SOOOO Freaked out!

[dani13]

Ok, here is my dilemma:

I went to a really good friends b-day party today....it was a surprise 30th -fun! Anyway, we started talking, and she was telling me that she found out this week that they have bedbugs in their house, after her and her daughter woke up several days in a row covered in bug bites......Ok, now me being the OCD clean freak that I am, totally started freaking out !!! OMG! I tried not to make it obvious, but all I could think was that MH and I went over to her home a few wks ago to hang out. Now granted, we didnt roll around in their beds, but we did walk around the house (which is very clean, btw) and we were there for a few hours. She said she thought her brother -in -law brought them to her home when he stayed over for a few days a couple of months ago-he wasnt aware at the time that his own home was infested...Ewwww....

Now, supposedly, bedbugs lay eggs, and it takes like a month or two? for them to hatch and come out. Does anyone know anything about this? Whenever I stay at hotels, I always check under the mattress for them (that's where they supposedly stay until at night when they come out). Then they bite. I think a program like 20/20 aired a show about bedbugs a yr or two ago, and ever since seeing that, its become something that I am completely obsessed about whenever I stay at a hotel or in a bed other than mine.

I cant get this out of my head now. I have been itchy ever since my friend told me this. MH thinks I am being obsessive as usual. But he just doesnt understand that if we brought the bugs home with us, they are EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to get rid of....Most people that get them end up throwing away their mattresses and have to move. I know they have an incubation period- like a month or two, and then the eggs hatch and they wreak their havoc. We were at their house 2 wks ago.

What do you guys think? HELP!!!!

 

[Haven]

I don''t know anything about bed bugs but I would be itchy and freaked out if I were in your position, too!

I wonder if there''s anything you can use to wash your sheets as a precaution.

 

[dani13]

OMG. I am so distraught over this.

If anyone has any input, please let me know.

eta: I just checked under both of my mattresses. So far, so good, but the eggs are microscopic I think. Ugh.

 

[Mara]

well we've never had them (and like you i am SOOO paranoid about them because i have read the horror stories! whenever we travel i try to keep our suitcases in the garage then bring stuff upstairs to wash within the next 24 hours)...but i thought we might have had them like 2 years ago, because i was getting these crazy bites all along my legs and feet for like weeks....and i did a bunch of internet research (so not conducive to not being paranoid btw!)...and i think they do have an incubation period BUT if you brought them home with you then i think they probably would have bitten you as well before laying eggs. maybe not, but from what i recall, they are hungry little buggers so if you did bring them home with you, you would have most likely seen SOME sort of indication of them. also i don't know how long their incubation is but i didn't think it was as long as a month?

i don't know WHAT was biting me but eventually it stopped and we never had issues after that...but i was so paranoid that it was bed bugs esp since there was all this press around them at the time and i had traveled for work like 2 weeks before. also i always get bitten even when no one else does, greg had no issues nor did portia but they both slept with me. go figure.

anyway to your Q...honestly, if you just visited a few weeks ago, they may not have been 'infested' yet...since i think it takes a while. so chances are if you guys just visited and hung out, you would be fine. i would think that if you slept over or took a nap in the bed or something that yeah you'd really worry. but honestly, doesn't sound like it.

a year or so ago we were finding some fleas on portia from this outside park she went to. we were so paranoid (well me) about getting an infestation esp because of how fast fleas multiple and how invasive they are...so i went out and got dichatomaceous earth from the hardware store and we sprayed it everywhere. it acts as a knife puncturing the exoskeletons of bugs like fleas and dehydrates them so they die within 24 hours. i have read since then that it's not so fab for humans in terms of breathing it into their lungs, but i imagine that one dose to the house was hopefully not so bad and we didn't spray it into the air or anything, we used this puffer to lay it down along all the walls/carpet and anywhere the fleas might be hanging out/wherever we saw them...we didn't suffer any weird repurcussions from it, but we only did it that once...and we didn't see ONE bug, even a spider for months. so this might be an option if you feel like you are totally worried and want something organic to try to pre-empt an issue.

but honestly, i know it's hard but i seriously think you would have felt or seen something up until this point if you did bring something home with you. you can also check along the bottoms of the furniture in your house, supposedly they like to lay eggs and hang out under furniture, aka in corners/crevices like under your nightstand. i think you CAN see the eggs actually and you CAN see the bugs. they are not so tiny you can't see them. but they are pretty small...i think they look like pinpoints maybe? the internet IS a good resource for info but DONT read the horror stories, they just freak you out more!! poor greg was being driven crazy by how sure i was we had them hehee. and i was like OMG you can't get rid of them, you have to FREEZE your clothes and this and that. blah.

 

[dani13]

OMG. Thanks so much, Mara. You totally made me feel better. No, no bites or itching or anything for MH and I. Lets just hope it stays that way.

 

[TravelingGal]

I am not a germophobe or anything, but bedbugs are the one thing when I travel that wig me out. I ALWAYS check out the bed and look for them in the crevices. As Mara said you can see them with the naked eye. I also NEVER put my luggage on the hotel room sofa...always use the luggage rack (after checking that too). If there are bedbugs at the hotel, I'd know about it before I left...

As Mara said, I think you are fine. You would have noticed something by now!

ETA, if you DO suspect bedbugs, call a professional. Don't even mess with a home remedy. I read enough about them to know that those things are crazy and can only be propertly eradicated by a professional. Fleas on the other hand, we had fantastic luck with Borax and salt (which works similary to what Mara used).

 

[Miranda]

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! You''re making me itch!!! I am a total germophobe, clean freak, paranoid psycho so I totally understand your itching! If it makes you feel any better I think my in-laws have bed bugs and we''ve never brought them home. We even had to LIVE there for 2 months while our house was being built. Of course, we didn''t know they had bed bugs BEFORE we stayed with them. I tried very hard not to make a big stink while we were there because they are so sensitive and they don''t approve of my germophobedness. And, after all, I was staying in their home. I vacuumed all of the time and sprayed Lysol constantly. I know Lysol isn''t an insect treatment, but, I figured it may kill them. When we moved into our new house I was very careful to wash ANYTHING that had been there. We''ve been here for a year and a half and I''ve yet to see a bug. I guess we''re in the clear now, lol, but, I''m still on the lookout! If you were just visiting your friend and didn''t sleep in their beds I''d think you won''t have any trouble. If you want to be certain you could always call a professional exterminator. I really don''t think you have anything to worry about. Good luck, I totally understand how you feel!

 

[Gemma12]

I would be itching too!

We have never had this problem fortunately, but my MIL''s friends used to own a B&B and had the beds regularly treated by a steam cleaning company. I agree with TGal, don''t bother with home remedies.

On a side note, we use a mattress protector which I always wash in super super hot water after every guest (as well as the sheets of course) on our guest bed. I don''t know if this makes any difference but it sure makes me feel better! Our washing machine goes up to a temp of 70degrees celcius-I use the 50 degree setting.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[LegacyGirl]

Oh man now I don''t want to go to sleep.

 

[monarch64]

Dani, I'm just thinking that your friend probably wouldn't have told you about the bedbugs or gone out in public and risked infesting others if she hadn't been sure that the original problem wasn't already taken care of. I can see how you would be freaked out...

DH was a frequent traveler for his last job, and honestly after reading some articles/seeing news stories, I worried a lot about him coming home from hotels and passing bedbugs or whatever into our home. We never had any issues with them, but I used to make him leave his luggage in the garage when he'd get home late at night and I was too tired to do laundry right away, kind of like Mara talked about.

I do want to say that media has a tendency to really sensationalize things and build upon natural fears...I think it's important to remember to keep things in perspective. Yes, it's possible you could get bedbugs, or catch a disease from a public toilet, or whatever. Is it highly likely, maybe...but it's also likely that we as humans have immune systems and that if we do end up infested with pests they are pretty easily eradicated nowadays.

I understand that you are really freaked out by what your friend told you, and the possibility that you may have brought home some unwanted guests. But things like this happen...it is a hassle for sure but still can be taken care of. Try not to worry too much...

 

[diamondfan]

Just thinking about it would make me itch for sure.

I doubt you would get them that way but I just do not know enough about them!

 

[dani13]

Thanks so much for all of the advice, ladies. I guess there is not much to do right now except watch and wait. If anything comes up, I will for sure contact a professional- I would never consider dealing with this myself.

Moni- I wish what you said about my friend was true...That she wouldnt have mentioned it if she still had them in her house...But she told me that they just found out this week that they had them, so I doubt they are gone already! She didnt even seemed that concerned, which freaked me out b/c she is usually a clean freak herself....I gathered she just doesnt know much about bedbugs? I told her she needs to call a professional, but who knows, she almost had this attitude like, "I will get to it when I can get to it!" I just dont get it.

Ugh, I am getting itchy again!!!!!

It took me forever to fall asleep last night b/c I kept getting itchy and then had to turn on the light to check if the buggies were there. This is horrible! But then again, I am probably my own worst enemy!!!!

 

[Mara]

ha ha your own mind is your worst enemy dani!!

it''s amazing she had an infestation and didn''t even know til recently...i know it does take a while to get to that point but from what i had read, you can see the bugs when an ''infestation'' is really going on. also it IS very hard to get under control, maybe she doesn''t have ''bedbugs'' but has some other type of bug like a flea?? they are both tiny and like to breed.

it''s creepy too because if you share walls with anyone, aka apartment or townhouse, they CAN go through the walls. so that is why i was paranoid also because then, our townhouse bordered this single guy who was not very clean and i was thinking, jeez who knows maybe he has them and they are coming through!

your mind will play all sorts of tricks on you. just keep your eye out and don''t worry.

 

[dani13]

Date: 3/31/2008 10:54:00 AM
Author: Mara
ha ha your own mind is your worst enemy dani!!


it's amazing she had an infestation and didn't even know til recently...i know it does take a while to get to that point but from what i had read, you can see the bugs when an 'infestation' is really going on. also it IS very hard to get under control, maybe she doesn't have 'bedbugs' but has some other type of bug like a flea?? they are both tiny and like to breed.


it's creepy too because if you share walls with anyone, aka apartment or townhouse, they CAN go through the walls. so that is why i was paranoid also because then, our townhouse bordered this single guy who was not very clean and i was thinking, jeez who knows maybe he has them and they are coming through!


your mind will play all sorts of tricks on you. just keep your eye out and don't worry.

Ewww, Mara, I would have totally been freaked out too if a dirty guy lived next to me. YUCK.

OMG, now you have my mind wandering again.....b/c we live in a condo surrounded by 3 or 4 apts.!!! What if the bugs come through the walls!!!?? I know the lady downstairs from us isnt the cleanest person....

This situation just sucks...!!!!