I live near downtown Toronto and I just
discovered I have bed bugs. My absolute worst nightmare! Lived in the city for almost 8 years now, and in this current apartment for about 2 years. I’ve always heard about bed bugs being
prevalent here, just never thought it could happen to me so easily. I’ve always
been clean and careful, but I have no idea how and when this could’ve started.
I live in a low rise apartment complex, and have never heard of any issues
here. Though, in hindsight, it makes sense why neighbours and the landlord
might keep any problem on the down low.
I started seeing a couple bites a few weeks ago, but just thought it was a spider, since I do see them around. Then nothing for a week or so, then more bites – I checked around my bed, couldn’t see anything noticeable. THEN suddenly last night it all came undone. I felt something around my lower leg and literally jumped up and turned on the light within 5 seconds. Little red bed bugs scurrying about everywhere! A few going down the sides of my wooden bed, and maybe 15-20 running on the floor! It was shocking! I grabbed some tissue and started squashing as many bed bugs as possible – wow they were faster than I thought – and bigger than I thought – still tiny, but I always thought I wouldn’t be able to see them easily.
I’m so upset about this. I saw a bunch of the bugs retreat to corners of my room, then disappeared! I guess they can fit into any cracks along the walls. Now I can see some staining around the upper crevice of my bedframe. I looked up some things to spray with, including rubbing alcohol, but nothing seems like a sure thing.
What should I do? I called my landlord, left a message, still waiting for a reply. Are landlords fully responsible to take care of any bedbug issues? And I just read online that you’re supposed to still sleep in the same bed once you discover you have bed bugs… ?! Umm, what..? If I already saw a bunch of bugs scatter away from the bed, does that mean I’m supposed to stay in the bed and try to lure them back??
Any advice out there would be great! And if you live in Toronto and have had bed bug problems resolved, I would love to hear your advice!
I started seeing a couple bites a few weeks ago, but just thought it was a spider, since I do see them around. Then nothing for a week or so, then more bites – I checked around my bed, couldn’t see anything noticeable. THEN suddenly last night it all came undone. I felt something around my lower leg and literally jumped up and turned on the light within 5 seconds. Little red bed bugs scurrying about everywhere! A few going down the sides of my wooden bed, and maybe 15-20 running on the floor! It was shocking! I grabbed some tissue and started squashing as many bed bugs as possible – wow they were faster than I thought – and bigger than I thought – still tiny, but I always thought I wouldn’t be able to see them easily.
I’m so upset about this. I saw a bunch of the bugs retreat to corners of my room, then disappeared! I guess they can fit into any cracks along the walls. Now I can see some staining around the upper crevice of my bedframe. I looked up some things to spray with, including rubbing alcohol, but nothing seems like a sure thing.
What should I do? I called my landlord, left a message, still waiting for a reply. Are landlords fully responsible to take care of any bedbug issues? And I just read online that you’re supposed to still sleep in the same bed once you discover you have bed bugs… ?! Umm, what..? If I already saw a bunch of bugs scatter away from the bed, does that mean I’m supposed to stay in the bed and try to lure them back??
Any advice out there would be great! And if you live in Toronto and have had bed bug problems resolved, I would love to hear your advice!
I hate to admit that I’m relieved to read posts like this, since I know I’m not alone in going through the same situation now. My husband and I just found out a couple of days ago that we have bed bugs. I got all the bites, and he got nothing! It baffles us since we’re both so paranoid and clean about stuff. We’re thinking maybe it’s cause we my sister stay with us, and she was traveling around before arriving, staying in hostels, etc and brought them in her suitcases…? I’m reading all about bed bug removal in Toronto, and it’s a like whole new world I didn’t know existed. It seems the problem is big – these little pests are stubborn!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what ended up happening? I see your post was from a while ago – did you resolve it?? Did you or landlord call an exterminator? Let me know if you can recommend someone. We used our vacuum to completely remove everything we saw around our bed frame and mattress, but as you said we saw a couple of bed bugs actually escape into the corners before we could kill them! So we know they’re hiding somewhere and will eventually come back to eat, right? We looked up bed bug exterminators in Toronto online, but there are so many – we called a couple of them and not cheap. We don’t mind paying the money if we can be sure it will eliminate them for good. I think we have some time now since they hopefully won’t invade our bed overnight. And we own our place, so we are paying out of our pockets.
Thanks!
Hey, thanks for your comment – I keep meaning to write a follow up post, just didn’t have chance, and didn’t even know if anyone was reading my first post. Bedbug problem is fully resolved now! The landlord was very cooperative and got a bed bug exterminator to come within a couple of days. I was asked to tidy everything up, remove bedding, and clear the bed area. I was also there when the exterminator arrived but had to leave the apartment for a few hours. The exterminator guy had a cap with a red logo on it, I believe it was Swiftx or swift-X pest control – I asked for a business card, but I can’t seem to find it now.
ReplyDeleteThe exterminator was super friendly, and he answered tons of questions I had about bed bugs. I have no idea how much they cost, you’d have to call and see. I can vouch that whatever they did definitely worked, and the guy left the place in great condition – he even took off his shoes and switched to indoor ones. Most people you have to call into your place to fix a problem don’t want to do this, and this is something that would bother me.
Let me know if you have any more questions! Now I will definitely publish a follow up blog post, describing the process and experience.
Btw, do you live in the downtown Toronto area? Please post back sometime and let me know what happens, if you hire an exterminator. I hope you are able to get rid of the bed bugs quickly!
ReplyDeleteYes we're downtown Toronto, near Bloor/Bathurst area. Thanks for replying and the recommendation. We actually called a few bed bug exterminators, including Swift-X pest. One of the places tried to book an app't for 4-5 days later - we can't imagine waiting that long! Between quote/price and availability, (and your positive sentiments), we booked with Swift-x, they're coming tomorrow morning. So thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteWe're eager to get this done and hopefully be able to relax after tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes..