Archive for the ‘personal’ Category

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How Do I Do It?

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

In my most recent post, an anonymous commenter said the following:

Wow! You do not own a vacuum? I’ve read that 2 of the most important things to do to rid one’s home of an infestation is to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum and hire a pco to put down chemicals. Those 2 you are not doing. So how is it that your bb population is going down? Are you spraying chemicals yourself? Maybe you can let us know what you do so as to help others who are also poor and who cannot afford pcos.

This problem is getting worse, not better. You can get rid of everything you own to get rid of bbs and then go to a movie, ride a subway or sit on a subway bench, etc. and get reinfested all over again. But, we must live our lives, as you said. Heck, you can even get them from your job. FoxNews has them and so does lawfirm Cravath on 2 floors.

I hope you keep this blog going for bb sufferers. I know that the other anonymous poster sounded ignorant, but do not let that stop you from keeping this blog going. Yes, this blog has been around for awhile and yes, you still have bbs. That doesn’t mean that you are not helping out people who are suffering w/bbs. You are being honest with your situation. There are a lotta people out there who hire pco’s and go through the bagging and purging and other stuff and get rid of their bbs in a few months. Well, I feel that there should be no “time limit” on how long a person should have bbs or try to get rid of them. You and everyone else is trying their best and that’s all anyone can do in this situation.

How am I getting rid of bed bugs?

Since I do not own a vacuum cleaner, M and I do a lot of sweeping and mopping. We have bare linoleum floors and we do not own have carpets or rugs. I would have to imagine that carpets and/or rugs would have to be great hiding places for bed bugs. We mop about twice a month. The experts who say you have to vacuum rigorously and religiously say so because they can’t imagine an American who doesn’t own a vacuum cleaner.

I also purchased Suspend AC, a pesticide specifically made to kill bed bugs that I bought from www.domyownpestcontrol.com and it does seem to work; it claims to be a residual pesticide, which kills bed bugs long after the solution dries. The label does claim that even inhaling fumes from the concentrated pesticide may be fatal, so I have to dilute it with water before applying it as directed. I also have a gallon hand-operated pressure pump which I also bought from the abovementioned website. It kind of works like a Super Soaker, where you have to manually pump pressure into the jug so its hose attachment can spray the watered-down pesticide. I’m not too comfortable spraying chemicals in my home whose fumes alone can be fatal to humans, so I spray every other month or so.

I also got rid of a lot of wooden furniture (which were doubling as bed bug colonies), often using crates to hold up my TV, stereo, DVD player and other items. I bought plastic dressers from target.com and plastic laundry hampers from a 99 cent store (I have two, one for colored clothes and one for white clothes). I’ve become increasingly concerned about my heavy window curtains becoming ground zero for the next great bed bug population explosion. I was actually considering trashing the cloth curtains and replacing them with shower curtains, but that’s way too tacky, don’t you think? Plus it probably wouldn’t keep light out that well.

Eradicating bed bugs when your funds are limited is like any other aspect of life; you have to get creative and find alternatives for the things you can’t afford. To me, if an expensive exterminator who charges $300+ per room can’t even guarantee 100 percent bed bug eradication, you might as well do your own deep cleaning, furniture replacement and overall lifestyle changes and save a few hundred bucks, considering you even have a few hundred bucks to save!

Killing bed bugs directly can be quite enjoyable if you’re down for playing Bed Bug Barbecue (hint: it requires a barbecue lighter!) and you have a linoleum floor. Each charred bed bug equals one point, and the game ends either when you’ve scored one million points or have not seen a bed bug in two months.

The whole lifestyle change and deep cleaning routine helps in case your home becomes re-infested. You’ll be ready, your home will be ready and the bugs won’t be alive in your home for very long.

Yeah, that anonymous commenter was kind of a douche, suggesting among other things that I advocate just settling for getting bit less and not working towards the lofty goal of total bed bug eradication. For the record, eradication is possible and it should definitely be attempted over and over again. I agree with you that there should be no time limit on how long it should take a person to rid their home of bed bugs. It’s a long and arduous goal, but it’s one that a person should strive for no matter how long it takes. I mean, if you don’t get rid of your bed bug infestation in say, six months, should you just give up and let the bed bugs take over? Just spend the rest of your life with hundreds of little red bites on your body and just have bed bugs everywhere? Would that whacky Aussie commenter say that bullshit to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy? “Dude, if the cancer doesn’t go into remission by November, you should, uh, just give up.”

And yes, I’d gladly have cancer if I knew I’d never have to see another bed bug again! I’ll move to Canada, do the chemo, puke my brains out and smoke all the medical marijuana I want. At least cancer sufferers don’t have to be afraid their friends, family and co-workers will find out they have cancer, or worse, that they’ll spread cancer by going to someone else’s house or other people coming over to theirs.

If you read enough of this blog, you’ll see there have been sporadic surges of bed bug sightings after weeks of seeing very few. I often wonder if I’ve unknowingly re-introduced bed bugs into my home.

This post has become waaayyyyy longer than I initially expected it to be, so I’ll wrap up now!

Thanks for all the kind words, and I’m glad to know that Bugged Out is still helping people cope a but easier with their bed bug problems, even though one commenter apparently feels my time is up! I appreciate all the feedback you guys send me, and I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same way. Your comments really compliment Bugged Out and are just as full of insight, news, tips, stories and information as this blog.

Later.

Posted in exterminators, fun and games, furniture, insecticides, paranoia, personal, tips | 1 Comment »

Yes, I Still Have Bed Bugs

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

I see there’s been a bit of a debate as to whether or not I still have bed bugs in my apartment. To respond to one slightly rude anonymous commenter:

The answer to the question “do you have bedbugs?” isn’t yes and no. It’s yes. I’m sorry, but if what you describe is true, then yes, you still have bedbugs.

There’s been a reduction in the population in your apt. But you’re still finding live bedbugs. Only some of the ones you find are dead. You either have bedbugs or you don’t.

You’re still getting bitten. You probably don’t react anymore, but your girlfriend still reacts.

Since you’re doing regular deep cleaning anyway, try steam on all your furniture and home crevices. Get a decent steamer. Read Australia’s Code of Practices re: bedbugs. Deep steaming kills bedbugs.

Your blog’s been around for a while. It might give people the wrong impression that it’s acceptable to “live with bedbugs.” This has gone on so long, you guys have probably spread them to school, work, public transit etc.

I know this sounds harsh, but wake up!

To second anonymous: your goal should be eradicating the bugs from your home. Don’t settle for just getting bit less.-Anonymous commenter

Do I still have bed bugs? Yes. Is it a full-blown infestation? No. Even though it’s been over a year since I had a full-blown bed bug infestation, I’ve found the experience to be so traumatizing that I clean and inspect my home as I were waiting for another large infestation to appear. When most people say they have bed bugs, they pretty much mean a full-blown infestation where they only feel uncomfortable sleeping with all the lights on wearing socks and sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts. That’s also the mental image that I have when people tell me they have bed bugs.

Also, having this blog for so long is in no way a message that it is “acceptable” to live with bed bugs. This ignorant commenter obviously has never had bed bugs in their home, at least not for very long. Anyone who has ever had bed bugs will tell you that is a never ending ordeal and eradicating bed bugs is a long-term task that requires a significant amount of time, money and effort. If the commenter bothered to read the header at the top of the website, they will plainly see that Bugged Out was created to facilitate an online community for New Yorkers who are suffering or know someone who is suffering from bed bugs, not solely to chronicle my personal ordeal with bed bugs. I have no problem with non-New Yorkers or non-Americans relating their experiences, fears, tips, triumphs, etc., in regards to bed bugs. Perhaps I should create an FAQ page for people like the Australian commenter.

Anyone who thinks this blog or any bed bug blog that is as old as Bugged Out promotes the idea that it is acceptable to live with bed bugs is an idiot, and I suppose that includes the commenter who suggested such a ridiculous notion. I am by no means a bed bug advocate. It is not acceptable, ever, to live with bed bugs. When I say I live with bed bugs, I do not mean humans and bed bugs should live in peace and harmony. When I say I live with bed bugs, it is to me, like saying “I live with HIV or cancer”. I do see bed bugs as a communicable disease that affects millions, and the only difference between living with bed bugs and living with HIV or cancer is that with cancer, at least you get sympathy. Is it acceptable to live with cancer? Of course not.

“Since you’re doing regular deep cleaning anyway, try steam on all your furniture and home crevices. Get a decent steamer. Read Australia’s Code of Practices re: bedbugs. Deep steaming kills bedbugs.”-Anonymous commenter

Since the commenter seems to be quoting from Australia’s Code of Practices (I thought you Australians spell it as “practise”, or is that just the British?) I’m guessing they are from Australia. Perhaps the American use of passive-sounding language (i.e., “living with cancer” as opposed to “suffering from cancer”) is confusing to foreigners. Yes, I am suffering from bed bugs, but I am still living nonetheless. Funny how Americans employ such passive-sounding language when you consider how warlike our government is. Perhaps like most non-Americans, the commenter thinks all Americans are outrageously wealthy. Yanks, when we’re not gun-slinging and adjusting our cowboy hats, actually do make ourselves aware of the power of steam cleaners. I just can’t afford one. I don’t even own a vacuum cleaner.

As for spreading bed bugs around to work, school, etc., I am happy to say that this is no longer true for me. One of the other reasons I said yes and no as to whether or not I still have bed bugs is that I no longer spread them wherever I go. I know it sounds impossible, but I’ve always conducted a thorough inspection of my backpack before going out, always finding one or two bed bugs hiding under a flap or something, but in the last few months my inspections of my clothes, jacket and backpack have shown nothing.

What’s more, M and I have been apartment-sitting my future mother-in-law’s home for a few weeks last month. If I was spreading bed bugs, I would’ve seen one there after a few weeks. We’re talking about a species of insect that can breed a few generations within one week. The absence of bed bugs in her home after four weeks, to myself and any other rationally-thinking human being, is clear evidence that I am no longer spreading any bed bugs from my home. M’s mother is back home and she can be somewhat critical of me (and everyone else), so I’m sure if she finds any bed bugs, she’ll have no problem letting me know. The fact that I don’t seem to be spreading bed bugs anymore is another reason I said yes and no as to whether or not I still have bed bugs.

So do I have bed bugs? Yes. Am I still experiencing the typical symptoms that almost all people suffering from bed bugs endure? No. I thought I made that clear in my last post. Please don’t take my little backlash as hostility towards Australians or any other nationality, for that matter, but rather my response to a single, anonymous and ignorant comment .

Posted in bug bites, paranoia, personal, updates | 1 Comment »

It’s Been A While…

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

About a month to be exact.

I do apologize for the unexplained delay. I have the unbelievably bad luck of becoming physically ill around finals time. For those of you who have been paying attention, I am in my last semester of college and am completing my undergrad degree.

In the first week of December I developed a severe pain in my right lower wisdom tooth and it had to be extracted. The pain was so unbearable I lost sleep, and my personal self-prescription consisting on Tylenol and herbal anesthesia was simply not strong enough to dull the pain. At the same time I had acquired the flu (despite the fact that I had received a flu shot October 25) and was basically sick in bed with a sore throat hocking up my body weight in phlegm and sleeping for about 12-14 hours a day. This was of course on days when I didn’t have to show up for my new job or class.

A week later my left lower wisdom tooth began giving me a similar pain and I had to wait four days for my dentist to be able to take it out. I’m over the flu but still have a sore throat
and just finished my finals. I promise I will post something soon.

Posted in personal | No Comments »

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

I came up with a new sport you might want to try. It’s ever so much fun.

There’s no league to join, no official rules, it can be played at home, and you can do all the steroids you want.

The sport? Bed bug burning!

Here’s what you need:
1) A live bed bug
2) A long barbecue lighter
3) A linoleum floor or other fire-resistant surface

I’m not going to insult your intelligence by telling you how the game is played, except that each charred bed bug equals one point.

My brother tried burning bed bugs, and he says they scream when they catch fire. I keep trying to position my ear close to the action to hear anything that remotely resembles a scream. So far nothing. Let me know if you hear any screams if you so feel inclined to try out this fun sport.

By the way, I have collected nine bed bug-related haikus from anonymous posters so far. As I previously promised, I would only unleash my next ten bed bug haikus when I recieve ten from you. So please, stir up those creative juices and drop that last haiku in the comment area!

Posted in fun and games, humor, personal | 1 Comment »

Bed Bug Haikus, Part One

Monday, September 10th, 2007
Some of you may not know that I am a writer. In addition to the blogging, I worked for a few years as a reporter and editor. I’ve done some unpublished fiction and am currently writing a book. I thought about how art develops through suffering and emotion and loss, three things I’ve encountered since I first saw bed bugs in my room.

Long story short, I sat down and began writing bed bug haikus. For those unfamiliar with the term, haiku is a Japanese form of nonrhyming poetry. The first line contains five syllables, the second line contains seven and the final line contains five. There are a few variations to this rule but 5, 7, and 5 are the standard. Without further ado, I give you ten haikus I wrote in the last hour.

******

My blood is their food

I itch yet they are not there

I miss my mattress

***

“Don’t let bed bugs bite”

Much easier said than done

Bring back DDT

***

Please, legalize it

DDT, I mean. Not weed

No, wait…yes to both

***

I live with bed bugs

If you can call it living

Ow, my arm itches

***

Are bed bugs a dream

For minimalist people?

Bare rooms confuse bugs

***

Die, Rachel Carson!

Say, now that she’s dead, can we

Bring back DDT?

***

I live with bed bugs

I sleep on an air mattress

You come here often?

***

It’s hard to get laid

With bug bites on your body

They look like herpes

***

Comment on Bugged Out

If you don’t do so tonight

More bed bugs will bite

***

My bedroom is bare

These bed bugs are everywhere

Do you even care?

***

After I wrote these I thought, why should I have all the fun? If these goofy haikus inspired you in any way to write your own bed bug-related haiku, please do so in lieu of a comment on this post. If you have writer’s block, just remember your little buddies waiting at home for you to come back to bed! Remember the pain and suffering! The itching! The humiliation! The stigma! Oh, the humanity!

I’ve actually written ten more, but you won’t see them until I see at least ten haikus from my dear, dear readers. They must be bed bug-related. If you need any more inspiration, peruse the many many posts here on Bugged Out.

Note: Non-haiku poetry also accepted.

Posted in DDT ban, Haiku, Rachel Carson, air mattresses, bug bites, personal, roaches | 12 Comments »

Why I Do This

Sunday, September 9th, 2007

A few weeks ago I received an anonymous comment that I have literally read over and over because it makes me feel great. It’s from someone living with bedbugs who is a regular reader who welcomes Bugged Out as an oasis of support in a desert of loneliness and hopelessness.

To her I say, thank you. You are the reason why Bugged Out was created, and I’m glad that Bugged Out and many other bed bug-related blogs out there to serve the simple purpose of letting those people living with bed bugs know that even though they feel alone, they are anything but. Your parents may not understand your problem, your friends may look at you like you’re a leper and you may go through various episodes of bed bug paranoia, but understand that we’ve all been there before, everyone who has a bed bug blog or has read or commented on a bed bug blog, we’ve all been there.

Don’t give up hope.

Without further ado, I will now paste that inspirational comment.

****************

Though I have never commented, I read your blog religiously. As you might have guessed…I have bed bugs too. And I need to thank you, profusely.

I’m a nineteen year old college student. After my first year at a big university in a small town, I decided to take control of my life and start following my biggest dream–to live in the city. I changed schools, friends, and locations to live in beautiful apartment in downtown Denver. I bought all new furniture and decorated my apartment with care (and all of my student budget). I even bought myself a cat and–presto!–insta-home. I woke up one morning about 6 weeks ago with some strange bug bites on my stomach. I am very allergic to mosquitoes, so I passed the blame to that and went on with my day. As time went on, I kept getting bites. Of course, my boyfriend never recieved one. I must have tasty blood. After research, I realized my true problem–bedbugs. As no one here seems to understand the problem, my boyfriend and I took it upon ourselves to rid my apartment. We isolated my bed and for two blissful weeks, I was bite free! Then I woke up a week and a half ago with 23 bites in a circle on my thigh, a line of them on my ribcage and my back…I’d been practically eaten alive. And that brings me to where I am now. I got out of my lease (after much arguing with my landlord who STILL doesn’t believe there are any bugs..) and have signed a new lease in a fully-furnished (YES!) building. This is REALLY nice considering my new bedroom set and living room sets are in a junkyard somewhere. My new community doesn’t allow pets so my cat has found a new home. I’m washing every item of clothing I own.

It doesn’t matter though. At the moment I can feel them on me. Crawling. Biting. Sucking away my blood. I wish I could explain rationally to those darn bugs that I’m anemic! I need my blood more than they do! I don’t sleep much, and when I do, I have vivid nightmares. Last night when I was eating sushi, I became convinced that a sesame seed was a bug that had brazenly followed me to dinner. My family thinks I am crazy—they are probably right. I saw a commercial for that new movie Bug. I burst into tears. I cannot wait until I think back on this and it’s been years since I saw one or felt one.

Anyway, the purpose of this disgusting long comment was to say thank you. Your blog made me feel less alone. No one I know really understands and I don’t like to share. Some people act like I have a communicable disease when I try to explain it.

On Saturday morning I will cart away the last of my belongings. Hopefully that will be a start to the end of the nightmares, the paranoia, the crazed searches in the middle of the night. I’ll continue to read this blog…makes me feel like not such a freak.

Posted in personal | 5 Comments »

Time Management!

Monday, June 4th, 2007

I just finished my finals for the semester and am looking forward to my fall semester, after which I will have finally earned my undergrad degree. With all the obligations of work, school, a relationship and fighting another bed bug infestation, it hasn’t been easy to allocate adequate time and energy for everything. Keeping one’s home bed bug-free is like a part-time job, if not a full-time one.

I was considering going to graduate school, but began thinking about how much of a hassle college has been so far, especially the aspect of having to be at a certain place at a certain time or it will affect your grades. I’m notoriously tardy for my classes, usually commuting to college straight from my job. My professors make an attempt to sympathize, since it is the City University of New York (CUNY) and many of the students here have to support themselves, and in some cases, their families.

Which comes to the concept of online college, which makes things a lot easier on those of us who have to commit to an hour plus commute to our schools. I know CUNY offers an online undergrad degree, but they are still stuck in the 20th Century when it comes to a Masters degree.

I’m thinking of studying a field that looks good on a resume. Any suggestions?

Posted in personal | 1 Comment »

My Bad!

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

I know I failed to post on Saturday, like I said I would every Saturday from now on.

How about every other Saturday? I got one coming up for April 21, I promise.

Later!

Posted in personal | No Comments »

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