I want to nuke the place from orbit and never look back

August 8, 2007 8:13 AM

How do you combat a bedbug problem with a new baby present?

When we first moved into our new apartment one month ago, I killed a small bug that I thought was a young cockroach. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was a bedbug. About two weeks ago, I woke up with what I thought were a couple of mosquito bites on my hand. Then, the next day, a couple more on my leg. I keep getting one or two a night. I just realized what's going on this morning when I found a single, small black smudge on the side of our box spring. I haven't shared this with my wife yet. She already hates the apartment, hates bugs, and is under enough stress taking care of the baby. She's going to lose her shit over this (and who can blame her?). I need to come up with a concrete plan of attack before I spring this hell on her.

Before this mess, we had already decided to leave the apartment and move out of state to be closer to our family, so I don't really care about long-term eradication. I just want to figure out how to leave with our things clean.

Here's my biggest concern: We have a two month old baby. He's been sleeping with us in the bed (He cries if we put him in his crib). So far, I'm the only one that's been bitten, thankfully, and obviously he's not staying in the bed anymore, but I don't know if it's even possible to spray for the bugs with a baby in the apartment.

This happened as soon as we moved in. I can't believe that the previous tenants never had any problems. I'm furious that they knew about this and didn't say anything. I don't know if the landlord had any prior knowledge, but she'll probably deny it, even if she did.

This is an old building with lots of woodwork and old hardwood floors with lots of crevices. I don't know the degree to which the place is infested, but I know we just moved in, so our bed can't be that bad off yet. We recently purchased a new, king sized bed and I don't want to have to get rid of it, if possible.

-Is it possible to combat a bedbug infestation with a baby in the apartment?
-Who's responsible for the cost of the exterminator and treatment? The tenant? the landlord? What about all the other expenses?
-Can a one bedroom apartment be considered livable while being treated?
-What kind of recourse do I have against the former tenant and/or landlord?
-Is this something you can break your lease over?
-Can you save your bed?
-How do you pack an entire apartment and ensure you don't carry the bugs with you?
-My father is supposed to visit on Monday to see his new grandson. Can he still stay with us?

This is in NYC.

posted by Gamblor to health & fitness (8 comments total)

Penelope Trunk mentions life with bed bugs and children in today's blog entry (point #3).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:24 AM on August 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Jesus, talk about timing. My wife just called me in to the bedroom to show me the bug she found on our matress (which I saved), so now it's confirmed. What a fucking mess.
posted by Gamblor at 8:24 AM on August 8, 2007

I'd absolutely recommend Bedbugger site which outlines the best ways to go about fighting the problem. I've never had the problem myself but I'm very interested in this growing epidemic, especially as I sometimes have to stay in hotels.
posted by rolypolyman at 8:27 AM on August 8, 2007

The landlord is responsible for the cost of exterminator but you might be in for a fight. Other expenses, such as dry cleaning, getting rid of furniture that might be housing the bugs, etc, is all on you unfortunately. I do not believe you can break your lease over it unless the landlord refuses to get an exterminator for a pretty long time.
If you've only gotten a few bites, your situation might not be too dire. We managed to stop what we believed to be a very minor infestation recently (after living through the hell of a exterminator-requiring one in another apartment) by doing the following:
1) Spraying raid around the bed and in all the joins in the bed frame. Also, the baseboards near the bed.
2) Spreading diatomaceous earth around the bed, on the bed frame, inbetween the mattress and box springs, and on top of the mattress. Does this stuff actually work against bedbugs? I don't know for certain, but it is relatively non-toxic to humans. More discussion on it here.

It is unlikely that you will have to get rid of your bed if you can stop the infestation early. If you let this go any longer, though...

Good luck. It's an unpleasant situation at best, but there are a lot of good internet resources out there to help. Don't freak out yet. If you try raid, vacuum, earth, etc, and none of that works, then you'll have plenty of time to freak out.
posted by ch1x0r at 8:33 AM on August 8, 2007

I believe that insect growth regulators are considered the first line of defense and are nontoxic to humans. Diatomaceous earth is more problematic (despite beeing seemingly "organic") because it's bad to inhale.
posted by footnote at 8:42 AM on August 8, 2007

Here is the U. of Kentucky's extension publication on bedbugs:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/entfactpdf/ef636.pdf

and from Purdue's extension page:

http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/ext/targets/e-series/EseriesPDF/E-249.pdf

Both publications advise that an infestation can only be taken care of by professionals.

"What Should I Do About a Bed Bug Infestation in My Residence?
Control of an infestation of bed bugs is very difficult and is best left to professional pest control companies that have both the approved insecticides and the application equipment to effectively treat the places where bed bugs hide. The representative
of the pest control company should examine the residence and describe any pre-treatment responsibilities of the homeowner. For example, eliminating or at least reducing
clutter in rooms to be treated is a necessity, and infested bedding may have to be discarded before the infestation is treated."

Bed bugs could have come in from another apartment, because they can travel through ducts, etc. They aren't associated with unclean conditions like roaches. IANAE in bedbugs, but I am an entomologist. Definitely have a good pest control company take care of it. Please don't try to do it yourself-you will be wasting your time and money. The pest control company will advise you of any health risks as far as with the pesticides they use. I don't know what the laws are in NY, you might be able to have the landlord cover the expenses. Good luck!
posted by bolognius maximus at 9:25 AM on August 8, 2007

Buy a plastic envelope for your mattress that you can seal. You can get one at the Container Store. Iron your mattress, especially along the seams, to destroy any eggs. Seal in plastic sleeve. That will at least limit the places they can hide, and if that's where they all are already, then you've contained the problem.

Your father should be very cautious-- he can SO EASILY wind up taking them home with him. Honestly it's not a good time for anyone to stay in your apartment. Be honest with him, send him links to the myriad news stories about the NYC epidemic so he understands how common this is.
posted by hermitosis at 9:27 AM on August 8, 2007

Is it possible to combat a bedbug infestation with a baby in the apartment?

I get some bedbug queries at my blog because I have a "Bedbug Genocide" series of blog entries that used to be linked on Wikipedia and had some Google traffic, too. One lady wrote to me having discovered her infestation while a week or two away from giving birth. I know she did get her apartment treated; how that precisely worked, I don't know, as I would've thought the child would've been particularly susceptible to the poisons used. Perhaps only contact-kill pesticides were used.

Who's responsible for the cost of the exterminator and treatment? The tenant? the landlord? What about all the other expenses?

The exterminator -- in *almost* all jurisdictions -- is the responsibility of the landlord. Make sure the landlord gets one, however, that actually knows how to treat bedbugs, and isn't just reusing techniques for generic bugs. Bug bombs, for example, are precisely the WRONG thing to do.

Can a one bedroom apartment be considered livable while being treated?

Not during the actual treatment itself, no. But I think you'd only have to be out of your apartment for eight to twelve hours at most.

What kind of recourse do I have against the former tenant and/or landlord?

I know that a Chicago hotel had a multimillion-dollar judgment against it thanks to giving bedbugs to someone. However, that was a case where they clearly had proof of where it came from. You'd have to ask a lawyer about how well a case you could build, but what objective proof do you have?

Is this something you can break your lease over?

It depends on where you live. In New York City, I don't believe you can break your lease unless the landlord is not properly treating the infestation.

Can you save your bed?

Yes. I threw away my bed, however, and personally, were I to find myself infested once more, I'd throw it away again. However, many people don't. I'd just rather not risk it.

How do you pack an entire apartment and ensure you don't carry the bugs with you?

I do not think there is a way you can be 100% sure that you move and leave all your bedbugs behind. Luck is involved. You can, however, minimize your chances as best you can. Essentially, what I did was to do everything I could to maximize the chances of me getting away bedbug-free. What I did was ask my exterminator how long the poison would be effective. I then resolved to move before the poison �expired,� which for me was about six to eight weeks after spraying. Spraying for bedbug usually involves emptying bookshelves and videoshelves, so that each crack and crevice of furniture can be sprayed. After the spraying, I unpacked everything (despite my upcoming move) so that any bedbugs that might�ve been in any of the things I packed up (between books� pages, etc.) would hunger, seek me out as food, cross the poison, and die. I then, shortly before my move, repacked, left, and crossed my fingers. I was able to keep my clothes in another, supposedly uninfested apartment next door after they were cleaned, although I had to move them back before I moved. That is pretty much all I did.

It is also going to be a function both of the size of your infestation and of luck. If you have a lighter infestation, it�s fair (I think, in my layman�s opinion) to say that your chances of moving without bringing them with you are better than if the infestation is, say, heavy. It also really is a matter of luck. From what I understand, there are people who have left behind everything they�ve owned � literally everything, even dressing in rather skimpy clothes � and still somehow manage to either (a) bring the bugs with them, or (b) have stumbled into a new infestation. That�s not something that happens each and every time, of course; in fact, my impression is that that sort of bad luck is a rare event. But I mention it only to convey that there is a certain degree to which you cannot control this.

My father is supposed to visit on Monday to see his new grandson. Can he still stay with us?

It is very possible he would could be bitten and/or could bring the bugs home with him. I would REALLY not risk staying at your place, were I him. If he does, however, when he gets home, have him strip in his garage down to his skivvies, put his clothes in a Zip-Loc bag, make sure it's tightly sealed, and empty it directly into the washer -- and do an extra hot dry cycle. And he should vacuum every single crevice of his luggage. More at Bedbugger.Com's FAQ and at this Ask Mefi question: http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/44029.

Recommended links for you: Bedbugger (highest marks -- if you check out anywhere, check it out), Wikipedia, MSNBC (also), me (also).

Drop me a line if I can be of any help.
posted by WCityMike at 5:58 PM on August 8, 2007