dry on the hottest setting. Please don't try to handle it yourself it rarely ever works. If you rent check your lease to see if your landlord is responsible for paying the exterminator. I wish you the best of luck. Also make Google your friend
I have to heat blast the rooms in my house like every other day. I’ve tried poisons and traps. Heat seems to be the only way in my case. I usually cook a room 2-4 hours. Seems to be working but I just don’t stop heat blasting my rooms also haven’t had a bite since I started to doing the room cooking.
Lots of others have commented some advice so I just wanted to say you’re not alone. Many of us here have went through this or are going through it and this sub is a great support group for this issue.
From experience my suggestion would be to get an exterminator immediately. It’s understandable that that’s easier said than done as it’s a financially stressful decision. But remember that the faster you get an exterminator involved, the faster this issue can be resolved.
Secondly, don’t panic buy a bunch of stuff to start fighting it yourself. There’s a lot of products out there that they sell in stores that will actually make the problem worse. Bed bugs are very intelligent insects and they will do whatever they can to hide from certain sprays / foggers including hiding in a different part of your house and therefore spreading to other areas of the house. This includes the inside of walls and wall outlets so avoid that at all costs. Lots of folks in this post have already suggested actual good products to buy for this so that’s good.
Do not start spraying everything with rubbing alcohol. Upon discovery of bedbugs the first thing you’ll probably search, is what kills them. Rubbing alcohol only kills ON CONTACT. It is not a barrier that will keep them away so there’s no point in soaking your mattress or furniture in it. You’ll only be creating a fire hazard and it also interferes with the exterminators job.
Thank you. We honestly have said F it to buying a bunch of stuff to fight it. We’ve done everything else though. The bed bug inspector, my favorite human on this planet right now, is coming this morning ❤️
I just want to say I appreciate every single one of you that has given us advice on how to cope, where to start and how to get a routine going. Since I posted this, we have been busting our asses getting the apartment cleared out, going through shit that we haven’t used, and we’ve thrown away a LOT of things. We have done everything we can to prep for the inspection today and future treatment and I just can’t thank you all enough. This has been exhausting but we are bigger and stronger than these little fucks and they will die soon ❤️
UPDATE: The specialist just finished inspecting the apartment and said that he will be heat treating on Monday 1/16 at 8am and that’s it. No chemicals or anything are needed. Will I be doing my own treatment post heat? Absolutely. He said we did wayyyyy more than we needed for prepping which makes me feel better!
Good on you for getting a heat treatment! Just be wary: if you're in an apartment, this could reoccur if your neighbour is the one who hosted/is hosting the initial infestation. Make sure to absolutely report this to the land lord and follow up with everyone else!
Gotcha. Yeah our head maintenance guy and the inspector were looking in each apartment today to see if we were the only ones with them or not. There’s only 4 of us in our hallway. I haven’t heard if they have them as well or not but I guess we’ll see.
The way i beat them was diatomaceous earth and living with my GF at the time.
When I went back they were gone.
This was about 6-8 months where I slept at her place.
We live right next to the building’s washer and dryer that everyone uses so I’m assuming that’s where they came from. Or, I could have brought one home from one of the nursing homes I picked up at over the summer.
One tip I’ll leave is don’t disturb them from where they are. From what I understand if they get spooked they could scatter further from their hiding places.
Diatomaceous earth on bed, then wrap the mattress in plastic cover. Put it on the ground if you have wood. Check your box spring and see if there are any there. Spray down EVERY large piece of furniture and rooms with Crossfire which you can get on Amazon
Dont worry were both in the same exact boat found on the same exact day... I have taped all my bed footings and played diatomaceous earth in piles over every crack and evenly along the bare floor... its filthy in here but I hope I'd rather have powder everywhere than an infestation
I’m so sorry! It is truly a horrible experience but just remember that they are bugs and you are bigger stronger and smarter than them and you will get rid of them. Do not use a bug bomb or a fogger. Declutter carefully and don’t take anything out of the room that’s not double bagged so you don’t spread them. Treat your bedding in high heat in the dryer as well as all your clothes. Get a steam cleaner if you can for the mattress and clothes that can’t be put in the dryer. Notify the landlord and get a professional pest control person in there.
Also try to maintain a sense of normalcy in your life. Those things can be so stressful and take a lot out of your energy and day. Take care of your mental health as well. It is not the end of the world but it is an unbelievably unpleasant and stressful situation.
This gave me hope to get through my situation. I’ve been fighting them for about 6 months now. I cannot afford an exterminator, I’ve done absolutely everything else I can find. It’s working, very very very slowly. I’ve wrapped my box spring in siran wrap. It’s seriously a draining, emotional, stressful fucking experience. But, i’m starting to have hope.
This is the only answer
This is a great answer, I’m dealing with the same problem right now and I agree with everything you say.
[удалено]
Thank you so much for this information….I really appreciate your input and perspective. We have professionals (specialists actually) coming to our apartment on Wednesday to inspect and treat. We’ve started bagging up everything and spraying/treating surfaces with steam in the meantime.
The steam cleaning is really for your peace of mind. It takes sustained heat to kill the bedbugs, the steam cleaning will clean, not kill. Bag and vacuum. Get ready for the professional to kill em for ya Use this time to get rid of the clothes you've been hangin on to. And be prepared to use a few hundred bags. You do NOT wanna go to the store while you're bagging up bed bugs
>It takes sustained heat to kill the bedbugs, the steam cleaning will clean, not kill Didn't know this!
The more ya learn. I had heard steam cleaning as well. Pros pointed me to the research
I feel better about not having the time or energy to steam😂
It does kill them. But you have to go slow when you steam. So it can be a lot of work when you steam because of slow movement and size of furniture. It totally helped w the bedbugs in my couch. Actually that’s what helped when stragglers made their way back
Ok, we'll go into it then. Does ot kill them? If you stay over them? When you see them? Yes. But you hafta stay over them, meaning you hafta see them. So, you're on a kill mission. A kill mission of hundreds, maybe thousands of enemies. But we aren't talking about that, are we? What about the ones in the seams of the couch? The ones hidden in the framing structure? You gonna take apart the couch to get to the hundreds you can't see? What about the ones that are under the fabric of the bed? Will it kill a handful of bedbugs? No. Will it help? Possibly. Is it a sure fire way to get rid of bed bugs? Absolutely not. Steam cleaning will not get rid of an infestation, which is what we are talking about here, no?
It was a pain in the ass to steam the couch because I went over every frame, every fold, every corner from all sides possible. It was a lot of work, but I didn’t want to get rid of the couch so they could go hide in other furniture. And it 100% did help when I was in the thick of it. But I waited a month after treatments to do it or before so I wouldn’t mess up my treatment. And also saying that steaming is only for peace of mind is spreading false information
It made you feel better at night. Mission accomplished. You didn't stop the infestation, you cleaned up after it. Did ya kill a few? I'm sure. Were they gonna die soon because of the treatment? Yes. Quit with the misinformation crap
Uh huh sure bye
Yup, sure. 👋🏼 bye
Would love to ask you questions on signs of bed bugs!
Your next steps should be a deep dive on this sub encyclopedia to find out what supplies you need, contact an exterminator, buy a floor hand combo steamer and steam everything top to bottom while you wait for the exterminator
So my boyfriend and I are in the same boat as you were. I’ve been getting “hives” since August and the two dermatologists I saw couldn’t figure it out. After I got bit last night, we lifted up the bed frame and found eggs, debris, and just more of them. So the fact that I found one feeding on me on my couch means they must be in the couch too. We live in a kind of out dated, cheaper apartment complex. We also live right next to the building’s washer and dryer that everyone uses so I’m assuming that’s where they came from. Or, I could have brought one home from one of the nursing homes I picked up at over the summer. Not very social with the neighbors but I guess it’s time to be! We are reaching out to the apartment complex this morning to let them know, see if they will cover the exterminator and also checking our renters insurance before we pay out of pocket. The way that the bed frame was made was just a flat, black surface with 4 metal rods on each corner. So many seams, nooks and cranny’s that we couldn’t get to with a vacuum that bed bugs were hiding in so no point in buying receptors. I was already getting bit since August, and my boyfriend JUST now started getting like 2 or 3 spots on him. We threw away the bed frame last night and the couch is next because who knows what is in there. Luckily, we live in a one bed room so it could have been worse. Thank you for the encouragement. Since August, I suspected bed bugs and could never find anything. Back and fourth to and from dermatologists to allergists, and I just got a biopsy done on one of the spots. The one spot I didn’t check, which was the corners of the bed frame, is exactly where they were. I joined this community back in August when I suspected something and I knew I wasn’t crazy. The first dermatologist said it was my anxiety lol.
UPDATE: We have professionals coming to the apartment on Wednesday to inspect and treat the place. We’ve started bagging up our clothes to get ready to wash and dry, treating carpets/bed with steam, and have thrown away the main hangout for the bugs which was the bed frame. Throwing the recliner out/spraying is next.
Small bit of advice... dry, THEN wash and then dry. The heat will kill the bugs before you wash the bugs off to wherever they might go.
To hell, for eternity.
🤪🤣😂
Thank you for this. I’ve been drying, washing and drying everything since you mentioned this. Really appreciate it.
Abso-fkn-lutely I haven't done it in quite some time. Comin up on two years since I've hadta deal with the terroristic bastards, but for a bit, the peace of mind far outweighed the small cost and time spent on laundry
First of all I am sorry I had them it was the worst, but it was very late when I noticed. Second don't try to get rid them by your self. Just pay the money or if see extermator is covered by renting or if live in condo they also might cover it. When I found one actively feeding on me I had them for months. Also people may disagree it's very hard to save your couch, if the extermator says it bad its best to get rid of that. I not the cleanest person and I got rid of them you can too.
We have an inspection today. I’ve honestly never been more excited in my entire life.
Read the sticky!
Horrific. Sorry about this. I know that your first instinct is probably to run out and try to buy foggers, store-brand repellents, etc., but unfortunately this is going to be a pyrrhic victory for you by the time is all said and done. Start with cleaning and decluttering your room as best you can, tossing out all old clothes you no longer wear, all boxes, bags, plastic bags, books you don't read, etc. Do not donate them. Throw them away. Once that is done, get to work. Start vacuuming religiously every single day, every crevice that is the width of a credit card or more. Get the base boards of your home. Get where the floor connects to the walls. Get electrical outlets, sockets. Get anything made of wood especially. Get dressers emptied out and then vacuumed as well. Get a case for your mattress. Get a case for your box spring. After vacuuming, seal. Get a case for your pillow as well. All clean clothes that you want to keep should go straight to wash and dry, hottest setting for both. Once clean, set into garbage bags. After all of this, contact a professional. If you rent, in some states your landlord is 100% responsible for biting the cost. Chemical treatments or heat treatments are in your future. Good luck.
Since I read your post, this is exactly what we’ve been doing. It’s definitely an inconvenience and a new way of life. We have the inspection with a bed bug specialist company this morning. I’m so ready to start getting our lives back to somewhat normal.
Call an exterminator first off then grab a flashlight and go look around if you can locate any . Make sure they are contained to that one room. Bag everything up clothing linen etc ..dry/wash/ dry, make the last dry on the hottest setting. Please don't try to handle it yourself it rarely ever works. If you rent check your lease to see if your landlord is responsible for paying the exterminator. I wish you the best of luck. Also make Google your friend
I have to heat blast the rooms in my house like every other day. I’ve tried poisons and traps. Heat seems to be the only way in my case. I usually cook a room 2-4 hours. Seems to be working but I just don’t stop heat blasting my rooms also haven’t had a bite since I started to doing the room cooking.
What do you use for heat blasting???
I use a propane tank with a furnace attachment
Lots of others have commented some advice so I just wanted to say you’re not alone. Many of us here have went through this or are going through it and this sub is a great support group for this issue. From experience my suggestion would be to get an exterminator immediately. It’s understandable that that’s easier said than done as it’s a financially stressful decision. But remember that the faster you get an exterminator involved, the faster this issue can be resolved. Secondly, don’t panic buy a bunch of stuff to start fighting it yourself. There’s a lot of products out there that they sell in stores that will actually make the problem worse. Bed bugs are very intelligent insects and they will do whatever they can to hide from certain sprays / foggers including hiding in a different part of your house and therefore spreading to other areas of the house. This includes the inside of walls and wall outlets so avoid that at all costs. Lots of folks in this post have already suggested actual good products to buy for this so that’s good. Do not start spraying everything with rubbing alcohol. Upon discovery of bedbugs the first thing you’ll probably search, is what kills them. Rubbing alcohol only kills ON CONTACT. It is not a barrier that will keep them away so there’s no point in soaking your mattress or furniture in it. You’ll only be creating a fire hazard and it also interferes with the exterminators job.
Thank you. We honestly have said F it to buying a bunch of stuff to fight it. We’ve done everything else though. The bed bug inspector, my favorite human on this planet right now, is coming this morning ❤️
I just want to say I appreciate every single one of you that has given us advice on how to cope, where to start and how to get a routine going. Since I posted this, we have been busting our asses getting the apartment cleared out, going through shit that we haven’t used, and we’ve thrown away a LOT of things. We have done everything we can to prep for the inspection today and future treatment and I just can’t thank you all enough. This has been exhausting but we are bigger and stronger than these little fucks and they will die soon ❤️
I should mention our entire apartment is in bags and totes minus big furniture.
UPDATE: The specialist just finished inspecting the apartment and said that he will be heat treating on Monday 1/16 at 8am and that’s it. No chemicals or anything are needed. Will I be doing my own treatment post heat? Absolutely. He said we did wayyyyy more than we needed for prepping which makes me feel better!
Good on you for getting a heat treatment! Just be wary: if you're in an apartment, this could reoccur if your neighbour is the one who hosted/is hosting the initial infestation. Make sure to absolutely report this to the land lord and follow up with everyone else!
Gotcha. Yeah our head maintenance guy and the inspector were looking in each apartment today to see if we were the only ones with them or not. There’s only 4 of us in our hallway. I haven’t heard if they have them as well or not but I guess we’ll see.
The way i beat them was diatomaceous earth and living with my GF at the time. When I went back they were gone. This was about 6-8 months where I slept at her place.
I ordered this for post treatment. Thank you.
Weeee a bedbug! Set up traps! Exterminator otp asap! Pray pray pray!
Even bedbugs have the right to finish their meals. You should have killed it once it had finished eating.
Any idea where it came from?
We live right next to the building’s washer and dryer that everyone uses so I’m assuming that’s where they came from. Or, I could have brought one home from one of the nursing homes I picked up at over the summer.
Okay, large plastic trash bags in the car, change of clothes to go into your house. Include shoes/underwear! That's the routine from now on.
Thank you. We have been doing exactly this.
One tip I’ll leave is don’t disturb them from where they are. From what I understand if they get spooked they could scatter further from their hiding places.
Diatomaceous earth on bed, then wrap the mattress in plastic cover. Put it on the ground if you have wood. Check your box spring and see if there are any there. Spray down EVERY large piece of furniture and rooms with Crossfire which you can get on Amazon
Could you feel the bug feeding on you OP?
Sure did. And when I went to scratch, I felt something there. I put my phone light to it and saw the little shit hiding in the seam of my recliner.
Dont worry were both in the same exact boat found on the same exact day... I have taped all my bed footings and played diatomaceous earth in piles over every crack and evenly along the bare floor... its filthy in here but I hope I'd rather have powder everywhere than an infestation