there were some spiders in here, but they've been gone for a while. i've seen no signs of roaches since i moved in. i have looked thoroughly for bed bugs and there's nothing. further, the bites don't look like bed bug bites to me, and are mostly on my lower body.
i'm tentatively concluding i'm being bitten by rat fleas, but i haven't seen one. it seems like the least wrong answer.
i have no potential exposure to scabies or anything like that.
this morning, as i've been waiting for the temperature to come up, i took a closer look and realized that all of the bites have a commonality - there's an ingrown hair in every single one. so, are they just ingrowns? it seems unimaginable.
i really want the summer to come in asap and the junkies upstairs to leave asap so i can clean up in here and rule out potential causes.
i'm told the junkies will be forcibly removed by the sheriff on april 5thish. the eviction date is april 1st. i have called the sheriff, and they cannot confirm that.
i'm making a tactical decision to completely lock myself inside until may to be sure that they're completely gone and i don't have any interaction with them as they're being removed. there may be some physical altercations, as there's a lot of people in the back yard and in the garage. there's going to be desperate people trying to get in places and drug addicts trying to get something to sell for dope. i don't want them to even know i'm here at all, and they might not. the windows are shuttered or boarded up. one or two of them know i'm here but i think most of the junkies think the basement is currently empty.
if somebody tries to smash in here, i'll have to smash their head in like i smashed the rat's head in. but i don't want to give them access points or ideas. i want to stay quiet and wait until they're out of here, and then give it a few weeks to be sure they're gone.
the issue i'm primarily concerned about is theft. junkies just steal everything. you can't trust them and you're stupid to try to.
i have made it a point of principle to completely avoid interacting with them. when they talk to me, i ignore them. i hope the message is clear enough that i'm not their friend and don't want to help them.
once they're gone, i'll be able to finish setting this place up.
i do think the rats are gone. the reality is that they'd rather be outside. but we'll see.