In over 20 years in the pest control business, I have seen some crazy things. Hopefully you’ll be entertained by some of the stories I have to share.
I remember one apartment I visited; wait.. Maybe “never forget” is a better term. Either way, I first met with the resident to discuss the issue. As I was talking to the lady, she was telling me how she was getting bitten alive—right before my very eyes, while she was speaking, a bedbug crawled over her shoulder and around her neck. She just kept on talking like it wasn’t happening. I was about 12 feet away and could see the bedbugs on the arm of her chair. I just didn’t get it… I couldn’t imagine living with that many bedbugs and not letting the apartment manager know about the problem sooner. In situations like these, the tenant had not only spread them throughout her building, but very likely any other place she may have visited.
Bedbug corpses, droppings, and eggs along floorboard
This is not the first person I had seen with bedbugs crawling on them. Here, we see a plastic-type baseboard molding in a bedroom. Notice the droppings, bedbugs, and skins all in one area where a box and some clutter were up against the wall. The resident’s jacket was on the chair and just for the heck of it I turned the collar up. Guess what? Yep! Bedbugs and eggs. Bedbug eggs are so tiny I never thought I would be able to see them, but on a dark surface (such as a jacket collar) they show up quite nicely. This is another person who has spread bedbugs around to every place he visited.
Speaking of clutter take a look at the next picture:
Unfit for human habitation
This apartment is pretty much unfit for human habitation. It got worse as I looked for a place to start treatment. Because of the extreme clutter, I couldn’t even find a place to begin. You can imagine the challenges we have in trying to treat bedbugs in situations like these. The tenant was given a notice three times to clean up. This photo was taken after the third notice. I only wish I had taken pictures after the first notice.
More great pictures and stories to come. Stay tuned!
I work for a independent living program we have 8 apartments only three tenants complained about being bitten. Three units were treated twice, now the bugs have spread throughout the entire building. Another company has treated all of the units and we still have the bugs, any advice will be appreciated
Naylor I want to start off by saying Im sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We have been really busy.
Most of the chemicals on the market only work on contact due to the EPA standards. They offer a short residual time once sprayed on a surface. The most effective way to treat bed bugs is with heat, steam, or liquid nitrogen. You can also try a product called Mothers Earth D. Its a powder that dries the bugs molecules out. It takes a few days to work, but its pretty effective. Run a small bead along the common walls and that will cut down on traffic.
Best of luck and if you need any other help let us know.