apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Awww... man that sucks! Let's hope the cuteness factor keeps them together.

Perhaps in the long-delayed Sex and the City movie, Carrie can ask: "Can a woman find fulfillment in a bed that bites back?"

Ugh, that is just awful. Frankly, one month of dealing with the bugs seemed like the tip of the iceberg to me. My friends who have had bed bugs have had months and months and months of trying everything under the sun, and most have just had to move. I don't mean to be a total downer, it just seems like this issue is a huge one that the city should be dealing with in a more formal way than I've seen so far.

Wende: ha! That just brightened the rest of my day. I miss the punniness.

Hm. I'm rethinking my earlier opinion: dump the cute neighbor, shack up with the exterminator. Sounds like he's going to be a bit of a fixture. Poor Amanda! That bites!

Anyone catch the King of the Hill episode about bed bugs last Sunday? Thought of you, Amanda.

I wonder if there is anything you can wear that will keep the bed bugs from biting. I am thinking about how Avon Skin So Soft repels mosquitoes - maybe there is something like that for bed bugs (though I imagine someone would have figured that out by now).

Good luck.

"I wonder if there is anything you can wear that will keep the bed bugs from biting."

Pure lavender oil. I never travel without it. Sprinkled my bunk with it in a dodgy hostel in Mumbai. I was the only girl in the dorm who woke up without bites.

Is that a lotus print on that napkin? Brand?

sorrry that totally sucks

how can we calm this epidemic?

and is moving even going to really help?

my friend who had bed bugs moved and brought them with her!

Way to see the good in the bad, LadyJ! :)

I wonder if they came from next door again...she should coordinate her treatments with his. That way they won't travel from his to hers and vice versa.

We all knew one treatment wasn't enough. Especially since the neighbor was still away when her place was done. The only way through this is clearly "through the darkness, through the pain." Stay and fight.

this topic is getting old. we get it. bedbugs suck.

Wende... You made my day as well! :-)

ohhhh poor amanda!!!

i learned that bedbugs can 'hibernate' for a year to a year and a half without feeding so it's not surprising they returned only a month or so after amanda treated her apartment. because bedbugs hide in outlets, under and behind molding, etc., it's best to caulk or otherwise seal as many crevices as you can after you treat your place as a way of keeping the beasties out of your apartment.

i had bedbugs last summer and so far so good this summer.. i sprayed and caulked/vacuumed/tossed things out, etc... but know all too well that there may be one or more errant clandestine bug ready to come out from its hiding space to have a bite again. argh!

ugh! THis whole bedbug series is pretty scarey. Does anyone know a good place to buy a new mattress in NYC. I am now put off by 1800 mattress. I heard that they take the old mattress on the same truck with the new ones and that is how bedbugs can get passed around. Any thoughts?

I think most of the retailers do that Mrs. S.

Moxie is right--the city needs to take bed bugs seriously, and they might if they were to stop counting only people who call 311 when they're infested as the ONLY bed bug cases, when we all know that most people with bed bugs call (a) their landlord, or (b) a pest control operator, when they have bed bugs.

And yes--bed bugs can take more than two treatments. We've heard that most take three or more, especially with a seriously infested neighbor (and who knows what kind of treatment he's getting?) PCOs need to come every 10-14 days without fail until bed bugs are long gone. And you should not unpack your stuff until they are gone for over a month, maybe even two, for precisely this reason.

http://bedbugger.com/faqs/

I was going to unwrap my Craigslist chairs today...this post made me think "hmm, another week in the bag for them..."

Is there any update, now a month more has passed, on Amanda's bed bug status?

will we ever find out what happened to Amanda???