BedBugs

Well for a few months I've suspected that something wasn't right in my suite.  I had way more "hives" than normal and then I saw a few weird bugs around the place on a few separate occasions.  So being a librarian at heart I took to the internet to research what bug this was....turns out it was my worst nightmare....BEDBUGS had moved in with me.  So I searched for traces but couldn't find anything....hmmm...weird I thought maybe it wasn't anything...cuz who wants to admit to bedbugs.  However, the bites continued and I saw them a few more times....okay war was declared.  I told my landlord they came in looked saw nothing and said I was mistaken. So I kept watch and put some dust down that said it killed bedbugs, ants etc.  however this seemed to encourage them because I saw them more....which needless to say was starting to freak me out.  So I went back to the landlord and said I was going to call an exterminator so finally they agreed to have the exterminator come in to check.  Today he came and today I was vindicated yes I have bedbugs.  The dust apparently doesn't kill them it just drives them out and forces them to spread....so in doing the wrong thing I kind of did the right thing.  So Thursday to my equal stress and delight they are coming to spray and KILL the little bastards.

The stress is that Thursday is my midterm for this 3 week course I'm taking and I have this list of things I'm supposed to do to prep for the exterminator.  As well everything needs to by washed that's touched the floor or bed.  Since laundry is expensive in my building and there are only 8 machines for 20 floors of suites I'm packing everything into garbage bags and taking it to my parents to use their machines.  I asked the Orkin guy and he said the chance of me infesting their place is low if I keep the things outside until they go into the machine to be washed.  As well I and my cat have to stay out of my suite for 24 hours after treatment.  Normally I'm anti chemicals but in this case I just want the suckers DEAD.

Thankfully bedbugs are like lice fairly easy to kill and don't carry any germs but there is social stigma around having them.  I thought about not sharing this information but I think people need to know that bedbugs are very active in Canada right now and many people have them who didn't do anything wrong.  However they are quite easy to treat but the most important thing is to call a reputable exterminator ASAP.  So please don't judge me harshly or avoid me and my home after it's treated.  I'd hate to feel like I have the plague just because I got a few evil roommates.

Apparently they could have already been in my suite just dormant until it got warm (for once my liking my place cold is a benefit) or I picked some up at the University (which is apparently a hotbed for bedbugs) especially since I have brought in textiles and display items several time.  It's rarer to get them the second way but I did have stuff that was left at the Uni for a few days at a time.  I suspect they were here when I moved in because at the beginning I did have an allergy attack(hives) that I thought might be something in my new suite.  However, it cleared up once fall got cooler (they go dormant in cold).