by Steve Dunford

When I was a kid I always heard the phrase, sleepy tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.  I always thought that was a figure of speech.  From first hand experience, I know they are real.

I have been incognito most of the month of December.  I found out I had them three weeks from today.  I am going to chronicle my experience.

Image from abouthotels.com

I am sharing this to increase  awareness of them.  It is a long holiday weekend.  Some of you might be going out of town and spending time in hotels.  Some of you might be going shopping and trying on clothes.  I am just going to take my experience with them.  Please do not take it as whining.

Bed bugs will advance five to seven feet from their area daily.  They have the ablility to flatten thinner than a credit card.  The bites look like a chigger or mosquito bite.  I was bit for a few days and did not realize it.  I had a rash.  I thought it was from medication I take which it is a side effect.

I put off doing this because I did not want people to think I was gross or nasty.

Like I said I woke up three weeks from today.  I was going through my usual Saturday Morning routine, listen to the local sports shows.  I am not a normal coffee drinker, but I had one that day.

I was sitting in my recliner, and I felt something stab me in the back of the neck.  It felt like a bee sting.  I raised up the top of my chair and I found two bed bugs.  I went into a panic.

Since I have moved into an apartment complex, bed bugs have been my biggest paranoia.  I watched a story on FoxNews on them the week before I moved in.  There was a lot of information given when I signed my lease.

I would take a blow dryer to my mattress and furniture weekly as a preventive measure.  I would also run my quilts on the bed frequently through the dryer.

This did not keep my pesky visitors from appearing.  After I found a couple crawling on my recliner I found a nest in the corner of my mattress at the foot of my bed.  I know this isn’t too “manly” to admit, but I started freaking out.

I was supposed to be at cantata practice at 10 o’clock that morning.  Our pastors wife, Karen Whittaker was the director.  I called her and told her the situation.  She asked what they can do.  I said bring me some industrial size trash bags.  Our preacher Lloyd brought them to me.

I was thinking these things hate heat.  I ran every stitch of anything cloth I had through the dryer.  I used the trash bags to seal them up after drying them.  What was supposed to been a great weekend, was shot.

It was weekend I was looking forward to.  We were having fellowship at the church after choir practice.  For those that know me, you can tell by looking I like to eat.  That evening I was supposed to go to 17th Street and bowling with my Sunday School class.

For those of you that don’t know, I haven’t drove in three years nearly.  I have lost my license because of seizures, a side effect from a stroke.  Going to Williamson county is what a trip to St. Louis in comparison to the past.  I was so disappointed I could not go.  I just did not want to spread my “Christmas joy” with others.

That morning when I went to Casey’s next door to get change, there was a notice on the door that an exterminator was going to be here on Monday.  Part of me was relieved, and part of me felt sick.

image from pestworld.org

I had several days scheduled to substitute teach up till Christmas break.  I told both schools hold off and see what I am facing after taking to the exterminator.  When I met with them they told me that it would be okay to go out in public, but I had to jump in the shower, throw my clothes in the dryer, get dressed, dry the clothes I had on and take them with me.  I had to do that same routine every time.  I told both schools it was ok.

That night they were really stirred up.  I slept in the floor, which I do most nights anyway to them crawling on me.  My mattress was on its side, and it was covered in them.  That morning I called FCHS and told them I just could not go to school out of a good conscience and spread them.  To be safe I made a call to FIS, where I was at the two days before and told them as well.

I thought I would have a lot of time on my hands.  The next few days was to get ready for a possible extermination that Thursday.   I was busting my butt getting things ready.  On that Wednesday I found out that it was not until the 29th.

When the brackets for the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament was released, I was so excited.  My good friend and HS basketball team mate Kevin Smith takes me to a lot of Thompsonville games, where I grew up.  Christopher, T’ville, and S-V were in the same bracket.  My son plays for Christopher.  I spent most of my adult life in Sesser,  I watched all of their basketball team play little league baseball since I was five.  My heart sunk.

I have covered high school basketball for a year now for a Facebook blog I have, Franklin County Hoops and Gridiorn.  Yesterday, I went to a Morthland College game at Max Morris Gym.  It was a month until I had been in a gym until yesterday.  I missed that.

During that time, I have spent a lot of time listening to Jim Muir, Tom Wheeler, Rick Westemeyer, Richard Blakely, and Danny Czerwinski.  When you know the teams as well as the announcers, they can paint a picture to make you feel like you were there.  I was able to keep my ear to the ground during this time.

I was able to keep up with Thompsonville because coach Pete Gordon posts game video on the school’s YouTube page.  I was also able to watch a lot of video from Goreville on the school district’s blackcatnetwork.com.  I was able to watch a lot of games from the Eldorado Holiday tournament form foxesfans.net and areasports.net.  Thank you to Randy Olson and Danny Anslement for providing this, as well as your sponsors.

Christmas was different for me this year.  Until Thursday, I did not go around anyone unless to go to the store.  It was a great one though.

I was able to get in the 21st century again.  I was able to purchase a smart phone with some money from my dad for Christmas, a necessity since I have taken this position on.

My good friends Larry and Alberta Morris brought me a care package of goodies.  So did Dale and Kim Justice, which I think the world of their son Spencer.  They also got me a Hoosiers DVD.  The goodies were put to good use watching Ralphie.

My best friend, Tammy Snethen, told me something the first day that helped get me through it.  I was scared to tell anyone.  She said it is not a disgrace having them anyone can.  It is gross and disgusting keeping them.  That changed my outlook.

My church family at Calvary Baptist Church was awesome to me especially Debbie Lawrence.  She helped with a lot of things the first few days.

My son and my wife sent several texts that helped too.

Franklin County Housing Authority was very great to me during this and was a lot of help including manager of the complex, Kari Payne.

What was rough I had to go through everything.  I was allowed three bags of books, pictures, cassettes, DVD’s etc.  I had to get rid of a lot of things.  Some were sentimental.  I had a lot of Southern Gospel and Country albums that were my grandmas.  I had to pare them down.  There were a lot of cassette tapes that were my mom’s.   There were a lot of bittersweet memories paring everything down.  I was allowed two trash bags full of things like this.  They are in isolation now for 14 days.

I had smiliar spots on the top corner of my mattress. Purdue University photo

Treatment  consisted of emptying everything out of my closets, and dressers.  I had to have all my clothes in ten inch piles.  I had to have everything in open spaces that treatment could take place.  I could keep some clothes hung up in my closet and in the bathroom shower curtain.  It took several days to get ready for this.

They used several heaters to heat my apartment between 135-150 degrees.  They kept it at that until all signs of them were gone.  They were finished about 4p.m.

I left my apartment Thursday morning feeling like a new man.  I did the Houdini act that I was supposed to do when I left the house.  I was glad it was in the 50s that day.

Between going to the library to update this page, eating lunch at Mike’s Drive In and crossing 57 to pick up a few things the several hours went by fast. I got home about 6:00.  I was able to get in my apartment about 7.  The temp dropped to 86.  It was 97 when I got home.

Like I said, I shared my story to educate not to want sympathy.   Here are some things to consider from experience and research.

• When you try on clothes in a store, immediately change clothes and wash and dry them when you get home.  This applies to new purchases in a store.
• Wash and dry all new clothing before wearing them.
• If you are in a hotel, check the mattress thoroughly for the spotting in the image above.  Immediately wash and dry all your clothes.  Empty all your suitcases and leave them outside for a while.
• If you make a purchase at a thrift store, tie the bags off before putting them in your vehicle, wash immediately when you get home.
• New Years weekend is big for furniture sales.  The protocol mentioned above needs to be considered.  Someone might sat on the furniture that had them.  Before a new or used furniture purpose look for similar spotting like on the mattress.
• They will harbor in clean places.  They will hide in corners and things close to your bed.
• I have two friends that are insurance agents, Jeff Smith with Country Financial here in West Frankfort, and James Cook a State Farm agent in Carmi.  I asked them if homeowners insurance will cover the loss, and they said it will not.  Both companies do not offer additional riders.

I hope this made you think.  As for me, it is something I hope I do not go through again.  My mattress is in a landfill, the garbage man just hauled it off.  I had to keep it until treatment day.  I am going to turn my bedroom into a weight/exercise room.  I sleep in the floor most nights anyway with my feet up in the recliner.

My recliner and computer chair was salvageable.  There was no signs of nesting.  They left my TV’s and computer alone.  They nested in my cable box, and a retro stereo I had.  I had some X-Rays underneath my bed.  They were drawn to them for some reason.

I am in the market for a love seat right now.   I am also in the market for an elliptical dumbbells, a universal and maybe a rowing machine.   I will thoroughly  inspect it before purchasing.  I am passed it now.  I am excited what 2017 will bring.