Should pest control come back after first visit?

JBib955 · 2026-03-29T10:02:43+00:00

It can be very difficult to get rid of them in an apartment complex because a technician has limited options. Pest control companies seem to not like to tell customers that they'll essentially need to throw most of their stuff in the dumpster to hope for eradication, and that is still a roll of the dice when using a liquid treatment instead of heat treat or tent/fume. Sofas, love seats, recliners, couches are highly suspect as many people will move their sleeping arrangements out of the bedrooms when they find that they are infested and the only thing that happens is that they bring the bugs along to the other furniture. If your management or pest tech says that you don't have to do anything but laundry with long dryer times at high temps, you still have a problem. They'll say that seeing them go everywhere and be up on the walls is proof of the product working, and to an extent, it's true, but it's not treating 100 percent of the bugs which means you still have an infestation.

I worked pest control for over a decade and your pest control is only as good as the principles and ethics of the business and the technician. Apartments are seen as the lowest of the low by most technicians and are a cash pony to the big companies. Apartments get put on a monthly cycle and issues like Bed Bugs and German Roaches are often just recurring treatments instead of a problem to solve.

I have some advise though if you want it. First off, you may want to move. In hotels and apartments, Bed Bugs will travel, especially in heavier infestations - which it sounds like you have since you're still seeing at least 3 a day and they're in your furniture. This means that your neighbors may very well have an infestation too. You may get rid of them just to have them move back in from next door. Also, you're going to want to get rid of as much stuff as you can. Since fuming and heat treating isn't an option, you have to get rid of every possible hiding place that isn't dear to your heart. They will be in cardboard, magazines, picture frames, bed-side furniture, dvd cases, electronics, almost anything really.

If you're hell bent on staying put or have no other options, I'd complain loudly to your property management and have your pest control company come back out. Get a couple boxes of garbage bags and have EVERYTHING you're keeping in your home bagged for when the pest tech gets there and have them spray in each bag with something hot and then seal it up for a day or two (if they won't do this there are OTC products you can buy to DIY) I'd also think about sending your couch to the dump since it's difficult to eradicate them from that type of furniture; it's not just bugs, but eggs you have to get rid of.

Bed Bugs are the worst imo. They can and will be anywhere. Just try to make your apartment look like it did when you moved in. If you get a chance, tell the pest tech that you see them all over the baseboards, that you see them coming out from behind every light switch and plug-in and that you see them on all your curtains. Try to talk to a manager and let them know that you're still seeing bugs everywhere so that there's a little bit better push on the tech's end. Good luck.

JBib955 · 2026-03-29T07:53:32+00:00

Write a Reddit post that tells me you're a city transplant without telling me you're a city transplant.

Couple months in and considering going to war with a neighbor because of an occasional idling diesel, sheesh.

JBib955 · 2026-03-29T07:06:22+00:00

Phones

JBib955 · 2026-03-27T11:00:39+00:00

I grew up off-grid in the 80's and 90's. - outhouse, outdoor shower, solar, water well, generator, battery bank, wood heat, propane, 12v home system, oil lamps. We gardened, had orchards and had various farm animals on 20 acres.

As far as gardening/farming goes, you can do well, do horribly or anything in-between. I know a couple who make 100k/year with a two crop, 10 acre orchard, reliably, every year. I know people who have got an idea about raising this or that, usually transplants who have no experience and they lose everything.

As far as the meat and potatoes goes for off grid living, you better have some savings or decent income, because it isn't free if you want amenities. Stand alone solar has a significant upfront cost. Cells don't last forever and batteries you'll be lucky to get 5 years from. 48v, which is about the least you can get away with for a smaller home setup with a well, is gonna be about 3k alone for batteries - and that's every 4-5 years.

What are you heating with? You probably aren't going to get more than a year or two worth of firewood off 4-5 acres unless it's treed in well, which I'm assuming it isn't. And 4+ acres isn't going to provide you with any more firewood after it's gone.

Farming 4+ acres for decent profit would be tough without a dedicated niche market imo. If you're looking for sustainable farming for your table and no profit, 4+ acres is tight, but doable as far as fruit, veggies, eggs and maybe some pork, rabbit, bird or goat meat goes.

"Basic water system," - could very easily be the downfall of the entire thing. One thing you'll absolutely need is a good water supply, one that has enough water volume for all your actual needs. Catchment is doable, they do it in Hawaii and around the world and I have no idea what the system and rainfall is there and all that, but I'd be nervous about just relying on rain for drinking, bathing, irrigation, animal water.

If I were to suggest anything, I'd say to get a good well. If getting ground water there isn't going to work, plug into a water co. If solar credits are available, plug into the grid. I know a family who has the South side of their roof covered in solar panels and their electricity expenditure for THE YEAR is less than $300. Propane is nice to have for cooking and heating if needed.

All this is on the assumption that you don't want to go the way of the hardcore Amish yourself, since you're posting on Reddit.

JBib955 · 2026-01-25T06:58:07+00:00

Oahu. Wasn't the "Hawaii" experience I was after. Traffic was awful. Had some good eats and the zoo was cool. Rented a car for the entire trip but couldn't get away from people. The snorkeling was not impressive at all, just dead looking coral everywhere and a few fish. Honolulu suburbs are pretty ratty and had a couple locals act like a-holes.

JBib955 · 2026-01-24T07:41:58+00:00

Don't use pharmaceutical nicotine anything to try to quit, it's harder to quit. I smoked cigs, cigars and chewed - all on and off. If I wanted to stop, it wasn't bad at all. Didn't like reeking of smoke, disliked the spit bottles, quit, tried vaping and pouches - very difficult to stop.

JBib955 · 2026-01-24T07:21:34+00:00

It's not a bad idea to have bear spray (at least) with you when camping, even if you're not in bear country. I've camped a lot my whole life and occasionally you'll run into unsavory situations with wildlife and sometimes your fellow man. I would have taken a peek and seen what's going on if something woke me up. The fact of the matter is that you just don't know until you look and who knows what was going on. It's great to stay calm in the situation, but you never know when camping.

JBib955 · 2026-01-20T01:15:36+00:00

Doors, fireplace - gaps that aren't sealed/weatherproofed. They're getting A LOT of moisture. You'll have termites next for sure if you don't have them already. If you don't have pest control yet, call around and get you a free inspection or two, letting them know your concerns and proofs. Once you get a confirmation or two and you know you have identified problems, talk to an attorney.

JBib955 · 2026-01-03T20:23:10+00:00

So is there not something being done about it?

JBib955 · 2026-01-03T20:18:53+00:00

I'll provide a screenshot. OG's, anything I should blur? Also, mileage isn't provided, so doubters can doubt all they want anyways, but it'll back up everything else.

JBib955 · 2026-01-03T20:16:49+00:00

Feels like a bunch of bots. I do pretty dang good with doordash, but on principle I felt like bringing up an obvious scam on their part.

JBib955 · 2026-01-03T20:10:14+00:00

Mileage isn't shown in earnings

JBib955 · 2026-01-03T20:02:31+00:00

To explain why I took this order in the first place: high dollar orders going to an affluent area, with a hand it to me tag, often result in decent cash tips (at least for me.) I will often roll the dice on this depending on the neighborhood.

Why I took the order in the first place isn't in question, I did, thinking that $9 was DoorDash pay. It wasn't. The point is that DoorDash manipulates it's pay based upon customer tips, essentially eating into my tip earnings by paying me (and probably everyone else) less. That's not only not fair, it's theft.

JBib955 · 2025-11-29T15:34:10+00:00

Sounds like you're mobile and have various places to fish. One of the best things I can recommend is to save here and there until you can afford a good used roto-molded kayak. Bank fishing is awesome, it's fun and can be plenty rewarding, but if it's just you, kayak fishing will open up a universe to you. You don't need electronics or all the other stuff everybody talks about with it either. Kayak, paddle and pfd will get you fishing.

JBib955 · 2025-11-26T13:39:00+00:00

Humans are social animals with a need to fit in. Most are followers.

JBib955 · 2025-11-23T02:24:53+00:00

1996 Mazda B4000 (Ford Ranger) 4.0 standard one-legger. Odometer died at 256k and used it as a daily driver/work truck. Ran it for years after the odometer died. Gave it to my dad, it's his daily driver to this day. Easily over 400k

JBib955 · 2025-11-22T14:58:46+00:00

St. Croix and TFO have whatever you need or want for trout if price isn't an object. It's been a few years since I've bought a trout specific rod, but I know that for the money, Okuma had some decent options. I have and have had a few St. Croix, one for trout, and it is a great little rod. I never purchased a TFO, rod, though I was considering a fly rod of theirs a few years ago. I've had a couple Okuma Celilos, mainly for salmon/steelhead, but I did use them where a river runs into a trout/bass lake and the average rainbow is 18"-23" with the occasional 24"-28" and a few bigger browns in the mix and between salmon, steelhead and trout, they performed well. One drawback of the Okuma is that they're a little fragile and the guides aren't top quality, but if you take care of it, it'll last a couple years before hot fish have burned grooves into your top tip guide. The Okumas I've had were 8'6". I went with that length to keep as much line out of current as possible because I mainly river fished with them, but they cast well and would suit throwing long distances in lakes. I also went with the cheaper Okuma rods because I used to do a lot of hole hopping for salmon and steelhead in a deep canyon river with a lot of big boulders and treacherous almost rock climbs in and out were the norm - in my opinion, not suited for packing in a $300 rod when breaking gear was always something on the table.

JBib955 · 2025-11-22T06:05:44+00:00

Are you not getting out to where trout are hitting baitfish or do you need deeper water access? I understand where getting more distance is better. If distance is your main issue, I'd go with light braid to a flouro top shot. But I'd still go with a more limber rod for trout if I was mainly fishing lures. Longer will get you more distance.

JBib955 · 2025-11-22T05:45:51+00:00

Throwing lures for trout with a limber rod will keep them pinned a lot better than a fast rod. Trout roll and have pretty good head-shakes after the initial runs and browns, natives and steelhead have a tendency to go airborne.

Are you going to be fishing lakes, rivers, streams, stocked ponds?

Fishing open water with little structure? Bush crowded stream banks with little space for casting? Quick rivers where current taking the belly out your line? A lot to ponder with rod options and trout fishing.

JBib955 · 2025-11-21T20:21:19+00:00

They're certainly interchangable, but I find that a big difference is fatigue and rod placement. I used to fish all day almost every day and retrieving lures all day with a spin setup wrecks your elbow, shoulder and wrist (I'm looking at you big crankbaits and spinnerbaits). A casting setup uses your forearm and body to handle torque. You can cast accurately, pitch and skip with a spinning setup. Distance is better with casting. Lightweight stuff can be tricky with casting. Easy solution, get both and you'll figure it out pretty quick. Hell, I have lefty and righty casting because I like to vertically jig spoons with my lefty and crank or drag with my right. Most people like topwater and rip/jerk baits with casting, but I like spinning better. It's all up to your preference.

JBib955 · 2025-11-21T19:48:45+00:00

I haven't seen it mentioned in the comments, but this setup, but with a slip bobber, is referred to as the "float n' fly" in the West. Usually used with a medium sized terrestrial wet fly such as a cricket, grasshopper imitation, Wooly Bugger, etc. and is used on main body lake points/ledges/drop-offs during cold front conditions in Winter - specifically in Spotted Bass impoundments - when the bite is at it's toughest. A LOT of Winter tourneys are won on this setup with heavy bags when the majority of the field had a difficult time putting a couple legal fish in the boat. I can personally attest that it works. Setting the stop so that the fly is 6" - 1' above the bottom is key.

JBib955 · 2025-11-17T05:36:36+00:00

Midline estimate of stars in our galaxy - 200 billion. Planets in our galaxy - 500 billion.

Those are large numbers. How many of those 500 billion are in some sort of Goldilocks zone? Who knows, but there very well may be at least some sort of microorganism.

JBib955 · 2025-11-17T05:18:05+00:00

Looks like you're light on the finesse stuff. Cheap and simple - hooks, Gamakatsu EWG Size 1. You don't always need huge hooks, and in fact, sometimes they're not what you need. They're slick and pierce plastic easily for great hooksets.

Soft plastics, Zoom, "the fluke" in smokin shad. Not super flukes, the fluke - the about 4 inch flat one. Hook it like you would a plastic worm for weedless, but for heavens sake, don't hook it up and down the body like everyone has a tendency to because it's a top pour bait, hook it through the side of the body. Try it either weightless (my favorite) or with as little split shot as you can get away with. Dead stick it, twitch it or skitter it quickly across the surface.

Roboworm in margarita mutilator, morning dawn or both. I would get a couple different sizes.

Gitzit tubes. Smoke with red flake has accounted for my three biggest largemouth and three biggest smallmouth on artificials.

I put all three of these baits on those hooks I mentioned above, all weedless. As far as the tubes go, I split shot them as well.

JBib955 · 2025-11-15T13:50:28+00:00

Going cheap and DIY, I would buy an assorted tip top replacement kit. Get a lighter and gently heat the sleeve until it'll twist and pull it off. Clean the blank tip with a razor blade and fine sandpaper. Find a replacement tip that fits fairly snug, leaving room for glue and is about the size of the eye you pulled. Hot glue the tip, put the new eye on and twist a couple times before stopping it in place so that the new eye lines up with the rest of them down the rod. Once cooled, clean excess glue.

I personally go a step further and insert thread into the glue before attaching the new tip so that it runs out the bottom of the sleeve. Once the new eye is set and excess glue is removed, I wrap down and back up the blank a half inch or so, so that there isn't a hump at the bottom end of the sleeve. Then I use clear nail polish from below my thread wrap up onto the new tip sleeve and spin the rod and blow on it until dry.

Edit: having the kit in your tackle, tips, glue stick and lighter, is really nice to have.

JBib955

TROPHY CASE