I know that mattresses are pretty much a lost cause and I would prefer to never see one in a storage unit.  My concern is that bed bugs can hide in mattresses and corrugated boxes and clothes and anything else with a crevice.  Also, I've read they can go a year without feeding....which can't be natural....can it ?  I was also wondering if anyone has some sort of routine of spraying or "bombing" suspicious looking lockers...though most of the ones that I've seen so far could be considered supicious on some level.. .  I have learned that bagging up the clothes tightly and then running them through a dryer at the highest heat setting for about 30 minutes could kill most of them.  I've been trying to learn more about visual inspection techniques as well......So any advice in that arena would be appreciated also.  Thanks for the responses so far !

That makes sense.  I think I would have a hard time tracking someone down just so I could give them something valuable that they gave up after looking in countless units to find it myself.  I can imagine there are disaster stories surrounding attempting to give something back. I would like to hear some, though.  Something that I can hang on to if ever I find something that does pull at my heartstrings to find the original owners. 

My name's Paul.  I've been perusing the site for a week or so now and I felt I should introduce myself and stop being a creeper.  I began wanting to go to storage auctions about 25 years ago, when I was in my early twenties and very very broke.  So I had to let that dream die....as is often the destiny of dreams....(is that too sad?...cause I may be exaggerating just a bit).  Anyways...so now I've been to two storage auctions in my town and can't wait to actually find one I can convince myself to buy.  This is ground floor stuff here...as in the beginning lines of my autobiography that I'm sure I will one day write.  I currently am limited by the fact that I live in an apartment and the only vehicle I own is a Toyota Yaris...makes me laugh just typing it out.  I've been buying and selling garage sale stuff on ebay beginning in January (anyone smell a new years resolution?) and will continue doing that and hopefully find just the right compact unit or two along the way until I can afford an old raggedy truck and a storage unit of my own....and then...watch out !  I love digging through boxes and bags of "trash" (not garbage) and I know that treasures can always be just another bag/box away.  Well, so can infected needles and rat feces but hopefully more of the treasure-type materials.  Okay, that's me...or at least a bit of me which is probably plenty for now.  I like the site and am glad that I found it.