notsleepingtight.com

Thought I’d update here as it’s been a while…

We remain bedbug-free.

I am constantly vigilant, but the paranoia has mostly eased.

If I or the kids get a mosquito bite, I still panic a little bit but am mostly ok.

If someone tells me they have a strange rash or bites, I automatically assume it’s bedbugs.

Since we’ve been clear, I’ve made two acquaintances  who admitted to having/had bedbugs. I still won’t do this.

I want you to know that if you have bedbugs and are freaking out, that you can beat them and be free of them, but it’s probably for the best that your never mentally “free”, because then you can make sure you never get them again. And if you do? You’ll fork out the 5 grand for the heat and be done in one fell swoop

It’s been one month and one day since we’ve had the “all-clear” from the bedbug dog. Just in case you’re wondering if you’ll ever recover from the psychological effects of having bedbugs, I thought I’d share where I am right now.

-Pillows and duvet are back on the bed and we’ve been sleeping really well. I still haven’t put the bedskirt back on but I also have been a touch busy and haven’t worked on getting the stains out of it. Perhaps I’m overreacting over pinprick-sized dots that used to be bedbug shit, but I’d rather never have to see those spots again if I can help it.

-Climb-Ups are still under the legs of our living room furniture, my daughter’s bed and my son’s crib. Just in case.

-I still haven’t sat on the couch but everyone else has.

-We have started to decorate where we can and starting to think about what we’ll do in the house. I’m still not certain that this is our forever-house, but at least I no longer want to move or fantasize about burning it down.

-I still get fairly massive twinges of itchiness and paranoia, but happily it’s no longer daily.

-I still inspect every fleck or piece of dark lint that I come across. I think I need to get my eyes checked because now I have to squint as I do it and sometimes take things into better light.

-I don’t sit on the subway, but I did go to the movies. I changed when I got home.

Seeing as the whole bedbug epidemic is just getting into full-swing, I think a little paranoia could serve us well in not getting re-infected. A friend of mine who also had them as was about a week behind us in the detection and spraying just found one last week after being bite-free for over a month. I think I might have lost my mind (again) in that moment. It’s stories like that where I realize it’s a good thing to never let your guard down, although the thought of having to go back to living out of bags again sends shivers down my spine.

I’m touching wood as I type this, but God forbid we ever go down this road again, I’m forking out for the heat.

That’s all for now. Maybe I’ll check in again in another month.

When I was really little, for as long as I can remember, my parents said this little rhyme to me as they tucked me in for the night:

Nighty night,
Sleep Tight,
Don’t Let The Bedbugs Bite.
Sweet Dreams,
Happy Dreams,
God Bless.

Starting with my daughter, and now with my son, I started saying that to them when they were getting tucked in for the night. Until, of course, very recently.  One of the things that’s pissed me off the most is that bedbugs have taken away the fond memories of that little rhyme, that I’ve known ever since I can remember.

I now understand that “sleeping tight” means having the sheets tucked in very tightly, in order to prevent the bedbugs from biting you. Obviously way back when the saying was first invented, bedbugs were a common occurrence.

Well I can’t bear to say it anymore. Since we started this battle, I changed the words.  Now when I tuck the kids in, I say this:
 
Nighty night,
Sleep Tight,
See You In The Morning Light.
Sweet Dreams,
Happy Dreams,
God Bless.

There’s really no point in me continuing this blog, since we’ve essentially won our battle, but I will be ever vigilant to make sure this doesn’t happen again. If you’ve found me because you’re currently suffering with bedbugs, Please know you’re not alone, and that you CAN beat the dreaded bedbug.

From what I’ve read online, our bedbug fight was a short one. It didn’t feel short, but I’m very grateful we didn’t have to have more sprayings or fork out more cash for the heat treatment.

If you have any questions, or are having a tough time, please get in touch. If you leave a comment I get notified, so I can get back to you.

Nighty Night,
Cate