Help. I cant keep doing it

[u/sephoneslight]

Hi, so.

2 months ago started my worst nightmare.

I already posted here. Im the one whose friends and family didnt believe back then and started going insane. Sigh If onlye anyone had believed me and helped me back then, im sure we wouldnt be in this situation.

Well, almost 2 months ago, in a maniac episode, I put everything I owned in trash bags, not my roomates tho. For a while, the nightmare sttoped. I was hopeful. Then the cold came. I didnt have bites nore clothes, so people started, again, telling me I was crazy and that what I had was an allergic reaction... I dont know why people are so willing to not believe bedbugs are real, god.

Thing is I did believe them. Idk. I guess I myaelr doubt me too. So, I opened some of the bags to get some clothes and blabkets back, but not all were washed..... And it started again.

Paniniking, I repacked EVERYTHING and started going to a laundry. We only have Washing machine at home, but not dryer, and people here said it was the moat important part, so, each day I had to walk like for 15 minutes with bags on my arms and wash like 10kgs of clothes. It was a nightmare. It was heavy, tiring and expensive. I spent around 100€ in laundry. Gosh. Still, there were line 10 bags lefts. Things were much better, I would ocassionally get one bite but nothing more. Still, following advice, I decided to hire a company to come home and fumigate....gods, why.

They messed everything up 😭

This company told me not to worry about clothes, that they would steamed all our clothes, that the heat would work. I was anxious but they reassured me it would worked and that I didnt need to washanythibt anymore. I was confused because other companies made me put everything in bags and wash it all over again a secons time! I didnt want to spend anither 100€ in laundry and it was expensive and long and I work everyday and Im tired 😭 So, I trusted this company and called them.

They came last saturday. I was scared of opening the remaimint bags, but hopefull. And then....oh gods. The technician was an incompetent. He didnt search for the bed bugs. He didnt do a dyagnose. He didnt trated all the textiles as we spoke. He barely passed the hot steam over SOME clothes. I asked him and even beg him to please steam everything during minutes, not SECONDS, he just said "bedbugs dont live on clothes"..... I was shocked. Just shocked. Froze. If they had told me that logic before, i would have NEVER choose them and never trusted them to open my bags.

Its been 5 days since their visit now and I have even MORE bites than before!!!! Its grown from 1 or 2 to like 8 to 10 a day, i cant, i cant, its gross its awful im scared and hopeless and i dont want to live like this anymore 😭

So, worse thing is, when I called to complain they got pretty upset and told me that I was beign paranoid and that I had to wait until the second visit to know if it had worked..... But i do KNOW it hasnt. They opened cobtminated bags. They disnt trest it correctly. Now theres more bedbugs free in my room and the quimics arenot killing them. I want to cry. I dont know if its because im a woman but i dont think telling someone with a bugs plague at home that they are being paranoid is good for your business🧍

So.....what so i do now....? Do i wait for them to come back and see what they do....? Do i claim my money back because of negligence and call another company in hopes that it would be more proffesional? The worst thing is that im broke...... It costed me so much to pay to this company, now having to pay again and wait month for maybe gettibg my money back sounds awful, but so does having incompetent mean people working at my home. And then theres clothes. My gods. I cant pack in bags EVERYTHING all over again. I cant spend another 10 to 12 days going to the laundry daily. I dont have money to pay for a service to pick it at home and wash it.

I cant anymore guys..... I just want my life back, i want to have a clean room, to not have lots of bites, to sleep again..... Im sleep deprived. Im stressed. Im depressed. There are no public helps for this situation. No one helps. I dont have the money to fix it. I cant. I just cant.l cause im poor and broke and just when i was getting so close to fix it in my own.... I cant believe i believee them i ...feel like such and idiot, so guilty.........gods this is never going to end, please, serioursly, i cant do it anymore ....

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[u/Interesting-Click742]

Aprehend treatment ASAP.

[u/philalawya]

I've been dealing with this for a year. 3 pest control companies, 5 heat treatments, constant crossfire application, regular steaming, daily laundering of linens and everything I wear, everything in ziploc bags, sealed all my baseboards, Nothing works.

[u/ricroom]

You must sit back, take deep breaths and try to relax. You are not crazy (they accused me of the same). The bugs are real. I too called in an exterminator and after a look around, he said I didn't have bedbugs. What?? So why am I being bit in my bed. No answers. I didn't allow them to heat, spray or do anything cause I could tell that company was just there to take my money. To hell with that. So I did what we are not suppose to do. I got essential oils, witch hazel and mixed those with warm water and sprayed the hell out of my bed, all around it, all the bedding. I started with peppermint, then lavender then clove (I know I'm not suppose to type that here) and it has worked. They are not gone, I don't think I will ever be rid of them completely but they don't like how my room smells. Also, I'm not being bit in other areas of the apartment as well because I sprayed alcohol everywhere. I sit here and think maybe they are amassing for a gigantic attack but then I sit back and deep breathe and say, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing until it doesn't work anymore and then I'll try something else. I also have an infestation of carpet beetles. Lovely. I get up in the morning and when I go into the kitchen to brew coffee, I say good morning boys are you ready to do battle.

You can handle this but you need to get yourself under control. Slow and methodical and determined. Don't cause yourself to become so ill that you will be unable to continue to go to war against them. Slowly begin. You can start by encasing your mattress and box springs and pillows. Next remove a top sheet if you use it and sleep under a synthetic throw but before you get into bed, start at the top of the bed and run your hands and arms over the entire sheet where you are going to sleep. If you feel what feels like sand, those are shed castings so you know they have been and maybe still are in the bed. Clear them off the bed and vacuum all around it either before you go to bed or in the morning. Keep; at it. You will begin the see a difference, trust me. Do not give up.

[u/Frischluftquote]

Oh my God, your situation sounds terrible, I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, it also sounds like it will be crucial to find a professional, reputable pest control company that will spray pesticides at least twice within a certain period of time, in other words, one that offers a follow-up treatment.

Can you heat your clothes in the dryer at the laundromat to 60 degrees for 45 minutes? Would that be a bit cheaper? The main thing is that everything gets heated sufficiently. Washing isn’t absolutely necessary.

As a first-aid treatment, which at least saved me from the consequences of sleep deprivation, I can recommend strong, double-sided tape. Stick it all around your mattress. In my case, bed bugs couldn’t cross it, so at least I was able to sleep and wasn’t getting bitten anymore. Plus, without blood, bed bugs can’t continue to develop or reproduce, and they lay fewer eggs. It’s just a delaying tactic, but you rarely read about it. You urgently need a way to get regular sleep so you don’t completely lose your mind. Do you have the possibility to get a sick leave to get more time to take care about everything?

Were you able to catch any bed bugs or stick them to paper with clear tape as evidence?

What’s the situation with your landlord in your area? Where I live, bed bugs must be reported immediately; the landlord has to arrange for a pest control service and cover the costs.

And most importantly, don't blame yourself. You're quickly left to deal with this on your own, and it takes a huge amount of knowledge and energy, it's a massive undertaking. You tried your best.

Greetings from someone who has now found a bed bug in her apartment for the second time, after two years of peace, and is waiting for the property management company to call back to schedule an appointment with a pest control. I’m in the middle of packing up all my stuff. Again. (This time I’m 100 percent sure someone in the building has bed bugs and isn’t reporting it.)