Quick version of story - got bites last July, realized we had bedbugs, had PCO in who said we were a 3 out of 10 on seriousness scale. He thought the problem was mainly in my husband's mancave as his recliner was pretty bad. He treated the whole house and said one treatment might do it and we got rid of the recliner chair. We had about 10 dead bugs show up over the next couple weeks and we checked furniture weekly for anything.

A month later on a weekly check I found eggs and a nymph on the underside of a kitchen chair. We got rid of the kitchen chairs and our upstairs couch because it was a pain to check and PCO came back and sprayed whole house again and really thoroughly sprayed our remaining couch and lounging chair. We saw one dead bug a couple weeks after the second spray and then nothing on weekly checks until in November there was a live bug on the floor. PCO sprayed again in November.

We saw nothing on weekly and then monthly checks, still kept everything bagged for the most part. At the beginning of this year I hung a few things up in the closets (had been put in dryer and then in space bags). I've been cooking stuff in the ZappBugg heater since Dec. Doing monthly checks. I've seen a few suspicious things that looked like possible eggs or casings, but it was probably my paranoia, except maybe for what I thought might be an egg on my headboard a few weeks ago.

Then yesterday I had four bites show up on my arm/hand and one on my neck, but only the one on my neck was itchy (I used to get very itchy from bites, which I hadn't had as far as I'm aware of since last July). Then today when I was checking my son's room I found what is most definitely an egg on the bottom of the drawer of his bed. I've had a rigged up system to raise my kid's beds with Climbups, but the cats and dogs go up and down.

I'm at a loss. 4-5 months with nothing and now this! I almost didn't even see the egg. I actually checked the drawer and then put it back in and then thought I might have missed checking a couple spots so I took it back out and saw an egg hanging by a hair off the bottom of the drawer. I don't even understand how it was just hanging there, but it's definitely an egg. It was white and pearly, so I don't know if that means it's new. I don't know how it could be old because that means I would have missed it on every other weekly and monthly check. I checked the whole drawer again and the underside of the bed and saw nothing that looked like poop marks, no casings, no bugs. I don't really count on ever finding an actual bug because I know they hide well, but I found nothing else bug-related.

I don't know what to do at this point. My stress level is back through the roof. I'm changing my clothes multiple times again, worried something might have gotten on me and I might not have noticed. Paranoid about picking something up on my socks every time I walk into my son's room. I feel bad letting sleep in his bed tonight. I contacted the PCO again, but don't know how I should proceed.

I found one egg after 4-5 months of nothing and I'm confused and feeling hopeless and helpless.

After two not entirely successful heat treatments, I'm at a loss for what to do.
We can't afford another $1,600 for a 3rd treatment, the pest control company will not cooperate to try and find a solution, insisting that there is NO possible way their heat treatment wasn't successful because "they have never had to retreat a house besides ours". She couldn't give me an example for how we could be reinfesting our home considering we don't go ANYWHERE aside from the grocery store for fear of picking up or spreading bed bugs, but obstinately refused to try and help me find a solution. We are moving across the country within the next few weeks, and when I asked the property management company for help, I was told that if we leave the bed bugs behind it's their problem, but they won't pay to treat while we're living here. So at this point I don't care if we leave bed bugs behind- we tried to do the right thing. But is it even possible to assure we won't bring them with us? The military is moving us so their moving company will be packing and shipping our belongings, we won't have much liberty to dictate HOW things are packed. I guess I just need advice. My husband and son do not react to the bites so my husband doesn't understand how horrible of an experience this is, and I recently had a pretty traumatic miscarriage, I cannot handle one more thing going wrong right now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Chemical treatments would ideally be avoided, as I have asthma (guess what also triggers it? BED BUGS!)

Our belongings will be in storage for a couple months before we move in to our new place-
Could I individually treat each item before bringing it into our new home to ensure it's not contaminated? Is this the best option?
Would a brand new mattress/box springs be a risk for harboring bed bugs inside them? We bought a brand new king set after our first treatment, should I buy encasements? If so, should I put them on before we move or before we move the bed into our new house?
I was told by a PCO that Clorox wipes will kill bed bugs and their eggs- is this true?

Sorry for the long post, I just really need help and I have tried and tried to do this the "right" way, yet no one will help me.

A Kenyan PCO talks about the bed bug situation in his country:

http://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/DN2/Get-professional-help-before-bedbugs-overrun-your-home/957860-3879112-50dgeh/

“Eighty per cent of our work involves bedbug eradication. In Nairobi alone, we fumigate more than 10 houses infested by bedbugs, every” says Mr Naibei. He attributes the increase in infestation to the country’s high reliance on a public transport system. “Many people unwittingly pick up bedbugs from matatus – and even airplanes. We fumigate matatus frequently. Just last week, we were at an airport getting rid of bedbugs from more than a dozen planes belonging to a local airline!” he adds. Also contributing to the spread of bedbugs is the second-hand clothing (mitumba) market, he says. “Some of these imported clothes come with bedbugs, so we visit godowns in Gikomba and Muthurwa markets every weekend to fumigate the clothes before they hit the stalls,” Mr Naibei reveals.

The relative severity of the problem there can be seen from the fact the country is in the top 5 in google trends for "bed bugs".

Hate to break it you, but any "success stories" you read are false hope. Have bed bugs? Congratulations. Unless you get rid of all of -- and I mean ALL OF -- your possessions, this is now the rest of your natural born life.

Been trying, for about 8 months, to get rid of bed bugs. I have done everything I've been told to do. Got rid of my luggage, 3 purses, a couch, a bed stand, a mattress, all said mattress padding and sheets, at least 8 pillows. Washed and double-bagged everything that I wanted to keep. (Big mistake--should have tossed all my clothing, books, electronics, dishes, etc., but I honestly can't afford that right now.) I have had 5 professional treatments. I have sprayed every day for 30 days now on my own. My bedroom is so coated in diatomaceous earth it looks it snowed inside. Like, seriously. Over two grand in replacements, treatments, repairs, sprays, supplies.

Still getting bit. Still seeing them. Found 5 tonight during my nightly spray.

Give up. Stop taking advice on this forum. It will never end. Unless you can afford to get rid of everything you own (and have the bravery to throw out all your books, pictures, other sentimental objects) this is your life now. You're carrying bed bugs. For life.

Sorry to be pessimistic, but this is, in all honesty, the truth. Trying, right now, to save enough money to toss and replace all I own. Just getting out of college, so I'm not tremendously optimistic.

Life sucks. Bed bugs forever.

I need help determining if these bugs are bed bug, I've had bedbugs in the past but I've moved and its been a year since any signs, I haven't had bites like I did when I had bed bugs. These are two different bugs I believe, I found them seperetly. Please help me out.

I did search on the board, but most threads seem to be very old. I'm looking for info on K9 inspection in the Ottawa area. I'm 1.5-2 hrs. from Ottawa, but if I pay them extra maybe they will come my way. I found an egg yesterday after seeing nothing for 4-5 months and I'm about ready to lose my mind. I'm thinking if I get a K9 team in maybe that will help me identify where there is still a problem.

Hi, I found this cast skin on my bed and need id please.

Thanks

Front

Back

I check my bed on a regular basis and found a bug between mattress and boxspring. It was already dead but I got something sticky to put it on for pest control to look at it. That was a couple of days ago. Just now. I move my pillowcase back to see a bug, same type, crawling out from inside the case. They are the same type of bug. Same size, color shape. I'm pretty sure they have wings but I'm not an entomologist. Please help. My baby sleeps with me and I fear I won't get much sleep tonight.[code]


free website to upload photos[img]free website to upload photos[/img]free website to upload photos][/url]

Picture lookPicFound a casing, is it what I hope it isn't?

Hi, is this a bed bug shell? I found two of these in my mattress bed sheet. And if it is what do I do now? I have never dealt with a bed bug infestation before so I am clueless at where to start.

image link

image link2

this is as big as I can get it. If I take it to a PCO can they confirm what it is????

http://i.imgur.com/cmEG5Xv.jpg

I just checked into a hotel. I was checking the bed everything seemed clean and new. The bed still had a new tag on it. I pulled the sheets off one corner and a bug was crawling quickly on the mattress. It was a light beige with long legs. My husband killed it and said it was a spider. I know id is hard without a picture but do bedbugs ever have long legs? Thanks!

We have a lot of toys and craft supplies, and being that I'm just so darn dedicated to the decimation of BBs, I just ordered a ZappBugg oven to bake the stuff we can't dry.

For context, I'm in the middle of the treatment process. It's been a month since my first PCO treatment (treatment of bed frames, dressers, nightstands, couches, baseboards, and carpets with a combination Bedlam Plus and Crossfire), two weeks since the first follow up (baseboards only), plus an extra baseboard touch-up treatment just this week after seeing a live BB in my bedroom. The final treatment is scheduled for two weeks from now, and it involves nearly everything from the first treatment done over again, minus the dressers, with an added application of dust beneath the baseboards and in the outlets. Prior to the first treatment, I dried and bagged all of our clothes, bedding, towels, pillows, curtains, stuffed animals, coats...basically anything fabric-based. The clothes were returned to the dressers after they were treated.

MY TWO QUESTIONS:

1) Since I'm in the middle of treatment, do I NEED to bag and seal items as they are baked? Or can I skip the bagging step, since the rest of the house has been treated?

2) Lastly, where should I start with baking, roomwise? The bedrooms of the house, where bugs have been spotted? Or should I start with my living room, where I've not seen any evidence of bugs? Basically the question is, do I start furthest from the problem area and work towards it? Or problem areas first, then work outward? Or does it matter?

SCROLL DOWN ONLY IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFO

BACKGROUND (optional read): My infestation has been labeled as "light" by our PCO; four inspectors from two different PCO companies found nothing in or on all the beds in our house. They pulled up the slats (platform beds) as they inspected, and found no traces of bugs (alive or dead), castings, or fecal spots. Our only indications of bugs have been randomly spotting live bugs around the house (captured by me, confirmed by PCOs).

The first PCO company quoted us $1500 per room with only a 30-day warranty, and they didn't want to treat until we had a "real" problem; they opted to "wait and monitor" the situation. The second company charged $1200 for the whole house w/ a 6-month warranty, and they advocated treating immediately, saying that seeing one or two live bugs necessitated treatment. Seeing as the second PCO came highly recommended to me by a friend who survived BBs himself with the help of this company, I went with the more immediate, affordable, and comprehensive treatment option. So far this PCO has been terrific; they are responsive, knowledgeable, and sympathetic with regard to my anxiety, and they are confident that their treatment process will eliminate the BBs. I see the same person each time, so he understands our house and the nature of the problem.

For context, we live in a 3-floor townhome, and the houses on either side of us are attached. There are firewalls between the houses, and we all have our own utilities entering the house (water, gas, electricity, etc.). Both PCOs were inclined to believe that we brought in a pregnant bug, and our infestation stemmed from there. They didn't say it was impossible that the bugs were coming from a neighbor, just unlikely, citing two potential scenarios: in order for us to get them from a townhouse neighbor, the infestation next door would have to be so extremely extensive to cause the bugs to leave their food source to traverse firewalls, etc., OR the neighbors were infested and abandoned the property (which they haven't), causing the bugs to begin wandering in search of more food. Both companies believed that we'd

It has been 45 days since my Vikane moving truck fumigation and I want to write share some elements of my experience including who I found most helpful to work with throughout this ordeal.

Backstory summary: I was renting the 2nd bedroom in a 2 bedroom condo in the Boston area. My old roommate has a developmental disability, and she has a boyfriend who stayed over on weekends who also has a developmental disability. My roommate's boyfriend lives with his family in Boston Public Housing. His unit became infested with bed bugs. He brought the bed bugs to the condo. The infestation was confirmed by the LL who is a retired city housing inspector. He hired a general pest control company--a local operation based in Lynn, MA--to chemically treat.

The chemical treatments were repeated and haphazard. The LL began to deny that the problem persisted. Three months after the original infestation was identified, live bed bugs were found again. The LL contacted the same general pest control company and resumed chemical treatments. I decided to get out ASAP since I believed (and still do) that the chemical treatments, as they were being performed, were only reducing the population and scattering the survivors. The general pest control company never looked at or treated wall sockets, baseboard heaters or wall voids. Baseboards with gaps/cracks etc. were never sealed etc.

After one chemical treatment, I discovered that plastic bags containing my belongings were doused with pesticide. If you are in the Boston area and want to know which company this is, PM me, and I'll tell you.

Finding Vikane Providers Closest to Boston:

I called Douglas Products, the current owner/distributer of Vikane at:

1-800-223-3684

I was informed that there are no Vikane fumigators operating in the state of Massachusetts as of January 2, 2017.

The three Vikane fumigators closest to Boston, according to the Douglas Products representative I spoke with are:

-Western Fumigation in Pennsylvania
- Royal Fumigation in Delaware
- Bed Bug Fumigation Specialists in New York

**BEWARE** Before I reached out to Douglas Products, I contacted a company that bills itself as a "consulting" resource. The company charges a fee to organize services from treatment prep to post-treatment inspection. I explicitly told the person I spoke with at this "consulting" company that I wanted Vikane fumigation in a moving truck. The individual told me he could arrange that service for me in the Boston area. He wanted me to pay $500 before providing any information about the providers he uses. That seemed very suspicious, and I reached out to Douglas Products at that point. When I told "consulting" company person that I'd contacted Douglas Products and found out there were no Vikane fumigators in Massachusetts, he attempted to use scare tactics to get me to pay for his services. If you want to know the name of this company PM me and I'll tell you (the name if the company is reminiscent of a popular home goods store).

Before I decided on Vikane treatment, I considered heat treating my moving van. In the process, I contacted PureHeat LLC and was deeply impressed with that company. If I had to do the whole thing over again (goodness forbid!!!) I would probably go with them instead of going all the way down to New York and back for Vikane. I cannot drive, and it would have been much less expensive to pay a driver to go out to Cap Cod than to New York city and back.

The people at PureHeat were knowledgeable, informative and they took the time to answer a couple of my questions even after I decided to have my belongings fumigated instead of using heat.

I also had contact with Yankee Pest Control and had a good experience with that company and their bed bug dog handler team. For the last two weeks of my infestation, I couldn't psychologically deal with sleeping in my unit. A good friend took me in. Before going to her place, I stuck everything I carried with me (backpack, a few changes of clothing) including everything I was wearing (shoes too) on high heat in the dryer for 120 minutes.

When I was staying at her place, bites were still emerging and my skin felt terrible. The last day of my stay, the dog and handler team from Yankee came to my friends house for a K9 inspection. The inspection came up clear, which was a relief. I was worried about the possibility of bringing bed bugs to my friend's place and also about the possibility of false bb alerts from the dog. I know dogs are not 100 accurate, but the clear inspection gave me some comfort.

My experience with Bed Bug Fumigation Services was very good. Andy Rafferty was knowledgeable, took time to answer my questions and seemed honest. I had my moving truck fumigated on January 6, 2017. The only part of my experience with BBFS that gave me pause was the temperature. It was about 32 or 33 outside when my truck was being fumigated. Andy assured me that they use heaters to raise the ambient temperature of the moving truck to 68F and that they still us 3X rather than the lower gas level that's been approved for bed bugs. The paperwork I received after the fumigation also reads that the ambient temperature was 68F etc.

But I didn't see them heat the truck and it's a bit difficult to imagine how the truck could have been brought to temperature on the time table BBFS was using. That being said, the product label calls for an ambient temperature of 40F or higher, and I can believe they got the temperature to that point or higher if they used a heater in the truck.

Since my move, I have seen no evidence of bed bugs, cast skins, eggs or fecal spots. I have passive monitors in place and I have been inspecting regularly.

I am still having skin reactions, including apparently new bites. I don't know if these are re-flares of old bites or what, but my skin still feels awful and I'm still getting the occasional line of apparently "new" bites pop up.

Because of my ongoing skin reactions, I wanted a K9 inspection of my new place just to make sure it was clear and that my skin reaction is left-over from previous bites or that it is psychosomatic.

I contacted PureHeat LLC to ask them who they recommended for a K9 inspection. They gave me the name of Kay MacDonald. She was very good. She bent over backward to be transparent about the process. She also spoke frankly about false alerts, how she recognizes them and what she does about them, which gave me great comfort. (It makes me terribly suspicious if someone wont admit that sometimes things go wrong. When people are able to intelligently explain that things do go wrong sometimes and how they handle that, it feels so much more trustworthy).

Kay came by yesterday and gave me an all clear. So I'm a little closer to certain that I am indeed all clear.

And yet, it doesn't feel over. I still have red marks that look like bites coming up, I still have that awful combination of stinging, prickling, tingling, crawling sensation almost daily. I understand why experience PCOs don't regard skin reactions as evidence of infestation. For now, I'm living as if I'm all clear and I'm assuming I am until I find real evidence (fecal stains, shed skins or live bugs) to the contrary.

I hope this post helps people from the Boston metro area who are facing this nightmare.

Best,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I am pretty sure this is a dead bedbug found in my car but looking for confirmation. Any idea if male or female?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148615094@N03/shares/43k65f

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148615094@N03/shares/74Eod1

Pretty sure I know the answer to this but is this a bed bug or a bed bug nymph?\

IMG_1383

hi
have you ever reported them? i turned out not to have beg bugs thankfully, but those guys took a lot of my money

let me know
thank you so much!!!

I had a confirmed infestation back in August which was such a stressful and anxiety ridden experience.

Believe have been free and clear since then using D-Force every month or so and some powder around my bed.

The other day I noticed a mark on the front side of my box spring (on the outside of the wncasement) Upon further inspection of my mattress (also invaded) and box spring I found another 3marks. None of them are on corners or near tufts, necessarily near each other, or smear when rubbed with a q-tip and saliva. Two were on the side of my box spring and the other in the middle of my top sheet.

I'll look into uploading pictures but for now am just wondering if markings/specks such as these should be cause for concern or if I'm just overly cautious/paranoid.

Thank you!

I think it's officially time to burn my house down so I'm battling the awful bedbugs in my upstairs master bedroom and I had been hopeful it was getting under control. I was downstairs in my finished basement on the computer and a tiny bed bug nymph-like bug started across the screen. I grabbed a tissue to get it and take a picture but it seems like it might be smaller than a bed bug baby because i couldn't even get the camera to focus on it. Plus when I squished it, it was brown not red. I started inspecting around the computer desk and found lots of scary things! I don't think they are bed bug related but I have no clue. Please help me!!!

Live bug that was on computer...
https://flic.kr/p/SQBzRJ

Dead bugs on floor under desk...
https://flic.kr/p/Tx7fgQ

Scary cocoons...
https://flic.kr/p/SQBzsY
https://flic.kr/p/U84Wg6

Super scary...
https://flic.kr/p/U83AKp

The crate is now outside.

Is this bed bug related or do I have even more problems

hi, i was switching rooms today, and as i was taking off my sheet. i found a dead bug on the side of the bed.

we do have problems with roaches, they go away as soon as i fumigate, but it alarmed me that i found it on my bed. i only found one on my bed the rest of the bugs i found as i was checking every inch. ive gotten blood stains on my pillow, but its been happening for years because of my acne, i've always checked my bed for years and this is the first time i saw a bug on my bed.