By Judy Reiss
Every now and then I hear about something that I think is so important to share with you that I am sorry you might think that I am making it up! However, this is not only true, it is actually something that has happened and is happening to my best friend’s daughter. I told her that I was going to write and tell you all about her problem, but she asked me not to mention the name of the company until it was over, if ever! And so I won’t tell you the name of the company this week but I assure you that when this whole episode is over, I will.

The main reason I am so anxious to share this with you is to warn you what can happen. My friend’s daughter, who is the same age as my son Tobi (49), woke up one morming with something feeling strange on her back and arm. And she immediately checked and found a couple of strange looking little tiny bugs biting her. And after checking found that the bugs were “bed bugs”. Now before I tell you the rest of the story, it is important I tell you she is a real neat freak! Her house is so clean you could probably lick her floors. So now the saga begins.

After really freaking out, she called this unnamed company and made an appointment to hire them to get rid of the bugs and completely exterminate her house.

So, the company sent one of their employees and realy worked at getting rid of those hideous bugs. Fortunately, they were sure they were just in the bedroom, so (let’s call her Jane) and Jeff moved into the living room and sealed off the bedroom. But, of course, the bugs also must have enjoyed what was done because they were still there after two cleanings. So, Jane and Jeff tried to figure out where the bugs came from and what they could do to get rid of them at the same time as the big company continued their extermination. Well, they found that the new bed that had been given to them by a friend actually brought a million bugs and their children and eggs into the house. And they were so horrified that they threw the bed outside and burned it right into nothing but ash. Unfortunately, Jeff had spent hours making this the most beautiful bed you ever saw. But I guess the bugs thought so, too. That this bed had been outside through a cold Maine winter didn’t bother the bugs at all. But now, hopefully, they were all burned to ash with the beautiful bed!

Wrong. The bugs were not bothered at all and neither were they bothered about the professional extermination process, which went on for several weeks. And Jeff and Jane called and called and called, begging for relief from this scourge. Now I have to share with you that they first saw the first bugs about the first week of November. And they have paid a tremendous amount of money as well as worked amazingly hard themselves to rid their bedroom of the historically hideous bed bug. I am writing this on January 18th and to date, they haven’t been bug free yet! The other day they had begged and threatened the company to send someone who might be able to help and to their surprise the guy who came was someone they knew. And he shared with them that what had been done by this national company wasn’t really enough. Can you imagine? So, he did a huge cleaning himself. Oh and he found a whole nest of bugs in a wooden framed picture above where the bed had been!

So, I am sharing this hideous story with you to let you know that bed bugs are not just a funny bug like a tick that you crush and they are gone. I know that I never knew that to get rid of bed bugs is a major operation. And I also didn’t know that to hire a professional organization doesn’t guarantee anything except it will cost a small fortune.

You need to be sure that if and when you travel, you don’t stay anywhere that bed bugs live, which can mean any hotel. And if you know someone who has bed bugs, be sure you stay away. It is probably interesting to know that bed bugs have been with us since the middle ages and probably before. When I was little, my father always used to say “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” when I went to bed and I always thought it was just a silly saying. So, be careful and aware because none of us has that kind of money to spent trying to get rid of a bug that is probably way over 1,000 years old!

And keep posted. Very soon, I hope, I will let you know the name of the national company who takes your money but not your bed bugs.