My fight for survival against bed bugs in Baltimore

It was a rough eight months. Like so many things, it started innocently enough… I had a part-time carer and one day I noticed a small insect on her arm. She told me it was a bug and dismissed it.

About four days later, I started to get a bad burning itch. I went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with hives. And it continued like that for about two months.

The medications the dermatologist prescribed didn't help and the itching got worse. They prescribed me an antihistamine, but that didn't help either.

I started seeing more and more of these “bugs”. When I caught one, I looked it up online and to my horror and ignorance, I realized I had bed bugs.

Fortunately, I have an excellent landlord since I live in a HUD apartment. Chemical treatment began immediately. There are six steps to preparing for this treatment:

1. Wash and dry all laundry, including fabric items, all bedding, pillows, etc. Then dry them in a dryer at a minimum of 150 degrees. Our dryers could not be used, of course, as they were not hot enough.

(I'm lucky to have a son and daughter-in-law who live about 30 minutes away. They took care of the laundry for two days and handled most of the other steps.)

2. Pack all the items in my apartment into boxes or bags. I was able to leave my TV and a few plates outside, and that was it.

3. Vacuum all furniture and carpet.

4. Remove pets and plants.

5. I was not allowed to enter any common areas in the building. I was not allowed to visit friends in the building or invite them over. I was in prison.

6. Stay out of the house for four hours during each treatment. This was difficult because I couldn't use the common areas! When I had a heat treatment, I had to stay away for 24 hours. I am also blessed with a wonderful son and daughter-in-law. I think of the people who don't have that opportunity.

A few facts about these pests: Bed bugs feed on human blood and yes, some pets too. I have one of the cleanest homes I know and I have them.

They are nocturnal. A female lays up to 500 eggs in her short life. They can survive for a year without food. They are wingless and about the size of an apple seed. When they are filled with blood they take on a reddish color, otherwise they are brown.

Bed bugs don't just live in your bed. They can be in your sofa, in your curtains, in your walls! They can be in your clothes, in your shoes, in the bathroom, in the kitchen – you get what I mean.

Fortunately, they don't transmit disease, but when you have 50 bites on your body, it's difficult not to scratch. I've gotten several infections just from that.

Now, I'm not an entomologist. But in the eight months I spent in my prison on the internet, I learned more than I ever thought I would. Unfortunately, after each treatment, there were still signs of live insects.

There were two weeks between each treatment. After the third treatment, about five months after the start of this ordeal, I was healthy again.

So here's the thing: one treatment kills about 97% of the bed bugs. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, that leaves 3% doing their little bed bug thing and producing tons of bed bug eggs.

My landlord even went so far as to hire a new exterminator who did essentially the same thing. Since most of the bed bugs were in my sofa, my sofa was sealed and removed. The next time I was evicted, I had to spend money on a new sofa. Eventually, sofa number two had to go too!

So now it's eight months. I'm not getting couch number three until I'm absolutely sure those horrible things are gone. I haven't seen one in several days, nor have I been bitten. I'm crossing my fingers and praying like crazy. It's interesting, God created all living things for a purpose. I can't figure out what the purpose of a bed bug is.

Now if you are interested or scared, there is a ton of information online or in the library. I have used all of it.

Hey, will you do me a huge favor? Add me to your prayer list if you have one. I have days where I'm hysterical and days where I'm surprisingly calm. I guess we all have to go through what we have to go through.

Kathleen Gemmell ([email protected]) is a retired writer living in Baltimore.