This is an account of the Bedbug War of May 2011. It was actually quite bloody for several months beforehand...all of it MY blood, thank you very much. But I won because I refused to ever, ever, be BITTEN or DRANK FROM again so that those little fricking bastards could multiply and bite me in more places more times.
And so, the war was on.
1. Had buggy mattresses removed and new ones put in place...but only AFTER the buggy ones were pesticided to death, the frame they had rested on washed down with soap, and the carpet vacuumed within an inch of its life six or seven times over.
2. All the sheets, blankets, pillows, and pillowcases, and the mattress pad were bagged up so that they wouldn't throw their damned infection of bug elsewhere. The pillows sans their cases had to be thrown away along with the mattress pad because of my inability to wash them to my satisfaction. The rest of the stuff was put outside when one bug tried to run across the kitchen floor last night. I figured they could run for their lives outside instead of back towards my new mattress.
3. Took all the sheets, blankets, and pillowcases and shook every damn creepy crawly off before I even took them into the laundromat, with help from a friend because trying to shake out a sheet by yourself is near to impossible when you're attempting to kill small insects at the same time.
4. Stuffed all the "infected" stuff in the dryer and dried it. Then washed it. Then dried it again. Then hauled it up the stairs from the car.
5. Found nymphs and eggs on the comforter and went over the whole thing with a piece of tape to pick them all off, then my friend came by with a flashlight and we went over the whole stupid thing again, seams and all. I didn't care if they were all dead already, I wasn't going to let one of them DEAD escape my notice, not after the hell I went through.
My sister added to my guilt over this whole business by e-mailing me pictures of my mother's welts from the bedbugs (joy to the world-my mother's ALLERGIC to the blasted things.) Thanks, Anna. I needed to feel more like dirt after the week I've had.
This isn't over yet; I still have to buy brand new pillows since all of my other ones are in the dumpster. I still have to buy a new cleaning rag because it got missed in all the washing today. I figured it wasn't worth a whole load by itself and just threw it away. I'm not replacing the mattress pad because A) didn't fit my bed anyway and B) it's just going to be a pain in the neck if I buy a new one and then in six months wind up pitching it out because I'm moving away.
And I'm still waiting to see if they re-emerge to bite me again. I have to wait a month or two. We'll know soon enough.
Doctor Who notes will be posted probably tomorrow. British TV Night is on and Doctor Who can wait for it to be over.
Ta,
Bec
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