Bed Bugs!!

Posted: Sun, Aug 03 2008, 2:32 pm Post subject: Bed Bugs!!

So we have bed bugs and I am desperate for a exterminator, preferably someone who is good with bed bugs. Can anyone recommend a good exterminator ? - I live in Brooklyn

Has anyone gone thru this? I am really freaking out here...

Posted: Sun, Aug 03 2008, 2:50 pm Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

I thought bed bugs were a fairytale. Embarassed

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 27 2005 Posts: 6748

I didnt know exterminators could get rid of them. we once were in a disgusting hotel that had them it was awful. we thought we brought them home Puke

we put all the linen in hot wash & vaccumed the matresses and boxsprings with the tiny vacuum attachment and b"h that was it. I have heard of pple throwing out their mattresses to get rid of them too. how does an exterminator do it? I wouldnt want to be sleeping on bug spray? my exterminator retired and we havent found a new one yet so I cant reccomend any, but good luck!! its awful.

Posted: Sun, Aug 03 2008, 3:11 pm Post subject: Re: re: Bed Bugs!!

Senior Member Joined: Oct 11 2006 Posts: 126

How do you know you have them? Can you see them?

Posted: Sun, Aug 03 2008, 6:11 pm Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

I imagine they bite ... saw this in regard to hotel rooms ... but your own house ... scary ... can you see them with an ultra violet light ... tell us what they do I'm too curious ... good luck!!!

Posted: Sun, Aug 03 2008, 7:05 pm Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

Well bedbugs bite and live off your blood just like mosquitos.

So at first I kept thinking the bites were just that - mosquito bites but then I realized I'd be going to bed and then waking up in the morning with new bites without ever seeing a mosquito flying around.

I took apart my bed and saw 4 or 5 of those little bugs, I checked online what bed bugs looked like and its was the same as the bugs on my mattress

Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2008, 10:16 pm Post subject:

CALL ASAP!!!!! They multiply sooo quickly, and can live w\o biting for over a year! Vacuum your beds then wrap them in saran wrap. And keep ALL CLOTHES out of the room! They hide in fluffy places, around door frames, behind cracked paint, they can be ANYWHERE!! You're better off fumigating every room in the house, but it'll cost you a pretty penny. Just make sure the exterminator doesn't just bomb your room and call it a day. Get someone who specializes in bed bugs. If they bomb the room, the bugs smell it and run away and come back later. Happened to me. My neighbor had them he exterminator bombed the room and a day later I had bedbugs Evil or Very Mad

I was so mad at that exterminator! Could be he didn't know any better, which is why you should get someone who specializes in it.

Posted: Tue, Aug 12 2008, 9:11 am Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

We also came back from a hotel and discovered that we had picked up bed bugs there. I was in my 9th month at the time, and it was not a fun experience. We called an exterminator who told us that we had to do a major, thorough cleaning before he came to exterminate because once you catch them, the bedbugs live everywhere. He told us to wash all linens, towels, and clothing that we owned in hot water, which was a big job. And to vacuum and clean everything in our bedroom (& in our case the living room too, because they were right next to each other) really well. I remember staying up with my husband until 5 am doing all that laundry and very thorough cleaning. After that, the exterminator came, and b"h did a great job. It cost about $400 or $500, if I remember correctly, which was upsetting at the time, because we couldn't really afford an extra expense like that, but b"h I'm so glad we got rid of them!

Here's the exterminator we used: Zeitlin 718-382-0280

By the way, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, it can really happen to anyone, and is not at all indicative of a lack of cleanliness! Bedbugs are really rampant and you can easily pick it up in many places, including couches etc.

Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Posted: Tue, Aug 12 2008, 1:19 pm Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

we got them too after staying at a hotel. we tried a bunch of things and even went to doctors for the bites (cuz they kept spreading and biting) but n/t helped.

Until I googled s/t for alternative ways to get rid of it found a product online. it's called kleen free enzyme (yes, w/ the k). basically it's biodegradable, so it's safe and you dilute it and shpritz yourself (to kill the eggs under your skin), the beds, EVERYTHING!!!! we washed the entire house in it and the laundry too. it was CRAZY, but we got rid of it. I am still traumatized and will think a thousand times b4 going to a hotel. if I do, I take my shpritz w/ this stuff and spray like a madwoman. only then will I attempt to sleep...

g'luck. it takes a lot of patience and work but this product worked for us.

ps it's worth it to buy the biggest size, cuz you end up using tons even after diluting it and then you have it for whenver else - just in case

Posted: Fri, Sep 12 2008, 5:01 am Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

im petrified that I have them also ever since a friend of mine had them a few months ago. im costantly checking my bed, but they hide really well so its hard to know- they say if see tiny black dots (bug excretion Shocked

disgusting) on your matress or linen then you probably do have them. so I never noticed dots or anything but I just noticed bites on my hand and back so now im really really petrified. im calling an exterminator first thing tom morning if I have them I probably will lose my mind. im not going to sleep tonight and im exhausted!!!

Posted: Fri, Sep 12 2008, 7:34 am Post subject: Re: re: Bed Bugs!!

Posted: Sun, Sep 14 2008, 12:37 am Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

k so I called an exterminator over and they send someone else down first to evaluate the sitaution and omg he was the dumbest guy- he looked all over my house and searched all the beds and found absolutely zilch- no bugs, no spots, no shells, no sign of them whatsover but he said based on the few bites on my arm he is sure that they are bed bugs, so I asked him how he can tell because they look just like ever other kind of bite and he's like trust me I know. then he wanted me to commit to a whole expensive extermination plan which I was ready to sign right away because I was so freaked out but my husband said he's not commiting to anything until he has some actual proof. to make a long story short, I went to my dr. and he said he really doesnt think they are bed bug bites, he said it looks like I was stung rather than bitten- but he cant be positive. so I'm still really freaked out. ill let you know if I hear anything new.

Posted: Sun, Sep 14 2008, 2:19 am Post subject: re: Bed Bugs!!

Well, if he knows what he's looking for, I'm glad he didn't find anything.

I keep checking my bed and don't see anything, so I'm hoping the bites are just mosquito bites.

Senior Member Joined: Feb 18 2008 Posts: 199

not to scare anyone. But we had to move, throw out all bedroom furniture and steam clean all clothing and linens to get rid of this plague.