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My husband and I recently dealt with an infestation of bat bugs, similar to bed bugs, that came into our house from bats that found their way into our attic. As anyone who has had to deal with a bed bug infestation knows, they are really difficult to get rid of (and my heart goes out to anyone living in a multi-family dwelling because then the difficulty increases exponentially as they can be eradicated in one unit, then travel back if they're not eliminated in ALL units). The problem is, if you have just one egg-bearing female in your apartment or home, or even just one egg that hatches into a female that is then able to get enough blood meals to mature, you can end up with an infestation. Some people don't react to the bites so they don't know they have bed bugs until they're quite widespread. We thought we were getting spider bites but then I found one of the bugs in our bed when I was making it up one morning. Cabrera is right. Finding insects in your bed and thinking about them crawling on you and feeding on you while you're asleep is super creepy.
For people who do react, the bites are generally found in twos and threes (or more), often along a vein. They can be very, very VERY itchy; sometimes they throb and ache. They can get infected easily. They take a long time to clear up. Reaction times vary as it may take a while for someone to develop a sensitivity. So you might not realize you're getting bitten (in a hotel, say) for a day or two. Which makes them easier to spread. They're exquisitely adapted for survival and dispersal, unfortunately.
This is what we had to do to get rid of them, and even then, it took three treatments by pest control professionals: Launder in hot water or dry clean every article of clothing we owned. Ditto for all linens, fabrics, carpets, wall-hangings, etc. We had to remove everything from every shelf, drawer, and closet so that the pest control guys could treat our furniture and closets, as the bugs will hide there. We had to take the covers to all our switch plates and outlet plugs off because they will get inside your walls via those routes. We had to remove the lighting fixtures near our bed, too. We had to pull every stick of furniture away from the walls so that the baseboards could be treated. We have our futon/buton combination on a platform, so I took that apart and sealed every single crack and crevice. We put our futon and buton in a mattress cover designed for dust mites and were advised to keep it on there for eighteen months. We vacuumed every speck of our bedroom and adjoining office. Then we had our first treatment of pyrethrins (a contact poison), a residual (ground limestone and cornmeal applied along the baseboards, window trim, tongue-in-groove ceiling, etc.), and a hormone that prevents the males from maturing. This three-pronged attack is recommended by most professionals, to my knowledge. Three weeks later, we did it again. We went away for two weeks, and when we came back, we got a few more bites, so we treated a third time. It's important not to vacuum after the treatments so that you don't remove the residual. And of course, we had to get the bats out of our attic, which was a whole ordeal in and of itself.
This, as you can imagine was a ton of work. It was exhausting. And we're still not moved back in until we're absolutely sure the bugs are gone. We haven't had any bites or seen any sign of them for three weeks, so we're cautiously optimistic that we finally eliminated them. I've heard that if, after a month, there are no signs of them, you can reasonably safely assume you're in the clear. You could skip some of the above steps I mentioned, but again, remember, if you miss just one, you can have a re-infestation on your hands. It's worth being thorough the first time.
Another thing you can do, while you're getting rid of these insects, is to move your bed away from the wall and coat the legs of the bed with Vaseline or wrap them in carpet tape--this is if you're sure your bed itself is safe. This can prevent ones that reside elsewhere from getting in your bed.
In a multi-unit dwelling, it goes without saying, every unit needs to be treated, but the cost of this is pretty staggering and it's not suprising some landlords would not want to do this. But it does seem that this increase could well be headed for an epidemic if this pest is not dealt with aggressively and immediately. I react quite strongly to the bites. They're horrible. And I haven't had a really good night's sleep since we realized what we were dealing with. It's worth taking precautions while you're traveling to avoid bringing them home. Some experts recommend traveling with a black plastic garbage bag and placing your luggage in it and sealing it closed when you stay in hotels. Of course, don't unpack your bags. A pain, but much less of a pain than trying to rid your home or apartment of them after the fact.
Good luck to anyone having to deal with this awful situation.
Celeste White
