Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Apropos of Nothing / Eco A bedbug horror story
Posted by Luca Cimarusti on 01.31.12 at 08:00 AM
Three of us lived on the top floor throughout the lease. I remember being told that the girl who had just moved into the first-floor bedroom discovered she might have bedbugs. I didn't even know bedbugs were real—I thought "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite" was a cute nursery rhyme. And I ignorantly believed that, being on the top floor, I was immune to bedbug bites. I was wrong.
A few days later, I woke up and my right hand was covered in red bedbug bites. I went downtown for my classes, and, as time passed, noticed my hand swelling and turning red. By noon, my hand was ballooning and a red trail was working its way down my arm. I went to the infirmary and the nurse on duty told me to get my ass to an emergency room, ASAP.
I waited for hours to see a doctor, who finally explained to me that, somehow, my bedbug bites had become infected, possibly by scratching them in my sleep. I was hooked up to an IV and prescribed a round of antibiotics so powerful that I was told not to lay down after ingesting them; otherwise, it would increase the nausea they caused.
Our uncharacteristically responsible landlord had exterminators spray the building, and I washed all of my bedding and clothing in hot water to kill anything that might have slipped through the cracks. A week of painful medication later, I was (somewhat) back to normal.
Then we all started getting the bites again—somehow, the little fuckers survived—and I got more bites on my other hand. They got infected and my hand swelled up. I had to go back to the ER. Another IV. More medication. The doctor told me that the original prescription simply wasn't strong enough to completely kill off the infection.
Our landlord had the exterminator come back a second time but my faith in him was gone. I was ready to move the hell out. I dragged my mattress and box spring out to the alley and threw them in the trash.
Later that day, I noticed that someone took my bed from the trash. (The trash hadn't been taken away, meaning some unlucky sap—not a sanitation crew—had taken it.) I wonder where it wound up. Perhaps the end of my horror story was the beginning of someone else's.
Comments (6)
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Back in 2005?
Roscoe VIllage hasn't been remotely "grimy" since the 20th Century.
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Sorry to hear about this Luca......what an awful experience. A couple of the ways our bed bug sniffing dog can help in situations like this are to
1. Identify exactly where the dog is catching the scent of live bed bugs and viable eggs, which can pinpoint your problem and help pest control in their removal plan
2. Have the dog re-inspect the premises 30 days after the pesticides have been sprayed to see if the dog is still smelling live bed bugs or viable eggs.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the dog, bed bugs, or anything related
Tim
contact@elitebedbugdetection.com
www.elitebedbugdetection.com
Bummer! The best solution to bed bugs is Greenbug for People as it kills and repels adult bed bugs and their eggs - which is the key to wiping out an infestation. You don't have to throw things away so I hope people can learn there are solutions to bed bugs that you can do yourself, don't cost an arm and a leg, and actually use safe, natural ingredients. I believe the website is www.greenbugallnatural.com or google Greenbug for People.
Wow this bedbug week thing has been a real marketing bonanza for these exterminators.
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Sounds like a beyond awful experience. As your experience pointed out bed bugs are very difficult to get rid of. Often times, the expensive and "trained" exterminators you call in can't even get them all. One product that's worth trying though is Diatomaceous Earth. it won't cost you a fortune and is proven to be effective. Learn more here: http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/Product…
