I spent this past weekend at my in-laws with hubby while they were out of town. It was almost like old times, only more fast food and it no A/C. I woke up Saturday morning scratching my ankle more times than usual, and I looked down and saw a bite. No worries, the bugs have loved me since I was little, and it’s been ridiculously hot. That small bite turned into a large bite, with two more accompanying me on my calf and my thigh. The itching was driving me crazy, and I was constantly putting cold water bottles on the bites.
After showing my mom when I got home from work tonight, she was a bit freaked out, and told me I should probably go to urgent care. This wasn’t the first bite I had. A couple months ago, I had a bite on my thigh right above my knee that seemed to stay there for over a month. I told her no need to go to the doctor, as they were probably just going to prescribe me with things I already have: Benadryl, cortisone, aloe vera, rubbing alcohol, calamine lotion. Decided not to waste the gas or the money.
We both did a little more research and it looks like my bites are from bed bugs. Bed bugs just sound…disgusting. They’re small, they’re annoying, they live in or around your bed. My previous bite looked like the ones I have now: pretty big, red, raised and hard. It makes sense though, as I have only gotten them at my in-laws’ house and hubby’s mattress is about 9-10 years old. I suggested we switch out his mattress for a mattress we have in storage, but he said that one doesn’t give him proper back support. I don’t know how willing I am to continue to endure bites from these little devils, but right now, I’m not interested. So I may be staying home for the next few weekends.
New Mattresses Are Expensive
We have yet to be in the market for a new mattress. We just took spares from my mom’s storage unit. I’ve seen mattress commercials more times than I can count, but have never really went shopping for one. So I took to Twitter to ask if anyone else had experience in this field.
Ours is a necessity too, and good grief, who knew mattresses cost so much money? Walmart has some decent priced ones but I question the quality of it. I don’t recall seeing mattresses in Walmart stores that you can test drive (lay) but I also wonder if financing one is truly the answer. In all reality, we don’t need to buy one until we get a place (which we’re actively looking for).
I wonder if a full is enough size, but I somehow doubt it, as crazy as the both of us sleep.
What’s your experience with buying a new mattress? Any tips? Any tips on getting rid of bed bugs? Picture above is of my bed bug bites on my unshaven legs.
I just saw a solution for Bed Bugs on Shark Tank last week, it is called Buggy Beds. They are glue traps that catch the bugs. I believe it is more of a detection system than a complete removal, but check them out at
http://www.buggybeds.com/
I’m totally freaked out by all bugs! So I’ve actually looked this up (more than a handful of times) and those don’t look like what I’ve seen. I’ve read that you’ll usually have several small bites all together in one spot, because the little suckers will bite, move, bite again, move again, etc. I so hope you don’t have them, because buying a new mattress isn’t going to rid them from the home. In fact, I would wait on buying a new mattress until after they’re gone, kwim? Do you have a pet? Or leave windows open? Look into it, because I’m pretty sure you’ll want to bomb the house or at least have a professional come over and spray if you’ve had actual bed bugs for several weeks. Good luck figuring it all out, Briana! So creepyyyy!!
My dad and I had bed bugs in an apartment we shared a few years ago. Here’s my advice:
Do not; under any circumstances, buy a new mattress until you have successfully eliminated the bugs. Any mattress currently in the house needs to be covered in plastic which will suffocate the bugs currently in the bed. Once you’ve done that, hire a bug killer. Repeat 2-3 times. Be forewarned that although the spray has no smell, it can still affect the respiratory system. Avoid being in the home for any length of time and open windows as needed.
These are tough little buggers so you will need to be extremely diligent about getting rid of them. Vacuum often and look in crevices, corners, and the ceiling for the bugs. They hide well but if you spend time looking into every nook and cranny you can find them and get rid of them.
I wish you luck in this. It’s a real pain but it sure beats getting bitten every day.
Thanks Kim! I think it’s weird that they bite me but not my husband, especially since he sleeps in the bed more than I do. I will definitely look for plastic coverings for the mattress before we look into buying a new mattress. Thanks!
OH NO! My daughter got attacked by bed bugs before and the bits stay around for a LONG time and itch like hell! I felt so bad for her being as I never got bit. However, you can by a mattress cover for the time being. They also really hate heat so maybe cranking up the heater and or space heaters and trying to get the room super hot would help.