Bed bugs - I'd always associated them with low-rent apartments from literature. That was my initial association, anyway.
This was back in August, and I started getting bitten, mostly on my hands, but later on my legs too. I was scratching and getting irritable, but it was summer, it was hot, and I had my windows and balcony open. No mosquito netting, of course. I kept telling my friend, 'Someone's biting me!' but I couldn't see any mosquitoes in the flat. And she said, 'Maybe it's bed bugs?' I just laughed it off. I mean, come on, bed bugs? What, was my place some kind of dump?
Bites
I remember noticing these black spots on my pillow, like someone had drawn with a felt-tip pen. And I'm thinking, 'Why are the kids drawing on their pillow?' They're 15 and 17, for crying out loud! But my brain just wasn't cooperating.Turns out, those spots are actually bed bug feces. Who knew?
After a couple of weeks of denial, I finally decided to take action. I had a double bed with a storage drawer underneath, which I was using to store the kids' old clothes - I couldn't bear to throw them away, and nobody else wanted them.
And then I saw these plump, brown bugs scurrying under the bed frame. I have a steam cleaner, so I thought, 'No big deal, I'll just blast them with steam.' But, as it turned out, that wasn't enough. It took me three days to steam clean the mattresses, and the bites just kept coming.
I went online and started researching. That's when I came across something called 'Hector.' I ordered it on Amazon, and let me tell you, if you're going to buy it, get the three-pack - it's cheaper that way.
By then, the flat was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable, especially around the bed. When I sprayed Hector everywhere, the bed bugs scurried out into plain sight. I was seeing them of all shapes and sizes - big, small, brown, and even transparent. It was disgusting, unsettling, and just plain terrifying.
At first, I tried to catch them and squash them with tissues, but that was just a nightmare. I mean, who wants to spend their evening hunting down bed bugs?
I spent many sleepless nights reading and re-reading stories from people who'd gone through the same ordeal. I even learned how to sleep in a way that would keep them away: tucking my pants into my socks, wearing my shirt and jacket, and pulling up the hood. Thanks to all of you!
I tried Hector's trick with the bedding, sprinkling it with powder and sealing it in a plastic bag. I even drew a circle around the edges like they do in the book 'Viy.' It was a funny phrase that kept popping up in my head: 'Congratulations, you're now living on a construction site!'
And that's exactly what it felt like: I pushed my bed away from the wall, dusting everything I could reach - the bed frame, the floor beneath it, the walls, the curtains, the baseboards, and the closets. My daughter's room was treated the same way.
I was jumping out of bed at night, flicking on the lights, and catching 1-2 of them because they were attracted to heat and human scent. At one point, I'd had enough - it was mid-October, and our home was a disaster zone. I'd already spent 3 cans, but I wasn't being frugal. I'd sprinkle the powder thickly, especially when I saw the trails they'd leave behind.
Hector in the canI started using a glass jar, filling it with Hector and pouring the powder in, because I'd begun to doubt its effectiveness. Yet, despite the dryness of my hair and the loss of moisture on my face, I held onto the hope that Hector would do the trick. And I remembered that phrase from this site: 'Be patient.' So I waited, and sure enough, the bigger ones would thrash about for 3 days before finally dying.
It lasted for 2 months - the longest 2 months of my life!
And then, one day, I finally got rid of them. No more bed bugs. Hooray, they're gone! I spent 2 months cleaning my apartment, and the sense of calm returned to my home.
Hector is still in the bed frame and under the bed, untouched. Later, my neighbor asked me if we had any outlets in the adjacent wall, and I replied that we didn't. She warned me that bed bugs could crawl through the walls and infest our home as well. And, sure enough, they did.
I often wondered how they'd gotten here in the first place, and I read that they can even crawl through external walls of houses. I still don't know how they got here, but I ended up buying 5 cans of Hector. 2 of them remain unopened. And, yes, I did send all our bedding to the dry cleaners. I even had our pillows cleaned and re-stuffed, because bed bug bites can't be washed out.