Way OT- I am afraid to buy a Christmas Tree

[hambirg]

Thank you!! I didn't realize they were that big.

No problem. . .and I didn't know they could lay dormant without feeding for that long since their life span is generally only about a year. I did some checking and if it makes the OP feel any better:

Although bedbugs can live for a year without feeding, they normally try to feed every five to ten days. In cold weather, bedbugs can live for about a year; at temperatures more conducive to activity and feeding, about 5 months.

At the 57th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in 2009, it was reported that newer generations of pesticide-resistant bedbugs in Virginia could survive only two months without feeding.

 

[akcire]

Forgive my ignorance, but is there a big problem with cats and bed bugs?

No there is no known problem with cats and bed bugs. The problem with bed bugs is they feed off of live things--humans or pets. I would hate for my kitty to get bitten up because of the husbands business travel. To that end I do my very best to keep all bugs from foreign lands out of my home.

Not to worry others, but we are equally concerned with roach eggs being laid as we are bed bugs, but then some of the countries my husband visits have roaches that could carry you off in the night.

 

[Virgderon]

Okay, I'll humor you...

YOU'RE NUTS!!!!!

Stop watching the news, stop reading the paper and get on with your life. You'll be happier for it!

Thanks to you and everryone else that posted. I have had an unnatural fear of bugs since childhood. A bee got itself tangled up in my long hair, and buzzed around for awhile before stinging me in the head. Last year a bee got under my glasses and stung me in the eye.

I see all these posts about bedbugs and news items about them, and the idea of bringing in bugs that will bite me in my sleep is horrifying!

I'm just going to buy the tree and carefully examine it when I get it home. God only knows what I am going to do when I need to buy a mattress.

 

[Virgderon]

So why do you think your fear is centered around the Christmas tree, and not around more commonly purchased items like groceries that you buy once a week? Or the paper towels or clothes you picked up someplace like Target last week? I'm wondering if the fear has less to do with bedbugs and more to do with something around Christmas, and you are just landing on bedbugs as a more comfortable excuse...

Nope. I love Christmas and don't have any bad memories of it . I hate bugs. I would never live anywhere that did not have a screened in porch now that I have seen the giant Florida bugs. I do look at clothes, and wash them before I wear them for a variety of reasons. Now I will be looking in my grocery bags.

 

[indimom]

Thanks to you and everryone else that posted. I have had an unnatural fear of bugs since childhood. A bee got itself tangled up in my long hair, and buzzed around for awhile before stinging me in the head. Last year a bee got under my glasses and stung me in the eye.

I see all these posts about bedbugs and news items about them, and the idea of bringing in bugs that will bite me in my sleep is horrifying!

I'm just going to buy the tree and carefully examine it when I get it home. God only knows what I am going to do when I need to buy a mattress.

I hope you could tell I was just kidding. I was not trying to offend. I'm completely creeped by spiders of any size or shape thanks to a couple unfortunate events when I was little. I really was just trying to be lighthearted or playful.
I'm glad the other posters had some more useful information for you.

 

[Virgderon]

I hope you could tell I was just kidding. I was not trying to offend. I'm completely creeped by spiders of any size or shape thanks to a couple unfortunate events when I was little. I really was just trying to be lighthearted or playful.
I'm glad the other posters had some more useful information for you.

Not offended at all! I needed to have someone besides my husband tell me that I am crazy when it comes to this. I realize that I might sound nuts to anyone who is not completely freaked out by biting bugs. I've become very alarmed lately- stores like Nike and Abercrombie have to shut down because of these things!

It seemed logical that they might be in the box or in the tree. Dumb.

 

[unlimiteddisney]

I don't think your crazy at all. People have theri fears, bugs is also one of mine. I hate bugs. I think they are gross and they can get into everything. I seal everything up, wash everything first. We had lice this year in my house, very similar to bedbugs. Lice don't live as long wiothout a host and can't live on animals but they multiply and multiply. Very hard to get rid of. I don't blame you for being cautios. Why not take the steps now to prevent instead of the hundreds of steps and money you will have to spend if you get them.

 

[indimom]

Not offended at all! I needed to have someone besides my husband tell me that I am crazy when it comes to this. I realize that I might sound nuts to anyone who is not completely freaked out by biting bugs. I've become very alarmed lately- stores like Nike and Abercrombie have to shut down because of these things!

It seemed logical that they might be in the box or in the tree. Dumb.

Okay, relaxing now. Thanks.
I hadn't heard the stories about stores shutting down because of bedbugs! Gross! BUT, like the others have said, it is treatable and can be taken care of if it would show up. And, always remind yourself, that the news tends to make everything worse than it really is....they're fearmongers. (And my college degree was journalism, so I know of what I speak. )

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Glad I'm not the only. The thought of getting bed bugs just terrifies me. I'm hoping I'm just over reacting too.

 

[C.Ann]

Your fears are your fears - therefore it makes no sense for anyone to call you "crazy" or "irrational" because they are not walking in your shoes or inside your head dealing with your fears..

I have found that the best way to overcome my fears is to become as knowledgeable as I can about the particular "fear".. I "used" to be terrified of bats (and there are zillions up here in the mountains at the lake), but I learned as much as I could about them and even went next-door one year and watched a professional bat catcher open the trap he had set a few days earlier and remove the bat.. Do I "like" them? No.. But I don't have an irrational fear of them anymore either..

Educate yourself about bed bugs via legitimate sources - not the places that sensationalize it and are geared towards creating panic and terror.. Once you know more about them - the odds of having them turn up in your home - and what to do about them if they do, I think you will calm down considerably..

I say "buy the Christmas tree" - once you feel comfortable about it..

 

[cdrn1]

Do you think this is an irrational fear? How can I check my Christmas tree for bed bugs?

Go ahead... tell me I am nuts.. I kind of want you to.

Happy to oblige. You are a nutcase.

 

[danielephant]

i wouldn't worry about it.

 

[hffmnheidi]

We got them one year at a hotel that we stayed at over night on the way to Disney World. Not a happy trip because of the bedbugs and I still have scars on my arms and legs.

We were traveling in the winter and did the 'cold treatment' on the suitcases and washed all the clothes in the hottest water in the washer immediately. We live in IL so the cold treatment in December worked well.

 

[tink2dw]

Terminix compiled its Top 15 list anecdotally by analyzing market-specific call volume about bedbugs to the 350 Terminix service centers throughout the country.


The top ranked cities are:

1. New York
2. Philadelphia
3. Detroit
4. Cincinnati
5. Chicago
6. Denver
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Dayton, Ohio
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Los Angeles
11. Boston
12. Indianapolis
13. Louisville, Ky.
14. Cleveland
15. Minneapolis, Minn.

 

[disykat]

Your fears are your fears - therefore it makes no sense for anyone to call you "crazy" or "irrational" because they are not walking in your shoes or inside your head dealing with your fears..

I have found that the best way to overcome my fears is to become as knowledgeable as I can about the particular "fear".. I "used" to be terrified of bats (and there are zillions up here in the mountains at the lake), but I learned as much as I could about them and even went next-door one year and watched a professional bat catcher open the trap he had set a few days earlier and remove the bat.. Do I "like" them? No.. But I don't have an irrational fear of them anymore either..

Educate yourself about bed bugs via legitimate sources - not the places that sensationalize it and are geared towards creating panic and terror.. Once you know more about them - the odds of having them turn up in your home - and what to do about them if they do, I think you will calm down considerably..

I say "buy the Christmas tree" - once you feel comfortable about it..

Wow - you are one brave woman. Bats are my phobia as well!

 

[C.Ann]

Wow - you are one brave woman. Bats are my phobia as well!

Seriously - learn all you can about them and it will definitely help with your phobia.. Ever hear that saying, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself"?

I still don't like to look at photos of them - I swear they find the worst possible shots they can get - LOL - but being armed with so much info and having that up-close-and-personal experience really helped a lot!

 

[Virgderon]

Seriously - learn all you can about them and it will definitely help with your phobia.. Ever hear that saying, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself"?

I still don't like to look at photos of them - I swear they find the worst possible shots they can get - LOL - but being armed with so much info and having that up-close-and-personal experience really helped a lot!

I'm not sure if I can get rid of the big part of the fear- being bit by something while I sleep. We had a moth in the house, which I am not afraid of, but I couldn't sleep because I thought he would land on me while I was sleeping. Sigh.

We bought a chair today and I examined it everywhere. I took the covers off the cushions, looked in the seams, everything. Now I am fine with it.