Exterminators are coming tomorrow morning to spray for bedbugs.

The preparation instructions they gave me are rather extreme; pretty much the only way to fully comply is to pack up the place as if I was moving, and that's not going to happen.

So I'm going to clear out my bedroom, and wash all my clothes, and so on, but I'm not going to pack up my computer gear. The instructions say "clear off the tops of tables" and this is the only table I have. But if I unwire everything it's going to take a week to get it all working again, if I ever do. So I'm not going to.

I think the instructions are supposed to be interpreted to refer to the entire apartment, but I'm going to interpret them to refer only to the bedroom.

Even so, this will interrupt my life a bit. I have to be out of this apartment for several hours tomorrow, and I have to spend today doing laundry and then packing all my clothes in plastic bags. After it's all over and I can get back in here, I'll have to spend a lot of time setting things up again.

Which means I probably won't be online much, and I doubt I'll post anything here for at least a couple of days, except maybe for a quick update on how the bug hunt is going.

Where's Juan Rico when I need him?

UPDATE 6/26: The guy came right at 8:00 this morning, as scheduled. He wasn't a hard case about it. He never even looked at the computer table, for instance.

The instructions said I was supposed to remove all bedding, but not move the bed itself because it might make the bugs scatter. I don't use sheets; I have two comforters and I sleep between them. I decided I should leave the lower one on the bed, because I guessed it was probably involved in the bedbug's nesting.

And after he got there, I pulled it off -- and there were a couple of big, gross black places on it, lousy with bug scat.

Then he told me I had to clear out, and stay away for four hours. That was in the instructions, too, and I was prepared. I bought three new books for my Kindle yesterday, and went out to a coffee shop near here and read. But after three hours I got kind of bored with that, so I did some walking around.

If you look at a calendar, it's summer now. But Oregon sure didn't get the message. This whole spring has been cold and gray and wet, and it still is. It was about 60 out, and threatening rain, so I was walking around in my winter coat.

Finally got back about 12:30, half an hour ago. And now I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do. They didn't leave any instructions. The matress from my couch was pulled off, and in the bedroom the mattress and box springs are covered with something. Was I supposed to leave those on?

I went out and found Alex, the handyman, who was there this morning to help. He said they were supposed to stay on.

Meanwhile, my comforters are in black plastic bags, having themselves undergone anti-bug warfare, and I'm not sure I want them any more.

I think the plan is going to be for me to stay in a motel tonight. Tomorrow I'll go buy new comforters, and new pillows while I'm at it. Even with my new big shopping cart, that may turn out to be two trips. I hope not. I think I walked about four miles today, and my legs really hurt. (It's the most exercise I've gotten in about five years.) And it's going to be about half a mile to the motel, and tomorrow I bet my legs hurt like mad. Ick.

At least it won't be blisteringly hot.

UPDATE: The manager just called me. She said I do have to throw out the comforters, but that's OK because I was already planning to do so. But buying new will be a bit of a problem, because now it's pouring down rain.

It's OK to sleep here tonight, she said. But without blankets, sheets, or pillows that might be a trick. I think I'm going to sleep on my couch tonight. I was crashed out for a nap on it when she called.

Also, he put covers on my mattress and box springs, and those are supposed to stay. But the one on the matress has a broken zipper, and he's going to bring a new one, probably tomorrow. So it's another reason why not to use the bedroom tonight.

When I was putting the box springs and mattress back into place, I found a live bug on the outside of the mattress cover. I gather I'll be finding them for a while, according to the instructions. Apparently the poison isn't instant-kill.

The instructions were that it would take two or three weeks for the treatment to succeed -- if it does.

UPDATE: The warning about an interruption was based on the concern that they'd force me to tear down my computer system. Since that didn't happen, looks like my internet activity will continue like normal.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Daily Life at 09:45 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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