Dont let the bed bugs bite!

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS ARTICLE MAY SEEM BORING, BUT PLEASE READ IT FULLY. IF YOU HAVE EVER USED A SUITCASE EVEN ONCE IN THE PAST YEAR, THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY RELEVANT FOR YOU

Snug as a bug in a rug. This phrase has lost all its cuteness for me. I read an article today in the New York Times about the rampant spread of bed bug infestation.

I was a victim too, in April this year. Here is the story.

For a period of over three weeks, I kept waking up in the morning with a swollen eye, swollen cheek, reddish bumps on my hands, neck etc. I spent days cleaning my apartment, and laundering my bed clothes, and still, there was no use. I even saw a dermatologist who promised me that I did not have any mysterious skin ailment.

Then finally, I had a breakthrough. I woke up in the middle of one night, as I could feel this intense irritating pain on my elbow. I immediately turned on the light, and there it was!!!! This big horrendously fat bed bug happily sucking the life out of my hand! Bed bugs are tiny little creatures, almost invisible normally. But when they feed, they bloat up to many times their original size, and are like these little balloons. I squashed the little son of a %^&$!!@ and from then on, it was an all out war.

I am a vegetarian, and I try not to kill insects, but the bed bugs were a different story altogether. I checked out a number of articles online and even called a few pest extermination specialists. They scared the living daylights out of me, by making it sound as though the only way I could be bed bug free was to move out of my apartment and BURN all my worldly belongings (really, no exaggeration. Apparently you cannot get away with just using baygon spray)

Well, to cut a long story short, I decided to take matters in my own hands and did the following:
1) Threw out my mattress, box springs, and all the bed clothes
2) Sprayed a bug repellant spray (specially for bed bugs on the mattress frame)
3) Sprayed the replacement mattress and box springs thoroughly with the repellant spray, and then covered the entire mattress and box springs with plastic mattress bags (so that if the replacement mattress had any bugs, they could not crawl out of the plastic bag)
4) Bought brand new pillows, sheets, comforters etc
5) Wiped the surface of all the furniture in my bed room with the bug spray (WARNING: i dont have children or pets, if you do, do not do this)
6) Vaccum cleaned the floor EVERY DAY (to get rid of eggs)
7) PRAYED
8) PRAYED
...100) PRAYED

Thankfully, the above steps eliminated the problem for me. I was really shocked to have had this problem, as I am very good with cleaning my apartment, and I launder the bed clothes almost every other week. Apparently, the bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness. Even the most spotless bedrooms could be infested. Bed bugs were eradicated a few decades back in the USA. However, over the past few years, most of the insecticide sprays have become pretty mild, and DDT has been banned in the USA. International travellers brought the bed bugs with them (via suitcases etc) and the bugs immediately made their way back into American homes, with no threat from the weak insecticides.

So, how do you protect yourself?
1) When you travel, keep your suitcase away from your bed in the hotel. When you return home and unpack your suitcase, DO NOT keep the suitcase on the bed. Better still, try not to bring your suitcases into the bedroom

2) Do not buy used mattresses or box springs.

3) When you buy new mattresses, there is the danger of them being placed along with old mattresses (that the delivery guy picked up) in the delivery vehicle. Make sure you vacuum all the surfaces of your new mattress and box springs before you make your bed

4) Check your mattress and box springs for tears, holes etc. If you see any, immediately cover them very tightly with tape

5) PRAY