Please help me, Lemmy.
I was staying at a friend’s for a month waiting for an affordable room to be available, only to move in and after a week see a bedbug.
It’s a single room, for poor people, with a shared kitchen.
I am poor, work remotely, and my financial situation is bad. I thought this could improve things.
I moved in a week ago, but didn’t move all my stuff in because it’s in boxes in my friend’s garage right now.
I have moved in with 2 outfits, 2 jackets, a work computer, some computer accessories, and have purchased 1 matress and pillow and bed sheet set at target.
The manager of the property beforehand said there haven’t been bed bugs for years, but one of the door has like a block over the bottom with powder in the doorway past the block to kill bugs as like a sort of trap. The manager said prior to my moving in this is just fear from 3 years ago. The units are very affordable and I had to be on a waitlist to get a unit.
I am not sure what to do. The place is mostly quiet and I could work here. I don’t love the area because although it’s low income rent, it’s in a high cost area with many food places nearby charging very high tourist amounts, like any burrito or sandwich is $13 at least. Rent is very low, however.
I could leave now before moving other stuff in, put my stuff in bags except for my work computer when getting back to my friends, and look for a different slightly more expensive place. I can’t stay with my friend long-term because her apartment is next to a distribution center with trucks pulling in and out all night and I wake up easily due to PTSD and always being on alert, even when sleeping. She sleeps through anything. I also don’t like ear-plugs and can’t sleep with them in. When I was staying there I was chronically tired.
Suggestions from Lemmy? How bad are bed bugs? It was only 1 but I squished it. Pest control coincidentally came that day and identified it is a bed bug.
Also, I have not paid rent for this month and it’s due by tomorrow. I could actually leave immediately, today even, and just not pay the rent. My credit is bad already and the money would be useful if it’s a mistake to stay. It’s sleazy to leave wirhout paying for this month, but I am poor and may not have the luxury of paying for a place that could result in a chronic bed bug infestation. I would also lose my deposit.
I also don’t know where it came from. I can’t be totally sure it didn’t come from my friend’s place although I stayed there 5 weeks and saw nothing bad. I also had purchased a new outfit from a store with vintage recycled clothes, like an upscale GoodWill store, but that was 2 weeks ago and there were no bites. It may not be from the new place, but I don’t think I was bitten before the move in. Strangely, I don’t even know if the bedbug I squished bit me. The pest control person said the city has many infestations and could have come from public transportation.
My friend lives 6 hours away by bus and I don’t know as many people there. It’s also a cheaper area and I could move there. I could actually just get a ticket and leave today if everything else is irrational.
I am very tired and don’t know what to think. The time at my friends impacted my mental health and I’m not sure I am seeing it rationally.
When pest control was there, presumably they also checked for other bed bugs? The gold standard is for them to come with a bug-sniffing dog. But they can also look for signs. When I worked at University as a facilities maintenance person, pest control sometimes had to check for bbs this way.
Good news is bbs don’t transmit any disease. They don’t live on you, and the bites aren’t that bad. The gross part is if they lay eggs in your stuff or your home and they keep showing up.
So one option is to stay there and keep an eye out for any more for a week or however long, before you move your other stuff in. That way if there really are bed bugs, you have a smaller amount of stuff to wash in hot water.
If I were you, before I made any decisions I’d look up how to look for their common hiding places, and for to treat affected clothing / bedding just so you know what you are risking.
For what it’s worth, once in my life, I saw a single adult bed bug crawling around and squished it. No one knew where it came from; we’re pretty sure it was a bb, but it was the only one we ever saw. So it could have been a hitchhiker from the bus or something.
We looked all over for other bbs or other evidence and didn’t find any. So that could have happened if you didn’t see any other signs.
There are many small rooms and they are locked. I can’t go in any of them except mine or common areas. Many of the people seem like they have lots of stuff in the very small rooms.
it’s possible, but also there are nearby rooms with bed bug traps by the doors. The manager said this was a precaution from problems three years ago but could be lying. I am dealing with asymetric information and don’t know what is the truth. I am gullible and they could be lying.
It’s true that you don’t have all the information. It’s also true that bedbugs tend to reside really close to where they feed. So you could check the hiding places within your own room. (Between carpet and wall, any cracks or crevices, etc.)
The manager could be lying or telling the truth. If they did have bbs three years ago, I’m glad that they still have the traps to keep them from coming back and spreading.
For sake of argument, let’s say someone in another room does have bedbugs, but they’re not in your room yet. I would be wary of spending time in the shared spaces.
Bedbugs are a pest – Even high class hotels get them, and have to work to find and prevent them. Anywhere people come and go is at some risk of bedbugs. If you find some it’s not the end of the world, but also not great. This new apt with the risk of bedbugs might be worth it, or it might not be, depending on your situation.