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Don't let the bed bugs bite.

hollams

Gold Member
I've said that many times as a joke without really knowing anything about bed bugs and let's just say I now know it's not a joking matter.

My Aunt died a year ago and my Dad was handling her estate and brought home some of her purses and other items about 5 months ago and hiding in them were some bed bugs. A week later my Dad found some crawling in his room, but he wasn't sure what they were and dismissed them as ticks. Three months later my Dad passed away and then a month ago my mom started to complain about itching. That week she found a bug on her bed which when she squished red blood came out and when I researched that I saw articles on bed bugs and when I went down that weekend I confirmed she had bed bugs. I'm lucky in that I did not take any home with me when I was staying there weekends when we didn't know they had them.

I spent hours researching bed bugs and they are the worst household pest and the hardest to kill. They feed on human blood and can go 18 months without feeding. Most people aren't allergic to their bites so they can go unnoticed and spread like crazy. Luckily they don't transmit any diseases. They aren't fast bugs so they usually hang around 8-10 feet away from your bed usually on the box spring, inside creases in your mattresses, or in the outlets closest to you bed. They wait until night until you are sleeping and find you based on the carbon dioxide you exhale and the heat you generate. They will usually bite you 3 times around 5 to 15 minutes each then go back to their hiding spot. They molt up to 5 times before they become adults with each molting requiring feeding. If you move where you sleep they will eventually find you and then cause that area of the house to be infested.

They have become immune to most pesticides so the best treatment is heat as they will die around 120 degrees Fahrenheit after 30 min of exposure. We went with that method although it was very expensive, over 2k, since we just wanted them gone and didn't want to mess with pesticides that could take months to work. The exterminators came in with butane tanks, heaters, and about 20 fans all throughout the house and got the house to 130 degrees for 5 hours. They went in the house every 45 minutes to move furniture around and after it was done it took another 4 hours for the house to cool down enough for us to go back inside. The exterminators said there was a big resurgence in bed bugs and that they do 4 or 5 a week so if anyone is looking at starting a small business there is money to be made.

They also mentioned that we may see some bugs around 2 weeks after treatment, but if we noticed any after they would come out and do another treatment for free. We did find 4 non-adult bed bugs about 2 weeks later, but this weekend when I went down we didn't see any so hopefully they are gone for good. The main issue with bed bugs is psychological in that once you know you have them it's very hard to sleep as any little itch will cause to you question what caused it and you are constantly looking around your bed for any signs they may be hiding.

As one co-worker who also had bed bugs that took a year to get rid of said he wouldn't wish bed bugs on his worst enemy.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Nothing wrong with bed bugs call the bug man at their office
art eating GIF by Scorpion Dagger
Joes Apartment Band GIF
200.gif
 

Roxkis_ii

Member
Man, never had bedbugs (thank God) but when I was a kid, my sister adapted a stray cat that bought a family of flees into our house.

I can definitely relate to being paranoid about any little thing that touches your skin. No way to live man.
 

Tams

Gold Member
Great, I'm not going to sleep well tonight now OP.

Thankfully I don't have them now and have never had them where I've lived. I have however been bitten by them when staying at a hotel in India. It was even a nice 4 star hotel, but I woke up with my back and shoulders absolutely covered in bites.

It was lucky that I was set to move on the next day. I sat topless in the first class section of the train and let the cool material of the seat ease the bites. Unfortunately, I was going trekking, so had to carry a rucksack on a two week trek. The first few days were hell as the straps rubbed on the shoulder bites. By going trekking though, it did mean that I didn't bring any with me. Thank goodness.
 

Quasicat

Member
My kid brought home a bag from the Y and threw it under their bed. A week later I found it and a bunch of bed bugs. It was crazy how fast those things multiplied.
$1500 later and moving everything out into the garage for the treatment, we finally got rid of them. Now we have very strict rules about where bags are placed in the house.
 
My kid brought home a bag from the Y and threw it under their bed. A week later I found it and a bunch of bed bugs. It was crazy how fast those things multiplied.
$1500 later and moving everything out into the garage for the treatment, we finally got rid of them. Now we have very strict rules about where bags are placed in the house.
$1500?! Do you live in the damn White House? Also, I'm not sure what "the Y" stands for.
 

Quasicat

Member
$1500?! Do you live in the damn White House? Also, I'm not sure what "the Y" stands for.
That’s for three bedrooms, a living room, and dining room which is a bit over 1600 square feet total. That price was about average for this area, plus it took three treatments over the course of a month to get rid of them. The Y is for the YMCA. I think it’s a national organization in the US, but it could be regional for the Midwest.
 

Trilobit

Member
I spent hours researching bed bugs and they are the worst household pest and the hardest to kill.

As one co-worker who also had bed bugs that took a year to get rid of said he wouldn't wish bed bugs on his worst enemy.

I've read many horror stories on Reddit and I can safely say that it has ruined my hotel experiences. I'm so careful nowadays about where I sleep when I travel and I have to check the beds thorougly before being able to relax. Last time I was in a hotel I asked to change rooms as I found some weird dried up reddish thing in the corner of the bed and the girl in the reception transferred me immediately.
 

spawn

Member
I went to Hawaii and stayed at this cheap hotel that had bugs in it. Worst decision of my life. I think the bed bugs hitched a ride home on our suitcases. When we got home we left our suitcases by the couch. A few months after our trip I would be playing video games on the couch and getting bites all over my legs. It was driving me crazy because I couldn't really see any bugs, but I had very itchy bumps on my body. I went to Home Depot and bought bed bug killer and treated the entire couch with it. The bed bugs came back about a year later so I did another treatment. It's been about 3 years without any bed bugs
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
A week later my Dad found some crawling in his room, but he wasn't sure what they were and dismissed them as ticks.
Just dismissed them as ticks? Ticks are fucking evil, and a couple crawling around my room would be flamethrower time.
 
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