Have been somewhat hesitant to post this thread, as there seems to be some social stigma attached to the nasty creatures...or at least there used to be.
Long story short, we have a dear friend, who is elderly and now living alone, who's whole house is infested. She's had a lot of people, her daughter and her family, living with her for 8 years or so when her daughter fell on hard times. At any given time there was between 5-9 people living under her roof, plus she has traveled extensively in the US and abroad. They all moved out last fall and now she's discovered there are bed bugs everywhere. Unfortunately she is not the best housekeeper, and that's putting it mildly, in part due to her age and physical limitations.She recently had wood flooring installed about 6-7 weeks ago and had almost all of her furniture moved to different parts of the house, and at that time she said there were no bugs detected. She discovered the mess when she woke up in the middle of the night being bitten on her stomach and arms, this was about 3 weeks ago, she called me in the middle of the night absolutely beside herself asking what to do to get rid of them.
A few days later I went over to her house and tore her bed apart. Box spring mattress was infected and I hauled out that mattress for her, after spraying it down, so I didn't transport them to my house. She bought a new mattress and I helped her wrap the rest of the mattresses in the house in zippered vinyl mattress covers sealing the covers in heavy tape. After spraying everywhere the problem abated but they are now back with a vengeance. She discovered nests under and behind her couch, easy chairs, closets, shelving, you-name-it. She went on-line and bought a package treatment that included laundry detergent formulated for bed bugs, as well as sprays. She also bought Raid or something-like-that with a money-back-guarantee advertised on the can, but it's so strong it drives a person nearly out of the house, that's what we used to spray the remaining mattresses. She threw away so much bedding, sheeting comforters, pillows, etc. and bought new. She said she did try to wash the comforter and it tore open and bugs came pouring out, so she threw it outside.
I told her that those bugs can bury themselves in wood flooring and baseboards. I recommended to her that it was time to contact the professionals. If they have to use heat to kill them, it might buckle the new flooring. It's an awful mess and now I'm hesitant to go over there to help her, as I don't want to take a chance transporting them into my house.
I called my Doctor and told them of the situation and they advised that she is not at risk catching anything from being bitten. She said she pulled one out of her ear canal, having trouble hearing in one of her ears. (I thought that sounded a little far fetched, but the more I've thought about it, I could kind of see that happening in her sleep.)
Has anyone ever dealt with bed bugs? I feel so bad for her.
Barry
Long story short, we have a dear friend, who is elderly and now living alone, who's whole house is infested. She's had a lot of people, her daughter and her family, living with her for 8 years or so when her daughter fell on hard times. At any given time there was between 5-9 people living under her roof, plus she has traveled extensively in the US and abroad. They all moved out last fall and now she's discovered there are bed bugs everywhere. Unfortunately she is not the best housekeeper, and that's putting it mildly, in part due to her age and physical limitations.She recently had wood flooring installed about 6-7 weeks ago and had almost all of her furniture moved to different parts of the house, and at that time she said there were no bugs detected. She discovered the mess when she woke up in the middle of the night being bitten on her stomach and arms, this was about 3 weeks ago, she called me in the middle of the night absolutely beside herself asking what to do to get rid of them.
A few days later I went over to her house and tore her bed apart. Box spring mattress was infected and I hauled out that mattress for her, after spraying it down, so I didn't transport them to my house. She bought a new mattress and I helped her wrap the rest of the mattresses in the house in zippered vinyl mattress covers sealing the covers in heavy tape. After spraying everywhere the problem abated but they are now back with a vengeance. She discovered nests under and behind her couch, easy chairs, closets, shelving, you-name-it. She went on-line and bought a package treatment that included laundry detergent formulated for bed bugs, as well as sprays. She also bought Raid or something-like-that with a money-back-guarantee advertised on the can, but it's so strong it drives a person nearly out of the house, that's what we used to spray the remaining mattresses. She threw away so much bedding, sheeting comforters, pillows, etc. and bought new. She said she did try to wash the comforter and it tore open and bugs came pouring out, so she threw it outside.
I told her that those bugs can bury themselves in wood flooring and baseboards. I recommended to her that it was time to contact the professionals. If they have to use heat to kill them, it might buckle the new flooring. It's an awful mess and now I'm hesitant to go over there to help her, as I don't want to take a chance transporting them into my house.
I called my Doctor and told them of the situation and they advised that she is not at risk catching anything from being bitten. She said she pulled one out of her ear canal, having trouble hearing in one of her ears. (I thought that sounded a little far fetched, but the more I've thought about it, I could kind of see that happening in her sleep.)
Has anyone ever dealt with bed bugs? I feel so bad for her.
Barry
