Bed bugs are torture, even after they are probably(?) gone.

I’m in the middle of architecting two of the most significant websites of my career. These projects are thrilling, yet I’m struggling to focus because every sensation I feel on my body is driving me completely batty.

On June 1st I moved into a new apartment, and after moving most of my belongings, I discovered that the apartment came with a bed bug infestation. Long story short, I’ve had a tougher-than-usual month and I had to move… Again.

Now I’m in my new, new apartment. I’m 99.9% sure it’s bed bug free, but I spent the day cleaning out the formerly(?) infested apartment. It was exterminated, but did they get all of the blood sucking bastards? I don’t know. If they didn’t get them all, did I bring them to my new apartment? I don’t know. Is that itch I’m feeling on my leg right now a bed bug bite? I don’t know. Is that slight moving sensation I’m feeling on my shoulder my shirt, or a bed bug? I don’t know. What about that bug bite on my neck? Mosquito or bed bug? I don’t know… And it’s making me absolutely insane.

The problem with bed bugs is that they are insanely tiny (especially when they are young); they reproduce like crazy; and they will turn the most mundane of itches into a schizophrenic episode. I’m usually pretty level-headed about things, but I ripped my bed apart tonight and inspected every inch of it with a flashlight… Twice. And the worst part is that I have this crazy desire to check again.

And I’ll say it again… I’m 99.9% sure there aren’t any bed bugs in my apartment. It’s that 0.1% that is driving me nuts. That “what if.”

What scares me aren’t bites. It’s spreading them to other people and places. Bites I can live with. Passing this problem onto other’s would devastate me.

I know this could be worse. There are far more vicious insects I could be dealing with, but I’m a focused and driven guy, and these things have successfully shattered my focus, and sapped my drive. They are parasites in every sense of the word.

Nevertheless, this post has accomplished what I wanted. I’m refocused. Time to get back to work.

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