I moved to an apt in NYC that had bedbugs. Probably not that many because I cleaned the place inside out so many times and I could rarely spot one. Eventually, I called an exterminator but the bugs were back a couple of months later. I eventually left this place. I'm super paranoid since then.
The $500 or so he saved didn't come close to the cost of full apartment treatments, the headaches, and being basically outcast by the family for a month.
Protip: Unless you're really hard up, don't buy a used couch or mattress. And if you have to, figure out a way to deep cleanse it first.
More like wrap it in black garbage bags and leave it out in a sunny day in Arizona or something.
The situation you had in your apartment would never have gotten better. Without treating the whole building, spraying insecticide will just push them into adjacent apartments. Many jurisdictions distinguish between infestations local to one dwelling to be handled by the tenant and infestations that are building-wide which landlords have to treat. If they just keep pushing them around, they never have to shell out for a building-wide treatment and they always look like a hero because technically they didn't even have to pay to get your apartment treated.
Step 1 is to clean every tiny little crevice of your bed frame, bedding, box spring, and mattress and if possible, get a mattress bag. Step 2 is to put bed bug traps under each leg of your bed-- they can't jump or fly, only climb. Step 3 is to make sure no part of your bed or bedding is touching the wall or floor. Step 4 sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the base of your bed and the edges of your room.
That's actually enough to stop you from getting bit right there and if your infestation is really minor, is probably enough to entirely eradicate it. Unfortunately, they can go 70 days without feeding, so you'd need to keep that diligence up for quite some time. That's why a proper extermination will be building-wide and happen at least twice with the second treatment being after the eggs should have hatched. The best method, IMO, is tenting the building and heating it to 115 degrees for a few days. Not cheap, though, and obviously very disruptive.
During an infestation about five years ago, I was curious if what I'd bought and sprinkled everywhere was any use at all, so I captured a bug in a glass and absolutely covered it.
It continued wandering around in there for 4 more days.
But I agree with a lot of the rest of what you're saying :)
Also: - double sided carpet tape is difficult, if not impossible for them to cross, so wrapping it around the leg of a chair or bed in addition to a trap can be a big help - you can measure the heat of a dryer with an instant thermometer by putting a few towels in the dryer and pulling them out right at the peak, before the cool cycle at the end, and tossing the thermometer right into the middle of them. Most dryers are suitably hot, but you should check before relying on it -- you should look up the temperature needed to ensure the eggs are destroyed, and always do a dryer run without washing first, so the heat applies directly and isn't just evaporating water! But after all that: lots and lots of stuff can be put in the dryer, and tied off safely afterwards in bags / taken away from a place it can be reinfested. - putting books or electronics in an oven, even set very low, is usually a bad idea.
For a bedbug, dying in 4 days is quick! They can live for up to a year or more normally. I think you'd normally want to combine a steam treatment to kill the bulk of them with diatomaceous earth to mop up the stragglers
I can confirm this through personal experience. I had a bad bedbug infestation two years ago, did the first three steps and haven't had a problem since (I didn't use the diatomaceous earth in Step 4).
You basically turn your bed into a castle. No bedbugs currently in your bed + defenses so they can't get onto your bed = no future bedbug problem in bed.
One good trick I used is that you can make "bed bug traps under each leg of your bed" yourself by putting little plastic containers under each leg that you fill with an inch of baby oil. The bedbugs can't get passed it.
I am very glad that the exterminator I called was honest with me despite my desperation and told me bluntly that no one could permanently solve the issue without treating the whole structure.
A few months later I was outside my house and felt something on my neck. After slapping it I came to the conclusion it was most likely a lone bed bug.
Not everyone reacts to the bites severely so some just write it off as mosquito bites or a rash like me. Also in order to get an infestation from a hitch hiking bedbug one of the following conditions must be met:
1. A male and female bedbug must both hitch a ride together and later successfully reproduce. OR
2. A pregnant female must hitch a ride. OR
3. There must already be a single bedbug present at your address and the hitchhiking bedbug must be of the opposite sex. These two bedbugs must go on to successfully reproduce.
Keep in mind also that the hitchhiker must make it all the way home to the residence and not wander off somewhere before hand.
Hotels and people who travel to decent hotels are quite aware of bedbugs too so the chance of encountering bedbugs and taking them home from there is quite low. e.g doing simple stuff like not leaving your luggage on or near your bed mitigates a lot of risk.
Some people don't react to the bites at all. Which is one reason why it can be hard to get rid of them. It's hard to even tell if they're there if you don't react to the bites.
You probably have to not just get some passengers in your luggage but also park the luggage in a place in the infected location where they actual fester, sleep, and lay eggs.
It's somewhat reassuring.
We only found the nest when moving out though.
Bed bugs are the absolute worst of the lot. Mosquitoes feel like welcome guests compared to them.
Short of nothing less than setting everything you know on fire, there are 0 ways to get rid of them.
What worked for me and was quite radical was steam cleaning. It takes a lot of time to be thorough, but it kills them very quickly, includes the eggs, and can safely go almost anywhere (except on my poor books)
Wasps and hornets, on the other hand, bring out my darkest urges.