About me: 25 year old gay male living in NYC. I'm very clean and live in a small studio apartment with a cat. I just moved into this apartment in June.
My infestation: I discovered that my bed was infested with bedbugs on August 11th. I apparently don't have a reaction to their bites, so I'm not sure how long they had been there. I didn't have them in any previous apartments.
Once they were discovered, I sprayed the live ones with poison, vacuumed their bodies, washed out my vacuum, and hauled the mattress, box spring and all bedding to the curb. I've been sleeping on the couch.
I immediately contacted my building's management company, and they sent over an exterminator on August 18th. I saw zero bedbugs between the time of discovery and the arrival of the exterminator.
The exterminator drilled holes in my wall where the bed used to be, and sprayed poison into the holes. He then sprayed liquid pesticides at the bottom and top of my walls in the main room (where the wall meets the floor & ceiling) as well as around the windows. He then donned a gas mask and sprayed a fog-like poison into my upholstered furniture and all around the rest of the room.
I have seen zero bedbugs. I have seen zero shed skins. I have seen zero eggs.
But the paranoia... It's crippling me. I can't buy a new bed. I can't sleep on the couch. I can't focus on a movie or TV or even a phone call - all I do is itch and check for bugs.
Every day, I come home from work and check everywhere for signs of bugs. Anything can send me into a panic. Any dark speck on fabric, I'm sure is bedbug poop. Any crumb on the ground, I'm sure is a skin. Any white speck, I'm sure is an egg.
What do I do? How can I reassure myself that they're gone? How can I go one with my life? How can I give myself the peace of mind that I caught them early and that I probably defeated them? Every website, this one included, fuels my fears. People talk of battling them for months, years even. I can't handle that. I'll go insane.
So what I want to know is this: what are the chances that I've defeated the bugs? And regardless, how can I get back to a normal state of mind, where I'm capable of buying furniture and cooking and sleeping and relaxing in my home... Without always thinking about those damn bugs?
I need advice and comfort and maybe just understanding listeners. I feel so helpless. Any kind word is appreciated. Any advice is welcomed.
All the best,
Keith