House Guests

We’ve survived 1000-legged bugs. We’ve survived Amazonian roaches. And, now, it looks like we may have possibly, potentially, avoided a case of… bedbugs.

Yes, bedbugs are real. The old childhood saying, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite”, is not so cute anymore. A New Yorker’s greatest fear could include an infestation of bedbugs in their apartment. It sounds funny, but is a total nightmare.

Fortunately, we have not experienced that torture firsthand… yet. But, I do fear the day that some more unwanted houseguests might migrate over the threshold of our door and into fabrics of our clothes, furniture, and mattresses.

Bedbugs travel into apartments from items picked up on the sidewalks, going to a house that has bedbugs, or by mysteriously traveling from apartment to apartment in buildings. Much. Like. Our. Building.

Two weeks ago, we met our new neighbors, two cute girls that live across the hallway from us. During our first conversation ever, our neighbor mentions that they just exterminated their apartment for bedbugs! Apparently, the apartment below our apartment, the apartment below their apartment, AND their apartment all got bedbugs. Yikes! The odds are not in our favor.

I tried to appear unaffected and not freaked out, but once I started to hyperventilate in a paper bag, she cut the conversation short and summed it up with, “Well, I need to go get our curtains out of the laundry.” Because, we soon learned, EVERYTHING must be washed in hot water, dried in high heat, dry cleaned, steamed, and the apartment exterminated to kill the bedbugs. Then, all furniture must be cleaned to rid the apartment of any eggs or leftover bugs.

The work and the pricetag… wait… give me a second… just gotta grab my brown bag and calm down…

Better.

Luckily, LUCKILY, it’s been 2.5 weeks and there have been NO bedbug sightings in our apartment. Each day, I check all nooks and corners, and behind the couch and bed. I scream if I even THINK that I see something move. And, every night, I pray and ask God to please, please, please let me sleep tight and not let any bedbugs bite.