About 3-4 weeks or so ago, Laura and I noticed that we were getting insect bites on our arms and legs, and it appeared to be when we were sleeping. As time went on, the bites kept persisting, although we had never heard or seen a mosquito nor spied a flea. (We had both had fleas at previous apartments, and were pretty sure we knew what we were looking for.)
Still clueless as to what was going on, I decided to flip and vacuum the mattress and wash the sheets today, as a preventative step. I caught a bug shoot across the corner of the exposed mattress that I was able to stop and kill. The tissue I used to kill it was marked by a tinge of blood. This was not good.
These are bed bugs.
Now, I’ve never experienced them before, but from what I’ve read so far this afternoon, they’re not going to be easy to get rid of.
Spent the rest of the day doing three things:
So far, this has been an absolute nightmare. I realize that these little bastards have been chomping on me for about a month. But what’s kept me sane is ignorance. Without that as a shield, it’s becoming very difficult to deal with psychologically. As I type this, Henry is asleep in his room, and Laura is out trying to find king-sized mattress and box spring covers for our bed, on the advice of the one pest control guy who found it in his heart to call us back on a Saturday and offer help.
He’s coming Wednesday morning for the first of three planned treatments. No, they aren’t cheap. No, I don’t care. Wednesday morning has never felt so far in the distant future.
Meanwhile, we’ll be sleeping in our bedroom. Apparently, it’s not a good idea to retreat to another room in the house, as the little f-ers get wise to that quickly and could spread themselves around the house. I’m already freaking out about where the eggs might have already traveled to, so I need the thought of spreading them further like I need a hole in the head.
Wish us luck. This is going to be rough.
todd July 21st, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Ouch! Good luck.
They can turn you into a zombie if they get into your brains, you know.
John July 21st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Thanks. The good news is that a different pest control guy called us back Sunday night, and he was at the house this morning, doing his thing.
Laura said that he sounded confident that he’d be able to take care of it right quick, but neither of us will be happy until we can get that tainted bed safely the hell out of our house.
Jaymz July 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Does your mattress have a cover currently? I was under the impression that those are widely successfull in keeping criters from the actual mattress, as they are non-porus (water-proof) and only along the zipper line can anything actually get to the mattress.
You’ll want to get a new mattress, and be sure to get a nice cover. We bought our bed shortly after we moved and it came with a cover - as long as the mattress is in the cover, its covered under warranty for life (its one of those memory foam dealies).
Anyway, good luck. I can imagine how scarey that must be. I hope they are able to rid the house of the infestation. Good luck, brother!
Peter July 22nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I come here with a music recommendation and what I get in return is a paranoia that I am currently sleeping on a legion of tiny mouths. Thanks, John!
Sidenote, have you heard of a band called Volbeat? If not, I recommend checking out their latest CD, “Rock the Rebel, Metal the Devil”. Not sure why I thought to recommend it, but hey, mysteries are fun!
John July 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Yeah, sorry about that…
Nope, never heard of Volbeat before, but apparently eMusic has one of their albums. Of course, not the one you mentioned, but I might just grab it anyways when my downloads refresh. Thanks!
Peter July 22nd, 2008 at 9:34 pm
The available CD isn’t a bad one, so I’d still give it a go. It does have an addicting cover of I Only Wanna Be With You, after all…