CPOY

CPOY 75 Documentary Award of Excellence: They Come At Night

This story began when the bedbugs appeared in our communal apartment. Of course I looked for ways to destroy them. If fact this situation was worse than I thought in the beginning. No chemical cleaning killed them. The number of bedbugs grew more. For many years people have belittled the problem of bed bugs, but now they begin to realize how serious it is. Bed bugs spread quickly in residential buildings, hospitals, cinemas, hotels. According to Rospotrebnadzor, the number of these insects doubles every year. In addition the number of tropical bugs greatly increased in Russia in recent years. Outwardly they are few different from ordinary bed bugs. But these parasites are more resistant to poisons, they have long legs and they can crawl along smooth vertical surfaces, bite a person not only at night but also during the day. The problem of infection with bedbugs is dangerous not only because of its scale, but because of public prejudice. Bed bugs are shameful and dirty. Peopleexperiencing horror and disgust. Friends and relatives avoid going to guests and invite those who have bedbugs to themselves. Itching from bites, allergic reactions, sleepless nights, a threat to reputation and constant anxiety - all this leads to a huge emotional stress. «They come at night» are the stories of people who fought whith the bedbugs. Aromatic herbs, a vinegar, an iron, a meditation, a smoke bomb — this methods of dealing with tiny insects. Almost all the characters in this movie asked not to indicate their names. But participating in this project for them is an opportunity to talk about a problem which is not accepted to talk about. The names of all the heroes have been changed.

Caption
Slide 7 of 9
October 31, 2019
Method 7. Isolating of things Bed sheets, clothes, books, paintings need to be folded into plastic bags, pre-treated with an insecticide. Valya I woke up from the fact that someone was shining a flashlight in my eyes. My roommate was standing above me and was looking at something. «Quiet,» she whispered, «the bedbugs.»I woke up immediately, threw a blanket and a pillow out of bed. The bedbugs were everywhere. Then I packed the linens with the bugs in the garbage bags and wrapped the bed with stretch film. And after it I layed on the floor in a sleeping bag and laid out immortelle flowers around me. This flowers repel insects. In the morning I invite a private pest control service into my flat. Thay cleaned the room with the latest cold fog method. I spent a lot of money. But when I back home In the evening I saw how the bugs ran and ran again.The names of heroes were changed. People are very worried that someone will find out that they have bugs.
Oly Matveeva / Academy of Documentary and Art Photography "Fotografika"
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