Bed bugs cause stress and anxiety. Most people just don’t talk about it.
Be nice to yourself. You probably won’t be perfect and probably will make a few mistakes in your approach to bed bug eradication. Now might be a good time to indulge in comfort food, a movie or Facebook. Keeping a journal documenting your experience and when and where you get bites can be helpful too.
It’s hard but the stakes are high. You don’t want to re-infest your house after treatment. You need to try not to infest your car or where you work, or where you have coffee, or the library, or the bus. You need not to accidentally poison yourself, your children, or your pets. And you have to do all of this while sleepless, exhausted and possibly economically challenged.
Bed Bugs Cause Insomnia
Being informed is really important so you can evaluate what people are telling you, so you can make the best decisions while being sleep deprived and stressed out. I digress, but sometimes we just need to hear the ugly truth. Bed bugs are horrible, and getting rid of them is hard especially when you are sleep deprived.
If you are having emotional stress I strongly recommend counseling. Unless you’re having heat treatment it’s going to be weeks or months to solve your infestation.
Sleeping when you have bed bugs
Sleeping on the sofa or in another bed almost always results in infesting the new sleeping area. Bed bugs will migrate to you when you are sleeping. This can result in expanding the geography of the infestation in your home. And sleep is why I am like a broken record when I talk about isolating your bed, putting the traps under the bed legs, and following all the protocols I’ve outlined in Isolating Your Bed.
Now that you know what not sleeping because you are on guard is like, try sleeping knowing they can’t reach you, that you can trap and kill them. That’s when you become the predator and not the prey.
Many people can’t sleep with bed bugs
Insomnia is common and completely justified in this situation, however, it ruins your life, so try and find solutions. You really need as much energy as you can muster to solve a bed bug problem. That is the unfortunate reality, and when you are exhausted from stress and lack of sleep, it’s that much more difficult to cope with a problem like bed bugs.
Always consult with your physician before trying sleep remedies.
I found some very effective and gentle herbal remedies, that were helpful during my infestation.
Herbal sleep aids vary in their effectiveness, typically consisting of a mixture of hops, valerian, and other herbs. You could also ask your physician for a prescription sleep aid, or medication to reduce anxiety. If you are still being bit in bed, sleep would probably be really helpful, especially if you’re trying to prepare for treatment.
Bed bugs are horrible, and getting rid of them is hard especially when you’re sleep-deprived. If you are having emotional stress, I strongly recommend counseling. Unless you’re having heat treatment it’s going to be weeks or months to solve your infestation.
Find a device to fall asleep. Mine was the Nature Channel. Sorry Nature Channel, but it’s true.
What should you do about holidays when you have bed bugs
Holidays that are traditionally social like Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years can be made even more stressful when you have bed bugs.
Should you host Christmas with family if you have bed bugs?
The answer to that is personal. Only you or your family can decide. If it was me, I would not host. I couldn’t deal with bed bugs and worrying I might send a family member or friend home with a hitch-hiker. I’ve helped you know how to leave your house without bed bugs so you should feel comfortable going out, unless your car is also infested.
If you haven’t told your family you may have to get creative. Here are some handy excuses you can use to avoid hosting for the holidays:
- – We just can’t host this year, too much going on with the (job) (kids) (pets).
- – We’re going to be doing interior painting around that time so we can’t.
- – We’ve decided to take this year off. We can make reservations for the holiday?
Honestly, it’s your life and while someone might be disapointed they’ll get over it and if they don’t, I mean come on!! Yes, some people love drama, but you already have plenty of your own.