Bat Bugs
Are you sure you have Bed Bugs and not Bat Bugs? You better find out before you start the extermination process or you could end up reinfested and spending a fortune in pest control!
Bat bugs choose to fly with the bats instead of hitching a ride with humans; their preferred host is the bat and it’s believed that bed bugs descended from bat bugs. Cave man and bats lived in close proximity to each other and it’s when bats abandoned the cave that the bugs made the jump to humans. Scientific name of the bat bug is Cimex Adjunctus of the order Hemiptera: Cimicidae
If your home has bats that carry bat bugs, then you not only have to exterminate the bat bugs, but must get rid of the bats as well. The question is, what does a bat bug look like in comparison to a bed bug?
Bat bug compared to a bed bug
The trick to identifying a bat bug is by looking at the length of hairs on the upper covering of the thorax. The picture above is the joining of one half bat bug (left side) and one half bed bug (right side). You’ll notice that the length of the bat bugs hairs is longer than the width of its eye. The bed bug however, has hairs that are smaller than the width of its eye.
Once you have effectively isolated the type of bug you’re dealing with, you can then begin a calculated pest control solution.
Note: Bats are important, PLEASE DO NOT kill them. AustinBatHospital.com/gotbats.html has detailed information and diagrams on how to get rid of bats without harming them. Bats don’t like these bugs any more than we do :)
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When you sleep with dogs you get fleas. You didn’t say whether or not you have animals as pets.
And if there are bats in your ceiling or wall spaces their droppings (guano) will make you sick. If you have central heat and a/c, have the ducts cleaned by a prof. Its by the process of elimination that will help you root out what is going on. All the best, Sheila
Hi Becky,
Can you take some pictures and send them to the email address located at the bottom of the page? I’ll take a look and post my results.
Thanks.
I’m hoping Rose is still an active commentator. I’d love to know what she has discovered.
I too live in a beautifully restored carriage house. Hardwood floors, quaint wooden ceilings that are common to my bedroom above. Two months ago I found what I thought was a tick on my bed. Then two weeks later, another.
Terminex was here two days ago and said I apparently carried bed bugs back from either a trip to Paris or a cruise. They treated although there was absolutely no evidence of a presence except for the 4 live bugs I had found. The Terminex guy said he thought they might be bat bugs instead of bed bugs because of their size (we’ve only found adults no other evidence of their presence.
I’ve only found bugs in day light although I have scoured the walls and bed and now the couch where I’m living!
It is now 2 days after my first Terminex treatment. There were no “bugs” crawling out of the walls after treatment, or anywhere else for that matter. This morning I found 4 live bugs in the living room on the common wall with a fireplace. Nothing where I’ve been sleeping.
The interesting thing in Rose’s comments was that since January I’ve been suffering from profound muscle and joint pain. Nothing seems to relieve it. I’ve not been aware of being bitten but perhaps I am and am simply not reacting to it?
I’m calling Terminex to collect my new 4 captives and hopefully they can figure out if they are bat or bed bugs.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
to Rose,
We have been ridding bats from our 160 yr old home the past few years. The last go at it the ended up going further into the attic area of the house instead of just over the garage. BAD!!! Well I think the are gone or died off. There is a terrrible odor in our hall upstairs, and I think one of them flew through a crack aroung the ceiling light and died under our bed when I was in the hospital for heart surgery.
What has happened is the the insects they were host for…. had no-one to bite so the mite and bugs went looking for other host.s I have gotten bed (bat) bug bitten and so-called lice and nits in my hair, etc. , and now our house is infested with bird mites . The human lice were actually mites at 2 differernt stages or type…some look square-sh and some oblong. These are called microscopic lice but not actulally mange oe scabies, but demodex. I am very sick right now from treating myself with Rid for lice that I never had So I am starting to treat my house.
I am sprinking borax over all of the carpeting…broom it in wait a few days then vacuum. throw (sprinkle) borax powder around all the moulding and on upholstery, under the pillow,s cracks in the floor, etc. Keep on the carpet for at least 2-3 days or take a broom and brush in if you don’t like the looks of it thrown all over,. Do this to mattresses and box springs also.Buy new pillows if possble after this is all over. Wash all bedding and clothing you want to use on hot and dry on hot. Try to keep these clothes isolated from more infestation by placing in sealed plactic boxes or bags. Also hairbrushes, toothbrushes should be new and place in the freezer between uses,(freezer bags or boxes tightly sealed. Shavers for Men and women also. you house will probably need retreatment form diatomaceus earth which is very safe and used the same way as the Borax.
I am tired so this is all I’ll write for now. Goog Luck
After
So I have bat bugs and i live in Florida and my landlord refuses to pay for extermination!
I don’t know what else to do, code enforcement said they cant make her do anything because its not a health hazard, and it wont be until they are crawling all over the building.
Now there is a law in the landlord tenant laws section 83.15 i believe that states the apartment complex HAS TO PAY for the pest control if the dwelling is not a single family home or duplex. My home is neither its a 2 story building with 8 apartments in it altogether! WHAT CAN I DO PLEASE HELP ME!
My only experience with bed bugs has been of the killing kind. I’m going on 12 years in pest control and in my experience, you won’t stop any bed bug infestation just by sprinkling powder on your baseboards. And if bat bugs are anything like bed bugs, it’s going to require an aggressive approach to eliminate the infestation. Call a professional.
My wife and I live in a 1bdr apt that we been renting for 10 years.We found out about the bats in the attic about 6 yrs ago but lived with it knowing the owner wouldn’t pay for the removal.Well we live on the 3rd floor apt and at night you can hear them scratching at the attic door, so I decided to go up and look around. It was like a scifi movie,we had piles of bat droppings up to our knees.
Unfortunately all of our ventilation comes from the attic.While my wife was showering bats were dropping out of the vent and into the shower with her. Not we been informed we have bat bugs, both my wife and granddaughter are bitten up daily. We have all new furniture that now is infected. What more can we do to make him clean this properly. Thanks
Rose,
I was speechless when I began reading your entry because I thought someone had written my story online without my permission. I too moved into a 100 year old home a year ago and started getting sick. There is only carpet in one room – the master on the top floor.
I too noticed little bugs (bat bugs?) – but only in my bathroom and figured they were coming in from the ceiling fan. To make an extremely long story short – I found out I had a colony of bats in the attic, the guano from the bats was making me extremely sick (the chemicals and fungus is poisonous), and I was being bit by bat bugs.
I got several cases of what appeared to be shingles and hives, but tested negative for shingles. I just moved out yesterday. My landlord is a slumlord – he knew about the bats and just sealed the attic. Hopefully your landlords are better.
Good luck!
Hi Rose,
Yes, you need evidence and the best way is to take pictures and document your situation. Some people suggest spreading Diatomaceous Earth (also know as Silica Dioxide or Silicone Dioxide) around your baseboards which will dehydrate the bat bugs (or bed bugs) and eventually kill them (2 to 14 days).
Because some of the bugs will die in the open, you’ll have more evidence. Also look for the items I have on my bed bug checklist at the top of this site and make sure that you document any findings as well.
Any landlord of the right mind would find such evidence hard to deny, and while you’re at it, point out that the solution that worked for you will work for them as well – You’ll save your landlord a lot of money compared to hiring a pest control company to get rid of the bat bugs!
If you find anything, send me the pictures and I’ll get them posted on the site!
Best regards,
Jim
Hello: I moved into a beautiful brand new apartment in a 100 year old home last July. the master bedroom is on the third floor. in August thru September, i would witness six bats flying outside the third floor window each night up to the peak.
I’d find loads of bat droppings on the patio below and in late august, there was a dead bat found directly below this area. there is a small, oblong cut into the overhang of the home. I’m thinking this is where they lived.
Since august, i have not seen them here, yet hear a hamster like noise behind my wall in an area of the attic alongside the bedroom that is not accessible in any way other than thru a wall or roof removal. all this to say that i became ill in late July and have been sick ever since.
It started with a swell on the side of my head that became infected. the doctors think i have Lyme disease and I’ve been under various treatments, including presently on an iv treatment for thirty days. this is where it gets tricky.
I’ve had hives one my body, that swell, itch, last for days, sometimes more than a week. I’ve been to so many doctors for diagnosis for severe fatigue, muscle and joint pain, other things, and…my HIVES. I’ve even had them biopsied.
I have found a few tiny bugs in my bed here and there over these past eight months since moving in. my home is spotlessly clean, meticulously maintained. funny thing is i also found one on top a window sill when i moved in and was hanging curtains.
Two nights ago, i woke to a bug biting me, and have caught it, engorged. the site is swollen, i have a huge hive on my bottom! so now, i am thinking i definitely have either bed bugs or bat bugs.
I pay a premium rent of $2,700. for this high end residential apartment. the only carpeting in the home was installed prior to my moving in and is in my bedroom on the third floor. there is no visible evidence whatsoever of these bugs, other than the few times I’ve found them, and now this one i have in my possession.
I thought they were tiny ticks back months ago when i found them, and had no clue how they would come to be inside a home or atop a window sill. i don’t know if all my hives are due to being sick, tick disease, or that the hives are from bed bug or bat bug bites, unrelated to my illness, or possibly these bites are contributing to more than hives and may be related to my being sick altogether. either way, i must identify if they are bat or bed bugs. who can i go to for that?
I want evidence and know a bit more before presenting it to the landlord. these bugs have to be living in the walls or under the carpet in between the old floor. the second floor had been gutted, the third floor just built out. they may have been from old tenants before the house was redone. could you please help me or point me in the right direction?!!!!