Hey! So my boyfriend and I moved into our apartment last August. It was very dirty when we moved in and it is basically the top floor of an old house. There are two units downstairs as well. I’m saying this because based on the state of the apartment when we moved in it is clear it was not kept up well in the past.

When we moved in there were lots of cracks in the walls and the carpet was very dirty. We steam cleaned the carpet when we moved but have not attempted to patch the walls because we only plan on living here for this year.

So to the bugs. I started getting severely itchy red welts while sleeping in the beginning of December. They last about two weeks before they go down and they scar about half the time. I figured it was bed bugs pretty quick.

We looked everywhere for bugs. Found several in our couch and killed all on sight. We contacted our landlord who sent an exterminator to check. He could not find any evidence of bugs and told us to take pictures next time we found them.

So we find more in our couch about a week later and send images. Our landlord sends another exterminator who again finds no evidence of bed bugs. He checked everywhere from our room to the couch, flipped everything over, checked the carpet etc. he told me one of us was likely bringing in a few at a time from work because he found no eggs or shells or feces, just a few blood spots and the images we sent.

Neither my boyfriend or I think we are picking them up at work, me because I have a light gray uniform and never sit in any chairs or get close to anyone at work and him because he says no one else at his job is having a problem even though he has spoken to them openly about ours. So I’m not convinced we’re bringing them from work.

Anyway I’m still getting bit even though we haven’t seen any more bugs and we are changing immediately once we are home from work. I don’t know what to do. We can not afford to spray an apartment we are only staying in another few months, especially because without the other units getting sprayed it probably wouldn’t work.

I find it hard to believe we’ve had an infestation since December and I have yet to find any clumps of bugs or shells or feces. I believe one of our neighbors has an infestation (although the exterminator said he didn’t find any in their apartments either). I just don’t know where else they would be coming from.

Ive dusted everything already and keep all of my clothes in sealed plastic tubs until I wear them. We’ve checked the whole bed frame and around the bed. We can’t find them but they keep finding me. How can I prevent these bites until we move? They’re miserable and cause me to scratch until I bleed.

Please any advice is appreciated! Thank you.