Hello, I need help dealing with a situation with bed bugs. 6 weeks ago my 3 yr old daughter came up with some bite marks. For two weeks we were not sure what it was, whether it was allergy or whether something was biting her at the playground. We took her to the doctor and all he said was looks like bites. The one night I found a bed bug on her sheet. Next day I immediately cleaned her entire room along with her mattress. I have a strong vacuum and it pulled out everything including what may have been a very small infestation. I did not check whether it was. I did thorough vacuuming including baseboards, closets etc. and the room looked clean. I have never dealt with bed bugs before and I did not bother to get more information. I cleaned up her room like I would for any other bug and then made her sleep there. Someone suggested I buy a mattress encasement so I did that.
Her mattress is on the floor, no bed. She started sleeping there again and after a few days the same bite marks. We moved her to my room and I slept in hers. I caught couple of bed bugs over the next 2 days. I started doing research on the internet and kept cleaning her room.
I realized as per my contract I have to contact my apartment property manager. It does not clearly specify who will pay for the next steps. My apartment manager sent a Terminix guy who looked like he was not interested at all in my problem. He looked under her mattress, our living room couch and my bed and said there was no infestation. He said at the max he will suggest doing some preventive chemical spraying around the baseboards next week and then he will come back after 7 to 10 days to look again.
I was not satisfied with the answer and I asked him to check closets and dressers. He said that the first thing they would infest is bed and if they are not in the bed, there are probably very few hiding under baseboards and the preventive chemical spray will take care of the issue.
I am not sure that preventive chemical spray will take care of the issue. He was not earning my trust by not showing any interest in my problem. My questions are:
1. I asked my apartment manager to also check the neighbor’s apartment. She refused. Aren’t the neighbors supposed to be made aware of if there are bugs in the neighboring apartment? Moreover what if my neighbor(s) have bugs themselves but are not seeing it because they don’t feel the bites?
2. I have not spoken to the manager yet, but I don’t know who will cover the costs. Knowing this management, they are surely going to send the bill to me. I am willing to pay if these are mu bugs and not the neighbors, but how will I know if these are not neighbor’s bugs?
3. I want to have a K9 check. I think I can pay on my own and get it done. But then I will end up double paying for Terminix guy’s treatment and also the canine guy? What should I do?
I am a little lost. Any help will be appreciated.