I have been living in Dubai for 8 years now. But never in the first seven years, did I experience bed bugs in Dubai! I never thought, I ever would. Before moving to Dubai, I was living in New Delhi, India with my parents. After finishing my education, work brought me to Dubai. Back in India, we did hear about rat and mice infestations from our neighbors every now and then, but luckily for us, we never experienced any. My mother took many precautions and I daresay, she was good at keeping all pests at bay, given her obsession with cleanliness.
I always imagined I was like her till I realized I had bed bugs in my room and that too in Dubai. Probably, I wasn’t keeping it as clean as it ought to be. Dubai is an amazing place, I love it, but what’s the reality behind the bling? Reality is simple, we have bed bugs in Dubai too. No place is safe from pests. Not even the west. My sister lives in America and she has seen it all. So just because Dubai is all blingy, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its share of pest control problems. These things are normal, get used to it. Do not blame yourself. Well, I am trying not to, ha ha!
How it happened?
I ain’t totally sure but I believe I brought it upon myself. A friend of mine had family coming over for the summers and they requested me to lend them my spare mattress. We help each other out from time to time, when needed. They have borrowed mattresses, duvets, pillows in the past too. And because I keep an additional supply of these items for my own parents visit, I can always spare them when not in use. It had been fine up until this time. For this time, it really turned my life into a nightmare!
When my friend returned my mattress, little did I know what was in store for me. My guess is, the mattress was probably infested and the bed bugs just crawled from it, all the way from my spare bedroom to my main bedroom unnoticed. They were looking for food and I was the only food around.
The next morning (after mattress return), I woke up with rashes all over my body. They itched too. My first guess was mosquitoes, but then the rashes looked different plus there weren’t any mosquitoes in my flat. So, I googled my symptoms and viola, my rashes matched those from bed bugs!
Instinctively, I jumped out of my bed. I couldn’t believe I had spent the night with blood sucking bugs! The thought made me nauseous. I noticed black specks on my ultra-white bed sheets, and it made me sick to the core. What was I to do? I forgot the itch and rashes, and picked up my mobile. Needed to google for a solution.
What I did?
I have never been happier with Google in my life. This time it came to my rescue super-fast. My search enquiries started with ‘how to kill bed bugs’, ‘bed bug removal’ and ended with ‘pest control company in Dubai’. Google did throw up some great DIY solutions to remove bed bugs on its SERP, but I soon realized I didn’t have the time or patience to go through the whole bed bug extermination process myself. First of all, I was not a professional and secondly, I wasn’t confident I would be able to remove bed bugs by myself without ingesting some pesticide myself. I needed experts.
When I looked up ‘pest control company Dubai’ lots of options came up. After calling multiple pest control companies, I finally spoke to someone from Al Saqr Pest Control. They agreed to come in the same day, which was my main concern, plus they had great reviews on Google. I wanted this done and over with ASAP, and they seemed to be willing to support me on this.
So, I went to office and came back an hour earlier to let the pest control technicians in at the given time. I hadn’t expected the personnel to arrive on time and was pleasantly surprised when the door bell rang at 5:00 pm on the dot.
The uniformed men from Al Saqr came in with all of their pest control gadgets and equipment, and in no time completed the inspection. After, explaining to me the extent of infestation and the targeted solution, they did the initial treatment in less than an hour’s time. They seemed to know what they were doing and assured me of a bed bug free home.
They left after their job was done and gave me instructions on what was to be done in the coming days. They followed up with me after 3 days and came in for another round of inspection after a week. I slept at a friend’s house for a week’s time because I just wanted to be sure the bed bugs were gone for good before moving back in.
Once I moved back in, I followed all the cleaning instructions from Al Saqr Pest Control and cleaned up my flat just like my mom would have done. Thanks to them, my flat was again bed bug free.
Conclusion
I think the most important decision that I have made after this nightmarish experience is never to lend my stuff to anyone. I know I sound mean but trust me it’s not worth the hassle, time or money. If my friend asks me for my mattress again, I will probably give her mine and never take it back. Less stressful to buy a new one for myself than to go through all the pest control treatment process. Luckily for me, Al Saqr came to my rescue and did a great job of exterminating bed bugs from my property once and for all. I really commend their professional attitude and work. God forbid, if ever you need pest control services in Dubai, you know who to call!
