Bedbugs at rest. The immediate drama settled down yesterday as Amanda returned home for the night and slept through undisturbed on her new vinyl mattress cover. Although her home is spartan and empty of all of her clothing and textiles (to be returned in 3 weeks), and her dog cannot return yet (due to the spraying), she reports no return of bedbugs and she is very happy with the pest folks at Metro Pest Control (800.834.8199). She sent along their checklist for our perusal (see bottom). This is a totally pain in the ass list...
Bedbugs Take Manhattan #6
Amanda has also presented her landlord with information from Bedbugger and this site in order to press for compensation for the money she spent on Metro. The landlord is "talking it over with his lawyer," but he also asked her to arrange for Metro to come and treat the neighbors apartment, even though the neighbor is away (he seems to be worried. Metro said that there had to have been bedbugs in there for at least two months). However, Amanda has told him that it cannot be done until her neighbor returns and bags up all his clothing and textiles. A truce seems to have formed, or at least a standstill, for now.
As we wait for the drama to continue (there's GOT to be more), we also wanted to pass along this excellent article from the times two years ago which our mother gave us over the weekend: Everything You Need to Know About Bedbugs But Were Afraid to Ask.
(Pic: NYTimes)
Past Posts:
PREPARATION FOR BEDBUG TREATMENT
1. Remove all bedding (sheets, comforters, pillows) and place in plastic bags (seal them tightly). Wash all bedding in hot water. After washing, place all clean bedding in new plastic bags (seal them tightly). Discard old plastic bags outside for garbage removal, do not re-use. Wash or replace pillows.
2. Remove all items from beneath the bed.
3. Vacuum bed frames, box springs and mattresses (pay special attention to the edges, buttons and tufts). Also vacuum the floors, rugs and around baseboards. All shoes must be vacuumed as well. Place vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag and discard outside for garbage removal.
4. Empty all closets, dressers, bookshelves, wall units, hutches, breakfronts, etc. throughout the residence, including platform bed drawers (if any). All items that have been removed from these areas should be inspected, cleaned and put into plastic bags and sealed tightly. All of the above mentioned areas must be vacuumed once they have been emptied to help eliminate any live bedbugs or eggs that may be present. Also remove all framed pictures and decorative items from walls and vacuum. Place vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag and discard outside for garbage removal.
5. Wash all clothes prior to treatment. After washing, place clean clothes in new plastic bags (seal them tightly). Discard old plastic bags outside for garbage removal, do not re-use.
6. You must keep all areas such as closets, dressers, bookshelves, wall units; hutches, breakfronts, etc. empty in preparation for the follow-up treatment. It is the customers responsibility to call for the follow-up service approximately 3 weeks after the original treatment.
7. Pregnant women must consult their physician regarding this treatment and submit written authorization before service can be provided.
8. Toddlers under the age of 1 year old must be out of the apartment for a minimum of 24 hours. Anyone with an asthmatic condition must stay out of the apartment for a minimum of 48 hours.
9. The apartment must be vacant for a minimum of 4 hours following the treatment or until chemical is completely dry.
10. All pets must be out of the apartment for at least 6 hours. Birds must be out of the apartment for 24 hours. Fish tanks must be covered tight with plastic and the filter must be turned off.
11. After bedbug treatment has been provided, we strongly recommend that vinyl mattress covers be used on all mattresses to avoid contact with the chemicals used in treatment.
Comments (13)
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Copyright © 2007 Apartment Therapy
That was only her first treatment. This is only the first chapter of the story.
view MrGreen's profile
It's ironic that AT has also posted today's NYTimes article on people who go dumpster diving. Talk about taking the chance on inviting bed bugs into your home!
view Kat1's profile
What if you have a canister vacuum? Can the bedbugss cling to that?
This whole thing gives me the heebie jebbies.
view Ana's profile
Glad to hear you've made it thus far, and have found good people to work with. Hope you are able to sidestep anyone who is trying to inflame or feed off your distress, feel good about what you've done so far, and take what's left a step at a time, a day at a time, til it's done. Brave heart, k
view KarenH's profile
I dont think people need to be alarmist. Bed bugs suck and are a terrible inconvenience but people should not get paranoid about traveling or riding the train. If you want to dumpster dive do so intelligently and know how to look for signs of little passengers you dont want to transport into your home. I do think it would be great though if people developed a sign that could be put onto trash articles to show they are infested with lice, bedbugs or what have you. If I gave into the hysteria I would be unable to be a business traveler. Instead before I get into a bed in a hotel I just check on the mattress cover to be sure. Want to know what I am talking about check out http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/ADVISOR/02/10/hln.adviser.bedbugs/ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaFIDUv6c-4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U44Zo-aoBNg. ( The last piece is the best). Educate yourself and dont buy into the hysteria I hope it turns out well for Amanda.
view Trumystique's profile
here's a stupid question that was probably answered at some point... can you just wrap your mattress in a plastic cover and then put your bedding over it to prevent bed bugs?
view zzzap's profile
Is it farfetched to consider that new furniture might have been returned to a store from an infected home? I mean, anything's possible with bugs. They can conceal themselves almost anywhere.
view Lady J's profile
4. Empty all closets, dressers, bookshelves, wall units, hutches, breakfronts, etc. throughout the residence, including platform bed drawers (if any).
If ever I've seen a reason for living a minimalist life, this is it. I've slowly been trying to pare down the things I own, but looking around at my packed bookshelves, dresser, and closets, I don't know what my husband and I would do if we ever had to inspect, and then bag, all of our belongings.
view Jenifer's profile
Bedbugs are especially an argument against under-bed storage.
view SYB_in_DC's profile
zzzap, that's not a stupid question at all.
The proper type of plastic cover will indeed keep bed bugs out of your mattress, as well as dust mites and other insects.
However, you could still get bedbugs in your bed and house, but it would be easier to take care of the problem if it happened.
Make sure that you get a good-quality cover that is designed to keep out bugs. Dust mites are smaller than bed bugs, so if you get one that keep's them out, you're golden. This is a situation where what you're buying is expensive, so it's worth the extra money to get a nice one that will work well and last a long time--less expensive in the long run.
Lady J, that's certainly possible. And when I walked by a laundry today and saw all those bags of dirty laundry piled up, I almost puked. I am so glad I do my own.
view MrGreen's profile
Lady J makes a good point. Your best bet is to order a nonstandard finish or material not kept in stock. If the salesperson tells you he'll have it ready in a few days, change your order. Custom orders should take several weeks or months.
view James Buggles's profile
This article,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/realestate/15cov.html?ex=1182657600&en=90b570a01e2c8bac&ei=5070
which Maxwell blogged, came out 9 months ago in October, rather than two years ago.
On the same page, you can find this link to a related article "What to Do Once You've Been Bitten":
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/realestate/15bside.html?ex=1182657600&en=b83968d77dd2e8e8&ei=5070
It outlines the real estate issues for renters, co-op owners, and such. It's pretty clear that landlords have to deal with tenants' bed bugs, and it might be another resource for Amanda's landlord to see.
view nobugsonme's profile
Just to be clear, there are some situations where tenants are liable to pay for treatment. See:
http://bedbugger.com/2006/10/22/faq-tenants-landlords-owners-and-bedbugs/
view nobugsonme's profile