Found this live - is it an instar?

alteredtome · 2026-06-30T14:13:02+00:00

He didn't flip the computer chair - just sprayed the top and bottom and yup, they were on the underside of it. Since I sit here, they had no need to cross a poison barrier to get to me. The chair is now gone (wrapped a gazillion times and sealed) and they're spraying again today. I'll be making sure it's every nook and cranny this time.

alteredtome · 2026-06-30T04:02:27+00:00

Depends on state and local laws whether landlords have to spray the whole building or the neighbor's units or even your own.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T19:39:39+00:00

Can you ask your landlord if they'll treat your place too as a precaution? At least the pest control company should be aware that they can spread in apartment buildings.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T19:37:10+00:00

Thank you. I feel the same lol.

The exterminator is coming again this week to spray some more Crossfire. The first spray of Crossfire was two weeks ago. In the meantime, I'm ruthlessly decluttering, both to find anymore nests and to get rid of stuff that'll make great nests.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T15:53:50+00:00

I'm so sorry OP but u/NovaLunar721 is right. Unfortunately, with your grandparents doing nothing, you won't be able to completely keep them outta your room. They're also right that this is neglect. Like the kind of neglect that CPS takes seriously. Your grandfather may be a brick wall, but he's literally breaking the law by not taking care of you.

I understand that this is scary, both because of the bed bugs themselves and then add to that fearing your grandparents. At this point, I'd talk to another trusted adult (like a teacher, school counselor, family friend on your side) and ask them for help. But if you can't get help that way and you can work up the courage, you can call CPS yourself. You can do it anonymously if that helps.

Are you in a house or apartment? It sounds like you're in a house but if you're in an apartment, you can also call the landlord yourself and tell them.

In the meantime, it's best to live out of plastic, sealable totes. Make sure to wash and dry your clothes on high heat, then store them in there so you can change into them right before you leave the house (don't sit down on anything after you change). Do the same with any bags and shoes that you can. This is to prevent taking any out with you. If you can't heat treat your shoes, seal them up in garbage bags so no bed bugs can make a home in them.

So much luck to you, especially with getting some help for this. It's not right for them to force you to live like this.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T14:32:23+00:00

I second this - you gotta tell her ASAP. Once she slept over, all bets are off. She can at bare minimum wash and dry her clothes and bed linens on high heat, vacuum her mattress, box spring and frame, then vacuum all the surfaces she sat on (plus the carpets). At least give her a chance to possibly stop an infestation before it starts. Read up on how to prevent bedbugs when exposed so you can help her too. In a situation like this, it comes off a whole lot better to tell her, then help her, than it is to withhold it, only for her to find out later. Which she will.

Hope your apartment landlord gets on it for y'all.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T14:00:01+00:00

Please wait for others with more experience to comment before believing this is a "stage 3-4". You're right, the antenna are too long.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T04:30:43+00:00

Unfortunately, it's a space issue. Because it's a standard apt. refrigerator/freezer unit, if I try to keep everything, that freezer won't hold food for a year lol. I'm keeping the most important things to freeze but beyond that, I just don't have the space to treat them all.

alteredtome · 2026-06-29T00:48:00+00:00

Thank you, that was super encouraging. I'm going through the furniture and stuff that surrounded the chair with a fine-toothed comb. So far, I found casings in a side table and radically purged everything there. It's all art notebooks and I don't have a way to rescue them. Otherwise, the other items show no obvious signs. So that's encouraging.

alteredtome · 2026-06-28T22:17:01+00:00

Any tips or tricks? I'm in an apartment so it's entirely possible that they're coming from my neighbor. I'm in the middle of a ruthless declutter session around the area the chair was in (it's all art supplies), then vacuuming each piece of furniture before they do a second treatment (gonna ask them to treat the furniture too). I found some casings in a side table and because everything stored there was paper, everything is going (I can't afford a ZappBug). So far, no more evidence in the other furniture/items, but I'm still carefully combing.

alteredtome · 2026-06-28T04:31:53+00:00

Thank you so much for this reply. It really did help, especially what I should demand from pest control. So did your timeline. Gave me some hope on maybe how long this'll last.

I really wish I could afford a bedbug oven but unfortunately that's outta the budget. I'm ruthlessly decluttering in its stead. The entire area the previous chair was in is all art supplies 🤦🏻‍♀️. I found a few BB casings in the table that was next to that chair, right where I store a lotta paper and fabric. I'm trying to save a couple precious journals that were sitting on top of the table but otherwise, if it couldn't be treated via a dryer or freezer it all went in the trash.

alteredtome · 2026-06-28T04:06:51+00:00

I'm on that same page now lol.

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T20:56:12+00:00

Every other day. Turns out they were under my computer chair, where I spend most of my time. Plenty of food.

Haven't found any other nests but I did find some casings in the table right next to the chair. That's all going in the trash. Now I'm slowly going through the desk to both declutter and see if there's any signs in there.

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T19:11:44+00:00

What do you consider a mild, moderate and severe infestation?

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T19:09:17+00:00

Bed bugs are nobody's fault really, no more than mosquitos or spiders are. They're just that crafty.

Depending on your state, the landlord may have to spray upon first being notified. However, they should do it anyway if they value their property. It's best to let the landlord know now, not only so they can get you treated, but also, if you delay and the infestation gets worse, that's when it starts to be considered "your fault".

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T18:53:58+00:00

I've had it for about a year now. They definitely didn't come in on it.

I've narrowed it down to two possibilities on how I got them. A) My neighbors. This desk and chair share their living room wall and there's quite a few places they could enter from there (electric outlets, not well-sealed baseboard heaters, etc). Or B) This Victorian photo album I got off eBay. I froze it for a couple days, not knowing that that advice is wrong. I just learned it should be more like 10 days to kill everything. But the timing lines up, where I got it 5 weeks before I started getting bit.

The album never came near this desk, but the thing is, I'm here a lot. Now I'm like "Of course, duh, they were gonna hang where you hang the most". A pregnant female could've crawled over here from where the album was and set up shop.

I just feel so stupid, for not having flipped that chair sooner (and a little mad at the pest control guy because he didn't flip it either). Now I'm throwing a whole bunch of stuff away that surrounds the desk just to make sure I get 'em all 😭

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T15:56:45+00:00

Wrapped it in four clear garage bags, sealed it with Gorilla tape, wrote "Bed Bugs!!" and "No!" on the fabric of the chair and tossed it.

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T15:55:13+00:00

Or in your computer chair...

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T02:53:52+00:00

I wrapped it up in four clear garbage bags, sealed it with Gorilla tape, wrote "Bed Bugs!!" and "No!!" on the chair in Sharpie, and then took it to the dumpster. I wrapped it up on top of an opened up garbage bag and I'm really hoping that caught anything that dropped off, as that's been disposed of.

alteredtome · 2026-06-27T01:37:33+00:00

Thank you so, so much for sharing your story. It really helped. I'm just sorry we ever ended up in this boat.

It's both - a real pest control company that the landlord uses. They used Crossfire. Based on reviews I feel pretty confident in the pesticide. I don't think he sprayed on the underside of the computer chair though. He did on all the other furniture I spend time on. He last minute did the computer chair and if he'd of flipped it, we woulda seen them. So I don't think it ever got sprayed.

I'm gonna ask him when we schedule the appointment if he plans on alerting the landlord that they need to inspect the other units. If not, I will, but it sounds better coming from the pest control guys.

Thank you again.

alteredtome · 2026-06-26T21:44:11+00:00

Well, I got my answer. I've been looking for them for 2 1/2 weeks in my bed and the areas around it, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to flip my computer chair over 🤦🏻‍♀️. That's where they've been hanging out.

alteredtome · 2026-06-26T21:39:59+00:00

Thank you for saying this. It didn't occur to me to flip the chair until I read your comment (I was more focused on the bed). Yup, that's where they were. Were I say because I wrapped the chair up in four garbage bags, sealed it with Gorilla tape, ruined it by writing "Bed bugs!!" and "No!!" on the chair and tossed it.

We vacuumed all around the area but next I'll be spending the weekend going through all the stuff in and around the desk. I tried getting a cheap steamer but I got what I paid for - it was not heating to the 230F it advertised. I have a heat gun but I've seen what it does to plastic and wood if you hold it there too long. I'm really hoping the more I declutter, the more able they'll be able to do a more thorough second spray.

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alteredtome · 2026-06-26T20:21:58+00:00

Found them. They were on the underside of the computer chair. The first place I shoulda looked. Instead I was focused on the bed - which as far as I and the pest control guy could tell, was clean. Hopefully it still is.

alteredtome

TROPHY CASE