From a former lurker. ![]( ":)")
I used this site to remind myself that the nightmare would eventually end, so I wanted to share my story too.
Four months of fighting bedbugs with a semi-cooperative roommate and I was done. From the stories I heard coming from other tenants, my apartment complex was just haunted by BBs (as well as the roaches and hornets we found). I bagged up everything I owned and moved in with family.
Of course I followed all the protocol, but with the damn mystery bites and their weird timelines, plus my very reactive and dry skin, it was so hard to tell if I had brought them in. I thought maybe, like they have evolved pesticide resistance, that it was possible they had found a way to beat the heat too? Or maybe I didn't launder the damn clothes long enough?
Finally threw down for a sniffer dog. Best idea I ever had. I picked one that was certified, from a well-loved PCO in my area. Having seen the reviews from folks who used them and the dogs successfully detected BBs, I was confident that my all-clear meant exactly that. I'm still going to run everything through the Zappbug 5x more, dry my clothes a few more times, put on mattress encasements, and put down Cimexa. I also dry-iced my car overnight with a huge block, and will do it again. (The PCO said he had heard of people doing this, and though the pup didn't detect any live bugs or eggs, the PCO himself did turn up a dead one in my car.)
What I'm not going to do any more is freak out because of groups of marks/bites. The PCO confirmed himself that old bites sometimes reactivate on him. He also did find scads of carpet beetles in the bed I was sleeping on (and tons of silverfish too, eww - but at least he knew what the droppings meant). I thought for sure my notorious bad luck was going to mean that carpet beetles or old bites couldn't be responsible for my recent troubles. Especially because I had two confirmed sightings of BBs in the old apartment complex. But having a BB dog from a solid PCO reassured me that I was doing the right thing.
Here's a bit of advice. When doing laundry, it actually might be better just to do it dry, as opposed to washing first. That way there's no dampness to give possible pockets of coolness.
Also, don't overload your loads. Had I spent $120 on half loads instead of $80 on laundering full loads, I would have been less freaked about the possibility of contamination.
Take it slow and methodically. But you really do have to give yourself permission to relax. My boyfriend and my dad both kept reassuring me, "They are JUST pests." Hard to remember sometimes when they feel so evasive and pervasive, and so gross. It's true though. As the boyfriend reminded me when I was mid-panic attack about pesticide resistance at 4 AM, "They can die like anything else." And they will and do.
Bedbugs freak us out because they feel like they could be anywhere and everywhere. But as the PCO noted, they tend to hang out unless disturbed or really well-established. If you can't afford a sniffer dog to locate them, you still know what the signs are if you're reading this forum. The PCO assured me - you WILL find signs. Remember, they always poop after eating, the little jerks.
And don't let yourself feel socially isolated or like an outcast. Bedbugs happen. Take proper precautions, work through the issue with the multi-pronged approach, and you don't have to strand yourself or feel guilty.
I used this site to remind myself that the nightmare would eventually end, so I wanted to share my story too.
it was only one „egg” between a bed frame and a slat. I remember it was squishy. My question is : Would i find a lot of evidence by now if we do actually have them? Im sick of checking our bed few times a day. I’ve had enough of thinking about bed bugs 
