I'm freaking out!!!! Bedbugs?!?!??

[Murphy101]

I'm 90% sure I just found a bedbug crawling under my pillow!🤢

So now I'm sitting in the recliner itching at just the thought and trying unsuccessfully to convince myself it's safe to put the sleeping baby down and go to sleep myself.

 

I'd napalm the house and just move, but I can't afford that.

 

I'm not even sure I can afford to call an exterminator. 😥

 

Please oh please oh please tell me bedbugs aren't the nightmare I'm thinking they are to get rid of?

And the most affordable and yet effective means of doing so?

 

We have had multiple family members traveling for months, so who the heck knows from where or when they came from.

 

Dammit I hate crying. Ugh.

Edited July 29, 2017 by Murphy101

[scrapbookbuzz]

I just saw something on a DIY to get rid of bedbugs. If I think about where I saw it, I'll look for the recipe!

 

ETA: other than a Natural Insect Repellant I have, you might find some useful information here. HTH!

Edited July 29, 2017 by scrapbookbuzz

[Murphy101]

Normally I'm a save the planet the "natural" route bc it's usually cheaper anyways kind of gal, but this is BEDBUGS?!

[Barb_]

One time I thought we might have bedbugs but we had carpet beetle larvae. Google it and see.

[Barb_]

Have you had any unexplained itches or rashes? Usually you notice that before the bugs. The bugs are notoriously good at hiding

[Southern Ivy]

Bedbugs like the carbon dioxide that you exhale, so the majority of the bites you get from them are going to be on your arms/upper body. Ask me how I know. :( 
Look under the piping/seams of your mattress, the dust ruffle, box springs, etc. Anywhere with an edge they can hide under. You can also strip your bed and look for brown stains - it's their fecal matter. If you see anything like that, then I would definitely get some plastic mattress covers and cover your boxsprings and mattress. I wouldn't take those things off for at least a year. 

If you have bites, you can see if this slows them down. However, they don't just hide in our beds. So, if you have a wood frame with your bed, it's likely they are in the crevices of that too. 

We got ours from our apartment. 2 weeks after we moved in, we had them. It was horrible. :( The exterminators came and did some kind of natural solution. They said that the chemicals really don't kill the bedbugs, but that the natural stuff works best. So, I would say try some natural stuff first. 

Good luck

[Roadrunner]

You need chemical watfare. I would go for an exterminator.

[Catwoman]

Are you sure it was a bedbug? Can you post a picture?

[displace]

I thought they were killed by steam, but I'm just going by what I've heard.

Edited July 29, 2017 by displace

[GoodGrief]

Get a professional in ASAP.

 

(My husband is on "bedbug call" this week for a local institution. It is such a huge problem right now, and not just in homes and hotels.)

[Chris in VA]

We are on a trip and dd found bedbugs in her bed at the hotel.

Fun times.

[JFSinIL]

One of dd's roommates brought bedbugs in with him and was afraid to tell anyone....they spread from his bedroom to the rest of the townhome.  Took THREE trips by Orkin to be rid of them. Had to vacate the townhome (and remove stuff that would have been affected by the treatment - which was mostly very high HEAT).  Orkin even took the air vent covers off in each room - bugs like to go hide in there, too.  Aaaaargh.  DD made everyone treat their cars, too.

[Murphy101]

Two weeks ago Dh woke up with 4-6 bites across his lower stomach. We thought it was strange but just presumed it was a random spider or something. Sprayed the house and no bites since on his or anyone else.

 

I for sure didn't keep that sucker. So no picture.

 

We striped the bed and found some dark spots and what looks like maybe shed casings?? Ewww. *starts scratching again* I change our sheets every week and don't remember this before. But then again, I admit I never felt the need to inspect either. I just yanked them off and tossed the new ones on without much observation needed.

 

Omg. My yarn stash?! Tell me my yarn stash is safe?!

 

I spent most of the night vacuuming everything from ceiling to floor and striping beds.

 

Today we are buying covers for the beds if we can afford them.

And looking into how best to go about steaming furniture, carpets, mattresses and curtains.

 

I'll call exterminators Monday for pricing.

[Scarlett]

I am so sorry. What a nightmare.

 

Did you find any in the rest of the house? Since your Dh travels for work and you found them in your bed my guess is he brought them home.

 

Hang tough, it will be ok.

[Murphy101]

I am so sorry. What a nightmare.

 

Did you find any in the rest of the house? Since your Dh travels for work and you found them in your bed my guess is he brought them home.

 

Hang tough, it will be ok.

Honestly it could have come from at least 5 sources just within the last 2 months. Dh isn't the only one who has been traveling lately. I'm not even bothering to look for more. I'm just presuming if there is one in my room then there are millions everywhere.

[gingersmom]

All I can recommend is treat them professionally ASAP.

 

My mother did not realize she had bedbugs (or was in denial, her house is antiseptically clean) and had to move out for 30 days to have her home treated.

 

She had to replace her mattress and couch.

[G5052]

First, make sure that's what it is. Our county extension office actually offers free bug identification.

 

I don't know if this is valid in your case, but I did it myself and was successful. We brought them home from an upscale hotel. I washed and vacuumed and washed and vacuumed. I washed and checked our bedding every day for a month and dusted our mattresses every day. I checked the mattresses top to bottom with a flashlight. I did the same to our couch and any upholstered chair. 

 

And thankfully, we never saw them again. I took a chance, I know, but we were extremely broke at the time and figured I'd give it a try. From what I saw, I caught it before they took up residence though, so I had a good chance anyway of being successful. My daughter and I both had welts and found bedbugs in our beds the day after we got home from the hotel. I hadn't washed our nightgowns because it was just a one-day trip, and we had slept in the same bed. 

[Murphy101]

Do you mean dusted as in in dusted with diamastcus earth? I can't use that. I have a crawling chewing everything baby. I wouldn't risk lung damage with her inhaling the dust.

 

A shame bc otherwise I'd use it in a heartbeat. 😕

[goldberry]

I am SO sorry.  This is the last thing you need.

[J-rap]

A couple times since we have lived in our old house, we've been hit by tiny, tiny bugs like gnats, except they don't seem to fly.  They blow in through our screens toward the end of the summer.  The first time I saw them was on our bedsheets, so I thought they were bedbugs at first.  But they weren't.  Could it be you have something like that?

[AimeeM]

Even if you can borrow money, I really (really, really) recommend calling a professional ASAP. My father-in-law was oblivious and they infested his three-story row home. We went up for Christmas one year and realized it too late. While we were still there, we brought in a professional. By that time, it had spread to such an extent that it cost him several thousand dollars in treatments (follow-ups, etc), plus mattress covers, and he had to replace all his living room furniture.

 

I would advise having this taken care, even if it means taking out a small loan, before the problem becomes even bigger and pricier.

[Murphy101]

Even if you can borrow money, I really (really, really) recommend calling a professional ASAP. My father-in-law was oblivious and they infested his three-story row home. We went up for Christmas one year and realized it too late. While we were still there, we brought in a professional. By that time, it had spread to such an extent that it cost him several thousand dollars in treatments (follow-ups, etc), plus mattress covers, and he had to replace all his living room furniture.

 

I would advise having this taken care, even if it means taking out a small loan, before the problem becomes even bigger and pricier.

I can't get a loan. If I could get a loan, I wouldn't be sans an air conditioner upstairs or have a van that's putters at deaths door daily. Loans are for people who don't really need them. 😂😭

 

Eta: Which doesn't mean I'm not going to try to take care of this somehow on our own. It had not even occurred to me to just ignore any kind of infestation! Yikes!

Edited July 29, 2017 by Murphy101

[AimeeM]

I can't get a loan. If I could get a loan, I wouldn't be sans an air conditioner upstairs or have a van that's putters at deaths door daily. Loans are for people who don't really need them. 😂😭

 

Eta: Which doesn't mean I'm not going to try to take care of this somehow on our own. It had not even occurred to me to just ignore any kind of infestation! Yikes!

 

FIL didn't realize. Had he, I'm sure he would have taken care of it. He was used to the inner city bugs, so (in his advanced age, lol) he didn't realize this was any different, and he only used one level of the house, really (plus the bathroom on the second floor). 

 

By loan, I meant even if you happen to have a family member who can chip in. Or, heck, even a Gofund -- because i feel that strongly about bedbugs after having been there and done that, lol.

Edited July 29, 2017 by AimeeM

[Tanaqui]

Oh, they're definitely a nightmare. But cheer up! They might not be bedbugs! If they are, you will almost certainly find a whole colony of them at the head of your bed, under the top hem of your mattress.

 

Whatever they are, I suggest you invest in two products: IGR, and diatomaceous earth. The IGR won't kill them, but it will keep them from reproducing. Spray it liberally on your bedframes, your baseboards, and any furniture you sit in for more than 20 minutes out of the day.  The DE will kill any insect. Sprinkle it lightly around your baseboards and under your mattress, etc.

[Lady Florida.]

One time I thought we might have bedbugs but we had carpet beetle larvae. Google it and see.

 

Yes, definitely google. I freaked out once thinking we had bed bugs and it turned out to be some kind of beetle. That was a huge WHEW!

 

And if they do turn out to be bedbugs honestly I'd sell one of the kids (j/k maybe rent them out for housework or something though ;) ) in order to be able to afford a professional.

[Murphy101]

FIL didn't realize. Had he, I'm sure he would have taken care of it. He was used to the inner city bugs, so (in his advanced age, lol) he didn't realize this was any different, and he only used one level of the house, really (plus the bathroom on the second floor).

 

By loan, I meant even if you happen to have a family member who can chip in. Or, heck, even a Gofund -- because i feel that strongly about bedbugs after having been there and done that, lol.

*I* am the supposedly well off member of what little there is of our extended family. LOL one of them just asked me for money last week and got mad when I said I didn't have any to spare.

 

No way I'd do a gofund for this. To me, that's for really dire situations.

[redsquirrel]

Does anyone in the house have a rash that could be bites?  Every other time I've heard of people having bedbugs it's been because they had a rash or mystery bug bites and the bedbug was the solution. I'm not saying that it's impossible to find the bug first and bites second, just it seems that you would have noticed physical symptoms if you are at the stage of getting a visual of the bugs

[nevergiveup]

In my post about bedbugs I asked if people would let a visitor in if they knew the visitor had bedbugs in their home.

The majority said no.

How are you going to handle visiting other people and people coming to your home?

[Murphy101]

In my post about bedbugs I asked if people would let a visitor in if they knew the visitor had bedbugs in their home.

The majority said no.

How are you going to handle visiting other people and people coming to your home?

What kind of person are you implying I am?

 

I'm spending the week steam cleaning, vacuuming, diamasceous earth where I can safely put it, and throwing away whatever I don't feel really has to be kept, and using chemical bug killing stuff where I can too in every room of a 5 bedroom house with 13 people living in it. I don't usually invite people to clean my house or watch me clean my house and I can't do it while visiting someone else.... so it's rather a none issue.

 

Dh called his roommates and they say they haven't noticed anything but they have agreed to have the apartment management call an exterminator Monday. One of them said his wife was in tears over dealing with it at their house 2 years ago. They were mostly sympathetic.

 

And it might not even be bedbugs afterall. *cross fingers and prays to God*

[Pam in CT]

Oh dear.  

 

 

I really hope it's something else   :willy_nilly: .

 

Try pulling up the sheet and quickly running a credit card down the seam of the edge of the mattress -- they're supposed to hide out in spaces like that.  That and the little brown bug poop spots.

 

Holding you in the light.

 

 

[jewellsmommy]

One of our local DMV offices had to close recently for "emergency maintenance," but the, untold-to-the-general-public, specific reason was a bedbug infestation. I only know this because I have a relative who works there. They were all sent home. Those buggers seem to be everywhere! It is scary to think that you could go in to renew your license and come out with a bed bug! Ladies, be careful where you set your purses and diaper bags down when you're out and about. Don't put them on the floor. As if I wasn't paranoid enough already.  :leaving:

 

I hope it is something else, but if not, I hope you can get the jump on them!

[Liz CA]

Oh, they're definitely a nightmare. But cheer up! They might not be bedbugs! If they are, you will almost certainly find a whole colony of them at the head of your bed, under the top hem of your mattress.

 

Whatever they are, I suggest you invest in two products: IGR, and diatomaceous earth. The IGR won't kill them, but it will keep them from reproducing. Spray it liberally on your bedframes, your baseboards, and any furniture you sit in for more than 20 minutes out of the day.  The DE will kill any insect. Sprinkle it lightly around your baseboards and under your mattress, etc.

 

If you sprinkle diatomaceous earth where the baby cannot get to, still get food grade kind just in case. It is probably the least expensive way but will take a little longer than napalm.  ;)

[nevergiveup]

What kind of person are you implying I am?

 

I'm spending the week steam cleaning, vacuuming, diamasceous earth where I can safely put it, and throwing away whatever I don't feel really has to be kept, and using chemical bug killing stuff where I can too in every room of a 5 bedroom house with 13 people living in it. I don't usually invite people to clean my house or watch me clean my house and I can't do it while visiting someone else.... so it's rather a none issue.

 

Dh called his roommates and they say they haven't noticed anything but they have agreed to have the apartment management call an exterminator Monday. One of them said his wife was in tears over dealing with it at their house 2 years ago. They were mostly sympathetic.

 

And it might not even be bedbugs afterall. *cross fingers and prays to God*

 

Bedbugs are NOT an indicator of what kind of person you are.

I was just curious since I am placed in the position of not inviting my neighbor into my home any more.

It's a terribly difficult decision and I have thought about what I would do if my home became infested.

And, I honestly do not know.

 

[Murphy101]

Bedbugs are NOT an indicator of what kind of person you are.

I was just curious since I am placed in the position of not inviting my neighbor into my home any more.

It's a terribly difficult decision and I have thought about what I would do if my home became infested.

And, I honestly do not know.

 

Having bedbugs is not an indicator of what kind of person I am, but having bedbugs and knowingly giving them to others *if I can avoid doing so* would be. It would put them right up there with people who know they are sick visiting moms with newborns level on my poop list.

[applethyme]

Some exterminators will do a free check for bedbugs.  It would be worth a call.

There is a great facebook group called Antmans Hill that will id any kind of bugs you find, including bedbugs, just post a picture.  The site is run by entomologists.  They highly do NOT recommend diamasceous earth to treat bed bugs, no do the exterminators that check into the group as they feel that DE doesn't actually treat the problem but can make the people in the house sick..