The War on Terror

After a week away all I wanted to do was sleep in my own bed and get back to a routine. But, life had other plans. We went to bed Sunday night curious about some random bug bites and confirmed Monday morning we had bedbugs. We did not see one, but there was a little blood on the mattress and a blood mark on the pillowcase.
Day 1 Monday. I began bagging and washing. I covered our apartment with Diamoceous Earth (DE). EVERYTHING had to be washed and/or dried. Pillows, comforters, clothing, couch blankets, dog beds, dirty laundry, etc. If it couldn't be washed and it was fabric it had to go in the dryer for 20 minutes. I called the management company that afternoon after finding out that NYC requires them provide extermination for us and though we have not been on the best terms Pony Wong reacted immediately.
Day 2 Tuesday. More bagging and dismantling for the exterminator. Everything on the walls, all my art, my canvases and drawing pads, the printer, everything on the bedside tables (including lights). Every single thing had to be sprayed, bagged, or tossed. The exterminator did not see one bug either-and told us that was a good sign.

This is the chemical (imagine soaking your apartment with a hose) with the DE mixed in it. There was so much pesticide that there were pools of it drying in the apartment. He sprayed the mattress (which I have subsequently found out you are not suppose to do) and every crack and crevice and piece of furniture. It gives perspective to have nice things, and then have them soaked in pesticide. I could do little in the apartment waiting for it to dry and luckily the dogs were at Whistle. I committed myself to bagging and washing and making trips to the hardware store. I used foam sealant in the large gaps leading to our downstairs neighbor's place (who was conveniently getting a new mattress but said he was not infected).
Days 3 and 4 Wednesday and Thursday. Pesticide had to stay down for a few days. I was sleeping on the dog beds all lined up in a row, and Kurt was on the couch. Everyday was shifting bags from one place to another. Our pillow and mattress protectors arrived as did our the blow up bed we ordered. Thank heaven for my Amazon prime membership! I got 2 day shipping for free, and one day shipping for 3.99.
I chose a brand made in the US with a 10 year warranty.
By Wednesday I had caulked the majority of the apartment, and finished on Thursday. I went through 9 bottles of clear latex caulk filling every crack and crevice. Every gap in my floor tiles. I had to fill any holes outside my apartment that could provide potential entry-around the doorframe, floor, and the water heater/electric pipes.
Thursday I mopped up the chemicals and begin washing it off everything I could in the tub. The rest I did by hand. I dried everything up on the roof-including my huge vinyl matt (which I also mopped up there and carried up buckets of water to rinse it off).
Not being able to see the chemicals, or breath in the DE dust now laced with pesticide brought instant phycological relief.
How we slept. Every morning we had to deflate the bed and bag everything we slept in.
Day 5: Friday. Now that the floors were cleaned the dogs were allowed to pick out a toy and the rest got rebagged.
Injuries. Turns out that foam sealant which was stuck to my hands all week takes the skin off.
After having foam sealant permanently attached to my skin for 3 days I opted for gloves.
I finished and recaulked any large gaps before beginning project number 3,000.
This is an example of all the spacings I had to caulk. Anywhere a bug the size of a poppy seed could lodge itself had to be sealed.
Next-I covered the floors and all applicable furniture with polyurethane.
2 coats. Took about 6 hours of my day Friday. Weller stayed on the couch, probably from the fumes. The Frencies were at Whistle.
In between the coats of Shallac I did my final 3 loads of bagged laundry (clothes we wear all the time) and re-bagged in the giant Ziplocs for easier access (imagine yourself digging through trash bags trying to get dressed everyday).
Now the clothes are back where they belong. Getting dressed is still a pain.
"X" means it needs to be sanitized. I was waiting for my secret weapon, which was scheduled to arrive Monday. Anything that couldn't be washed or sprayed (electronics, valuables, etc).
Socks and underwear before they could go back into the very shallaced bedside tables.
Mopping under the bed and preparing to polyurethane. That entire bed was covered as well. Anther reason not to have IKEA furniture. All the particle board exposed on the back, bottoms, and insides of the furniture are ideal places for bedbugs. I had to first cover those areas with caulk and then polyurethane. You can also see the mattress cover on. It has to stay in place for a year.
Polyurathane-ing the bed supports. Probably really freaked that neighbor out. Pony Wong called me and told me to do this-she had bedbugs herself previously and was very kind.
Another favorite hiding spot. We covered all of them. A problem with our apartment is it has not been renovated in over 12 years (which is why we have a tense relationship with management)-it's full of holes and gaps and mystery passages into the walls and ceiling. All I could do around the bases of the ceiling lights was apply tape.
Our bedside tables-refilled with socks and underwear and the decorations that have to stay bagged.
This is Friday night. Floors are done, everything is waiting for sterilization on Monday. It looks a mess, but it was the most normalacy we'd had in a long time. All the bags were kept on the bed....
And we could access our clothes again.
Days 6 and 7 Saturday and Sunday.
Just waiting until we can do more. The weather was beautiful so we were able to get out. I had already emailed all my teacher that I would have no project due to the situation. Apparently he had dealt with it too so was very understanding.
Day 8 Monday: 91% Isopropyl alcohol kills on contact. I sprayed the the bed, around, and under and every just about everything else in the apartment.
2 packages arrived. These are the Ziploc totes for sterilizing.
And this is my secret weapon.
Day 9 Tuesday. Everything went into the bags with a strip. Kills adults in larvae in 48 hours and if you leave it a week will kill all the eggs. All these bags went under the bed-tagged and dated.
Good thing I got a 10 year warranty. Went to make the bed and found my cover was ripped. I taped it and called the company who sent my replacement that day.
The last of the bags. This is all the extra pillows from the bed and living room, and all the blankets for the bed and living room.
And the bedroom. Those are paintings and posters that wouldn't fit under the bed. Still looks a mess to you I'm sure, but to us I cannot even describe the sense of relief.

I'm still waiting on my replacement foam mattress topper and the cover I had to purchase separately. To say it was a long week is an understatement. To make matters more complicated I spilled water on my computer which is now on the outs. $1280 to have it repaired. All the dogs had appointments at the vet for vaccines, infections, and tooth repair-another $500. And, bedbug running total is $576.45 not including the laundry-which had to be between $50 and $60.

So, what have I learned? Bedbugs come out of thin air and do not discriminate. Wear gloves if the bottle says to. Breathing chemicals and insecticide and DE dust for a week causes constant and instant nosebleeds. Kurt is an amazing teammate-what could have caused conflict only made us stronger. There is a sweetness to the wisdom of an emergency fund because things will happen, such is life. And for our single income family, this was not an ideal use of finances, but we are covered. I hope that encourages you to make sure you set aside 3-6 months of your living expenses.

I was tempted to take the church up on their offer to send the mission team from Georgia over to help me-I could just imagine all those southern kids de-bed-bugging this place. For the first time in my life I was thankful for only 400 square feet. Thankful for getting rid of the old Ikea wardrobes and replacing it with ELFA shelves in September. Modern furniture with metal legs (bedbugs have a hard time climbing metal) and leather. Thankful I'm not working, so someone could deal with the overwhelming amount of physical and emotional work. Thankful that the computer still works-even with all it's new "quirks". Thankful for the warm weather so we could leave the windows open and air out every day last week. Thankful for the tremendous amount of support-offers to stay at other's homes, offers to watch the dogs, offers over and over for any help that could be provided. Thankful the guy I rear-ended while moving the car for street cleaning was nice and there was no damage. For Will, Clint, Corrine, Janna, my parents, Nicole, Missy, the Outsiders, Graffiti, and Mandy-who offered to come back out and help me through it. In all this madness, I see nothing but blessings. I have been called by name, I serve the King of the bedbugs.

War is weak after all-it can't destroy everything.