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Should I worry about bed bugs?!?


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Background: FIL is a die-hard garbage picker. He has a booth at a Flea Market. He drives around town and gets things from people's garbage that he will then clean up/fix and sell at the flea market. Some things I think are fine,* like wood furniture that just needs to be fixed up, perhaps a new coat of paint. Other things, completely gross me out. Stuffed animals, cloth furniture, etc. I just think that if people are throwing those out, there is a reason, like stains, urine, vomit, ick in general, that couldn't be cleaned to begin with. MIL will try to give those to my children (at least she did when we lived in the same state), but I would never allow them to bring them home. For one, we have enough stuffed animals, for two, someone threw that out for a reason, and just yuck! They essentially refurnished their whole living room with furniture from garbage. It icks me out to even sit on it. Thankfully we don't visit but once-twice a year.

 

So MIL comes for Christmas. She is using a large suitcase FIL got from the curb. It is completely fine, so it doesn't appear someone threw it out because it was broken. My mind goes crazy, thinking someone probably threw it out because they had traveled somewhere with it and realized there were bedbugs, so threw out the suitcase before taking it in their home. Now MIL has had it in her home and now brings it to our home.

 

I'm probably slightly crazy but I just keep thinking "bedbugs!!!!!"

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In NYC we used to get great furniture on the curb. The last time I was visiting I saw some great things and mentioned how happy some young adults would be when they found that furniture and was told no one was picking up anything from the curb because of bed bugs. Out here in the country it doesn't seem to be a problem.

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I think your concerns are not commensurate with reality. People get rid of things because 1) their children grow out of them (stuffed animals, etc.), 2) They grow out of clothes or the clothes were a gift and they never liked them, etc. 3) because they want newer, better models.

 

FWIW, my whole house is also furnished second hand with very few exceptions. I rarely buy clothes (for me) that aren't second hand. My kids wore hand-me-down clothes for years. We've never had bed-bugs. I do check the mattresses carefully when we stay in hotels, though.

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I am a little OCD, I take full credit for that, and no shame :)! I think about weird things like that, ooh, what if she brought in bed bugs!

 

I didn't ask, it is a standing joke on our family about FIL, that he takes EVERYTHING he finds on the curb. It is the the point where you can only walk through a path in many of the rooms of their house. Their nice sunporch, packed FULL, meaning you have to climb OVER things to get outside. Their two car garage, FULL to the ceiling, as in a narrow pathway to get outside. Their driveway was half-full of stuff, UNTIL the landlord threatened eviction because HE was taken to court by the city for some code violation for all of the junk. Anyhoo, she mentioned that it was her "new" suitcase that he found on the curb. They think nothing of it.

 

Really, he is a real-life episode of Hoarders, except he does actually get rid of stuff and sell it, but he has too much stuff that he has to "fix" that it has overtaken the house.

 

I probably do have a distorted vision of why people get rid of stuff. I usually try to find a home for stuff I don't need, if in good condition, through other HSers or on Craigslist. If it still has life, I pass it on. If it is garbarge, I throw it out. Plus having seen/smelled some of the stuff he has brought home, it can be pretty ick! Like he has no filter at all, he brings anything home except actual kitchen trash.

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Actually, I have heard multiple times on the news that you should avoid picking things up off the curb or from craigslist right now due to bed bug concerns.

 

Me too. I don't know what to suggest but I do think it's a legitimate concern. I'm not sure how likely of course! That said, if they have bedbugs she'd be bringing them in on person and clothing anyway so the suitcase is kind of moot I think. In short, I don't think there is much you can do except hope they don't have them/don't bring them.

Edited by sbgrace
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Given the 'comeback' that bedbugs are making, I don't think your fears are at all out of place. They're showing up everywhere. Our movie theatre was recently treated for a bedbug infestation.

 

I used to be a big fan of garage sales, thrift shops, and 'finding' stuff on trash day ;) --- not anymore.

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If you are a little OCD, the so am I!!! I love to yard sale, but I am very picky now with what I buy. I will not buy furniture of any kind. I also freak out when my kids go on church trips or sport trips and they have to stay in hotels. It is just not worth the chance of getting bed bugs because they are almost impossible to get rid of.

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Background: FIL is a die-hard garbage picker. He has a booth at a Flea Market. He drives around town and gets things from people's garbage that he will then clean up/fix and sell at the flea market. Some things I think are fine,* like wood furniture that just needs to be fixed up, perhaps a new coat of paint. Other things, completely gross me out. Stuffed animals, cloth furniture, etc. I just think that if people are throwing those out, there is a reason, like stains, urine, vomit, ick in general, that couldn't be cleaned to begin with. MIL will try to give those to my children (at least she did when we lived in the same state), but I would never allow them to bring them home. For one, we have enough stuffed animals, for two, someone threw that out for a reason, and just yuck! They essentially refurnished their whole living room with furniture from garbage. It icks me out to even sit on it. Thankfully we don't visit but once-twice a year.

 

So MIL comes for Christmas. She is using a large suitcase FIL got from the curb. It is completely fine, so it doesn't appear someone threw it out because it was broken. My mind goes crazy, thinking someone probably threw it out because they had traveled somewhere with it and realized there were bedbugs, so threw out the suitcase before taking it in their home. Now MIL has had it in her home and now brings it to our home.

 

I'm probably slightly crazy but I just keep thinking "bedbugs!!!!!"

 

 

 

You are not crazy to think bedbugs are a possibility! There isn't anything you can do, now that the potential exposure has happened. Just be careful to check for signs of the little boogers and don't mess around if you find them. Don't try any of the 'humane' extermination methods...blast them with the toxic stuff! A friend of mine had a daughter bring them home from summer camp, and it was a chore to get rid of them. You can be really thankful that they don't carry diseases, but are just a nuisance. Hopefully, you won't have a problem, especially if your FIL is careful to clean the items he salvages.

 

As a side note, people get rid of perfectly good toys/suitcases/furniture all of the time. Just because it's been discarded may not mean there's anything wrong. But, as another side note, my dad is the same way, and it grosses me out at times too. ;)

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Thank you, see I knew I had read where people were not bring home their suitcases, clothing etc due to having realized they had stayed in a place with bed bugs.

 

Probably not an issue for us, but that is where my mind went. But I just keep thinking one of these times when FIL brings home old mattresses, old couches, etc, that it is going to be a problem at some point.

 

Plus, I have told them SEVERAL times to NOT try to sell the car seats he keeps getting at the curbs....people are throwing those away for a REASON!! Since they do not know the history of the car seat, they could be risking the life of a baby, of whomever is silly enough to buy a car seat at a flea market.

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