Perhaps one of the more annoying aspects of a bed bug infestation is that even when you don't see them anymore, you still come across little discoveries like this just so you know they're never really gone.
What you're looking at in this yellow basin are bed bug shell casings. As bed bugs grow, they also grow a new shell which breaks the old shell, kind of like a snake shedding its skin. This basin was empty and under my bed for the last month. Now M and I can't even remember the last time we saw a live bed bug or even been bitten by one, but this disgusting find serves as a friendly reminder that we should never rest easy. We should never stop inspecting our own homes, and most definitely, we should never stop cleaning. Most importantly this discovery serves as a reminder that those who have endured bed bug infestation should never, ever assume their homes are finally bed bug-free.
One of my financial goals if for M and I to have enough money one day to hire someone to do all this bed bug cleaning (the weekly mopping, the inspections, etc.) so we can somewhat relax.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
They Left Their Calling Card...
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8 comments:
Ok. Ok. I have a lot to say so here goes:
Those things in the basin. Are you really sure that they are just bb shell casings and not dead bbs? Did you spot some eggs in there as well? How about some live bbs. It's hard to believe that there wasn't any live bbs in there. That basin looks like a good bb trap for all of those people looking for evidence of bbs and cannot find any. I think you should goto bedbugger forums and post this up there. It looks like the bloodsuckers dropped from your bed and into the basin. I wonder if any bbs got out? I don’t think they can climb in because from the look of the picture, the basin is plastic and the sides go outwards and the top curls under.
So as far as you and M not being bitten. Maybe you guys just don’t react to the bites anymore. I mean, for there to be that much evidence under the bed indicates a lotta feedings during the night. I remember one post you did about you and M doing foreplay and one bug was sucking on your face and M plucked it off while it was still nursing. It looks like you have one massive infestation going on there.
And how are you going to hire a cleaning person to do the bb cleaning for you? What would the ad say? “Need bb cleaning person to help in the cleaning and eradication of bbs from my home”. And how do you know that the cleaning person won’t have bbs themselves and keep reinvesting you. After all, a lotta rich people got bbs from cleaning people, babysitters et cetera.
Also, your blog says that it is updated every weekend and this should be changed because that simply isn’t so.
Whew!
Hey Wake Up People!,
You bring up a lot of good points.
after I posted this entry. the idea of intentionally using my plastic basin as a sort of bed bug trap certainly crossed my mind. I was thinking of buying more basins (god bless the 99 cent store, and thank you, China, or should I say, xie xie?) and lining the inner bottom and inner walls with fly paper and sticking it under my bed and see what I get in a month. What do you think of my idea? It sounds like it might work, but then again, there nothing about getting rid of bed bugs that comes close to most other insects, so it might not.
You're very observant about the dimensions of my cheap little basin. I'm impressed.
I honestly believe what I was saw in that basin were translucent shell casings. I've seen them before, lots of times, especially when I sweep the floor. I quickly flushed them down the toilet and rinsed down the basin, so the evidence is kind of gone. But you've given me a great idea for my next post! Thanks.
Is this like some sort if "phantom mode" that bed bugs phase into? I hope I don't have a major infestation but sometimes I do wonder. As for becoming immune to bed bug bites, I don't think I've ever heard of that before. Have you heard any such cases?
Also, if you thought I had a major infestation back then, why didn't you mention it before? I'm not sure how massive the infestation is at this point, but I definitely think they're here.
As for hiring a maid, that's kind of a pipe dream of mine, mostly because I am so broke by the time I'll be able to afford a cleaning person the "maid" will probably be a robot like Rosie from the Jetsons.
I need President-elect Obama to fix the economy or at least hook me up with a bailout. I'm no millionaire CEO, overpaid union auto worker or Wall Street investment banker, but it would be nice to get a big fat bailout loan as well.
Actually, I figured I could hire an illegal alien to do the bed bug cleaning and pay them whatever legal citizens get for doing the same thing.
I'd visually inspect any maid and their clothing for bed bugs as a hiring prerequisite, and if the inspection showed no signs of bed bugs, they'd either have no bed bugs or be really good at bed bug cleaning, in which case I'd want their services even more!
I think a great business idea would be a bed bug cleaning service. The maids can show up in hazmat or biohazard suits, undergo a rigorous training process (studying bed bug blogs?) and prospective employees can be screened for signs of at-home infestations.
Someone's been paying attention. Yes, Bugged Out is in fact not updated every weekend. I tried to set a high goal and failed. But isn't it better to set a high goal and miss than set up low expectations and meet them every time? But yes, seeing that I can't make such a commitment, I will change that, among other things, in the New Year.
Thanks for commenting.
Hey! I just wanted to say that "yes", people do become immune to bedbug bites. I read it on bedbugger forum. I also read over there that up to 70% of people do NOT react to bb bites. So, don't go by bites as the only indicator. There are of course the other signs that you are aware of: fecal stains or bb poop which are dots that smear, bbs themselves, their casings, blood stains, etc.
Your blog for some reason does not get many comments. But, I like it. I like the fact that you still have bbs. No, that came out wrong. I mean, I like the fact that there is a person who has a continuing bb infestation and not afraid to say it. I was hoping that you didn't discontinue this blog because it shows so many people that you can have bbs and diabetes and what-have-you and still live. So, happy holidays to you and yours!
I was not aware that so many people did not react to bed bug bites.
I'm glad that you like Bugged Out and that I still have bed bugs. Well, not that I still have them, you know what I mean.
I'm not sure exactly why I still have a bed bug infestation, except that I probably didn't have enough time to thoroughly clean and inspect my home. Let's face it, even in a tiny New York apartment, bed bug control is still a part-time job in itself. So people who have infestations as long as I have shouldn't beat themselves up about it.
Happy holidays to you as well, and thanks again for commenting.
Once you stop reacting to bites, that's when the bedbug situation can really get out of hand. People tolerate having bedbugs a lot more if their skin doesn't break out. That is really bad tho. When dozens or hundreds of bedbugs feed on a person every night, that puts them at risk for anemia.
Btw - what is your cleaning routine? Is it just the mopping? If you only mop the floors, that doesn't get rid of many bedbugs. If it's an annoying chore, you're probably better off doing nothing than something that doesn't work. Save your energy. Then do something that works.
Lots of people don't react when i go to do an inspection i usually know what to expect depending if they have been recieving bites or seeing live bugs
Yeah, most people never feel bed bug bites. Its not until the next morning they freak out. lol! great share! :)
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