There’s something the fumigation companies don’t bother to tell you. This is that there’s a window of time where the gas has worn off and it’s safe to go into the house before the fumigation company comes back to officially OK entry back into your house. That’s a golden opportunity for thieves. I wish the Hydrex people who contracted out with First Class Fumigation had informed me of this BEFORE my house got robbed early in the am of March 16. I would have camped in the driveway of my house that Sunday night if I’d known about this unadvertised fact.
Here’s how it went down. Then tent went up on Fri by about 2:00. The house was gassed soon after that. The house was locked after that and they kept the keys. The company waited 48 hours before coming on Sunday afternoon about 2:00. At this point they used the keys to go inside and install a bunch of fans that were used to blow the gas out. The house was locked again. HERE’S WHAT THEY DIDN’T TELL ME. It’s considered safe to enter the house after a minimum of 12 hours. That meant thieves were able to enter my house with no repercussions after 3am Monday morning. I was told that I couldn’t get back into my house until about 1:00pm Monday. I showed up earlier than this just to check on the house before I went to Starbucks to kill some time. That’s when I found the tent cut open and my house wide open and I called the police and Hydrex.
Every bit of my jewelry was stolen including the last precious rings I had of my deceased mother. All of it was one of a kind pieces I’d collected over the years from fellow artists. They took my sons’ gaming systems and all their games. Assorted small electronics that were on my son’s shelf were taken. Our bedroom was trashed as every drawer was pulled out and dumped and the closet gone through looking for cash and/or special hidden items. They even pulled out everything from under the bed. Only Christmas decorations, pictures, and a magic set. Ha ha you fuckers! They were clearly moving quickly and everything on my dresser was opened, dumped and dropped.
Although there was huge sentimental value associated with the stolen jewelry, in the end it is all just stuff. We’re moving on and looking forward. But I’d love for word to get out that steps should be taken before tenting your house. Take EVERYTHING out of your house that is easy to grab and run with and is not replaceable. In a perfect world camp on your property or at least stay next door the last night of the three night cycle. I hope this helps someone.