Hi all,
I am posting here because I'm not quite sure where to turn.
Exactly 4 weeks ago, on 10/15, during an afternoon meeting at work, my legs starting itching like crazy. After the meeting, I went to the restroom to look at my legs, and they were covered in itching, burning bites. I wasn't sure what they were. Bed bugs crossed my mind, but I didn't want to overreact. The weather had been warm the night before, and I'd slept in shorts above the blankets because I was too hot, so I figured perhaps it was an errant mosquito in the apartment somewhere. My boyfriend also did not have any bug bites.
This past Saturday, my boyfriend and I were changing the sheets on the bed and we found a dead bed bug on the mattress. Of course, I freaked out. I had a co-worker deal with bed bugs last year and it seems to have been an utter nightmare of epic proportions. Also, we moved into this apartment in April, and since then have had issues with a mouse, ants, cockroaches, and house centipedes. Needless to say, the bed bug was the straw that broke the camel's back.
We immediately contacted the landlord, who contacted an exterminator. We washed all our bed linens. We didn't hear from the exterminator until Monday morning, and we sent him a photo of the bed bug, which we saved in a ziploc bag. He confirmed that it was in fact a bed bug.
At this point I am so over this apartment and want out. I don't care if we lose literally all of our belongings. The landlord wants us to split the cost of the exterminator, which we are unwilling and unable to do. I also don't feel like going back and forth with him over who is paying and wasting time. And also, I can't say I'm super confident in their extermination methods considering all the other bugs we've had, and the fact that they want to share the cost.
So we are planning on getting rid of literally everything except clothes and some kitchen things and the tv, and moving in with my boyfriend's parents. I've not had any new bites (knock on wood) save one on my hand that I am pretty positive was from a mosquito after being outside on Halloween. My boyfriend has one bite on his neck, also not sure if it is a bed bug. Nothing like the dozens of bites on my legs a month ago.
But here's the kicker--we have stayed at his parents' place multiple times in the past month. They brought in an exterminator today and lo and behold--he found one bed bug at their place.
Since we want a hard out from this critter-infested apartment, we are planning on still going to his parents', washing EVERYTHING, putting shoes and bags in the dryer, wiping down the television, etc. And since his parents now have to go through treatment, we figure we can all just huddle there and deal with it in one location instead of their place and our apartment, where we aren't confident in the landlord.
But I am getting seriously paranoid. I'm worried now that I have spread them to my corporate office (I work in NYC), or that they are in the cars, and just crawling around everywhere laying eggs that are going to hatch and they're never going to go away. I'm having trouble convincing myself otherwise since we either brought them home from his parents', or brought them to his parents' from our place.
Any advice? Anyone?