Days 25 - 40

I had a family emergency. Those don't really stop for bedbugs. Funnily enough, bedbugs don't stop for them either.

There is no way I can do a day by day run down, and who would want to read that?! But I have been doing a lot and I think have made good progress.

Now where were we....

First and foremost, no new bites.

Professional Treatment:
PCO comes and inspects on Day 26 (week 4), does not find anything, but since I found one live bug since the spraying, he said he will most likely come in one more week to treat again. I am to call if I see any other bugs.

My goal for the second treatment is to have the livingroom fully treated and to make things more accessible for him in the 2 bedrooms. He tells me again that I need to steam the carpets. I have a lead on a home steamer from a friend (this ends up only partially working, more later).

In week 5 we find one live bug on the floor coming out from under a piece of heavy wooden furniture (ugh, they fit anywhere). Also find the dried out body (YAY dead!) of one under an area rug. So I call the super to notify the PCO that I defiantely need re-treatment.

Day 32 (week 5) the PCO come to re-treat. This time all the furniture in the two bedrooms as well as the livingroom was out from the wall. The dresser in my room and the drawers under the captains bed were cleared out, so they go treated as well. He found one bug in the sticky monitors he had left, but did not see any evidence in the form of droppings or nesting. Restated that I needed to steam.


Self-treatment/Prevention:
Laundry/bagging continues - nothing is worn that has not been treated and everything is in bags until worn.
I've ordered the better encasements for my son's bed and the hide-a-bed mattress, as well as more pillow ones and more ClimbUps.
I use the heat treatment machine everyday now. Treating shoes and bags that we use every week. I've treated all my son's school supplies, and I've been treating things to get rid of as well as store away.
RE: storage - made great strides this past weekend. I had 5 21 gal bins, 2 18 gal bins, 3 small bins, a bike, and 2 xxl ziploc bags - all taken offsite for storage. Also acquired 3 30 gal bins and 5 more 21 gal bins. Since most of my out of season or non-essential clothes are in bags, this is going to help alot in getting them better stored.
Re: Getting rid - I have treated and tossed probably 4 XXL ziploc bags full of stuff at this point. Much more to go as I sort through clothes.
I got the steamer that was offered by a friend, but it is really a steamer mop. I go ahead and steam the edges of the carpet and I also go ahead and steam mop all the exposed wooden floor in one room. I don't think this is working for the carpet though, so we are going to rent one of the big things from a nearby store and just use water we heat up on the stove to make sure it is hot enough.
Probably the biggest thing I got done, was someone came out and caulked up my son's room. After thoroughly vacuuming the floor and baseboards, every gap and crack got sealed up with clear silicon caulk. I hope to get another room done in the next couple of days and maybe my room done over the weekend.

With fall approaching, as I have been going through bags of clothes to treat, I am pulling essentials for fall, then sorting the rest into "storage" or "toss". So far it seems I am tossing about 1/4, storing about half and keeping out about 1/4. same for shoes. As I wear the summery clothes I am now treating them and putting them into storage bins also. Anything that did not get worn this summer is getting tossed. Anything that is a bit too tight or really not that great of a fit is getting tossed.

I've packed up probably half of my books, haven't sealed up the plastic bins, but at least the books are in plastic.

Things are still in piles in the middle of rooms, treating the carpets is going to be a pain and will easily take a day of prep work (which really means 3-4 evenings of prep since I never have a full free day).

With help, I got the very large and not at all great rug from the living room wrapped up in plastic and sealed up and thrown out. I will be buying a much smaller (will not go under any furniture) rug to go in that room. In the meantime, the carpet padding is still on the floor. If rugs were not required byt the home owner assoc, I would not replace it until I had gone several months clear.

Speaking of the home owner assoc, still radio silence. They have never acknowledged my emails, much less answered them. They have not asked to have the units around me inspected. They have not told anyone else that bedbugs ahve been found. I took matters into my own hands and informed all of the closest people to my unit. Some seem weirded out, others are really grateful, so hopefully at least some of them are inspecting and being watchful. I have seen rugs and pillows being thrown out in the last few weeks and neither were in plastic - UGH!

Looking ahead - If we see more live bugs in the next couple of weeks, I think I will contact the home owner assoc and let them know that I am not satisfied with the level of attention the matter has been given, nor with the treatment. I will probably look to hire a PCO on my own to come inspect and offer and estimate for treatment.

I will continue to reduce the number of things in the house. As mentioned above, both caulking and carpet steaming are planned for the upcoming days.

Probably more items will go to offsite storage and probably more plastic bins will be purchased (these are going to be so handy if/when I ever move).

Day 23 & 24

No bites, no bug sightings

Day 23 : I kind of wasted a weekend day by being out of the house for most of it. Still, I manage to get laundry done (half bagged half put into storage), a bag of treated clothes donated, and one heat treatment done.

Day 24: I am not sure when the PCO is coming back to inspect, he said it would be this week. I have seen no signs of anything in the sticky traps he left. I have not heard anyone speak highly of them as a detection device.

I heat treat one of the couch cushions. the outer mnaterial zippers off, but I had to cut the inner layer lining to get the heat probe way into the center of the cushion to make sure that the heat was high enough, even at the core. I bagged it afterwards.

Hopefully I can treat the other 3 cushions this week. Get the couch vacuumed down in the meantime, and then flip it over to do a more thorough inspection.

Rugs remain my big issue. I guess I should just borrow the steam cleaner that I have access to. I may heat water to 150 degress and only do little sections at a time in order to feel it is effective. That will take hours, of course, but I can be methodical about it. Highest probablity of bugs are the areas under my bed and then the carpet edges - do those areas first.

I may look at the hardware store roll rolls of heavy duty plastic, maybe drop clothes would work, and may just roll up and seal 3-4 of the smaller rugs.

Day 22 - Plodding along

I am not allowing my son on the couch. I am going to vacuum the DE up after a couple of days, in the mean time, he can sit on the recliner.

DISCLAIMER: DE is NOT supposed to be used on upholstered furniture. It is also not to be used on mattresses.

So there's that and I have some regrets of having done it, but I also want the bugs gone, so I will leave it for a few days, then I will vacuum it thoroughly (and I will wear the respirator while doing it) a few times. I may even come through the room with a water mist sprayer after to settle any dust. It wasn't much that I used, but these bugs are not worth getting either of us sick for or doing any, even a little, lung damage.

I told some more friends. ugh.

I still need to give out the info to the rest of the neighbors. I think I am just putting it under their doors with a note, I can't deal with talking to that many people over and over. EDIT: and it is done.

Happiness is PackTiting Ziploc bags. I hope this means that I will not have to buy any more.

I am trying to do 2-3 loads of things in the PackTite each weekend day. I do not want to over use it, but I also really really want to treat some more things and get them into storage.

I got 2 of the 21 gallon bins taped up air tight and into the storage room. These are things that I could go without for 18 months, but they could also be PackTited if I feel the house is clear before then. They had been stacked in part of the living room, so it is nice to have some of that space back.

I need to treat some of the things in bags in my room so I can move them to storage also, although realistically only 2-3 more bins can fit in there. My room is just barely navigable at point. either bags go into closets and get removed for treatment only, or some get moved to on top of the desk in there. Something has to give.

In my late night worktime, post son going to sleep, I brushed DE into the seams of the drawers under his bed. wiped up all excess. I found no evidence of bugs down there still, but that bed remains my biggest fear.

Day 21 - One day post-PCO treatment

Decide that if I can finally get the respirator, I could DE some of the areas the PCO didn't do and have it basically on the same schedule as his treatment. I manage to get one.

I also do some online research about how I might treat my area rugs. no decision yet.

PackTite somethings I need for tomorrow. do a visual on all the ClimbUps and over the couch again, nothing. Then decide to do the couch again after putting my son to bed, he'd been sitting there for over an hour, so maybe some would be out. UGH! yes, find one adult. Well hell. So out comes the DE and the brand new respirator. I do to work getting a dusting down along the wooden frame, on seams, on the sofa-bed (already encased) netting. I got the adult one I saw with alcohol already. I also find a molting while dusting. I do not see any others and no black specks.

Now thoroughly unhinged, I go to pull off a large mirror on the wall and check it. I manage to pull out one of the wall bolts holding it up AND pull out the hanging mechanism on one side. So while there is no sign of bed bugs on it, I can;t hang it back up now.

I DE dust the entrance to my son's room. The edges of some of the area rugs, the entry and one hall closet. I am wearing the respirator with P-100 cartridges and I am using a paint brush to get a light film. I do not see how anyone could get a light film just from the DE bottle.

spent:

respirator with P-100 cartridges - $41.15

Day 19 - 20

Still no sightings and no bites.

I get the box spring encasement on and am in a mad dash to get things ready for the PCO.

I really just have too much stuff, but I'm not in the mindspace to just dump things. I will bag for now and will start getting rid after treatment.

Lots in my closets. I do clear out a lot from a hall closet and get it in the trash. I also get some stuff cleared out from my son's room, but in the scheme of things what I am tossing is drops in the bucket.

The exterminator comes and of course there are things I neglected to do. Things I did not bag and pictures on the wall, but we take care of it all.

The cats are being boarded for 2 days (no idea how much that will be, I didn't even ask).

I am not thrilled with the treatment, I must say. I feel ok about the chemicals, but he is only treating baseboards with the spray. why not up in the closet? Also, only treating the bedrooms and one wall of the living room (I had not pulled things away from the other walls) - I had wanted the entry and hall closets also.

He says I have to steam treat my area rugs. great. had not thought about those. no idea how to deal with that, as I have only had them cleaned before by services that take them out and return them. will I spread anything in them if I do that?, also could get re-infested in a delivery truck or treatment place. no thank you. will look into rental or buying a steamer.

hate.

spent:

ziploc bags - $37.60

Day 18

After much ordeal, I get the PackTite, but no treating of anything, it is too late.

Spent today:

PackTite - $326.63

Day 17

Still no new bites and no sightings. I even do a cushion check on the couch after the lights are off and check my sons bed twice that evening. He had two small red spots on one leg - it could be anything, but I will be checking his bed nightly. It's a captains bed and I have heard horror stories. It is pressed wood though and slick on the outside. I will be pulling the bed out from the wall asap though. I have told my son that if bugs are in the wood of the bed that he will get a metal bunkbed, so he is onboard.

I bag up a good chunk of the hanging clothes that cannot be washed and I pull the final items from my dresser and get them to the plastic hamper bag for washing this week. I think 1-2 more bags should empty the closets of clothes and then I should be able to just dump misc into a bin.

I also get ClimbUps under my dresser legs and on two legs of each of my side tables. I realize that having them on only half the legs is pretty ineffective, but figure it is better than nothing and may show if they are on either table. I have yet to find a bug in any of the ClimbUps.

I've left a message with the Pest Control people with instructions to call me back. Aim is for treatment mid week (day 19 or 20).

Clothes I had gotten into the dryer on the evening of day 16, I pack directly into an XL Ziploc and take to the storage room.

I am struggling with how to store the dry clean items once I get the PakTite and can treat them. I don't think shoving a suit or nice dress into a gallon sized sip lock will work. There are 2 gallon sizes that might have to just work as trying to work up any sort of sealed hanging situation seems ridiculous and costly.