Please help me, Lemmy.
I was staying at a friend’s for a month waiting for an affordable room to be available, only to move in and after a week see a bedbug.
It’s a single room, for poor people, with a shared kitchen.
I am poor, work remotely, and my financial situation is bad. I thought this could improve things.
I moved in a week ago, but didn’t move all my stuff in because it’s in boxes in my friend’s garage right now.
I have moved in with 2 outfits, 2 jackets, a work computer, some computer accessories, and have purchased 1 matress and pillow and bed sheet set at target.
The manager of the property beforehand said there haven’t been bed bugs for years, but one of the door has like a block over the bottom with powder in the doorway past the block to kill bugs as like a sort of trap. The manager said prior to my moving in this is just fear from 3 years ago. The units are very affordable and I had to be on a waitlist to get a unit.
I am not sure what to do. The place is mostly quiet and I could work here. I don’t love the area because although it’s low income rent, it’s in a high cost area with many food places nearby charging very high tourist amounts, like any burrito or sandwich is $13 at least. Rent is very low, however.
I could leave now before moving other stuff in, put my stuff in bags except for my work computer when getting back to my friends, and look for a different slightly more expensive place. I can’t stay with my friend long-term because her apartment is next to a distribution center with trucks pulling in and out all night and I wake up easily due to PTSD and always being on alert, even when sleeping. She sleeps through anything. I also don’t like ear-plugs and can’t sleep with them in. When I was staying there I was chronically tired.
Suggestions from Lemmy? How bad are bed bugs? It was only 1 but I squished it. Pest control coincidentally came that day and identified it is a bed bug.
Also, I have not paid rent for this month and it’s due by tomorrow. I could actually leave immediately, today even, and just not pay the rent. My credit is bad already and the money would be useful if it’s a mistake to stay. It’s sleazy to leave wirhout paying for this month, but I am poor and may not have the luxury of paying for a place that could result in a chronic bed bug infestation. I would also lose my deposit.
I also don’t know where it came from. I can’t be totally sure it didn’t come from my friend’s place although I stayed there 5 weeks and saw nothing bad. I also had purchased a new outfit from a store with vintage recycled clothes, like an upscale GoodWill store, but that was 2 weeks ago and there were no bites. It may not be from the new place, but I don’t think I was bitten before the move in. Strangely, I don’t even know if the bedbug I squished bit me. The pest control person said the city has many infestations and could have come from public transportation.
My friend lives 6 hours away by bus and I don’t know as many people there. It’s also a cheaper area and I could move there. I could actually just get a ticket and leave today if everything else is irrational.
I am very tired and don’t know what to think. The time at my friends impacted my mental health and I’m not sure I am seeing it rationally.
Bed bugs are good at hiding. If there’s one, either it hitched a ride with you or someone else, or there’s more hiding nearby. Look all around the mattress, sofas, etc. maybe ask the pest control guy for a thorough inspection.
As far as leaving… well, depends on your rental contract whether you’re (legally) allowed to leave at a moment’s notice. Also, once again, you’d still have to take a lot of care inspecting and/or sanitizing your belonging, or getting rid of them.
On the positive side, bed bugs are annoying but they don’t transmit diseases like e.g. mosquitos or ticks.
Source:
I’m not allowed to look into other rooms of other tenants. I get the sense that because the rooms are small, many may be cluttered.
I am not that concerned whether I am legally allowed to leave. I don’t have much, they won’t bother suing me and my credit is bad. The laws of physics allow me to walk out, go purchase a bus pass, and leave with 2 bags of stuff and be on my way.
What worries me is moving my stuff in, bed bugs get into everything, and then I become one of those people fighting bed bugs for years. It sounds awful. I am poor but work full time, I don’t want to be afflicted by constant bed bugs. I want to know the optimal choice to reduce my own suffering given asymmetric information. It’s possible just walking away is the best choice, but my finances are not good right now.
Do your roommates and other tenants enjoy living with bed bugs? Because either they were there already, or if they came with you, they’ll eventually spread to them as well.
Assuming they don’t enjoy living with bed bugs, maybe work together with them to find then and exterminate them, including asking to allow pest control to check their place.
If they think as bed bugs as cute pets and don’t want to get rid of them, then seriously think about leaving. Maybe check your rental contract for a way out, e.g. if landlord not getting rid of bed bugs is a breach of contract or something (again IANAL, chech with people who know how this works).
Edit: based on your edit than you don’t care about legal consequences… then yeah, if your roommates don’t cooperate, then just leave. I’d still look for a legal way to exit the contract, if there’s one, but that’s me.
My co-inhabitants of the building don’t all speak English, all are very poor, some could have mental issues, some may be drug users. There are also many tenants and I am new and don’t speak a second language. It may not be easy or possible to coordinate with everyone and if it were it would be extremely time consuming.