Bed Bug Bites
Below you’ll find comments from visitors around the world; some include pictures of bed bug bites, others are asking for help and many share their experiences, good and bad.
If you are concerned that you may have found a bed bug, have bed bug bites or can help those seeking information, please participate. Whenever possible, please send pictures to jim@badbedbugs.com and I’ll make sure to include the picture in your post (I’ll dress up the picture and make sure only the bed bug bite is displayed, so don’t worry about photo quality, etc).
Besides the pictures in the comments below, I’ve also included 5 images (click on each to see larger version) of a bedbug infested mattress. Caution, they may cause nightmares! Seriously!
Picture of Bed Bugs their eggs shells and feces
Closeup of bedbugs and their eggs
Picture of Bed bug hiding away in a great spot close to your body
Picture of a bed bug filled with human blood that burst open including eggs
Picture of Bed bugs hiding on the edge of the mattress including feces, shells and eggs
Most Popular Pages Listed Below
I’m *very* allergic to mosquitoes, so I would assume that the anti-coagulant from bed bugs would also make me itch, but I’ve found one small, red, hard raised bump on the back of my hand and two on my face and I’m panicking a little that they’re bed bug bites.
They do look like the bumps on Ross’s pictures, but there are so few of them and none in the three-bite configuration that people mention a lot. Should I be worried?
hi my name is Melissa.. i was on ur site and i must say…i need ur help buddy! bad. i don’t know if i have bedbugs for sure. but in the past 2 weeks i have at least 13 bites and they bad. i even have one on my leg that looks like a bulls-eye and that’s weird. I’ve looked n looked for these lil critters that i hate so much.
To make a long terrible story short…my hubby works nights so its only me and my 75 yr old Gianna in the bed. (yeas she sleeps w mama) lol..anyway I’ve noticed about 4-5 bites on her..not as bad as mine though. mine are huge, itchy painful..welt like…hot, did i mention huge? they ooz and i’m just terrified. i go to bed when i cant keep my eyes open anymore. i stay with a flashlight like a loony! its just terrible please help me.
I’ll even give u my home number for crying out loud. aaaaahhhh!!! help. i have more pics i will send u ok. please i am begging you on my knees for some help. i cant afford an exterminator. is my landlord supposed to do that? i cant get a new bed..a new anything. i’m willing to throw it all away. i really am. we live paycheck to paycheck and sometimes can even pay our bills or buy food so its rough.
my neighbors in the next building over (our walls are attached. ) had them bad. her baby was chewed up to say the LEAST! poor kid. i’m so ashamed. ahhh.. thanks Jim hope to hear from you. i am so desperate its sickening. I need help bad. just tried to email u and cant for some reason my comp is messed up.
I’m gonna go to my AOL account and email u some pics that way! thanks and hope to god to hear from yo and get some helpful advice. my hubby thinks it isn’t a big deal as i do. I’m terrified. is it spiders? i am literally so afraid I’m willing to go to a shelter!
Help! I think I’ve been bitten by bed bugs too. I travel a lot for business, and just came back from Texas. I searched online b/c I thought I had a spider bite. After looking, there is no question it was bed bugs (which came to mind when I saw the link and thought of my travels). I am disgusted. This web site has been great. I went to the hardware store today to buy the diatomaceous earth. My left back/shoulder must have 10 or so bites. They have been there for 3+ days and are getting worse. They hurt and I swear my muscles in my back are sore too. I think I found a bed bug on the wall today. I am going to call an exterminator tomorrow as I put it in a plastic zipper bag to show the company, and see what they say. I’ve torn apart my bedroom and sprinkled the earth everywhere. Can you help me to find a reputable exterminator who is experienced in treating and eliminating bed bugs if I need to call a company? I tried to take a picture, but my camera won’t focus on the bug or my bites on my back.
Hello,
First of all I can sympathize with each one of your stories. Let me start from the beginning. My fiance when we first started dating, lived in one of the most disgusting places I’ve ever seen and ended up almost dying from staph because his roommates wouldn’t clean and wouldn’t let him clean.
Then they were all evicted and we loved each other so we decided hey, lets move in together. About a month later we kept getting bites on the backs of our arms…only there. Went to the doctor they said I was having an allergic reaction to something gave me a corticosteroid cream. Took us 2 more weeks to figure out that there were bed bugs living in the chair in our living room. So…we threw out the chair.
Actually when we realized this it was midnight and went to leave it outside good will and we watched a guy sneak up and steal it….karma came back to bite him in the bottom. Anyway, we were fine after that for like 5 months. Didn’t have them on any of the other furniture nothing. One night in January after having the heater on we woke up one day with bites all over our arms and upper bodies. Took us not long this time to figure out the bed bugs were back.
After looking up state laws we called the apts. cause pest control is their problem and they also owned the apts. where my fiance used to live. They said they would spray. So they did. Fine for a few weeks and then tons of bites again. About this time we took the bed apart and realized how bad it was. So we threw out the bed and had them spray again…lived on an air mattress while I had bronchitis.
One night i notice movement on the wall. Apparently, they had crawled all the way up to the ceiling and were living behind pictures. I started scrubbing EVERYTHING and we were moving anyway in a few months so I started packing. stripped the room bare and the pest control guy sprayed again…then we put down food grade diatomaceous earth and after a few weeks they were gone. (We coated the mattress box spring and bottom of the actual mattress in it too when we got a new one). Hadn’t seen them since.
I will tell you though. It does make you paranoid. I have definite mosquito bites on one foot and i immediately checked my bed. gl to all of those out there oh and remember put gloves on when handling food grade DE it isn’t toxic but will dry out your hands….also our roommates busted our vacuum vacuuming it up b4 we all moved out so make sure u dump it frequently. OUTSIDE of course :-)
Just a couple days ago I noiced a few bites I have. 2 on my side, one on my back, and one on my bellybutton. They all have a small dark middle in them. The area around the bite is huge, you can feel them through my shirt. They itch pretty bad and if you squeeze them a bit some pus comes out. Can anyone tell me what it might be?
Hi Michelle,
Yes, people have reported that the reaction to bites can be delayed and appear hours later. If you do have a bed bug infestation, use our bedbug checklist found at the top of this site in the menu bar to help you locate them.
Let me know if you find anything, will you?
Do the marks from bed bug bites appear hours after the bite? My 2 year old seems to have hives off and on lately. Today he had only a few spots when he woke up, but later in the day, he was covered in spots. Is it common for bed bug bites to appear later on like that? We have seen a few bed bugs and are taking measures to control them, but no one else in the family is getting marks like this. We aren’t sure if it is from bed bugs or from something else.
I recently stayed at a (privately-owned) cabin in the Pigeon Forge area which I rented through HomeAway. The night prior to that, we stayed one night in a (nicer) hotel in Gatlinburg.
About day 3 in the cabin, my husband and I noticed bug bites. We didn’t think much of it because we had spent several hours the previous evening outdoors. Neither of us developed “welts,” so at least we are not having an allergic reaction. I emailed the cabin owner and she said that her pest control company checked it out and there were no signs of bed bugs. I am kicking myself because I ALWAYS check the mattresses and I didn’t this time because the cabin seemed so clean and well-kept.
I have not seen any actual bugs yet. We vacuumed everything, and have the suitcases sealed in plastic bags now.
I had a question a few months back about bed bugs in a place I worked at temporarily and whether or not I could have brought them home with me. The good news is that I didn’t! The bad news is that I had another encounter with that place and now I’m a little worried all over again.
After my first encounter my company got an exterminator to come there and treat it. It was inspected and given the seal of approval by the exterminators that it was bug free! When my boss called me and asked me to work that location again he assured me the problem was taken care of so I agreed to go there….BIG MISTAKE.
I was there on Monday and while I’m sitting at the desk I feel something on the back of my neck. My natural reaction was to swat it off of me and so I did but I didn’t see what it was nor where it went. I thought nothing of it as there are a lot of bugs in that place and my boss assured me there were no more bed bugs.
The second day I was there which was today, I was about to close up at about 3:30pm. It was real cloudy out and so it started to get a little dark in the office. I was sitting there at the computer with a book I was reading right beside me. That’s when I noticed a bed bug scurrying along the desk toward the book. I immediately freaked, jumped up, ran outside and called my boss. He told me to just go home for the day but I could tell he didn’t really believe that it was a bed bug so I ventured back inside and trapped the one on the desk in a bottle to show him.
While doing so I turned around toward and old, dirty upholstered chair and there was another one crawling from the seam. At this point I was on the verge of a heart attack as I am afraid of ANY bug let alone a BED BUG!!!!! Luckily, I was smart this time around for the MOST part and I left my purse in my trunk so not to provide a venue for them to travel to my home (just in case my boss was wrong about their eradication) but for a brief period the first day for about 2 hours I did leave my purse on my desk while it was bright and sunny outside (hence, the source of my worries) but aside from that I only carried my book, my phone, a bottle of lotion and my car keys with me inside.
So after seeing the second bed bug, I grabbed my keys and phone only (left the lotion and the book) and went outside to wait for my boss because he was on his way to see the bugs for himself. When he got there I showed him and he took pics and got rid of the old, dirty chair (I think that was the main source of the problem) and when he threw it outside one of the wooden pieces on the bottom of the chair broke off and there were MORE bed bugs in it….yuck!!!!! So now it’s just sitting outside waiting to be thrown away. I have a few questions….
#1: Are the bed bugs going to stay in the chair until tomorrow when it is thrown out or will they just make their way back into the office or into a car that’s parked about 50 feet away? I’m asking because I have to go back tomorrow but I told my boss I am not willing to go inside the office so I will do my work from outside and during down times I will sit in my car which I’m going to park as far away from the office as possible.
#2: What are my chances that in that brief period of time (2 hours) that I left my purse on the desk, that a bed bug or two made its way into it? Keep in mind it was bright and sunny outside (I know they are nocturnal) and I didn’t see any that day.
#3: The guy for whom I’m filling in for has brought them to his house also and has an infestation there so he could be transporting them back and forth….what can my company do about this if anything? It’s costing them a fortune to keep treating the office only for him to still have them at home and bring them back to the office.
Your answers are much appreciated
I had bedbugs but it was by chance that I discovered them. I received a mattress and boxspring from my ex. I never slept on it until after having it for 6 mos. I had no idea that it was infested with bedbugs. I received bites 2 weeks after sleeping on I didn’t think anything of it because I live in the South and i get mosquito bites year often.
There was a story on my local news station about a school that had bedbugs and I realized that is what I have. So I stripped the mattress and the bed skirt I found small blood stains.
I threw the mattress out that night and washed my sheets. I ordered some bedbug spray online and I have been spraying the carpet. I either times sleep on the couch and on my air mattress and no longer have a traditional bed. I don’t have any bites. I still spray the carpet. I was lucky I only had about 10 bites, but I have a few permanent scars from the bites.
My advice that I give to anyone don’t buy any used furniture or take it!! Even if it is a close friend. If you have to please get it cleaned professionally!!
If a bed is infested with bed bugs, I’d throw it out…the entire bed and buy spray or get an exterminator!!
Good bless you…pray about it!
Last Sunday I started itching on my chest, arms, legs, stomach, pretty much all over my body. I had changed by bath soap and thought maybe that was it. I was also taking Cipro for an infection and thought maybe that was it. So on Monday the Cipro ended and I went back to my old soap. The itching continued. I Then on Thursday I woke up with these spots/bites all over my upper chest.. I’ve notice more mostly on my chest, stomach area. I thought maybe it was a spider bug bite, THen I was wondering if it might be bed bugs. I was freakin out. I tore my bed apart didn’t find anything. I called Terminix and thank God they had someone who came out yesterday. He couldn’t find anything and said most likely it was spider bites.
Oh I forgot to mention last weekend I took down some wallpaper in my bedroom and he said maybe that disturbed them. He asked me if I had been anywhere lately and I told him no. He said I didn’t have bedbugs. Then after he left I got to thinking I did stay at a Courtyard Marriott the 4&5 th May. That would have been a month ago. WOuld it take that long for the bedbugs to bite me. I didn’t get any bites at the Marriott.
Last night I put the tape around my mattress like some people had said and nothing was on it this morning. I again tore my bed apart and nothing. I have one of those Select Comfort beds so there is no typical box spring/mattress. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much. I had the TV on most of the night until around 4 this morning. I dosed on and off and kept checking for bugs through out the night and nothing. This morning when I got up around 5:30 I was itching like crazy on my upper chest. Rubbing my Tshirt over the area. Then a short time later I looked in the mirror and there was bright red blood splotches on my Tshirt. It was fresh not dried blood. I took it off and there was nothing nor nothing on my bed. I don’t know if it was from rubbing my self raw or a bed bug????
I don’t know what to do? I’m going to be gone for a week on vacation and I’m concerned now about staying with family. If I have bedbugs (even though Terminix says I don’t) could I bring them to them?
One more thing I just thought of. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a new bedspread. It was in a sealed zipped plastic bag. It didn’t look like it had been opened…could bed bugs had been on that.
Any suggestions would be appreciated…or comments. Do you think I have bedbugs???
Have three questions. Am getting systematic now about narrowing in what the heck is biting me. Travel a lot, stay in a lot of (nice) hotels.
Have had recurring bite episodes on my body, for past 4 months. Sometimes on back, sometimes stomach, sometimes inside of knees and elbows, once on left hand. Not always but often in the bfast-lunch-dinner pattern.
Will have 10 to 30 over the course of several days, very itchy for 5-7 days, fade in 7-10 days. First time round, did the hot water / hot dryer / vacuum/ bedbug-proof mattress & boxspring covers routine, and thought i had won. But 2-3 weeks later, bitten again. Rinse, repeat, 4 times since late winter/early spring.
Landlord is super cooperative and willing to call in pro exterminator.
I am a fastidious house-cleaner, there isn’t a lot of clutter, bedding does not touch floor or wall, bedframe is antique metal, clothing always put away, cleaning lady every two weeks, frequent vacuumer.
Living in northern CA bay area older ranch rental house with wall-to-wall carpeting in most of house after 25 years in NYC with wooden floors. Moved here last summer, no symptoms or sign of bed bugs until after living in home for 6+ mos.
Bought crawl-up interceptors on internet and put under (metal frame) bed yesterday, intending to capture whatever this is before having exterminator come. This morning, a few pinpoints, and a spider.
Went to dermatologist yesterday, she did a biopsy on stomach bite, and ordered a full blood work. She ruled out scabies, hives, mosquitoes, but says it could be bed bugs, bird mites, rodent mites, or something else.
Landlord did inspection of attic and basement crawlspace 2 weeks ago, found very old mouse nest, blocked up some holes, and laid down poison. He is coming back today to do another look-see.
Neighbor has a chicken coop, about 30 feet from house on side where my bedroom is. But the actual chickens don’t come over to my yard.
Landlord and I have decided together to wait on any further action until (a) collected a specimen from the interceptors, and (b) have labs back from the doctor.
My three questions:
Have never been able to spot ANY “dirt”, eggs, or bugs anywhere, having searched very diligently. NOTHING. Is this unusual, and could it tilt in the favor of a mite not a bedbug?
Having 4 months ago gotten (expensive!) mattress and boxpring and pillow covers, and bought new pillows, and thrown away all the pillows that couldn’t be washed, should I now take them off and wash them, since the problem isn’t going away, and I can’t find any evidence of bugs anywhere, to see if there is evidence inside the covers? OR, should I not remove the covers for 12-18 months after putting them on, on the theory that there could be bugs trapped in there and it can take that long to die?
Why has my 12-yr old son, who sleeps in his own room of course, never gotten a single bite in this period, nor have any of my overnight guests, who sleep in the guest room?
thanks so much for anyone patient enough to read all this, who has a POV, for answering, esp you Jim. What a generous guy!
Help me! I just started dating a guy who has bed bugs I never knew of such a thing until I found a bug on me and looked up bugs. I care about him so I am going to tell him.
I guess i should start with the pictures…do they look like they could be bed bug bites? if you need more detailed info let me know.
thanks,
a paranoid bugger :/
Hi,
I was hoping that someone might be able to identify this bug bite.
I think it’s a spider bite but am not sure.
You can click on the image and it will enlarge.
Thank you.
Hi Jim. Here are a few photos of some of my bites. I had tons of them all over my body – from my neck to my butt.
My forearms were definitely the most severely attacked!
Thanks for your help,
Jeremy
It’s been almost a week and I’ve been waking up to multiple bites all over the body. I know they are not flea bites because i react to flea bites in a VERY different way. and i know flea bites have sort of like a water bubble that forms on the center of the bite. But anyways, My kids have been sleeping in my bed, along with my husband, and they ( thank God) don’t get bitten. Do bed bugs like something in specific?
By the way, Caladryl is a very effective product at reducing the itch from bed bugs. you’ll get immediate relieve.
The picture that’s along with this comment are my bites. They are on my right side of my thing.
Hello I have some skin problems for some time,one of them is a mild form of solar urticaria with minor skin changes in summer,then a bit dry skin and some skin sensitivities in general ( to rubbing etd…)
I am an ex-messie (my bedroom was often dusty in the previous years) and although I now clean it more regularly it seems a bit messed up still.
I had depression for some months and wasn`t very able and motivated to clean my bed every week,but I wasn`t abroad for a long time now.
And I just wonder why I get bad urticarial rashes from time to time without intense artificial light or long sun contact,no actual skin dryness or rubbing.
And it happens when I GET UP in the morning from bed,but sometimes starts also on evenings when I am still awake and on my bed in my room.
Sometimes I also wake up because of the itching.
These are some kind of red spots in a line or row,sometimes there are only a few but sometimes big local areas of my skin are affected.
And they are often on areas where I lay on the bed,like the ankles,feet,arms,hands,waist
Most of the spots are small,some few also look like allergic swelling and they are itching.
There are not only rows of three,also five or six such bites and sometimes I see a little bit in the middle of one,but most of the time I see nothing than the spots.
The spots always last between some hours and usually remitt within the day,but sometimes they are there for one day or even a bit longer….
My doctor always treated it with coritison creams as urticaria with unknow origin like the solar urticaria and it is like an allergic reaction.
I read about bed bugs some days ago in the internet and I really saw some little brown insects in my bed sometimes,but never thought much about it.
And I have also noticed a strange smell in my bedroom some time ago,it smelled like something burnt but also a bit sweetish like raspberries.
Do you think I could have bedbugs and what should I do next?
I don`t live in an own household.
Yours
S.L.
Grosses Out:….. Where did you stay because we just returned yesterday the 16th from Gatlinburg and all four of us were bitten and my bites look just like yours? I called the cabin place and of course they said there were no sign of bed bugs….yeah hello people, you looked in the middle of the day. You wont see them. My bites keep appearing so now I am thinking I have brought them home!
Could it be bed bug bites just now showing up?
My son is covered in bites but I thought it was mosquito bites, another girl that was with us has bites on her torso.
Ugh I’m beyond disgusted!
I have about 10-15 on my right calf/behind my shin and several more in various other locations (upper arms, thigh, etc)
Do these look similar to what you guys have experienced with bed bugs?
also, if i had bed bugs and i slept in my moms room, would they travel to her room? how would they know where i am?
One more thing – when we were getting bitten by bed bugs, my son happened to have hydrocortisone ointment 2.5% because he has eczema in some spots and I’ve always had to put this ointment on for him since he was born. I put some of the ointment on his bites, and they stopped itching him and cleared up pretty quick. The healing was so noticeable that I put some on my own bites – wonderful stuff if you have bed bugs bites! Just a tip!
We had bed bugs, but we took matters into our own hands. Our first experience with them was when my husband all of a sudden had this line of bites on his shoulder and down the underside of his arm. Also, he was bitten under his arm pit in a line going towards his back. We had no idea what it was or where he could’ve gotten bit. It was at the end of January and very cold. After that, I noticed bites by my ankles above our sock line a few days later, as well as my son’s ankles. We were also getting bit around our the back of our waist – where our shirt moves away from our pants.
My husband went to the doctor – he was no help. They had no idea what it was, and just shrugged it off and said, “You’re fine.. the bites will go away.” I did some googling, and started thinking it was all different kind of things.. until I saw bed bugs. The bites seemed to be the same, but we never saw any bed bugs before and we weren’t traveling around then or long before then either.
The first time I noticed a bed bug, I didn’t know what it was. I was changing our son’s crib sheets, and I lifted the crib mattress to tuck the sheets around the corners. We had a dust ruffle on the bottom part of the crib, and on the white part of the dust ruffle that actually lies under the mattress, I saw something move. It was very small, and clear. I got tweezers and picked it up to put it in a ziplock bag. I looked at it closely – it was a baby bed bug.
As I did more and more research, I changed some things about our lifestyle in the “cleaning” aspect of things…
-We vacuumed every day…. EVERYWHERE! We even vacuumed the couch inside out.. EVERYDAY.
-Didn’t matter what we were washing, we used hot water. EVERYTHING was washed in hot water!
-Our pillows got allergy covers, and so did our mattresses. I read that you have to starve bed bugs for 1 year for them to die because there’s nothing that can kill them (except one poison that no one uses anymore, and I certainly wouldn’t want it around my child). We even taped the zippers off the mattress covers, and we kept them on for 13 months without ever washing them. It was the price we had to pay because we couldn’t afford new beds (after seeing people re-sell old infested beds as brand new beds, we didn’t want to try it anyway).
-We cleared out everything from our closets and drawers and made sure to wash everything. Remember, hot water is key! It makes you NOT itch from whatever the bed bugs leave behind.
-We turned the lights on VERY LOW so we could still see, but it would appear as thought it were nighttime – which is when bed bugs like to come out. We did this many times to try to catch them.
We must’ve continued all of this for about 3-4 months – I remember that we were starting to get worried about all of our bites because we would be wearing summer clothes soon, so it was probably around April by this time.
Then, on the woodwork in the bathroom, I saw another baby bed bug. I put that in a ziplock bag too with tweezers, and labeled it with the where I found it and the date.
The kicker was when my husband was laying on our sectional couch watching tv one night with the lights low because it was very late, and all of a sudden from in between the cushions of the couch, a bed beg takes off! This thing was pretty fast, but it was also a lot bigger than the other ones we caught. My husband freaked out, and grabbed the mattress so he could watch where the bed bug was at all times while he was running into the kitchen with it for me to grab and put into a ziplock bag. We acted quickly, and we got it! That was the last bed bug we caught. It was adult-size, and you could see that it had blood from biting us inside him. This was 2 years ago, and we haven’t had any bites since. We still have the ziplock bags with the bed bugs. They are dead.. I double bagged them to be sure.
It’s tiring to keep up with it, but you can get rid of them. You just have to find them. Night time to early morning before the sun comes up is when they come out. Investigate all your things. Wash everything that you can wash. Clean everything you can clean.. just remember to stock up on vacuum bags because you can only use the vacuum bag ONCE and then you have to throw it away – that way they don’t crawl back out and around your house again. We bought clean vac bags and stocked up on them.
guys i am scared what do i do so bed bugs can stop biting me plsssss help! im scraed
so i went over to my boyfriends place a few nights ago to spend the night, the next morning i woke up to find my side covered in bites, i knew right away that it was bed bug bites since i had delt with it before like a year and a half ago but the thing that i need help understanding is that he has been living there for quite some time and from the amount of bed bugs that were around, they have been around for some time as well yet my boyfriend showed no signs of bits or itching like i was. Now the question im asking is that, he is black and i am white, do bites look diffrent on diffrent skin types? and how are you able to tell? this would be so helpful to know what is going on!
Just got back from 5 days at Silver Legacy in Reno. On second morning found blood spots on sheets and found three bedbugs. Security is the place to call when this happens. They immediately moved us to another room and comped us two nights and are mailing us comps for two more nights in the future. We were able to catch two of the bedbugs to give hotel security. Room was to be checked that day 4/20/10 by exterminator. We sealed our clothing that might have been infested in plastic bags and laundry is being done as I write. We had not put our suitcases on the bed or floor of the room so we are hoping we escaped with bugs riding home with us!
In regards to charity: I had the same problem. I am 7 mnths pregnant and they love my smell. I am having severe reactions to these devils. My son was attacked too. I took him to the doctor and they referred a dermatologist. They gave him cortisteroid cream called Triamcinolone Acetonide. I put it on me because my doctor wouldnt do anything for me. All of my sores started healing within an hour. They didnt go away yet but they are healing up nicely. I am still getting bit. Rubbing alcohol is good too. You need to get a professional exterminator to fumigate your home. I am in the process,… I just found out that I got infested by buying a very nice looking used sofa and loveseat. I threw it away yesterday. Sprinkle Borax all over your carpet and in laundry. I heard Diatomaceous Earth (found in garden section) will run them away. Put all clothes in bags and seal until worn. Buy bed bug spray also. Hope this helps you. I know how you feel. Ive cried several times due to this.
Ok where to begin, we moved to the house we are living at now 3 years ago when we moved here it was filthy we had to clean and clean and paint and clean. I have had bites on my lower legs some on arms, hands higher back, tummy and the worst is my scalp.
Here is a picture of the bites (click to enlarge).
I have been to the DR and seen many different doctors and each had different opinions on what i had, everything from scabies to dermatitis to dandruff to acne. these sores are so itchy it almost is enough to drive anyone mental. I have spent hundreds of $$s on lotions, creams, shampoos and nothing i mean nothing has helped.
I live on benadryl its the only thing that sorta gives me small relief for short period. After reading and viewing photos of other stories i am almost convinced its bedbugs does anyone else suffer from bites on there scalp as well as there body? I tend to itch more at night time this is why doctors thought it was scabies but after over treating myself and my family we came to the conclusion that wasn’t it, I’m surprised i didn’t make us all sick as the treatment for scabies is toxic.
We have a new bed its only few years old and nobody seems to be suffering as much as i am. I am the type of person that when my kids came home from school with head lice i would go absolutely insane and compulsive with cleaning to the point of making the kids take there clothes off at the door when they got home and directly jumping into the shower.
I have tried everything now, if this is bedbug bites from what i read they can live almost anywhere and they can live without feeding for up to a year how on earth would you get rid of them without throwing absolutely everything you own either away or in bags i am literally going insane!
Please if anyone can help in anyway with any info it would be greatly helpful.
Hi all…
I was on Puerto Rico last week, staying at the Wyndham Rio Mar. I was outside at dusk and felt painful bites on my legs, and immediately put bug spray on and felt nothing after – no itch, no pain.
I Didn’t see anything on my legs. This was Wednesday. Thursday I awoke, and nothing… No visible bites, no itch. But then Friday I woke and there are bites all over my legs. Thinking they were sand fly bites, I started researching. But i read that they do not bite past the ankles usually, or jump more than 14 inches or so. Since I also have a few random bites on my arms (2) and smack dab in the middle of my back (1)
I am now concerned about bed bugs. We left the hotel before I could look in the bed, so I can’t investigate that way. Please look at my picture above, I think I see the discernible patterns of both 3 bites and linear bites, but my husband thinks I’m nuts. They were hard to see, so I circled them in pen to try to ID a pattern.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks
My 8yod has many bites. I’ll take photos and check couch mattress although she slept on the couch. Please let me know if there are reports of bedbugs here, but do not publish hotel name YET: Comfort Suites, 505 Live oak, San Antonio, Tx
Ironically, we were just at the TexMed Clinic for an ear infection and I specifically asked the Dr about the marks on her cheek. She suggested it was an Oak allergy, and of course, this allergy just developed.
Thank you so much 2:20am in BEAUTIFUL San Antonio
I have a bed bug problem. Most of the bugs are too small to be seen, but, it has been confirmed by a pest control co that we have them! problem is, they can’t get rid of them!
We are renters, so, we can’t just try another co when management insists on using this one. Every time they treat or we spray, the bugs get real agitated and attack us even more. They are throughout the apartment and not just nocturnal. I found a juvenile one just hanging out on the wall in the hall middle of the day.
Also, my bite marks are not typical. They are just these tiny red dots the size of a pen tip or small purple welts that are just slightly larger. Also, I can feel the bites as they happen! Everyone says you can’t feel the bites, just the itch that happens later, as an allergic reaction to their saliva. But I do feel them and it is having a very bad effect on me. I am a nervous wreck. I am already stressed about being unemployed, having trouble with getting unemployment, and now I have these bed bugs that are becoming increasingly aggressive and large in #.
They are in my clothes, pooping,too. I feel like I am cracking up. I am cranky, yelling at my sweet husband, swearing like I never have before, struggling in my faith in Christ, terribly anxious, etc. This has never happened to me before. I don’t know what to do. The pest control company doesn’t know what to do except for the same thing which isn’t working!
The only good thing is that the bite marks are only noticeable when up very close and if you know what to look for-so, I can still show myself in public without looking like other people do when they’ve been bitten. Also, my bites don’t really itch. I can just feel the actual biting as it happens. No one else (to my knowledge) has ever felt the bite like this. The only other option to get rid of these bedbugs is to fumigate the whole place, which isn’t really available.
Even if we do get rid of these things, we have been told by pest control, that they will just return, because we live in an apartment building and unless the entire building is treated, they will just hide elsewhere until it is conducive for their return. Management will not pay for this unless everyone complains. We can’t move, either, until our lease is up, which won’t be until the fall. Any suggestion?
I was sitting on my couch the other day when i noticed a rash like outbreak on my skin near my elbow….i didn’t feel anything at the time..2 mins later i had it behind both hands…again i didn’t feel any bites..there’s quite a number of marks too, like hundreds of them….is there anyway to get rid of these marks?
got bed bugs from the motel 6 in orange. thought i was allergic to my laundry detergent at first . they have been massacring my lower back and ribcage for a week.
I found something that works for the itch:
childrens benadriyl anti itch gel (not the spray it isnt as good tried it)
it says: Immediate cooling soothing itch relief stops the urge to scratch , for kids 2 and up, for insect bites and poison ivy, oak and sumac.
active ingredient is : camphor
they weren’t kidding. it burns at first but in a min. it really cooled off and helped the awful itching.
these bites feel like no other itch from any bite Ive ever had and last longer than any bite too.
I read tea tree oil works for keeping them from biting. I’m gonna try that too in case they’re still around.
Hope this helps you too!
PS. I’ve had insomnia ever since I’ve been bitten. I’m sooo tired and itchy.
I woke up yesterday with some itchy bite marks on my upper leg and thigh, but didn’t think very much of it (I have no idea why). Today, there was even more. Again, didn’t think very much of it until I went to visit my parents and mentioned it to my mom who mentioned it could be scabies or bed bugs. Absolutely disgusted with both ideas, but after research.. I think she’s right with bed bugs. Ugggggh.
Now I’m scared of spreading it to my parents’ place!
I recently stayed in a hotel for one night. I did not receive any signs of bites from the hotel. I returned home and 4 days later large welts/bites appeared on both forearms and across the back of my neck. During day 4-day 7 I received a few new bites. It is now day 11 and no new bites. I called the hotel and they did not seem surprised. I do not notice any signs of bugs in my home and have been washing sheets and checking daily.
Is it possible that the bugs were in the hotel and my bites appeared in a delayed response? Does this ever happen? I’m really hoping they did not come home with me!
I used to work at a resort in Airlie Beach, Australia… First time i ever encountered bed bugs, all 200 rooms had them. They replaced all beds, then the bugs re appeared, they were living in the cane side tables and bed heads as well as any other cane furniture.
They are so horrible, as i was a housekeeper, we used to have to close rooms down for a few days sometimes but vacuuming visible bugs and then spraying all areas where they were with straight methylated spirits used to work quite well. It smells but worked even better than the commercial pest control companies that we had in as it was something we could do on a daily basis.
Not long after myself and several others quit, the resort got rid of all their cane furniture, things like side tables and table and chair settings and all ensemble beds. Bedbugs are such horrible little vultures! They are like lice, without a host for a certain amount of time, they will eventually die.
I rented a rather old house last year and cosmetically it looked fine. In the winter months nothing besides mice a few warf rats and could hardly wait til my lease was up!
In July I had a bite, it is still raised from there it looked like hives and then went away. I thought. I have never heard of bed bugs, lice, etc etc, we never grew up with these sorts pf things in the north. I guess in today’s world it is common place.
I found this site because there is one distinctive thing raised bites with it looks like 2 pin prick bites at each sore other wise it reminded me of mosquito bites, Most were raised some were flat but what hit the spot was the pattern they leave. I have got bites in rows of 2 and 3 ,also clusters of them in places.
I have long nails and I know I should not scratch but I did. This happened on one buttocks, then around my abdomen, then on the other buttocks and both ides of my back and down my spine. The scars are bad and are brown,some are fading I hope they all do.
This will floor you, I have seen 34 doctors been tested for all sorts of things and not 1 doctor knew or had a clue as to what it is. I have great pics on my I Phone, if I knew how to send them to this site I would because I had emotional distress thinking it was some sort of disease.
Sometimes they bleed a little But the rows are the pattern of bed bug bites. I never had any sort of bugs and do not know if that house had them in it. I got mattress covers and this new house has all parque floors. I can not see that good but I still found no bugs. Already 2 of these bites appeared on my buttocks. One way I stopped all itching and got them healed was with hydrogen peroxide, I also got hibiclense to wash with so none got infection and Tea tree oil as a repellent, I read somewhere they hate the smell of that.
Did anyone elses bites get scabs? some of mine did. Tell me how to get the pics on here because this really shows bite patterns. I also know if you use a hot hair dryer on your mattress, iron it well the heat kills them.
Well God Bless us all from living through this nightmare. ah THE POST before me yes staph, you can get it from scratching, I uses Hibiclense it is for bacterial germs The small micro bacterial that can cause staph germs, First off I did ask the Lord to help me, I have well over 300 bites!
Most of the pictures posted on this site look more like impetigo than “bed bug bites” — might want to look into this if your “bites” look like the ones posted here… especially if amber colored, fluid filled blisters appear…
Hi folks, thought I’d share a picture of what my uninvited guests have been doing to me.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford the prices that the exterminators charge, and my landlord says it’s not his responsibility because the bugs weren’t there when we moved in 5 years ago (which appears to be true). I am trying at home remedies currently, we have laid boric acid down today, hopefully this will help.
I have found that tea tree oil helps to negate the itchiness of the bites when applied directly, and I have also noticed that the bugs don’t like the smell of eucalyptus oil, so have been putting that on my pillow before going to bed at night, and have put a few drops in my hand cream.
Hi Jim,
two weeks ago my husband and I spent the weekend at the crowne plaza in niagara falls and didn’t notice anything unusual about the room and didn’t get bit by anything that weekend. Two days ago, I was bit once on my left knuckle of my index finger, which I assumed was a spider bite but last night I was bit five times across the knuckles of my right hand (almost in a perfect line). Do you think it’s bedbugs? the bites look like tiny mosquito bites and they dissappear after a couple of hours or so so I’m not sure…
Also, do you think I should hire a professional immediately or do some of the self-help approaches mentionned in this thread? your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Jen
Hi there! I was wondering if you could take a look at my pictures and give me your opinion on whether or not they are bug bites.
I have never been allergic to anything, and I’m positive it’s not from any soaps or cleaners we use. After finding your site I asked my dad to wash my bedding in case these are are Bed Bug Bites. However, when I told my mom that dad was going to wash my sheets she said she had done them about 2 weeks ago. These appeared about a week and a half ago. They’re not itchy.
The pictures are not very good, most of them were on my chest area so it was hard to get good pics, but these are pictures of the clusters on my sides along my ribs and neck. There are some random spots on my back and stomach too.
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Hillary
Hello Vanessa,
Those look like bed bug bites or a bad reaction to flea / mite bites, but it’s hard to be sure from the picture. You said you look for signs of bed bugs – are you doing an in-depth check or just looking on the sheet? See my bedbug checklist at the top of this page (menu bar) and make sure you’re looking everywhere.
I can’t count the number of times people have left messages thinking they checked everywhere and weeks later found an infestation – see those five pictures next to one another at the top of this page? The person who found those had been hunting for a long time before she found the source – what gave the bed bugs away (and a telltale sign) was the unusual smell. Have you smelled anything unusual lately?
Dust mites don’t bite, but there are other type of mites that produce bites that look like bed bugs – here is an excellent resource: idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcmites.htm
Have your tired cleaning up the area real good (dusting, washing all the sheets and pillow cases with hot water, etc? Have you looked around with a flashlight early in the morning (4 – 5am)?
Let us know what you find out!
Thanks,
Jim
I get very itchy at night but every time I check my bed for bugs, I see nothing. I am vexed and have spots all over my legs. The picture to your left shows you what they kind of look like. The spots are extremely itchy. I am also getting a few spots on my hands. Any information will help.
Thank You,
Vanessa.
hi i was wanting to know if joy from the entry on bed bug bites in march 2009 would let me know if she ever got any feedback on her issue…… you said that there were odors from your house and especially the kitchen and bathroom area? i have similar situation and have been waking up with 3 small red for about 2 inches apart in my chest area. They go away in about 2 weeks but then return in a different line but in the same area….. i loved all your questions cause you had all the same concerns i do, i just wanna know if you had any feedback ? thanks patty
I have itchy flesh colored bites on my skin and I’m wondering if its bed bugs?? Also my arm is swollen!! If this is bed bugs why doesn’t the person i share a bed with have these bites?? I’m super confused someone please help.
Hello again Jim and thank you for this site might i add. But the itchy swollen welts will appear for like 10-20 min and then disappear like it was nothing ever there, on my hand my thighs and my arms in certain spots, and i told you before that on Dec 13th I was at a hotel but later on when i was at home is when when i noticed that big itchy welt on my thigh. The welt vanished within 20 minutes then appeared on my arm and then the other arm and my hand while i was at home, and at work but they all went away with in 10 min.
Even though they itched i didn’t really have the urge to scratch them just wondering what caused them and why did they appear and were they from bedbug bites??? Do bed bugs travel with you or on our skin? i was hoping that they were hives because i read up on hives and they are the exact same symptoms, red, itchy swollen welts. lol i just pray that they aren’t from bedbugs and i didn’t bring any home!
The latest bite was on my right wrist and this happened two nights ago. At the time of biting I felt nothing in my sleep. The bite occurred next to my watch band in both cases. This area still itches and has developed small blisters on the area. These bites have occurred over a period of about two months. On the stomach There is one in the center, one on the right side and one smaller near the left hip. I need to know if these bites are from bed bugs or spiders. Thank you in advance for this information.
Hi Jim, or any 1 who is reading this, i was at a hotel on Sunday December 13th, 2009 and when i got home that evening i noticed a big welt like rash on my thigh it was itching and i started scratching it and noticed that it was indeed a rash i thought but like all the other stories it was itching and looked like a welt.
I have never seen anything like it but within 10 minutes it disappeared, then a few more popped up on me, itched and became welts and within 10 minunted or so they fade away, so this is the 3rd day and i was hoping that it wasn’t bedbug bites from an hotel and hopefully i didn’t bring them home with me!
Can you tell me once after you get bitten how long does the welt like rash stay on you? could it be that i got bitten by the bugs and my body just reacted to it later?? I’m just hoping its not from bed bugs, because I saw them Sunday and Monday; they would stay on my skin for about 10 minutes then vanish as if nothing was ever there!
I slept at a hotel and immediately the next day i woke up with bites all over my body! The bites came in sequentials of 3 and I immediately notified the hotel manager. She informed me that there has never been an incident of bed bugs before and they found no signs of bed bugs in the room. But of course, she offered to do my laundry and dry cleaning and change my room.
Well the next day, I changed room (in the same hotel) and when I walked in the room, they had my clothes folded on the bed! How pointless. So I check the bed that night before sleeping and didn’t see signs of any bed bugs. Woke up the next morning and again I was covered with bites in 3s! Either the hotel room was infested as well or I brought them from the other room! So I change hotels and am okay for 1 week.
Before traveling back home, I bought a new luggage and washed all clothing and rubbed down toiletries with rubbing alcohol. 4 days after I return I see bites again!! UGGGHH. I checked my bed and my clothes and haven’t seem any sign of bed bugs. Whats happening to me? Should I hire an exterminator?
I am on a 2 month contract for work . After a few days i awoke with , symptoms on my ankles and feet, next day i awoke with arms neck and face covered in bites and swellings.
I went to doc and was diagnosed with scabies, bed bugs, given a script .The employer i have a contract with sent me home and so far i have lost 4 days of work. They are sympathetic but understandable will not let me return to work until i am cleared by doctor.
I moved to another hotel but am loosing pay and am incurring bills due to this attack!!!!!!!!! what steps can i take towards the motel. This entire experience is terrible, but i am an adult i cringe thinking this could happen to a baby or child !!
Hi,
I am not sure whether or not i am suppose to write the comment here with the pictures or not, so i will just send the pictures in hope for some answers.
I am living with bed bugs and my daughter seems to be getting bit the worst. She usually has a cluster of 3 or 4 bites but today i noticed her foot was covered in really hard bumps, they are red, sore, look kind of white on the tips and are very sensitive to touch.
These bug bites are very itchy as well but i’ve advised her not to itch. This camera has a very low quality but I am hoping someone can identify from them whether or not they are bed bug bites or some kind of rash. thanks.
Hey Jennifer,
Those bites look exactly like what you would expect from bed bugs. Check the area where your feet lay and I’ll bed you’ll find them nesting close by!
Kevin
Hi, these are on both legs, clustered around the ankles on the back of my legs.
VERY itchy, and when the first itched just a very small amount of pus was in them. We stayed in a very high end hotel on thanksgiving weekend and these appeared on the 11th day after our first night in the hotel. This is day 3 for the bites and my husband who sleeps in the same bed has not had any bites yet. In the hotel he slept in another bed (had children with us!) I think these fit the description of bed bugs, what do you think?
Started seeing some “rash” on my lower torso a few weeks ago. they would itch and then stop and go away after a shower so bug bites did not enter my mind at first. like so many mentioned i could not see any signs of bed bugs in my bed.
After reading these posts i checked a spare bed room. what is amazing i rented this room to a student from Saudi Arabia. he left his mattress in the room and it looked clean so i left it in the room; mind you he has been gone for over a year. after checking the mattress i found all of the signs of bed bugs. i just experienced them a few weeks ago so now the war is on.
The mattress was thrown away and i am going this evening for mattress covers for my mattress and i will try the boric acid someone mentioned around the base boards. luckily i can vacate my apartment in 30 days if the problem is not resolved. never dreamed this could happen to me!
Hi, I think I’ve been bitten by bedbugs to after reading articles from this site. Here are some pics of the bite that I got on my arm.
I’ve been suffering from it for 3-4 days.
It’s itchy (but I don’t dare to scratch it) and hurt (the skin area feels so dry). Every time i look at it, it brings me goosebumps. I’ve been trying to find the cure to it. Any suggestion? Appreciate it so much.
Do bedbugs live in your hair? If so how do you get rid of them?
Hey guys. I have bites all over my body, mostly on my legs, we had bed bugs before in an apartment in April, but we threw everything except our clothes out and moved back to my husbands grandmas house for the time being, we washed all of our clothes of course. When we were in the apartment i was the only one getting bit and i am the only one getting bit now.
We haven’t had any signs of bed bugs again until a few days ago when i started getting bites, i thought it was ants, but i looked them up and they dont bite. is it possible that we brought them from the apartment, and they just haven’t fed for so long? we have looked everywhere for any signs of them or the stuff they leave behind, like blood stains or their shells and stuff. If its not bed bugs what could it be, and if it is did we bring them to his grandmothers house?
please help us.
I have researched bedbugs for hours now. I believe my 2 year old son is covered in bed bug bites. I am a single parent with a 4 year old as well. Most nights we end up in the same bed (my bed).
Myself and daughter have no signs of any bites which leaves me puzzled. My children stay with their grandparents sometimes, but no one in that household has any signs of bed bugs. My children are in daycare which leaves my wondering if that is the source. The daycare, of course, claims they have no signs of bed bugs but I am not sure if they would tell me the truth. The kids take naps on a mat with there own blankets. The blankets are not brought home because the daycare states that they wash them every Friday.
Could there be BED BUGS AT DAYCARE?
I work at a mental health home in Philadelphia and I’m getting bit by bed bugs while washing clothes and making up beds. What can I put on the bite marks to stop the itching?
Gosh, I don’t have any signs of bedbugs, besides the bites, nothing in my bed, not any part of it, box spring, frame, nothing. But the bites are present. My husband and our child, live in one of the basement rooms in this house, my brother in the other, and my mom and dad have the rest of the house.
We had a problem this year with the dogs and cats bringing in fleas. We got that taken care of by fall, except I was the only one left being bit. I was freaking out. Big huge red hive like bite that are extremely painful. They itch like nothing I have ever felt, it will wake me up in the middle of the night burning and itching so so bad, and I am a heavy sleeper!
The whole household, said I was crazy and they there is nothing biting me. Thank God my husband got bit the last 2 nights, cause now I know I’m not crazy. Does any one know why they itch and burn so much? or why it feels like you are burning your skin off when hot water touches these bites?
I couldn’t help but laugh last night when my husband swore they were nesting in his hair. I told him to use lice shampoo if he was that worried about it, he did, but still got bit last night after doing so, and his hair is not long maybe a 1/4 inch. Once he got bit, that’s when they became real to him, but they been REAL to me for a month now!
Anyway, the big question I would like answered is why do whatever I am being attacked by bed bugs, do they choose certain people? Is it a temp thing, scent, or sight?
I just found out that i have bed bugs and it appears we must of had them for awhile without knowing. They are everywhere mostly eggs and larva in the bed mattress and under the couch in the kitchen cabinets. I did find some that was mature in my kids room in there mattress, but i threw that out. I didn’t know i had them until i watched a documentary on bedbugs on TV….
My questions: is this a problem I can take care of myself, or do I need to hire a professional? Considering we must of had them for awhile for them to spread over the house? Please, Please, Help!
Here are some facts about bed bugs:
*Bedbugs can live ANYWHERE, on anything, but typically will nest on a wooden, or fabric material close to where humans sleep.
*They are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breath out.
*They can live up to a year without feeding, while the female continues to hatch 1-5 eggs each and everyday.
*If you have only 3 adult females in your home laying for instance 5 eggs each per day, in six months time they will lay 2700 eggs!!!!
*A bed bug feeds by spearing the skin and inserting a tube with which it pulls out the required blood, and therefore the victim will rarely know they are being bitten as they are usually asleep
*After feeding – which may be as long as ten minutes – the Bed Bug leaves behind a red mark which might swell and will irritate continually, bringing irritation and discomfort to the sufferer.
*Bed bugs have 7 different stages in their life cycles, starting from their egg up to their adult hood! Each stage they do have different colors and appearances so it’s good to know what all stages look like so you can keep a better eye out!
*They BEST way to protect you mattress & boxsping (especially if it is particularly new) is to spend the extra money (it’s not cheap) on zippered mattress & boxspring covers! This will lock in any living bedbug and/or eggs that remains in. They can’t crawl through them or bite through them they are 100% stuck in there. Eventually they will die, but keep in mind they have been known to live over a year without feeding… so when I say “die in time” I mean a good year or more!
*If your living with a conjoined wall with your neighbor, such as a duplex, or apartment (etc..) then be very aware of the signs of bed bugs. If you neighbor catches them, chances are in time your will too! Then can very easily crawl through heat/air vents, cracks, floors, in between the walls!!! So make sure you IMMEDIATELY contact your landlord & MAKE THEM call in professionals!
*Bed Bugs do NOT fly!
*Bed bugs do generally climb up walls, or live on metal or plastic objects. However they can depending on if the infestation is bad enough!
Be very cautious of used furniture your buy!!!! This is the most common case of getting the infestation! Check extremely thoroughly for signs of bed bugs, or their shelling. Also clean extremely thoroughly so if any eggs are there they won’t hatch! Make sure you check underneath EVERYTHING, that is where the like to nest/lay their eggs the most!
Use common sense, and DO NOT take in mattresses, boxsprings, suitcases, etc.. that were in the TRASH!
My husband and I have been having horrible bites on us for the past couple of weeks. We have been so confused to what it could be because they were spaced out so far apart in time & we would only get 1 or 2 at a time and we had just bought a brand new $2000 mattress & boxspring! Also our son’s was not getting any bites, and his room is attached next to ours.
We did research and came to the only conclusion that it has to be bed bugs. Before doing any research, I thought only “filthy” places get them, but boy was I wrong!
We got in contact with out landlord about this situation, and they told us the people that live above us (we live in a triplex) were complaining of the same problem. A pest control company immediately came over, and told us they knew what the problem was from. Our neighbors attached onto the side of us, a couple of months earlier had bought a used dresser. Their son was complaining about bug bites, so his mother one night went into his room with a flashlight, checked on him, and sure enough he was covered in them! (GROSS!!!) They took full precaution over there, got rid of their furniture & the pest control company came in, and spayed their whole house down!
Now stupid as they are, didn’t bother to spray down the whole triplex! They bugs can very easily climb through the walls, cracks & vents… (which they ended up doing!)
My husband and I spend the INTIRE day literally 15 hours cleaning our entire house from crack to crack. Vacuumed & Lysol EVERYTHING! Bagged everything else. The pest control is coming to spray the entire place tomorrow. & we are praying that we can save our new mattress & boxspring by getting it thoroughly cleaned and buying covers for them!
We know we don’t have a bad infestation, because there is NO evidence ANYWHERE of any (and we checked many places many of times!!!) We also do not get bit very much. I do know that female bedbugs can day anywheres from 1-5 eggs A DAY! So a little problem can certainly turn into a BIG problem in a very little amount of time. So if you suspect in ANYWAY that you have bed bugs… CALL A PROFESSIONAL IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!
I lived in a apartment that had bedbugs really bad. I told the landlord who did nothing. Wow me and my kids live there and my 16 month old son was bitten and had a horrible allergic reaction that lead to him going to the hospital. He was giving some ointment and then was to see another doctor for more tests. We have now moved and he doing so much better….. ”Thank god”
hi
i was woken up in the middle of the night with a sting on my inner thigh. i got out of bed and looked at the area stung with nothing there. the sting was very painful. a few days later i notice a small rash about 10mill wide. only one bite. could this be a bed bug bite?
Hi,
I was recently staying in an unclean hotel where I experienced itchiness and crawling sensations on my sleep. I discover a flat brown object, but after ‘thorough’ inspection I believed it was nothing. Now I have developed itchy pink bumps all over my body.
Do you think I have bed bugs? If so what should I do?
2nd time I have had to deal with bed bugs.
The first time I got them from a Vegas hotel.
This time, I got them a ranch I stayed at. We have advised the ranch, I hope they exterminate!
Its about 5am and I work up about an hour ago with more bites… three in a row.Anyways, I just caught one and have ziplock bagged it alive. I hope there are no more, or no eggs.
This one looks like a stage before adult
Ive got about 30 all over my arms and legs combined.
They are annoying itchy and take forever to heal. i would trade for a mosquito bite any day.
The swelling will be there for about two weeks from previous experience.
i have bites all over my legs. ive been sleeping on an air mattress for a while now…do they have bed bugs in them?
I get so fed up with doctors who shoo their patients away with “these are spider bites”. That is hooey! Spiders do NOT crawl out of the woodwork to feed on you at night. But lots of other things actually do!
Chances are your bites are:
1: mosquitoes if it is the season
2. fleas if you are getting mostly ankle/foot bites, remember if you have been out of the house for a while, your return will trigger the larvae to pupate and hatch…and then feed on you.
3. bedbugs, which hide in crevices in the walls and mattress, out of the light, during waking hours. So small you may not see them even if looking hard for them.
Bites can turn into sores, and rashes if scratched, and those can both get infected with bacteria. So while the bites themselves are just itchy and unsightly, if mismanaged they can turn into long term miseries requiring treatment.
I was getting bites about once every 10 days–usually 2, but sometimes just one. My landlord sent the exterminator and he couldn’t find anything in the inspection, but did go ahead and spray around the bed, vacuumed, etc.
I got bed bug covers for the mattress and boxspring and did all the laundry. A couple weeks later bitten again. Had the exterminator back–still nothing found, although he treated again. Then, a couple of nights ago, developed a couple of bites on my collarbone, two more on my arm, while sitting on the couch.
The next morning I finally found a live bed bug on my bed –killed it. Later that day a couple more bites popped up. The exterminator came back, treated again. I had sealed most of my belongings after washing into locking plastic bins, but I’m washing them again.
A friend who had a problem lent me her Packtite it heats up to 130 degrees for 4 hours so you can heat treat things that can’t be washed, like shoes, purses, etc. I threw out my couch pillows and throw rugs. The exterminator treated my couch and I sprayed the seating areas with alcohol after a thorough vacuuming. Of course threw out the bag. Vacuumed everywhere.
Tonight, developed another bite mark under my arm. I’m going crazy!!! Will they still come out for awhile after treatment? How long do I give it before I pitch everything and move far away?
I rent a room from a boarding house. $600 a month. The rande lodge Groton CT. When you report the bed bug problem to the manager you receive a eviction notice and are forced to move. I would like to know where to report this.
CT Health Dept / CT Housing Authority I am unable to find the correct Dept that takes complaints
i was told that if you spray lavender tea tree oil on your mattress, it will kill bed bugs. needless to say, after coming home from the Holiday Inn, i washed everything and sprayed the tea tree oil on the mattress and all over the house. we will be taking a spray bottle with us when we go on vacation.
my insurance company arranged a stay at a local hotel for me while our house was being repaired due to water damage. my husband stayed home with our pets. i developed a rash on my chest after a few days, went to Kaiser and the doctor confirmed that it was due to bed bugs. I contacted the manager who told me he checked the room, didn’t find anything, and was going to rent the room. I’m wondering what the best way is to approach this. so glad i found this site!
I just came back from a 3 day trip to Miami, and I have 3 small bites, I am worried it is bed bugs do I need to treat everything I brought home as if I they are bed bugs?
One on ankle, one on finger, one on collarbone, small bites not overly itchy.
If they are bed bugs what are the chances I have a brought some home.
I am freaking out reading all these stories. Help!
Hey Jess,
What I think you have is a case of bedbugs because I went through the same thing as you, before I actually found a bedbug. I itched through my clothes so I thought it was the soap I was using. Before I can give you any real advice I have to try a couple of things myself first.
The first thing I am going to do is have this black mark on the back of my leg checked out at the hospital. I am going to get rid of every cloth material I have, including some clothes. I am doing this because event hough I have washed my clothes I still itch bad with my clothes on as if something small is biting me. Also I am going to Med X to buy some body lice shampoo.
After all of these things I will let you know how things went in a couple of days. If anyone can help with how to get rid of bedbugs 100% please do.
Your help and concern for others is more than appreciated.
Thank you Ross for the bedbug pic. My daughter and I were making the bed together and found a bedbug! I could not believe it! I thought I was itching due to an allergic reaction to soap or something. I could not sleep in my bed so I have been sleeping with my children successfully without any bites or itching but you cannot be to careful.
With that said, I will get rid of everything in my house carpet, furniture, beds, linen, and pillows. What else can I do? Does anyone know if a tiny black mark on the back of a leg would have anything to do with a bedbug? I am going to the emergency tonight to find out if it is related to bedbugs. I will let you all know if it is.
Thank you all again for sharing your personal stories with us.
I just stayed at a motel in Dayton, Ohio called The Travels Motel. They have a bad case of bed bugs! my advice is don’t stay there!!!!!!
I have been noticing little bumps, normally several next to each other, all over my body. I have them on my stomach, back, arms… Recently i moved into a new apartment. I have also recently gotten a new kitten. At first i thought they were flea bites, but after investigating my kitten there is no evidence of fleas. We have seen quite a few spiders in our apartment, but would a spider bite regularly and over layers of clothing? I have researched this all day… Could they be bed bugs? And how do i know for sure? Please help!!!!!
So I moved into a new place and everything was great. 2 and 1/2 weeks in I bought a coffee table and 2 end tables off craigs list. I started noticing bites after that. Could not figure out why. I bought hard wood solid furniture with glass. There should be no problem. A few days after I had a few bites on my neck and a rash on my chest and back.
I’m Still trying to figure it out. Went to a doctor who agreed the welts on the neck were bites ( just not sure from what) and the rest is looking like rash or exposure. So thought I’d be proactive and protect myself either way. The Diatomaceous earth that is non toxic to spread around your home is something I got. I went to a pet store to get it and they only had 4 pound bags. Well I better get a garden cause that’s alot of stuff.
Anyway different articles have different write ups on how to use it. Always wear a mask was the same all the way through but that was it. So you take the ‘food grade diatomaceous earth‘ and spread it around contaminated areas.
Some articles said to put it sound your bed frame and keep your bedspread off the floor so they could not use that to get up and force them to crawl through the dust. You are to leave it out- one article says overnight another to leave the house for 3 hours then come back and vacume. But are you suppose to wear a mask when you vacumme? I didn’t think so but I have a bagless vacumme and my sinus cavities and throat got irritated when I used the vacumme and no mask.
Took another look and it talks a bout the vacumes that have paper bags and wonder if they keep the dirt from escaping into the air better than bagless. Need more info on this dirt cause the bag I bought at a pet store had no precautions or real directions. I know if I’m going to dust to wear a mask, but how long until the air is ok? Do I have to leave for awhile after treating for bedbugs? Wear a mask while vacumming. Also one site said you should put a little of the diatomaceous earth in the vacume bag to kill them. Is that ok or will it get in the air
I recently have been bitten by what seems to be bed bugs, see the picture below.
I have washed all of my clothes and linens and they are all in dark, plastic garbage bags. I read somewhere that placing the bags in your car could help with making sure anything left will die…is this true?
I don’t want to spread them any where else, but I also don’t like the idea of living out of plastic bags for the next two weeks. The exterminator is coming tomorrow and I’ve looked all over for signs of bed bugs, but haven’t found any.
The doctor said that the bites are from them and we’ve previously had an outbreak of bed bugs like a month ago in the dorms where I’m staying. I have pics I can send if you’d like them.
Thanks for any info you can give.
These are pictures of my fiance’s abdomen.
These showed up yesterday. Any idea if they are from bed bugs? We looked in the room but only found one random dead bug, that quite possibly isn’t even a bed bug.
I would post a pic of that but while I was trying to pick it up without touching it, it disintegrated. :(
I have bites but they do not itch, at all….how do i know i have Bed bugs?
I would like you to investigate: Powell Hotel
28 Cyril Magnin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 398-3200
Stayed 5 nights in October 2009 in this horrible hotel and got covered in terribly itchy bed bug bites which caused a great deal of distress (especially when I was unaware what was going on to my body), effectively ruined a very expensive and potentially rewarding holiday, affected my income (stopped work for a while) and subjected me to the risk of hepatitis B and risk of carrying this bug to my home. Picture of bites on my arm below:
Management have been indifferent to my mail!!!
I have been getting bit by something for a few months now. It first started at the end of summer and I just thought I was getting bit by mosquito so I ignored it.
I get horrible reactions to bug bites (the bite turns into the size of a grapefruit the swelling gets that bad) But once summer was over I still have been getting the bites. They usually are in rows of three and its only once a week that I get new ones. They are very painful, itchy, red and warm to the touch and they swell pretty bad.
Then I found out my niece who takes care of my daughter has bed bugs in her home and I wondered if they got on my daughters backpack or clothes and I brought them to my home. However I have been searching and cleaning everywhere and yet I have not seen one bed bug and I am the only one that is getting bitten.
If I do have bed bugs wouldn’t they be biting my husband also? And I only get three bites in a row and not a bunch like others I have read. Do I have bed bugs?
If any one is being affected by bedbugs as far as sickness and disease go PLEASE LET ME KNOW. The government and board of health is refusing to treat bedbugs because they say it does not pose a health problem BUT I have read enough post on this web site to see and hear that there is a clear risk of attracting an illness from these bites so report it so that I can help build a case to fight back and get the voice of the people heard and responded to.
Why do I wake up with welts on my thigh? I’ve checked my bed for bed bugs and haven’t seen a thing. I spray, cleaned and disinfected my mattress and nothing.My husband also shares the same bed with me and he has yet to experience anything. He says he’s fine and cant figure out why I am the only one to experience the welts. Please help me…I am running out of ideas and so frustrated from lack of sleep of waking up with welts again and again.
I’m renting a room in an apartment. We’ve had bed bugs since about June. The apartment has been sprayed about a dozen times but we still find them. I use to get bites EVERY night from June through August. I thought it was never going to end and then one day they just stopped.
I haven’t gotten any bites. The other day however I found a small bug, filled with blood, but dead on my bed. And I found what I think is a shell on my bed. I’m wondering if you can stop being allergic to bed bug bites? I used to react like crazy.
I’ve had dozens and dozens of bites that would always itch so bad it would drive me crazy. When it stopped I assumed the bed bugs had left my room finally, but could it be that I’m just not reacting? I’m going to be moving soon, and I would really not like to take these things with me.
I slept at this hotel and woke up at six with no problems what so ever then at eleven had dime size welts all over my arms that were extremely itchy.
When i got home i put my suitcase in the closet and haven’t washed those cloths since, there sitting in the hamper. i went to the emergency room after three days when the swelling wasn’t going down and he said he couldn’t tell me anything but that they were bug bites.
Now a week later, i still have tiny bumps but no more new ones. should i have taken more precautions with my clothes?
There have been 2 times where me and my little one has been bit by something, perhaps a bed bug. My foot started hurting and when i looked at it there was a big bump so i squeezed it and puss came out and a black thing and it looked like it wanted to go back in to my skin.
Today, my little girl started screaming and so i cheeked her back and the same thing happened and there is a little back mark in her skin and she says it hurts a lot so if there is an answer please get back to me so i can figure how to get rid of it.
hi guys, I wanted to let some of you know that they apparently come out at night time, when you’re asleep, there’s a company here in Australia that has released these special cylinders to go around your castors so when the little buggers crawl up your bed at night they don’t get far, they get trapped in a special glue and die in it. apparently they leave the bed when not feeding and hide, if this is true, invent your own way of controlling how ANYTHING Could crawl up those castors onto your bed!
Does alocohol kill bed bugs & what is the %?
Hi, I have a question. I just woke up one day and about mid day discovered some bites on my ankle about 2 or 3 on one ankle and about 2 on the other ankle. it itches really badly and I have checked my bed and my mattress and have found nothing I also sleep with one of those egg crate things on top of my mattress and then have my fitted sheet that covers it.
My husband sleeps in this same bed and on the weekends sometimes my granddaughter will fall asleep in it and then I transfer her to her bed. Neither of them have any bites on them only me so I am trying to figure out what is going on. Can anyone tell me if it was bedbugs wouldn’t it be biting my husband and granddaughter as well??
Thanks, Pat
please comment on Chicago Intercontinental, Michigan Ave, as well as Toronto Intercintinental Yorkville, on Bloor St.
Hey I woke up yesterday morning me and my husband and we were bit up from bed bags! It bite me on my eye led and fore head, right arm, and left finger! That was not cool!
I told the landlord, and he new about the beg beds but failed to tell us! So we stop paying the rent, and were finding some where else to live because the apartment is a mess, and they never updated anything in it! Which is sad! Because I paid my rent always on time and they never bettered the apartment!
They always wanted their rent on time or they would pick with you and bother you about it when they never did what they side they would do! I have roaches in the apartment as well! It’s just crazy, we have to move soon!
The landlord is not right and his business needs too be closed down for good! I live in Detroit, MI downtown please help is there anywhere I can go to talk to someone about the landlord not having apartments up to code?
My family and I found bed bugs in 5 different rooms in the Comfort Suites West of the Ashley in Charleston, South Carolina on Oct. 19,2009. I insisted that one of the desk clerks come to the first room and look at the bug and she confirmed that it was a bed bug, but the manager insisted that his hotel did not have bed bugs via another desk clerk. When I asked the other desk clerk to go check the rooms she refused. Even after my step-daughter was bitten.
This is in regards to bedbugs and your mattress. i agree that you do not want to soak up pesticide while you sleep, and would like to offer another solution to this problem.
STEAM! lots of it! a powerful steamer,(rent if needed,but I’ll bet most of the afflicted will justify the expense),that will deeply penetrate is best.if not a good quality steam iron with a strong PUFF of steam will help greatly, if not cure the bed without poisoning you.
Warning! check your settings with an iron and try not to melt your bed!steaming should be done every few days for quite a while (30-60days?). steam will kill both adults and eggs,but you will never get them all in one sweep.they are a tough and nasty foe!
i hope this helps,and i wish you all luck.
The last couple of weeks, I have been waking up with really bad bites, and it’s getting worse. This morning I woke up with it covering my shoulder. It’s on my ankles, my wrists, and there is one on my knee. I checked my back, and there are a few there too. I know it’s not acne on my back either, I can tell the difference between a bite and a pimple. Plus the same marks are on my wrists and ankles.
I told my landlord about it, and he asked if he could check my bed. He didn’t tell me if he thought they were bedbugs but I thought about it after he left. Is that whats causing all these bites? I’ve never had a problem with them before and I’ve been in this apartment since March. It’s just recent.
I have just found that I have bed bugs ,and I am have been bitten severely. Can bed bugs live in human hair and lay their eggs there?
well…it looks like I have bedbugs…blahh..I have not found any or any blood spots… or dark spots. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the pattern and looks of bites. I am presently trying ALL the solutions. (hard to find bugs at 0400 when you need #4 reading magnifiers.) My specific question is about BOOKS. I am a serious bibliophile. and have literally 1,000′s…on the floor, against walls, two deep…and bookcases everywhere.
??????? HELP!!
OK, so you have bedbugs and can’t get rid of them? I found a way to at least keep them off you at night. They hate tea tree oil. I started putting about 10 drops in my bath water at night. Never had another bug bite after that. I even wash my hair with products containing tea tree oil because they used to bite my head. Make sure you buy the pure tea tree oil and drop some in your shampoo bottle.
I just moved from an old apartment that was infested by bugs. We got sprayed a couple of days before we moved and were very diligent on having all the bedding, linens and clothing heated in the dryer and kept in secure tightly knotted plastic bags until moving day.
I had a nest on a sheet that was covering my box spring so I had put on rubber gloves, bundled up the blanket (being careful not to lose eggs or bugs) and put it in a garbage bag and immediately disposed of it. We have now lived in our new place for a month and a half and last week on monday I found a bug.
I had spent the weekend at a friend’s cabin so automatically my mom assumed that it came from there. We’ve been checking our beds, boxsprings, frames and baseboards every day multiple times but have seen no sign of nests. We hadn’t seen anything until last night, 9 days after the last one. It was not too far away from the place that I saw the first one on the wall by the baseboard.
I want to believe that it’s coming from below us crawling up through the crevices and cracks for electrical or between floors, but what if we had eggs on some of our stuff and they’re maturing now getting ready to nest in some place in, under or around the carpet?
I just bought a new bed too. Almost $2000 with taxes. I can’t afford to deal with this crap again. We bought mattress bags for both the boxspring and mattresses and I have my bed on plastic bed raisers (mostly for storage purposes) but now I hear that they don’t really like walking on plastic.
Tonight we’re buying sticky traps to see if there actually ARE any in our suite and if they’re moving around. I want to believe that it’s coming from the apartment below us, but even if we spoke to our landlord, its not like she’s going to go snoop around in their residence for us.
Having bed bugs is a situation that makes you feel so powerless. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it from happening.
I just had a baby one week ago. For the last five months of my pregnancy I have been dealing with a rash that my ob doc,the infectious disease control doc and dermatologist could not diagnose. Today as I was on the computer I saw a bug crawling on the curtain. I got a hold of it and researched.. BED BUG I looked in my mattress and found more bed bugs. I was wondering if any one knows if these bites affect pregnancy??
what is the best remedy for bed bug bites. they itch like crazy and the cortizone cream barely helps me. what is the best cream i can get???
After enduring several weeks of bites that I thought were mosquito bites, I saw a bed bug crawling on my comforter. We immediately called the landlord and the next day an exterminator and cleaning service arrived. They’ve cleaned and exterminated twice.
I’ve also washed all of my linens, threw out an invested futon, covered my mattress with protective covers, and washed any clothing close or near to the bed and ground. I’ve been bite free for about a week.
Today while putting away laundry I found one live bed bug folded in a t-shirt. Naturally I flipped out! The exterminator thinks it is a “straggler” as they usually don’t nest in clothing away from a human host. Has anyone experienced this?
Your insight is greatly appreciated!
Hi i live in a 500 apt building the whole building is infested with bed bugs, help, help, help, i am going mad! I just brought new furniture and even every one on my floor has them in their place. I’m crying help. talk to building manger the saying us tenants are bring them bull
My husband stayed at LONDON PARK LANE
ONE HAMILTON PLACE, PARK LANE • LONDON, W1J 7QY • ENGLAND
Front Desk: +44-20-74093131
and was bit up by bed bugs. Hopefully after washing his clothes and vaccuuming out his suitcase outside we won’t have any come in the house.
Here are some pictures of bedbug bites and how they progress. A very painful experience that can leave scars!
I can tell you that these bed bug bites are terrible! The bites are very disgusting and very sore. I use vinegar to clear up the bites and kill the bed bugs and believe that the vinegar keeps the bedbugs of your legs. I don’t drench myself with vinegar, I just rub it on the parts of my body (legs and arms) that seem to be bitten at night.
Dear Jim,
I have bedbugs in my hair or should I say scalp. They itch so bad and hurt. I have tried lice treatments and even Malathion. Nothing works except for pulling them off my scalp. Then it bleeds and another one takes its place. I am a very clean person. I don’t know what to do. Please help me. I know this sounds strange but they have been identified as bedbugs. In desperate need of help. thank you
Hi,
My workplace is infested with bed bugs and I am constantly feeling sick and having nightmares of being in contact with bed bugs. Could you recommend in what I should do about this because its scary to have too handle mattresses, etc where bed bugs are hiding. I fear too bring them home to my family.
Nikki
Okay So a few days ago me and my sister saw a spider in our dinning room. A daddy long legs we killed it. Then the next day we got bites. I thought it was a spider, the swelling went down but the next day I got a big bite on my left leg. Just one bite not a lot. It got very swollen though, and it’s been two days but it’s still swollen and pink. If you look closely you see two little dots. Do bed bugs bite more that once? cause I only have ONE bite. Could it be bed bugs or a spider?
PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
I live alone now. I noticed one day at work that i was itching very badly on my arms back and face. I’m thinking i must have woke up like that not noticing. The bites began to swell with the scratching and i had 60 of them. They did not ooze anything out.
Then i woke up again with them on my neck and face and one on the bottom of my foot which was agonizing. my husband saw a couple of bugs on the comforter. they were little and round. they looked red to me. i squished them and they were full of blood. i called the landlord and maintenance. they had someone check (ecolab) and we found one. It looked like some of the pics above, and so do my bites.
We however found only one and no traces of anymore. (mattress, bedding, ect.) He said it wasn’t bed bugs. I’m still getting bit though. They think they are spider bites. LOl i called a pharmacist about the itching. They recommended coraid cream and benidril cream. They both work! I use them both together and the bites are shrinking and disappearing not to mention the itching subsides.
They do have mattress covers that zip the whole bed in. they are specifically for bed bugs. They kill and stop them and saves your mattress and boxspring. you can find them on these bed bug sites and at JC Pennys. I’m getting one before it gets bad and i suggest you do too. they are a little spendy but my mattress was 1,100 $ so 90.00$ to save my bed and stop being bitten is excellent relief to me! and worth the money!
After my mother gave me a mattress and box springs about a month and a half ago, my kids started getting bit. I assumed that because it was summer that it was misquotes. Then my mother-in-laws dog got fleas, so I blamed it on that too.
It wasn’t until last night that my husband actually found a bug crawling on one of our kids, when he cut the bedroom light on, he found more in the bed. He immediately took the bed and threw it away at 3 a.m. I’m so freaked out, it was the most disgusting thing in the world to me, and I’m afraid that because I live in an apartment, I won’t be able to get rid of the bed bugs.
I know that other people have been getting bit, but we all assumed that because certain tenants have pets, it was fleas. If I can’t get rid of these things, I will be packing my bags after a thorough cleaning and moving out. I’m so freaked out, I CAN NOT live with bed bugs.
I noticed my 4 month old son had 2 bright red round welts behind his ear this morning about 1/2 an inch apart and then a third red round welt on his chin. They didn’t look like they had actual bite marks in the middle though.
The bug bites were a little bit lighter in the center and also when I cleaned them with mild soap and water they were hard. They didn’t seem to be bothering him at all, even when I was washing them. They still look the same even 17 hours after I first noticed them.
Does anyone have any idea what they could be? I thought bed bugs but there isn’t the mark in the center like most of the pictures and like I said, he doesn’t seem to have any discomfort with them.
After my third night in my hotel, I woke up at 2:30am to go to the bathroom and when I came back to the bed there was little spots and smears of blood. I knew this was an indication of bed bugs. I moved over the blankets and and there were a few bed bugs, then I looked in the pillow and they were everywhere.
To make a long story short, the hotel told me that they had thought I they got rid of them in that room, and the fact that I researched them so much, I know that my room was infested with bed bugs. I took the proper precautions and made sure not to bring any bugs or eggs into my house. A few days later (which is common) the bites started to appear.
I have around 100 bites on all over my body (pretty much only where my skin was exposed at night). Some bites are horrible, some aren’t so bad. I fear them getting infected so I’m going to the doctor to get some really good itch cream and a prescription for Antibiotics just in case. What is more troubling for me is not the itching, or the bites, or the fact that I had to throw everything away, but the psychological ramifications of these critters.
I’m really scared to travel, I’m paranoid and not sleeping well. I travel a lot for my job and this just stinks. FYI, I did contact the county health dept and the Dept of Agriculture in the state I was staying in. They told me that they had reports of bed bugs in 15% of the hotels in this particular state.
My daughter just took people in overnight because their apartment had bed bugs and was being fumigated. These people slept over the house with pets and I’m wondering if there’s a chance that they could have brought the bed bugs in this house???
We have bedbugs and my 1 yr old daughter is getting ate up by them shes literally covered with bites. They sometimes need popped but they leave very small nearly invisible scars. I put off on her to try and keep them off her but it quit working after a while.
We sprayed i bet you 30 times with bayer advance and nothing, the bed bugs just get worse. My biggest concern is her I don’t want her to continue getting bit.
Does anyone have any advice on what I could do for her? we’ve had her stay with her grandmother for a month. Any advice would be great Thanks
I suspect we have bedbugs on our trailer (not at home), though I’ve found no evidence yet except for the 30 bites on me (none on my husband) that I acquired in one weekend. How have they got on to the trailer (neither of us have been near a hotel)?
I started getting bites about a week and a half. I have no evidence of blood stains or any common signs of bed bugs. I just ordered mattress and box spring encasements along with spray & dust and will be treating soon. I pulled my bed apart and I have not slept in my bed since Friday. Is there anyone out there that can help me not lose my mind?
Regarding bedbugs: Diatomaceous earth also kills bed bugs. There are rather expensive mattress and boxspring covers that also trap and kill the bugs.
It takes up to eighteen months for them to die as they can live for 18 months without feeding. They love wood for all you waterbed users so that’s where they are living.
I had 50 or so bites on my legs and arms and found one single bedbug one that’s it. They are hard to see and the larvae ones just hatched are clear so you cant see them at all. It is recommended that you have someone come to your house for an entire year to spray but throwing everything away and using diatomaceous earth worked for me.
I have been free for over a month now and the eggs hatch after 1 to 2 weeks so spray for a little longer then that.
Bedbugs itch so bad you will scratch then until you bleed; i used a brush on mine that’s how bad they bothered me. Only a 3rd of the population shows signs of being bitten. I have done my research i searched site after site for days till i found out what i needed to know.
Good luck to all of you and one thing that helps is VACUUM, VACUUM, and carpet shampoo then spray your entire house like i did. My complex is infested but for me so far so good they haven’t returned yet :)
My family and I have recently been evicted from our home of 6 years and we are now homeless. We went to our bishop and asked for help. He gave us 3 local motels to choose from and said he could pay for us to stay for a week. We chose The Ogden River Inn. I caught a bed bug and put in a cup, took it to the ER with me. They ate me up. However, neither my kids nor my husband were bit once. I want to sue this place it was disgusting. any suggestions?
Hi There,
Just thought I’d update everyone. I was scared to death that I had brought the bedbugs to my mothers house because bite marks kept appearing on me 2 weeks after staying in the hotel. I finally went to a doctor who said I was either still getting bitten or was having an allergic reaction to the bites. She started me on a round of steroids and antihistamine and it stopped. I am so relieved!!!! The marks are still on me, but getting smaller and not itching. There is hope!!!
I’ve been getting bit for about 2 months now. I washed everything in my room, threw out my mattress, box spring and pillows and bought an air mattress and new pillows. Regardless of the air mattress, I’m still getting bit!! Why? I’ve never seen a bug or their evidence. Could it be something else?
There are companies that sell a combo of Diatomaceous earth and pyrethrum that non toxically and naturally will kill bedbugs, their eggs and keep them from coming back. It works not via chemical agents, but through physically dehydrating the insect. To us it’s harmless (it’s even added to flour to prevent flour bugs), but to an insect it’s like shards of glass!!
Once you put it in all the nooks and crannies, it will remain there to continually kill them, until you sweep it up. But if it’s out of site and hidden away in cracks etc., then why would you even want to sweep it up. The ONLY precaution would be to wear a mask to protect your lungs. You should avoid breathing Diatomaceous Earth. But once it’s applied, it’s pretty heavy and shouldn’t get into the air like dust would. It pretty much stays put.
You MUST absolutely make sure you ONLY use “food grade” Diatomaceous earth, NOT the stuff that is heat treated that’s used for pool filters. If it’s heat treated or sold in a pool store and is not ‘food grade’, then it is very dangerous to ingest or breath in, PERIOD!! USE FOOD GRADE ONLY,NON HEAT TREATED! WITH THAT SAID…this stuff works like a charm for all kinds of insects, but especially well with bedbugs and fleas. It is even used internally to kill parasites in livestock and humans.
The following is a definition of the two:
“Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide from the flowers of chrysanthemum. Insects HATE the stuff and it not only kills them dead, it repels them also. Totally non toxic to us.”
diatomaceous earth is the following:
A friend of mine learn that he has bed bugs and he has been going crazy, he called me late this evening (morning) asking me what he could do, being he don’t have access to a computer I went searching and I am so glad that I had found this place. I returned his call and gave him some useful information from all of the suggestions I found here.
I also suggested that he is to make up a paste of Baking Soda and apply to the bites before he starts scratching the bitten area. Otherwise the baking soda will only burn if the skin is broken.
I have used Baking Soda for spider bites, bee stings and flea bites for years this has works wonders for me. If you care to try to it and withstand the itching without scratching yourself to death, then mix Baking Soda with Hot Water into a paste, apply to bitten area, let stand for 15 minutes, rinse in hot water, repeat this two more times.
The Baking Soda zaps out the poison or neutralize it. You are not left with a scar from constant itching plus the itching is gone.
I hope this helps everyone out there and as for my friend…he decided to sleep in his bath tub.
This is our first encounter with bed bugs. I never knew what they were but had always heard the saying. Anyway, about 3 months ago, I started getting the worst mosquito bites. I had never had them before and they itched like crazy. They were also much bigger and lasted forever. Then, these bites started turning into little red bumps like the pictures shown here.
Right now my arms have little bumps, scabs, and scars from where I had been scratching. Needless to say, I have figured out that these were bed bugs. I finally realized that I only itched at night, in bed and not during the day.
My husband has not been bitten and we are sleeping in the same bed. We traced back to when I first started noticing the bites and it occurred around the same time my husband helped a friend move into a new place. This friend was moving because he had bed bugs and couldn’t get rid of them. Anyway, yesterday we took the mattress and box springs to the dump.
We finally put two and two together Sunday morning when my husband and I were brushing our teeth in the bathroom and I noticed this bug crawling around in his hair. We took it out and sure enough, it was a bed bug! EWW! So, our bedroom and closet are completely empty.
We have bagged all of our laundry and bedding and we are in the process of washing it. We are sleeping on a blowup mattress in the living room. I got down on my hands and knees and vacuumed the carpets and he steam cleaned them. We moved the dressers out to the garage. When we moved the dressers away from the wall, there were these black dots left on the wall. So gross.
I called Orkin today and they are going to come and give us an estimate. I’m glad other people are experiencing this because my mother thinks we are these awful dirty people, but we aren’t. I am scared though because I saw one bug come out from the socket in our bedroom and I am afraid our baby and two toddlers are going to be bitten eventually. I have inspected their rooms and have not seen anything.
What is funny is that months ago when I started getting the bites, my husband lifted up the mattress and vacuumed it all over and we never saw anything at that time. I am hoping this works but thanks for all of the tips. I am willing to try anything at this point.
I was staying in a hotel for 3 days with my husband and daughter. My husband had a business trip that coincided with moving my daughter into her dorm room. On the third night I woke up at 4am and saw a bug on my daughters pillow. I threw it in the toilet and when I came back out I saw another bug. Alarm bells went off then and I picked up her pillow and sure enough there were bed bugs and also streaks of blood.
I flipped out and called the front desk. We were asked if we wanted clean sheets or a new room. We packed up and left the hotel and traveled 30 minutes down the road to my mothers house. We washed our clothes at a laundromat, but I didn’t think to check our bodies, hair or clothing we were wearing.
The hotel did give us the money for new suitcases.
It is now 2 weeks later and a week ago I started getting bites on my arms and legs. my daughter also has bites in her dorm room. I have no idea if we brought the bugs now into my mothers place and my daughters dorm room or if these bites are appearing from the hotel. Please help!!!
I’m ready to have a nervous breakdown. I woke up this morning to three more bites on my leg. I’m a nervous wreck and not sleeping at night. What do I do???
Jim,
How do people cope with bed bug bites. I have been dealing with bites now for three days. My doctor put me on all sorts of antibiotics itch stuff steroids for the inflammation and benadryl. Nothing seems to do anything. I don’t even want to leave my home. I live in Phoenix Arizona and I am at the point to where I am wearing long sleeves and pants and scarves to hide the bites when I do leave my home. This is unlike anything I have ever dealt with and again I am really trying to figure out how people cope with this problem. Which leads to my next question how long before the bites go away even with the treatment and a new bed?
Thanks Jim
Hello,
I have a quick question regarding how to kill bedbugs. Diatomaceous Earth sounds promising but what about Boric Acid? Could this also help, what if I use both together? The bedbugs are in the baseboard behind the head of my bed and in the wall, so i feel that some heavy duty chemicals are needed since they are in such a difficult place. Please Help! Thanks
This is a more recent obsession. There is somewhat of a bedbug pandemic in the area of Brooklyn and Manhattan but I can definitely understand. The fear that is more than justifiable, is irrational to everyone else, I’m dealing with a diagnosis of OCD and retarded doctors (not really an oxymoron).
I’ve been staying awake at night picking away at balls of lint on anything fabric,and have slept on a vinyl couch after I decided to tear up the carpet in the main bedroom. I also began over washing clothing and bedding and scouring my skin, pretty much completely off, it doesn’t help that I am heavily tattooed and am having difficulty in determining whether the raised areas over my arms are a recurring allergic reaction from the pigment in the ink or bites.
I haven’t seen any of them in action, or found evidence other than the existing bites but I’m convinced I’ve come in contact with either scabies or bedbugs, not really sure how or when, which is even more terrifying, the avoidant behavior is getting progressively worse and I’m starting to withdraw from my dorming friends and public upholstery.
I’m too afraid to look at pictures of any actual infestation because it will definitely exacerbate the psycho schematic episodes. I apologize for the ramble, but the fact that something could be both internally and dermatologically destroying me is debilitating, I also work in an office and i have been coating my cubicle with an antimicrobial sanitizer, the janitor and I have become bffls, but to my colleagues I now look, not only like a psycho, but a kleptomaniac for the unexplained copious bottles sitting under my desk.
I’m surrounded by ignorant people in denial, including my roommate who likes drinking the thrift shop and my father, a brooklyn sanitation worker who believes he is indestructible until a proper diagnosis and a good CBT, this phobia is incurable.
I went camping with a group of friends this weekend at a KOA in La Selva Beach, CA near Watsonville. My friend that slept on the bottom bunk the first night complained that she was up all night and could not sleep because she said it felt like there were spiders on her. Friday night she slept in my SUV outside and I took the bottom bunk thinking she was just being paranoid.
Sunday morning I woke up at 2 AM to something crawling around on my neck. Immediately I assumed it was a spider and I smacked my neck to try to kill it. I felt liquid, smelled blood, jumped out of bed, and threw on the light to discover this image!
It was an adult BEDBUG!!!
I had blood on my fingers and my shoulder and found 8 bites around my neck. I woke up our friends in the cabin next door and they said they did not think their cabin was infested so they stayed. Everyone in my cabin was so disgusted that we packed up and left at 3 AM. One of my friends took a few photos of the bedbug and my bites.
I am being bitten in bed and my two favorite chairs. I can’t find bugs, there are not bites on my body where I feel the bite or sting. I tried raid and it stopped for less than a day. Now I use the personal clip on pest things and no more bites. Hate the smell of those clip on things. I want to get rid of the bed bugs but can’t find out what they are.
My son has some blotchy red bites around his shoe line no bigger then a dime but they are grouped together roughly 5 within a 4 inch area I’ve tried looking up bites but haven’t seen anything close to it we live in middle Georgia. there is no sores on them were i can see a actual bite mark. do you have any links you could provide where i could compare and contrast.
Dear Bedbug man,
I have been waking up in the morning with bites for quite some time now. Sometimes I have the sensation of something crawling on me. I was doing some research on your page a couple of weeks ago and thought for sure it must be bedbugs. So (slightly freaking out) I stripped my (brand new) mattress, checked it over really well, washed all our bedding and the dog’s bedding in hot water, vacuumed my bed frame (also brand new) but I could NOT find any signs of bedbugs.
I’ve included pictures of the bites below, they include
1. Left breast
2. Left forearm (also have 5 bites on my upper arm, same side)
3. left hip
4. Back of right leg (from a previous attack)
No bugs or bug poop in the cording, or floor, or within the wooden slats of my bed frame. None in my side table, under the drawers, or behind the headboard. So I’m not sure what it is, but this morning I woke up with the worst case of bites so far.
What you think.
Thank you,
Cory
Hi,
I have a lot of bites, mostly on my legs. I started noticing them shortly after going to bed Saturday night (writing this on Wednesday). My legs started itching; so, I got and turned on the light. I had some tiny bites around my ankles as you can see in the picture below.
I pulled back the sheets, even the fitted sheet and mattress cover. I found nothing, no bugs, no feces, no stains. Here’s the strange part. I wanted to see what was biting me; so, I got back in bed and left the light on and the sheets off. After a short time, I felt a pin prick. I looked and saw nothing. I touched the spot and there was a very small, red, welt. This happened quite a few times before I finally fell asleep.
I never did see anything actually biting me. For that reason, I’m questioning if I really have bed bugs. My bites look similar to the ones in Lei’s picture (October 10th, 2008). I don’t think I’ve had any new bites since Saturday.
The last time I was in a hotel was 5 weeks ago. I did go on an all day hike that Saturday. I wore jeans and hiking boots. I know it’s not poison ivy. There was a very short stretch through tall grass. Is it possible that I picked up something too tiny to see while hiking? Any ideas?
Thanks,
Sharon
A few months ago I started noticing weird red bumps on my right hand and arm and I mentioned to my boyfriend that was happening and then I wake up today and they are everywhere, all over me and I itch all over!
Reading all of these experiences on here I think that I am right. We are moving in a few weeks and I am concerned and do not want to bring bed bugs with us. it might be bed bugs and he thought I was crazy. Well it kept weird little bumps on, not sure if they are bed bug bites or not…
Hi Jim! We just discovered that we have bedbugs at our apartment loft. My 1 yr old son and I have been getting bites for the past 4 weeks, before we identified the culprit.
Coincidentally, we are moving in about 5 weeks. What can I do to make sure that I don’t bring these suckers with me? How should I decide which items in my home I should treat or toss before I pack them up? Should I be concerned about bugs hiding in books, boxes, furniture other than beds & sofas?
Here’s what I plan to do – (please tell me if I’m missing something):
1. Hire professional exterminator to assess and treat the problem.
2. Cover my mattress with a plastic cover, and throw it away when we move.
3. Apply DE & neem oil liberally.
4. Wash, dry clean, or toss all clothing, linens and stuffed animals.
5. Purchase a new mattress, new metal bedframe, new pillows, and new bedding for my new place.
What else can I do? Thank you! I do NOT want to bring these critters to our new apartment!
Hi Jo,
I doubt that with all the precautions you have taken, you managed to bring anything back; it sounds like you were on top of everything and even if one did manage to sneak a free plane ride, it wouldn’t cause that many bites.
A week is a bit long, but not unheard of, for a delayed reaction, so if you find new bites, then most likely, you are indeed being bitten by something.
Do you have any pictures of the bites?
Best regards,
Jim
I have recently joined the cult of bed bug paranoia, please help. Recently, I visited a few friends in NYC who happened to have bed bugs. The apartment was sprayed twice while I was there and I followed all the policies in bagging up my belongings and washing/drying them on high heat. Additionally, the moment I got home, I stripped down in the laundry room and shoved everything into the washer. I even froze the books I brought with me and unscrewed everything on my laptop just to be safe.
During my stay with these friends, I didn’t experience a single bite (though a few of them did), but the moment I got on the plane, I noticed four itchy red bumps on my arm. For the next few days after (it’s been five now) I keep finding a few and now my right arm is covered in small bumps, both isolated and clustered, and I have a couple elsewhere (though most of those have stopped).
Yesterday, I moved from home to my dorm room in college. The sheets I use have all been in storage all summer and were not in NYC or home in AZ with me, but I still woke up with two bites on my arm.
I thought I did everything to prevent an infestation. Is it significant that none of these bites showed up until after I left New York? Does this mean I simply have delayed reactions and am only starting to see the bites I received there now?
I’m amazed that these bugs could find and bite me in the one night I got here when all the bedclothes were new… But… is it possible? for them to survive all those preventative measures?
I feel like I’m going crazy. I can’t concentrate, I can’t sleep. I just want some way of knowing for sure whether or not I managed to bring some back with me.
My friend is having me keep his cat while he gets exterminated? Will i end up with bed bugs?
HELP!
Approximately 48 hours ago I noticed what I think are bug bites of some type on both of my legs and shoulders. The following morning I had 70+ bites. Below are the pictures I have taken today.
The bites seems to have a little bit of a blister at the center and are approximately dime size. The bites on my legs are now turning in to what looks like bruising.
Tonight when I get home from work I’ll be searching to see if I can find any bed bugs and/or blood stains on my bedding. I AM FREAKING OUT!!!
I live in Colorado.Until the last like 5 years, I haven’t heard, or had to DEAL with bed bugs. Now I have had to deal with them TOO much. In at least 4 of the last 6 places I’ve lived. Some worse than others. I don’t know if they like women’s blood better, or if women put out more carbon dioxide, but I’ve found that my fiance, and other men that have been around during these infestations, have either not gotten bitten at all, or very very little.
I don’t get it. All I know is that I’m SO TIRED OF THEM. I currently have them in my apartment now. I just killed 2 adults today. After they had already bit me of course. The landlord has had people come and spray, but I’ve lived here over a year and they’ve only sprayed 2 times. From what I know, you need to keep spraying. I don’t know.
I get so tired of walking around with bites that are visible, and having people ask me what they are. Since it is summer now, I just say that they are mosquito bites, but that wont last long. I just want them GONE. So I suppose I’ll do whatever I need to to try to get rid of them. I PRAY to GOD that it works. I know my fiance is also tired of hearing me complain about my bites, since it seems he doesn’t get bit. lol.
I’ll look more into what I can do myself in order to get rid of them. The professionals, I know, have a hard time getting rid of them, admittingly. I’m not a “dirty” person, but having them makes me feel dirty. The stigma that is associated with them, and when people overhear that I might or do have them. They look at me like I’m nasty, which I am not. Its not my fault that I have them. But I hope it IS in my control to get RID OF THEM.
I have the same kind of bites as the other Emily who shows the pics.. I too have no signs of any bugs, not even blood spots. I thought they were fleas (even tho i have no pets) so i bombed every room in my house and cleaned from top to bottom and vacuumed my bed. The worse part is, I’m the only one getting these bites. My boyfriend and our 2 toddlers are bite-free! I don’t know what to do and I’m sooo itchy and sooo miserable…
Hi Jim,
Our granddaughter, who has severe allergies–numbers off the charts–and severe excema, started manifesting these weird bumps about four weeks ago. She would arrive back at our house from her father’s scratching much more intensively than I had seen her doing before.
Here are some pictures and if you click on the picture, you will get a close up of the legs.
There would be clusters of little bumps and varying degrees of larger ones and some quite red and hot, some with peaks in them, some looking like a boil. They seem to run a course and eventually turn into just little flat purplish places, kind of like a scar.
She has the spots mostly on her legs, the worst ones, anyway and on her arms but none on her back and stomach. We wonder why they don’t show up on those areas if they are bed bug bites, but her spots sure look like many of the pictures on your site.
Is there some way to verify for certain what is biting her?
Liz in Indiana
8/28/09 – Update…
Turns out these weren’t bug bites at all, but a nasty Staph infection! A heavy duty barrage of antibiotics and other treatments ordered by the doc is making headway against it. This is nothing to fool around with as there is a high risk of MRSA–the bacteria resistant nasty stuff!! Liz
I am really having a problem coping with this problem..I’m also going through depression and this isn’t helping me at all..If you have any suggestions please e-mail me,thank you..Jim
so i guess the mystery is NOT solved :( i went back to the doctor because was i MISERABLE even after eliminating the contact with the carpet beetles or whatever. they said that it was “odd” and they wanted to treat for scabies just to rule it out even tho they weren’t convinced that’s what it is. they said to use the cream treatment and bag everything for 2 days and if i still have new spots on Monday morning to call and get a referral for a dermatologist. SIGH. any other suggestions or ways to make this more comfortable would be greatly appreciated.
and TONI – you would have LOTS of bites. at least more than one. if you have just one it is probably a spider/mosquito bite
would you only see one bite or would you see more then one bite. do they only bite once at a time.
Have you heard anything about the hotels in Montreal, specifically the Quality Hotel (midtown & Downtown),
If you know of a bug free hotel list that would be a great help in making reservations. Thanks
MY BUG MYSTERY IS SOLVED!!!!! Thanks so much for your help. In my quest to find bedbugs, I discovered Carpet Beetles. Then I gave up because I read that they do not bite. Then I found more “bites” so I continued my online quest for information.
I have learned that they do not bite but cause allergic reactions that RESEMBLE bedbug bites!! Who would have thought?! It also explains why I have “bites” and no one else here does, because I have very sensitive skin and lots of allergies.
My suggestion to all of you out there that think you have bedbugs but can’t find them, check deep down in ur carpets along the baseboards – in any room. Also look up the life cycle of a carpet beetle bc they completely morph through their life. That way you will know what to look for.
Best of luck to you all! I feel ur pain!
Hi Stefany,
Have you gone through my bedbug checklist to see if there are any signs of bed bugs?
It’s hard to tell if those are bed bug bites or not, but they do resemble them. Without proof of bugs, it’s hard to tell.
Set your alarm clock for 4:00am and use a flashlight to check your area, they are most active during this time.
Once you find out what is biting, you can come up with a plan of attack!
Please, keep us posted on your efforts!
Thanks,
Jim
I went to urgent care yesterday because I couldn’t take it anymore! They gave me an antibiotic to take and told me to put cortaid on it 2 times a day but I’m still MISERABLE. I can’t sleep, I can’t sit still and I woke up this morning with MORE BITES! I don’tunderstand. please help me :(
I have 20 plus lesions all over my legs and a couple on my arms. i thought they were mosquito bites because that’s what they look like and they itch like CRAZY. i have one on my elbow that has swollen and hardened the skin to almost 2 inches across.
On my thigh i have a long line, almost 3 inches long but it is one single bump, not lots of small ones. the big one on my elbow and a group of 4 the back of my calf has pus yellow/orange/clear liquid.
My mom and i have been sharing a bed for 5 days and she doesn’t have a single bite. any suggestions? I have included some pictures below:
I have tried Tylenol / benadryl / triple antibiotic ointment and nothing seems to help. the Tylenol takes the edge off the itch but nothing makes it go away – even for a short time
PLEASE HELP
I am almost certain we had bed bugs this spring-had Orkin out and they did a through job. But…I seem to have an on going skin irritation. mostly on my legs where the majority of the bites were. Seems to crop up in different places.
Itching, red spots.Legs still itch-good if I put a lotion on containing medera but if something rubs them or I slightly itch it becomes intense again. Can someone have something in their system from being bitten? Dr visit helpful? If so should it be a dermatologist?
Hi,
I woke up to find myself with these bites. Can you tell from the bug bite pictures below if they are bed bugs or something else?
Thanks,
Melinda
I think I have bed bugs. I have gotten bites for the past few days, always several in a row that really itch. I have not been anywhere to bring them in. Nobody else in my family is being bothered. I have searched with a lighted magnifying glass and seen nothing. I am so obsessed that I wake up in the middle of the night and search the bed and see nothing. I have washed all the bedding in hot water and put the pillows in the dryer. I have used the shop vac to really suck up the carpet, which is brand new. My mattress is only about 5 years old. I need help! I am so freaked out.
Here’s an update to my last post. I had asked the manager at the Inn for a new pillow since the pillow in my room was stained. I also asked if I could be compensated for the annoyance. He informed me that I would be defrauding the company I work for since the room is payed by them.
We just checked out of the hotel and he phoned me to inform me that the exterminator found nothing. He told me then that I brought a flea into the hotel with me. Because I am the first complaint ever. He blamed me. Ha ha. I guess making me stay quiet wasn’t an option for him. He’d rather lose a lot of business from us. Btw. What is the best way to stop the itching?
I recently have been staying in an hotel in high river Alberta, Canada. I have been waking up to bites. I have 40 on my hands and forearms alone, see the picture below for details.
I am still in the room, however changing rooms any minute now. The manager said he can do nothing else for me. Ha ha. I guess a bad rep for his care in handling the situation will be my gift to him. We stay here a lot. We have spent thousands in his hotel and restaurant alone in the last 7 days. Thanks for all the info and stories. Hope you all get help with your bed bugs and I am praying I don’t bring min home.
A small heads up too, I had them at my old house pretty bad.
Spraying them with alcohol kills them on contact, but make sure you find their eggs and dispose of them.
Also, if you sleep with your mouth open at night, that gives you 4x the chance of getting bit due to their attraction to carbon dioxide.
I have been getting bites on my arms and hands for several years, but thought they were from spiders. The bites look like the bed bite pictures on your web site. I can’t find any evidence of bed bugs. I have even switched bedrooms, but they continued, and no one else in the family gets bitten. The bites have scarred, and I still can’t stop the bites. How can I get rid of them for good?
Hi,
I have just come to United States for my further studies. I never had allergy or any kind of skin problems. It took me months to figure out that all marks on my body were due to bugs and not any allergy to water or lotion. I cannot sleep at all because of this bites. I have to wear jeans and long sleeve tops as my legs look horrible with those marks.. I am mentally sick of this now…
I fell asleep on the couch the other day and when I woke up, I had reddish dots on my face. I’m not sure whether or not these are pimples or bug bites. My mom thought they were spider bites but said it might be I’m scrubbing to hard when I wash my face (Which I doubt it is).
I just found this site too, and I’m becoming paranoid if there’s bed bugs. I have 5 reddish dots on my nose in a group, 3 on my left cheek, 4 on my right cheek, and one near my chin. If they are bug bites of some sort do you have any tips on how to get them to go away?
I had bed bugs in my house, so we sprayed and I still got bit. Then we sprayed again and by this time I moved into my mother-in-laws house because I couldn’t heal and they were driving me nuts!
I only took what was necessary and washed all my clothes in hot hot hot water, I went out of town last weekend and washed all my clothes again before I came back into the house. I haven’t got bit until this morning, but the bite is different, it has two bite holes in it.
Is this just a spider bite? Because all of my other bites are healing and I only got this one and its in my inner thigh.
Can I also just say…… JIM! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for this site. :o) You are so caring, informative, and not out to sell us something like all the other sites that I have found. I’m not sure if anybody has ever thanked you as I have read a lot on your site and haven’t seen any thank you posts, so I just wanted to take the time to tell you how informative and helpful your sites is and again how caring you are to those of us crying out for help. HUGS!
FYI…. those bed bug covers for the mattress and box spring ONLY save your mattress & box spring but the bed bugs can and DO live in the creases of the plastic covers. I originally covered my son’s mattress & box spring with a cover that had plastic on the inside but had cloth on the outside.
It seemed to work but then 3 months later the bites started again. I looked and low and behold, they were there again. I then got the more expensive covers that were ALL plastic. Again, it seemed to work but then a couple months later, during a periodic check, I found 3 to 4 adult bugs living in the creases of the plastic boxsrping cover. Sigh. Again, I vaccumed and cleaned the mattress & boxspring covers then about 2 months later, I began getting bites.
I sleep on the couch. Staying awake one night, out came the bugs. Grrrr! I’m still fighting them and seem to be losing the battle. When I pulled apart my son’s bed about 10 days ago to put the DE, I foudn 1 adult bug on the carpet under the bed, no bugs on the cover but did see bug poop. I vaccumed & cleaned everything and put the DE everywhere. Sadly, they seem to be coming fast and furious in the living room. When I get my disability check on the 1st, I’, going to double my attack by purchasing a steamer and use it WITH the DE.
Knock on wood, I pray they stay away from my baby. My heart just breaks when I see the bites on his little arms and legs. :o( I wish and pray that somebody would come up with an easy, non expensive, nonpoisonous(I have 2 cats), sure fire way to kill these darn things quickly.
Hi I have a one year old daughter who, about 2 months ago developed what looked to be misquito bites . We then thought they might be flea bites because we have dogs and a cat who are always infested with fleas.
Yesterday my mother mentioned that they might be bed bugs and she is just getting a terrible reaction to the bites. We ripped up the mattress today (which was over 4 years old). We never really ever saw the bed begs but when she sleeps elsewhere besides the crib, she does not seem to get bit and she sleeps like a baby, which she did not when she was in the crib. She is only one but she knows she is getting bit in that room, in that bed.
Does anyone else think that these could be bed bugs? Because no one else is getting bit but her. Thanks for your help.
Those of you who have wood bed frames, I got rid of mine and purchased a metal bed frame. I also got rid of my mattress and put it in a mattress enclosure that’s bug proof, yes they do make them.
Buy fly paper, usually comes in a pack of 5. Unravel one pack, it does have a knack of curling back up, at the base of each bed frame leg and up about 2 or 3 inches, wrap each leg twice around making sure the overlap of fly paper is smoothed out and is sticking to each other. Do this on each remaining 3 legs of the bed frame. Check every couple of days to make sure fly paper is still sticking to the frame and not curling back up. The fly paper was designed to catch flies, small and large, it will catch and hold bed bugs.
As to the above comments, that bed bugs hate plastic and smooth metal surfaces, this is another reason to switch to a metal bed frame, but when starved for food the bed bugs will at least try to climb any surface. So far after two years I have had no bed bugs bites after years of suffering.
Hope this helps and good luck…
hi um i have a little brother and he woke up with some bed bug bites. Do these bites have any health hazards on a 9 month old baby? would it be a good idea to fumigate the house? thanks
So I have a new significant other and about 2 weeks of staying there I noticed a few little red bumps that itched like crazy on my neck and a few on my fore arms. Well everyday since then they have seemed to have gotten worse. She has 3 kids and none of them nor her have ever had this issue before.
I am terrified that I am some circus freak! I have been to 2 different doctors and they just say its hives and give me steroids and anti itch stuff or tell me to take zertec. My significant other doesn’t seem to believe that these are bed bug bites but I know I am not imagining what I am seeing on here by the way of pictures and then comparing it to myself and they are identical.
I have never seen a bug in her bed or on the couch but then again i have never thoroughly looked either. I have yet ANOTHER doctor’s appointment for the dermatologist hopefully he can diagnose me correctly so that she will take whatever precautions she needs to to get them out of her house so that I can stay the night there again. I just want to stop looking like this and itching so flippin much!!
do these bedbug bites cause a small scab without being scratched or do they just react like a mosquito bite?
I know we’ve had bed bugs but I thought we’d narrowed down the problem and extinguished it for the most part. Then I bought a new sofa – brand new! I think it came with bugs of some sort. Anyone who stays up really late watching tv or spends hours on the sofa seems to get bit but I haven’t found one bug. I thought it might be an allergic reaction but it doesn’t seem so. I’ve discovered it could be itchy mites – maybe since the sofa was from the east coast. I don’t know but its embarrassing when its brand new furniture. Don’t give up the fight!
I stayed in a hotel in London for 2 nights, 9 days ago. On the morning we came to leave, my friend (who had been staying in a room 2 doors down) was covered in bed bug bites. Myself and my partner thought our room was not affected because we had no bites and didn’t see any tell tale signs.
Nevertheless when we got home i took my friend’s advice and took all the precautions, washing all our laundry and tumble drying, and keeping our luggage away from the bedroom etc. Have also laundered all our bedding on hot.
However the last 3 mornings I have woken up with bites (not many- 10 the first morning, 5 the next and 2 or so today). I think they are bed bug bites looking at the pictures on here.
Help! Could it be that they have only just appeared from the 2 nights in the hotel? Or is it more likely that I have brought bed bugs back home? Did anyone else have bites that look this long to come up? I can’t find any bugs or blood marks in the bedroom so I can’t tell if they are here or not!!
Thanks
I moved Feb 15th from a condo apt upstairs to another one downstairs 3 months later i was noticing some bites but thought nothing of it till it formed into a rash. Thinking an allergic reaction to something but only on one side of my body until one morning i woke up at 4am feeling something crawling on me. I jumped up, got my flash light and low and behold there they were!
My room was infested with bed bugs! I had the apartment sprayed 3 times already and went through great expense throwing away bed, pillows, doctors visit, etc, etc.. This amounted to almost $1,000!
What rights do i have as a tenent to get my money back seeing as these bugs were here waiting for someone to move in. Now, i still have them and my kid is getting bit! arggh please respond ty
I’m not sure if I have bed bugs but what i do know is that the past two nights i have gone to bed and awoke with these bites:
They are very red, about an inch and a half in diameter, they were just red but they soon turn Purple or blackish in the middle! I’ve only had them for the last 3 days!
Have you had any bed bug bites that look like this?
What do the blood spots look like? Will they be on my sheets or just the mattress?
I haven’t found any bugs! i really thought they were spider bites but i went back to sleep last night and awoke with 1 more bite! I probably have 3 or 4 bites total!
Someone Please Help! What do you think? I feel creepy crawly
My mom and I were outside weeding in the flower beds for about 2 hours. At the end of the day we both noticed that we had a few bug bites that were making us itch. The bites are on our back and stomach and a few on the upper arm.
The next morning we both agreed that we noticed new bumps/bites popping up and that they all had a hole in the center of the half inch red and swollen areas. My moms bites have turned into bruises and have been keeping her awake at night because of the itching. I am now experiencing soreness in my stomach muscles which I guess is from all the scratching?
We have been using Z extra which the pharmacist recommended and a solution of vinegar and baking soda. Seems that the vinegar and baking soda works better than the Z extra? No headaches or nausea though? Not sure what the heck got us but UGH are we miserable! Will check with the doctor Monday!
What a itchy fourth of July this has been.
Jen in Kentucky
Does anybody know of anything that will help with the itch from a bed bug?
I live in pittsfield Massachusetts. i began itching and breaking out in a rash which appeared to be poison ivy or oak, i went to the emergency room, and they told me it was poison oak.
They obviously misdiagnosed me. two days later the “poison oak” started to turn into what appeared to be hives, i returned to the emergency room and they again misdiagnosed me and said i had hives. The next day several people that live in the seven floor building that i am currently residing in told me that the building was infested by bed bugs. I then returned to my apartment and looked at the box spring and seen BEDBUGS scattering.
I was eaten alive and the building did not warn any of us in the building that several other apartments were infested now our apartment is infested and we have to wait over a week for the exterminator, we are in federal housing and they refuse to pay for a place for us to stay while we wait.
Everyday that goes by the bed bugs are multiplying. i can not even find a anti itch cream or antihistamine that takes the itch away or that will even ease it am still covered up in itchy bites and welts.
Hi, my mom and dad have bed bugs in their bed spring that they had for 11 years, should they throw it out?
Hello!
I just discovered what I think are bed bugs, after having had mosquito-like bites popping up on my body, at random times every day, for about 2 months now. I couldn’t find any mosquito’s nor other insects, but after I’ve informed myself about these bed bugs, I started to look for them and found 3 this morning. I scanned them in and attached the pictures below.
Are these bed bugs? Do bed bugs have wings? At one point I crushed them, to see if there was any blood, but I could only see some creamy substance (insects blood) coming out of their bottoms. As you can see on the picture above.
Thanks in advance, and hopefully these pictures are helpful for the rest of you.
Good luck everybody!
Gijs
I believe I have a bed bug bite on my right side from about a week ago. Ever since then my stomach, back, neck face, chest and my right leg has been itching like crazy. I’ve noticed more of them but i went to the doctor and they couldn’t see anything other then small bruises from where i had been itching the most. I got atarax for itching but not helping! what do i do?
Stamford motor lodge in stamford ct is the most rank, degenerate-run hellhole I have ever seen. After 2 minutes in a room (after we had already paid in our road delirium), we tried to get our money back, then were told they have a policy where you can’t get it back if more than 5 min has passed.
The conniving clerk gave us a ‘new’ room, which reeked of what I’m certain now were pesticides, and we left and took the 70 dollar loss. In our new, cleaner-ish la quinta hotel, we smashed a blood filled bud that crawled off of me and now I’m so grossed out and furious with myself for even setting foot in that nasty, mean spirited dump with mean, lying employees and a major bed bug infestation! Don’t stay there (why would one stay anywhere like that without thoroughly inspecting the bed!)
I’ve had these bed bug bites and have a total of five!! and for three days now!
they are sooooooooooooo Itchy and I can’t stop itching!
This is the first time this has happened and I hope it doesn’t happen again!
How long does it take for bed bug bites to heal?
Unknown,
Where were you staying? Did you take any pictures? Can you take some pictures and I’ll make sure to post them – perhaps once they are up on the site the management will have a different attitude!
Good luck!
hi for the past three months or more I’ve been getting random bites all over my body, but not every day sometimes two to three time a week. same with everyone else in my house what do you think it is. don’t bedbugs bite every night?
I’m currently staying at a hotel and have been here for a a little over two months, one night we saw bed bugs in our room. I went and talked to the front desk the next morning and they said they would move us into another room and after remodeling our room they would move us back into the same room. We moved that day.
The next morning I woke up with bed bug bites on my face, back, legs, stomach and ankles. They itched so bad :-( I have never had an itch like this before. I talked to the manager and showed him the bites. His response was i don’t understand how this happen and you’ve been here all this time.
We stayed in that room waiting for the the other room to be completed. In the mean time since being in the room they moved us to for almost a week, I was still getting bit by bedbugs every night. I went to the doctor who confirmed they were bed bug bites and I told this to the hotel management again and he said after the other room has been complete, he will have it inspected for bugs and then move us back into the room. In the meantime I’m still being bit by bugs every night.
Finally I decided to look for the bugs in the room since I had not seen them in there yet but have been waking up with new bites everyday. I raised the mattress and box spring of the bed and saw the bugs on the box spring. I then called the front desk and asked was the other room ready yet, I also asked the desk clerk to come upstairs so I could show her the bugs. She saw the bugs and went down stairs telling me to come get the key to the other room.
Then with a nasty attitude said the other room has been inspected and if you receive bites again there’s nothing else we can do for you. I asked to talk to the manager and he said with an attitude we have never had this happen and I can not extend your stay at the end of the week you have to leave. I was shocked at his reaction.
This was a horrible experience.
Help! I’m getting attacked by these bugs, and i don’t know how to completely get rid of them!!
Yvonne gets small blister like bumps and red dot type bites that are driving her crazy with the itching. Do these sound like bed bug bites?
We are on the road all the time together as we drive a truck long-haul, the trouble with diagnosing whether it is bed bugs is she is the only one getting bitten and the only one with the small blisters and bites,, and the only one itching all the time.
If it is bed bugs why is she the only one being affected. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank-you.
Jeff and Yvonne
Are these bed bug bites?
At first i thought it was fleas from my dog but its on my belly and arms too, but not big welts like the ones behind my leg as in the pictures to the left.
I’m confident these bites are not from anything associated with my dog and am worried they might be bed bug bites.
I hope someone can help me!
Jim,
About 1 week ago I woke up at home with a cluster of bites on my stomach. Then I had some on my back and they keep popping up every day – I find some new ones. They don’t itch – the mostly hurt.
We moved into a new home with hardwood floors about 6 weeks ago and have no animals. We trimmed our trees outside and when I first saw these bites, thought they were spider bites. We had an exterminator come out and there are no signs of bed bugs – but he suggested mites or spiders.
Meanwhile, we did get rid of our bed set and are getting a new one. Ortho states that they have memory foam in their mattresses and that bed bugs don’t like the foam – is there any truth to this?
Also, if I’m not itching all that much – but the spots are red and continue to show up over time – do you think these could still be bedbugs? They are mostly on my left side around my stomach and mid back. Any help from you would be appreciated. Looking for an answer.
Susan
I am staying in a hotel and on the third or so day I found a couple of bites. I assumed they were mosquitoes and though nothing of it. The following day I had even more and by the fifth day I had probably around 30-40 bites.
I had the hotel change my room and wash all my clothes. They inspected the original room and didn’t find anything (though I think they simply did not look hard enough). I have been in my room for about three days and new bites keep forming. my question is, could this be still showing up from the earlier infestation or are they in this room too?
I have heard that it can take up to 9 days for bites to appear. If this is the case should I be expecting new bites for the next week even if the room I am in is clear?
I’m a home attendant and was at a client’s home over night. I sat and slept in a couch. One night i went home, took a shower, went to bed woke up itching like crazy. When i looked behind my arm i saw reddened area and a lot of other smaller bumps. i went to emergency they said it was allergic reaction to food.
So i went back to work not knowing that when i woke up the next morning the same thing now on my hands. any where i was exposed there were bites. i am so afraid that i have brought them home with me. My sister gets bites in her room she thinks its mosquitoes i just don’t know.
Okay, I have had bed bugs before, but can’t remember what the babies look like. I am wondering because a woman gave me a baby bed for my son, and the mattress had some insect crawling around the edges of it, but they didn’t look like bed bugs.
Theses were not round like bed bugs they were longer, but very small, like maybe the size of a chigger. Regardless I threw the mattress away and I inspected the frame and everything else and didn’t find any eggs.
Should I trow the frame away as well?
These bed bugs have invaded my scalp! I have developed huge sores from scratching them…at first we thought it was lice on my head, so I tried the two treatments of rid x without luck. A picture of one from my head is shown below:
I called my doctor and he said to try the nix, so I tried two runs of it and still no luck. Went to the doctor again and he gave me a cortisone shot and some itching pills.
We have exterminated and threw away a lot of items, I’ve tried neem oil, shampoo, Listerine, Vaseline, lavender oil, vinegar and even sprayed my scalp with insecticide yet I still have bed bugs!
They are driving me INSANE!!!!!!…so PLEASE….if anyone has any solutions out there they would be greatly appreciated!
My niece is only 2 years old were not sure if she got bit by a spider or a bedbug.But its in 4 swollen places. We had her dad look at it but at the time it wasn’t swollen so he said it was nothing.
After awhile it got bigger so we put ice on it to see if it would go down. It’s yellow on the outside and a red ring going around it. Her dad said if she feels light headed or running a fever let me know. She said she felt hot but she wasn’t that hot, then she said it hurt really bad and she started to scream an jump. Her leg is almost fully swollen.
What should we do?
I am the unhappy owner of an infestation, and have been on the net, trying to figure out what to do. Apparently, I have had these bed bugs for a couple of months. Was localized to my daughter’s room, but we thought it was mosquito bites, so she moved to the couch!!! Now, the bugs are in my $4000 overstuffed sectional, which is just over a year old.
HELP!! I steamed it and that helped for about a week. Should I just keep steaming? I have the mattress covers, I bought the goodnight spray, I kill them whenever I see one. But I can’t afford what the exterminator is asking. And I certainly can’t afford to ditch my couch. Any suggestions for getting the bed bugs out of my couch?
I have been having problems since last Nov. The nasty things came from the apartment downstairs and are in the walls. Both places have been sprayed a minimum 10 times. The landlords are sick of me telling them I am getting bit. I have done more than required to take care of my end of it.
I have gotten to the point I don’t want to even come home. I definitely cringe at the thought of even going to bed. My cat stopped sleeping on my bed after a month of getting bit. I have had around 300 bites so far. I hope to move someday, but will have to throw most everything away in order to be sure I will not take anything with me. I have already thrown away so many items. I am very frustrated at it all.
One big mistake landlords make is when there is more than one place infected, they need to spray all apartments at the same time because the bugs just keep going up and down the walls to find fresh food. I had to keep telling the landlords what was happening but they listened with deaf ears until finally an exterminator told them. Not only do we have to fight the bugs, we also have to fight the landlords who are in total denial.
Now, they said they have sprayed so much, I need to come up with proof of a bed bug. Duh!! I have found some and my cat has found some before. But, still denial and don’t want to be bothered.
Hey everyone…hopefully someone can help me out! This has been haunting me for months.
I have been dating my boyfriend for almost 3 years now and I always sleep over at his house for a few days every week. This past December (08), I was home from college and was staying over his house as I usually do and woke up one morning covered in huge bug bites. It looked like regular mosquito bites, which I always have a bad reaction to, so I thought nothing of it until I started noticing more bites appearing throughout the day. I stayed over again the next night and got more bites. The weird thing is, they were only on the right side of my body and randomly spread out on my face, arms, chest, legs, feet. I got one bite on my left arm, but that was it. My grandmother, a nurse for over 20 years, said it was hives, but I was taking Benadryl constantly & it did nothing. Once the swelling went down, I noticed that most of the bites were actually 2 or 3 smaller bites next to each other. So I had somewhere around 20 bites on the one side of my body alone.
My boyfriend never showed a reaction like I did or as soon as I did, but he did start getting bites on him as well. I stopped staying over his house & was constantly nagging him about getting an exterminator, which never happened. This all nearly ruined our relationship, as I was afraid to go in his house or have him come to mine after reading information online about beg bugs & how easily they travel.
We’ve used double sided carpet tape around the bed, which found nothing. An exterminator came in just to look and found nothing. We’ve searched the bed and room thoroughly, numerous times, and never found anything. However, he gets up at 5am for work, so I told him to check the bed and run his hands over the sheets. He never actually saw any bugs, but he ran his hand over the bed in one spot and it left a blood streak, then again in another, and he said he saw small white bugs along with it..maybe the nymphs? (This was back in December).
He couldn’t afford any exterminators (plus he has never believed it was beg bugs), but he bagged everything up, took almost everything out of his room & washed it, cleaned everything thoroughly, and threw out his old bed & mattress, replacing it with the one from the unused room next to his. It is now 5 months later, I have been staying over there occasionally for the past few months, and he’s come to stay with me in my dorm at school as well as my house when I’m home and there have been no bites.
Of course there is a BUT. I slept over his house this week. We were in his kitchen/backyard late one night, which was FILLED with mosquitoes, as it is every summer. I always get bit like crazy in his yard every summer, you can see the mosquitoes everywhere. I have a cluster of bites on my right arm going into my armpit of probably 6 or 7 bites in that one area…and that is all I have on my whole body. I was sleeping in a t-shirt which covered that area and I had never been bit in the past in covered areas…so I’m hoping this time that it’s just mosquitoes….but the bites are huge and so itchy that they are waking me up (just like in December).
No one has ever had a problem in the house besides us, and there are a lot of people that live there.
Any advice or thoughts about this whole situation? I am terrified of these things and I’ve never even seen one.
Thanks!
-Shari
Don’t know if this works for bed bug bites. It seems to help when I get cat flea bites. Hydrogen peroxide applied to a piece of tissue and left on the bite for a few minutes. (Hydrogen peroxide helps break down the protein left behind in some insect bites).
Worth a try.
Completely freaked out. I’ll never sleep in a hotel or motel again.
Dalila
Hi:
After some investigation I found out that I have bedbugs. A person that has a pest control business for 30 years came to my apartment and said that I don’t have them, but the very same night he said that I found a bedbug in my bed that bet me all over. Obviously he doesn’t know very much about these insects, and has still a lot to learn.
In the past I have dealt with head lice, and most of the shampoos that are sold at the pharmacies do not work. I also dealt with mice and the pest control came to my house and started to put traps for them. I told them that I didn’t think that was the solution. At the end it was me who found the solution to the problem. As you can see I don’t have all this people in high esteem.
An exterminator for bedbugs charges a lot of money. If I am going to pay all these money I would like to be sure I am not going to have the bugs anymore.
Any suggestions? I appreciate your help
Vivian
I Need to know whether I have bed bugs or not. I notice things crawling on me when I woke up twice and thought it was small beetle. Thought nothing of it. Then I saw something black on the ceiling. It was was about 10 of them in the corner grouped together.
I do not notice any bites on my body. However, I am terrified of bugs so I am not sure what to do. They look similar but are more blackish and aren’t flat looking. They are about the same size though. Can you please help me? Thanks!!
Hi Jim,
I hope you have time to review these pictures and (hopefully) put my mind at ease.
I am praying that I have mosquito bites… spider bites… anything other than bed bug bites. I recently quit a job working at a shelter for the homeless because of their infestation. There were bedbugs scurrying up the walls, the mats, the people. I tried to be so careful – visual inspections, stripping off my uniform at the front door, showering immediately when I got home…But yesterday I woke up with bites, and now I’m absolutely panicking.
I can’t see any bugs. I’ve stripped and flipped the mattress and box and I don’t see any signs (bodies, poop, blood stains). The bites are just on my hands (which are usually outside the covers), and my partner wasn’t affected at all.
The bites are red and puffy. If I pull the skin taut, the skin appears yellow and there is a small, flat bump, the size of a pin head in the center. They are crazy itchy and the itch is radiating out along my arms and hands – not limited to the actual bite site. I’ve been putting hydro cortisone cream on them and taking oral benadryl, but it’s having next to no affect on the itch. The ones on my wrists are especially torturous.
I cried myself to sleep last night. I made my partner sleep at a friend’s house. I can’t focus for the itching.
Please, if you can take a look and let me know, from your experience, if the bites look more like Anything else.
I’d appreciate any feedback!
Thanks,
Valerie
Jim, thank you so much for easing my mind!
I spoke to a nurse/friend and she immediately thought they were spider bites. The itch and inflammation have gone down but the bump in the middle is still there and the surrounding area remains red.
Whatever it was, there have been no return visitors – thank heavens! I can’t imagine why they only went after my hands, but who cares, as long as they’re gone!
Thank you again for your wonderful site and personal reply, it really kept me from freaking out completely!
Gratefully,
Valerie
My husband woke up yesterday with his chest broke out in what we figured was an allergic reaction… Today, my face AND chest were broke out with the same thing. Both of ours went away in about 2 to 3 hours. What is this?, bed bugs ???
Hi Shawn,
The red marks are right on your hair follicles, correct?
They could very well be bed bugs, but if that is the case, a good review of your room should reveal them (check out my bedbug checklist for details on where to look, etc).
Fleas can do this as well, but usually bite the legs, not the stomach and sides like you mentioned.
Chiggers which are microscopic (usually from being outside in the grass, etc), can leave these marks, but they usually occur under tight clothing, such as socks, etc.
There are also hair follicle mites, but these are considered harmless (and microscopic).
I’d check the room out real good for signs of bed bugs before considering something else.
Let us know what is happening and what you find out!
Thanks,
Jim
Ok, my roommate and I both started getting bug bites two nights ago, I have a lot more than he does though.
My bites are on both of my ankles, side, stomach, arm and hand.
I have included some photos of the bed bug bites where you can see very large patches of bites.
I worried about this and will try some of the suggestions you offer.
Both of my daughters 4 and 3 have bites on the back of their neck and shoulders the bite starts out a dark red small circle and then gets swollen and larger. The color changes too it goes from dark red to light pink – I also noticed dried blood around the bite – small dark scab like balls of blood. Is it bed bugs or something else?
I haven’t found any bugs or fecal matter (as discussed in some of the comments) I did find a few spiders but got rid of them and the bites still appear. The bites are only on their neck and shoulder area and in their hairline where the hair meets the back of the neck – What is this??
A lot of the pictures that I see here are definitely not from bedbugs, but from the Triangulate cobweb spider: Steatoda triangulosa.
More information can be found here: uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/steatoda.html
“This small household spider is easily overlooked as it weaves cobwebs in the dark corners of houses, basements, and outbuildings. The body is only about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long.
In North America it is widespread and abundant locally in and on houses.”
And sometimes they appear to come out of nowhere, suspended from irregular webs, the Triangulate cobweb spider and wait for unsuspecting prey.
“It has been known to prey on many kinds of arthropods, including ants, spiders (including the brown recluse), ticks, and pillbugs (Guarisco 1991).”
They also eat bedbugs. If there are bedbugs and you’re in North America, there are probably a lot of triangulate web spiders around. We had a massive infestation (think: the film Arachnaphobia) when we actually did bring bedbugs into our home after staying at a hotel. We also had an ant problem around the house.
Once the ants and bedbugs disappeared, we became their food.
These are very easily overlooked because some are nearly transparent. What may seem like a floating piece of dust is probably one of them. We found numerous ones that were barely the size of a pinhead.
I don’t know how often this site frequented, but I hope this saves some of you the discomfort my wife experienced. The people at the ER asserted they were not bug bites and it was not typical of bed bugs to bite in the manner in which they had. Some people are not allergic at all – others, well, you can see in the photos above – most certainly are.
If you walk out into your front yard in the morning (especially New England) and see what looks to be a ‘tent’ on the lawn, you are, in all likelihood, looking at a triangulate cobweb spider’s web. Check after rains or a nice morning dew.
Common flea/tick/spider sprays will take care of this – I forget the name of the particular chemical, but child-safe and pet-safe sprays do not contain it.
I have been reading all these articles trying to diagnose myself because I went to the doctor on Wednesday and my doctor told me that “they look like flea bites” because a few of the bumps are aligned in a row. I explained that I’ve never had this problem before and I don’t have any pets. I’ve been living in my apartment for 3 years now and never experienced anything like this.
At first I thought it was an allergic reaction but I haven’t changed soap, detergent, or eaten anything different. So then I told the doctor that I had just gotten back from a weekend in Corpus Christi and we (my boyfriend and I) stayed in a hotel. The doctor insisted that It was fleas and sent me home saying that I should get a antihistamine for the itching.
I’ve been using bendryl anti-itch cream as well as aveeno hydrocortisone. it helps temporarily but i really want to know how long do the bites itch. And after researching information on bed bugs, fleas, and other insect bites, I’m sure i have bed bug bites. When we were at the hotel I remember seeing dark reddish-brown stains on the sheets and we thought it was blood and got the hotel to change our sheets..I never saw any bed bugs though… now I know….
oh and I forgot to describe the bites as shown above. Mostly red, swollen itch a lot, when i scratch too much little brown dots appear in the center of the bite. they are on my arms, shoulder, back of my neck, near my armpit, hands, scatted along my legs, a few on my buttocks, and a few on my feet.
and strangely my boyfriend only got like 3 bites and they are all over me…I’ve checked my apt to make sure we didn’t transport any back with us to Houston…
Hello~
I recently just moved into an apartment complex about three months ago, and hadn’t had any problems, except with German Cockroaches, but I got rid of those….
The problems just started recently- after we adopted our two cats from Pet Smart.
I talked to my neighbor, who knew the tenants before us, an elderly lady, and she used to complain of bites…and moved out early because of them.
I figured it could be just the cats- having mites or something, but we had bathed them in a flea, tick, and lice shampoo….I figured it would kill the mites or whatever has been biting my boyfriend.
My Boyfriend has now over thirty bites all over him, mainly on his back, arm, and neck.
The Bites start out small and slightly raised, until irritated, they are almost flat, they are sore to touch lightly, and then as the day goes on, they begin to itch.
The bites I have seen on this website have been confusing me- the bites he has looks like mites, and bedbugs.
I have one bite on each hands- and some of you have mentioned not getting bit as much as the other.
When I thought we had mites, I took the bed spread off, washed everything, vacuumed our mattress, inspected for bed bugs, and sprayed everything, and I mean EVERYTHING off with Lysol.
I don’t know if it’s possible for me to have them, because I have seen them at my friends house, but that was MONTHS ago- and in which, I flipped, left, took ALL my laundry and bed spreads, and washed them ALL.
I’m a bit of a clean freak, so when the scaring of possible bed bug infestation is there, it’s freaking me out, I can’t sleep on the floor or any where’s else….
It just seems like they came out of nowhere, almost as soon as my cats came home to us…but they don’t have mites…
Help me please- I’m scared out of my mind, I can’t sleep, and I am scared for my boyfriend, he’s being eaten alive.
I just want peace of mind…I have yet to see a bedbug, but I am terrified to look again…. If I have bed bugs, this would mean I have to break the lease and move some wheres else, and the leasing office could care less….
Help! Help!
I hate bedbugs and have dealt with them on a few occasions. No amount of cleaning or sanitizing will get rid of them. It’s a long and tedious process. You will need to either call an exterminator to help rid them of your home, or try over the counter stuff such as raid etc.
I took the over the counter approach, and it seemed to work but as I said above, it’s a lot of work and takes awhile. Any over the counter product you buy for the treatment of bedbugs or fleas etc is generally not safe to inhale. So once you use it you should avoid the sprayed area for at least 8 hrs, this means pets too!!!
Spray baseboards, bed frames beds couched any wooden furniture basically spray everything. Pay special attention to base boards as well as sitting and sleeping areas and furniture.
I would suggest taking all linens and stuffed toys pillows, dog beds, anything like that ANYTHING. out first. I put all of mine in black garbage bags and took them to the laundry mat. Wash them all and dry them all on high heat. Anything that can not be washed should be sealed in a garbage bag free of holes tightly for a long while, or if possible thrown it out.
Its not recommended to spray eating areas such as the kitchen most times bed bugs will not be found in these locations. Also when using your own approach, its safer to keep the spray you choose to use away from your food/ and food areas.
Bed bugs from my experience don’t always have to be in the bed for you to have them. I did not get bit myself nor did my husband, my 18 month old however did. And she sleep in her crib in the same room as my husband and I. She broke out in a huge rash, blotchiness everywhere with a few white welt looking bites. She clearly had a reaction to them. We found nothing in her crib, or her crib mattress. We did find the little suckers in the baseboards and surrounding area.
When you find even one bed bug in your home, I would suggest treating all rooms (with the exception of the kitchen) they are spread easily. Pets can carry them, from room to room, kids can also carry them on there clothes as well as you from room to room.
If you have children. you should take all toys out of the room before its treated. You dont want harmful chemical on your children’s toys which he/she will touch and and come in contact with.
It could be much easier to call a professional to do this, but it is A LOT more expensive. You can get rid of them yourself if you stick to it and have the patience. This was my approach and it worked well for me, it may not be what everyone chooses to do. But good luck to all in getting rid of these pesky suckers :)
I recently have been getting bites when sleeping. I don’t know if they are bed bugs or fleas. I have only gotten the bites on ankles and feet which I’ve read mean fleas.
I have seen no evidence of bed bugs after tearing my room apart. I do not have a dog or animal that would harbor fleas. I am confused. My bites are nowhere near as bad as some of these pictures but they do itch.
I only get maybe 2 at a time maybe once a week. This has been going on a month now.
Any suggestions?
I’ve been suffering from what I think are bed bug bites for about a month. What concerns me however, is that no one else is getting bit! My husband doesn’t have one bite, and our three year old climbs into bed with us often and again not one bite. Does that sound right to anyone?
I’ve not seen one bug. But I did go out of town and didn’t get one new bite, came home and the first night 15 and 2 to 8 every night since. I’ve tried washing in high heat etc. I’m about ready to throw the whole bedroom set away and start fresh.
I think I may have bed bugs, but if I wasn’t the only one in my bed, could I be the only one they want to bite?
One day in the middle of the day my daughter told me she had bites on her leg that were itchy. She had a few little bites behind her knee. Being she had allergic reactions to all bug bites i just put some cream on it and left it alone.
A few days later they spread. She went to school and came home with more bites.. And a fever. I took her to the hospital thinking chicken pox. Well it’s not that. she was put on an antibiotic and given benedryl. The bites went away for about a week. Then she wakes up with about 7 and on her lower belly and very swollen, see picture below.
Again back to the hospital. This time Childrens hospital. They said it doesn’t look like classic bed bug bites. they went away for another week and now this morning at 5:30am she wakes up with more. Belly, Back, and side.
I’ve checked my bed, her bed the couch and everything.. behind posters behind my head board, behind hers, the framing pulled creases in mattresses.. I SEE NOTHING.. i check every night before i go to bed.. I have no bites.. My mother has no bites.. just my daughter.
This has been going on, off and on now for about a month.. It’s driving me crazy.. Any suggestions???? will they only bite one person? where else should i look for signs??? after a month shouldn’t i see some signs??? HELP!!!! thanks..
I have been fighting with bed bugs for a while. i currently had to move out of my apartment because they were making nests in the corners of the walls. i got a new bed and still notice i get bit at night. please help, what can i do to get rid of them?
I would like to know if you stayed in a hotel and brought bedbugs home, how long before you would see signs of them in your bed? I am not sure whether I am having a reaction to a lotion that I have been using for 2 weeks or I am being bitten by bed bugs.
If I was bitten by bed bugs, can the bites show up 4 – 5 days later? Is it possible to have been bitten in the hotel but not bring them home with us? I have checked my bed and the futon in my spare room and found nothing. We even have to mattress toppers and I found not evidence of bed bugs, it has been two weeks since I was at that hotel.
I first noticed just 2 areas (my thigh and forearm) and since then I have more but they are all on extremities.
Please help!! I am very concerned.
Hello Venessa,
Don’t wait on your child, get it checked out!
Karen
My 11-month-old son got bit by a couple mosquitoes yesterday on his head and legs. Its been about 30 hours and now there is lumps that are quarter sized around and off his body by about 1cm. They are leaking clear fluid also.
I myself have bad bug allergies too but nothing like this has ever happened to me… Do you think its just an allergic reaction to them or should i get that checked out?
Thank you,
Vanessa
Hello,
I am not sure if these are bedbug bites, but I’m not gonna take that risk. There is about 7-8 bites on my back, and 3 on my right leg. For the past two nights I have felt very itchy. I recently showed my mother them, and she had said they look like welts, so I assumed they might have been bug bites. None else in my family has them. They do not seem to have been long since I only started getting bitten a few days ago.
Is there any way to get rid of them, and treat the bites that I have received so far? If so, I’d love to hear.
Thanks,
Shaun.
I was at church sitting on a chair (which has material, cloth, etc) when something bit me on my lower right leg, mid calf in front . It started itching a little later. I went home and woke up with about a dozen all over me.
Three in a row on my front leg, about 5 on my right hand, 1 on my left hand, 2 up near my collar bone and 2 on my upper left arm in back. They itch and have a pimple in the middle and have bumps around the pimple, like when you get goose bumps.
They are red and the size of a nickle now. I have taken benadryl for 24 hrs and have a cough somewhat too now. Could they have been in the carpet at our church? That is where i got bit, i know it.
How i got more i don’t know? It must have gotten on my hand when i scratched my leg cause there are bites on my hands, then my collar bone and left arm next. I’ll wait to see if more come.
How can i find out if they are bed bugs or spider or flee bites ?
actually I have a question, Can you get Staph Disease from Bedbugs?
I had small red leg bites after sleeping in a hotel room. But it turned out to be flea bites rather than bed bugs. The hotel owner’s son & his dog had stayed in the same room the night before.
Hi,
I’m wondering if I may have bed bugs. I found three little raised bites in a row on my stomach. They have been itching for a few days. I checked underneath and around my mattress, sheets, etc., and have found no signs of any bugs, eggs, spots, or anything unusual. I am also not even sure if I got these bites at night. One thing I have noticed, though, is that they have been getting itchier as time goes by. I have not traveled anywhere recently. Does it sound like I have bed bugs (I really hope not)? What else could they be?
Jersey City
Hello,
On Monday October 20th, 2008, new tenants in this condominium building, next door to me, made a complaint with the receptionist about bed bugs in their apartment. The receptionist informed the building’s superintendent. The superintendent told the tenants to contact an extermination company on their own which does not follow the building’s protocol for such a situation. There are a number of different versions regarding what was done to help them with their situation, from the superintendent, the property management company and the condo board president. Ultimately, nothing was done.
They followed up again with the superintendent in mid November and again in December and once again got the runaround. The superintendent telling the tenants to call the management company, the management company telling them to speak with the superintendent. Once again, the problem was allowed to continue unchecked. Keep in mind that no other tenants, be they renters or owners, was ever made aware of what was going on until it was too late.
On Saturday morning, February 14th, I awoke to find 2 bugs. 1 on my bed and 1 on my pillow case. I took a photo of the larger bug, searched the internet for pictures of bed bugs and confirmed that this is what I had found. I informed the super that morning of the situation. He asked me which apartment I lived in. After I told him my apartment number, he looked at me and said “I know where they are coming from”.
After speaking with the condo board president, the superintendent told me I would have to wait until Monday for treatment as the exterminators were closed for the weekend. After scheduling an appointment with my own choice of extermination companies and informing the superintendent, I was told to “cancel my guys” the in house exterminators would do an emergency treatment the following morning (all this occurring while I had visible welts on my neck). The exterminator arrived Sunday morning to do an emergency treatment. He confirmed that source of the infestation was my new neighbors. The condo board president also appeared at my door that morning and said, “First of all we are very sorry that this has happened but we are only coordinating this for you because you have been effected by this situation. We were not responsible for doing anything until a neighbor has been effected”.
There are many, many details I have not included here. I do have a very detailed time line of all events since the tenants 1st complaint in October. I have time/date stamped photos of the bugs as well as dead specimens. My apartment has been exterminated 3 times yet I have seen 2 live bugs since my last treatment. I have since hired an extermination at my own cost ($535) for a single treatment.
The reason I decided to write to you is that the condominium board has decided to charge the exterminations separately to each effected apartment, which also includes another apartment which I share a common wall with (she was forced to do the extermination even though she has not seen a bed bug and a preventative treatment was all she needed do do). The superintendent, the management company, the receptionist (and likely the condo board president) where all aware of the situation back in October and allowed it go unchecked for 4 months. Is this a violation of my civil rights?
Also, I have been unemployed since July, 2008. I am barely able to make my mortgage payments and I certainly don’t have any extra money to pay for a series of extermination treatments that, if handled in a timely and professional manor, should not have been necessary in 1st place. The management company president, told my neighbor and I, separately, that we would not be charged for these services. The condo board has since changed that to bill each apartment separately.
Thank you for reading,
Chris
I woke up last Thursday morning with what seemed like a itchy rash on my left inner thigh. It itched a bit first and after a day it started to get sore, I guess from my thighs rubbing against it. It has now been 4 days and it hasn’t gone away but it has starting to scab with a black spot on it… my symptoms sound like those of some of the other people here… except my I’m really sore…. could i have bed bugs… i haven’t checked but i will tonight if it is bed bugs, what can i do?
if you think you have bed bugs inspect you boxspring then use cooking oil or baby oil and applied to the legs, wheels of the headboard and footboard, as well on the bed frame legs. this will help you to sleep good
Hi there, every morning i wake up with this tiny insects on my body that looks like a spider and they really stick to my body the only way i can remove them is with my nails they leave a small red dot can you please advise? Next time i will take a picture
regards
Hi,
I’m fairly sure that I have bed bugs (I’m staying in a hostel), but am a bit unwilling to tell them that they have bed bugs until I’m sure. Is there anyway that they will appear on an unslept bed between 3-4am? i.e. Were I not to sleep on the bed and come in at 4am, would I be able to see them?
Hi,
I need help please. I move to this house 6 months ago. Since them I been bitten 7 times. The bite is always red, but it only itches for a day after that it hurts.
I went to the doctor twice and the doctor tells me that it looks like a spider bite. However, no one else at home its affected. The bumps are big, sometimes they have a white heads, but in other cases they do not. They seem to be black on the top.
Antibiotic makes it better, however they leave a mark. I looked around my bed, however, I do not see anything.
PLEASE HELP!!!!
I have had ‘something’ here for quite sometime. I feel like I am always itching. I get these ‘things on my skin, many times you can barely see them. All of a sudden I will go right to it on my body, could be anywhere, though more often I find them on my arms legs and on the back of my neck.
They appear to be a little ‘scab’. Looks just like a light brown scab. Scabs don’t usually just appear. Maybe after an insect bite or a scrape, you bleed a bit then then it scabs up; these are scab like… I have to dig my fingernail underneath it to remove them! After I remove them there seems to be a bit of a hole in my skin where this thing has obviously been sucking my blood!
This ‘thing’ is usually flat and does not look like like it’s full of blood by no means!…. and even more disgusting this thing has very obvious white/ clear ‘prongs’ that look like ‘roots that are embedded into my skin which is why they are so hard to pull off of me! I have been to the doctor several times. The doctor insists they are not bugs or parasites! She says I have folliculitis… which as far as I know is no different than any other type of ‘allergy’!
I have one in particular on my upper neck/ right above my hairline in the back. I can’t get rid of it. I swear I’ll leave it alone and expect for it to just go way… and it doesn’t so I start fooling with it.
Eventually I get to the point where I pick (pull, pry, dig) it off of me! There is a bit of a whole there that bleeds a little and then about a day or two later, it’s back again in the same exact place.
I seem to also find these ‘no mistake’ eggs on my skin as well!. I would like to say I have actually never actually seen a ‘bed bug on me! But I think just the other day for the first time I have!!!
I thought it was an ant, but it looked different. And was nowhere as easy to swish and kill like an ant. I am embarrassed to save these things and take them into a doctors office with me. The doctor I have seen was actually supposed to be a skin ‘specialist. I can’t imagine a skin specialist not recognizing the slightest case/ of bed bugs.
Though I’d swear I have bed bugs after seeing these pictures on your site, I have never had these big red blotches that looks like everyone else here has and I have yet to see a photo of what these ‘tentacle’ root’ like prongs look like in a photo. PLEASE HELP!
I once thought maybe I had scabies only because a girl I worked with had scabies. Although the doctor ruled out that I did not have scabies, she prescribed the ‘soap’ that is used for treating scabies. I think i never used it. Will this ‘soap’ kill bed bugs on my body?
Hi, any help would be so appreciated as to what type of bite it likely is and how to address issue. So scared to sleep at moment. The bites I have are shown below, from Wednesday to Friday which is also similar to hobo bites I saw online.
A week after moving in to our fancy new Vancouver place in early Feb I had a bite one bite on my arm and the next day one on my wrist. Both welted up huge radius with a central blister that eventually oozed, scabbed and scared by 3rd week. Pretty bad. Then, a month of no bites and now a set of 4 on my hand so bad this time with 4 in one spot my whole hand swelled up and had to go to expensive clinic. It is important to note I have ALWAYS had a crazy immune response to even just mosquito.
They presented as just an unnoticeable itch Monday, then Tuesday swelled up and itched so much by Wednesday I went to the doctor as I thought I saw a red streak up arm and was sure it was a spider bite.
At first the doctor said it was a hand infection and that I MUST start clindamycin ASAP or risk needing IV drugs. So, I went home in tears (b/c of issues for other condition i have) and started antibiotic (took 3 doses) but read more online about issues it had for my other condition and really doubted and infection so I saw another doctor on Thursday who said it was totally a histamine reaction to a bite – total opposite of first Doctor! She said it was histamine only and to stop the antibiotic and antihistamine which immediately helped swelling go down and now swelling almost gone except for four clear blisters surrounded by red remains, but thank God the horrendous itching is gone. I Am putting neosporin on it now.
Originally, I was sure it was a spider as I thought bed bug bites were always tiny, but as I react so badly to mosquito bites, I now am wondering. I found this site with a pic of someone who overreacted to the bed bug bites and it looks just like my 4 bites on my hand Reaction to bed bug bites and note that Vancouver now has an epidemic of bed bugs even in the fanciest of places – ugh. I am just terrified of getting more than a few bites as my system could shut down after seeing what 4 did!
After looking online I went back in room and noticed brown paint like drops on our baseboard heater I remember noticing when we moved in. After reading, it looks like it could be bed bug excrement. I then found it on a bag my boyfriend had under the bed. Then, found some blood under covers so am thinking bed bugs (ugh!) but would love anyone’s advice. Also, my boyfriend had 2 little red marks on his chest today which look like normal bed bug bites.
I called a thermal exterminator and a regular one but am worried about chemicals and cost but currently scared to sleep in own bed! I’ll keep you posted on what I find out!
Update:
After 2 inspections – the first one said 99% sure no bed bugs because everything is new and no signs at all, then, the second guy came few hours later and guess what – one ran across the mattress! Long story short, our condo strata (although we just moved in 2 months ago as renters) is going to pay for a few units as they found out our neighbors were getting bites for a while but didn’t know what it was. If only people knew so they could stop it earlier! Seems like every condo/rental unit should be informed and make their tenants aware of how to identify the bug, prevent them from spreading and who to inform should one be found.
I think it is important, very important for people and Doctors to know that these bites can be very, very serious. The first doctor didn’t even think it was a bite but wanted me on IV antibiotics which would have caused more harm than good.
My bites fortunately responded to benadryl and are healing faster than the first ones which I attribute to my super healthy diet, Vitamin B, C and Olive Leaf (natural antibiotic) this month are helping.
Why the health departments and cities seem to be not taking this seriously I can’t fathom;
A) it carries blood and other pathogens
B) a few can cause a serious allergic reaction
C) I hypothesize zillions of people are in costly hospital being treated for staph and MRSA only to have bedbug bites and likely respond to Benaydryl unless they pop them which I strongly suggest against.
I have no doubt if I had 100 bites like in some of the pics I would surely be in hospital on IV antibiotics for staph that would only make MRSA resistance worse because wrong diagnosis.
I just wonder how many doctors misdiagnose people and how many people have no idea a bed bug could do this if you are sensitive. Guess I am one of the ‘hypersensitive’ like the article link which looked just like my bites. So thankfully we saw one and are pursuing it urgently. And, I am going to inform the incorrect doctor about it when I am fully healed (It will take a few weeks for everything to disappear).
Thanks a lot and here is hoping the issue is sorted soon – they are deciding on pesticide versus the thermal so fingers crossed. If anyone has advice for getting through these treatments that would be good to know, hope to find out today about which one. I am hoping the thermal as it sounds safer for humans and deadlier for bugs and less hassle of personal items. Here is hoping no more bites and i hope this post helps someone.
HELP! My boyfriend and I moved into this apartment six months ago. Landlord & realtor did not tell us that the previous tenants had moved out due to bedbug fumigation until the DAY WE WERE MOVING IN. If we had known – we never would have signed the lease!
My boyfriend has been getting mysterious bites for the last month or so – I had not gotten any. Tonight we found a bedbug crawling on our sheets. I looked it up online and it was a perfect match. We caught it in a tupperware container to show to the landlord. I also noticed a few bites on my back for the first time tonight. I am absolutely horrified. I want nothing more than to just LEAVE this disgusting place.
What are the first steps we should take??? I’m obviously going to be calling the landlord tomorrow – but there’s no way we want to stay here while they bomb this place out with chemicals….especially if there’s a chance they will return, which there obviously is.
We want to be out of here by tomorrow night (going to stay with relatives..) but how do i make sure we don’t bring them with us????
Please help – it’s 3am and i can’t sleep…I’m having panic attacks just thinking about this mess.
Why is it that the bedbugs are only biting my toddler and not myself or husband?
I have searched my beds from top to bottom several times have found nothing.
Thank goodness for this site because I now know that they are in the play room where my son plays and that may be why we aren’t getting bit. My question is will they stay in one spot or will my whole house become infested?
We’re having the same problem on the apartment we’re staying now… few months ago I and my husband discovered that every night is like an itchy bitchy game for us. we didn’t sleep well. we thought it’s because the room is 24 hours AC and the dust didn’t go outside.
Then we notice that something is crawling on our legs & arms but when we check it, we didn’t find anything. Until the time came we’re suffering on those bites, we checked the mattress and bed sheet and we found out that there are lots of insects. i thought they are only cockroach so i didn’t panic on that time. i just catch them with tissue on my hand then kill them. i notice that their body is full of blood. so i was thinking that maybe that blood is from us. so i tell that to my husband that that’s not an ordinary cockroach because they sip blood so when he examined the dead insect, he found out that it is the bed bug! that’s why i felt so scared and very conscious. i don’t want to sleep on that bed anymore.
We slept on the other vacant room for awhile and we didn’t experience those itch. we decided to move on that new room. then the bed sheet was full of bed bugs was sent to the laundry service. hoping that all of them will disappear when they washed up. we used the bed sheet from laundry service then after 1 month here we go again, bed bug bites. Every night is an itchy game. We just ignore and didn’t try to look for bugs yet because we’re afraid to accept that fact that we also have bed bugs in our new room.
Then 1 day when i woke up, after taking a bath and putting some lotion on my arms and body, i noticed lots and lots of bed bug bites on my arms and few on my body. i was so afraid and very worryed. i showed them to my husband. he also has the same bites on his body but the reaction on my skin is very obvious. that’s why, we examine the mattress and bed sheet then i feel hopeless when we found so many bed bugs. they are worst than before! we have tossed the sheet and mattress and bought new. so i discovered that bed bugs didn’t disappear even you will wash the bed sheet.
until now we have lots of bed bugs in our bed. and i don’t know what insecticide i will spray. i just catch them one by one. i’m so tired. bed bugs is really a pest and the #1 problem in your house when you have it. I’m hoping that they will disappear if i will use insecticide everyday. any suggestions that are good for bed bugs? hope you’ll gonna help me on this.
- ruth
Hi,
Just a few weeks ago I started to get bitten by something when I woke up morning. At first I thought it was mosquito. But day after day i was getting up with bites regularly. Take a look at the picture below to see my bed bug bites.
Those were too many for mosquito. My neighbor said that it would be bedbugs and I sprayed one pesticide around my bed. It didn’t work.
Then I changed my room with my brother, and he sleeps in my old room, but nothing bites him. I was sleeping without any bites for week. Last night, he came into my room and said he woke up by pain of byte. Then he decided to sleep on the floor of my room with his big blanket. But I think his blanket brought those bugs into my new clear room and i am now being bitten.
We are moving to new apartment and only thing I wanna ask is do I have to keep those bed which is infected? Or we only throw them away?
Jim,
Yesterday I woke up with an odd shaped red welt on my wrist, see image below.
I thought at first that I had gotten into something at work the day before because I work with a lot of chemicals. I talked with a nurse and she said to put hydrocortisone cream on it and now that some of the inflammation has gone down it looks very much like the pictures of bedbug bites.
I searched the bed last night and found one little corps, but it is so small it is hard to tell if it is a bedbug or not and all of it’s little legs where broken off, see the picture below.
It is starting to sound like it though from all I read. It had a hard black speck attached to it’s rear-end (maybe blood or guts that got squished out when it died?) Anyway – I’m starting to freak out a little – I really don’t want to have bedbugs. It appears that I have about 8 separate bites. Could that all be from one bug in one night or would that indicate an 8 bug party on my tab?
I can’t figure out where we would have picked them up from – neither on of us has slept anywhere else in months. Anyway if we have the little buggers… I was wondering how effective a Rainbow vacuum would be? Since everything is sucked into water and then dumped outside. I’ve seen information about freezing them out and heating them out, but will they drown easily? Also what about the ‘over the counter’ bug bombs, are those effective? Our mattress was bought new and we haven’t brought used furniture into the house in well over six months.
There has been a fowl odor in our house the last couple of weeks – like something decomposing, not sweet, but pungent. It was strongest in the kitchen and bathroom (on opposite ends of the house) and hardly noticeable in the bedroom in between. Could that be another sign of bedbugs? Sorry if I’m asking too many questions, but this has me worried. Thanks for all your help.
Joy
Hi, its Maggie again. To my surprise two days ago i finally spotted those bed bugs, my son was sleeping and around 12am went to look and finally spotted two running, I was horrified!
This morning, I spotted another bug on my older son’s bed. It seems like the whole room is infected and I have no clue what to do?
I’ll try some of the stuff I’ve read about to see what happens. I want to call a pest control but then again i don’t know if it’s such a good idea. I also need something to get rid of these marks. The kids legs and arms looks horrible and as for the itching, if anybody out there knows of any remedies that will stop the itching from these bedbug bites, please let me know. Thank you.
Hi, I live in New York City and apparently we’re undergoing a swarm of bedbugs returning or something. Anyway, I found a bedbug around November and we had an exterminator come by and spray the place. I got a new mattress and everything seemed fine for a while. But just the other day I was looking around my ankles and I saw what I had noticed back when I first thought we had bed bugs.
They were four very small red dots in a line. I had gotten a few of them on my legs when I first noticed the bedbug, but to be honest, I was never sure if they were bedbug bites since they aren’t welts and it doesn’t really itch at all. I’m worried because I know we can’t afford another spraying so I don’t know what we’d do if this turns out to be bed bugs again. They only just started appearing again.
Thank you for your time.
It could be that I’m allergic to bed bugs. I’m so itchy! Tiny little red dots, I itch until they bleed and then they scab and I cant stop itching them even though I know this makes it worse. They’re all over my legs and arms, chest and right around my hips. I’m losing my mind trying to figure it out.
Hi Glen,
That is extreme and I’ve seen this before on BadSpiderBites.com – the red line is NOT a good sign and you should see a doctor. This usually indicates an infection and comes with warmth. I’m not a doctor and you should rely on my advice, but if it were me, I’d go in asap.
If you look at similar pictures and read their associated stories on BadSpiderBites.com, the doctors almost always tell the patient they are lucky they went in, and, it’s usually a spider bite.
Don’t take any chances Glen, get it checked out and please, let us know how it turned out, will you?
Best regards,
Jim
Hi, I’m positive these are two bedbug bites as i woke up while it was light out and my arm looked normal but was itchy, then when i finally got out of bed it started swelling up and the redness appeared to be going down a vein in my arm.
When i got up i found a bug on my bed and it wasn’t moving so i looked up what a bedbug looks like and it was definitely one so i killed it and blood came out.
Anyway, yea I’ve seen a lot of pictures on the internet of bed bug bites but my arm looks like a pretty extreme case, unlike any others I’ve seen so here are some pics.
In the picture above, its my left wrist and it’s swollen to almost double it’s normal size if you cant tell.
Please get back to me asap
UPDATE:
Well, it has been over a week now. I have washed everything I own, got covers for my mattress and box spring, and my apartment has been treated. So far I have not seen anything else, and no more bites. It took a while to fall asleep the first night back in my bed, but bit by bit it has started to feel like home again.
Although my land lord was not nice about the situation, the Exterminator was wonderful. He took the time to explain to me what he was going to do, and told me that that I prepared well for him by removing and washing all of our clothes and bedding, and pull the furniture out for him. He even treated our storage room which is in the basement of our building. I did not get the opportunity to speak with him after the treatment, but he made me feel a lot better about things.
Just hearing other stories about other places he has seen which have been just crawling made me feel like what I found was very manageable. Right now I feel good, but I hope it does not come back. I do not know if I could do it all again. My exterminator believes it is most likely I got them from a hotel, as we do travel quite a bit. I also spoke to the health inspector who was also very nice and helpful in letting me know the buildings history, and he even offered to follow up with the exterminator before he came to ensure he would check other parts of the building.
All in all my stress has decreased, and I hope this is over. Thanks for all the info and support on this site. I will write back in a few weeks and let you know if the problem has stayed away.
My elderly neighbor had been heavily infested with bed bugs about a month ago. I had opened my apartment to her and her cat while her place was sprayed. Well I ended up getting bites all over my arms, torso, and groin area. I knew of course that it must of been bedbugs. I did a lot of research online and became obsessive with trying to find where they were hiding but I had no luck.
My landlord had someone come inspect and they found nothing as well. The inspector said that because she couldn’t find anything that it was probably just one possibly two. She said that they will bite several times before they get a good spot. That’s why their bite marks are in lines or clusters. Also that even just one bug can cause your body to be covered in bites within a few nights.
Now if you have one or 2 bugs and notice that you are getting red bites that look anything like mosquito bite, I would do some serious inspecting and immediately wash all of your bedding. One bug once full grown (which takes 4 feedings) lays 5 eggs a day… within 6-8 weeks you have a full blown infestation.
The inspector recommended drying all of my bedding for 15 minutes minimum, which will kill any bed bugs, and investing in bed covers and pillow covers. Even if you haven’t been infested with bed bugs yet, I would personally recommend getting bed bug covers as to avoid ever having to deal with these awful creatures. Bed covers are a little on the expensive side, but more affordable then loosing and having to buy new furniture and pay for professional help to spray them.
Since I dried everything and got the bed bug covers I have not had one single bite. I still, 3 weeks later, have the bites. They have now begun to peel a little and look kind of like ring worm (not very pleasant). I am still looking for something that would help them heal.
I hope that this information has been helpful!!! I wouldn’t wish these things on anyone.
Hello LH,
Don’t panic – it does sound like you have a small infestation of bed bugs and you do NOT need to toss everything you have.
Go to your local store and buy a mattress cover that is designed to keep dust mites out. The mattress cover should encase the entire mattress and zip shut.
Also go to your local pet store and ask for Diatomaceous Earth – it’s non toxic and you sprinkle it all around your floor boards, base of your bed, etc. When this stuff gets on the bed bugs, it dehydrates them and they eventually die.
Also, on my treatment section, you’ll find a ton of information on what you should do to control the bed bugs.
Don’t worry – you can get rid of them as long as you are methodical about everything.
The fact that you found a bed bug on the wall in the closet is strange? What time of the day did you find it?
The pest control company should give you some good advice, but do all of us a favor and let us know what they say.
As for you lovely landlord, check with the city to see if there are previous complaints. Also, the pest control company may give you some good information as well – ask them if they have been to your place before :)
Best regards,
Jim.
Hey everyone, thanks for posting all your stories. I have had bumps for a while, but they have mostly been fairly flat and round like the size of a nickle. I could not usually see a spot in the middle and after seeing several doctors, some saying bites, some saying hives, I have moved on to a Dermatologist who has taken blood for testing.
I have used the steroids and antihistamines , no change. However, 2 days ago, after several months of paranoia, and my partner never getting bit, I found a bug on my newly cleaned (put on the day before) sheets.
At first I found two bed bugs on my sheets, then one on my wall. I have repeatedly checked my mattress over the past few months but never saw the typical signs. I then discovered several larges bed bugs on my padded head board, and 1 on the wall in my closet.
In the past two days I have spent over 100 dollars washing ever bit of clothes I own, and have thrown away my pillows, pillow top, sheets, and comforter set that was on the bed. I am waiting for a exterminator to come in a few days a spray my apartment.
My Land Lord has been an ass, and is sure that no one else in my building has ever had the problem, and that it is in every way my fault. Although I very well could have brought them in for somewhere I have been, it is very difficult to go through. Almost everything in including my bed and sofas were bought brand new when I moved into the apartment almost 2 years ago.
I also have another couple living with me who have not found anything in their room. For the past 2 nights we have been sleeping in the living room, and I am terrified that they are out there everywhere too, even though I have not seen them.
I am a social worker for child protection, and never thought that this pest problem could happen to me. I feel devastated, and worry that nothing will ever be bug free.
I have 100 thoughts a second going through my head; should I move, should I throw away all the things I have worked hard to buy, do I need counseling? I worry I will never be able to sleep again, although I do not want to throw out my fairly new bed. I wonder if I should be steam cleaning while I wait for the pest control, should I spray my bed and rooms.
They contacted a health inspector who said that the pest control should work, and that I should not be spraying my room before they come as I could be sending the bugs running to another area of the house.
I feel like I am going crazy, I don’t know if I should throw up, cry, burn all my things, or if I just wait it through the next week or so things will be ok.
Any extra advice? Should I be wrapping my mattress and box spring until pest control gets there? I was told that my infestation seems to be minor and can be dealt with easily, but I fear like may of you it will come back. Do they normally come back? Do people recommend disposing of my life’s contents?
Help, my insanity is slipping.
I have tried everything and the bed bugs just don’t seem to finish.
Earlier when a professional sprayed my house i thought they had all gone, but then while i was out i saw one on my bag and on my clothes, and i was so annoyed. so i washed all my clothes and sheets.
The biting started again because the clothes that i hadn’t washed had bed bug eggs on them and they hatched and the biting started all over again.
Then i found out during the summer more of them seem to bite and during winter they only bite when the bed/room is warm.
Every night before going to sleep i cover my self from toe to head making sure my socks cover my pajamas which are tucked in and i wear a muflar hat and gloves all interlocking each other. but then my face would get bitten and i would know when the bed bugs were biting so i would open the light and make sure it was bed bugs – which always were.
I dread going to bed at night because of the bugs and haven’t had a proper night’s sleep for a long time. I even used to make sure the room was boiling hot so i wouldn’t get bitten but then i would not be able to sleep because it was too hot.
One thing i know for sure is bed bugs are attracted towards body heat / respiration because for example if you have a glove and full sleeve shirt on they would be making their way towards my face.
I remember how i got them but at the time didn’t know they sucked blood or that they were even bugs – didn’t know anything about them.
I was having a sleepover at a family friends house and during the night i itched myself really badly and felt like I had massive spots all over my legs and arms, I exposed my legs and arms to see what the matter was and saw massive thick red spots. I thought they were rashes or i was allergic to something. All night i continued to half scratch my self to sleep. In the morning i didn’t want to say anything to anyone because i had know idea what had happened all night. So i phoned my dad to pick me up immediately, he kept on asking me on my reason for wanting to immediately return home, but i didn’t know what to say, as i didn’t know my self.
Ever since then i have had them and found out what exactly they are and that they also live on animals as well. It’s been a nightmare!
I was bitten by one of these creatures when I lived in Japan. I taught in a public school, and often saw the bites on the legs of the female students, so I knew bed bugs were around. When it happened to me, ouch! It didn’t itch, it stung, like a wasp sting, with a welt. That must be an allergic reaction.
Feb 28th, I have noticed big welt like marks on my back and shoulder. They itch and are red. Could these be bed bug bites?
I’ve included some pictures below…
March 6th, Yesterday I noticed 2 more mosquito like itchy red bumps on my forearm. I didn’t scratch them, dabbed Benadryl itch relief on them and tried to forget about it. Today the bumps have turned into raised welt like blisters filled with clear liquid and it’s oozing as you can see from the picture below:
The whole area and lower arm is swollen, red, itchy, stretched tight and hot. It’s like I’m having an allergic reaction to the bites. I’m taking Benadryl to bring down the swelling, continuing to put itch relief on it and I’m about to take an Aveeno oatmeal bath to help also.
I fear this is the same thing that bit me before and gave me those marks in the pictures above (scroll up) I don’t know if I’m infested with bed bugs or not, but clearly these are bites.
All I know is I am “something’s” hot meal at night and this is ruining my life. I’m embarrassed and miserable. I bought mattress and pillow zipper covers, washed and dried everything I own and cleaned my room. The only thing left to do is hire an exterminator or see a dermatologist. I don’t know. Please help!
I also stayed at the phoenix crowne plaza the next day I got itchy in the afternoon. Huge welts on my back. Then the spots traveled to my arms. I am going to the doctor today, at first my greatest of all fear shingles but bed bugs sounds more realistic. Thanks for sharing Cindy!
PS, my wedding photos next week are going to look great with all these red dots.
Hello Julio,
Half off the room! They should have moved you to another room for free and given you a voucher for another stay free of charge – at the very least!
I did some research and found some very disturbing reviews of this hotel. For example, take a look at trip advisor and you’ll see a number of poor ratings, there is also a comment titled “Dried vomit on Bed” on July 18, 2006 that talks about bugs. Another one titled “Hello Bedbugs” talks about bedbugs under the sheets and pillows.
If I were you, I’d ask Renee over at LawRefs.com what options are available to you. LawRefs is a free (yes, free) legal service.
If you search my site, you’ll see a number of very successful lawsuits against hotels that have a history of bed bugs, especially those that fail to work with you. In one case, a lady won a case on the grounds she was unable to sleep in a hotel from that point forward – too traumatic.
Below will give you an idea of the figures involved in these lawsuits:
$20 million bed bug lawsuit filed by a Chicago woman against Nevele Grand Resort and Country Club in Ellenville, N.Y. She claims she received more than 500 bites when she stayed at the hotel for 3 nights. See usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2006-03-08-bedbugs-catskills_x.htm
In 07, Rose M. Pagley-Brown filed a bedbug lawsuit against Stone Motel in Arkansas. She stated mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation on top of her medical bills.
In 08, An opera singer with claiming more than 150 bedbug bites filed a lawsuit against the Hilton Corporation for $6 million.
The list goes on, from people renting apartments to hotels to even emergency rooms!
If you should ever wake from your stay to find bites over your body, you should not only seek medical attention, but take pictures of everything. Look at our bedbug checklist to locate where the bugs hide, then take pictures. Document everything!
Hotels don’t bring the bed bugs inside, it’s the customers and it can happen to any hotel, no matter how clean they are. As long as they act fast on pest control and have regular inspections, they are doing everything they can.
It’s when a hotel (or other organization) fails to act, has bad reviews and a history of bugs that they open themselves up to legal action.
Julio, please keep us up to date on how your body heals and of your outcome. Feel free to send more pictures and thanks for sharing!
Hello,
This is what I believe I got from my stay at La Kiva Hotel in Amarillo, Texas.
I have them all over my body, in my arms, legs, back, and head, and it got worse the night after, I guess because I scratch a lot, can’t stand the itching you know.
I brought this up to management and they were kind enough to move me to another room at half price.
La Kiva Hotel & Conference Center
2501 E Interstate 40
Amarillo, TX 79104
(806) 379-6555
Julio.
My roommate got bed bugs once and ever since I’ve used those zipper polyvinyl covers for the mattress and box spring, every now and then I’ll take it off spray down the bed with lysol and then put it right back on, these things aren’t cheap, and they aren’t durable, but they HELP, Steam Vac the carpet, steam vac the bed, and cover it with that mattress cover (mattress and box spring) I went crazy and washed ALL my clothes in hot water (clean or dirty didn’t care) I was not going to have bugs… so GOOD LUCK GUYS!
I think i have a similar problem its just that i cant tell what’s eating us like that. we just move to an apartment and in the beginning i didn’t see anything, we went to a furniture store and purchased a brand new bed and mattress for our older son. Three weeks later i see he started itching and bunch of red marks on him. and the little one had his crib that he sleeps on, he also started with itching and those red marks. I slept in the room the same thing happen to me as well.
So i was thinking could that be bed bugs….I looked all over the kids room, the crib, the mattresses, tho box, all over i can’t seem to find any stain of bed bugs. another thing is that after the bite is healed the still itch. My husband is very hairy so they don’t seem to bite him, that’s why sometimes he thinks im crazy.
My question is that …Can bed bugs live inside the mattress? and also we have wooden floors can they also be in the wooden floors?
Can someone tell me if the bed bugs got to be visible because i cant see them but every night i put the kids in bed, they like when i put them to bed and sometimes i fall asleep myself in their room and when i get up I’m all itchy and little red marks on me as well. The marks are a little similar to what I’ve seen but not as much on our skin maybe three to four bites a day.
I moved into an apartment in September 08 and have been experiencing random bites in my bedroom for the past three months. I have vacuumed like a mad woman and washed all the linens in extremely hot water as well as dried them and I am also in the process of removing all of my furniture in order to replace it.
My landlord has exterminated at least three times since I’ve been there due to a “roach” infestation from the tenants that used to reside upstairs, and he has renovated the apartment upstairs as well. Could they have traveled from upstairs down to my bedroom in the absence of the old tenants?
I am replacing my furniture as I mentioned earlier and there will be a period of time before the new furniture arrives that there will be nothing at all in my bedroom so I’d like to take this opportunity to treat the rug, do you have any suggestions?
Bites at both locations seemed to be very swollen pink splotches that are larger than a quarter and seem to be concentrated in a single area (1st her hip, then her neck).
We texted the picture above to you this afternoon of the bites on Liz’s neck. I think bed bugs, she was hoping spider bites. What is your opinion?
I’m from Pakistan, currently living in Saudi Arabia, at night when I was sleeping, I don’t know if a bed bug bit me, next day when I was in office I feel some itch when I saw at home It was red spots at the backside, and day by day it’s getting worse.
In my room some times I can seen some different kinds of bugs/insects, please find the above picture, and suggest me any medicine as soon as possible, I am really horrible from this situation.
Thank you!
Awais Qurni
Update: 13 days later…
Awais used a product that could not be found in the FDA database but has generic names of Nystatin, Neomycin or Gentamycin.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a cream and mention these generic names to make sure you get the right product.
Seems like only certain people get bedbug bites, correct? After reading what has happened here, I hope I do not have any for the rest of my life!
I woke up at around 4:50am the other day scratching my hand profusely. I have had bed bugs in the past and this was a sure sign of them. I have had two small red bumps on my hand for the past 3 days although they are not itchy and quickly stopped itching after the bites the morning after.
This is what was strange–usually the bites are itchy for much longer and get much bigger and are in a row of three, not two.
What could this be? I cleaned with bleach, neem oil and cleaner today and sprayed some Pyrethrins and Piperonyl butoxide pesticide all over my apartment. Hopefully this will help.
What do you think it is? Bed bugs, spiders, allergic reaction?
Thanks
Just found a bed bug for the first time on our matress. Small, looks almost like a tick. Came right up out of the mattress. But we’re quite certain they are all over. Mostly babies… like little dots… sometimes impossible to see.
They make a regular meal of us even when we are sitting down, that much is clear.
We’re going to buy some powder and see if that will work.
I stayed in a filthy hotel in NYC 4 months ago on my way home from a trip. I noticed some bites in the airport next day and put it down to bad luck. Its now 4 months later and every few nights I was finding myself being bitten on the face and arms but could NEVER trace the source.
The bites were strange too – sometimes like mosquito bites – small and white and hard, sometimes with a distinctive puncture mark in the middle of an almost-perfect circle. Some even had what looked like a comet tail that curled around.
Today I waged all-out war, took up the mattress and scoured the bed frame. The entire underside (timber) was marked with what I had previously thought were small black mold stains. Turns out there were over 15 small cracks, each of them hosting one of more bedbugs.
Sprayed insecticide, hoovered, dismantled the bed and took it to the dump. So be warned the bedbugs definitely like to hitch rides in luggage.
Hi, I have had these bites now since Nov 08 and my daughter who is 5 and half months pregnant also has them, but not as bad.
We have been treated by 1 doctor as an allergic reaction that didn’t help. We then went to dermatologist who said flea bites although we have no pets; we got medicine for that and exterminated the house but still that didn’t help.
The landlord said the bites looked like bed bug bites but we have had our beds for over 2 years and never had a problem until the after we moved into this house (first week of November). By the third week in November we had bite marks. We do have a really bad case of German roaches and have used powders, sprays, traps and it seems nothing kills them! I killed one that was crawling on my foot and within 30 minutes my foot was itching and now there’s a welt. Are these bed bug bites or something else?
Please, I’m desperate for help.
I have been finding bites for the past few weeks, but they have been very very very tiny (definitely itchy, but I have eczema and am used to itchiness), but never became very raised or puffy. They seem to be healing and going away for the most part and I haven’t noticed any new ones in the past day or two…
Today I realized that some of the bites that seem to be healing are actually configured in perfect little circles. I have two areas like this on my arm, both about the size of a dime and consisting of a thin ring of tiny little red dots like pin pricks, with nothing in the center except for very slight yellowing of the skin. These rings rarely itch and seem to be just scabs from former bites, but I never noticed their circular formation before.
From everything I’ve read it seems very likely that I have bed bugs, but these rings look different from the other descriptions I’ve read.
I also live in the basement level of an apartment, and my room connects to a lower-level storage space that is used by the entire building and seems pretty dirty…
I sleep on the floor on a mattress and can’t afford to buy a new mattress (I’m an art student- no money)
Thanks!
I have bites mostly in a row like people talk about . I keep getting bitten. I have a mattress that is about 2 years old and there is not a mark on it or anything at all in the seams. It’s clean as a whistle.
I have has some little blood spots on the sheets. The box springs look good too. I can’t see any bugs ever. I have frese ( long shag) carpet and can’t afford to replace it right now. So it would be impossible to sprinkle the carpet.
I have tried to isolate the bed, but the problem just seems insurmountable. I would move if I didn’t own the townhouse. How can there be bugs if there is no sign of them? I could never clean all my clothes. I have 70 suits alone. What do you think of the heat treatment to get rid of them?
Hi Summer,
Early in the morning is their favorite time and chances are you have many more if you saw two in such a short time span!
They could indeed be living in your mattress but that doesn’t mean you have to toss the mattress. Instead, check out your local stores and get a mattress cover that prevents dust mites (which will also prevent bed bugs).
Make sure to review my checklist and look around the bed and in the room for signs of infestation.
Please, if you can send pictures, it will be a big help to those experiencing the same situation as you.
By the way – are you waking up with bite marks?
Thanks,
Jim.
Well for months and months now I have been being bit throughout the night. I have 2 dogs, one of which has a flea problem so I thought his problem was my problem. I got him treated, bombed the house, washed the linens and the bites stopped for a bit.
When they came back i knew it wasn’t fleas because he doesn’t have any!
So i started googling bed bugs, and came up with the info and all but saw NO SIGNS on the bed at all.
Last night i had a bit of insomnia and was awake til about 5am. As i was lying there watching tv I see this little flat bug go by. I turned on the light, and caught the little bugger in a small makeup jar.
IT IS A BED BUG!!! so I immediately freak out because I have already read all of the horrid stories about these things, and am so scared I wont be able to get rid of them EVER!
I go back to bed, and before even lying down see another on my pillow!
how could i have not seen any of these before?!
I must ask- if i saw 2 bed bugs on my bed in less than 30 minutes, does that mean i have a lot of them?
I will go with all of the tips on here, but i really will be trying the Diatomaceous Earth. I hear good things about this one.
My mattress has a hole in it, where the dog scratched it, and i was wondering if i should get rid of it due to this. They could be inside INSIDE the mattress now, right?!
I still have the bugs trapped at home and will pic it for the page, and i will take pics of anything i find on the mattress along with my bites!
Yes, what Tim, Kevin, Vaughn are referring to is a spider beetle. This species is called the hump beetle or shiny brown spider beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale. It’s all fused, no hindwings, just crawls. The larval stage is small & grub-like. They feed on organic buildup, dried plants, dried animals (incl. dead insects), dried food items, probably skin scales, hair, similar to dermestid beetles in the home.
My daughter came to me with a two bites on her leg, that looked liked mosquito bites, then a week later she came with 3 bites on her arms. I thought they may have been flea bites from a neighbors house, but this morning my grandson had two bites on his arm, he slept in her room. Her is the question I am 98% sure that I may have discovered bed bugs but, Nobody goes to bed usually until well after 3:00am so what time should i look for them. The search I did before was during the day and I didnt find anything.
Also has anyone else tried the lavender oil, I would like to try it first before I try the other item recommended.
Thanks
ButterFlyGirl
Vaughn:
Your “bulby bugs” are spider beetles. They are insects (6 legs) with a hard, round, almost spherical body. They’re harmless.
I live in Greenwich village and every time the landlord guts and rebuilds an adjoining apartment I get trouble. Next time I’ll put down a residual insecticide before they arrive. Home Depot sells a House & Garden (Ortho I think) in a white plastic gallon container. It’s the more expensive of the two they carry. May be a problem to pets, especially to birds.
My fiancee has five bites on her, three on her right buttock, one on her cheek and one on her left hip. They are very painful to her, they itch, and looking at them i can see them pulsate with her heartbeat. But we do not know what they are, we stayed in a hotel the other night when our truck broke down, but we sleep very close to one another and i don’t have any at all on me?
I can see points on all of them, but on one it looks very much like a spider bite, the other ones however don’t have the multiple piercings that a spider leaves behind or it may just be that she is too swollen in those spots to tell really well. Sorry i don’t have any photos for you, but any information you may have would be great. Thank you for your time.
This is my first time going through something like this and I’ve been itching the bites and then when I scratch myself a big red bump appears! Please tell me what to do.
I have been getting these little red itchy bumps pretty much all over my body. Mostly my arms, but also legs, feet, hands, lower back and bottom. I live with my husband and my five month old. They do look similar to mosquito or spider bites. I have been getting these bumps for about 3 months or so and they go away but then I just get more.
My husband is not getting any bumps however my 5 month old seems to be developing some, but not as bad as mine. I pretty much get new bumps everyday and I seem to discover them mostly at night before I go to bed or an hour or so after getting up in the morning.
They are seriously driving me crazy and they look a lot like some of the pictures here. On two occasions I have sworn that I saw an almost microscopic little spidery light colored bug making its way across our bed sheet one morning and one also on a book that I had picked up from the couch which it had been sitting on for roughly an hour.
We live in a very rundown apartment with lots of very old wood and lots of cracks and crevices and a dirty old used couch. It’s not always the most clean and sanitary place either. Please tell me that these are bed bug bites and not some rare deadly skin disease which is eating me alive!
Hi Katie,
Bites from bed bugs may not appear right away and may not even show until later in the day.
Hey Missy,
You could send them a certified letter stating your problem and the anguish it is causing you. You could also get in touch with your neighbors to see if they are having problems and send a letter as a group – that would be pretty hard to ignore.
If I’m living in an apartment and bed bugs make their way into my unit because the unit next door is infected, you better believe I’m going to get upset and do whatever I can to get management to act.
Visit LawRefs.com and ask her ‘Renee’ what you should write. She is an attorney that offers free legal advice through on this site – she’ll explain exactly what to do to set yourself up for winning a case (should it come to that).
I would also spread around some Diatomaceous Earth (check out our treatment section for more details on how this works).
Also, there are a number of lawsuits that have been successful listed on the site that may help you.
Keep us informed as to your progress, will you?
Thanks,
Jim.
Hey everyone,
I have been dealing with bed bugs for a couple months now we tried steam cleaning and vacuuming at first but it didn’t work. We have had our apartment sprayed 3 times already and still I’m getting bit. My brother and his girlfriend are not being bitten at all. It is hell to go through I vacuum my mattress boxspring carpets baseboards dressers end tables everyday but they seem to always come back!
I believe others are infested in this apartment and I suggested to my landlord to spray the entire building at once. What did he say? well its not our fault they are here so why should we fork out the money to do an entire building This is ridiculous, I don’t sleep half the time anymore because I’m afraid they will bite and it is hell living with all these bites.
Even having a mattress cover on my mattress and boxspring isn’t helping…I’m so sick and TIRED of this..I’m also wondering if this could be a reason to sue my apartment company.
Wow, I was really freaking out as I woke up this morning and found I have been eaten alive! My whole body has itching burning welty bumps that sting and look a lot like the bed bug pics. The weird part is that i have more bite marks now then what i did when i got up?
Hello, I live in Russia and have been dealing with bed bug bites for more than a year now. I have not heard of this earth material but will try it around the rooms.
Thank you.
I’ve been bitten all over by what I think are bed bugs. There is are little patch / yellow colored bump appearing at the tip of the bites, they itch and hurt a lot! Could those be the eggs? I just took a shower in relief.. sitting down now, comfortably and no itching but still going to go to doctor tomorrow. I’ll let you know what the doctor says.
Ok, so here’s an update…
I put the DE all over the place but to no avail the bed bugs continued to bite and bite! So, next course of action….I went to the exterminators and bought this stuff called Pro Bug X. I’ve spent this last week cleaning and packing everything up in storage bins. The exterminators told me that I needed to wash all clothes and bedding…basically everything in the house in hot water and run it in the dryer for 40 minutes. Then bagging the clothes and twist tying it. So I have been forever doing laundry!!!
On Sunday I sprayed my whole house…cracks, along baseboards, closets…top and bottom, kitchen, living room, couches, box spring / mattress, basically EVERYTHING and removed myself, my daughters and my cat from my house for 17 hours.
Last night I found two little buggers dying on the floor so I know this is working! I have to do the spraying again in 5-7 days because I was told that absolutely NOTHING can kill bed bug eggs. Also, I have to vacuum everyday, sweep and mop, and doing laundry consisting all the bed clothes and clothes that we are wearing.
So in short….I am living out of bags for the next 3 weeks as I have to wait 10-14 days after the second treatment to even think about putting the clothes back in the rooms. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me but I am soooo glad I caught these lil buggers early before they multiplied a million times!
NOTE: The Pro Bug X active ingredients include (.20% Tetramethrin and .20% Permethrin) which are commonly used as an insecticide and affects the insect’s nervous system. If you want to buy a generic brand, you can ask your local retail / hardware store for a similar product containing these ingredients.
My son has about 6 or 7 red pimple like bumps that are very itchy. They are larger than a pimple and hard to the touch but I have been told the hardness could be from scratching. Right now they are only on his arms. Some of the bed bug bite pics look the same but I don’t know. Does this sound like bed bugs or something else?
I moved into an apartment building a few months ago. The first few days of being there I noticed what I thought was ticks in my bathtub so I bought some flea and tick spray and sprayed my apartment with it. I informed the management of the problem. After a week or so of living here the sent an exterminator to exterminate the whole complex saying people were complaining of spider bites.
Over these past few months I have been awakened at night itching terribly and have bites all over me (on my face, neck, between my fingers and toes, on my back, arms (especially my elbows), my knees and my feet.
I thought I had had an allergic reaction to a transfusion that I had but was check by a doctor who ruled that out. I was given prednisone and other anti-itch medication and was told it was probably an unknown allergic reation to something and sent home. The marks have continued to show up for months. I could not sleep because of the constant itching and burning from the sores all over my body.
Today, 1/17/2008, I was surfing the net and came across some pictures of bed bug bites and noticed how similiar they were to my bites. My husband shows no syptoms. My husband and I went into the bedroom and checked the mattresses and behold there the little blood suckers were. I was horrified. I’m itchng now thinking about them.
I have never seen nor had a bed bug bite in my life until now. My skin looks horrible. We looked for some treatments on the internet and purchased some Neem oil and Diatomaceous Earth to do some immediate treatment. As soon as I sprayed the Neem oil mix, they began to run. I captured some and placed them in a zip lock bag to show to my landlord.
I sprayed my living room and my sofa the carpet and but the DE powder underneath the sofa and the bed and around the cracks of the walls. I, sprayed my clothes with the Neem oil mix. I am now sitting in a chair with my feet propped up, afraid to go to sleep. I have been being eaten alive for three months and now I know how and by what.
I wonder if the bed bugs were what was the cause of the supposed “spider bites” that the complex was exterminated for when I first moved in? I plan on asking my landlord on Monday. I am quite upset. I don’t have any pictures but will submit some later.
What can use to get rid of bedbug bite spots, in my skin. What the best powder I can use to kill them and keep them away?
I Have gotten bed bug bites from a friend’s house and i dont want to perform any legal action against them. Is there a cream or anything i can put on my dark skin to get the spots away.
Great information Krista!
Please let us know how this works out for you!
Thanks for sharing!
Jim.
Ok….so I ran around all over my city looking for Diatomaceous Earth today and the only place I could find it was this place called Cowtown and they only sell 50 lbs bags of it. So I came back home and started looking up this stuff and I found that it is also called Silica Dioxide or Silicone Dioxide which I fortunately had on hand because I used it to kill ants last winter!!! So just to let everyone know, if you are looking for this stuff…you can find it in the ant/insect killing isle of most major stores and its really inexpensive! It’s called ChemFree Insect Killer. Safe for pets and children.
Thanks for all your help Jim! Hopefully this stuff really works. I’ve gotten rid of the infected bed and only found 4 bugs in my room on the floor so *keeping my fingers crossed* hopefully I wasn’t infested too too bad!
*Sigh* Bed bugs might not cause actual headaches but they are a headache!
Hey Jim,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I was wondering if you could tell me if bed bugs can cause awful sinus headaches and pressure and crazy dreams??
—-
No problem Krista,
I have not heard of headaches before, but I would imagine that if you have a large number of bites and your body is not reacting well to them, you could experience headaches (I’m guessing that the bites would be inflamed, etc).
As for the dreams, sure – a bed bug could be crawling on you while sleeping and your subconscious may craft any number of wild dreams!
Regards,
Jim.
Hi Krista,
Bedbugs can zero in on the warmest person giving off the greatest amount of carbon dioxide and this may be the case with your boyfriend. Most likely, you have been bitten, you just react differently to bites that your partner.
Now that you found them, make sure you visit our treatment page and read up on where they hide, how to eradicate them and how to prevent them from coming back!
Good luck,
Jim.
Hey… I found bedbugs in my bed when I was moving my mattress to get a new bed. We immediately disposed of the bed, washed all linen and pillows in hot water, removed all clothing to be washed from the room, moved all furniture and vacuumed the whole room out, cleaned the closet, etc etc….
Until leading up to the finding of the bugs, my boyfriend had been experiencing the bites for weeks. He went to the doctor and they told him that it was an allergic reaction and gave him so hydrocortizone cream. What I am wondering here is why would my boyfriend be noticing so many bites and have this reaction and I haven’t noticed one bite or even a bit of itching?
Hello Lauren,
The smell is important, but if you are not finding any signs of bed bugs, then it leaves me puzzled.
From time to time I get a rash that looks a lot like bed bug bites, but I know it’s a reaction from food – exactly what food, I still have not pinned it down. It happens once in a great while, there is no smell and they itch like crazy!
Have you tried getting up early in the morning and looking around with a flashlight?
Check out the pictures at the beginning of this page – there are some excellent examples of what eggs and dropping look like!
You have me curious, so please, keep us up to date on your findings!
———–
Amanda,
If the bites are not going away and you are not itching them (irritating them) and they seem to be getting worse and not just new bites, I would see your doctor. The bites should only last a short time (people react differently to the bites).
Make sure to document everything as the apartment complex may have an obligation to pay the bills if they knew about the bed bugs and failed to act.
———–
Charissa,
You may very well have a case if the landlord knew about the problem but didn’t act upon that information. If you want a free opinion from a lawyer, I’d suggest visiting Law Refs and post your question there – it’s an excellent free legal site ran by a medical malpractice attorney.
———–
Best regards,
Jim.
I’m not sure if its bed bugs……..HELP! So here’s my story. About 2 months ago I got a severe headache that lasted about 11 days straight. The doctors gave me several different medicines that didn’t work at all.
I thought I would have a headache forever until the 12th day when I woke up with no headache but a rash all over my arms and legs. I of course went back to the doctor’s office and he thought the headache was most likely viral and the rash was a sign that it was leaving the body. He prescribed a strong antihistamine for the itching and the rash disappeared within 4 days.
I have been healthy as a horse since that incident until this morning…..I woke up this morning with the exact same rash. It’s only on one arm this time. It looks exactly the same as before though. It looks similar to hives. Little raised red itchy bumps. There is no eye in the center of them or anything.
I was researching rashes when I came across a picture of bed bug bites. They look so similar to what I have. Then I started researching bed bugs. I am completely flipped out. I tore my bed apart and found nothing. I never see any blood or brown spots on my white sheets either. The one thing besides the rash that makes me think it may be bed bugs is when I read about the smell that is sometimes accompanied by these bugs.
I have driven myself crazy for about six months now trying to find where this weird smell is coming from in my bedroom. I’ve cleaned from top to bottom but the smell doesn’t go away. I guess the best way to describe it is to rotten tangerines?!?! I don’t know. Very weird. Nobody else smells it but me so maybe I’m just crazy. Does this sound like bed bugs?
Most of the stories on this site say the bites are constant but my rashes seem to be few and far between. I have had the same bed for over 7 years now. Are there any other ways to tell if you have them when you don’t see any sign of them on your furniture?
I’m so freaked out now =/ Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Lauren
I have had a skin biopsy done and the verdict was bed bugs, we moved into this house that had been not rented for 8 months, the bites are driving me nuts. I Have try creams and borox bathes, which seem to ease the bites. I am having a bad reaction to the bites because of scratching, also there are small little black things that I take out of the bites.
Do you think this is bed bugs? I have done scabies treatment and now I find these black things on my arms and feel I get bit during the day as well, I think I am going crazy, please help.
Thank you, I’m at the point that I want to cut my hair off and cut these sores from my arms and legs they have gotten to the pus filled spots and have gone and made holes in my skin that will leave really bad scars, and now I am getting them on my face, don’t want to see people or leave the house because of it!
Hello everyone – I’m desperately hoping someone can help me with my problem. Our apartment, and a few others, have bed bugs. While my boyfriend has the worst of the bites, I did get one in an …unusual place.
I’m wondering how long the irritation lasts, as it’s been about a week and just seems to be getting worse. I haven’t been able to get in to see my doctor, but I’m extremely worried.
Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I am not sure if these bites are bed bugs or what are they but they really itch. They are bites that swell up and are red all around. I have sprayed my mattress, the rugs, walls, anything i can think of. I have washed everything that is washable.
I only get these bites at night and only in areas that are uncovered during the night – Feet, hands, neck, arms and face. Once they heal they leave a dark mark. I have moved from bedroom to bedroom, even tried sleeping in the sofa but it seems they follow me where ever I go.
Does this sound like bed bugs???
I have been living at my apartment for 6 months and experience bed bugs my son moved out after having bites all over his body. We brought spray and threw away two beds but nothing helped. I made the owners aware but since an attorney has been appointed to take over the building. I suffered nights without sleep and marks on my body as a result.
I haven’t paid my rent for 5 months and now the compensate attorney is starting eviction proceedings. I asked him who is going to me for all my pain and suffering and the beds I had to replace.
Do I have a case to sue or not?
Over 2 weeks ago i had about 5 bites on my back right at the area my sleep pants sit with the elastic part. Mine went away after just a few days. right afterward my son has been getting them totaling to over 60 all over body mostly on his bum, and back and some on legs in back. He only wears underwear to bed and did sleep on floor some as well. We just moved to this house 3 months ago. Went to doctor gave a fucidin cream (which cost me 50 dollars) and it did nothing the bites or marks are still on him and not really going away.
Since i have received about 5 more bites 4 by my pantyline on my pelvis and one behind my upper leg. There are all itchy and since the bumps i feel like things crawling all over me too, probably just the thought but it sucks. Have washed all sheets in his room looked over mattress and even beat it with our hands to see if anything came out. there was not fecal matter i found or bugs at the time but was during day. I read the 3 am check and will do that tonight. I do have 4 cats but have checked them for fleas don’t have them and they are itching anyway. I have had chicken pox before so i thought possibly shingles for me but my son hasn’t had it. We sleep in different rooms. My father also has been staying here and now just hes mentioning red marks/bites that are itchy as well.
We also don’t have a soft water softener and the water here where we recently moved to is so super hard. It is the first time we have not had soft water, so I’m wondering if this is a problem too. Or with laundry soap because of hard water not maybe getting it out of clothes and our skin is sensitive to it.
‘ve been searching on the net for so long now trying to diagnose this because the doctor here is an idiot. Told me some kind of bug that covers them all. Well i need to know so i can fix it. we’ve been cleaning and searching and the only one bug i found so far was a tiny baby black spider in the xmas box in the spare room which came out when i went to put the xmas stuff away. Other than that no other bugs have been found. I do have another apt with the idiot doc tomorrow and will bring in all my findings that it could possibly be:
These are what i found: bed bugs, mites, chiggers, pityriasis Rosea, hives, shingles, ear mites, Urticaria hives.
I am getting so frustrated and tired of always feeling like things are crawling on me.
Any ideas, what do you think they are? They look like a mosquitoes bit or a zit and are very itchy, i will do the 3 am bed bug check tonight and look around room again and wood too see if i find any of the bed bugs.
All these beds were at my mom, very clean house and when we moved in the uhaul the mattresses and box springs were covered with plastic.
If anyone has any advice or ideas please let me know thank you
I feel bad for all those people bitten by bed bugs. Unfortunately, I wake up every morning only to see bumps on my legs and arm, all of which are very itchy! I wish there was no such thing as bed bugs!
I noticed that a few of the posters have said they will avoid staying in “cheap motels” from now on. Don’t be fooled! I live in Las Vegas, and there is a terrible problem with bed bugs here. I was told by an exterminator that even the most expensive hotel/casinos have a problem with them. They travel from place to place on clothing and in luggage.
The darned things are about to drive me crazy. I’m diabetic, so the bites are extremely slow to heal, and the itching is so intense that I think sometimes I’ll lose what little mind I have left!
Thanks Jim for your response! I threw out my mattress (as well as all my furniture, and only brought my treated clothes and cat) when I moved, and started over with an air mattress. I looked over the air mattress carefully before vacuuming the other day, and found no traces of feces or eggs…
I go back and forth between thinking that my red marks have got to be something else, because I was *so* careful when I moved, and being afraid that they traveled with me and wanting to do as much as possible early on in case it is true. The marks don’t go away after a hot shower, but they go away after a day or sometimes two.
Other than spreading Diatomaceous Earth near all my baseboards and under my mattress and regularly vacuuming with the recommended HEPA-filter removable-bag vacuum (both of which I am doing), anything else you think I should be doing? What specifically do you mean by combing the surface — just looking closely?
Also I live in Brooklyn so I assume there aren’t bats nearby. Thanks so much for any other thoughts you have.
Hello Sarah, Isabel and Kiran.
Sarah, check that area of the bed closest to where your arm usually is. It is possible for only you to react to the bite and not others. Set the alarm for around 4am and check the area with a flashlight to see if you can spot anything. Five bites during the night with multiple occurrences sounds like bed bugs.
Isabel,
If you hadn’t mentioned that you had bed bugs in your last apartment, I would say that this sounds more like what I get from time to time – they are not bed bugs, but an allergic reaction of some type (I think a certain type of food and sweating combined) that I have yet to pinpoint. They are red welts near my collar bone (looks like I am being bitten) and they go away after a hot shower.
By the way – do you have bats near your home? Check out our section on Bat Bugs if so.
Bed bug eggs do stick to surfaces, so just vacuuming would not get rid of them. You need to comb the surface to detach the eggs.
When you moved, did you encase your mattress in a dust mite mattress cover? These can be found at most retail stores, check out this page: http://www.badbedbugs.com/mattress-cover-for-bed-bugs/
Here are what bed bug eggs look like
Kiran,
I don’t sell anything on this website, it is for information only, but if you are looking for a mattress cover, check out the link I provided above for Isabel. You can get them at Walmart and other online stores.
Best regards,
Jim.
Is it possible that having moved into a new apartment a month ago and having discarded or carefully treated everything I own beforehand, bedbugs could have traveled with me? Perhaps on a pet (who I also flea-bathed before I moved)?
I haven’t seen any bugs, but every 3-10 days or so, I notice a couple of little red marks, usually near my collarbones, similar to the mild reactions that I used to get when my previous apartment definitely had bedbugs.
I’m wondering if my body is creating these marks because I’m still so freaked out, or if a month is enough time for the bugs’ feces and shells and selves to be noticeable and what I might be looking for at this point.
Thanks for any advice.
I’ve been getting bites on my right arm now for the past few weeks. I’ve had 7 bites total, the initial two were on my left leg.
I have been getting these bites only when I come home to visit from school. I attend SUNY Fredonia and live near Rochester, so I frequently come home for weekends.
The 5 bites I’ve had on my right arm are all in the general same area. They are big like bug bites but hard, not soft, and sometimes puss. They itch, and then hurt from itching them so much.
I am the only person in my house that has been getting them. Both my mom and sister have slept in my bed for various reasons and are bite free, as well as my father and brother who have not slept in it.
I’ve been told it could be bed bugs because it’s been in close to the same place on my arm, but wouldn’t the rest of my family be getting bites, too?
Does anyone have any idea what these could be? Please let me know, it’s driving me crazy.
Thank you,
Sarah
Hello Brittany,
Bed bug bites will go away and not leave any scars provided the bite does not become infected.
Your baby can be bitten, and you as well, with only the baby showing signs. It may also be the case that your baby is the only one being bitten. People react differently to bed bugs, some have bad reactions, some none at all.
If it’s only two bites and they are the only bites your baby has received, I don’t believe they are from bed bugs.
Regards,
Jim.
My son has had bite marks since August. There are only two of them on his back, they look like the pictures of the bed bug bites, but he is the only one to have them . He is a baby and sleeps with me and my husband, but neither of us have marks. Does it sound like a bed bug and why wont his marks go away?
I’m pretty sure that the bites I have are from bed bugs but I’m no longer in the same country as I was when i got the bites, I am pretty sure I haven’t brought them with me because I was careful to clean everything before I came. Therefore I was just wondering how long the bites last for? they are sooo annoying!
Also, can anyone recommend any particular creams or anything to help the itching?
I live in New York City in a multiple dwelling unit condo that I bought back in July of 2007. When I fist moved in, I discovered a solitary bug climbing the wall late at night. Then later discovered a solitary bug in my bed. Soon, I hired an exterminator to come and treat my apartment.
After my initial treatment, I still got a few bites. Bought a new Tempurpedic mattress, replaced my pillows, threw out a bunch of old items. Heck, I even successfully got my condo board to exterminate our entire building! I even have special insecticide dust that looks like flour stored inside of small tupperware containers that the feet of my bed frame rest on.
Today, a year later, I awoke from a short daytime nap to discover a new bite on my leg.
The tenants downstairs told the exterminator that they don’t have bed bugs. They get mosquito bites, but no bed bugs. So until these tenants come to the reality of what they are dealing with, their negligence will prove to be my undoing, since I believe that after 6 exterminator visits and thoroughly treating ALL my clothing, sheets, replacing my pillows three times, getting a new bed…that it’s no longer my apartment that has the bugs, but that it’s someone else’s apartment that has them and they are crawling up from below.
It sux. My condo is fully renovated with state of the art appliances, beautiful new hard wood floors, a gourmet kitchen…it’s my dream home otherwise. But this bed bug infestation is making me double think my decision to stay here.
I had a bed bug problem, got rid of it, now still have the stains of their excrement on wooden bunk beds.
Any ideas on how to get rid of that?? I tried bleach with hot water, but no luck.
Thank you.
I have two places, (one inch wide) on my arm with about 10 bumps each. I have a water bed and my husband is not getting bitten. They do not itch, but hurt to the touch. Can you help me?
Are these bed bug bites, or something else?
The pictures above are of my bites. The first is the big bite, compared in size to a nickel. The other two are of my shin and thigh, of smaller bites.
——————
Hi Kat, the first looks a bit like bed bug bites, but it is in such a tight area that I’m not sure.
——————
Update From Kat: I discovered that this is Shingles which can be caused by extreme stress in your life. You must have had chicken pox earlier in your life, the bumps came and didn’t really itch. they were very sensitive to the touch (kind of like it hurt at the touch), a few of the bumps looked like they had a white center.
Most times shingles hurt a lot after a few days with the need to take painkillers, mine never got that bad because I went to the doctor after five days. The doctor made the diagnosis. It takes weeks for them to go away. It’s easier on you if you are under the age of 50, but younger people (20 to 50) usually don’t get them.
I am in my 40′s now and also had them when I was 35.
Thanks!
I moved to Denver about 2 months ago, and I first started noticing bites on my wrist about a month ago. I didn’t think anything of it, because I’m from Nebraska where we have tons of spiders and mosquitos, so I thought maybe it was that. But the bites only occurred over night, like I would only notice the bites in the morning.
I went to eat with my friend and she said “oh, you got bed bugs” and I’m like “No I don’t, don’t scare me like that!” And I had only heard of bed bugs from that nightly saying and a song my grandpa use to sing to us. So I was freaked out and went started doing a lot of research on these bugs and found your site.
I’m so glad I didn’t have some of the reactions that some of the people had, mine just look like normal mosquito bites. I couldn’t sleep all night, and I finally got the courage the next day to call Terminex who sent out a pest control specialist who found bed bugs crawling across my mattress. “Yep, you have bed bugs”!
Needless to say, I was shocked and started crying I was so upset. But there was nothing he could do until I got a hold of the landlord and the cost for treatment would be $250.00.
I got a hold of the landlord as soon as I could and she said she would make a preparation list for me to complete before her exterminator came to spray the apartment. I bought garbage bags, tubs, new vacuum, got my quarters for laundry, etc. I took everything out of the closet, and put them in bags and a few tubs I had bought. I cleared out everything and put everything in the Kitchen. I wasn’t able to vacuum the beds because I hadn’t gotten the beds yet, but she said that would be ok.
When I was at school, the exterminator treated the apartment and what a HUGE relief it was. In fact, I was so happy to be bed bug free that I decided to celebrate. Unfortunately, only three days later, I end up covered in more bites than ever, especially on the underneath of my wrist. It seriously was so bad it looked like I had been cutting my wrists for quite some time.
I approached the manager almost bawling and she apologized and promised to send Jason (the exterminator) again. She gave me some bed bug be gone spray to treat the couch (which I’ve been sleeping in for about a month now) and told me not to switch back and forth between bed and couch.
I prepped my apartment again and washed ALL my clothes and linens AGAIN….at like 2 am on not a so good part of town, but the only 24hr wash I could find for 11 big garbage bags of laundry to do. I’ve thought about just getting rid of the couch and bed, but its all brand new furniture and the exterminator told me not to throw it away.
The exterminator came again. This was a Friday he was there, well at this point I still can’t sleep so I’m on my computer at 4am, its dark, and I feel my leg start itching. Then I feel the crawling. I look down and pull my pant leg up and there was a bed bug crawling up my leg. I freaked! I turned the light on right away and swatted in onto the carpet and squished the life out of it, blood went all into the carpet.
At this point, I’m terrified! I asked the manager what I should be next and suggested vacuuming again, maybe vacuum your car, etc. So I’ve been vacuuming everyday and have been spraying myself with bug spray (which is quite expensive) every night. And I haven’t been bit in about a week, but how exactly do you know when the bed bug hell is over?
I’ve got so many questions about these bugs, this has probably been the worst experience I’ve ever gone through and I just can’t take it emotionally and mentally anymore. I came out here to pursue schooling and find myself so distracted that I find it hard to study! If you could guide me through this since you experienced it too, that would be wonderful! I need a support system.
I also heard straight pinesol with work in killing the bed bugs. Is this true? I was just told this about a week ago? But haven’t tried, besides, the exterminator and landlord told me not too!
Hi,
I just moved out of an apartment that had a roving bedbug infestation for 5 months. We caught tons of them, so it was definitely bedbugs. We had an exterminator come 7 times, we threw out all our beds and furniture…
I put my electronics in storage and all I brought with me to my new place were my clothes (which I’d washed/dried in hot water and also double-bagged in black contractor bags sealed in duct tape) along with some toiletries and dishes. I even gave my cat a flea bath right before moving on recommendation from one exterminator, and threw out the clothes I was wearing that morning, then took a shower and put on fresh clothes I’d been keeping in the fridge to go to my new place in and ran out the door! (The bugs basically ruined our lives, so I wanted to take every precaution, however excessive it sounded.)
However. Last night was the first night I spent in my new apartment, and at around noon today I noticed a few more little red bites, in clusters of three on both sides of my thighs. (My reaction to bedbug bites is very mild.) These ones have little slit-like punctures in them, which I haven’t noticed before. See the bed bug bite picture below:
My question to this site is — do you think it’s likely that they’re bites that happened a day and a half ago (during my last night in my previous apartment) — in other words, is it possible it’s taken them something like 36 hours to show up? Or does this mean I got bitten last night? I’m terrified that I might have brought them into my new apartment, even though I’ve done EVERYTHING very carefully, after spending only one night here.
I haven’t even unpacked, I’m waiting to wash all my clothes a second time before I take them out of the contractor bags. So I’m wondering if there’s a way to determine if they’re old bites, or what other suggestions you might have for securing my new place from them before they become a problem. (If they even do.)
Thanks so much. Your website is much appreciated.
Hello. I need help. Bad. I’ve moved into my new house for about 6 months now, but have in the past 2 months or so had bites on my neck, shoulders and down to the middle of my back. I never had excessive skin problems (e.g pimples) before, so I went to cosmetic counters who confirmed that it wasn’t acne or pimples, although it felt like from my squeezing. I believe they may be bed bugs.
They also give pus before they bleed on me. They have recently convinced me that I should really stop my sea salt scrub on my back as they suspect it may make it worse. Sadly, I don’t have any pics to show you yet, but I have changed my beddings (which did not give me problems even in my old place) on a weekly basis, and my sleeping clothes at least once in 3 days, and have even taken to wiping the vacuum wrapped mattress (I haven’t even unwrapped it since the move, esp since my skin is so bad) with Dettol undiluted, but it doesn’t seem to go away.
Any and every suggestion given would be so very appreciated, as I am Asian, and my skin is not very dark, and these blackish scars just get more and more and since I can’t treat the source, it’s seemingly futile to try and heal my scars.
If photos will really help, do let me know although some generic advise would help for starters. The photos will definitely take time in coming, but thanks again – in advance!
Hello Roxy, Shally and Sam.
Roxy, I have never heard of this before, but I’ll take a leap here and say that perhaps there is something in the chocolate you are eating that causes you to exude more carbon dioxide? Bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide and warmth.
Shally, I don’t believe the bleach and water is going to stop the bed bugs. Try some food grade Diatomaceous Earth instead. Check out the my treatment section for more information.
Sam, Have you checked for bed bug signs? A bite may not appear for some time after, so it may pop up later in the day. Use my Checklist and look to see if there is any evidence of bedbugs, if not, then you probably have something else (which is good : )
I only get bites occasionally. Maybe once every few weeks or so, and when it happens it’s only 1 or 2 bites max. I usually get them in my bed, but sometimes find I’ve been bitten by something in my clothes since I’d been out of bed for along time by that point.
The bites look like small raised bumps a bit like a mosquito bite, but in a very defined shape. They are a bit itchy, but then the swelling goes down fairly quickly, like within 20 or 30 minutes.
Are these from bed bugs? fleas? other? Please help! Thanks,
Sam
So I hear you can use bleach and water and spray around the bed is that true??
I suspect that whenever I have too much sweet food in my diet (especially chocolates), I am bitten by bed bugs and fleas the day after. They hardly bite when I skip chocolate.
I know they’re always in my bed, I can never seem to get rid of them, Recently I got a nasty bite on my right eye after too much chocolate. Believe it or not, but I have been analyzing the correlation between bugs bug bites and chocolate (sweet foods) for more than a decade now.
He Stefany,
If all you are doing is washing your clothing and vacuuming, then you’re not doing enough. Have you tried Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth yet?
Check out my bed bug treatment section for more information about this and other suggestions.
Best regards,
Jim
My fiance and I have bed bugs. we have washed all of our belongings and vacuumed Everything. Are we getting rid of them? I can’t stand another moment of this, I’m going itch-crazy! We don’t know what to do. We can’t afford pesticides or an exterminator, let alone find somewhere to stay for a week.
Besides, who’s to say they wont keep following us?! Can we do anything without taking drastic measures? I mean, we have a three months old who touches and eat every and anything! What can we do? I can’t take it anymore!
Hi Rose,
I did some digging and found that there are a number of reports about bugs at this hotel. One case, l0stndeliri0us from Miami was staying at the same hotel around August 30th 2008 and noticed bugs all over the mattress and also on the bed their children were sleeping in. More about this here:
tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34515-d87721-r19680949-Rodeway_Inn_International-Orlando_Florida.html
Another one, this time on on hotels.com, (good Location, not great accommodations) reported bugs in the room but this brave sole decided to sleep with them!
And what I think you will find most interesting is a lawsuit against Rodeway Inn International. A tampa woman launched a lawsuit against the hotel claiming she had suffered from bed bug bites that permanently scarred her. See Bed Bugs post on Rodeway Inn for more information.
At that point, I stopped searching figuring this was enough.
I hope that helps!
Thanks for posting!
Jim.
I stayed at Rodeway Inn on International in Orlando Florida Saturday night and think I was bitten by bed bugs. I noticed intense itching later in the day and the marks you see in the first picture became visible the day after.
I have gone to two doctors who agree that I was exposed to bed bugs. Everyday the marks get worse. I called the hotel but they told me to call on Monday. Is there any history of bedbugs with that hotel?
Hi Josie,
They do live in the far north. Bed bug bites should not leave a scar (unless you itch them).
Do you have any pictures? If you can take a few and send them to me, I’ll make sure to edit the picture as I have done with all these you see, and display only the bite.
Best regards,
Jim.
Do bed bugs live anywhere such as the far north?
I ask because I only have a couple red itchy bumps and a few on my face that looked like pimples but itched and left a dark scar. It also stayed for a few weeks itching like that! I’m so lost when trying to figure this out!
This past week I came down with all these bites (rash?). It looks like bites to me, its light red and in the middle there is a dark spot where I think I got bit. I’m afraid they are bed bug bites. HOWEVER, they don’t itch, don’t even bother me, except they are really nasty and they seem to appear through out the day. Here are two pictures I’ve included below:
I noticed a fresh batch of ‘bites’ in the morning but through out the day, it seems like I get a few more. I moved into my apartment months ago and have not stayed in a hotel (or had any guests), so I don’t know how these little buggers got in. I’m hoping they are flea bites (neighbor has a dog), since fleas are easy to get rid of, but again, they don’t itch!!
I stripped my area today (and washed sheets) and inspected carefully but didn’t find any signs of bed bugs. Does any one of have any suggestions???
11/21/08 – This is to follow up on my pictures above – luckily for me, they were NOT bed bugs and instead a skin rash called Pityriasis Rosea. It’s asymptomatic and the rash starts with a ‘herald’ patch that looks like a ringworm (I had a patch like that, but its not the pictures) and then small bumps spread out from there….which is what you see on my pictures and what I thought were bed bugs.
The rash is not contagious and goes away on its own (in about 2 months!).
Thanks Jim for posting this for me!
Hello Sam,
Bed Bugs can come from anywhere such as a bus, plane, hospital and most popular seems to be hotels.
Once you have an infestation, you need to act fast and if you do everything right, you can get rid of them.
How long have you been in the home you are renting? If you just moved in and you find that bugs are hiding in areas such as the walls, electrical outlets and surrounding areas (especially if there are bedbug stains on items that are not yours), then you know it is a pre-existing condition / infestation. The landlord should take care of this.
On the other hand, if the bugs are in your mattress and have stains, then you probably brought them with you (provided you just moved in).
If you have been there for awhile, then it’s anyone’s guess how they got there. One thing is for sure, you need to get rid of them before they multiply again. One bedbug can produce thousands in less than six months.
If you want to see what a bed bug attack looks like, check out page two of my bedbug bite section and look at Ross!
My Treatment page has some great tips for getting rid of these pests.
And … Do NOT feel that your house is dirty. You have bed bugs, it happens to people from all walks of life and has NOTHING to do with who you are or where you come from. Some of the best hotels in the world have bed bug problems.
Good luck,
Jim.
How does an infestation of bed bugs start and can you really get rid of them completely. Is it best to get rid of the bed altogether. I fear i have them in this house we rent. My two boys get up with bites that where not there when they went to bed. Is it a landlord’s responsibility to get rid of bedbugs? I feel like the house is dirty.
Hello Andrea,
You need to catch one of the bed bugs and show it to your dad. Does his mattress have the stains (look at our bedbug checklist on the top menu).
You dad may not react the same as your child and if you look at the comments people leave here, you’ll see this is very common.
Once you have found a bug or signs of a bug, show him the pictures on this site and perhaps he’ll see that he is being feed on every night.
Please let me know what you find out!
Jim.
Hi, I have a 3 year old son. My son likes to stay the night with his Pa-Pa (my dad). My baby is covered in bites from his scalp to his feet. I have been researching bed bug bites here and on the internet. I think that the bites are due to Bed Bugs. Matter of fact they are Bed Bug bites. How do I convince my father that his bed is infested with bed bugs? How come my father isn’t getting these bites when he is the one that sleeps in the bed every night? I am starting to panic because I don’t know what to do. My son is miserable I don’t know how to relieve him of his misery.
Lost and confused
Andrea- Missouri
The doctor was a complete waste of time. When she first saw my arm, it looked so bad that she asked whether I was burned, yet all she told me to do was take some benadryl and ice it. I pointed out to her that this was at least day #3, and showed her how I had some bites go down normally and that my wrist was visibly swollen and inflamed and hurt.
She saw the white ring but had no clue whatsoever as to what it could be (i didn’t feel like offering suggestions at this point) although she agreed that the white ring isn’t normal. She offered penicillin in case it was an infection, but I can’t remember if I’m allergic to penicillin – I’m allergic to something like that. When I was a kid I was prescribed some green pills (yes, not a very helpful description) for a minor cough and I ended up breaking out into hives. The last thing I need right now is hives!
Basically, if things don’t get better, go to ER. Which could end up being a 7 hour wait.
Below I have included pictures of the bed bug fecal matter and if you click on the image, it will enlarge so you can get a close view. I will send more photos of the inside of the boxspring when I get to it. Just the thought of that sight makes me queasy.
One little issue though, how can i move the boxspring and mattress out of the house and make sure none of the bugs and their eggs fall off and end up in some other part of the house? i am also not ruling out the possibility that there are other kinds of blood sucking parasites in that bed.
No one else is affected though…my boyfriend has not had 1 bite and the cats seem fine. how do i determine if exterminators are necessary?
Update: Nov 19, 2008
Hey Jim,
so finally i flipped up the boxspring and took some pictures, since new bed will be delivered today and they will remove this one.
A whole bunch for you to choose from….got a new bite or 2 taking the photos.
The picture below is was what my hand looked like simply when I grabbed onto the side of the boxspring!
You can see more pictures by looking at the top of this bed bug bites page.
For the bites, I used a clear anti-itch lotion found at a Canadian pharmacy chain called ‘shopper’s drug mart’. It’s a generic brand, looks like a cold runny liquid with medicinal ingredients of pramoxine and zinc acetate. Perhaps Walgreens or Rite-aid has something similar.
Ciao!
V.
Hi Vee,
Wow, these bites look painful!
Yes, when you crush the bed bug, especially after a good feeding, it will splatter blood and may smell exactly as you describe.
Is there any way you can get some pictures of the mattress or area the bugs live in or that have fecal matter? I’d love to see this.
Also, please let us know what the doctor tells you and what his treatment is.
Good luck,
Jim.
Hi Jim,
My hand is actually starting to hurt – not just at bite site, but an overall ache around the wrist and the side of my hand around my baby finger, and where my thumb and wrist meet; also the tendon connecting my elbow and wrist. I’m not sure whether I’m just aching normally or imagining things, but definitely going to a doctor tomorrow.
I have attached the pictures below and will send you new ones soon. Actually, a lot of it looks like lyme, but don’t want to jump to conclusions, plus I thought lyme’s from ticks, not bedbugs.,?
The big one close to my wrist is about half the length of my fore-arm.
It just occurred to me that there can be both bedbugs and ticks??!!!
Do bedbugs splatter red when squished? I squished 2 or 3 bugs that splattered dark brown and emitted a foul odor (like a fart) when squished, and then squished another 2 or 3 that splattered into red and what looks like blood.
There are definitely traces of bedbug fecal matter on the mattress and box spring!
Emily-
I am so with you and cannot figure out if I have bed bugs or mosquitoes. I get bites every once in a while, which I would normally think were mosquitoes, but because they happen indoors and at night (and in the fall), I’m beginning to think it could be bed bugs.
We live in New York City, where I know bed bugs are rampant. However, so are other bugs — I see things flying around in our apartment, as well as the occasional centipede, spider, or roach. So basically, I feel like it could be anything (yay).
It seems like this site is all questions and no answers, but I figured I’d pick out the person whose problem seemed the most like mine. If you happen to figure out your issue, please let me know.
Good luck!
Hello Vee,
I’d love, as would the readers, to see a picture of the bites (especially the rings). If you found and exterminated 4 of them, then the bites likely stem from bed bugs.
Determining if you should seek medical attention is a call I can’t make, but if it was me, I would go to my local pharmacist and ask – they are usually very helpful and know what works.
If you send me some pictures, I’ll fix them up and post them to the site. Once it’s over with and we have updated your information, others dealing with the same thing will have something to refer to.
Best regards,
Jim.
Ok, I’m pretty sure I’ve been sleeping w/ bedbugs the last couple of nights (just moved into a sublet apt.) I’ve found them, squished at least 4 of them and my bites initially looked like everyone else’s bedbug bites – large itchy welts. my itching and welts started yesterday around noon… it’s now been about 36hours and my bites have gotten larger, redder and harder. there are no open wounds so there are no infections. a couple of the welts seem to be partially discoloring – but into rings, not just fading away!
Cortisone creams have helped a bit. the question is should i be worried? i have a history of being a bit sensitive to bites. i don’t really want to spend a day waiting at a clinic to be told, “don’t scratch” and to be given some cream i already have….
Hello Joyce,
I don’t think there is a big chance; bedbugs don’t like the day and although they could have hitched a ride, I’d say there is more of a chance they didn’t. If the blouse was dark colored, was laying on her bed for the night and a heavy material, then there is a better chance a bug could have found shelter in there.
There is a non-toxic method of dealing with bedbugs using food-grade diatomaceous earth which is very absorbent. You dust around the edges of your walls, under your bed and any other areas bedbugs might live; when the bedbug walks across the dust (diatomaceous earth), it sticks to the bed bug and causes them to dehydrate and die.
A lot of people toss their mattress or couch when they become infested with bedbugs, but because Diatomaceous Earth is non-toxic, you can use it on your on the mattress (seams, holes, etc) and any other furniture that might be in question. It’s not only extremely effective, but it also lasts a long time.
Diatomaceous Earth is not a brand name product, it’s a natural product (finely ground fossil shells) that you can buy at your local pet supply store. Prices for this product range from a few dollars to $20 depending on where you buy it.
If I were you Joyce, I’d play it safe and dust any areas that are in question. If there are bed bugs crawling around, they’ll get the dust on them and eventually die.
Best Regards,
Jim.
Hi,
My 86yr mother-in-law just found out yesterday that she had bedbugs. The Exterminator told her that they were about three weeks old. They looked almost like maggots with the ends darkened.Two were in a jar shown to me. My question is, I have been going over there to help out with cleaning and to give her shots.
The last time I was at her house was a 9 days ago. During that time she has given me a blouse that was on her bed, a bed that I changed sheets and carried down stairs to wash. I took the blouse home and hung it up in my guest bedroom closet. Is there a big chance that I could have brought them home?
I have checked my couch , chair and bed every night, and so far I see nothing. I do feel like something is crawling on me at night, but I see nothing and no bites, so that could very well be all in my mind. I really don’t think I can handle these creatures, I really don’t.
What should I be looking for and how long will I know that I am safe. Or just to be on the safe side should I have my house exterminated now?
Thanks for your help
PS: Could you please send your answer to my email, so that I will be sure to see it.
Thanks again,
Joyce Reynolds
Paranoid? You would be amazed at what I go through just working on this site – when I stay at a hotel, my wife and daughter have to wait while I inspect the place. To our defense, bed bugs are a rapidly growing problem and indulging in a few minutes of paranoia can prevent a world of trouble :)
I have heard that train and buses are seeing more infestations. If there are bed bugs in the room, he’ll likely be bitten again before you arrive, which should give you a good indication!
Keep us posted and if the room does end up having bugs, please take a few pictures and share them with us!
Thanks,
Jim.
Thanks for responding. Actually, he is going to be staying in this hotel for three weeks, then moving to another one in another city for an additional week before he comes home. We live in NYC in an apt. so don’t have a garage.
And also, my kids and I were planning to visit the weekend after next and stay with him!
He was on the train yesterday getting there, so he could have gotten bitten there. He went to a neighborhood pharmacy and the pharmacist told him it was a spider bite. I had instructed him in advance (after reading the google report) to not put his suitcase on the bed and to check the mattress. He said he did that and saw nothing, but he’s not the most detail-oriented person and until he woke up with the bite, I think he thought I was being paranoid (which I’m sure I am.)
J.
Hi Jessica,
That is hard to tell with just one bite. If someone brought in a bed bug and that bug fed on him last night, it may be some time before it feeds again. I’m guessing it was something else, but I would definitely go through my checklist and look for signs of bedbugs.
He should check all his cloths and take care in packing. When he gets home, he should unpack in the garage just to play it safe. One bug can turn into thousands within a matter of months!
Is he sure he was not bit somewhere else? Perhaps other bites may not show up as much…
Is he going to stay there again tonight?
Regards,
Jim.
My husband is traveling and staying in a hotel. Last night was his first night and he woke up this morning with what he says looks like a blood blister on the back of his hand. He says it doesn’t really itch, and that’s his only bite.
Could it be bedbugs? I googled the hotel online and found one reported incident in a specific room in Feb of this year (not the room he’s in). I’ve attached the picture below:
Thanks, Jessica
I wake up a lot in the morning to find small pinkish reddish lumps on my legs (mainly the top area). There really itchy and there’s normally about 6 to 10 lumps in one area..
I’m not 100% sure if they’re bed bugs or maybe some other kind of bite. They could be hives but I’m not entirely sure…
any help would be much appreciated.
Sleepless in Hollywood……
Alright, so I tried to save some money and got a used box spring. Bad Idea!!!!! Didn’t feel anything for about two weeks. Then I rearranged my furniture, putting my bed next to the wall AC unit, which of course, started leaking. The box spring, which was just on the floor, got all wet, that is what I think woke the little blood suckers up.
I started getting large red welty, ITCHY bumps in little groups on my arms, then my hands, my chest, and so on. I had been taking antibiotics for an infected tooth, and was told that my bumps were an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. I stopped taking them, the bumps didn’t get better, they just got worse.
After about a week I started thinking something else must be wrong, since I was still welty and itchy. I recalled an article I had read about bed bugs in a hotel and thought to myself “Oh no!!!” Well…oh yes. I lifted up my mattress, which is less than 3 months old, and there it was!!!! A little ugly crawling beastie!
After doing some research and comparing pictures of bugs and bites, yep, it was a bed bug. Now I am waging war. I inspected the boxspring and found what I believe to be the “nest”, a whole bunch of the nasty little things. I threw the box spring out, I threw out my area rug, the dogs stuffed toys and all my bedding, and tonight I am washing all items of a cloth nature in HOT water. Also I will steam clean my tile floors, the walls and everything else.
I did not see any eggs anywhere and am hoping that the majority of them were still in the box spring when I threw it out. My biggest concern is that I live in a studio apartment and that the bed bugs have migrated to my couch. What else can I do that I haven’t done?
I am somewhat encouraged by the fact that there were no new bites this morning after last nights cleaning frenzy but I am still sleeping with no bed clothes on a mattress on the floor……and that’s only when I can sleep at all.
Hi Stephanie,
It sounds like you have really done your research and I can only imagine the pain (why not the arm or leg, right : ).
One thing you can do is to set the alarm clock for 4:00 am and start looking around your bed. This is the time (give or take an hour) they like to feed the most.
When you look at your mattress, do you see anything like pearl white grains of rice (eggs?). Have you taken the mattress of and inspected the frame (looking for bedbugs or eggs in the folds of the frame)?
Check the area close to where you are getting bitten.
The thing that I’m concerned with is the pain of the bites, they usually are not that painful, but then again, your reaction could be more intense than others (which would then hold true for other types of bites you have had in the past…).
I’ll look for the pictures and post them as soon as they arrive.
Best regards,
Jim.
I’m not 100% sure it’s bedbugs, but I have read nearly every site I could find on them and I’m 99.9% sure I have them. I moved into a rental house 4 months ago, but didn’t get my first bite until a month later. Every bite has also been on the same body part (i.e. it kills me to sit on it), but not the exact spot, which I find discomforting since I didn’t get them at the same time.
I assumed it was a spider bite, seeing as how they were everywhere when i moved in, and the bite also was very swollen, feverish, and smelled horrible when it finally busted, but it never itched. About 6 weeks after that incident I received my second bite. This time it started out as just a small welt and itched like crazy, but once it started swelling and getting feverish, the same as the first bite, the itching stopped.
So now I kind of get uneasy, because they look the same and were in the same area. And then the last bites were just about a week ago and I still have them. There’s 3 of them and they are in a straight line, but they’re not as close to each other as what I’ve seen and read about them, they’re about 2 or 3 inches apart. All 3 of them itched, and they all came up a day behind the other, didn’t have a clue I had 3 of them til the third day, and came up in a descending order the first is at the top of my behind and the third at the bottom.
These have lasted a lot longer and been 10x as painful as the other ones that I had. And this time I feel like something is crawling all over me from head to toe. I’m scared to sleep in my house. I’ve been sleeping outside in the hammock, but it’ll be too cold to do that pretty soon, but I can’t handle another one of these bites either.
I still have not seen the first bug or the spots of blood. But everything else adds up. There’s so many life stages of this bug and people will have different reactions, so I get that part, and it’s quite possible that the blood spots could be a dead bug that was finished and maybe got rolled over on, because I read that after they engorged themselves, they pop with vary little force whatsoever.
But what I don’t get is where are they? Why can I not find them? I didn’t take pictures of my first bites, because I didn’t even know that bedbugs existed until this last episode occurred so the three pics will be of the bites I have now.
Stephanie
NE Mississippi
Hello Mitzi,
If there are no more signs, then I would not pass it up. However, I would make sure to review my checklist and make sure the problem areas, such as crack in wall (patch them), are taken care of before you move in.
I would also ask the neighbors to make sure they really are gone. If the neighbors have them and management claims the apartment you’re looking at is clean, it may be only a matter of time before the bed bugs make their way into your place (outlets, etc).
So far, there are no reported health risks associated with bed bugs that I’m aware of, except for an infection. If you have cancer and are receiving treatment, then I would check with your doctor and make sure you immune system won’t have a bad reaction to the bites, etc. Better to be safe than sorry!
Please let us know how it goes for you and I wish you luck on dealing with the cancer!!!
Best regards,
Jim.
I have a chance to take an apartment in a large rental facility that has had bedbugs within the last year. As this is government funded, they had to had professional people take care of it. They have it checked every month and have had no further signs.
The apartment I am looking at is not directly above the infestation, but 50′ feet or so from it on the second floor. As I have cancer, I was wondering what the risk of getting an infestation from this. As government funded apartment are hard to get, I do not like to say no unless there is a problem.
Hello LB,
One would hope that the hotel would move you to another room or better yet, another hotel and pay for the inconvenience. Most city governments don’t have a policy in place about bedbugs and inspections, but they are getting close.
You’re doing the right thing by leaving comments like this to make people aware. It may also interest you that a number of people have filed a lawsuit against hotels, some in the millions of dollars. There are three great case examples on my Bed Bug FAQ section.
Good luck!
Jim.
Hi Ruth,
Bedbugs are more likely to occur in places where there is a lot of human traffic and sleeping arrangements, such as the rise in bed bugs found in homeless shelters and hotels (including some of the best hotels around).
A day care center would be a great place as the kids take naps, however, the naps happen during the day and bed bugs prefer the night. Usually with bedbugs you’ll receive many bites, so just having that one would more likely be something else, such as a spider (see BadSpiderBites.com for photos and more).
Thanks for visiting and let us know if this happens again!
Jim.
Hello,
I’m so upset! We stayed at Sea Net Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel and found bed bugs all over us in the middle of the night! We called management and we ended up being blamed for bringing in bed bugs! We explained to the manager that there were blood and fecal stains that indicate the problem existed before we arrived, but it made no difference. Is there nothing we can do about this?
LB
Hi Nathan,
It sounds like you reacted as fast as possible and did everything possible to eliminate the possibility of eggs hatching in your cloths or surrounding area.
It takes at least 4 weeks for the eggs to hatch, so you won’t know for sure until then. I know you don’t want to hear that, but the good part is that’s 4 weeks to make sure you have really cleaned well.
If a bedbug did hitch a ride (and it would likely be only one), it’s going to be hiding out close to your luggage, where you removed your clothing, etc. Clean those areas well (which it sounds like you did) and you should be all set.
The only other thing I can think of is to get up in the middle of the night with a flashlight and start looking for one. I’m guessing you’ll be fine…
By the way, what hotel did you stay at? I can do some online research and find out if they have had any complaints. Don’t feel you have to respond to that question and if you do, and want to keep it private, send me an email (bottom of site).
Please keep us posted!
Jim.
I’m a flight attendant and recently stayed in an Edmonton hotel ( Cedar Park Inn ) for 2 nights. On the first night I noticed blood on my pillow and sheets. I thought I had cut myself but couldn’t find an open wound. Two days later I broke out and continue to break out in red bumps which are progressively getting itchier. I spent my 3rd night in another hotel and then returned home.
I threw out all my luggage and clothing the next day ( once I realized what I was dealing with ), washed EVERYTHING in hot water and bleach, steamed my mattress and all my baseboards ( basically steamed my whole house ) I also used a spray that is for lice infestations. I’m just worried that I am too late.
What are the chances that I brought one of these home? I can’t sleep and I think I’m going to go insane.
Hi Manda,
Strange… Bedbugs usually hide on and around the mattress. If you’re real lucky, the bedbugs just hid out on the bed and when you removed it, you removed them as well, but that would take a lot of luck.
Have you check the surrounding area for signs of bugs? Try checking in the middle of the night?
You now, it may have not been bedbugs at all? If you find a bedbug, that would be proof positive and we can go from there.
Regardless, let’s hope this is the end of it :)
Have a great day!
Jim.
hi jim..
thanks for the advice..i will do that..but here is a strange thing..i was sleeping on a featherbed..and i removed the feather bed..and i havent got bit in 2 days..i am not sure whats going on now..any ideas??
Hi Manda,
Sorry to hear the problems! Is there any way you can take a picture of the stuff you found on the mattress?
If there is water inside the mattress and just a sheet over it, then the bed bugs probably wouldn’t be hidding there, more likely, they would be in and around the bed frame. Check under the bed in the corner of the bed frame, along the edges, etc and see if you spot them.
You can always set your alarm for 3 or 4am and start looking around – this is the best time to spot them.
Send me some pictures and I can tell you more.
Best regards,
Jim.
I have had my bed for about 7 years now. It is a flotation mattress, a water bed inside a mattress. Just within the past month I noticed I started getting rash like bites all over my body. They itch like crazy!
I have been sleeping on a feathered too and not sure if they can harbor bed bugs to? I’ve looked on the seems of my mattress and found brown stuff but the material was so small I could not tell what it was.
I cannot put a zippered mattress pad on my bed and would have to drain it and that’s not an option right now. I need help..the thought of bugs sleeping with me grosses me out. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
Hi Diana,
Bedbugs are very resilient and it may still be too early. I’d set my alarm clock for around 3 or 4am and use a flashlight to spot them. My checklist has a number of locations that you can check and the treatment section of this site has a suggestion on how to dehydrate bedbugs and may come in handy when buying new furniture!
Please let us know what you find out!
Have a great day!
Jim.
I discovered bed bugs Aug 17th lived in house 4mos, have a good idea of how previous residence became infected unfortunatley a little to late since I could have prevented my new place had I known.
Aug 19th house was inspected by Pest Control Company & I learned a lot & seen many of them especially under my son’s bunk which made me want to vomit.. Got rid of my bed & his bed, washed everything & bagged. Moved out for 6 weeks had house re-sprayed Sept 2nd the whole time monitoring with sticky pads all over the place.
After the second spray I have seen not one nymph. Today is Oct 12th should I have the house re-sprayed one more time? I have been sleeping upstairs (basically living up here do not sit on furniture which was sprayed in living rm twice as well) no sign up here I am constantly checking & careful do not bring much except for us upstairs.
Am I safe to go back down & purchase new beds & get couch steam cleaned -yes I know to purchase mattress coverings with zippers etc..
i think i might have bed bugs but i’m not sure. my mattress is really old it was my grandmothers from like 20 years ago. i recently got 3 bites in a row on my stomach. they are about an inch apart and the kinda look like mosequito bites.
Sent this twice its this one you need because had wrong email on last 1.
I have been getting bitten regularly for about a month and my boy has aswell but looking back now it was only when he sleeped in our bed he got about 20 on his bum my husband and daughter has had a few and my boy sometime still gets one or 2 but they do come in our bed in morning but i’m still getting alot. some of them start with little white heads then just go red and hurt but not itchy and some just big and red.
We do have a cat and I have checked him for fleas and found nothing. we us frontline on him and fleaed the house with spray and the cat has been staying in the shed for the last 3 weeks but I am still getting bitten.
I have been to the doctors who said they look like bed bite but i want to double check that there not flea bites and can let my cat back in and if they are bed bite what can i do? is there any spray, what can i do if they have spread into other rooms? i am going to buy pillow and mattress protectors is there anything else?
Thanks
I’ve had these things for about 4 years now. I’ve thrown out everything in my bedroom caulked – poured scalding water on the floor – ruined my floor. And I still have them. One thing helps tho is to put your mattress in a zipped plastic (Walmart) I also put plastic bowls filled with vegetable oil with my bed post in them. And I make sure nothing touches the floor, ie my sheets or bedspread, nothing.
I wash my sheets every 3 days and also check your pillows and wash them periodically. I put down some kind of powder and it helps. They are still there. This is all I can seem to do that helps. It is awful. I’m so pissed when I get up in the morning and find a welt on my skin and know they got me again. I have so many scars on my legs, it’s embarrassing.
I guess just try and try, clean and clean. I’ve never even found where they are coming from. I hope to starve them to death but they always find a way to get me.
Hello Maria and Terry,
Maria, bedbugs won’t bother your metal stuff, they like wood, cracks in plaster, mattress tags, etc.
Terry, if the mattress cover is zips up or ties together so that there is no way in or out, that will do the trick. Dust mites are a LOT smaller than bedbugs, so a cover for mites should do the trick for bed bugs. The bed bugs that are caught inside the mattress will eventually die without blood (but it will take a long time…)
Best regards,
Jim.
Can you tell me if dust mite proof mattress encasements and bed bug proof are the same thing? and if a cover is waterproof, will it keep bed bugs in or out from the mattress?
with having bed bugs, when cleaning, what should i do with the “metal” stuff like the utensils :???? i have boxes with merchandises in it, should i put them in plastic bags so the bugs wont get to them???? please help…i just found out i have bed bugs yesterday and I’m freaking out !!! and i already have the bites…its so itchy….I’m not going to rest until I’ve finished cleaning my entire house……I’d appreciate your reply…asap if possible…ty.
We had an infestation several years ago. Didn’t know we had one until like everyone here, we found small itchy red spots on our arms and legs. We didn’t know what they were at the time, thinking they were mosquito bites or flea bites. Until one day we found one crawling on a bed sheet.
That is when we got into detective mode. Everything in that room got torn apart. To effectively get rid of bed bugs, you basically have to become your own exterminator. The mattresses we burned, got new ones and left the plastic on that one. The head boards/bed frames we took apart and inspected every nook and cranny. The best tell-tale signs of bed bugs is like a dark, kind of greasy splotch(s). Or what I call a dumping ground. It is near this area where the little demons are at. We found out that bed bugs tend to cluster, kind of like aphids.
We got several cans of RAID, and pretty much sprayed everything. One suggestion in doing this. You have to let the item that has been sprayed air out for several days….mostly to get the chemicals to dissipate…and make sure that the item you are spraying is not something you will be near/next to….you don’t want to absorb those chemicals. If it is a room you are spraying….you have to get every crack/crevice. If you have to take everything to the bare wood, then do so. Take out the baseboards, trim, EVERYTHING. A bed bug that hasn’t fed is flat and like a cockroach, it can crawl and fit in the smallest crevice.
Another thing about bed bugs is they are like cockroaches or mice. If you see one, don’t think you only have just that one! You just found the slow one, and you have to think that you’ve got a hundred more.
Anyway, with all the bedding and clothing we had there, we bagged up and immediately washed in HOT water. We de-cluttered the room, and went to work with the RAID. Afterward, we sealed up the room and left it alone for several days. After several days, we put on a fresh coat of paint which sealed up any cracks in the walls.
REMEMBER, these little buggers can be beat. You just have to remember that just because they are call BED BUGS doesn’t necessarily mean that they only live in the BED. They will live in the walls, ceiling, etc. Also, make a thorough inspection in every living area….INCLUDING the living room. We found out that they migrated into the couches there.
As for the bites themselves, the best thing to do is not scratch them. Using an anti-itch cream makes it tolerable. Another thing to consider when I looked at some of the pictures is they might not be bed bug bites. If you have pets that live indoors, they might be flea bites. And mosquito and spiders tend to only have one specific bite.
This was our battle story with these monsters and how we won. But every now and again, we keep an eye for them…..you just never know.
Hi Christine,
The best way to bring bedbugs into your home is from buying a used mattress! Set the alarm clock for 3 or 4:00am and look around for bugs. Also, check out my checklist for a list of areas that they may hide in.
Best regards,
Jim.
Hi there,
I just moved into my first apartment, and for the sake of being cheap I bought a mattress and box spring off of Craigslist from a very nice Indian woman who lives near me. I have been living here for about two weeks with the new mattress, and on Sunday I went on a motorcycle ride with a friend to a berry farm to pick blackberries (I wasn’t wearing a jacket, just a loose white tank top). Since then, I have had maybe 10 bites if that, only on my back and stomach, and they definitely aren’t as big as the ones posted on here (not swollen, itchy but they don’t look anything like mosquito bites or poison ivy).
They aren’t in clusters, really, and maybe I’ve just made myself paranoid from reading so much about them. Do you think they could have come from riding or the berry farm rather than bed bugs? I am tearing my bed apart looking for these things, and I found a little brown thing in the bed that looks a bit like cardboard (I did have things in cardboard on my bed earlier). My sheets are totally white, and I don’t see any spots. I sleep with my legs and arms exposed and they are not bitten to my knowledge.
Am I just freaking myself out because I bought a used mattress?
Summary: What looks like bed bugs turns out to be Urticaria Hives!
So….long story short.
I have been going absolutely crazy thinking I have bedbugs. Here’s the story… Over the past month I have been waking up to find numerous bites all over my body. Mostly neck, shoulders and hair line but also her and there on my hands, fingers, stomach, back….etc. I could itch more at night and wake to find more in the morning. Sometimes they would appear out of no where. They would be a single “bite” or a grouping…lines of them or just a few.
I had 3 different pest control people at my house over aq course of a few weeks…they found nothing. I myself spent ENDLESS hours tearing my bedroom apart, flashlight, magnifying glass in hand looking for fecal matter, eggs, shell casings….but always came up with nothing. Even moved furniture out of my room, threw away pillows, washed clothing and blankets in hot water….BASICALLY everything you read to do for bed bugs. AND my husband and 2 kids had no bites….I thought I was going crazy. Sound familiar? After reading all these posts on her and other sites I see I am not alone in this.
Today I went to see a dermatologist. He said if its not bedbugs but rather Urticaria Hives. If you read about it and look at the pictures, You will be BLOWN AWAY and say to yourself “THAT’S IT!!!”! I hope this helps all you out there that are in the same or similar situation! Good Luck! I hope you find peace like I did! Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite! THANK GOD!
See pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1002327
Hi, I have been getting bites during the day and night! I have been lifting the mattresses up looking for them every day! Vacuuming everyday! Moved furniture and inspected it! i AM going crazy with all the HORRIBLE ITCHING!!!!! I went to the Hospital ER! they told me it was scabies!
I used the cream still didn’t work! Next i used Sulfur Ointment 2-3 times a day for 4 days! Still didn’t work! Well now the sulfur has left my skin Dry and WRECKED! it has been 6 weeks and i still am getting new ones about 2-3 every other night!
My husband has no signs of bites nor do my other 2 roommates! We have been sleeping in separate sheets enclosing our bodies like a cocoon while we sleep. STILL BITES!!! Last night my husband went to sleep 1st, with my sleepy eyes i saw a bedbug crawling up the covers going after HIM!! AHHHH!!! i grabbed it and put it in a zip lock bag !!
It looks just like the pictures on this site. Its not very big!! BUT to my surprise i am happy to know its not scabies!
Now we can MAKE A PLAN and get rid of them! YAY finally PROOF OF MY INSANITY!
Glad to help Calvin and thanks for the kudos!
That is exactly what the site is here for, to help those with bedbugs understand and exterminate them. It also serves to let people know that other people around the world are having the same problem. Bedbugs can happen to anyone and it’s becoming more of a problem than ever!
Have a great day!
Jim
Hi, I recently found your site, and this gives me a lot of relief and almost joy. For the past year or so, me and my brother have been getting strange bites all over at night. We both share a room, and we only got bit in there. We were the only ones, and it was only in this room.
We got rid of mattresses, sheets, pillows, everything. My parents ruled out bed bugs within like 5 days because no one else got bit. We had biopsies and all kinda of tests, and they all said the same thing, ’some kind of bite that could be consistent with an arachnid’.
Our family has been trying to find out what these bites are for a while, and recently, me and my brother moved out of our room. He got the room next door, and I went into the basement. We figured that since we only got bit in that room we would be ok. We were in our new rooms for a day or two, and we have now started to get more bites.
We already have an exterminator coming so I will have to tell my parents that it could really be bed bugs. This site helped me identify bed bugs in my bed, blood spots, and the fact that not everyone will get the rash like bites, only those with a reaction.
I feel like I should be upset about having bed bugs, but just knowing what it is now is amazing for us. =)
I live in Brooklyn and haven’t seen any (signs of) bedbugs but have seen something resembling what Vaughn mentioned in post #11 on August 25th, 2007 at 11:22 am. I’ve got some sort of bite on my back, in what I’ve realized is the most difficult part of my body to examine using a mirror, below my left shoulder blade.
At any rate, In other places I’ve lived I’ve typically left house spiders alone with the logic that they keep down populations of any other bugs, and this has seemed to work. Does anyone know anything about using spiders to control populations of other (say, bed) bugs?
Seems like fostering a healthy home ecosystem might be part of the answer….though that said, I’m not currently one of the people suffering from an infestation.
Bedbugs do not bite everyone or at least not everyone has a reaction to their bites so they may be present and biting just not really showing up as welts on the other three.
I have seen several say that the exterminator did not get rid of all of their bedbugs and wanted to remind them what we found out. A lot of bedbugs are growing chemical resistant to what the PCO are using so while they may kill 99% of what you have, you may need another chemical to get the last one or two or you may need a non-chemical treatment.
We ended up using a bedbug spray. These are contact sprays so they only work on what they are sprayed on but we carry this with us when we travel and we continue to spray it around our place (6 months after last sighting – call it paranoia but when you have been in bedbug hell, you never want to go back).
Hi Tanya,
Bedbugs are very good at finding following the source of the greatest carbon diaxoide, so it is possible that could have zeroed in on your, however, it’s more likely that you are most sensitive to bites than the others.
Look at my bedbug checklist and give that a short early in the morning. Let us know what you find out.
Regards,
Jim.
Do bedbugs bite everyone because we have a pretty bad infestation and there are four other people living in my house yet I’m the only one getting bitten. Does anyone know?
Hi Jana,
First thing that comes to mind is a rash of some type, but if you have them on multiple parts of your body, then they could be something like bed bugs.
You said you did find any sign of bugs, so I’m guessing that’s not it. You can always set your alarm clock for 3 of 4am and look around (best time).
Do they happen on a regular basis now? And remember, a bite from a bed bug might not show for up to 14 days (usually happens right away).
Keep us posted on your progress!
Best regards,
Jim.
I’m praying these aren’t what I think they are, bites from Bed Bugs. A few showed up the beginning of last week, and then a few more showed up by Friday. I didn’t really notice them until a friend pointed them out at dinner on Friday.
I’m not sure if I have been bitten more times, but last night, these bites didn’t have the red dot in the middle–which as you can see some of them now do. I’m not sure if this means they are getting better, or worse. I have a couple of bites on my other elbow-maybe one or two, but I don’t have them anywhere else.
It was strange. I went online to your site last night, and I was reading about what they are because my boyfriend has some friends staying at his apartment. They told him they think he has bed bugs. We haven’t slept at his place for a week or so, but suddenly, as I was reading up on them for her—I started thinking about the bites on my arm.
I haven’t found any trace of them–no streaks on the sheets or actual pieces of the bed bugs.
What do I do? Should I go to the doctor? Please let me know, and I will go right after work today.
Hi Becky,
Check out the Bed Bug Treatment section of my site and you’ll find all the solutions recommended by visitors to this site.
Best regards,
Jim.
I suffered from bed bugs bite for almost 9 months, the exterminator came to spray our apartment but it didn’t clear all, some few left then they multiply. I got a lot of marks all over my body especially in my hand and leg. I’m shy to put on a shirt and wear shorts because of the bite marks. It lowers my self confidence, can somebody help me here to recommend a lotion that can help lessen my bed bites marks or any medication. I’d appreciate your help..tnx
The past couple of years, I’ve been deceiving myself mercifully, writing off every night I spend plagued by crawling skin as either a mental condition of some sort or an allergy that has absolutely nothing to do with anything living that’s smaller than either of my dogs. But it might be time to take action- the sensation has not ceased.
I’ve finally found some courage, and have begun to research this “bed bug” phenomena. One thing that gets me- from what I’ve discovered, victims rarely tend to feel the bite in action. Though many of my frequent blotches are similar to those pictured in this and other similar websites, what drives me the most insane is the constant feeling that infinitesimal beings are running all over my skin. I’m wondering if anyone else gets this? I truly can’t see anything, and am thus surprised when actual welts and bumps appear in the morning. However, the crawling thing doesn’t only happen at night, leading me to believe that either this thing also resides in certain items of clothing, or that I’m actually unlucky enough to have some sort of weird prickling allergy as well as bed-bugs.
Though the crawling thing has been pretty consistent over the last couple of years, the intensity of the bites comes and goes. The worst period was right after I stayed in a sketchy hotel in Paris- two of my friends had similar symptoms when we came home- I’m thinking maybe we brought something with us, and that’s what gets me from time to time? My room is incredibly cluttered, making the prospect of an infestation infinitely more terrifying.
Someones got to be able to relate to this- the pages of fear have given me faith.
Thanks
I am questioning whether or not bites that have been appearing on me the past 2 weeks are bedbugs or not. Some nights they occur, some they don’t.
When I sleep it is always in shorts, with a tshirt. There are plenty of arms and legs to bite, but so far I have only had a single bite on my neck. The rest have been on the inner thighs, left AND right. They appear as small red welts, not really bites. They do not itch at all, usually. I’m not sure what it is, I’ve inspected my entire mattress up and down with no sure signs of bugs.
Jennifer and others,
Bed bug bites usually appear some time after the bite, usually within 1 or 2 days. I only had a brief skirmish with them, I noticed myself itching in the afternoon at work. They actually bite in the early AM hours (like 4-5) except in unusual or very severe cases.
The bites should only appear where your skin is exposed while sleeping. Occasionally one may crawl up a sleeve, but they shouldn’t appear anywhere you’re covered. (You might have something else instead of or in addition to bed bugs. If your visitor didn’t stay overnight but got bit, it’s likely that it’s something other than bedbugs)
There are many things that bite, what distinguishes bedbugs are that they look and feel just like mosquito bites (and except for the itch/allergic reaction, never cause any other illness), and the pattern of bite appearances is key to identification (both in terms of time and location). To name a few other bugs I’ve encountered, there are fleas, chiggers, and mites.
I woke up yesterday morning to find that my shins and forearms were covered in blotchy welts. I hadn’t slept well the night before and was aware of scratching around these areas in my half-consciousness, but thought it was just a case of the chiggers I was getting over. I took Claritin (an anti-histamine) and got in my friend’s car, who said, “No. Those are bed bug bites; my sister had them so badly that she had to be hospitalized.” Later that day, the welts mysteriously faded and my skin looked normal.
Now that I’m home, I’m terrified to sleep in my bed. We washed the bedsheets and mattress pad and I vacuumed the carpet. Unfortunately we don’t have a small vacuum so I have to either heft the Hoover onto the mattress or wait for my grandma’s Dirt Devil tomorrow.
I’m afraid to sleep on the bed: partly because of paranoia, partly because of what I might find tomorrow morning. I suppose if there are terrible blotches tomorrow I’ll photograph them and post them.
I woke up a couple of days ago with about 12 bites in and around my underwear region. They itch like crazy. They started out small and then got bigger. It sounds like bedbugs like to bite arms and legs so I’m wondering if this is something else. Please help. Thanks
Okay this is worry me tremendously I have been reading all these articles on bed bugs and now I am almost certain that’s what I have too! My fiancee stays at hotels when he is gone on his trips he’s a truck driver! I think he has brought bed bugs home with him not only are they getting me while I’m sleeping on my ankles but they are now getting my arms and back and stomach too! What do I do?
I have never had this problem till he started staying at these hotels. What can I do and use I’m getting married Tuesday and my legs look horrible my dress is a semi short one! Help what kind of sprays do they have as well as stuff for my legs!!!!!
I will be sure as to post a pic of the bites tonight!
Hello,
I’ve included a picture of what appears to be bed bug bites on my legs and body. You can see from the picture that my reaction is very bad.
I stayed at a cabin out in the woods for a few days, so the place must have been infested.
The bites itch and hurt very bad.
Dear jim and All at bad spiderbites
Thanks for your excellent site! Three weeks ago I went on holiday. When I awoke after the first night in the accommodation I saw insects crawling on my bed. I was very lucky the sun was streaming in directly onto the sheets as the room was dark. I touched one of these little black spots and there was a tiny streak of blood on the white sheet! What?
I had not felt any bites and in fact did not see anything for two days. I began to suffer from a blinding headache and felt very ill and hot.
The night of the second day in the unit I stepped out of a hot shower and saw my body covered in CLUSTERS of red welts just starting to swell and itch.
I was very lucky to find an after hours doctors who recognized the bites immediately, he told me to tell the managers of the accommodation. I explained I had done that the first morning, but they had disbelieved me to the point of calling me a lier! The doctor said I must go back as the owners had a responsibility to investigate and treat this infestation. They refused to believe me so I went to the local council environmental health officer who took it very seriously. I asked her to send her entomologists which she did the next day – definitive diagnosis very bad infestation of bed bugs.
The second week the doctor diagnosed my condition Severe TYPE IV Allergic Reaction to the bed bug toxin. Not everyone gets this thank God, but I was very ill and almost wanted to end it I felt so down. It also affected my immune system he said as I had to take masses of harsh medication. This had flow on effects to other health conditions.
I read others on this great site talk about “the Nightmare” – I agree it was very nasty and I felt disbelieved and quite “crazy”. I have scars where from the bites, and I had to bag and bin many nice items which were damaged or could not be treated. But the worst thing was being treated with such cruelty and disrespect.
I have lived, worked and traveled around the world, across all the continents and I have never had this happen to me before. It was a bad experience and I thank you very much for this site – it is very comforting to read exactly the same symptoms as mine, I often thought I was going mad – I was told I had brought it on myself or made it up or exaggerated the terrible itching and swelling and bites, although I knew all this was untrue, to be honest I had started to believe it. Now I know other folk out there have been through the same I feel so much more normal and even a little sane!
Many many thanks
T’na
Brisbane
Australia
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, the bed bugs could have traveled to other areas of the house! Before you throw everything away, try some of the suggestions found under the Bed Bug Treatment section first.
Good luck!
Jim.
I will have to get someone to help me take pics of my arms and the back of my neck so I can send them. I am certain now that the bites/rash I’ve been dealing with over the past 6 weeks is from bed bugs. I had my bed in storage for about a year, and as soon as I moved into my new place (with my old bed), I started itching and coming up with bites on my neck, back, arms, etc.
I am very allergic to insect bites, fleas/mosquitoes, etc always blister up and itch horribly….these have the same reaction. The blisters itch and when I scratch, seems like the bites “spread” like impetigo. The worst part was the intense itching I had in the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. No bites there, just itching, almost like hives would cause. (I do have bites/itches on the tops of my hands and on my fingers, and the “new bites/rash” seem to be on my hands.) I can only assume the hands/feet were itchy due to severe allergic reaction and that the new bites/rash on my hands is from handling bed linens, etc, while washing/cleaning.
I have treated myself with antibiotics to get the bites to heal up. I also used an OTC poison oak/poison ivy medication that is made to “dry up” the weeping pus from those rashes. At the time, my bites were doing just that and the cream made a HUGE improvement within just a few hours of application. The itching I have to treat with benedryl. The hands/feet itching is pretty much gone.
Since I’ve done all the cleaning up……I have only noticed a few new bites. The strangest thing is that I get new “itchy” places in the middle of the day…while working….while driving……but I don’t ever notice anything actually biting me.
How can bed bug bites just “show up” at such random intervals?
I never saw any bed bugs myself, and couldn’t find anything on the mattress that looked like blood stains like the pictures here (mattresses were cream colored, should have been easy to see them?). When my landlord put them out for the trash man, he said he saw some little red bugs on it.
What I have seen: spiders. Wolf spiders and what could be: baby wolfies, small brown recluse or yellow sac spiders. I have not seen any “necrosis” type reaction in the bites I have, so don’t think these bites are due to spiders. The pics of bed bug bites are most similar to what I have.
WHAT I HAVE DONE TO TREAT:
Threw out my bed. No carpeting anywhere but living room, so swept and mopped with bleach ALL floors before putting in new bed. Washed ALL bedclothes, even the ones in the closet not in use. Steam Cleaned the living room carpet. Threw out all the bed pillows and throw pillows from my room (even the dog bed). Washed all the throw rugs in the house. Gave the dog a bath. (Twice: at first I thought he might have brought some poison ivy into the house on his fur).
I have not used any pesticides so far, but plan to just to make sure they are all gone (and to make sure I don’t have any imaginary itches).
CONCERN:
What if they have migrated to my sofa? My daughter was here a couple of weeks ago and complained of itching/bites without even knowing about the problem. The sofa has the many pillows for the backrest part instead of one singular piece, and has a sofa bed inside. How can I treat the sofa without also exposing myself/my daughter to skin contact with the pesticides? SHOULD I JUST THROW OUT MY FURNITURE TOO? Believe me, after all this itching, rash, and bother, I’M WILLING if necessary. I itch when I sit in the living room but don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater just because I have a case of heebie jeebies (imaginary itches).
Any suggestions are appreciated. I can’t stand having these bites all over me and certainly don’t want to expose anyone else to them (i.e.-no company at my house!).
To Duke. What you did is wrong, you tortured the creature! Imagine yourself in a microwave having your insides start to boil and then burst all over. you would not like it. If you are going to kill it, just step on it. Don’t be cruel!
I have no advise, no photos etc. Just want to tell everyone how angry these little (non rent paying) blood slurpers have made me. Anyway I caught one the other day and sealed it carefully inside transparent sticky tape… then microwaved the bed bug full blast for 3 minutes and i enjoyed watching it pop and fizz……. I slept better that night!!
Hello Amanda,
Review my checklist and look for signs of bedbugs, then let me know what you find.
Also – try sticky tape and set the alarm clock for 3:00am and look around. If it’s bedbugs, they’ll be in and around your bed at that time.
Regards,
Jim.
All of a sudden I’ve been seeing bug bites on my armpits, legs and even around my private. WHAT THE HECK IS BITING ME????? I’m pretty sure I’m getting them at night when I’m sleeping. I haven’t been out of the city that I live in. I’ve been wearing long sleeves and pants, and haven’t been out at night.
Some of the bites are big and some of them are small, they are all red and sort of round. I don’t see a trace of a bed bug. Can you help solve this annoying mystery? I would really appreciate it.
Hi my daughter is getting bites nearly all over her body in this past month, they are like mosquito bites but one of them today got water in it like chicken pox, they take about a week to go away.
Doctor said that they are insect bites, maybe fleas. She is all the time itchy! I checked mattress and clothes but I did not find anything. Doctor said to put teatree oil as a repellent and fucidin H on the spots. He suggested that I should spray everything with the green baygon even the mattresses.
Oh my word!! I know how to get rid of them!!! Finally!!!!
Go to a pet feed store and buy Diatomaceous Earth. It is 100% safe, chemical free, and all natural. God bless mother earth for that. It is also very cheap. The parasites have a waxed shell and the powder (ditomasis fossilized earth) sticks to their bodies and dehydrates them. They eventually dry up and die.
Put it:
Under your mattress
Along the baseboards in your place
On your bed frame
Under all your furniture
My family and i were bitten all over. I was pregnant at the time and was so worried about diseases. All went well in the end. You’ll have powder (the fossilized earth-it’s a white powder) all over your place but it is worth it. They can lay dormant for up to 18 months.
In your walls, baseboards, and any where they can find wood. So we have had the fossilized earth laid out for about 6 month. Since then i have found a few dead ones and 1 live one. We are in an apartment and are planning to move in a few months so we will leave the powder down until then.
We don’t want to take them with us. Good luck everyone!
Note: Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. Diatomite is used as an insecticide because it absorbs lipids from the outer layer of insects which causes them to dehydrate.
I have got bit by a bed bug last night i assume and today in the morning i woke up with a pain in my shoulder and as the day progressed the pain got worse and the spot got more red. it hurts very much that it has given me a headache. i really don’t know what to put on my shoulder to make the pain go away…what can i use to treat this?
Hi Laurie,
That sounds more like an allergic reaction rather than bites from bed bugs. The bedbug bite will become red, but I’ve not heard of them going away and then coming back at a later date (same locating, etc…).
Monitor what your husband is eating and drinking and make note of the food consumed the day before.
Best regards,
Jim.
My husband showed up with these “spots” on his back after quite a bit of traveling last spring. The were red, swollen and itchy. He had been to the doctor and found no diagnosis.
I read an article on bed bugs and figured that was what he had. He took a trip to the dermatologist’s office and he also was not able to diagnose. The dermatologist wanted my husband to come in immediately should the spots flare up again, as he was curious about this situation.
As I said above, I do believe what he has now is scarring from bed bug bites (I am happy to report that he did not bring any critters home with him), but my only question is – do the bite marks flare up or come and go – because his redness and itchiness seems to and we can’t quite pin point the cause??
I would love to hear back on this.
I’m so thankful to find these blogs, Two days ago I found a little bug on my bed. I inspected the seams and found the signs. I told a neighbor and she said my neighbor had them a year ago and didn’t tell me. He moved and they replaced his carpet.
After searching the internet I attacked the mattress with rubbing alcohol.It kills them on contact. I also used 20 mule team borax and that also seems to kill them effectively. I’m very surprised how common these bugs are. I cant use pesticides and am trying to find something natural to kill them.
I got the neem oil to put on me. They use it in India. If they have been biting me I have no signs of it. I cant believe in the US this little bug can make our lives a living Hell.
I’ve got a ton of bites from these bugs and have no idea of what to do? Please help!
I noticed my bites began in my kitchen, sitting in my chair i usually sit in at my computer. The chair was wooden. The bites begun all over my arms and anywhere not covered by clothing.
Then a few weeks ago my neck was severely bitten at least 20 times. Horrible itching and discomfort led me to sleeping in my living room.
Now as of last night i was bitten again on my fingers with little clear blisters on top of the bites. My mom who comes to visit has been bitten, but not my boyfriend or child. Needless to say i am moving since not much can be done about them.
Hi Becki,
They could bite in that area, especially if you sleep without cloths – that would be most unpleasant!
Good luck,
Jim
Where do these bites occur on the body? Do they ever occur in the private (genital and rectal) area? Sorry if this is too graphic, but that’s the info I need to know. Thanks!
I bought a lovely mattress and box spring from a yard sale. The seller said they were selling it because it was too hard (TRUE!) after having it for about a week, I noticed red bumps on my forearms, in a linear pattern. They itched, and I had no idea what it was from. I went to my Dr. and he didn’t know either. I did a study on bedbugs, and that’s what it was!
Bedbugs are about 1/8 of an inch long, mainly circular, and only come out at night. Their a reddish brown, and are experts at hiding! I threw the mattress away, (too hard for me too) and bought one that was pure white. I found a spray at Lowes Hardware that kills bedbugs, I bombed the room 3 times, then sprayed. I found them in the edges of the mattress cover, which I also threw away. I washed all the linen in HOT water, and my body pillow, I put outside at 27 degrees for 2 days and nights.
This nightmare is over, but be CAREFUL in buying any used furniture! Lowes Hardware is the ONLY place I found a spray that kills them. The bombing slowed them down severely, but didn’t kill them. I killed all I found, then sprayed. My Dr. prescribed a topical cortisone cream to stop the itching~and dyphenhydramine (Benadryl) will stop the itching too. I was just lucky the infestation wasn’t severe. These demonic pests have made a comeback since we can’t use DDT, Chlordane, or other pesticides that were effective. “thanks” EPA!!! you losers!
My son is 2yrs old and last night he woke up and he came running in the living room crying. I calmed him down and tried to rock him back to sleep but he kept rubbing his legs, I looked down and about freaked out he was covered in bites that looked just like mesquito bites. I thought that maybe they were, then I kept looking at him and noticed there were about 30 of them on his legs and inner thighs. I called my sister and she said that it might be spider bites so i hurried and ran to his room and searched the bed. Sure enough i found a little tiny baby redish/brownish looking spider when I went to catch it i accidentaly squashed it. I hardly touched it and it squashed so i couldnt really tell what kind it was then i looked over and i saw a little black hard bug(i had found a little black hard bug like this one in my hair the other night when i was brushing it) but i just threw it away i couldnt tell what it was….. and by the time i seen the little spider i had already made my mind up that he was bit by spiders.I rushed him to the hospital because he is only 2 and i had no idea what spider bites could do i had never been bite before. By the time we got to the hospital they went down alot they turned into more of a big red blob his entire leg was almost red. The doctor gave him some antibiotics and bendral after he gave him the medicine they completely went away then earlier today about 12hrs after it bite him they came back. but then there was some on his arms. But last night they werent any bites on his arms. I gave him so more of his medicine an d they went down again. Now its 1am and i just checked on him and there back, he is also running a small fever. There are a few on his face now. I dont know if there spider bites or not. The doctor at the hospital just figured they were spider bites since i did see that little baby one in his bed. But now after looking it up tonight i think that they could be bed bug bites. What do i do? it is driving me insane! Do bed bug bites go away and come back like that though. and then pop up in different places?…. Im so worried how seriouse are bed bugs? Ill take pictures of him and post them up. Thanks…
Hey Jim,
just spent a few days at this semi cheap hotel in the Arlington Virginia area.. i notified the hotel staff and even caught a bed bug in a cup before i left the premises..they lobby staff.. looked shocked.. said they never had any complaint like that. (yeah right).
I don’t have a picture of the bed bug.. but it looked exactly like that unfed photo on your site.. but the size of a 2 pin heads.. very small critter.
check out my bed bug bites.. fun times!
Joe
Hi Shannon,
It’s most unfortunate to hear about your daughter’s bad reaction to bed bugs. When you visit the doctor, ask him or her to document the seriousness of being exposed to bedbugs.
I would hope that once her father sees what could happen with continued exposure, he’ll take the necessary steps to call an exterminator! Perhaps print out some of the information you find here and give it to him to read.
I also have some bedbug videos on this site he can watch to learn out them.
Good luck and keep us informed!
Jim.
My six year old daughter has gotten bit now i know for sure by pictures and info on this site by bed bugs. unfortunately her dad’s girlfriend runs a filth infested home for a fact and it would seem her newest tenants are bed bugs.
The first time she ended up with fever and vomiting. this time she came back and they treated her for fever and brought her home. according to her before they gave her Tylenol her throat wouldn’t let her breathe. I’ve been up all night with a little girl running fever non-stop and stomach pains.
Is this more than an allergy to these bites or do i need the doctor to test for staph etc that others are saying on this site they have gotten from these nasty creatures?
I’m taking her in today, but now i know this is more serious than i thought. anyone have a clue as well as to what i can do to MAKE them deal with their problem? she can’t keep getting these bites. like everyone is posting i will back them up. these bites are big welts surrounded with clusters or lines of blister like bumps and end with bruises and scars of darker skin.
This is what made me think allergy at first but now i don’t know. the fever and illness has me baffled on what to ask from the doctor but they are happening with the bites. i can only hope they don’t get traveling from there to here she’’s getting sick enough from being bitten every second weekend for her visits there i hate to imagine how she would be if their infestation got over here to bite her everyday. Any advice is welcome please!
Hi Rosie,
It’s not that they are magnetized to your, but that you are reacting differently than other people being bitten by bed bugs. These bugs do love the carbon dioxide and the average person exhales 1kg per day, perhaps you exhale a bit more and it attacks them to you rather than another person.
I would take some time and check the beds at your work. Look between the seams of the mattress, under the tag and for mold looking spots. Also, how about the residents at the nursing home, do they have any bites? I’d just quietly look around and take note. If you find something, look for the bugs in the places I mention in my FAQ and if you find them, then document it as best you can.
Management should jump on getting this taken care of real fast if there is an issue, and they may also feel compelled to pay for your exterminator as well.
Good luck!
Jim.
Help! I work for a nursing home and for 2 weeks I’ve been dinner. At first I thought it was fleas because we are a pet friendly facility. I was sent to the Dr and he said flea bites. Now I’m eaten alive every time I go to work.
I had to leave early today because after being off 2 days my arms, shoulders and hips were about cleared up and after a few hours I’M COVERED in bites. I’ve reported to every person of authority in my facility however they are not taken it seriously.
Several other co-workers have been bitten but not as bad as me. It’s like I’m a magnet. I haven’t actually seen any but boy they know I’m there. I’ve had a professional come in and spray my home, car and furniture but I know I probably bringing them home everyday.
I’m undressing in my garage these days and I don’t know what to do about work. I love my job but it’s out of control. I can’t continue like this is there some kind of repellent?
Please help! I feel like I’m losing my mind. Two days ago I went to my parents house in the evening. I haven’t been there in years. I spoke to my brother who had been staying and who express to me that he has been bitten by bedbugs for quite some time now. He also showed me the bites all along him arms. I didn’t think much of it… until I got home.
Ohhhh my goodness….Once I got home I saw a bug crawling down the jacket I was wearing….I took a closer look to see what it was then without any further hesitation I killed it. I’ve confirm that it was indeed a bed bug….but how did it get to my house….I traveled on 2 buses from my parents house to my home…and I still carried it home with me.
That night I was scratching almost ever where apparently I had been bitten by the next morning I had bite marks all of my lower back and legs…I counted a total of 13 bites that look like mosquito bites. I started feeling like it was the begging 2 the end. I only found 1 bug….within minutes of my arrival home from my parents house.
What are the chances that there were more than one and how soon will my house become infested. I have all new furniture less than a month old…new mattress and everything…I only lived in my apartment for 3 months….I’d hate to throw my things out. I don’t have that type of money…I work so hard to buy my furniture….this is a nightmare. What am I going to do? Please help?!
I haven’t been able to sleep much….and I really paranoid. I’m going to wash all my bedding today and take some measures to prevent them….but this is already day number 3…..I had a delay in response…because I just wasn’t sure if I should panic, besides I only saw 1…but I scared. I have carpet…brown carpet at that…the same color as the bedbug, so how would I know if they’ve gotten in my apartment. How long does it take for your home to become infested with these horrible creatures?
By the way my skin is still itching but I don’t think its any new bites…just the bites I apparently received while visiting my parents. Should I be alarm? I don’t plan on visiting my parents home any time soon? I’m so upset about this. I’m not angry with them….I just don’t want to risk bring another one of those bugs 2 my house. Someone please…anyone…help me?
I haven’t stopped thinking about about the risk of my house being invaded…I’m horrified!
Hi Mandy,
Everyone react differently to bites and that may be your case with bed bugs. Use the bedbug checklist and look for signs of bugs, then go from there.
Best regards,
Jim.
Hi everyone,
I woke up about five days ago with a cluster of red dots on my knee. They didn’t itch nor were they raised, but as the days went on, they developed into little blisters seemingly filled with water. I have noticed some little blood stains on the sheets, but never very many. Sounds like bed bugs to me, but my bites have never itched. Is it possible to have bed bug bites that don’t itch???
i have had a problem with those creepy little bedbugs.I discovered that rubbing alcohol helped a lot-put it in a spray bottle it kills them and I haven’t got any more where i sprayed, i also used boric acid powder.
Of course you have to vacuum and wash stuff in hot water, also a steam cleaner or a hot water upholstery cleaner on your mattress or furniture.you can even try a blow dryer because that helps too.
Vaseline on the wooden legs stops them. Don’t give up you will win just remember alcohol, boric acid and heat.
Good luck!
Hi there, i also have discovered bedbugs after myself and kids coming out in these terribly itchy bites. I got the pest control out and they discovered the nest under my sons bed in a spare cover. We had the whole house sprayed from top to bottom and the bites stopped occurring.
That was a couple of months ago and I’ve been checking regularly and now and then discover 1 or 2 that seem to be dead. I thought the problem was dealt with although on receiving my sons new bed this morning i was moving out his old bed and discovered a bed bug underneath. I thought it was dead and picked it up with tissue and discovered it was still moving. After freaking out i inspected the bed carefully and found another 5 or 6 bugs.
I called the pest control man and told him about my findings and he said not to worry as they can lay dormant and come out after treatment. As my home was sprayed with long term insecticides as the bugs come out of hiding they slowly die due to exposure of the chemicals. I have sprayed the bed with household insecticide and throwing it out. I plan to leave the plastic covering on the new mattress to stop infestation and if anymore appear they should die off and hopefully end this problem.
So now the plan is…..I* am currently washing all bedding and inspecting as i go along. The key is to keep on top of the problem and to regularly inspect everything. You think the problem is gone when they could be lying dormant waiting to be disturbed and reappear. So have your premises treated with long term insecticides by a professional and then keep on top of inspecting and laundering everything.
I’m still afraid of them :)
Hi Rachel,
Ouch – That looks most painful!
Ask about the pesticides and get them to sign off that it’s child safe! If they won’t then something is up and it’s time to call someone else. If it’s not safe, then how long will you have to be out of the house or at least what precautions are necessary to avoid contact.
They won’t be in your hair (unless perhaps you have dreadlocks) and they hide during the day (they don’t like a lot of movement). Just because they appear in the day doesn’t mean you are being bitten – it can take up to 14 days for a bed bug bite to show! Usually bites don’t take that long, but a 6 or 8 hour delay is not out of the ordinary.
Good luck!
Jim.
THANK YOU ALL and thank goodness for the internet, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have any other experiences to compare mine to! I live in Chicago and moved into a new apartment in October of 2007. Within a few weeks of moving in, I started receiving some itchy bites (not NEARLY as many as I have now….).
At first, I thought I had mites, then scabies, then fleas, then an allergic reaction to food or chemicals, then hives. (I had previously told the exterminator that comes monthly about my bites and he checked my mattress for bedbugs and didn’t see anything.) The pictures of my bites are below.
The reason I thought I had an allergic reaction to something was because my boyfriend who lives in NY has stayed with me for a few weeks at a time and didn’t receive any bites. A doctor friend of mine says that the case may be that I am healthier and bugs tend to feed on healthier beings. (My boyfriend is NOT a healthy person.)
Also, I am pretty sensitive–mosquitoes seem to love me and their bites usually swell up pretty large. The bites seem to be mostly located on my arms, hands, and shoulders, and sometimes I get a few on my legs and side of my face. Occasionally I wake up in the middle of the night with itching attacks…sometimes they itch in my dream and I wake up and the itching is SO intense.
When I went to a doctor because I thought I had scabies, he was just as puzzled as I was, but ended up prescribing me betamethasone valerate to relieve the itching. It works, but doesn’t get rid of the VERY unattractive bites.
Today I had a huge breakthrough and saw a bedbug walking across my sheet within ten minutes of getting out of bed! I quickly ran to get a small Tupperware and caught it. I called my maintenance man today, he checked the bug out, and indeed, it was a little bedbug. :o( I have noticed, as someone previously stated, that it cannot climb the sides of the Tupperware.
The maintenance man is coming back tomorrow morning to spray or something. I noticed on other bedbug sites that an area should be treated ten days after the first spraying – and chrissie, I am going to try the lavender oil–not only do I LOVE lavender, I love that they don’t like it. :o) I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight and have set up duct tape on the floor near the areas that I think they’re hiding. hopefully I find something.
I am sort of nervous about all of these pesticides being sprayed near where I sleep–should I be worried? I am sure that pesticides nowadays should be child-safe, but it still concerns me.
Also, I know I receive bites during the night, but some also seem to appear during the day. Are these additional reactions to the ones I received or could they be in my clothes or hair? I have never seen them on me, nor have heard of them living on humans…just wanted to inquire.
Hi Scared Lady,
Don’t be embarrassed! It has nothing to do with you or cleanliness, it simply means that somewhere, a bedbud hitched a ride on someones clothing or personal belongings and made their way into your home.
Now that you found the bed bugs, it’s just a matter of pest control. Read these comments, check out my FAQ section, checklist and understand the bedbug. Once you do that, your knowledge will allow you to fight back!
Even if you (and you should) call an exterminator, you should know what to look for in case the exterminator didn’t get them the first time around – otherwise, they’ll multiple in droves by the time you find out!
But remember, there is NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED about – it is NOT YOUR FAULT and in fact, bed bugs are fast becoming a big problem around the world (no one knows why, but it’s bad).
Best regards,
Jim
I found out two days ago that I was bitten by bed bugs. I had woke up one morning with a couple of “mosquitoes” bites that had swollen and were so red that I panic. I went to my own Doctor and she did not know what it was.
The second time it occurred i went to hospital and from there I was referred to dermatologist who told me what it was. I was shocked, embarrassed, devastated, scared and in a state of disbelief, well, I am still.
I researched all the information possible and went on a mission. I found 5 three adults and two lighter color. I started crying hysterical because I have two little girls (who never were bitten) only me of all in the house. I vacuum, cleaned everywhere, mattresses are gone but I still feel they are at the house.
I check the furniture and everything. Right now I am waiting to get a little bit of money to pay an exterminator to finish my job. They are so expensive. I am afraid to tell people, nobody knows. I am even afraid to tell the landlord.
Hi Anne (and Shannon in Vancouver),
Chances are, the bed bugs where there before you moved in from what you are describing (so many bites so soon after you moved in). The landlord may be telling the truth as well, but know that bed bugs can originate from the apartment next door.
I would check with other tenants. Visit my Bed Bug Checklist located at the top of this page, print it off and have your neighbors check for signs (perhaps they have bites too).
Do NOT be embarrassed about asking around! Also, if you can find out who the previous tenant was, you could call them and ask if they had problems and explain that the landlord said there has never been an issue. Also, you can call you city health department and ask if there has been a history here.
If you do nothing, the manager will obviously try to blame you for the bug infestation and ask for pest control damages.
If you ask around like this, I’m sure the manager will move VERY FAST to get the situation taken care of. The bedbugs can and most like will spread throughout the building (probably already has) and it’s the manager’s job to make sure this does not happen!
I hope that helps!
I have a question for anyone who can help. I have just discovered bed bugs in my apartment and am so freaked out by this. They have been here since I moved in and I didn’t even realize what is was, I have noticed little blood stains on my cream colored 500 thread count sheets since I moved to this apartment.
I actually had been blaming my boyfriend and thought he was scratching or picking pimples or something. My landlord is now blaming me and says that there is no way that they have been here, she has been here 20 years and never seen this!
Is it possible that they were here when I moved in?? I am fighting with the manager everyday and she expects me to pay for a bombing in the apartment, I refuse as I have never had this problem in my life. I need any advice that can be given, the apartments offer pest control services on a regular basis at no cost to the tenant, so why should I pay??
Could a neighbor have bed bugs and not know as I didn’t know for so long???
Help Me,
Anne
Oh ma word, my girlfriend has had two bites that have a volcanic looking, pus ridden thing, with swollen and hardened lump on the outside diameter. She constantly picks and could be infecting it…we are unsure if it is a bed bug-but we are the only ones that found bites like this. The landlord said it was not bedbugs.
Any suggestions?
Shannon in Vancouver
Hello,
I ran across your website while researching some bites that I recently received while in the Mayan Riviera. I was hoping someone might be able to tell me what kind of bites these are and if they are caused by bed bugs.
The pictures of the bites below were taken approximately 5 days after I had been bitten.
We were in the Mayan Riviera from Feb 3 – 10. I went to bed on Sunday night and woke up with a bite under my right eye. Each morning it appeared that I had a few more nights…eventually reaching 60 bites in total on my legs, arms and face. On my one ankle there were 5 bites in a line.
The bites were very red, had what appeared to be a blister on the top of them and upon drying up they would ooze a little from the top. I never felt anything biting, they were not itchy at the start but towards the end of the week they began to itch.
There were mosquitoes at the resort so initially I thought they were mosquito bites but since arriving home I am beginning to wonder if it was not something like a bed bug?
Greatly Appreciate any help.
Debbie L.
Hi Paula,
Are there any signs of bedbugs in the area, such as bedbug waste, etc? Check out my checklist and have him look for those signs.
Looks painful!
Best regards,
Jim.
Not sure if i have bed bugs, do not see any, turned mattress checked all seams, board slats and changed bedding, but definitely getting bit and/or have a rash mostly on hand and wrist and extremely itchy although for me mosquito bites are extremely itching. I did see a huge misquito that I killed last week. I do have cats so wondering if i have fleas, but pretty cold out and my cats are indoor and I don’t see them scratching. Does anyone know, do bed bugs bite cats? Of course after reading this, I feel like i itch everywhere.
Hi~
My husband is currently serving his country overseas in Afghanistan. About a week after he was settled in his room he started to not sleep well at night waking up about 1 or 2 am. Then he started to get very itchy.
He has very sensitive skin and he thought it was from the extreme cold of the mountains and thought it was just his sensitive skin reacting to it. Well it got worse and he went to the doctor and the doctor told him it looked like a heat rash. Odd considering it was FREEZING cold. Now a month later he is miserable. He doesn’t sleep and his arm looks awful. I have included the picture of the bites below.
Can someone let me know what this might be? The military doctors don’t seem to know. I’m just so frustrated because I see how it is affecting him.
Thank you,
Paula P.
Hi Tanya,
It is possible that you are not reacting to the bites like other people, but over time (a few months) your reaction will be much worse (Usually happens this way). Look for signs of bed bugs to make sure you’re not donating blood as you sleep!
Hello Charlene,
The key is to use a cover that zips up, this way, the entire mattress is sealed and the bedbugs inside (if there are any) won’t get out and will die, and the ones outside won’t be able to get in. Of course, you’ll want the room free from bed bugs first and zipping the mattress is the last step.
Regards,
Jim.
What kind of mattress pad can i use for bed bugs?
I hope this is not bed bugs but I wake up several times at night to feel a tiny sting. Sometimes I see a tiny red dot but most of the time there is nothing there. I feel these little bites on my arms legs back and neck. I don’t get any reaction to these bites. Also my husband doesn’t feel anything. Does this sound like bedbugs? Is it possible that I am able to feel them bite?
I have been getting bitten regularly for about a month. I decided that I would sleep somewhere else in the house since I seem to be the only target (my husband sleeps right next to me and never gets bitten).
I started sleeping on the sofa bed but then about 2 days ago I noticed that I was being bitten again even though I have stayed away from my bedroom and again my husband has been sleeping with me on the sofa bed and he is not affected. I have searched our sheets and mattresses and found no evidence of any type of bug.
We do have a cat and I have checked him for fleas and found nothing. I even bathed him in a flea killing shampoo even though he had none that I could see but I am still getting bitten.
I am the only target of these bugs and I want to know what they are.
My daughter came and showed me some bites about 10 days ago. I thought that they looked like mosquito bites, but it’s winter here. I really didn’t give it much thought until a few days after that. She came to me again and there were more. Again, never thought of bed bugs.
I didn’t know what they were. The next time she came, I started researching on the web. We haven’t found any bugs or evidence of them. But, her mattresses and frame are really old. The mattresses have definitely seen better days.
I sprayed down the mattresses with lice and bed bug spray. We washed the bedding, but I still have her sleep in her sister’s room on the top bunk bed. I have gotten up a couple times in the middle of the night to try and see the bugs, but haven’t seen anything.
No one else has any bites. I think I’ll get some sticky boards and try and catch the little nasties, if they’re present. After reading these posts, I think I will put the old mattresses in big bags and into the dumpster. They are ripped, so the bugs could be in there.
It sounds like this bed bug thing is going to be a nightmare.
Hello Line,
Take a look at the bed bug check list at the top of this page (in the menu area). That will explain where you should be looking for bedbugs and what signs to notice.
Best regards,
Jim.
Hi, i had my house sprayed three times for fleas but after reading all this information, I’m wondering if i could have bedbugs? my daughter and husband are the only ones getting bit and my daughter is covered and it looks like when she gets attacked it’s all at one spot?
How could i check the difference? i had seen the fleas before in my house but i’ve done everything and nothing is working. I always thought that because my daughter’s mattress is new that there would not be bed bugs in her bed and her bed is plastic.
Help.
I think we are currently dealing with bedbugs. I every morning wake up with new bites, and feel as though something is constantly crawling on me. My husband never gets bit. But for some odd reason I find them on my back neck,arms, and legs always in a row. What over the counter products can be used to get rid of these annoying creatures.
I am staying at a mission.
I got bed bugs. My brother and I are the only ones being attacked. I know they are bed bugs because my father stepped on one and said “its a baby cockroach” It wasn’t because I looked up and found a picture of the exact bug.
He doesn’t believe me but I am printing six or seven pages with bed bug pictures and info to show him.
We are sick of them and if I get and infection I will be very disappointed.
Hello Aldana,
Can you explain more? Does it feel warm to the touch?
If it’s just one bite, I’m guessing that it’s not a bed bug, but something else. Put some triple antibiotic ointment on it and check it every few hours. Write back if it gets worse!
Jill.
I’m scared because I got bit by something (i’m almost sure it was @ school but i don’t know if it was a bed bug or something else) the bite is a red circle (VERY small red circle) and a little white head. Sort of like a pimple but not as swollen.
Please tell me what you know!! Should i tell my mom to take me to the doctor? Do you know any home remedies? I put neosporin on it and put a band-aid on it. Just as my friend and science teacher advised me. everyone tells me its not bad. What do u think??
Hello Ronicca,
I can’t determine from your description if it’s an infected bed bug bite or something else, perhaps a spider bite.
Regardless, it’s infected and you should see a doctor, especially with the worm like pus you describe!
Personally, I would not take any chances with Mom!
Keep us informed!
Jim.
My Mom had had this weird possible bug bite on her back for months now. It has a hole in the middle of the bite. When you squeeze it worm like pus comes out, and of course, it hurts her.
There is always a mound of pus under the skin. When I put hydrogen peroxide on it, it does not bubble what so ever. We don t know what to do, it even hurts her to wear a bra. Help!
I recently moved into a townhouse after having my things in storage for about a year. Since I moved in, I’ve discovered bites throughout my body and normally in small groups. I called in a professional exterminator who inspected my mattress, box spring and all corners of my place and confirmed that it wasn’t bed bugs but highly suspects spider mites.
From the various comments I’m reading, spider bites and bed bugs seem so similar that I’m still somewhat questionable on what it really is. I vacuumed my mattress, box spring and every corner of my house from ceiling to floor hoping that it’s a good start will definitely be picking up a zippered mattress cover tomorrow.
I’m still paranoid to sleep in my bed!
In June 2008 we rented a beautiful condo in Fl, I started to see blood stains on the bed, this is your first sign of bed bugs. I’ve been exterminated 3 times in 6 weeks and continue to get bit, my husband is itchy but not bit, I’ve froze all our clothes 2 times, vacuum regularly and do the wash in hot water/hot dryer, many many times.
Can’t wait to move out of here,unsure if I’ll make it to June!!!!
I’m going to purchase an online repellent see if this helps.
I have bugs in my bed but I am not sure if they are bed bugs. First off, I don’t think I’ve come up with any bites. I just come across these longish, thin bugs lumbering across my sheets occasionally or under my pillow. I’ve found them in my laundry hamper as well, and in my backpack?
I’m totally confused and really hoping these aren’t bedbugs as I have NO money to be dealing with an infestation. I’m wondering if it is some kind of moth infestation? I am currently dating someone and spending many nights outside of my apartment so my bed is rarely slept in. I wonder if this could be a factor?
I will try and take a picture of the bug and send it in. Again, no bites that I have noticed, so at the moment, I am stumped.
Hello Renee,
From what the California Department of Public Health Vector-Borne Disease Section says, a bed bug bite may not show for up to 14 days!
Everyone reacts differently to bed bug bites, but if a reaction does occur, it usually happens by late morning.
Great question and thanks for asking!
Jim.
The guy at the hardware store said a bed bug bite could take 14 days to surface/show once bitten. Is this true or do the bite signs show immediately. I am treating like crazy with powder/sprays but all of a sudden we had bites start appearing. I can’t find this answer anywhere.
Renee
Oh my God!! Finally i am not the only one!!! I thought I was crazy!
I have been sleeping on the same mattress for three years now but in the last 6 months I have suffered from various bites on my arms ankles but most often my bottom!!! The only consolation I have so far is that they haven’t bitten my face.
I am black and they turn red at first then bruise if I scratch too hard. Black and blue bruises. I already have extremely sensitive skin i already use fragrance free and dye free soap and detergent, no perfume or fragranced lotion just to give you an idea of how sensitive I am!
I thought they were mosquito bites because i do have allergic reactions to them but soon realized they couldn’t be, because of the severity of the reaction and the # of bites(so, many) I just don’t know what to do. Then i thought they were Japanese beetles, (which look a lot like ladybugs), but they bite,because I did see a couple of those in my bed. Now I don’t see those anymore but I am still getting bitten they welt up, and come to a head with pus in them.
They itch worse than any bite i have ever experienced. My skin is becoming scarred up, been trying to use cocoa and shea butter to retone my skin.
At least I now know what is bitting me and how to kill these bedbugs. Thank you!
Wow, it has been a nightmare, I have had my place treated twice by so called professionals and then we bought stuff from the pesticide store..(large jug, aresol and powder)
we have wrapped mattresses and washed everything, for the hundredth time…do these things die…geez…we have done everything as I said 3 times in the past 1.5 months…then, I found one crawling over my daughters pillow..also, I threw out my couch and a dresser too…what is going on!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Susan,
The bedbugs are not going to come from not chancing the sheets, but if ever there is one in the area, they will gravitate towards his bed. We shed a lot of skin and excrete fluids as we sleep and bedbugs can detect that.
If you were to take that sheet and throw it into a room with hungry bedbugs, the bugs would be all over it (thinking that a food source must be near!).
I’d encourage him again to change his sheets!!
Good luck!
Jim.
My 21 year old son has not changed his bed linen for over 4 months,regardless of endless telling.
My question is can he get any form of bed bugs/spiders?
I think that I may have bed bugs at night while am asleep I feel something biting me whatever it is, is leaving my skin red. It is leaving a black mark on me after the bite. The bites itch like the dickens and I need to know how they look on black people.
Hello, I have been trying to figure out what keeps biting mea and suspect bed bugs. I have had 6 of these bites in the past 6 months. They are itchy, then they scab up with a black center. It is about nickel sized, sore, puffy and not draining.
I am looking for help on how to treat these so they don’t leave scars and red marks, AND I need to figure out what is biting me, so I can kill it!
Thank you!
Liz
Maniana,
I worked in the medical records department a long time, had a terrible reaction to the the dust mites that love to hang out in file rooms. Also , i did get scabies but from a fellow employee in the file room. Yuckie !
We’ve (my boyfriend and I) just moved to room that we are renting and after just 2 nights I saw few little spots on my left hand (it was the same day that I’ve got a new job at a medical records). 3 days later my both hands were all swollen, covered in red bumps.
I’ve managed to count about 48 only on my left hand (from fingers to the wrist) and 26 on the right one. It looked really horrible. We’ve found about 10 of bed bugs and killed them. 2 days later I was fired because nobody believed me that my hands are covered with bite marks – everybody was afraid that it’s some kind of rash that they can be easily infected with.
I’ve went to see the doctor today, he’d phoned them and told them, that they can’t get infected by that but they found someone in my place :( O!! and the doctor was little strange, he told me that he suspected that these are not bedbug bite marks (although I’ve told him that I’ve even saw one that was biting me) but that I have Scabies!!!!!!!!! funny man :)
Well, I’ve got rid of the bedbugs now by spraying the room, and steam vacuming the bed. Now I’m washing all the clothes and linen, ironing them and putting them into the plastic bags – We’re moving out in a week :))
Hi June,
Make sure you use my bed bug checklist before you stay at a hotel! They would di in the microwave, no question about that, but if they just finished a feeding cycle, they will explode in the microwave and create a big mess, so I would advise not to microwave them.
They usually do not get in the books – check out my bed bug FAQ section to discover their favorite hiding places.
Using the hair dryer in that fashion may start a fire, however, most hair dryers have a safety feature that will shut it down when it gets too hot, so I don’t think that will work.
You can see bed bugs with your eye, so shaking the suitcase and visually inspecting it should do the trick.
Don’t scratch the bites! There are some great tips here on reducing the itch, check them out and go from there.
Most important, be aware – that checklist will save your skin :)
Best regards,
Jim.
I’m totally losing it. I’m pretty certain bed bugs in my car. I spend a lot of time in hotels and am afraid I’m tracking them everywhere.
Can you kill them if you microwave your clothes?
Do they sneak into books?
I’m thinking about sticking the hair blower nozzle in the suitcase with the zippers open just far enough to get it in and then blasting the thing on high for about 15 minutes.
Will that start a fire?
I’m creating welts from scratching where there are no bites.
Thanks.
Hi Becky,
I would worry too! Bed bugs don’t like the light, so they will seek dark places. If they are on the person, say in the fold of their cloths or most likely, their briefcase or boxes, etc, the bug (it only takes one to make thousands in a matter on months!) could travel from the transport object to the closest dark area.
First thing I would do is help the bug infested person understand their problem but pointing out (in some nice way) the tips killing bed bugs I have posted on this site.
You can use some sticky tape around the edge of your office area and try to capture it – although one visitor pointed out that sticky tape doesn’t seem to work. If you try this, just make sure to get the tape made specifically for bugs.
I would check every day before I went home that I didn’t have any hitchhikers and if I did find bed bugs, I would bring it up to management, then write a letter reiterating your finding and concern.
If you end up bringing one home, you’ll have proof that it was most likely caused by an employee at work and the company may end up paying, especially if they didn’t act on your findings. Getting rid of bed bugs can be very costly!
Let us know what happens!
We have a person at work-that have them bad. What can the co-workers do to prevent them to have it…We don’t want this.
lei’s picture reminds me of the bites i got earlier this year around knees and upper legs, upper arms, stomach and groin; according to the dermatologist, and confirmed by the vet, my cat had transferred his ear mites to me. i was itching and scratching in a frenzy, particularly at night and the single treatment of crotamiton creme followed by lotrix creme for 15 days cleared it up. i found this site today because I have started itching again!!! think it might be dust mites , the cats are ok. just got woolies and cords out of cupboard and wearing them since yesterday, they were washed before being put away, but i wonder if they might have picked something up during the hot humid summer months.
I found an insect that resembles this bug a whole lot and the bites I’ve been having are very similar to the pictures on this site but, I found an infestation on my indoor palm plants and the plants are covered with little white eggs the size of ants which I’ve heard bed bugs have.
I have been to many websites and none of them ever state that the bed bugs dwelling can also be plants. If anybody knows of this please post info as it would be very helpful to my family curiosity.
Bit of a strange question here. I’m in the act of attempting to identify a bed bug problem. Being bitten but not so often that I can confirm it yet. But one night out of one of the bites there was a yellowy-white thing sticking out…looked like a spear of rough skin. I’m wondering if this was an egg sack? I know that sounds stupid but I don’t know what it was as I don’t eat in my room or anything. Look at pictures though and egg flasks seem too rounded to be able to penetrate skin. Any thoughts/experiences with this? Many thanks xx
I was very silly, I moved into a new house November 1st and 6 days later I was lying with my 7 month old son on my bed and I noticed a bug crawling beside our heads. I quickly got a Kleenex and killed it. To my surprise it had blood come out I thought what kind of bug bleeds I looked it up on the internet and sure enough it was a bed bug.
I called the health department and they confirmed it was indeed beg bugs. We found a couple on my mattress anyhow I had my place fumigated that day threw out my bed box spring that someone had given to me and took all my laundry down stairs. I am loaded with bites and I just had my second fumigation on Friday Nov 23rd now I noticed that my 7 month old has bites and don’t know what to do.
I am trying to vaccum everything what if they got deep in my couches I even found one in my sons blanket it was dead though its weird I have not noticed any bites on my 17 month old nor the kids dad only me and now my 7 month old.
I’m going to try your tips on killing bed bugs. I hope this works!
I wish I had taken pics, but at the time I didn’t know it was bed bugs. I found out after being treated for an allergic reaction. I washed my clothes because the Dr. said maybe it was my laundry soap… in that process I washed my sheets and there is where I found a lot of ‘fed’ bed bugs. I must have been there ‘dinning place’ for at least 1 week. A week after I found the bed bugs the Dr. done blood work because my knees, ankles and wrists we hurting and swollen. The blood work confirmed I now have LYME disease. No one wants to say it came from the bed bugs, but I am not convinced… I have been fighting Lyme now for 6 weeks… I hope that the dr. can fix my problem and that someone will conciser that it is possible that bed bugs now carry some blood diseases.
As a qualified Aromatherapist, I’ve found a few things that have helped me out with the bites…..First dab Essential Oil of Basil with a cotton bud on each bite, this will cause the ‘poison’ the bug has deposited to surface, if possible lance with a sterilized pin (flame heat/wipe clean), then dab with tea tree oil & finally lavender oil seems to stop the itching for me…..I’ve also found that bed bugs seem to hate lavender oil…so I’ve started putting it everywhere. I’ve had no bites for a few days…..I’m hopeful …
Hi Jackie,
Bed bugs are not easy to get rid of and if you found them in the crack in the ceiling (which is one of their favorite hidding places), then chances are they are around your bed frame and other areas (see Bedbug Checklist above).
To answer your question: You may or may not react to their bites and the reaction may change from time to time but over the long haul, your body will become sensitive to their bites and you’ll start to react more severely.
Keep us posted!
Best regards,
Jim.
Ok, I was wrong :(
The bed bugs are not gone. I saw more this morning. They are living in a crack in the ceiling.Or shall I say WERE living a crack in the ceiling. What I don’t understand is why i have no bite marks.
I killed the one and it was full of blood. Do they always leave a mark? Do they always make you itch? I am puzzled.
Jackie
I went to California about 2 months ago. About 2 days after we came home I started to get this rash that really itched on the top of my legs and my stomach. I scratched them so bad that I have scabs. They started to spread all over my body. I now have them everywhere but my face and feet.
I have been to my regular doctor and a dermatologist and even to the hospital to try and find out what they are from. All the doctors just stare at them? And say I don’t know what it is but here is some cream for it. Which of course doesn’t work. Then I got a staph infection on my shins from scratching so much and they gave me meds for it. But that has gone away. I’m still getting new ones and the itching has gotten so bad that I could jump out of my skin.
I have tried every kind of itch cream that there is out there but nothing works. I have a hard time taking a shower because the water feels like acid on my skin. I can’t wear a coat or anything heavy because it makes me sweat and I itch more (and it was 23 degrees here to day). When I was with my in-laws today we were talking about it and someone said they heard that a lot of people were having trouble with bed bugs and that I should check my bedroom. My husband and I checked our bed tonight but didn’t really find anything that we could see.
Tomorrow I am going to take my room apart and see if I can find anything. Does this sound like anything that anyone else is experiencing? Especially with the water on there skin and the heat making it worse?
Hi there,
I’m so glad I’ve found this site. I’m very, very down. I live in London and less than a month ago I moved into a lovely three bedroom flat which I was hoping to make my home and my clinic as I’m a Sports’ Physio.
To cut a long story short, I got bitten, bitten and bitten again. Told my Landlady who promptly called a Professional Pest Control & he sprayed my flat. But the problems did not go away I got bit again, he came back & re-sprayed and promised they would go. Here are four pictures of the bed bug bites I have.
I have read every bit of info on bed bugs & doing everything I was advised. I don’t know what else to do? How do I know that my Landlady used a reputable Pest Controller? He said I will get bitten now & again and seemed to think that’s normal. But I’m allergic & its draining me, especially with my job its very debilitating.
Please, please can you help me? What are my rights as a new tenant? Is it possible to ever get rid of bed bugs? If so how and who should I call to properly spray the flat? Please help me, I’ve come to the end of my patience!
A few months ago I let my son’s friend stay at our house for a couple a weeks. At the time he had this really nasty rash on his body, he said it was some kind of reacting to something. About a month or so after he left, my son started showing similar symptoms. A week went by and the rash spread uncontrollably all over his body. He couldn’t quit scratching, nothing helped.
I made him a Dr. appointment, the Dr. tells us it’s his nerves and prescribed him some kind of anxiety pill with antihistamine in it. We proceeded to take the medication as prescribed. Only his rash got really bad. So I took him back to the Dr. He said the same thing again. Only I made the Dr. prescribe him some kind of antibiotic cream.
After awhile it seemed to start to go away, but now my 2 year old daughter is now showing the same symptoms. Do we have bed bugs? I’ve looked for the signs that are mentioned but I don’t see anything what am I not doing right? I don’t have any photos believe me I wish I would of kept a diary of it all.
I moved in to this trailer and noticed that i kept on getting bites and finally got exterminator here and he told me they were bed bugs and we seem to be killing most of them but not all they seem to be more since he has sprayed what do i do I am really scared of any kind of bug. I cant even sit on my couch with out them crawling all over me my husband seems not to be bitten by them its like they pick on me what do i do there has got to be a way to get rid of them all and soon .
I’m suffering the most from Bed Bugs! I slept on my grandmothers couch and when i woke up i was itching like crazy. now I’m just washing and putting ice on every single bump i have. The bites look horrible and i have to go to school everyday…. What i should do??
Sally (#15) –
I stayed at the Fort Des Moines in October while on business and got bed bug bites all over my stomach. I was upset but got truly upset when I developed a staph infection from them. Call the Fort and let them know what happened to you. This MUST stop! They claim they have no bed bugs, but you and I don’t know each other and have very similar tales. –Amy
We’ve been dealing with bedbugs for about a year now. I thought we got it beat. Havn’t seen a trace for about two months. we bought matress covers, emptied all the rooms, treated with boric acid, even patched and painted the walls,but tonight my son found one. In the couch. I just want to cry. This is becoming a full time job!
Thanks for sharing the pictures Jackie and thank you for the follow up. I’m Glad to hear that you are no longer having the problem! The multiple bites look like bed bugs, but if you have not been bitten since and you have not found any sign of them in your room, then it was probably something else.
I just wanted to update and tell you all I haven’t seen a bed bug in more then 2 weeks now. I haven’t had a bite in weeks.
Don’t give up! you can win!
I hope i never see another bed bug again!
I went to a cabin and got bed bug bites. It was not pretty so make sure you check before you sleep!
Hi there…
Question on these bites…I didn’t find any evidence that these bites where caused from a bed bug. They are just peppered around my ankles and a few on my wrists. I noticed I was being bitten when I recently took the thick sleeping bag from the camper and used it…
I have now put it outside….freeze whatever was living in the sleeping bag, with the help from Wisconsin winters.
Yes, they itch something terrible, and find that I wake at night….wanting to itch them. Seems like I get new ones…
I noticed that this condo unit….sure does have a lot of spiders…
spider bites, spider mites, bed bugs or something else?
Please help….
bitten in Wisconsen
Am I glad I’m getting the hell out of here. It’s a HUD owned bldg. but Marquette University bought it in a 50 million dollar deal so they’re throwing everyone (blind, disabled, sick, poor) out. And just in time. The “mgr” of this bldg. (looks like he might be a relative of the bed-bug) came by last week with a kid and a spray can to look for bed bugs. They didn’t find any but might have dropped some off from one of their other stops. Nasty minute maggot like creatures don’t seem to care if you’re conscious, they bite like alligators. This will give those students something to study.
Mine looks like a mosquto BITE and it kind of stings like sort of a bee but only when i touch it and feels tingley when i dont touch it and i only have one but i need to know what it is or hopefully was HELP PLEASE I WANT TO KNOW is a little bit redder than my skin BUT NOT a lot ans its pretty big thanks :)
I’m a 29 year old female I was dealing with a guy that told me he had bedbug in his house unfortunately I let him sleep ova and apparently he wasn’t alone. a couple of weeks later I noticed all these bite marks I immediately threw my mattresses away and bought an air mattress in the meantime.
I have a younger son that is 1 1/2 he sleeps with me and him till this day are getting bite. I have little dots everywhere so many scars front scratching everywhere especially on my behind. I have been to the emergency room 3 times already. first time they gave me and my son steroids and benedryll and send us on our way it didn’t work, then I went they said it was a skin infection and they gave us antibiotics and a different type of anti itch cream, my son got worse he started getting what looked like boils.
He has them on his hands neck leg he even has one on his neck and five on his head. Now I was scared because of that boy in Brooklyn that died recently of mrsa (staph infection) so I went again I made them take blood and it came out negative for mrsa.
So now, they said its scabies they gave me a one time application of a cream for me and the baby. It has been almost a week since the application and so far, it is just getting worse. I am not sure what other options I have.
If you would please give me some advice, I would appreciate it. Thank you
I got bite by something in a motel room on sat night in Fresno, California. in Oct. it started out like a lot of red ink spots then by Tues it started to bother me they got bigger and got pus in them. then by Fri it swelled my leg got 2 blood blisters and bites kinda look like a flea bite then they connected together now it looks like rigimortis set into my shin of the leg but still can feel my skin.
I have about 100 bites on the right leg and 10 on the left leg including the feet of both legs 2 bites on the stomach and 2 on the right arm. i have been bite by flea’s before but it doesn’t do this to me i went to the hosp. sat morning one week after i couldn’t take the burning pain anymore it was just really bad now its been 8 days and i still look like i have rigimortis in my shin and the bites are still there all it feels like now is an infection and small amount of pain the dr put me on anitbiotics and steroids but i don’t think it’s getting that much better.
What do you think i might of been bite by, bed bugs?
My nightmare began around the end of Aug. I started to see the bugs before the bites. I know that’s odd but I get up at 4:00 am. So I was able to make my bed an island early on. They still get me but not as much as they would have. I think they are getting the poor dog. I try to keep him away but he cries.
My daughter was the one that seemed to be bit the most. My bites are no where near as bad as some of the pictures I see posted here. They look the most like Emily’s but fewer
Everything I own (in the bed room) is in plastic bags. My cloths are not up here any more. My bed has a mattress cover and a sheet. I cant use my blankets they are dark colored and I cant stand not knowing if the bugs are on my bed. I burn two 100 watt lamps 24 7. There is diatomaceous earth scattered all over my room. Mostly around the bed.
Bug spray doesn’t kill them any more. I am using drione dust, gentrol and anything else I can get my hands on. I also have an exterminator. He’s pretty useless but I am stuck in a contract now. Even he has bedbugs! He told me he can’t get rid of his!
After all I have done the little bastards are still alive and kicking. They are now nesting up by the ceiling. I forgot to mention I also caulked every crack I could find, Bought a steamer and steamed EVERYTHING even the furniture. All the bottoms of the furniture are covered in Vaseline and nothing is touching the wall.
I cant sleep. I lay here crying watching them and killing them all night. I cant even sleep in the day now. It seems they no longer care if its night or day. All I can do is pray now. I pray they stay only in this room. I would rather they bite me then my kids.
I THINK they are gone from my daughters room. She has no more bites and we haven’t seen one there for about 3 weeks. I got her a loft bed I think that helped. My other daughter has a metal loft bed in her room and she never had the bed bugs. I thought I would mention that because it really seems to help. The diatomaceous earth is the newest thing I tried and I THINK it might be helping. Even if it does look like it snowed in my room.
I was wondering, do any of you think you will ever be able to sleep in the dark again? I know I wont. I always feel like there are bugs crawling on me. I have my moles ripped apart because I had it in my head they were bites. The lack of sleep is really making me lose my mind. I am hoping someone here can tell me, how do you know when you are winning? I will go a few days only seeing 4 or 5 then a week later there are 20 climbing up the walls.
What else can I do? Is it true that in a few weeks when it get cold I can just open the bedroom window and freeze them to death? I feel like burning the house down.
Jackie
Notice:
Diatomaceous earth is also known as DE, TSS, diatomite, diahydro, kieselguhr, kieselgur and Celite) and naturally occurrs – it is a soft, chalk-like sedimentary rock easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder.
Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the cuticle, the waxy outer layer of insects’ exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.
Safety Concerns: The absorbent qualities of diatomite can result in a significant drying of the hands, if handled without gloves. The saltwater (industrial) form is dangerous to breathe and a dust mask is recommended when working with it.
The type of hazard posed by inhalation depends on the form of the silica. Crystalline silica poses a serious inhalation hazard because it can cause silicosis. Amorphous silica can cause dusty lungs, but does not carry the same degree of risk as crystalline silica. Food-grade diatomite generally contains very low percentages of crystalline silica. Diatomite produced for pool filters is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume its crystalline form.
My name is Kimberly I am 9 months Pregnant. I have been seriously bitten i thought first thought it was maybe Chicken pox then I thought it might have been measles. Then considering that I was Pregnant, I thought it might have been stress bumps the doctor says that Pregnant women get weird rashes. I started to get more man they itch like crazy i was going insane. I didn’t think bed bugs because i never had to go through with bed bugs before recently I was staying at my Boyfriends sisters house.
I used to sleep in the kids beds and barley getting bit but, I was getting to the point were I couldn’t walk upstairs so I had to sleep down stairs on the futon in the Kitchen. In the kitchen it was hot so i kept the door open for awhile and the next morning I woke up to find Mesquito bites they were fluidly like and I was itching like crazy again the bite had changed they didn’t look like Chicken poxs they looked like the mesquito bites. So i didn’t think so much about them and I was really thinking man I was really getting bit buy mesquitos. Well My boyfriends sister noticed that everyone was getting the same bites. She was sitting up stairs and noticed that there was a weird shaped bug on her bed she killed it. She had told someone about it and she said they are Light brown, flat shaped body, a small head, and they move real fast, that person told us that it was bed bugs man we kept looking there was nothing well they apartment complex sprayed there house for roaches a every 6 month thing the complex does and then they started to notice a lot of bug they moved the couches and there were tons of bugs eggs and left over shells .
They look like Sue #28 (Bites) and Sue#33 are the bugs man they are so nasty I now went to my house i was really careful about bringing something in the house well I went back to my house and now my Mother has spotted a bug she thinks it may have been a bed bug. Bed Bugs are a serious matter and very hard to get rid of u can use any spray they get stronger on a lot of sprays. They are every where you pretty much got to throw everything away and exterminate the house.
Wash all your cloths in hot water and Dry your shoes in a heated dryer. Well If anyone has any Ideas to let me know how i can get rid of the bed bugs in a way where i can afford it would be well appreciated thank you.
I’m so happy Ross posted bed bug pictures, I awoke this morning feeling real itchy, especially my ears and head and thought it might be my meds even though I never had problems in the past with them. As the day worn on I started feeling itchy all over and went to the lady’s room at work only to find my whole torso looking like Ross’s arm and head. I haven’t been anywhere except to work .
My boyfriend brought in my firewood yesterday, I think too early but I couldn’t say no to an offer of throwing in 5 cord of wood. I called him and told him to get my dogs out of the house and bomb the heck out of it. My dogs are well protected from biting critters but I wonder if they would still hitch a ride? Last year I picked up something on a plane, when I got to where I was going, I infested my sister.
An elderly Mexican friend told us to use boiling water and a certain cactus juice, no luck finding the cactus so we nearly gave ourselves 3rd degree burn with hot water, worked great for her she was fine in a few days, I was not and I did the hot water thing for longer. She’s darker skinned than I, I’m very fair skinned, fair skinned seems to have more problems.
I recently stayed at a hotel in West Yellowstone and received over 500 bites on my arms, legs, neck, and head.
I am now paying for this in the form of extermination fee’s and doctor fee’s. I’m not sure what else will come later.
If anyone knows how I can protect myself from other costs please let me know.
Can bed bugs appear “fuzzy”?
This morning I noticed what looks like a bed bug (based on photos I googled after) on the carpet of my bedroom floor in a house I’ve been renting for just over a month. Its body was identically structured to that of a bed bug, but the main difference was that it was all fuzzy. I read jmosk’s post on Sept.24th in which he describes a similar insect.
I have not noticed any bites on my body. I inspected my mattress, bedding, headboard, foot board, box spring (inside and out), baseboards and nightstand and did not find any other bugs, eggs or excrement spots.
Fuzzy bug
Is the picture above that of a bed bug? If so, why was it covered in what looked like beige dust/lint?
Thanks for your help!
HELP!!!!! I lived in a new state and rented and had bites all over my body for many nights and my landlord had an exterminator come and inspect. He barely looked at the room and bed when he said you don’t have bedbugs. Then he sprayed for regular bugs. I asked why i had been bitten and he said i don’t know but its not bed bugs. I kept getting bites. Now I have moved away out of state to a new place. I did not bring my furniture, I sleep on an air mattress, I have washed and dried all of my clothes and inspected everything.
After 4 days of living in new place i have bites again, i searched and found possible white eggs in a cluster on the bedroom wall baseboard. I wiped them off with a paper towel and they came off easily. I flushed them. These are my questions ans please answer them as bedbug person because i notice that you answer some questions but not all of them. PLEASE help!!! I appreciate it.
My questions are
1) Can the eggs come off that easily and what size are the eggs?
2) at what point of not getting bit will one know that they got rid of bedbugs?? How long of not being bit?
3) are there any pictures anywhere of what the nymphs look like with the naked eyes and not enlarged 100 times? DO bedbugs leave little dots of brown or black lint looking things on the sheets and if so, do they always have blood or do they sometimes not?
Thank you so much and I look forward to the answers.
My grandson attends a day care center. He came home today with a red welt on his lower back and what appeared to be a bite in the center. There was only one. The welt is not raised. He did not appear to be itchy.
The kids sleep on cots for their naps. The sheets are supplied by the parents. Have you heard of bed bugs in Day Care Centers and can there be one bite rather than a group of bites?
Thanks, Ruth
I initially got on this site looking for pics of spider bites for my husband, he has one on his inner thigh, and we were trying to identify what it was that bit him. Then I happened upon the bed bug link and here is my story.
Back in Feb 07, my husband and I bought a box springs from a local thrift store. Ours was one of those cheap ones, and had been broken for a while. We did not think much about it, since we would not be directly sleeping on it. It was not long before I was covered in little bumps. All over my arms, legs, hands, anything that was not covered by clothes. I would have literally hundreds at a time. I was pregnant, so I went to the doctor and she told me it was a “crazy pregnancy rash” that would go away after the baby was born. She gave me a prescription for a topical cream to relieve the itching. I had so many of them, that it took almost the whole tube to cover them all.
The end of April, I went into premature labor (2 full months of itching…with no idea what was causing it) While I was in the hospital, they put me on antibiotics and several other meds to try and stop the labor, and the bumps went away. I thought it was because of the antibiotics, but now I realize that I was sleeping in a “clean” bed.
My baby came early, at 27 weeks, so after 2 weeks in the hospital, I went home. Woke up the next morning with about 20-30 bites on my arms/legs. I would wake up daily with more “bumps”. Not knowing what it was, we tried changing laundry detergent, soap, everything I could think of. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something.
When I went back to my doctor for my 6 week checkup, I showed them to her and she put me on steroids. The bumps went away, the itching stopped. It was like magic. Then, after the 14 day round of steroids, they came back. I called my doctor, and she phoned me a different type of steroid, and set me up an appt with a dermatologist. It was July before I could see the derm, so by this point, I had been itching like crazy for 5 months.
When I saw the derm, she took several vials of blood – to check for any kind of infection, then determined – in her expert opinion – that I had an old fashioned case of the ‘hives’. Since I am nursing my daughter, there was very few meds I could take, so she put me on some antihistamines to try and do whatever, and told me that basically I had to deal with it.
About 2 weeks later, around the first of August, my husband (he had been in the same bed as me the entire time, and never had any on him at all) anyway, he woke up with a bug on his hand, we stripped all the sheets off the bed, and raised up the mattress and box springs.
Inside, there were literally hundreds of bed bugs. All different sizes. He threw both the mattress and box springs in the back yard to burn. We started sleeping in the LR. The next day I started doing research online and determined for myself they were indeed bedbugs.
There is only one exterminator in the area that treats bedbugs, and that was going to cost somewhere in the thousands. My husband and I are now in the process of moving. We are taking each thing out one at a time. Washing in hot water and drying what can be washed and cleaning everything else by hand. My daughter had a co-sleeper bassinet attached to the side of our bed. We have a small (8′) pool outside, so we put it in the pool to try and drown any bugs that may be in it.
I have since done more research, and found that anything that you cannot wash, you can sit outside, sealed in black plastic, for a minimum of 4 hours in the hottest part of the day. The bugs cannot survive the heat that is generated by the sun and the black bags.
I currently have a recliner wrapped in about 4 black contractor bags on my grandmother’s patio. This was a complete night mare for us. I have been itch-free now for about a month and a half.
It was weird, though, how the bumps would look. Some would swell up like mosquito bites, while others would get a clear liquid filled head on them.
I would never wish these pests on anyone.
My Granddaughter has bed bug bites all over her body. What can I do to get rid of the bugs and help heal the bites?
I am wondering if any one gets once in a while. I got bit about a month ago on my arm. It looked like about 10 bites. now my boyfriend stayed over and he got bit on his back. I thought bed bugs bite more often. I am really freaked out! I have searched the mattress and box spring but nothing. It is only 6 months old. I have 3 sticky pads down on the floor and no bugs. Could these bites be from a spider?
I do have high ceiling in my room and there are spiders I see every once in a while. My bites look like mosquito bites but larger with an extremely intense itch. They take much longer to go away and when they are almost gone the skin has a dry patch where the bug was. And in some areas where the bug bites were there is still a darker area that marks the spot I was bitten.
Please help if you can!
For years I’ve had bumps and itched. I also have many allergies and have moved often. I’ve lived in a great many hotels and motels. Now that I’ve read this article I’m going to search my bed for the telltale signs. I don’t itch so bad during the day. When i crawl into bed within 15 minutes my skin is crawling and i swear something is biting me. I look and find nothing. I’ll use the tips to detect them and get back to ya’ll. It would be nice if my constant itching is not ‘in my head’.
I have been bite by a bed bug :( fortunately, i got rid of them and here is how! I had bites on my neck, feet, legs, arms EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! i itched all the time. I had heard that bleach helps get ride of them so only a week later, my worries were gone! :)
I have been looking at the Bedbug comments, We have sprayed a few times just in case it was something in the bed, my hubby did find and kill a few spiders what were lurking under his cloths which he just drops on the floor under the bed. He does not do that any more.
If its bedbugs why is my hubby not being bit, really strange, my husband never gets bitten like me, but i always have a bad reaction to any bites, mosques or others. I do store in plastic boxes lots of materials which i have collected over the years cause i am a sewer, under the beds with lids, but not sealed, also books in loads of cardboard boxes not sealed.
Does anyone think these places are harboring things, my skin is crawling at the thought. I am scared to check because of creepycrawly things. Maybe just burn everything i am keeping, what do you think, am i being over reactive?
Please help.
I would like to know if i have a beb bug in my home and has been treated for over a year, now i have decided to bring some of my cloths that has been in the basement for one year into my room, but i have had problem with my landlord accusing me of bringing back the bed bug into the building.
Please i will like to know if they have been in the basement for that long can they be alive after one year, please kindly help me with my predicament am likely to be evicted because of this situation.
I will be waiting for your reply thanks.
I have had bites for as long as I can remember. I have kind of ignored them, since no one can seem to figure out what they are. I have hundreds of tiny scars from years of this. Never really thought they were bedbugs. I don’t have pictures–I will have to take some. I have several bites that are healing now, that I have had for three weeks, and still itch. Got them on my wrist, ankles, and some where your underwear covers. Too close for comfort, ya know? I guess my brain has tried in a way to suppress constant thought of this for if I focus on it too much, I will surely go insane! Sometimes, I don’t notice bites until I am out somewhere and start itching. It’s so WEIRD! and ANNOYING!
Katherine, that photo looks more like what we call Silverfish. They are frequently found in houses, are silvery grey and kind of wiggly, they like the shade and damp so are often found in bathrooms and kitchens. Silverfish have those large antennae, and they do not bite people.
As for bed bugs….we have had isolated incidences with them, but only affecting our youngest daughter. I never thought at the time of bed bugs…but after reading the accounts here, I wonder! We just assumed it was a rash or something, and bedbugs may explain the fact she has had a chicken-pox like rash three times in her life. I can’t remember now if she always got these rashes after we had been to a hotel or something like that, or if we were at home. In any case, they do not seem to be infesting our house.
Thanks for the stories!
I’ve done a lot of reading on the web about this – Catalina, bed bugs can’t fly, so whatever you sprayed was not a bed bug!
Meanwhile, I’ve been getting covered in bites lately, but I’m not sure if they’re mosquito or bed bugs. (Which is why I’m doing so much reading.) Most of the bites aren’t clustered, they’re just random. They’re on my arms, legs, and face. Since I got the first round of bites, I’ve been sleeping in socks, pants, long sleeves, and covering all exposed skin with mosquito repellent. Two nights ago I was exhausted and fell asleep wearing short sleeves and no spray, and got covered in bites again. I’ve checked my mattress and haven’t seen any signs of bed bugs. I’ve also seen a couple mosquito (I think) flying around.
But right now I have something like 30 bites – and although they’re not in long lines, a lot of them are close to each other. Some of them are really itchy and even painful, all of them are red and raised, some are big welts, some are small.
I’m going crazy trying to figure out what these are! I have included pictures below:
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Yesterday I spotted the first one, climbing on the wall in the dining room. It was big about 1cm or more and rectangular. I sprayed some ant killer that I had at hand, it took off and started flying in circles. Finally I smacked it with the slipper, it was full of blood…
Today 3 more in the same area, climbing on the wall in broad daylight. So you think these are bed bugs? Cimex lectularius, Does it really fly?
I don’t see any bite marks, no signs in the bedroom so far. How can I establish what it is?
Thanks
Catalina
Hi – I’m with ya all! I have over 100 bed bug bites currently and I’m so itchy i feel like I’m having panic attacks! the doctor put me on steroids and antihistamine and cream but to no avail. I am very itchy! I stayed in a hotel which i obviously was a midnight buffet!
To no surprise, the general manager said that there is no evidence of bed bugs in that room (OF COURSE THERE WOULDN’T BE!). Never even apologized, how rude! Anyhow, I’m sending along some pics for you all and i am seeing an attorney. These things are gonna leave NASTY scars!
The best ointment I’ve found for healing scarring from bedbites is Brave Soldier Antiseptic Healing Ornament (can also use bacitracin or neosporin). My skin showed significant improvement after just one day. Others ointments which helped include CVS Scar Cream, Dr. Blaine’s Scar Care and PreVenin-AT Advanced Scar Therapy. I usually do not use antiseptic soap, but I discovered it does help heal the bed bug bite marks, so I’ll use it until I run out of the small bottle I bought and then go back to normal soap.
Sue:
It’s possible that those are fleas… my experience with bedbugs is that they leave a trail of bites, if you have fair skin like mine you realize that they find a vein and follow it. if your bites are more random, it might not be bedbugs (but I am not an expert).
I keep getting bit by something in my bed every night, every time I wake up it gets worse, what can I do? I’ve tried everything, from spraying it down with bug killers to frebreeze to even plastica sheets, it’s crazy, I might be allergic to them or something, they are starting to bruise over.
To Sue, Post #33.
I believe that little brown poop is not from a bed bug, but actually flea waste. Take a few of them and break them in half and if it looks like blood, then chances are it is flea poop.
Good luck!
Cindy
* Here is what I use for dealing with the intense itching of bedbug bites: household ammonia, straight, on a cotton ball, paper towel or tissue. You have to hold it on the bite for a few minutes, you don’t get instant relief, but after a little while it stops the itching. For me, the itching sometimes doesn’t come back at all, or if it does, it’s not as bad and not until the next day.
I wish I had as good luck getting rid of the bedbugs as getting rid of the itching!
I have been getting bitten since May when I got back from a road trip. I had had to spend a total of 4 nights in motels on that trip. I never thought to check the beds!
The bites in the picture above, have been getting more and more lately, and look like large mosquito bites that itch for far longer than one. I have been spaying these bites with rubbing alcohol. It helps for awhile but I do find myself waking in the night just to spray the bites.
Finally, yesterday, I showed my husband what I’ve been finding in the bed for the past week. See the pictures below.
This looks like termite poop only smaller and more brown in color. I have a waterbed also so have not been able to ‘see’ blood stains.
I am going to try to do all of these little tricks everyone has been saying to find out for sure if this is what’s going on and try to control them. Throwing the bed out is not an option at this point. (It’s less than a year old, and we all know how expensive waterbeds are!) We are moving soon so we can break down the waterbed and clean it as much as possible. I’m hoping this will take care of the problem. I don’t have carpets but I am concerned that the bugs will get into the wall sockets.
Let me know what ya’s think?
I don’t know much about bed bugs, but I’ve been getting some suspicious bites on my legs recently that itch a lot. They are usually in little groups, just like bed bug bites are supposed to be. I cant really look for blood stains though, because I have a water bed.
Basically what I want to know is: Can bed bugs live in a water bed? I don’t see why not. It would be easy to squeeze between the bladder and the wooden frame, but I don’t know.
P.S.: once they find a bed, do they wander around or just stay there?
My ex and I share custody of my 14 year old daughter. About a month ago, his wife called me to say that her youngest had chicken pox, and since my daughter had never had them, I should be on the lookout. Two days later, my daughter had a horrible oozy rash all over, and was itching like crazy. I thought it was chicken pox because she hadn’t had them and I thought my ex had been to the doctor about it.
As I was taking her back there that day, I told them they could treat her for the chicken pox, and they said it wasn’t chicken pox. They said the doctor had no idea what it was except that it was an allergic reaction to something.
Yesterday, his wife called to tell me that they found out what it was. They had gotten a used couch and just discovered that it was completely overrun with bedbugs. My daughter is allergic to the bites. Now I’ve gotten bites that are almost like mosquito bites, but they itch really bad. I’m worried that my daughter brought some bedbugs with her from there. They said they threw the couch out, but I don’t think that completely took care of the problem and it will keep coming to my house now. I need help.
So I was researching spider bites, allergies and whatever else I could come across to try to figure out what I have. That’s when I came across this site and believe I may have gotten bit by bed bugs. This looks like a nightmare!
The first bump was on my knee. We camp a lot so just brushed it off. Now for about 5 days or so I have been noticing more and more by the day. I have at least 30-40 spots on my body (feet, ankles, legs, fingers and even a few spots behind my ears now!). I would have to say they are almost clear with little bubbles (that itch like crazy and when I give in to itching, do sometimes break and leak a clear liquid…no pus). It seems to be just one and gradually get a small cluster in a spot (about 2-6 “bubbles” gathered).
What do you think? My husband works third shift so sleeps during the day and has none of these. My baby (who sleeps in the room next to ours) had a bump/bubble a few weeks ago (again started as one bite and ended up being a little cluster). I had/have no clue what she had, but only one spot. She’s 17 months, but didn’t seem bothered by it. After a week or so it almost got a scab on it and came off. Any ideas? Does it look like I’m in for bed bugs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Good luck to you all too!
Also – I searched my bed and came up with nothing. Not the best at laundry, but did just put new linen and blankets on the bed hoping it would help, but it didn’t.
Since I came down with the bumps, I have gotten a nasty cold (sinus, sore throat, tight chest, terrible headache) and a slight fever comes and goes. Since I submitted the last entry, I was reading more info and these symptoms were present in other things. And even more odd, I have been really stiff! I thought I was just being a wuss, but could this be something? I plan on making a call to the doc, but currently I’m pretty PO’ed at them (they don’t seem to be able to solve anything I talk to them about…how hard is it to diagnose migraines? to tough for my clinic…but they are looking for my $$$$)!!
Anyhoo, anyone else find some of these odd, seemingly unrelated, signs/symptoms? I had taken some allergy medication to help with the cold symptoms and the antihistamine seems to really help with the itching. Bath seemed to itch more during, but felt okay after. Looking forward to others responses…if any.
Hi, it’s Swasti. Two months we shifted to new apartment and after couple a days we had get bitten buy bed bugs, we thought it was an allergy, but we saw bedbugs and informed to house owner. The owner did steaming to carpet and after two days he use professional bedbugs spraying, after that, we didn’t get eaten by bed bugs. About a week later, I saw one crawling in my bed which I liked and again informed to house owner and again was sprayed by bed bug professionals.
Do you think need another spray or it will work? So far, we have not been eaten, but yesterday I was vacuuming the room and I think I now have an allergy, but I never had allergies before the spraying.
Please help.
Hello, i learned a lot bout these bugs the hard way because my friend brought in a bed from the garbage. All this time i thought that “don’t let the bed bugs bite” was a joke until some months ago. Now I get these bumps that has a head on it with yellow stuff coming out because he got bit by them so much.
I use to wake up with bites all over my neck, back, legs, and everywhere else. The only way i got rid of them is by kicking one of my friends out with the bed, also i got rid of all furniture because these bugs love to travel. I ended up getting air beds. i don’t know how long bites and itching last because i was getting bit every night, but after everything was gone it took about 3 to 4 days for the itching to stop and 5 to 7 days for the bites to leave.
PLEASE DON’T SCRATCH or you will get those boils and let me tell you, those hurt real bad!
My poor baby!!! I will love you forever if you can help me. My two year old has been waking up with bites for about two weeks or so. They are swollen and perfectly round, very similar to a mosquito bite that is a day or two old. Sometimes there is a pink area around the bite that is not raised at all but is encircled with a darker, almost red line and I’m wondering if they are bed bugs?
If you can tell me how to send pictures I will be happy to. Here is the other thing, I recently (about the time the bites started) moved her to a toddler bed. She still has the same mattress as before, but the bed frame was in the attic. I have also realized there is bat feces in the attic right around where the bed was stored. Have not seen bats yet and don’t really want to look for them…yikes. We also have mice. Not a lot we can do about that (that I know of) as we live on a farm and they never seem to really go away. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Sara
Katherine, that is not a bed bug. I unfortunately know almost everything about them and I’ve never seen a bed bug that looks like this.
Hey everyone,
Thank God for sites like this, at least were not alone. I had a problem about 4 months ago with bed bugs. I only found 1 but had been bitten several times. I have a really bad reaction to the bites. Aside from the unrelenting itch, the area around the bite swells about 10 times the size of the actual bite.
When all this happened I disposed of the mattress and box spring and had an exterminator come in and spray. The linens and pillows also were thrown away. I did not, however, put all my clothes in plastic. I wash all the washable clothes in hot water but the rest just stayed in the closet. I had the exterminator come back a month later and spray again (I was paranoid) but all was well. Until a few nights ago I woke up with about 10 bites on my arm. Here we go again!!!
I can not find any evidence of bed bugs. no blood stains, mattress is in perfect, brand new condition. I checked every fold, every crevice, but I know they are somewhere. I called the exterminator back and he said “I really don’t think it is bed bugs because it has been too long since the last time” Ok! I don’t think I am imagining the bites on my arm. so he is bringing over the sticky pads to see what we can find.
I have slept on the couch since the bites and will do so until I am free of these bugs once and for all. I will also tell you I live in a four bedroom house and no one else has ever been bitten. My boyfriend sleeps over quite a bit and he has never been bitten.
Strange, very strange. Does anyone know if this is possible that 4 months can pass and then bitten again? HELP!!!!
Hi, My husband and I are being bitten regularly. Our bites are exactly like all of the photos, although for me they are always on the upper leg/lower torso. We have absolutely no evidence, though, in our room. No blood spots, no sightings, nothing. I started the process of dry cleaning, bagging, encasing, etc – everything recommended on all of the bed bug sites – before we call in the professionals, and found the bug below in the folds of our comforter.
Is this a bed bug? It doesn’t look like any of the bed bug pictures, but it’s the only bug we’ve seen. As a description, it is 1/4 inch in length, tan with black around the perimeter of its flat “shell” and another black strip down the center. The shell has little ridges on the lower half, perpendicular to the stripes.
It does not stick at all to sticky tape, and when I pressed on it ever so slightly under the sticky tape, it squished, oozing a grey fluid (no blood), and died. (Note that the back end of the bug is usually just rounded. It looks a bit distorted in this photo from being accidentally squished.)
Any thoughts on what this bug is would be greatly appreciated!!!
Several years ago we stayed at the YWCA in Quebec City which was obviously infested — blood spots and bug parts appeared on the sheets. The YWCA said ‘it’s only you.’ I thought I had gotten rid of all bedbugs that came back in our luggage by vacuuming, laundering and pesticides, but we still get bitten occasionally.
I have never seen a bedbug in the house and can’t find their dark spots anywhere, but the bites usually appear overnight and are in rows (see photo of below).
I’m putting out sticky traps to try and catch one. If I do find one, I’ll quarantine our beds by steam cleaning the frames, encasing the mattresses and box springs in vinyl zippered bags, laundering all bedding, and putting the bed legs in bowls of mineral oil. (I’ve been doing my research.) There’s a great folk remedy for the itching: In the bath or shower, use water just as hot as you can stand to treat the bites for a few minutes. It itches intensely for a few seconds, but then there is relief for many hours.
Hi everyone, I recently saw a report on the news about bed bugs that, ever since, has literally had me feeling like things are crawling on me. I know, I’m a slightly paranoid, but to everyone here with the bed bug problem, I have some suggestions.
1. Wash all linens (including pillows) regularly in HOT water, use chlorine bleach on white sheets and pillows and non-chlorine bleach on colored sheets and dry everything on your dryer’s hottest setting for about an hour. I wash and change my sheets every Saturday.
2. Boric acid! Put boric acid along baseboards in rooms with beds and linen closets. You can put real sticky traps (not double sided tape); I’m talking about the sticky traps meant to trap mice and rats. Put them under beds and in corners, when the bugs fall/walk onto them, they are done. I use them in my basement to trap crickets, but tons of tiny bugs have been caught also. I buy boric acid at Home Depot (approx. $2.00 for a large cylinder) and sticky traps at Wal-mart (approx. $3.00 each).
3. Steam clean and vacuum carpets. You’d be surprised what can live in carpets that are not maintenance regularly. The best vacuums on the market are Dyson and Rainbow (Rainbow vacuums are expensive $1500-$3000), they pick up everything, it’s incredible. I run the vacuum every day.
4. Wash mattresses with bleach solution (1 part bleach/2 parts water) and damp towel or sponge. Don’t drench the mattress, just enough to see the mattress is wet and rub off top soil and dirt.
5. Vacuum mattress with hose attachment. So obviously vacuum before you wash the mattress. lol
6. Put rarely used clothes, linens, pillows, ect in air tight bags, like the space bags sold at Target and Wal-mart. You insert objects and suck the air out with a vacuum flattening the objects which, creating more storage space, killing bugs that might make it into the bags (no air equals no life) and eliminating future bugs from getting in.
7. Seal the bottom of box springs. Box springs come with that thin fabric on the bottom to keep the wood from being exposed. Seal it off completely with strong fabric and a strong adhesive. You might want to treat the wood first if you find the bugs living in there. Since you don’t sleep directly on the box spring you can treat with a house hold pesticide and/or boric acid.
Once you get your home clean and bug free be careful about the places you sleep at outside your home and the people you let sleep at your home.
If everything else fails…
Throw the mattress, box spring, sheets, ect in the dumpster. Hire professionals to clean and buy new stuff.
Good luck to everyone, I hope this helps someone.
Weird, my roommate discovered bites about a month ago. He never saw them and I never got bit, yet found bed bugs in little clusters on my mattress zipper. If I do get bit, I don’t have any reaction. The bugs I found I would squash and they are full of blood. I also see some strange stains on the wall that look blood colored, little track like dots.
Anyway, I lost my roommate over this and I have tried to clean/spray/seal all aspects of these in my room and am a little scared to get a new roommate and how that could pan out if they are still around. This is flipping my life upside down because I can’t afford this apartment by myself and probably couldn’t afford the high rates charged around here anymore.
My renters insurance doesn’t cover bed bugs and am so unorganized having had my whole apt bagged. I can’t find anything and don’t have a mattress to sleep on. This may lead me to a city hostile.
Help, I need help killing these bed bugs! They won’t die, no matter what we do and how we do it. We have cleaned and we have sprayed, what else can we do? Someone please tell me because I am one of those ones that are allergic to them and look horrible.
Please help…thanks
No photos not sure what is biting me but i itch like hell NOTHING makes the itching stop it fells like I’m constantly being bitten all over my body when I’m in my house when I’m in other places it itches but not as bad. When I’m in bed it is just unbearable haven’t slept at night in 4 days i end sleeping at my friends just to sleep during the day. Small reddish bumps EVERYWHERE
Hi, I’m new here but I believe Lei’s bites look like flea bites. Fleas get everywhere, I know for fact. We moved into a new house and on the first night there had to sleep on the floor, twenty minutes after we went to bed, we were covered in them. They had lain dormant in the carpet, and the vibrations of our feet had hatched the eggs etc.
We self bombed the entire house with the canned bombs, and we continually vacuum up with our kirby vacuum, to get dead fleas eggs etc. I believe the last tenants did not have such good hygiene habits so managed to infest the house with human fleas (there are three types of fleas dog fleas, cat fleas and human fleas, the fleas usually prefer they’re own type (cat fleas like to feed on cats etc, but will still feed on dogs or humans if there choice is limited). Thanks
Hi Sally,
We don’t give legal advice here, but there have been a good number of lawsuits from people bitten by bedbugs and later ended up with an infection.
Send us a picture and we’ll take a look and post for everyone to see, plus, you’ll have it documented then.
Regards,
Jim.
I am a flight attendant and I also got bit by bed bugs in downtown Des Moines Iowa (Fort Des Moines) My bites started to itch the next morning on my wrist and later that day I had many more on my arms. The next day I had bumps on the sides of my knees and they started to ooze. I even had one on the bottom of my nose. I have been to the company clinic and they just say I was bit by an insect. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow and i am curious to see if he can identify these marks (I have pictures to show him too). Also, any legal advice?
Hi, I think i have bed bugs but iIm not sure. my parents had them, and i told them that the bugs in my bed look a lot like bed bugs, but they keep telling me i dont have bed bugs because we cant find dark spots on my mattress, and the only adults that i have seen have never looked swollen like the one in the picture. i wake up with bug bites that look like mosquito bites on the back of my arms and some on my back, but i don’t know if that’s all from my bed or if its from being outside. is there any way i can find out whether or not i have bed bugs?
Couldn’t send photos, because my camera’s broken, but I can describe the bites pretty well. They’re like mosquito bites, only in clusters or rows (I have a nice L shape going on my right foot…), and itched real bad. I picked up a tube of AfterBite at the drugstore today, because that worked for my mosquito bites at a friend’s, and it helped somewhat, though they still itch a bit.
Trouble is, the only bugs I’ve found (and I have found a few of the same kind around the edges of my mattress) look nothing like the pictures of bedbugs. They’re small and oval-shaped, but kind of bristly-looking on the main part of the body.
I spent the weekend at a friend’s in Massachusetts, and the morning after I came back had bites on my feet and lower legs that really itched. The next morning I had more. I have no idea where they could have come from so suddenly, and I still don’t know if they’re really bedbugs or not. Anyone have any suggestions?
Bed bugs are driving me insane! I have not only disposed of my old bed but changed my mattress twice. I have also completely re-decorated my room and cleaned it from top to bottom.
Running out of ideas on what I can do, even thinking of selling up!!
I find comfort in reading that other people are bugged in bed by these quiet little beasts. I grew up in California thinking that bedbugs were an imaginary thing like fairies and the Easter bunny, but last summer I realized they are all too real.
Since then I’ve ripped out all the carpet in my Brooklyn apartment and have spent many days sealing up the cracks and holes along the walls and floors. I have a bedbug graveyard taped to the wall. As for the living that remains, it’s impossible to track them down; it’s like an ant in a library. I just hope they are a curse that’s about to be lifted.
On a scientific note, I have lately encountered a few baseboard dwellers that look a bit like a bedbug, but with a bulby back, more like a spider. Wondering if anyone knows about these guys, dark brown, reddish, but not with the flattened football body like a bedbug. These guys are more bulby and I wonder if these might be bedbug eaters, the good guys, and that’s why I haven’t seen so many bedbugs lately or maybe they’re pregnant bedbugs?
Like life, the mystery abounds…
p.s. stayed in a cheap hotel in fort stockton this summer, and my goodness, the lone star state might have the biggest, baddest bedbugs in the union!
Discovered these bloodsuckers yesterday. Caught one and compared to pictures from the internet and confirmed they are indeed bed bugs. I have declared war on them and have discovered their camps and bases. Operations launched and ammunitions of quarters have been ordered. Figure out that a lot of unused linen around the bed had been housing them. Will be cleaning a truck load of linen tomorrow and see what happens.
It is now 3:30 a.m., and I am awake with fear at the Hampton Inn/Mobile, Alabama. Having checked in yesterday, and arising yesterday morning with no itch or symptoms, I began to itch furiously about 9:30am. I am suffering with horrible allergic reactions to these bites, and thought I only had 2-3 on my arms. However, when returning to the hotel tonight, I noticed them on my chest, and bottom extremities as well.
I don’t see anything on the mattress, but plan on finishing my research, packing up, heading home, and leaving my bags and clothing in the garage upon arrival. I will also plan on washing and drying on high heat any articles of clothing from the trip, including spraying my luggage with a household pesticide.
I can’t believe that these bites are as painful as they are and I didn’t even feel the bite. I am also notifying the front desk of my findings and hope that they’ll investigate and based upon their findings, treat the room for any future, unsuspecting guests.
I have been looking for information on how long bed bug bites last once a person is bitten, and if there was a medication/cream that people use to help quell the itching.
Thanks for all that info previously printed, though, for I’m going to be armed with it the next time I go to a cheap hotel.
We actually just got back from Vegas now that you mention it, we stayed at Treasure Island. There aren’t any stains on the mattress at all, so this concerns me. To this date, I have not seen one bug! I’ve had the bite marks for about 5-6 days now and for some reason, they begin to itch/swell every time I go outside in cool weather. Hydrocortisone seems to help with the itching.
Hello Lei,
It is very difficult to tell, but I’d bet this is a case of bed bugs. Did you happen to recently get back from a vacation and if so, where did you stay (woods, hotel, etc?)
Are there any stains on the mattress?
Regards,
Jim.
My boyfriend and I have been getting some bites around our ankles during bedtime over the past couple of days. We couldn’t figure out if it was spiders or bedbugs?
I stripped the bed down and looked inch for inch, but unsuccessfully discovered the source. What could it be? You can see the bites in the photo below.
Many thanks!
Lei
I didn’t take pictures of my bites, but they totaled nearly 30 on my legs. I was literally “bugging out” because these (what I assume now were bed bugs) are horrible. What seemed to really stop the bites was grabbing all my sheets at once, rolling them up and placing them far away from my bed, later washing them in high heat. I then slept on top of my metal spring mattress but in a zipped up sleeping bag and the bites stopped occurring.
Help!
I am not quite sure what these bites may be but they seem to be bed bugs. I’ve searched all over and I could not find the bugs or the blood stains mentioned in the article.
I have no idea what type of bites these can be and would appreciate any help.
You can see from the photo of these bites that they hurt and itch!
I have had bedbugs for over a month now. dealing with it on my own since i don’t find many anymore. i recently found one hiding and captured it with my pencil. this is what i discovered.
1. they love wood…more than you could imagine. it didn’t want to get off the pencil. but it wouldn’t walk on the painted part no matter what i did.
2. i put it in a plastic food container and it couldn’t climb the sides. i am sure that they cant climb smooth hard surfaces like glass metal and plastic. they hate these surfaces very much. to them it is like slippery ice.
3. i put one on double sided carpet tape and it slowed it down a bit but it was still walking all over both sides until i pressed on it then it wouldn’t move. so i wouldn’t bother with tape.
4. i found several in spider webs so spiders are your best friend.
I am a flight attendant, who was staying at the Crown Plaza in Phoenix. I got bit by bed bugs, as I slept. The affected areas have turned into large water filled blisters/boils. I now have staph infection as a result of these bites.