via The Atlantic
My daughter returned Friday night, from a fun and productive trip touring colleges with a group from her school. Not one to over communicate, she will gradually release tidbits over the course of a few days. Her tidbit Saturday afternoon? Look at the photo of the gross bed bug Ginger found in our room in Boston on Wednesday. (insert record scratching noise here.)
Her father, not one for subleties or discretion, went crazy. He called me immediately to tell me to come home because B had bed bugs. By the time I got back, he was in full irrational panic, pulling things apart and tossing things around. While a few things had been removed, the suitcase in question was sitting on the carpeted bedroom floor upstairs.
I tried to calm everyone down, and did a little internet research. The photo was in fact, of a bed bug. Although B had many bites, they looked like mosquito bites from being outdoors, vs. the clusters of small raised bumps consistent with with bed bug bites. One thing I knew was to bag up any suspect clothing or bedding and seal it in garbage bags to prevent the spread and smother the eggs or bugs. I called the hotel, while my husband arranged to have the bed bug sniffing dogs come in to find out if she brought unwanted souvineers home with her.
I have to confess, that by now I am scratching furiously, just thinking about a bed bug infestation.
The super supplied some heavy duty bags and somehow Mr. Genius proceeded to fill 10 of them, although the entire suitcase and it’s contents would have easily filled one. Over-react much? I am pretty sure that whatever is in those other bags are now infested, should there actually be bed bug eggs in her bag. As he piles them up in the vestibule, I notice the strong scent of faux mint. A really unpleasant smell, like a toothpaste truck collided with a truck of cheap scented candles. The stank is so potent it is permeating the whole main floor of our house. I am pretty sure it will over-power the bed bug scent and render the dog’s trip useless. $381 useless.
So, what does Mr. Genius do? Transfers all the potentially bed bug infested items into new bags of course. You can see where all this is going, right? Everything has picked up the scent, so not only will the dogs be deterred, but most of the items in B’s room will smell like a NYC taxi for a long time. IF, in fact there are eggs in there, they have now been spread yet again.
At this point, I am pretty sure that the dead bed bug was isolated, since they didn’t have any other incidents, so I am hoping this is all for naught.
I’ll keep you posted…
UPDATE: Sherlock, the K-9 bed bug sniffing dog did not find anything, either in the bags, or anywhere in the house. It looks like we are bed bug free. Hallelujah!!!!
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For more on the life and times of my family’s genius capers, you may want to re-read this little ditty.For more on bed bugs, check this one out.
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Tags: bed bug scare, bed bugs, bug sniffing dogs, mint garbage bags
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