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Thanks for these tips Scott. It’s always great to hear from someone on the “other side” of this mess. I have been using Pinesol to wash floors/walls, but perhaps vinegar is also worth building into my routine.
What insecticide did you use to bomb with? Which did you find the most effective?
Thanks,
– J
Yes. I would be worried about that. Although BMs typically favour 1 host, you don’t want to risk exposure and carrying them back to your place, where then, by default, you would become the new host.
If you decide to visit, ensure that you follow strict protocol: showering daily with tea tree/essential oils, always putting on “clean” clothing that has been through the treated wash and/or dried on high for 30 minutes, bag up everything, and spray down all your things before you leave.
When I recently left my parents’ house after Christmas break (where they’ve been struggling with a minor infestation of BMs for months), I was extremely diligent: I Lysol & enzyme sprayed my luggage outside, kept it outside on my deck on a tarp, dried in dryer/froze in deep freezer everything I brought or wiped it down with Lysol and then brought it immediately outside into my luggage. Since I’ve been back at my place, I’ve been following a strict cleaning/bathing protocol as I’m worried I may have brought them back (I started getting bitten while at my parents).
All that to say – typically BMs favour one or two hosts that they’ve been feeding on for a while; however, nothing’s to say that you won’t be bitten or won’t inadvertently transfer them home. They’re near impossible to spot, so there’s no way to completely know whether you’re free of them or not upon leaving an infested house. Since they are usually active at night, best case scenario (if money allows) is to stay in a nearby hotel, follow the showering/laundering protocol outlined through various people on this website, and don’t sit on cloth/upholstered furniture at his house.
I am SO SORRY to hear about all of this. It is truly hell. And to have it cause your son to live away from you — I’m so sorry to hear that.
Have you been keeping specimens that you are able to pull off of you? Can you bring those to a local specialist? Someone who researches arachnids and mites? (Although I reached out to someone in my local area (Ontario) and they said that bird mites cannot live off of human blood…. so maybe that won’t work). But something physical that you have that you can use if you sue for malpractice? Are you actively still finding them?
I totally empathize. As I write this I am lying in my vinyl-wrapped bed, with a tea tree oil mask on my head, covered with an uncomfortable shower cap, my freshly scrubbed skin covered with vaseline and neem oil, with rashes all over my face and body. We feel your struggle. Keep up what you’re doing and try some of these new tricks that you see here —- maybe something will help to break the cycle. I personally am completely dependent on enzyme spray, although WTF knows if that is even working. It’s the unknown of it all that’s the absolute worst.
Keep fighting 🙂
