I came across this hilarious (not that I’m having a laugh at this commenter’s expense, but it’s funny because it’s happened to myself and so many others) comment someone left on my last entry and it prompted me to shed a bit more light on this very important topic.
I am getting minute small bumps and itches during the day at work...but I don't
see any bedbugs at least that I can recognize. I am paranoid that the nymphs are
too small for me to identify so I pick at anything that looks like a speck of
dust or small white fluff or that eggs are in my clothes and that they are
hatching during the day inside my clothes close to my skin...Has anyone else
felt this crawling sensation at work during the day underneath your clothes? It
usually starts later in the afternoon. Sometimes I have picked off small round
things that are dark in the center and yellowish brown around the outside but
again they are too small and I usually just crush them and wash them down the
sink.
-Anonymous poster
Man, I’ve experienced this so many times. There were times when all I had to do was think about bed bugs to start feeling itching or crawling sensations. I still feel bed bugs on my body that aren’t there, or at least I can’t seem to find them when I “feel” them. I still check my clothes for bugs or eggs when I pull them out of the closet, before I put them on. I’ve mistaken many different things for bed bugs, specks of dust, crumbs, ashes, shirt buttons, you name it.
I think (or theorize) that the crawling sensations are a combination of your body and subconscious, wracked if not slightly traumatized by the advent of bed bugs in your life. Think of your central nervous system after experiencing bed bugs as a car with its alarm set to super-sensitive. If so much as a sole leaf floats down and touches the roof of that car, the alarm will sound as loudly as if someone had just smashed the windshield. Woo-woo-woo-woo! Eee-er eee-er eee-er eee-er eee-er eee-er! Whoooooo-up whooooo-up whoooooo-up whoooooo-up whoooooo-up whoooooo-up whoooooo-up! Wheee-oh wheee-oh wheee-oh wheee-oh wheee-oh wheee-oh wheee-oh!
So if your skin feels anything during the day from a gentle breeze to your own clothing brushing against it, that biological hypersensitive alarm goes off. Your subconscious and your nerves come into play by reproducing the crawling sensations you felt when the bugs were actually crawling on you. In that sense, bed bugs really mess up your nervous system, because the nerves are supposed to send signals to the brain, not the other way around.
For example, my mother says she no longer sleeps with her mouth open because she’s afraid the bed bugs will crawl into her mouth. Another bedtime ritual for her is making sure her hair is covering her ears as she is horrified that bed bugs will crawl into her ear holes. I guess she’s afraid they’ll crawl inside, go all the way up to her brain and start changing her thought patterns, and by next week she’ll be crawling on me and sucking my blood. Just kidding, ma. Ha ha ha.
But seriously, bed bug paranoia is an interesting phenomenon because while bed bugs cannot be proven to carry physical disease, the paranoia can lead to a mild form of mental illness in extreme or even moderate cases. I mean, if you’re a paranoid schizophrenic, or Woody Allen, bed bugs may literally drive you crazy. Drug addicts are another group whose habit instills paranoid delusions, so imagine what one of them must go through if they have bed bugs in their home and they just shot themselves full of heroin. I remember this guy from high school who used to see spiders crawling on his arms when he would trip on acid. I can only imagine someone living with bed bugs taking LSD or some other hallucinogenic and looking down at his breakfast only to trip out and see a cereal bowl filled with bed bugs and a spoonful of the critters only a few inches from his mouth.
This whole thing reminds me of this funny saying, “If you don’t think I’m paranoid, just ask all the people who are out to get me.”
I think it would be really interesting if a psychologist or a psych student were to study bed bug paranoia and do research on its effects on the human psyche.
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40 comments:
Here is another story about Bed Bugs.
Thanks James for the link to that article. 3 years later, that UofT article has come true. Bedbugs have arrived in single detached houses in Toronto. I already wrote in to CTV to ask that they do a piece on why the city public health hasn't taken any steps to educate people before this becomes a huge problem. I've also read a piece online by someone living in Toronto city housing who had been living with this problem for quite some time with ineffective and lazy pest control people who actually spread the problem and made it worse but the city has done nothing to help through control or education. Even though they say that bed bugs aren't known to transmit diseases, I suspect that depending on the severity and frequency of the bites and the immune system of the person at that time could lead to spread of bloodborne diseases. Granted, I am an alarmist but then some people might have thought 3 years ago that the UofT study was alarmist as well. Homeless people are everywhere in downtown Toronto - on our buses and subways, on our streets, in the coffee shops, and in the malls where the average person sits before going back to their place of WORK who then go back HOME. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that once this gets worse and its only a matter of time, it could be worse than what SARS did to the Toronto economy. The city and other levels of health organizations in the government should have acted back then when the problem was identified and should be acting now - not when it only impacts the pocketbooks of big hotel chains and corporations.
I too have had the sensation of bugs crawling on me while at work-- but what made it worse was that I got home and had about 30 bites all over my shoulders! So just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone's not following you.... But luckily I got rid of my work chair & haven't had that happen again.
As for picking off small, round, dark things, I've freaked out about that too-- until I realized I was picking off tiny scabs that were formed following my paranoid scratching.... Wow, I sound like a real nut case! Just wanted to let you know you're not to only one. :)
To help with the paranoia, I recommend you go on a few days vacation (even if it's just down the street to a friend's house) wearing only clothes you've just washed in hot, hot water, bringing only clothes you've washed in hot, hot water, in a duffel bad you've also washed in hot, hot water. Once you've spent a few nights in peace, it's easier to calm your mind down when something starts itching. Then come home and hose your house down with Suspend or Kleen Free or whatever you choose. The few days off will make you feel a lot better. It will also give your current bites time to heal so you can then identify new ones with certainty.
Good luck!
Wow, I'm actually laughing hysterically at all of these comments. Not because I'm mocking those who have written them, but because I'm up for the first time at 2am trying not to itch, curled into a tiny ball on my carefully inspected desk chair (apparently wearing a hooded sweatshirt helps, after you've shaken it out of course! It covers much of the body that ails us crazies with these unwanted housemates.) Unfortunately I was all cozy in bed about an hour or so ago when I happened to find what I believe to be a bed bug bud...and then turned the lights on and found another, and another of these tiny specs. Low and behold, a whole bunch of them in my tiny dwelling, thus now I'm, you guessed it, Bugged Out. The worst part is, I'm too embarrassed to even ask friends if I can shack up with them, as I don't want to tell them; and tomorrow at work when I'm a psychotic zombie, I wont be able to tell the coworkers either! By the way, to the writing student who created this blog--you are brilliant for thinking of a way for us to bond and put our minds to ease. :)
To add to your laughing pleasure...Does anyone else hear sounds associated with bed bugs? Once in a while I hear a cracking noise like the hard shell of a bug hitting against something.
Call me crazy (like a fox) but I think these tips will help contain the problem.
1. Don't buy any more crap! Bedbugs hide in books and paper.I had one crawl out from a book. Get rid of all your old bills, files, useless keepsakes, books, extra note paper, collectibles, stuffed toys, etc.
2. Don't sleep elsewhere until your problem has been resolved. It scatters the bugs and they may go looking for you and you will probably spread it via your blankets,sheets, night clothing to whereever you try to escape - couch, living room floor, etc. We spread our problem to the living room where we slept for a month after we discovered the problem.
Visiting a friend is not a good idea unless you're sure you're not contaminated. Beware of your purse/bag. I keep it in a plastic bag while at home in case they crawl in.
3. Do not move your mattress or bedding until you've contained it by spraying and covering it with a secure plastic bag. I suspect we spread to our kitchen when we moved our already sprayed mattress to the kitchen and out the back door to air it in the sun.
4. Put your clean laundered clothes in clear plastic bags. As well as your worn clothes before you wash/dry them. Yes, they can travel through clothing!
5. Do not sit down on any public transit seats especially fabric ones. If you're contaminated, you'll spread them to other people and they can spread it back to you. Plus you can catch other crawly things via public transit.
6. If you feel something moving inside your clothing, try to locate the moving nymph or bug and kill it.
7. Before you put possibly contaminated clothes on, shake them out gently in the bathtub making sure you hold the clothing open. I did that after coming home from work, itching all day thinking I was paranoid and one appeared in the tub...from my clothes I can't be sure but there it was.
8. Don't go barefoot. I got bitten a month after the spraying, dusting, decluttering from something under the bed. Each time they bite, it's one stage closer to them being able to lay more eggs and hatch more of their brood.
9. Use white sheets. Detection is better this way.
10. If you wake up in the night, run your hand across your pillow to feel out any bumps that could be eggs, nymphs or bugs. I put a glass of water within reach so I can drop whatever I find into the glass.
11. Do a glanceover of your sheets in the morning and before going to bed. Dispose of any white, black or red specs by squeezing fingers together and washing it down the sink under a running tap. I don't wear blankets anymore. Just a sheet folded in half.
12. Don't go to theatres.
13. Thank your appropriate religious deity that you do not yet have COLD SORES / HERPES or SCABIES which are all equally gross.
14. Shower and wash hair every morning and night if you think you were contaminated so that you will not spread it to other co-workers and esp. your workplace chair.
15. Don't take your clothes to the drycleaner. You will only be spreading them to other people and then back to yourself. Instead bite the fashion bullet and just wash and dry everything on the hot, hot, hot setting so that they will all die die die.
16. Repeat until you are sure there are no more bedbugs left in the entire world.
17. Do not stress out. Your social life is probably over for the next year and a half (the amount of time they can live without blood) after your last bite but things could be worse although it may not feel like it right now.
I just realized this morning that my bedroom is infested with bedbugs. I've got the three bites in a row in various places on my arms and legs.....I am freaking out! I don't know where to start....the exterminator can't come for four days.....what should I do?
Daffodil
I just found out eight days ago that I've been living in an apartment with bedbugs for 2 months. Me and my fiance have been getting eat up pretty bad, but I just thought we had gotten poise ivy or something. I think ive really messed up now, and im freaking out. I feel ike they will never go away, anywhere I go they will follow. Me and my fiance have been staying with my parents for a few days and looking for a new apartment. We had to break lease because people in the building arent cooperating and I figure we have no chance there. We got a new apartment, but im afraid to go there because we got our old apartment fumigated, and threw away all the furniture but the tables. we threw everything cloth away but our clothesw which we washed in hot water, but yesterday we were in such a hurry, we got the apartment, and moved things in like appliances and our tables and books. I figured since they fumigated the old apartment it would be okay. And I figured that the bugs would only be in cloth things. Now, after reading I dont know what to do. I'm going to have a mental break down. Me and my fiance are both 20, first apartment moving out of our parents house. We had to throw away everything we own. My house burned down before, and that was better. We salvaged some things, but with these bed bugs its impossible. We had so many. We are so screwed, i have to drink to fall asleep. I am paranoid they are in my car, and my parents house will be contaminated. I dont know what to do and im sorry I cant be more helpful to others. I havent talked to anyone but my family and I need to get it out of me, but I feel my mind is permanately contaminated. Am I being too paranoid and freaked?
It's too early to tell but it wouldn't hurt to take some precautions and tell your parents to do the same. Unfortunately we passed on the bed bugs to a friend owning/living in a condo. I am afraid I also spread it to another friend renting in a condo but I am too afraid to ask if she has been getting bitten for fear that she will hate me and not forgive me.
I wake up nervous and afraid each morning for fear that we will continue being infested forever and that the people I care about have caught it too. My bf doesn't ask me over anymore since I told him. Every morning I feel doomed and it's hard to stay positive and hopeful and pretending my life is normal. I've broken down a few times and I know it's a sign of weakness but I feel like it's never going to get better. Í don't see many posts or success stories on the Net when it comes to Bed bugs.
it's so terrible the more i think of the blood suckers the more i get annoyed and wish all of them can be burned in hell. i really do hope that there is a cure for it. i'm so afraid i might pass it on to other people, as i work in a daycare and the little kids hug me often im afraid that they might obtain it. at night i can hardly sleep fearing that they might come out and bite me, i think im going to break down soon.
yup, totally understand.
Every time I walked into my bedbug-infested apartment I would feel tingly and itchy all over.
Bad news. I got bitten today on the wrist in broad daylight in the kitchen somehow as I was cooking. Lately I usually just see a raised little bump that burns in the mornings and then goes away. This bite is bigger and raised like a mosquito bite-sized welt so I'm afraid it means I was bit by an adult bedbug. It's been about 3 months now since we discovered we had the bed bugs. In that span we've sprayed twice and dusted. I still see tiny little bugs late at night in our old wooden window sills. I can't tell if they're bed bugs, but I've seen them jump which not alot of other bugs can do. When I asked the last pestcontroller guy to spray in the window sills, he said they wouldn't be hiding there and that they'd be closer to the bed. It shows how little the pestcontrol people really know about this problem.
Does anyone else feel like no matter what, their life just goes to shit and that they can't seem to catch a break? I didn't realize it, but my life was great before this. I don't think I'll feel good ever knowing that bed bugs are so easily transmissible and that I could re-catch them at any time.
I am wondering how everyone else copes and if you still do the things that you were doing before you got bed bugs. (like going to Gym, friend's and family's houses, etc.)
Still Miserable in Toronto.
It is such a relirf of sorts to hear other peoples comments! I feel like I'll never get rid of theses damn things but also I'm not certain that they are bedbugs, because I have found some with wings! But I'm so freaked out that I everything I see must be a bug. I have trown away my bed, my futon,chair, all my baskets that I've collected for over 20 years as a Montessori pre-school teacher, many pieces of clothing all my clothing that I have kept my mother and I have washed and stored in plastic sealed containers or garment bags. It is so hard to live like this, I'm told not to buy a new bed for another month or so, I'm sleeping on a outdoor lounge chair in the middle of my living room with its legs in cups of mineral oil on a plastic tarp taped to the carpet. When I go to bed I put my clothes in a plastic bag take a shower, put on clean PJs and hope that I don't stay up all night looking for or thinking I see bugs. I wish the best to all of you thank you for sharing your situations it makes it a bit easier to know I'm not the only one.
L in hell
this makes me think either we are all crazy or just i am. but i cant see bites, eggs, or bugs. i am just constantly ichy all over. is this just a case of dry skin i must ask myself. i always wonder if im this uncofortable do others around me feel this way too? goin on 6 or so years with this constant feeling (15 years old up to now.) my mind plays games on me? the eyes do they see my thoughts? can i see what they think? im must be CRAZY! so where do i go from here?
I was attacked by bed bugs on a night bus during a recent trip to South America. Coming home I thought my problems were over, but 5 weeks later I am still itchy all of the time. I have only seen one bed bug since returning home, see some black specks on my mattress but have only had a few bites. Health profesionals that I have spoken to have advised me to wait for further signs before attempting to fumigate, but this constant crawling feeling is driving me up the wall. Finally, I am expected to move out of my place in two weeks, but I am afraid of tracking the bugs, if in fact I have them, with me to my new apartment. I am planning on going through the precautions of washing and inspecting all of my stuff before moving and perhaps ditching my bed or buying a cover for my mattress to seal anything that is in there in! Is there anyway way to ensure that I will not bring these things with me?
Hi from London.
The bed bug problem is international!
We had the same as the above poster. I would get 3 bites in a row every other night. My partner reckoned they looked like bed bug bites.
I checked the mattress and found one or two marks that look like black felt tip pen. Then I found a nymph (a young bed bug).
We vacuumed the mattress and went to bed.
The next day after more internet research we checked our wooden slatted bed frame. There they all were hiding between the slats. We had to completely dismantle the frame.
We caught as many as possible with sticky tape, and stuck them to a sheet of paper - so we could gawp at them.
To get rid of the eggs we adapted a trick my boyfriend learnt in Thailand.
DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU ARE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND DON'T MIND YOUR BED FRAME SLIGHTLY SCORCHED. IT COULD BE DANGEROUS.
WE DIDN'T USE A BLOW TORCH - WE USED A CIGARETTE LIGHTER.
When my boyfriend checked into a room in Thailand he said to the owner that he wanted to be sure there were no bed bugs in the room. One of the workers went over the bed frame with a blow torch.
THIS IS DANGEROUS. NEVER EVER BLOW TORCH A MATTRESS - IT WILL START A FIRE!
We DIDN'T USE A BLOW TORCH. Instead we used a powerful CIGARETTE LIGHTER to burn clusters of eggs we'd found on the bed frame. We just wanted to burn the buggers.
AGAIN I STRESS THAT FIRE CAN KILL. DON'T USE A NAKED FLAME ON FABRIC.
I thought i saw a bug in my bed aout a week and a half ago, then about a week later i started to get a few small bumps on my neck and shoulder. I switched beds and told my parents that we need an exterminator, but... my dad wont believe me and says he wont call an exterminator
The funny thing is, I didn't really care about bedbugs or seem to mind them, until I saw an episode of The King of Queens, in which Doug and Carrie get bedbugs. And now...I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm seriously, SERIOUSLY, considering seeing a psychiatrist or hypnotist to wipe that episode from my mind. Ed.
I only realized I had bedbugs a few days ago. I just moved into an apartment in May and I was so happy. Now I feel like my life is ruined. I am afraid to step foot into my house. I fear that the problem will never been contained, no matter what I do. I constantly feel itchy. I have dreams I am being eaten alive. I fear they are going to spread to my entire apartment, which I simply cannot afford. I have no idea how I got them. I feel like I'm having a mental breakdown.
I'm really glad I found this blog entry. It's not bed bugs here, but fleas. My dog contracted fleas probably from other neighborhood dogs roaming the same patch of front yard space, but these things are almost impossible to kill. I'm trying to be really systematic and consistent with my approach, but I'm so stressed in dealing with my dog that I get constantly itchy. I found one flea on me, and I wake up with several bite marks, and I keep obsessively scratching at myself even if there's nothing there. I don't know what's going on. I wish it would stop.
yea i dont have bedbugs. But we have an ant problem, you know the REALLY big ones? I just turned 15, okay, im not a big girl yet. I dont like creepy crawlies. At least i was able to mostly sleep this past week, but two days ago i was half asleep when a giant spider ran across my FACE... that plus the fact that the ants are everywhere now, i almost swallowed one in my lunch the other day... i dont feel comfortable or safe anywhere in my house, or even just anywhere. I attacked my entire bedroom with the vacuum cleaner last night before i went to bed, hoping to eradicate all traces of that goddamn insolent 2-inch-wide spider and its web from MY house, but I don't know for sure whether I succeeded. I slept okay last night, but today there was an ant floating in my UNOPENED gatorade this morning at swim practice, and just now a certain spot on my back started itching really badly. I soon realized that i had been bitten by... Something, that's right with a capital S, and now im tingly and twitchy and itchy ALL over. I can't sleep, despite the fact that I have to get up at 7:00 tomorrow, and swim in the pool, for county championships is tomorrow. It's almost three o'clock-- i may just tumble down the stairs and see if the darkness is any less shadowy on the couch...
I'm in Toronto.
I noticed I had bites on me a few weeks ago. Took me 7 days of bite marks to discover bed bugs in my bed. There were only a few 6-7. We got rid of the bed, got an exterminator in & washed all the floors with bleach (we have wood floors). We've been sleeping in our spare room for a week (we completely threw out everything from the master) & no signs of bugs. BUT I still have the creepy crawlies & every bit of dust, lint etc still makes me freak out. I'm so worried that they still are here.
Can't take it anymore...
I recently moved into my parent's house while trying to buy my own and low and behold they have these bloodsucking, vampire, life ruining, little bugs too.
We have started an insecticide program with our exterminator (who has come every month for over 20 years, and the little buggers are still here and prospering.) The house is filled with hiding places for them. We have thrown away the mattresses, but that's not the only place they live... THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!!
I wake up in the middle of the night knowing they are crawling on me... Then I think I just haven't slept in about A MONTH, and I am simply losing my mind... But NO I am right they are all over me. I am covered in humongous welts everywhere from my face to my feet. I am contemplating sleeping in the back of my truck to get away from them; I will take being covered in mosquito bites over these things. I would rather have poison ivy, chiggers, chicken pox; you name it...
Now I am worried that all the stuff I have in my parent's house is going to be covered in eggs and bugs and I will take them to my house... I think this may be the start to a new therepy group. BBA anyone?? Bed Bugs Anonymous...
Thanks for the blog. I now see that I am not the only one out there. I may try the lawn chair trick. I guess they can't make it through oil? Worth a shot right?
I've been living for 5 MONTHS with Bed Bugs! My Building won't do anything about it! So I finally threatened them with a Lawyer and they let my roommate and I out of our Lease. But here is the Worst Part of this story. I moved to New York City, Paid 3,000 for a broker, bought all new furniture, found a great roommate, and then they started attacking, and my life went to shit! I discovered that the building I had moved into had been having Bed Bug problems for the past 3 years!!! My neighbor has them so bad he is suing our building! This should be AGAINST THE LAW! Renting an apartment, when you know you have a Bug INFESTATION! We find over 10 a day! It's really great to everyones stories, however I believe that we should take this matter to court! Bring back the harsh chemicals, and get rid of the Sleezing Land Lords (or should I say SLUM LORDS!) So a note to everyone! If you Move, tell Friends of Friends of Friends---Do not move to 436 West 52nd Street! The building is INFESTED! I am getting out and I pray that I don't take them with me :-( I wish everyone luck in getting rid of these Damn Bugs!
Please contact this post if you would like to take legal action, we are stronger as a group! They should get everyone out of the building, and Bomb the Hell out of it, and only move us back in when it was safe. If every place did this there would be no problem. I know it would cost a lot, but how much do you pay in rent? Honestly these people make a fortune! They can Afford it!! Save New York from the Bed Bugs!! Dont' be ashamed! Tell people, spread the word! The more who know that this is a problem, the more people will take action!
Best of Luck!
AD
Thanks for all the great tips in this discussion.
I need advice from you experts.
My boyfriend and his roommate have bed bugs. He had a few bites and I haven't had any. I haven't stayed at his apartment since the discovery (for a few weeks), but he has stayed at mine. He spotted about four bed bugs (on his mattress) and then an exterminator sprayed their entire apartment. I recently took my bed apart, inspected and vacuumed everywhere incl. the mattress and zipped the mattress in a plastic cover. So far, I have not seen one bed bug in my apartment.
When he came by to visit the other day I took all his clothes immediately down to the washing machine & dryed on a high setting. (Though I can't do much about his bag and shoes). Still haven't seen one.
My question is, could I have them and not see them? And also, he has seen one bb since the extermination (the next apraying is scheduled in two weeks) - should I continue this routine of washing his clothes?
I'm starting to feel paranoid!
has anyone tried the thermapure heat treatment for their bed bugs? i know it is very expensive, but from what i've read, it seems to do the trick. the trouble is that i can't get any referrals. let me know if you've tried this and if it worked please!!
thanks in advance.
get an exterminator and gass all the suckers down!!! it supposedly helps 98%. im fricking out to the point of checking every dot on the walls, floor, furniture in my flat...
i love you guys, i dont know what ide do without you. i am going crazy over these bed bugs, and the worst part is im the only one in the house that they bite. they only want me. i cant take it anymore, i cant take the scars, i cant take not sleeping, im scared they live in my ears or brain and i think im slowly going crazy.
thank god for this blog.
I brought a couch in from outside that converted to a bed and made the fatal mistake of bringing in bedbugs. Immediately we trashed the bed but the dirty deed was done. I searched on the internet and identified the adult bedbugs that I had kept in a plastic bag). Sure enough within the next 3-4 months we had a huge infestation in our mattresses and in our curtains. We ditched our mattresses and all of our furniture and moved into our new place a few months ago. We thought we had taken all of the necessary precautions (setting stuff outside for a few days, washing everything in hot, hot water and garbage bagging it up) but a few weeks ago my son noticed two adult bed bugs. I killed them and they seemed to have no fresh blood in them, so we thought they might have been scouts or something hiding in one of our appliances (some of our things, like TV, stereo, and computer, we merely cleaned and inspected and set in the sun, because we figured they were made of plastic, unattractive to bed bugs). I searched our bedrooms and mattresses, revealing no obvious infestation. Anyways, our infant baby was crying last night and we turned the lights on and found some nymphs that had just fed... I popped 3 of those bloodsuckers. I then stayed awake and killed maybe 3-4 more before I drifted off. This morning, due to the fact that this was my second outbreak of bedbugs, I decided to do some really thorough research upon the subject, specifically in search of success stories. I found some very hopeful stories with instructions that I am going to follow. I plan to take every precaution this time, as this is definitely the worst, most annoyingly irritating nastiness I have ever come across (I am ever so grateful I haven't had to deal with worse). This guy has figured out a method of tenting your bed that prevents them from feeding, that seems very effective and feasible: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/12/350785.shtml ... He also talks about the truth that these bedbugs are now DDT resistant, and existed even before DDT was banned, referencing research from all over the world on the bedbugs amazing rate of adapting to chemicals (almost all of them out there are resistant, and so they just scatter and come back after fumigation). He also talks about how they can drop from the ceiling onto you... these bedbugs are smart (that could be the sound one of you thought you heard). I read of another household success story where they all went out and sealed their mattresses and sprayed the legs of their bed and underneath, outlining the perimeter with talc so they didn't come into contact with the pyr-hine chemicals. This worked they said because the bugs had to cross the chemicals to feed at night, thus all of them died. THERE IS HOPE! ALSO, DON'T BELIEVE THE CHEMICAL HYPE (unless you want to waste money and let your problem worsen)! We don't need more chemicals we need to repair our ecosystem... but first we need to stop itching. This requires serious attention and immediate action. The sooner you act, the better your chances are! Also, I wanted to ask out there if anyone has tried this Red Cedar Oil and melted Quartz concoction that is being sold on this website: http://www.cedarcide.com/productguide.asp#4000 ... It sounds good, but I can't trust advertising, especially when it comes to chemicals and infants. I sympathize with all of you, this is so horrible, I have broken down crying several times... I am the only one in my family that shows from the bites, and so it has been hard to motivate support for a plan of action. Also, I have been suffering from spider bites as well, plus this form of dermatitis from a mutated case of posion oak, so I have just been praying for the itching to stop for some time now. Hope is out there (I hope). I just wanted to add that I think our urban, non-nomadic lifestyles are entirely unsustainable and that nature was bound to catch up with us eventually. Just something to think about, for the long-term visionaries out there. Good luck, and have fun!
Hi great sight,
I have come across some similar sites of people who are in distress and dispair over this stupid annoying poblem! I am from England and moved into an apartment for the summer where the itching started, The problem is I could never find anything no matter how hard and how often I looked and believe me I did this alot. I have since moved to a new place and yes of course it has followed me and will not go away that crawling sensation especially in bed!! I went to the doctor and he gave me treatment for scabies..sound bad? I was delighted to be honest as I thought this identified the problem a least but it did not it still came back! I seen a skin specialist and he prescibed really strong antihestimines he said that I may have been attacked by bed bugs or scabies at one stage and now my skin is overreacting and hyper sensative coupled with paranoia!! At this stage I am willing to belive anything to get this shit the hell out of my life I have been taken the antihestimes for 2 weeks now and its not so bad but I still feel my skin get irrated while in bed though not as bad as it used to and not at all if I am using freshly washed sheets!! This could be my imagination Jesus I hope it is and I can control this whatever it takes I dont care I WANT RID OF THIS SHIT!! Best wishes to all of you I cant believe so many other people are having the same problem hang in there we are human because of our natural abilities to solve problems,this too will pass..
you can reply or refer to me as lemonlight
Hello, I did not want to leave this as an anonymous message but I do not believe that you are all experiencing bedbugs in NYC, I believe that many of you might be experiencing Morgellans disease, This is a new strange disease that has some in the underground believing that this is a NANO TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG. There are many videos on You tube about Morgellans disease, please search these videos for yourselves.
I find it very strange how New York and California and other major cities are reporting these outbreaks. Here is a website stating that the CDC is announcing the start of an investigation regarding this strange itching disease. http://www.crossinglines.net/
I do not live in New York but my mother grew up in the Bronx, I believe she would have wanted me to warn her old neighborhood of this POSSIBILITY. Remember this is only a possibility, I do not doubt that many of you have actual bedbugs but I believe that you all should know all sides of the story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF2PYa6cUC0
You can visit my website so you believe I am a real person.
All my best
Fabian
www.myspace.com/fabianstarr
I'm so glad I found this. I went to a B&B and came home with more than I expected. I lived with what I thought was hives for a month..scratching, itching. Then I discovered bed bugs in the corner of my mattress on the underside. I called an exterminator...felt relieved...but then the paranoia has set in. I can't sleep at night. I feel bumps on my skin where I feel something bit me. I strip my bed daily and spray the mattress, box spring and bed frame daily with an insecticide for bed bugs and dust mites. I have vacuumed everything. I go to work and I feel my body is alive with something...I've got two cats and they are going to the vet for close inspection. I feel I'm consumed with this pest that may now exist or not. I just don't know if I'm paranoia now and it's all in my head. I've never had a compulsive behavior but this is getting crazy.
I found that I had bed bugs after 2 months in my apartment. I had been to the dr possibly 4 times before someone suggested that I check my house. I was treated for Scabies, sugar tested because I am insulin resistant... it was humilating and torture. When I did find the problem, I threw out my mattress (but they were in the bed frame) and had the exterminator come ...actually they came 4 times. Each time telling me my problem was over. Each time I layed in my house like live bait! Finally w/ my landlords help we called another exterminator. This one refused to treat my house until everything was bagged up. this included every article of cloth washed, dried and bagged. Each bag duct taped closed. Every tricket, paper, etc that could not go into the dish washer or the washing machine had to leave my house. My Christmas tree (cannot be treated)Gone ... my childs toys ... GONE! Pictures, mirrors, my camera printing dock ... GONE! my couch, my reclyner GONE! at times I thought it would have been easier if it had burnt down. ... I spent 4 weeks at my mothers after ensuring that I couldn't possibly have taken anything into her house. They sprayed my house an additional 3 times while everything was bagged. The carpets were shampoo'd at 200 degrees. Bed bug covers on the brand new mattress' that were not brought in until after all 7 sprays. I have been back in my house for a month. I still get up at night turning on the lights to check .. I see nothing. I still put my clothes in the dryer for atleast 20 minutes before I will put them on. I still itch .. and everything little freckle on the skin makes me think I have been bitten. I have no reason to feel this way .. I feel crazy. I worry about whether they are in my car, if my daughter can bring them home from daycare, it they are at my job ... I get in a panick. I have went on anti-depressants. Please someone give me hope ....
wow! i really thought i was goin crazy i have every single feeling and emotion described on this page! i just got bit by bugs a couple days ago. im goin insane. i feel nasty like der everywer on me like im just caryin dem around. its a nasty feeling of disgust shame sadness angry and annoyed and especially paranoid. i dont think ill ever live life the same way again. i wont ever buy anything used, go into a thrieft store, borrow clothes, wer da same clothes 2 days in a row, ima take like 2 showers a day, im wearing only white, im inspecting my whole room everynite and so much more...it makes feel wierd steppin into my room knowing that they could be der...knowing dat when im sleeping i have bugs crawling on me. it totally suks. im scared of goin to my sisters house, im scared of hugging my neices n nephews, and da worst thing is im scared of touching or kissin my boyfriend! n yes, life does seem like it was perfect b4 diz...but it makes me feel soooo much better dat im not exagerating n dat other people feel this way. i hate when people tell me im worryin 2 much. i guess u never know til it happens 2 u. im writin soooo much on my blog because im stallin...i dont wana go 2 sleepppp...ugh! i need help or advice!
ughhh. I've been paranoid all day and had the urge to check all my clothes and i brought clean clothes to change into. Well turns out that on my clean underwear there was a baby bed bug. i look in my bag of clean clothes in another pair of underwear and there are eggs i believe. theyre white with black dots. theyre inside the panty liner cloth in girl underwear =[ im sitting here naked on a kitchen chair.. i wont sit on my desk chair. i cant sleep i sent my mom out to get new underwear and stuff so i can maybe go to my grandmothers to sleep and not bring them there. shes also going to wash clothes to school tomorrow. this really isnt fair.. ive been crying paranoid all day and they just appear when i havnt seen one all week... i also saw a live on in the tub and on my moms bed. and a small squished one on my bed... my room was sprayed really well and i got a new bed and put crushed silica cat litter on the frame legs and everywhere... idk ugh im going insane every itch i get i jump.. i even bit my tongue from it =[ help..
It has been so good to read what other people have been writing. As much as it doesn't solve the problem, it does give a voice to a problem that I think doesn't have enough attention in the media or healthcare system. As much as there is no disease spraed my thought keeps going to the psychological distress and compulsive behaviors that it leads to. I have no idea if I have b.bugs, but I have all the behaviours that people are talking of. I just got back from a trip and have just assumed that I must have them now. I can hardly sleep and have creepy crawly skin all the time. Every speck on the floor calls for me to find out what it is. Every bug is examined....I don't think I've been bit, and yet I dot know for sure. Could I have been bit and not have a reaction? I feel like I'm going crazy with this, and all the while I continue to think that our government needs to take more of an active role on this issue...to bring awareness, educationan solutions, support, and iptions to people so they don't have to suffer. I also find the shame, embarassement of the possibility of this overwhelming. I don't wwant to go out, I don't want peiople to come over, I can't stand night time etc.
I think that we who have suffered with this need to continue to support echother and others who are experiencing this. Thank you for starting this blog as a way to start discussion on the impacts.
Is anyone interested in doing some lettter writing to our government to put some pressure on for action of this??? Having had worked for government myslef I know the importance of letters as well as how seriously they are taken, especially when received en mass from many people on one subject. It forces the item to be addressed. I just think its important for this issue to have a voice rather than people suffering alone in lawn chairs in their living rooms unable to speak. If u are interested in letter writing, let's collaborate on how to, who to, and some content to include. As much as we have suffered with this, we may be able to start a change so that others don't have to suffer too!
Again thanks for this blog, I have found it to be very helpful, even though it doesn't solve the problem.
AHHHHH!!
I moved to NYC with my husband just a week ago. The management company informed us that a few floors (not ours) have had bed bugs problems. I have been paranoid ever since then!
Before we moved in, I cleaned the the WHOLE apartment with bleach and a steamer after reading somewhere that steam kills them (I literally steamed the closets and all of my furniture once we moved in including the mattress and couch). I also bought this super bug spray and sprayed allllll around the apartment (corners, front door, balcony, EVERYWHERE).
The day after we moved in, I called the exterminator of the building and had him come and spray our place which he will continue on doing once every 2 weeks.
I have not had one good night sleep for a week now. I spent last night reading about how to prevent bed bugs and what to do once you have them and now I'm reading this blog and getting myself even more paranoid and itchy!
I believe the reason behind me paranoia is that I went through something similar just about a year ago. We adopted a kitten that apparently had RINGWORM :(
For those of you who are not familiar with ringworm, it is a type of fungus similar to "athlete's foot fungus" Animals can get it and spread it to humans (I got it on my legs, arm and stomach!). It looks like a round dry scabby ring and those dry scabs can fall anywhere in your house and live there for a realllly long time until they find another human or animal to live on. I really went though hell until I finally got rid of completely.
I have used public transportation for years before moving to the city. I used to take the bus, subway and trains everyday and never felt this paranoid.
My friend told me I sound like a crazy person and I do believe her but I really can't stop!
Today, after getting super itchy at work after reading a few blogs, I ordered some sprays and powder for bed bugs from amazon. I really think I'm going mad! :(
Hi, new to this site. I discovered i had bb's, first time in my life, last summer. after several attempts by landlord to exterminate, professional exterminator came in, did 3 separate treatments. last one was dec 17th. I have not seen any bugs since then but am still getting a few bites at night. figure they must be nymphs, but thing is, nymphs should develop into adults, but i never see actaul bugs. I also see bite marks on my skin, so that proves it's not imagination, nor nerves. And i do see a few very small black dots on sheets also. i have DE everywhere, and put clothes in hot dryer, then directly into plastic bags. Am so tired of living like this. I also feel bites sometimes when wearing shoes/slippers, even after i spray them with insecticide. I am not crazy, just can't figure out how this can be, and will i ever be completely rid of them??
My mom has bed bugs and I was recently bitten. I checked and didn't see any signs of carrying them but I'm so paranoid it feels like they're crawling on me all the time and I can't sleep! What should I do?
I havent even got rid of mine and I'm so afraid of getting them again. but the spreading is I bit not ridiculous but I don't know. my boyfriend is my bestfriends brother.so they both spend time a my house and I spend time down their house and knock on wood they don't have them at their house.
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