Submitted by "Anonymous" on 08/27/2007

A neighbor across the hall told me this spring that her apartment had been infested and treated by the exterminator. The apartment on the floor above her had been infested and treated twice. Another apartment on the floor above had been treated as well.

I immediately caulked all crevices in my apartment and then didn't think about it any more.

August 23rd I began searching my bed at night. I had been itching for several weeks with welds on my back, legs hands and neck. I thought I had been bitten by horseflies at the beach. It suddenly clicked in my mind.
Sure enough, I found an adult bed bug on my pillow. I put it in a jar as proof and left the apartment in the middle of the night with my two cats.

I am staying at a friends house.
The other day I saw an adult bed bug on the bathroom floor.
I am in a real panick. I or the cats brought them with us.
I haven't been bitten yet in this new location, but I will start treating the whole house. Ordered sprays and enzymes over the internet.

Meanwhile I have to go back to 964 E 15 St. and prepare the place for the exterminator. Empty all closets and cabinets, dry-clean or wash all textiles, seal everything in plastc bags, take all the pictures off the walls. all books off the shelves, move the furniture off the walls, vacuum the whole place thoroughly etc.

I don't know how many more apartments are now affected. The way the exterminator works, I think they are driving the bugs from one place to the next. The hallways are never swept or washed, the place is badly maintained, garbage and discarded (maybe infested) furniture sits in the hallways for days.

I guess, this is a sad but very typical scenario. One of thousands of similar stories in New York City.