Bed Bugs Bite

My poor darling baby girl woke up a few weeks ago with bites on her neck and shoulders. Then the next day there were more on her back and hips. At first it looked like a rash or maybe spider bites, but then we came to the realization that they were bedbugs!!! Oh my grossness.

We figured they came from her bed, (duh) which is especially probable given the fact that we bought it off craigslist. It's a pine captain bed, with five drawers in it, so there were plenty of places for the little rascals to hide. We tossed out the mattress and pillow, then took the frame outside. PJ inspected it with a flashlight and found the telltale signs of shed bug skins. Ewwwww. We researched some internet sites to figure out how to get rid of them, as we've heard it's tough to do.

The entire weekend was spent scrubbing down the frame with rubbing alcohol, leaving it in the sun to bake all day, washing ALL of our bedding and clothing in hot water and drying them all on high (why did this happen AFTER we moved from the apartment with the washer/dryer in our unit?!?!), calling an exterminator who went to TOWN spraying down the frame and the rest of the apartment, keeping the kids entertained outside for five hours while the house aired out, shopping for and buying a new mattress, and then putting down sheets and blankets on the carpet so Alex wouldn't get poison on his toys and put them in his mouth. Such a NOT fun experience, I assure you. But so far so good. I'm knocking on wood that there has been no further sign of them. I get the heebiegeebies every time I think about them. YUCK.