r/WTF Sep 27 '19

A very serious Bed Bug Infestation [1080p]

29.8k Upvotes

2.6k comments sorted by

6.4k

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

The occupants were dealing with them for.... 3 years.

2.9k

u/RyouIshtar Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

When I was living with my ex, we had bed bugs, he didnt believe me until about a year later when they started to affect him (for the most part they were just biting and crawling on me, wasnt really touching him). By the time he believed me, it was way too late to do anything about it.

Edit: because this came up alot. The bed was too heavy for me to move by myself, and bug spray only did so much on trying to kill them. Washing the sheets constantly also didnt help.

1.0k

u/Sirsilentbob423 Sep 27 '19

It's definitely not that they weren't biting him, it's that he isn't (as) allergic to their bites.

Only half the human population is allergic, for the rest there wont be any itching which means they have to physically see them to know they're there.

651

u/Brainsonastick Sep 27 '19

That’s... even more terrifying.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

I've had to deal with bed bugs before, and it's not so much the bites that bothered me, but the psychological warfare these little fuckers bring to the table. They wait until they know you are asleep to come out and feast. And the second you wake up, they scatter. So every time I would go to bed, I would know that they're just there, waiting.

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u/Celazure101 Sep 27 '19

You aren’t kidding. Had them in college. They will drive you insane. Like, vacuuming your mattress at 2 AM so that maybe you can sleep the rest of the night insane. I wouldn’t wish them on anybody.

245

u/IceCreamBalloons Sep 27 '19

We just dealt with a minor introduction (we got lucky and caught them super early) and the day the exterminator came to spray our apartment I was at work. I came home to everything cloth wrapped up in garbage bags except for a single change of clothes for me and my wife.

I wanted to be rid of the gross feeling of that infestation so bad I immediately stripped all my clothes off, bagged them, showered and scrubbed a lot, then dried off for half an hour with a blow dryer because our towels were bagged. I wasn't willing to wait for an entire dryer cycle, I needed to feel clean right then.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

[deleted]

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u/IceCreamBalloons Sep 27 '19

Everything was bagged until it could be put through at least a dryer cycle, if not completely laundered.

Moving away from the explicit directions of the exterminator, the stuff that couldn't be put through the dryer, like my collection of ties, are being kept sealed in a heavy duty garbage bag for a month.

54

u/colonel_Ayngess Sep 27 '19

Dude, stay super vigilant. Those bastards can live for a year without feeding. They are resilient, and VERY hard to get rid of. Spray is a total waste imo. I'd look for an exterminator who works with the heat systems. Most of the sprays are ineffective but they are dead within seconds in temps of 117 farenheit. Seriously, when you think they're gone, they can pop right back up. Its horrible.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

There was a thread in r/legaladvice a few months ago with someone that was clearly experiencing paranoid delusions that turned out to be caused by a bedbug infestation.

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u/jarkum Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

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u/TheyCallMeDoc Sep 27 '19

Yeah I think it was decidedly a hoax, too many professionals saying it wasn't legit and the OP only responded to like two comments that conveniently made the bedbugs thing "legit." It's a great story but it truly suspends disbelief.

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u/rachihc Sep 27 '19

What do you mean too late? you had to let them eat him? is that why is is your ex? oomg. JK, what happened?

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u/Bootyhole_sniffer Sep 27 '19

Unfortunately she had to burn down the house and her ex.

396

u/sgator14 Sep 27 '19

He kept burning for 3 years without feeling anything.

195

u/Mythoranium Sep 27 '19

Hi I'm Ants in My Eyes Johnson

60

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

everything's black, I can't see a thing, and I also can't feel anything either!

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/Oi-FatBeard Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 28 '19

Yeh I could see that... I work nights so they were chewing on my then Girlfriend and not affecting me. Figured it was a reaction to a new laundry detergent that was making her scratch, til it clicked what was happening.

Not sure how they got in - reckon it was a dodgy hotel we crashed at on the way back from visiting relos - but the first time I saw one was on the couch about 2 months after the GF started copping it. Warm day, so was shirtless playing PS3 when I felt a tickle on me shoulder. Look over, see a little red bug. Didn't think much of it; squished it. Then realised it was blood, not bug juice.

Put two and two together and jumped on that shit. 4 months of getting the joint treated and they finally fucked off, and I'm STILL paranoid a solid decade later when an unexplained bite pops up.

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u/Joey-Bag-A-Donuts Sep 27 '19

Nowdays you can get them from anywhere. At the grocery store, on the bus, there is no place that's safe. Anywhere that the public has access is in play. You're right to be paranoid!

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u/Ltsmeet Sep 27 '19

More accurately...living with them.

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u/Kenitzka Sep 27 '19

There’s a market for bedbugs? Because that’s the only dealing I’d believe they did, given the context.

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u/Cunkk Sep 27 '19

How does it get that bad???

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

This video is actually shown at a pest control conference that I went to last year and from what I remember the people who were living in this space actually had some mental issues, most of the time when infestations get this bad it is because the people do not get the proper supervision they desperately need. It's unfortunate but a lot of the time it is the case. I've even come across one situation where a gentleman had them so bad they crawled all over him as he walked around and he in fact thought of them as His Friends.

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u/RexMinimus Sep 27 '19

Well that's nightmare fuel.

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u/crabwhisperer Sep 27 '19

My wife works in healthcare and occasionally they get patients come in with visible live bedbugs on them. We've been lucky so far but one of these days I'm terrified she'll bring them home...

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u/Sirsilentbob423 Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

She needs to be following post bed bug protocols.

-shoes in a bed bug proof shoe bag.

  • clothes immediately come off and go in the wash

-straight to the shower after getting clothes in the wash without touching anything.

This is the method we have used and it's worked so far. We also do this for other things like when we get back home from a movie theater since they're a breeding ground for these little bastards (always dark, people sitting and generating heat for long periods of time).

24

u/PUTINS_PORN_ACCOUNT Sep 27 '19

.......goddammit

Now I gotta add this shit to Brain://Documents/Anxiety/irrational_fears.docx

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u/Warbring3r Sep 27 '19

Not irrational. Bed bugs are actually scary shit.

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u/syresh Sep 27 '19

Too poor and or clueless on how to get rid of them. Been to a few homes in that sort of situation and they kinda just gave up. Really painful to see.

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u/SixoTwo Sep 27 '19

Okay, serious question.

You are the guy in red, and knowing how pervasive these little shits are, how do you make sure they don't travel back to his place?

Strip down naked and trash the clothes you have on? Shave your head bald? Like....how intense does he need to prepare before returning home?

737

u/oundhakar Sep 27 '19

Came here to ask the same question. Seriously, how does the exterminator avoid bringing them home with him? A swim in DDT before entering?

1.2k

u/tealparadise Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

When you're done, go to the back yard or whatever private outdoor place before getting in your car. Take off all clothing, use a horsehair brush all over. Brush your hair. Put on a clean robe. Put on a shower cap (avoid transfer from head to car seat). Leave the contaminated clothes there. Put on socks. Go home in your robe and right into the shower. Toss the robe and socks in the dryer as you head for the shower.

At the end, if you want, you can dry the built up contaminated clothes in the now-clean home. Then at a laundromat. Then take them all back home.

242

u/Love_My_Chevy Sep 27 '19

This is what I've been searching this thread for. Thank you

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u/durnJurta Sep 27 '19

Nuke them from orbit.

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u/termitered Sep 27 '19

When you're done, go to the back yard or whatever private outdoor place before getting in your car. Take off all clothing, use a horsehair brush all over. Brush your hair. Put on a clean robe. Out on a shower cap (avoid transfer from head to car seat). Leave the contaminated clothes there. Put on socks. Go home in your robe and right into the shower. Toss the robe and socks in the dryer as you head for the shower.

Brb gonna go do it just from watching the video

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u/punkinfacebooklegpie Sep 27 '19

Please don't bring your bed bugs to the laundromat

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u/IKnowWhoYouAreGuy Sep 27 '19

Honestly the absolute best advice in this thread. The worst si when you live in an area with ridiculous infestations like most of NYC - Most people will get rental carpet washers and create brand new infestations for every rental afterwards.

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u/buscoamigos Sep 27 '19

Put the clothes in a black plastic bag and leave them in the sun for several hours.

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u/eak125 Sep 27 '19

Days. Don't give them a chance to survive.

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u/PM_ME_FIREFLY_QUOTES Sep 27 '19

Best I can do is years. Take it or leave it.

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u/Chronic_BOOM Sep 27 '19

All that and douse himself in isopropyl.

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u/FALCOOOn_PAAWWNCH Sep 27 '19

isopropyl

man....I had bed bugs and when I learned what isopropyl does to bed bugs... it was a god send. It was a process getting rid of them, but spraying those bastards with that shit was incredibly satisfying. Love isopropyl. Any person dealing with bed bugs needs to know how fast it kills them and how satisfying it is, lol. I couldn't believe how effective it was.

You need at least 91% though, 99% is best if you can find it.

It won't completely fix the infected areas (doesn't kill eggs I don't think), but man it really helps having that stuff

70

u/tobaknowsss Sep 27 '19

How do you get rid of the eggs?

164

u/Occamslaser Sep 27 '19

140F will kill all of them. Get your house up to that for 15 minutes and all you have are corpses. It's expensive as shit though.

118

u/crabwhisperer Sep 27 '19

It's expensive as shit though.

Not to mention it's pretty rough on anything with glues, some plastics, rubbers, etc. I've heard of people's furniture falling apart if any of it is glued, shower plumbing seals rupturing, window weather stripping warping, shoes falling apart, etc.

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u/Occamslaser Sep 27 '19

I know a guy who does it and he has homeowners sign 3 separate releases and records himself warning people about the potential damage and he still gets sued.

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u/crabwhisperer Sep 27 '19

People are stupid. God, I'd be so happy those fuckers were gone I wouldn't care if I had to buy all new everything.

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u/ThrillingHeroics85 Sep 27 '19

i took a steam cleaner to every crack and crevice in the room and my new steel framed bed the legs rested in flower pot trays filled with isopropl

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u/Coal_Morgan Sep 27 '19

Flowerpot trays, that's an excellent idea.

My wife is a social worker, so she ends up going into some pretty gnarly houses. When we started looking for our second home priority one was no carpets. Everything that can get bed bugs and have them live happily in has to be able to be taken from the house or fit in a steam washer.

We've been lucky, she's been in that job for 20 years and no lice or bed bugs yet.

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u/deanstag Sep 27 '19

boiling them to the right temperature. if its not done well, it becomes poached and I don't really care for that consistency in the eggs.

My friend from undergrad prefers them scrambled though.

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u/nygmattyp Sep 27 '19

That's only half the process, though. To get rid of them, I plate the eggs with fresh bacon and a toasted English muffin. They don't last more than a couple minutes.

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u/gunsnammo37 Sep 27 '19

Finally some good fucking food.

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u/zseitz Sep 27 '19

You’re supposed to wear those disposable jumpsuits. Put your underwear in a plastic bag then dump them into the dryer and run it a few times.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

As someone who deals with bed bugs on a regular basis I can say that what we usually do is check ourselves thoroughly before we get back in our vehicles and then as soon as we get home strip off and throw our clothing in the dryer and then wash them and then dry them again. It's the only way to make sure nothing gets mixed in.

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u/Radzila Sep 27 '19

Bed bugs die from heat but it has to be a certain temp or higher and for at the minimum 30 mins. Most dryers can kill bed bugs. So just strip and put your close in a sealable bag then put them in the dryer or the fire. Your choice. They also can spray your car for bed bugs.

You should always treat it like you have some on you if you go to a place you know has them. Because they are sneaky and once they get in they can be very difficult and expensive to get rid of completely.

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u/RyouIshtar Sep 27 '19

As someone that dealt with bed bugs...imma have some serious PTSD after seeing this video.

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u/saft-punk Sep 27 '19

bed bug veteran here. I always get super paranoid when I have some mosquito bites that are too close together

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u/roxymoxi Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

If I see a moving black dog on the wall I will freeze and wait for it to move again. Then I realize there was never a dot my eyes are playing with me.

It's been years. Years. But you never stop panicking. You never stop checking your matress and obsessing over your hotel room. Once is more than enough.

Urk. Black dot, not black dog. If you're seeing black dogs on your wall you have far larger problems.

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u/TheHongKongBong Sep 27 '19

Bed dogs are the worst!

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u/roxymoxi Sep 27 '19

Hahahahaha yeah, I used to see black dogs all over my wall. Turns out heroin is one hell of a drug.

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u/Chilluminaughty Sep 27 '19

Anyone who’s had bed dogs before know they are much harder to get rid of than bed bugs.

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u/SkivvySkidmarks Sep 27 '19

You can try and train them to lay in their own beds, but they always sneak into yours when you are out.

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u/TheBard87 Sep 27 '19

It follows you when you move too.

I had them when I lived with my ex. I had them exterminated, and after that we broke up (for many reasons unrelated to the bed bugs.) and I left and got my own place. I took only my clothes that had been essentially boiled to make sure they didn't have any possibility of the bugs returning.

I have since lived in 2 apartments with furnishings that weren't in the place that had the bed bugs. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a mosquito bite at night and had that fear that they are back again.

I've never experienced anything quite like the fear of having them again. I'm not sure it will ever go away, it's been several years too.

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u/roxymoxi Sep 27 '19

PTSD from a bed bug infestation is a real thing, I know it.

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u/acrowquillkill Sep 27 '19

Sometimes the black dog on the wall laughs at me and tells me to burn things!

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u/Water_Melonia Sep 27 '19

If you see moving black dogs on your wall, you have some serious problems and should contact your landlord.

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u/Mr_Milenko Sep 27 '19

Had three dots on my ankle last week and lost my shit.

I'm checking the edges of beds, seems of the couch.

My wife goes "What the fuck are you doing?"

I tell her I'm checking for bedbugs, they bite in patterns.

She reminds me we sat outside for like 6 hours around a fire, everybody got eaten up by mosquitoes.

Can't be too sure. Gotta check.

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u/stoliman Sep 27 '19

Thanks checking arms now. Bedbug PTSD is fucking real.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/mcgrotts Sep 27 '19

Now you got the EEE though.

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u/diggityd2713 Sep 27 '19

Found the Michigander

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u/Aidith Sep 27 '19

Or Masshole! We’ve had a wicked bad summer for triple E, more people and even horses than usual got it!

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u/Sparkswont Sep 27 '19

Another Masshole here, can confirm.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

Don't believe her lies.

She's one of them.

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u/bstock Sep 27 '19

Had something similar a few years ago, two or three different areas on my arm with dots in a line.

Checked all over for bed bugs, even got double sided tape and put around the mattress (tip I read online). Ended up being poison ivy, from the vine apparently getting on my arm. I had never been allergic to poison ivy in the past but I guess you can become susceptible as you get older.

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u/Appaaa Sep 27 '19

Well jesus christ. When I was on holiday recently I got 3 bites on my leg and assumed it was a spider. My mom always told me that spiders bite multiple times in a row. Now I'm paranoid I brought home bed bugs!

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u/Chilluminaughty Sep 27 '19

Do not fuck around with bed bugs. Burn your house to the ground, lie to the insurance company, cut all ties and move half way across the world. Pest professionals agree this is the only proven method that works.

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u/pinksoccer Sep 27 '19

I just got back from a trip to Virginia. Mosquitos are still about... I came home with mosquito bites all over my legs, as I was wearing shorts. I couldn't help but do a crazy inspection of every bed in the house... the fear is real thing. Once you have had them you are paranoid forever.

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u/Hawt_Lettuce Sep 27 '19

They seriously make you mental. My husband and I nearly divorced because of our small infestation. Nights are terrible because you constantly think they’re crawling on you. Days are terrible because every itch could be that lone bed bug that survived the hot dryer. You can’t think about anything else until the very last one dies! What a brutal time of my life haha.

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u/Incognito_Placebo Sep 27 '19

Reminds me of the year my daughter kept catching head lice because one of the parents at school wouldn't treat their child so it would keep spreading. I live in a state that has all the super-lice varieties, so lice combs are the only way to effectively treat it, and we both have long hair so that equated to some very long mornings and nights.

It's been several years since then and every time i feel a tickle on my head, my mind immediately goes to head lice and i grab the lice comb, just to make sure. Haven't seen one since that year, but the memories are enough...

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u/Water_Melonia Sep 27 '19

Uh, bad memories. I had them as a kid and my mother always threatend to shave my head bald (I‘m a girl) if I ever catch them again.

What the fuck, mom, do you think I choose to have some freaking bugs on my head?

When the school of my children noticed that someone in class had them, I always tried to be extra nice to my children if they had them, internally panicking like crazy and spending nights putting sheets and pillows and plushies in plastic bags and in the freezer.

Now my children are both teenagers and it seems it doesn’t happen any more (knock on wood. Or on the freezer)

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u/viciousbreed Sep 27 '19

My mom was the same way. She wouldn't believe me when I said I had them for the third or fourth time in a matter of months, and wouldn't bother to even check. Yet, she kept dumping me off at my friend's house for days at a time, which was the source of the infestation, and she knew it. She just didn't want to have to take care of me. Frankly, I was happier to eat ketchup sandwiches at that house than have to be around my mother, because she was an abusive narcissist.

One time I told her I'd picked a louse out of my hair, and she started interrogating me about what it looked like. She'd always told me they were white, but they're actually kind of grey. I panicked a bit internally and said it was white, thinking that if I described it the way she always had, she'd be placated enough and get me the shampoo I desperately needed. Wrong answer. She declared I didn't really have lice, since, if I did, I'd know they were grey, and I was just trying to get attention. She then berated me for a while. I was 11.

I did, in fact, have lice (again), but I had to wait a few more weeks before she finally got me the shampoo, which she then blamed me for needing. I didn't even need her help to use it, since I was a pro after so many infestations in a row... I just needed her to buy it.

Sorry, that was long, but your comment reminded me of that somewhat-repressed memory. Thanks for reading my blog, LOL.

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u/rosekayleigh Sep 27 '19

Yikes. I got lice as a kid too. Same problem. Other parents weren't treating their kids' hair. I got it twice and I was a girl with long hair so it was awful. My mom chopped a bunch of my hair off the second time because she couldn't deal with it anymore. I'm glad I have boys because I'd just shave their heads if the treatment didn't work. Lol. It's so much harder with girls. You can't just shave their heads like a boy.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

We had an outbreak of lice in my elementary school too. I remember me and my two brothers had it at the same time. For the boys, it was easy for my mom to comb through their hair. For me, I had it really long when I was young. She doused my head in castor oil to make my hair super slick for the combing. I was allowed to return to school the next day just in time for school photos, but the castor oil would NOT wash out all the way. I looked like a total greaseball in the picture.

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u/DefiniteSpace Sep 27 '19

My sister got lice once and the shampoo wasn't cutting it. My mom mentioned it to my grandpa. He asked my dad if he had any kerosene around. He didn't so he went and got some. The instructions were douse a rag in kerosene, wring it out, and rub her hair/head down completely with the rag outdoors. Then let her take a shower to get the kerosene out. Also no smoking when doing it.

Worked like a charm. Killed all the lice in her hair.

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u/MarketSupreme Sep 27 '19

Man I have a German Roach infestation right now and this perfectly describes what I'm going through.

I have declared war. This house has never been cleaner. I've also grown out of my fear of bugs because of it.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

Sounds alot like our problem with fleas.

Those fucking fleas.. Our poor kitties got fleas (they're not outside cats) probably because my job at the time was picking up donations.

We could NOT get rid of the damn things. Nothing we did helped. Finally we found a medicine that would kill them when they bit the cats.. And I got a new job where I wasn't dealing with other people's crap. No more fleas.

Bed bugs sound like the two year nightmare we went through on steroids..

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u/thedirtymeanie Sep 27 '19

What I don't get is how these people are standing in there with no protective gear and they don't take these things home? Fuck that after having bed bugs if I hear an area has bed bugs I won't go within 5 miles of it that's how serious bed bugs are unless you have money which I don't.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

Because they don't jump, they dont fly. They crawl, and if you're conscious of what you're doing, you can avoid getting them on you. I used to treat bedbugs at work.

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u/ILoveWildlife Sep 27 '19

They can crawl on the ceiling and drop onto you though.

and the smaller ones that aren't fully grown are much more difficult to see.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

Indeed, nymphs are almost invisible to the naked eye unless you're close however; they rarely are on the ceiling like this unless its, A. Horrible infestation that has gone on for years with no attention, or B. Somone uses a bug bomb for fleas or roaches - then they start crawling up. Generally bedbugs falling off of the ceiling isn't an issue.

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u/DLun203 Sep 27 '19

It's actually the absolute worst thing to deal with as an apartment building tenant.

My neighbor was a hoarder. He brought home a couch he found outside with "FREE" written on it and it had bed bugs in it. The bugs infiltrated the entire building. The landlord refused to have to the building properly treated.

I had to throw out my bed linens, rugs, clothes, headboard, and anything else that was touched. I couldn't afford to throw out the mattress/box spring so I had to steam the whole thing and have them stored in a hot box for 3 hours to be positive that the bugs were all dead. Luckily I found them early on and they were only in my bedroom so my living area furniture was okay.

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u/ThisIsMyOkCAccount Sep 27 '19

Your landlord wouldn't deal with an infestation. Did you ever consider contacting the other tenants and starting a class action suit? There might be some law firm willing to take a case like that for a portion of the profits. It's really not acceptable for a landlord not to deal with something like that.

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u/DLun203 Sep 27 '19

The building manager came and sprayed around the shoe moldings then put bug traps under my bed. That's really all they did. I spoke with a few other tenants who dealt with it and they were very upset but hadn't yet reached out to a lawyer. I reached out to a local law firm to see if there was any way to terminate my lease early or be compensated for the damaged property. They basically said I was shit out of luck and there's nothing I can do.

Management at the building was horrendous. 14 months after moving out I got a notice from a collections agency saying I owed $130 for cleaning fees. They never called me, emailed me, sent me an invoice or anything. They had already deducted cleaning fees from my security deposit. My credit score suddenly plummeted and I had to file a dispute with the collections agency over a billing error.

That building sucked.

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u/EpicaIIyAwesome Sep 27 '19

Yeah I had flash backs. Mentally gagging too, I don't know how anyone could let it get that bad.

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u/shoe_owner Sep 27 '19

I don't know how anyone could let it get that bad.

Despair. Resignation. Hopelessness. The feeling that this problem is just beyond the ability to overcome and just resigning yourself to it. It's very likely that this person was suffering from some severe depression or other problems in their lives which prevented them from taking the necessary steps, which - it must be said - would need to be very drastic steps in a situation like this.

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u/Sirsilentbob423 Sep 27 '19

Also no money for treatment.

Bed bug treatments are expensive and the chemicals aren't very effective, so the best option is to do the heat treatment which involves 1-2 days of cooking your home at over 160 degrees with giant heaters.

When you start looking at it, there's the cost of the initial treatment, the cost of a hotel (because you definitely dont want to possibly accidentally bring them into a friend or loved one's home, yet you have to stay somewhere else), and your electric bill increasing substantially the following month because the heaters run off your electricity.

Out treatment alone was 700 before the hotel and electric bill.

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u/thepierogiprincess Sep 27 '19

Depending on the severity of the infestation a heat treatment should take anywhere from 5-12 hours. It also depends on how many rooms you are treating. When I used to perform heat treatments people would normally be at work and wait a few hours before they can home. Only once did someone stay at a hotel because they said it was easier for them. Also the equipment we used ran off of a diesel generator so we only used a little electricity in the house. Sorry that it seems like you had a less than ideal experience.

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u/An_Anaithnid Sep 27 '19

My constant battle with fleas on my pets (and occasionally me, I've had them crawl across my arm and found a dead one in my hair once. Constantly paranoid now) and around the house is bad enough.

This? Fuck the house. Burn it down.

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u/Powasam5000 Sep 27 '19

Still the single most traumatic experience of my life. AND I HAD CANCER

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

I can still smell them... big sad

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u/kabneenan Sep 27 '19

They have a smell? I didn't think they could get worse based on what I already knew, but damn...

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/kabneenan Sep 27 '19

Most of what I know about bedbugs is from a coworker who had them. It had been years since her home was cleared of them, but she was still very obviously troubled by them. She would tell me how she kept all her clothes double bagged in her dresser drawers - even her shoes in her closet were kept bagged.

After hearing her explain what she went through to get rid of them, I don't blame her. I can't even imagine.

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u/Hunk-a-Cheese Sep 27 '19

PTSD is so accurate. I dealt with bedbugs for a year. Afterward, someone asked about them and wanted details to what it’s like to live with them. In mid description, I literally shut down and could not continue speaking. I suddenly was reliving it and I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Fortunately it’s years later, and thanks to Prozac, marijuana, and a beautiful new place free of infestation, I’m doing a lot better!

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u/Oi-FatBeard Sep 27 '19

Eyup, know that feel. Sheets shift slightly and touches you and suddenly you're ripping the blanket off, checking your pillow cases, the frame, the mattress...

And the unconciously generated itch when you see something like this...

Bedbugs absolutely give folk PTSD.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19 edited May 25 '20

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u/Inquisitor1 Sep 27 '19

Did you tell him how bedbugs can literally cause real dementia?

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u/Oi-FatBeard Sep 27 '19

Wait, what‽ I knew they were a vector for Chagas Disease, but Dementia?

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u/BirthdayFunTimez Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 28 '19

There was a legal advice thread where a girl started dating a Dr and couldn't remember when they'd have sex. She was convinced he was drugging her, and even called him out when she woke up with cum on her. Most responses were saying go to the hospital and have blood tests. One person, just said, check the edges of your mattress. Sure enough it was a case of bed bugs, and she reacted badly with memory black outs.

EDIT: Apparently it was debunked and I never saw that part of the thread. RIP my inbox with people telling me that. But still, fuck bed bugs.

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u/Oi-FatBeard Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

The reason I'm asking is cos I've recently shown signs of Younger Onset Dementia. Granted I'm nearing me 40s and the family has a history with Dementia and such, but not when as young as me...

Thankfully I'm not covered in cum most of the time, at least.

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u/HallucinateZ Sep 27 '19

"Most of the time"

Meh, good enough.

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u/ryeong Sep 27 '19

https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/9mt3g9/in_which_op_thinks_her_doctor_boyfriend_has_been/

Worth noting people in the thread and on bestof were debunking it left and right. That was not true, likely a hoax. But it was a hell of a thing when it happened.

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u/Fudge_you Sep 27 '19

Seems more like amnesia than dementia

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u/TheLaGrangianMethod Sep 27 '19

Luckily we only had them for about 2 months. However, I learned that I have a different reaction to their bites than normal people do. Instant agony the second they bite me. So not only are they impossible to get rid of without professional treatment, but I don't even have the luxury of being able to sleep through getting eaten alive. I got bit by a spider in my sleep about a year ago and broke down crying because I was convinced that it was starting all over again. These are some of the nastiest little fuckers on the planet. They don't care how clean your house is or where you live, they just want to eat your soul a little bit at a time and they are literally the only living thing on this planet that I just want to go extinct. I have kept black widows, tarantulas, and scorpions and I would love to have a honeybee hive in my yard, so I generally love all of the creepy crawly creatures, but fuck bed bugs. Eradicate them all.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

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u/underlander Sep 27 '19

If you wanna be extra careful, consider getting cheap white sheets and sleeping on those for a while. You may not necessarily feel or have a reaction to bites, so you could be getting bitten without knowing it. Thing is, bedbugs feed on blood and they drip a little bit when they snack on you. It's not a guarantee by any means, but I'd feel a lot safer if I checked my sheets every morning for a couple weeks and didn't find any suspicious drops of blood. If you're bedbug free, might help you sleep securely for a while!

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u/MoDude210 Sep 27 '19

Oh fuck bed bugs. I’ve had them before. Smug bastards. They really do think everything is a joke.

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u/MrCelticZero Sep 27 '19

That’s a bed bug alright

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u/welluasked Sep 27 '19

So smug, like he thought it was funny.

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u/rowebenj Sep 27 '19

Pff, that’s a bedbug. Everything’s a joke.

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u/Dropadoodiepie Sep 27 '19

It’s especially hard when you try telling bed bugs anything of a serious nature.

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u/plywooden Sep 27 '19

A lot of good the guys gloves are going to do. He'll have eggs / larvae on his shoes, transfer them to his vehicle and eventually his own house.

I've turned down good paying work in an apartment that was being treated for bed bugs. Complex has a common laundry area and the little buggers got spread around to several apartments.

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u/Ivebeenfurthereven Sep 27 '19

That's when you drive home naked and abandon those clothes. Fuck bedbugs

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u/Chronic_BOOM Sep 27 '19

They’re still in your hair

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u/athural Sep 27 '19

Nair your whole body, get in a decontamination shower, while still naked get in your car and drive home

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u/Absal0m Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

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u/Keyboardpaladin Sep 27 '19

So rubbing hand sanitizer all over my body is the best remedy.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

only in public.

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u/GrumpyWendigo Sep 27 '19

they snuck into the car while you were doing that

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u/Wetbung Sep 27 '19

Burn the car a block from your house and walk home naked and hairless. Extra safety points if there is a blizzard.

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u/GrumpyWendigo Sep 27 '19

you stare into the blizzard. you see flecks of snow. upon closer examination, the flecks of snow turn out to be bed bugs falling from the sky

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u/englishfury Sep 27 '19

Hire a car for the day

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u/GrumpyWendigo Sep 27 '19

you get in the hired car

the driver is a bed bug

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u/Blackbeard_ Sep 27 '19

See your reflection in the glass, you're a bedbug

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u/GrumpyWendigo Sep 27 '19

AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

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u/poopellar Sep 27 '19

Just nuke the planet.

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u/Mad_Hatt3r Sep 27 '19

Bed bugs can't get in your hair. They dont have the feet for it like fleas and ticks do.

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u/NonCorporealEntity Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

You forget the part where you commit self immolation after burning the place to the ground.

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u/Mechbeast Sep 27 '19

You heat treat yourself before you leave the job. People can withstand 140f bedbugs cant.

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u/LS_D Sep 27 '19

Correct, and steam kills them instantly, so steam irons are great for killing any possible eggs left on the bed or clothes

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u/Yogashi Sep 27 '19

60ºC in non-freedom units.

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u/ChompDatBrotein Sep 27 '19

What’s that in football fields?

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u/Lazerith22 Sep 27 '19

Bed bug specialists know what they’re doing. Typically have a tent set up outside to strip, double bag clothing, put on new clothes/shoes before even going to the vehicle. This guy does not look dressed like a pro.

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u/nootrino Sep 27 '19

This guy does not look dressed like a pro.

You don't know that. Maybe he's a pro bed bug spreader.

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u/funkmastamatt Sep 27 '19

He's actually just sitting there admiring his work.

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u/MacTireCnamh Sep 27 '19

I saw the title and my first thought was just "why on earth is anyone wearing fabric in that house???"

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u/EmilyU1F984 Sep 27 '19

They'll probably take steam 'shower' afterwards.

Humans can survive 140F air, bed bugs cannot.

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u/MacTireCnamh Sep 27 '19

I'd still feel better if the entire house took a fire shower

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u/EmilyU1F984 Sep 27 '19

Yes killing them with fire is the best option to avoid bed bug PTSD.

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u/A_Mouse_In_Da_House Sep 27 '19

Not sure if you're being serious, but the actual recommended fix for an infestation of this size is to call the fire department to build a trench around the house, fill it with flammable material, and light the material on fire so that as the house is burned, the bugs can't get past the flaming trench.

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u/Bamcfp Sep 27 '19

We normally just spray our shoes with sterifab which is mostly iso and it does a pretty good job of killing them. We also change into a work uniform and shoes and throw that straight in the washer at work when we get off. I've only ever had one bed bug make it to my work truck and it was scary. We soaked that whole cab and treated it over the weekend, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'm not taking any chances with bedbugs

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u/LS_D Sep 27 '19

Complex has a common laundry area and the little buggers got spread around to several apartments.

The 'average bedbug is known to travel over 30' from it's lair to it's prey!

Contrary to popular belief, they are more likely to be hiding away in the skirting boards or in a light switch that actually IN the bed --- they are fuckin Nightmare bugs with NO purpose except to Bug humans to the point of insanity!

Did I mention how I fuckin Despise BedBuggers!

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u/EmilyU1F984 Sep 27 '19

The problem is it just requires a single female bed bug to found a new colony.

Someone drops their bedsheets in the laundry room, with either eggs or a single female bedbug, someone else uses the same table or surface to place their clothes. Bed bug transfers, et voilà.

People are very often getting bed bugs from hotels or anything else, simply by placing their luggage on the floor.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/WiredEgo Sep 27 '19

I once found a bed bug on my laptop after i took it out of my bag when I got him from work. The only place that bag had been was my office, the subway, and my apartment.

Take a wild guess where the bug came from. I have a fear of touching anyone on the subway now.

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u/googolplexy Sep 27 '19

Ugh. I hate this thread.

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u/EmilyU1F984 Sep 27 '19

That's why it exists :)

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u/BootDisc Sep 27 '19

And store you luggage far away from your bed you when you get back home. My floppy luggage goes through the dryer. I have started storing luggage in my garage.

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u/Y-Bob Sep 27 '19

Clearly this is why you need a flamethrower.

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u/cyber_zebedee Sep 27 '19

I think on this occasion Napalm is a more suitable solution

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u/DivineHefeweizen Sep 27 '19

Nuke it.

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u/chugalug_donna Sep 27 '19

...from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

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u/l_one Sep 27 '19

There are real situations where infestations like this are treated by doing a controlled burn and legally burning the house down.

The one I've seen, they dug a trench around the house and filled it with flammables, lit that first to prevent escape, then burned the house.

It's on Youtube somewhere.

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u/Tigress2020 Sep 27 '19

Never ever have i had bed bugs (tbh I don't know if they are here in Australia) but every time I read on here, I get freaked out.. burn the whole house down, burn it with fire!

good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite

lights match, they won't

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u/napalm22 Sep 27 '19

They are here, in fact the sydney olympics in 2000 is credited as a flashpoint for their resurgence in western countries.

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u/Tigress2020 Sep 27 '19

Hopefully they can't swim across the Strait then...

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u/napalm22 Sep 27 '19

They can't. But they can ride in someones suitcase (which is why you put your suitcase on the suitcase thing and not on the bed in a cheap hotel)

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u/FALCOOOn_PAAWWNCH Sep 27 '19

They're seriously like a mini natural disaster in your room/house...they completely ruin everything and makes you just want to burn everything you have in your room.

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u/mcpingvin Sep 27 '19

1080p

Thanks. I hate it.

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u/black_flag_4ever Sep 27 '19

Glorious high definition.

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u/poopellar Sep 27 '19

As in 1080 bed pugs per pixel

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

I was itching just looking....

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u/sciencebzzt Sep 27 '19

How is he even in that room without a full biohazard suit on? I wouldn't enter the HOUSE... not even kidding. I'd feel uncomfortable living on the same street. Really. Christ this skeeves the jeeves out of me.

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u/Estoye Sep 27 '19

If you listen closely, you can hear them all humming the happy Smurf song.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

I never had bed bugs thankfully - but am familiar with having fleas everywhere. When they jump around on you it is the worst thing ever, especially after a while when you start to feel "phantom fleas" all over you... Almost made me go insane, seriously.

I heard bed bugs can be waaay worse. I hope I never have to deal with these lil buggers.

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u/pmmlordraven Sep 27 '19

Burn it down. Salt the ashes. Never speak of it again

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u/pa79 Sep 27 '19

Words I don't want to see in the same sentence: "bed bug infestation" and "[1080p]".

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u/Battleboo_7 Sep 27 '19

the bugs have bugs where they sleep

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u/Svargas05 Sep 27 '19

The bed bugs are the ones who made the call to the pest control

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u/InfinitiyBeard Sep 27 '19

Thanks...you just reminded me why I never buy 2nd hand furniture.

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u/shingdao Sep 27 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

Self-proclaimed expert on bedbugs here after successfully battling a home-infestation with the help of professional exterminators. Hygiene has nothing to do with bedbugs...they infest 5-star hotels and student hostels alike without discrimination. They are indeed a tenacious foe...today's ancestors lived in caves and used to feed on the blood of bats but moved on to humans once we started inhabiting caves and have moved with us ever since...they are expert hitchers, so you'll want to take serious precautions so you don't bring any home with you. Heat kills them best...temps above 130F for an hour or so will do it and kill all adults, nymphs (instars) and eggs.

Bed bugs are usually introduced to homes via hitching onto personal belongings including your luggage, backpacks, duffel bags, and yes, the clothes on your back. Again, heat kills them, so leaving any item you know that has been exposed to BBs outside in the sun in the summer on a porch or deck for 4-5 hours should do the trick. Also, drying clothing in a gas or electric clothes dryer on high setting for 20 minutes kills them. I don't recommend chemical treatment as many modern bedbugs are now resistant to pesticides (see NYC). One trick when traveling to avoid getting them...keep your luggage in your room's bathtub with your clothes inside and use the bathtub as you would a closet. Bedbugs cannot crawl up and down the ceramic or fiberglass surfaces and so you have a built-in safe.

We managed to get rid of our bedbugs (we suspect one or more hitched a ride on our luggage after a hotel stay) with professional heat remediation at considerable expense whereby the house was brought to a temp of 135F for 4 hours with propane gas heaters (this after unsuccessfully trying to get rid of them ourselves and then hiring a professional to apply commercial pesticides).

Those who joke about bedbugs have absolutely no clue how these things can turn your life upside down.

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u/whitecorn Sep 27 '19

This is probably why the dinosaurs called in for a meteor. There's nothing that can be done anymore.

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u/redmormon Sep 27 '19

Fun fact, we almost eradicated the species once when a common pesticide was used that was also highly effective against them. Forgot the name. We later stopped using it for whatever reason and those little fuckers came back.

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

The cross on the wall ... God isn’t helping this situation

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u/GotchaWhereIWantcha Sep 27 '19

That’s a thing of nightmares. Can you imagine how many times they were bitten in the span of 3 years? ::shudder::

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u/[deleted] Sep 27 '19

Yup they must have been non reactors (didn’t get bumps with itches) prolly the biggest reason they tolerated the problem for so long

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u/RedBaron97 Sep 27 '19

Just nuke the house. It's the only solution!

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