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Ummm EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Yeah that's all I've got.

GROSS!!!

Oh EWWW. I would definitely strip, put your stuff in a plastic bag, maybe change out your work chair to one that doesn't have fabric on it, and keep your purse off the floor.

@MrsTiz: Maybe your boss doesn't know much about it/them? Personally, I kinda relate it to lice. If you can't be somewhere because of lice, how/why should bed bugs be any different? What really concerns me is that he doesn't seem to want to try and get rid of them...

@MrsTiz: I talked to my dad about this today when I stopped in his office. I mentioned before that he's in the hardwood floor industry, but his company sells janitorial supplies as well for commercial businesses (think hotels, colleges, air ports etc).

He said your CW shouldn't be at work. Bed bugs can be transmitted through closing, but he also said that whoever compared them to lice was incorrect.

He sells a product called Sterifab but said its really, really expensive.. But also the best on the market. I vaguely remember the product & remember we sold it to a local college who had a bedbug outbreak a few years ago. Gross!

@MrsTiz: It doesn't matter if the boss thinks you're being paranoid. Bed bugs are a big deal and you shouldn't feel bad about asking him to leave your office.

@MrsTiz: I probably would have been rude too if he hadn't left my office when I first asked him to. Hopefully he understands that it's not him, it's his pest problem.

@mrstiz, maybe you should apologize to your coworker for being so rude to him since you now know that you can't contract bed bugs from another person? You are entitled to ask him to leave, but it's one thing to be mean about it. It's not like he had lice and was scratching his head over your desk

I'm big on personal relations at work, though. If someone ever treated me like that, I would not forget it.

@blackbird: @MrsTiz: One sec... you can definitely spread bed bugs through shoes and clothing! That's a big way that they spread in New York... if a cable worker or meter person treks their shoes into your house, he or she could spread bedbugs (if they have them at home, or if they've been in an infested home that day).

When we were most paranoid about bed bugs, we kept our shoes outside. Here's an article by an entomologist where he talks a bit about shoes:

<< Bed bugs are small and agile, escaping detection after crawling into suitcases, backpacks and belongings. Acquiring secondhand beds, couches and furniture is another way that the bugs are transported into buildings. Bed bugs also can be carried in on one’s clothing, shoes or wheelchair. Once bed bugs are introduced, they can crawl from room to room or floor to floor. They can also be transported throughout buildings on people and their belongings. >>

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp

This jibes with what we learned from the research we did when we had bed bugs a few years ago...

It's true that bed bugs don't live on you like lice do, but they can definitely can hitch a ride on your clothing or shoes. There have been outbreaks in several offices in New York City... even the Health Department here has had an infestation!

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/department-health-employees-bitten-bed-bug-problem-lic-office-article-1.1461820

@mrbee: i'm so itchy reading that article! ahhh!

Yes to everything @mrbee said.

If you want to try to smooth things over with your coworker, maybe you could say something along the lines of "I'm sorry that I was rude when you were in my office yesterday, but I'm very concerned about the fact that bedbugs can be transported on clothing and shoes. I'd appreciate being able to keep my distance until you're certain all the bugs have been eradicated from your apartment, as I need to keep my own family safe from them as much as possible. Please understand my blowup had to do with the situation and not you as a person, but I would ask that you respect my personal boundaries from now on. Thanks."