bed bug rant-eeeww!!!

[AlyssaDarling]

My boyfriend and I moved out on our own for the first time in October of last year. We were really excited to have a place so close to our jobs, several grocery stores, and bus loops, not to mention it's in our budget. Growing up, neither of us has ever had problems with bed bugs and didnt even think about asking the landlord about it.
Big mistake. We've lived here for about 10 and a half months and have had bed bugs 3 times. it takes about 1 month-2 months for anything to be done about it, and until the treatment is done we end up sleeping on our cheap futon in the living room. The last 2 treatments were stressful and this third one coming up is going to be worse because we now have 2 cats with us that we'll have to put into crates and bring with us while we're kicked out for the day.
We're currently looking for somewhere else to move to, but it's hard when we, together, make just under $20,000 a year, and I have a few credit card bills I need to pay off from dental work that I have very little coverage on as it's considered "cosmetic".(that's a whole other story that I'm also P.O. about! lol)
We waste so much money on laundry, having to throw EVERYTHING into the coin-operated laundry machines downstairs, bags to keep them in as far away from the room as possible and now that we're going to move we have to buy a new mattress and dresser!
Does anyone know if there's any moving incentives or help with this stuff financially when you're a low-income person? Apart from BC housing as I don't want to fully rely on government/tax payers.

[wolfwoman]

Sorry to hear that. I couldn't ever imagine having that kind of problem. Hope it gets better!

[AmandaPantz]

Trust me, it is NOT a problem that you ever want, and if you can't fumigate, takes forever to deal with.

[couponmama1990]

My boyfriend and I dealt with a very similar issue when we had our first apartment, except the landlord told us they would do nothing about it - a month after we moved out, they started spraying. I was beyond POed. I know that the Salvation Army can usually give you a voucher for furniture, and the one down here has brand new, still in the plastic beds that you can get for a fraction of the retail cost. So that may be an option. I'm not sure about housing options up there, but I do know that bed bugs is not a problem you can easily get rid of, especially if they aren't doing the carpeting (if you have any) the couches, etc.

Wish you luck!

[AlyssaDarling]

After the heat treatments we vacuum everything, or bed and pillow cases have t really been out of the casings since we moved. I'm pretty sure it's our neighbor on our bedroom side because we never get it in the living room, even when we're sleeping there. It's always just the bedroom (although now we're finding them in the bathroom!) and we've mentioned this to the landlord but there's not much we can do short of moving. Gotta go buy a bunch of heavy duty huge ziplock bags to keep all our clean clothes in! Lol it's not fun!

Thanks for the tip about the salvation army! I'll definatly look into that!

[Peachykeen2007]

In British Columbia, Vancouver's residential tenancy act states the landlord must provide a safe and healthy rental unit. While it doesn't specifically mention bedbugs, Vancouver's health by-law states that the landlord is responsible for treating bedbug infestations. Bedbugs are becoming a large problem in Vancouver. The Tenants Rights Action Coalition is a place tenants can go for further information.

might want to check this out

http://www.tenants.bc.ca/main/?bedbugs

After the heat treatments we vacuum everything, or bed and pillow cases have t really been out of the casings since we moved. I'm pretty sure it's our neighbor on our bedroom side because we never get it in the living room, even when we're sleeping there. It's always just the bedroom (although now we're finding them in the bathroom!) and we've mentioned this to the landlord but there's not much we can do short of moving. Gotta go buy a bunch of heavy duty huge ziplock bags to keep all our clean clothes in! Lol it's not fun!

Thanks for the tip about the salvation army! I'll definatly look into that!

[AlyssaDarling]

I've looked into that, and as long as they keep treating it I'm sure they won't be deemed responsible. And since bed bugs don't carry disease or make you sick they aren't insiders a huge health issue. Which is silly.

[Slaney]

OMG that sucks. And unfortunately bed bugs are immune to the pesticides they use. The only way to actually get rid of them is to raise to temperature of the entire building so like 140 degrees.

[Candini]

you should check out bedbugregistry.com its a list of any apartments or hotels that have had an issue in the past 6 months.
my street is sooo bad on the registry, thankfully my unit has not come up on the website.

food for thought anyway if you plan on leaving

[sharkie]

After reading your post I called my brother-inlaw who owns a company that specializes in pest control...he told me that here in ontario they recommend for regular upkeep and as a preventive that people buy a steam machine....not the carpet kind....he said machines like the one made by shark that Canadian tire sells for $150 is a great way to keep them away....apparantly steam is the only true way to kill them....he swears by it.....

[tjthemanto]

Bed Bugs are a huge issue in lot of apartment buildings. There are even websites listed with which apartment buildings have a bed bug problem, in some cities.

[ssbean]

I am so sorry. I hate the thought of bed bugs. Hope your search for a new place goes well.

[AlyssaDarling]

I didn't find about about the bed bug registry till we got bugs the first time. Now it's my best friend! Lol. Unfortunately it doesn't load properly for me, so I have to search via google.

[SFARAZ]

try this

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

[Peachykeen2007]

I find that odd, especially seeing how it is such a problem there

Here even if 1 apartment has it they are to spray the whole building as they can go threw walls etc

There has to be something you can do

I've looked into that, and as long as they keep treating it I'm sure they won't be deemed responsible. And since bed bugs don't carry disease or make you sick they aren't insiders a huge health issue. Which is silly.