The Joys of Apartment Living

First it was mice, then cockroaches, and the latest is bedbugs. Yes, BEDBUGS! Apparently they thrive in hotels and apartment buildings moving quickly from room to room.

The day before we flew out to Alberta for Christmas, I had about ten red marks on my shoulder. I thought at first it was some sort of a rash, but most people who saw them thought they must be spider bites.

They faded into nonexistence during our week in Alberta, but after our first night back in TO, I woke up with about 15 to 20 bites on my leg, arm and face (all trailing in a line up the left side of my body). I thought, "this must be an angry spider."

We searched and searched to find the elusive spider in our bedroom, but to no avail. So off to Home Depot to buy spider Raid. We sprayed the floor and base of the bed, and thought if he was hiding in the bed, this would surely kill him.

Mysteriously, Clint didn't have a bite on him. Perhaps the spider was hiding on my side of the bed? Clint was gracious enough to switch sides of the bed with me so I could try to get some sleep that night.

For the next two nights, I received two new bites a night on my hip and leg. Less than before, but the bites were still swollen, red and itchy, and I wasn't about to let this keep happening. Either this spider was incredibly resilient, or this was not a spider biting me. And why was Clint not getting bitten?

Needless to say, we figured out that we have bed bugs, and have taken measures to deal with them. I have now had three biteless nights, but I have yet to sleep through the night for fear of blood-sucking bugs crawling on me.

Apart from a single break down the first night after we discovered the bedbugs, God has been gracious in helping me to deal with my fear (which was no small thing). Perhaps this is training ground for becoming a real farm wife. After my downtown Toronto experience, the creepy crawly creatures on our Alberta farm seem a little tamer.