Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Calm Before the Storm

No bites last night and none the night before, this of course means that they, the 'bugs', have been well fed. I have to be extra vigilante tonight because they are undoubtedly getting hungry 'on the move' and I am the only thing on the menu. Buckle up. It's going to get bumpy.

I have been informed by the building manager that the next bedbug spraying of the apartments won't be until the end of next week - plenty of bug breeding time in there between now and then. I am not yet confidant that the building owners are treating this matter with the seriousness and urgency that it requires. Regardless of that, I am on the offensive and have scoured the internet for reviews and anecdotes of bed bug sufferers and information on various products. I have also ordered a variety of different sprays, dusts and environmentally friendly concoctions - no DDT. I will let you know which items work and which do not. I am taking the battle to the bugs.

Yet, all of that being said, I figure even if the exterminators get the things out of my apartment I still have no control over the apartments of anyone else in the building, and they may be lazier than me, stay infested, and spread the bugs back to my apartment yet again. So, in other words, I am at war with both the bedbugs and with anybody who doesn't have the resolve and strength to get rid of their own damn bugs. To that end I must turn the apartment into a fortress surrounded at the outer edges with a series of ditches and tank traps filled with diatomaceous earth dust. Then, a film of poisonous enzymes - organic warfare - followed up by regular preventative spraying with a variety of lethal cocktails - striking randomly. However, none of this advanced arsenal of weaponry has arrived, as it was just now ordered, and until then I will continue to do battle with the enemy using rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle as my front line weopon. That is the strategy, that is the resolve - let the final battle for the apartment begin.



4 comments:

C. LaSalle said...

Also try two sided carpet tape, it traps them at the door way, inside and out!

Viriditas Center said...

Speaking from experience as Director of a homeless shelter, my suggestion is to immediately purchase 'bed bug covers' for your mattress and box spring and a pillow case cover if you haven't already.

Arun said...

Ven. Shravasti Dhammika posted about bebugs (and killing them) on his blog. He got plenty of feedback. His response might not be much different from thoughts you yourself hold: "In the comments, some of my readers said that ‘killing for any reason must have a kammic consequence.’ While I agree completely, this sort of comment implies that the whole purpose of Buddhism is not to make any negative kamma no matter what, to go through life ultra-careful not to do anything that might ‘make bad kamma.’ Clearly the less negative kamma we have to deal with the better. However, we should keep in mind that the purpose of Dhamma is to develop that wisdom and understanding that can free us from the rounds of samsara. There may be times or situations in life where we genuinely feel that we can manage a bit of negative kamma, or that the consequences of doing some action are less negative than abstaining from doing it."

mary jane burns said...

i understand completely what you are going through! out of the 3 bodies that live in the apt. i am the only one they like!? they are gone now for 2 months - but i live in fear of the other apts. and how they got there in the fist place- so everything i own is in plastic bags or those clear storage boxes- every moring i roll up my sleeping bag put it in a garbage bag- then my sleeping clothes in another. i sleep on a plastic covered bed and all books papers any thing the little monsters like is in a plasic bag.