apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That lead in was a seriously close call in the spoiler department. I haven't read the final book yet - to all in the AT community: PLEASE don't spoil the Harry Potter ending!!!

Agreed! (About the spoiler...)

Get a grip, folks. That was not a spoiler. It's a non-statement barely referencing only what has been known for a solid year from the author's lips. And should, frankly, be expected given the nature of the series.

The book has been out for 10 days. It's time to be grown-ups about HP.

I don't care if the book has been out for ten YEARS, Lady J.

Trust me - the statement has nothing to do with the ending. READ THE BOOK AND YOU'LL SEE!

Fellow HP fans, I am an anti-spoiler Nazi when it comes to Harry Potter. I'd be jumping up and down if AT spoiled it (or any of the previous books for anyone.) But Lady J is correct about the posting not being a spoiler. The second sentence is referring to the Harry Potter BOOK, not necessarily the person, which it says ends with great drama. (Obviously.) Don't assume that the subject of the second sentence is the implied subject of the first sentence, and it's not a spoiler.

P2's also right that time is immaterial for those who haven't read the books but wish to. I won't let my girlfriend discuss Book 6 on the subway, because there are still people out there who haven't got around to reading it or are just now in the process. (I sat next to someone on a plane yesterday who was in the middle of it.

That said, I know there are plenty of non-fans who'll be glad when we all stop talking about it. They do have my sympathy. : )

Enjoy reading!

Back to the topic, am I the only one skeeved at the idea of bringing a rug off the street into your home? Especially with a bedbug epidemic? Ewwww.

no, you are not the only one lori. i wouldn't take it in because of dust mites and moths, let alone bedbugs.

I think it matters less if it is a spoiler than if it is interpreted as one. If I saw "nobody died" and thought that was about the book, and then stopped reading so as to avoid further (perceived) spoilage, I would be crushed, whether it ends up being true or not.

So whether it is one or isn't, can we just try to be nice and not talk about the ends of books/movies?

The "grown-up" thing to do, I think, is to be considerate if it costs us nothing to do so, and whether we understand others' tastes and proclivities towards books, be nice about them.

Sorry, Lady J, I just realized that what I wrote could be taken as a stab. It isn't meant to be one, I apologize.

This site is about style, and everyone has their own, including of how to read and appreciate art, and I think it is very easy for this to be a vibrant community without ruining people's experience, as there are tonnes of metaphors that aren't close to the line, that would help us talk about bedbugs.

Speaking of which, in addition to Bedbugs, isn't it concerning that you are at the mercy of your neighbor's cleanliness? Where did they come through? The vents? Is there something that we can seal to keep it from happening?

I'm with Lady J on the HP issue. I am a HUGE fan, but at some point you have either read Book 7 or don't care all that much about spoilers. I think we are close to that point now.

Anyway, this was nowhere near a HP spoiler. It was a cute lead-in to the bedbug update, which I appreciate. I keep hearing how devastating a bedbug infestation is - it's a relief to hear of a successful extermination.

Such is the power of Harry Potter that there's no interest in the bedbug-driven romance?

Some of us want details... was the popsicle homemade from the recent recipe on AT:Kitchen? Did she recommend that he visit AT for redecorating tips? Does he prefer MCM over neo-Baroque?

I'm not only interested in the bed bug roman, but I have a serious question about the actual bugs (and I'd love to learn that the bed bug duo go at it for the long haul - it would make an interesting story for grandchildren to hear)....my question is:

How does one rid themselves of bed bugs without all those disgusting polluting chemicals used by exterminators?

I absolutely could not survive living in an enclose space that had been sprayed. I'd have to move.

(Wende: I'm finally getting back to California - moving end of August - but I'm going to Los Angeles for a long stint and then, who knows....how art thou?)

spell check...........please add spell check..:)

I think it would be hotter if she hooked up with the exterminator.

I'm with Patrick on this one. Shag the exterminator. He's the hero.

And the rug off the street thing is just skeevy.
And I'm not normally opposed to picking things up on the street.

I'm with Patrick (okay, not really), rugs acquired from the street lack my basic assurance for cleanliness. But I'm not convinced that the exterminator is the man of the hour...he or she would certainly have powerful tools for eradication of the bugs, but the real unsung heroes are those people who patiently pore over every bit of fabric, etc., to rid their space of bed bugs.

And as for HP----I won't go there, the books have had more than adequate coverage.

once i was walking on ludlow street in nyc, there was a discarded mattress on the sidewalk. 4 young women who were walking in front of me started jumping up and down on it and giggling and i yelled 'nooooo stop!! it mught have bedbugs!!' but they continued to laugh and frolic ...

how about this. i need a new mattress. i am worried about something i read. when you buy a mattress the delivery people remove old bedding, and take it away. so there is old bedding in the truck very close to the new bedding. the new pieces are usually wrapped in plastic. if a bug had jumped onto it, would i be able to spot it? mayor bloomberg wanted to make a rule that old bedding cannot be in the same truck as new bedding. but i don't think it passed. and i don't live in nyc anyway.

I would like to have the cute neighbor hook up w/the exterminator...that's true romance!

As for HP some of us don't have the time to sit and read the book beginning to end in a day, a week or even a couple of weeks. Please give us with lives that include but are not ruled by HP a break and keep the ending to yourselves.

HP readers need to get over themselves. If people were half as interested in the real world as they are in a stupid book (yes I said it) the world would be a better place.

Oh and the end of the book? They all make a suicide pact and kill themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate bridge. (I have no idea what really happens, Ive never read any of the books. I read non-fiction.)

As far as the bedbugs, I am curious as to how many apartments in the building ended up infested.

Nobody blow the ending to Titanic, I haven't seen it yet.

So...how long must the plot of a new book/movie be kept quiet?

SleepyDweller: HA!

Jon_B: it doesn't seem like the ending was actually spoiled. I've never read a single book in the series, nor has anyone I know personally (at least they haven't admitted to it) and even I knew about someone dying in the ending. As far as being "spoiled" I think a week or two is good enough. If you really, really want to know what happens that badly, you'll get to the theatre or read the book by then.

And as for dating the neighbor... why not? As long as he's "cute."

Thank you Sleepy Dweller.

I'm so happy this is the last book, maybe adults will go back to reading adult books.

Why do people care what other people read? I have the last HP, I haven't yet had time to read it, I would be very sorry if someone spilled the ending to me, and I'm hoping that in a week or two the last book will be such old news that people won't be talking about it so that when I have the time, finally, to read it it will be a surprise.

This is an innocent pleasure, people. Why be so sour?

(JacksonMarie! Los Angeles! Excellent -- we will take you to dinner somewhere fabulous after you're settled. LA is within a moderately easy drive of Phoenix... or, as we Bay Area expats call it, "Desert Bay.")

Deborah, I couldnt care less what other people read. A book that gets kids excited about reading is a good thing. Im sure its a fun book for all those reading it.

Its the HP fans who act like there is nothing else going on in the world that bug me. Everyone must whisper in hushed tones about the book because there might be someone out there who hasnt read the end! Dont dare make a reference to the fact that someone dies even though the author herself let that one out. Its ridiculous.

I am what I like to call a "future bedbug survivor" -- today marks the third night in a row I have yet to sleep in my own bed, and Day Two of Operation: Bedbug. My mom flew up from Ohio to help, the exterminator is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and honestly, I feel optimistic about the whole thing. The folks at Bed Bath and Beyond and I are on a first name-basis, as I have stocked up on and endless supply of floor and crack sealing gel, mattress protectors and vacuum accessories. These f***kers won't know what hit them.

My question is that although I don't want to cause unnecessary panic throughout my entire building, I sure as hell want to make sure I don't get them again from someone else. I've told both of my next door neighbors, but should I post any kind of announcement?

Also, how long do you have to keep your clothes out of the place? My plan was to wash all of them, put them in plastic bags (Ziploc makes excellent large ones, by the way), get my place fumigated, and then replace them after a day or so. Thoughts?

Hmmm...HP or love via bedbugs? I can't believe most of this post is about the former.

Speaking as someone who recently and inadvertantly spoiled a friend for the end of HP book SIX, trust me: you don't ever want to see that face, so be careful of spoilers. On the other hand, the first line is so very not a spoiler, so there.

Rug off the street = very scary.

I think that it might be a bit embarrassing to have to answer the inevitable "How did you two lovebirds meet?" with "Oh, he gave me bedbugs!"

On the other hand, it is lovely to know that life goes on after bedbugs.

Oh man, reading this gives me the creeps. My darling husband just invited a friend of ours (who has to move out of HIS apartment because his roomate has bedbugs) to live in our guest room until he gets back on his feet. I'm going to do some major research, but what are the chances that he'll bring them into our house? He's only bringing a few things, mainly books and stuff, but its freaking me out. Ugh.

aesargent,
You should be concerned. It all hinges on how very cautious he was, and how very infested he was, but he can definitely spread them.

RuthyE,
I don't know about keeping clothes out of the apartment. On http://bedbugger.com we tell people to wash and dry on hot, bag in XL ziplocs, and keep those ziplocs IN the apartment. But don't return stuff to closets and drawers.

I am not sure where Amanda sent her stuff for three weeks, and I'd be really interested to know. People should be aware that washed clothing should stay bagged and out of closets and drawers until bed bugs are LONG gone. Many people require more than two treatments, so be warned. Needing 3-4 is not uncommon. And the stuff should be bagged until there are no further signs of bed bugs, bites, fecal specks, etc.

Richard Cooper, a pest control expert in NJ, says not to put clothing back for 55 days. It sounds extreme, yes, but I think three weeks from the beginning of treatment is foolhardy.

Sorry--I wasn't clear about Richard Cooper's statement. He says here
http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-1/118464714389780.xml&coll=1
(page 3) that it takes 55 days with no bed bug bites and no bed bug sightings to know bed bugs are gone. He wasn't talking about clothing specifically, but it stands to reason that you don't want to put your clothes back right away, because if you do see bugs you have to go through all that again.

re: "I think that it might be a bit embarrassing to have to answer the inevitable "How did you two lovebirds meet?" with "Oh, he gave me bedbugs!" "

Could have been worse.

Like: "Your mother gave me crabs, and it was love at first bite!"

Or: "We met through eHarmony."

karenmmm: I hate to spread rumors, but I've also heard (and hopefully this is just an urban legend) that you shouldn't buy mattresses from stores with any sort of love-it-or-your-money-back incentive because if someone DOESN'T love the mattress (which often happens) the mattress will be returned to the store and sold as new. If the person trying out the mattress happened to have bedbugs, you could end up buying a contaminated mattress and thinking it was brand new.

What I want to know, is did she ever convince her land lord to pay for all of it?

aesargent, never had bedbugs but a close friend had it and did battle with them for a few months - her exterminator said she basically had to scour all her books page by page for the little buggers or their eggs. Lovely. She lived with her clothing in ziplocked bags for I think at least 4 months, constantly rotating them to the washer/dryer for extra hot wash and dry cycles. FWIW, perhaps your husband's friend could get a small storage space and house his off season clothes and bedbug free possessions in there for a few months, keeping only the bare essentials in his apt while his problem is being treated.

I neither read HP nor care to - they seem like cheap bastardizations of much fancier fantasy/legend tween novels I used to read when I grew up outside of the US - but at the same time, let the HP fans live for god's sake! If they want their HP pleasure, why be beastly and deny them by spoiling it for them? Sheesh. Some people are so darned mean. I take it you kick puppies for fun too?

I'm in the middle of the bed bug (it's two words) thing. My landlord had updated the lease language pertaining to "pest control" to virtually get out of any responsibility. I had to pay for the inspection for my apartment and the four surrounding apartments as well as any treatment to my apartment. One bed bug was found in my apartment and none in the surrounding apartments. This exterminator wanted me to throw away all my upholstered furniture and mattress OR pay $1,500.00 for them to take the pieces away for fumigation and keep them for three weeks, while they treated the apartment. They also wanted me to move all other belongings onto non-carpeted surfaces, which for me includes only my bathroom and about a 4 x 9 kitchen floor.
Said goodbye to that exterminator and started gathering information from the internet. I'm now working with an exterminator who suspects a small infestation possibly from carry on luggage I had on a plane in May or tracked in on the shoes of apartment complex employees doing maintenance work in my apartment. I move nothing, so as not to bring non-contaminated items out where the bugs might be, except for clothes, which have been dry cleaned and moved to a hall closet. I take my sheets, blanket and matress pad and put them in the dryer every night for 20 minutes before I go to bed. I have zippered covers on my mattess and box spring. Although I've had no new bites for several weeks, it doesn't mean they're gone and I probably will need some treatment, but at least I found someone reasonable to work with at less than half the cost of the first exterminator.

Deborah - and anyone else - the last Harry Potter is so good, it is one to relish even if some fool betrays the ending. It's more than plot - enjoy!

Whereas the bedbugs - now there's a plot that matters. It was getting so that even Dementors didn't look so bad. Glad it turned out so well.... this time.

Here's what happens:

Harry gives Hermione bedbugs and she kills him.

Now THAT is hysterical.

No! I read that she gives HIM bedbugs and then they kill all the bugs and get married.

Was my source wrong?!

aesargent, my housekeeper had bed bugs at her place for a while. She did not bring them into our apartment. She never moved out of her house, but she was extremely thorough in terms of cleaning/exterminating. I would suggest you do some research before letting that friend walk in your front door, and making sure he does whatever needs to be done to ensure he's not bringing any along with him.

Well, the exterminator came to my place this past Thursday and sprayed my place - I feel so much better! I sealed up most of the big cracks in my floorboards, bought a can of bed bug spray for my own use, and have thrown out my mattress and box springs. I also invested in a steamer (it was like $40) and the stuff I wasn't able to wash, I steamed since the heat kills the things. For dry cleaning clothes, I just put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes and they were not damaged. I went through every single book, CD and DVD I own, threw out paper towels, toilet paper and some gross wooden shelving I needed to get rid of anyway. Needless to say, I am becoming a minimalist -- it was a great excuse to rid myself of pointless clutter.

I'm still a little paranoid, because my neighbor thinks she saw a bloodstain on her mattress and is beginning to worry. She has been out of town and is getting it checked tonight - I'm just stressed about the little buggers returning.

I'm also worried about my office -- the chair that I use is fabric upholstered, and I'm wondering if I need to treat it or get rid of it.....any thoughts?

HI, recently on Oprah she had a guest who had read all 37 encyclopedia's, something like 40 thousand words, definitions? anyhow he mentioned that there is no way to get rid of bedbugs, they basically eat all the dead skin cells that fall off your body, and apparently there's alot of those as well. I think I was happier thinking there was a way to kill them, but personally I love my memory foam, maybe it's a false sence of security [where bed bugs are concerned] but I would think it would be a less than satisfactory environment than a regular mattress... What ever happened to the Rainbow [water bowl] vacuum promising to get rid of bedbugs... lol....

catsownme7,

Apparently the Oprah guest was not reading very carefully. Bed bugs don't eat your dead skin cells. They suck your blood. And your memory foam won't protect you, alas...