BED BUGS

Yes, I have bed bugs. And it is one of the top ten most annoying, non-harmful things a person could experience.

I first noticed a couple of bites on my side about a week and a half ago, but didn't think anything of it as my skin is really sensitive and prone to odd blemishes every now and then. But then about four days ago I noticed some more of the same type of marks on my side and a light went off in my head, "bed bugs!!". I showed my mom and she didn't think it was a bed bug bite, but nonetheless, I started cleaning all my clothes, bedding and any other fabric or linen in my room. I used bleach and water to wipe down all my furniture and did search of my bed and inside drawers to see if I could find any physical signs of bed bugs. I wasn't able to see any bugs or any of the other signs (poop stains, blood stains or shed shells), so I eased up a bit on the cleaning and worrying. But then I woke up the next morning with more bites, and the next morning there were more still, and the next...

My parents thought it was all in my head since we were never able to see any bed bugs ourselves despite waking up at 3am and 4am on several mornings to try to catch them in the act. But last night I finally told my mom she had to call an exterminator because I was just getting tired of finding new bites and, in case it was bed bugs, I didn't want them to multiply and spread more than they may already have.

This morning the bug guy came and was able to find a male bed bug in my bed frame, in the notch where the side beam support attaches to the headboard. "I TOLD YOU," were the first words out of my mouth when I saw the ugly thing.

Anyway, they are coming back tomorrow morning to treat my room, so I spent all of today taking out what was left in my room. I had already removed and washed most of my clothing (and will probably wash them again for good measure). Except for my bed which still have sheets on them, and the bags of the things I still need to wash, it looks like no one ever lived in this room.

So, tomorrow I am bringing everything else that has been in my room that can be put in a dryer and drying it all on high heat at the laundromat. Quite a few things have found their way to the trash, including fabric scraps, certain pieces of fabric and my homemade body mold , which Tim helped me make with paper tape. I didn't want to get rid of that but there's really no way of cleaning it so... :(

I was about to throw away all my yarn - oh put a knife in my heart! - but my mom suggested I try washing them in lingerie wash bags. I figure if I shove enough of the rolls of yarn in them, there won't be enough room for it all to get untangled and then tangled up in each other. We'll see.

Shoes will go through the dryer, bags, stuffed animals, pillows, crocheted creatures, I'll probably wash the jacket that I've been wearing all winter... basically, EVERYTHING.

And then what makes things even MORE annoying is that everything that has already been washed needs to stay in plastic bags in another room for TWO WEEKS until the exterminators come back for another treatment. So basically I'm going to be displaced for two weeks. I'll be able to sleep in my room, but it's recommended that I keep all washed clothing, shoes etc in a separate room.

Anyway, the point of aaallll of this is to say that I doubt I'll be making much over the next two weeks, which kind of sucks, but I'd rather take a two week break from crafting than risk re-exposing all my materials to bed bugs.

That's all for a now. Happy new year!

-Dani