Bed Bug FAQ
We receive a log of questions about bed bugs, such as what is a bed bug, where do they come from, are they dangerous, etc.. We have taken the most popular questions and posted them here with their corresponding answers.
What is a bed bug?
Picture of a bedbug
A bed bug is a small nocturnal insect of the family Cimicidae that lives by hematophagy (or in other words by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts). Bug bugs can be found all over the world, generally in human inhabited environments. The reason bed bugs are normally found in these areas is because they feed off the blood of humans.
Bug bugs are fairly small; an adult may grow to be the size of 4-7mm. They are a reddish-brown color and their shape is flat and oval.
Although misconceptions have led people to believe that they are not visible to the eye, they are in fact visible and easy to spot because of their slow movements.
Where do bug bugs come from?
Bug bugs can come from a variety of places. But typically one of the most common forms of infestation is through contacts with infested furniture in hotels, motels, and other places of temporary accommodation. Bug bugs can be passed on from used clothing or furniture. Cleanliness does not arrest the spread of infestation directly. The idea that dirt causes bug bugs infestations is a misconception. However cleanliness, by depriving the bed bugs some of their hiding places, does slow down the infestation. Apartment complexes often have bug bugs because they can get from apartment to apartment easily.
What are the feeding habits of bug bugs?
As previously mentioned bug bugs feed on the blood of humans. When a bed bug bites a human it injects two hollow tubes into the skin. With one tube the bed bug injects a anti-coagulant, anesthetic and with the other tube it steals your blood. Generally a bed bug will feed for about five minutes before returning to its hiding place. Also, bug bugs typically are active only at night (they start appearing at dusk) because they are nocturnal, but can be seen anytime especially if a chance to feed occurs. An important bit of information to know about the feeding habits of bug bugs is that they can survive for up to eighteen months without feeding even though they seek blood every five to ten days. A hungry bed bug looks slightly different from one that’s just been fed. A hungry bed bug typically flat with a circular shaped abdomen while a blood fed bed bug is elongated with a tapered abdomen.
Are bed bug bites dangerous?
Typically one can’t feel a bed bug bite until minutes or hours later. The bite may look like a flat welt or a raised, red bump and are often times very itchy. Luckily their bites aren’t dangerous but rather annoying. They can cause skin irritation or rashes if bit frequently so it’s a wise idea to get rid of them as soon as possible. If you end up itching or your skin gets irritated you may be allergic to bed bug bites due to the chemical they release when they bite you. However, doctors often misdiagnosis bed bug bites due to the fact they look like other skin conditions. The bites may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to go away on their own.
How do I stop the itching from bed bug bites?
One that will help out is anti-itching cream for insect bites. You can usually find these at a drug store over-the-counter. Other people say that taking Benadryl or using calamine lotion will help with it. It’s important to remember that even though these methods may help reduce itchiness they will not get rid of the bug bugs, so it’s important that you seek help to get rid of the bug bugs or they will still find and bite you. Our Bed Bug Treatment section has a list of all treatments that worked for our visitors.
How can I tell if I have bug bugs?
Check out our Bed Bug Checklist for a comprehensive list of ways in which you can check for bedbugs – generally, the first thing you may notice is a peculiar pungent odor, this odor is often times very familiar to building inspectors and tenement dwellers. If you think you may have bug bugs it’s a good idea to visually check your bed, as bug bugs can often be spotted. Other things you may notice are blood spots, fecal stains or cast exoskeleton skins. Take extra care in checking the mattress itself and the corners of bed nets. Bug bugs typically will hide in old furniture, behind peeling paint, wooden floorboards as well as seems and folds in a mattress, bed frames and bed springs. Remember, just because they are called bug bugs doesn’t mean they are only in your bed. Although in most cases bug bugs are in a small, concentrated area and usually within 10-20 feet of where you sleep. Make sure to look at our Bed Bug Checklist for more information on this!
What do I need to know if I have bug bugs?
If you think you may have bug bugs don’t bring anything else into the contaminated room because it may become contaminated. Also remember not to start sleeping in a different bed, the sofa or with another family member or friend because there is a chance that the bug bugs may follow you to the new location and therefore contaminate another area. Don’t throw anything out, try to get rid of the bug bugs yourself or try and treat yourself, wait and seek help from a professional. Make sure you don’t bag anything unless it has been washed in hot water and dried on hot for one to two hours. Remember, if you bag up clothing or bedding that has not been washed and they contain bug bugs when you open the bag the bug bugs may contaminate your living space again as they can live up to 18 months without feeding. To be safe just assume everything in that room is infested; also, make sure to review our bed bug treatment section.
How do you get rid of bug bugs?
Check out our Bed Bug Treatment section for exact details and methods – it’s a good idea to get rid of bug bugs as soon as possible because each individual bed bug can lay four to five eggs a day, so if you do the math that’s a lot of bug bugs you don’t want around (Consider this: in a room that is around 70 degrees and there are 40 bugs six months later there would be 5,905 bugs!). Consider the help of a pest control company as they have much experience in dealing with bug bugs. If you decide to go that route save any bug bugs you may find to show pest control so they can help you identify the specimen; again, check out our bed bug treatment section to find out what else you can do.
Do Bed Bugs ever bite private parts?
They sure do – they don’t care what part of the body they feed on, but they don’t like hair and will move to the area that is free from hair.
Do Mattress covers work?
Mattress covers will seal the mattress and keep bedbugs that are in, locked in (and those ‘trapped’ bugs will eventually die) and will also keep bed bugs out. The bed bugs hiding around the bed frame and other areas will still find their way to the top of the mattress and bite you. Don’t be fooled that this is a cure all, which it is not, a mattress cover simply protects the mattress (not you).
If you are looking for a mattress cover, you don’t have to spend a lot if you know what to look for! Check out my post on mattress cover for bed bugs.
Do Bed Bugs smell?
Most people say that bed begs smell like raspberries and in cases where the place is infested, it can smell like moldy shoes.
I’ve heard that bedbugs rest on the ceiling and fly to their target, is this true?
Not true, BUT, Bat Bugs which are exactly like bed bugs except for the hair on their head, feed on bats. If the infested bats residing in your home are removed, these bugs may move down and start feeding on you.
If I have a pet in the room with me, will the bed bugs feed on it instead of me?
No, you are the Filet Mignon and your pet is ground beef. Humans are the preferred host for feeding!
Is it true that a bite from a bed bug can take up to 14 days to show?
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.
Can I take legal action against the hotel for being bitten by bed bugs?
Yes, there are a number of examples, but three of the most popular include a woman who filed a lawsuit against Catskills resort for $27 million; bitten so bad that she can no longer stay in hotels. Because this is a critical part of how she makes her living (she’s in entertainment booking), she can no longer continue her lifestyle.
The second involves a woman staying at the Hilton hotel in Ohio; Sai Kim filed a lawsuit for more than $5 million claiming that she ended up with a 150 bedbug bites on her hands, feet, face, fingers, toes, legs, neck, back, chest, stomach and genitals, see picture below.
Bed Bug Bites on Sai Kim who filed a 5 million dollar lawsuit
The claim reads like this: “As a direct result of exposure to bed bugs, she was left physically scarred and emotionally damaged and that these consequences were a direct result of the defendant’s negligence and that the hotel breached its duty to provide reasonably safe accommodations that eventually led to “embarrassing injury and tremendous emotional distress”. The first claim was also similar to that above.
The last case and probably the biggest bedbug case ever settled out of court, was a woman who was bitten more than 400 times while staying at a Ramada Plaza Hotel in San Francisco. It’s reported that she received $71,000 to settle her bed bug claim. Note: The reports on the net claim information about the lawsuit came from the City Star, a local paper, but in trying to find the actual case, no information was available.
If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Most Popular Pages Listed Below
How long does the DE stay on the carpet for?
I was just wondering how long the DE stays on the carpet for.
I have found that 20 Mule Team Borax will kill bed bugs and fleas. Just sprinkle it on the contaminated areas and leave it over night. Then vaccum the area. You may have to treat the area a couple of time, but It works.
Hi SisterT,
Have your sister explain her story on our Hotel Bedbugs page and give us the name and address of the hotel – we’ll search for any previous problems with bed bugs and report what we find – they may have recent complaints that you can then bring to their attention (send then a link to our findings).
This works very well and in the case of recent complaints, it helps motivate the hotel to come to a solution that you’re happy with :)
It is usually not the hotel’s fault for having bedbugs but if they have been notified and then do nothing to control the pests, the fault is clearly theirs!
My sister just called me from Las Vegas, Nevada where she decided to spend her Birthday. She is so stressed out because she stayed in a room infested with bed bugs.
She woke up with bed bug bites all over her arms and neck. She complained to the hotel staff and they told her she was lying and making it up. How can she be lying, she’s bitten all over.
She saw the bugs and asked for help from the hotel management. they barely helped her by getting her transportation to the laundry, where she had to spend most of her day washing her clothes on her dime. They only wanted to give her thirty 30 dollars to buy medicine for the itching and small red areas on her body. It has been a night mare she said. She was moved to another room and is still asking for help from the management.
One of the female managers has been so rude and mean to her. I found this website and told her to call her attorney right away. This is not right. She can’t even enjoy her stay there or find time to gamble.
Sister T
My friend’s apartment is being exterminated for bed bugs. I take great precaution whenever I am over there to wear light clothing that I would notice bugs on, and not take my purse or coat inside her apartment. I was over there yesterday and today helping her get ready for the extermination which is hopefully happening as we speak. She refused to wash all of her clothes, because she had just come home the night before from being out of town after washing all her clothes. She stuffed those, and most of her belonging in plastic bags. We did wash the clothes that had remained there over her trip though. I am terrified that the bed bugs are not going to go away, because she refused to actually wash all of her clothes.
More than that, I am afraid that they might have traveled with me, I woke up really early this morning, a few hours before sunrise paranoid that the bugs had followed me there. Is it possible that the bugs followed me, even though I took nothing into the apartment with me, and examined the clothes I was wearing when I got home? I was also worried that they could have ridden home in the car with me and could be living there now.
Am I just being overly paranoid? I have seen no signs of bedbugs, although I haven’t had time to do a through investigation yet, and it has only been one night.
I have spent time at her apartment before, and she didn’t tell me about the bed bug problem until later, but that has been months since she first discovered bedbugs.
Another experience I had was a very long time ago. I was going into highschool the following fall, and was in Mexico for a mission trip. The mission workers were working in a woman’s house that was infested with bed bugs. They put the mattress out on the street, and I remember looking at it.
The mattress was covered in holes, and the bugs were actually moving, in daylight! That must have been a really bad case of bugbites for them to be out and moving in the heat of the day in Mexico! Is this accurate?
Also, what affects do bedbugs have on small children?
I’m a flight attendant who woke up in an infested room on Thursday, Dec 3. I went straight to a laundromat, changed into brand new clothes, bras, panty, shoes, everything. Everything that was in the room was either washed and dried on the highest setting, or thrown away.
The only items that were not washed or tossed were credit cards, passport, some lipstick, my ipod,and a few pieces of jewelry. These things were placed in ziplock bags and brought home to my freezer.
I came home with all my salvaged belongings in a new garbage bag, my suitcase was discarded. The trash bag was knotted shut until the next morning, when I took it to another laundry mat to rewash and dry everything, even the clothes I changed into.
I was confident that I had caught the problem before I brought it home, but this weekend, Sat the 12th I noticed several bites on my arms, hands, and back. A few more surfaced on Sunday morning. This morning I had a hard time finding fresh ones, but kept turning the lights on every 30minutes or so.
The bites I developed this weekend are the only ones I’ve experienced, there weren’t any on the 3rd. My husband, who was not at the hotel with me, has none.
Is it more likely these bites are a delayed reaction to the hotel stay, or that I’ve brought them into my home? I can’t find any blood, droppings, or any other evidence in my apt, but maybe just a few got in, not enough to leave clues?
I’m scared. Especially because we are supposed to fly to the in-laws this Wed for our Christmas visit. I’d hate to bring it to them too!
I woke up this morning with what looked like a hive or mosquito bite on my chest but I’m afraid it could be a bed bug bite. I was reading that bed bugs normally bite more than once but I only had that one mark. Is this a bed bug bite or am I just being paranoid.
I just got back from Cuba and stayed there in a resort for 1 week. 1 and half days after i returned i started getting very itchy and a lot of bumps on my body which look like mosquito bites, I am pretty sure they are not mosquito bites. do you think they are bed bugs?
I had an infestation of bed bugs at my apartment complex last year. I had to throw all of my furniture, linens, clothes, mattresses and anything else that could potentially be infested with bed bugs. I have been wanting to file a law suit against the complex but am unsure how I can go about it. Does anyone have any suggestions or information?
Is it possible to only have one bed bug? How does that one come home with you and reproduce? The reason I am asking is I recently had about 10 dreaded bites over the course of 2 weeks and I cleaned everything and disposed of some stuff and I haven’t been bitten in 2 weeks. Could I have rid myself of them completely already?
Five days ago I started to notice itchy bumps on my arms and legs. Identical to mosquito bites. Several more each day. of course I wrote it off until I started to notice patterns of the bites, in clusters.
backstory:
I went to my cousins wedding on long island back in late September (2009).
Spent a day/night after the wedding seeing the city, slept in an apt in the upper west side. Nice place.
Well my hostess informed me recently that they are now dealing with a massive bedbug infestation.
…………….
Owned.
…………….
I tore my house apart last night for an hour looking for any sign of the little d-bags. Flipped mattress, pulled apart furniture/cushions, pillows out of the pillow case.
I was ready to give up when i noticed a small reddish black dot resting on the back edge of my sofa.
Grabbed it with tweezers and sure enough… a dead, smallish tick looking bug. kind of red. Unmistakable when compared to the images on this site & others.
……………..
Owned
……………..
So here is my 1st question.
I live alone in a 1-1 apt. assuming I brought back a nasty little nyc bedbug hitch hiker in my luggage:
How did I go from no bites, a full 5 weeks after getting home, to 15+ bites a week later??
could one bug have been lost in my suitcase pocket or something for weeks without finding me, only to have a meal and poop out 20-30 babies with all -u-can-eat vouchers….
I guess that’s it. I know exactly what my problem is, and probably how it happened. i am just upset and needing consolation.
The exterminator is coming out on Wednesday. Washing every single item of clothing I own tomorrow. However:
My apt is very full of stuff; laundry is small potatoes compared to the stacks of unsorted boxes of crap in the closets. This does not bode well for me, I imagine.
i am preparing to be the main course for 9 months till my lease expires, and the bugs will probably follow me wherever i go, unless i jettison like.. Everything I own.
I feel really bad for my neighbors. i just spent one night in nyc.. But it was in the middle of a Manhattan-wide bedbug epidemic, and this was before the issue getting heavy press. Terrible coincidence.. And everyone is going to suffer because of me.
These creatures are abominations
How can I tell old bites from new bites?
I had bed bugs in my college dorm room. I washed my clothes in hot water and moved them into a new room. Is it possible for the clothes to have bed bug poop on them even after they’ve been hot washed?
Phani. I’m not sure how things are going for you since you wrote this 2 weeks ago. Hopefully you come here and check for replies so you will see this. Have you tried Diatomaceous Earth(DE for short) yet? All I read is that you called for the help of two different exterminating companies.
I’m not sure how much you’ve read on this site but I’ve read the whole thing and after reading all the promising posts about DE, I figured what the heck and tried it. It shouldn’t cost any more than $15 a bag. It wasn’t a fast treatment by all means but “knock on wood” it worked! As long as your patient and follow what I’m going to write, you should be bed bug(BB for short) FREE in about 1 1/2 to 2 months. I haven’t seen a live bug in over 3 weeks; I lost count. I did see a big dead one two days ago in the cat bed when I was vaccuming it.
This is what your going to do. Clean your whole house from top to bottom, don’t miss any spot. Wash ALL of your clothes,sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. in HOT water and dry on HOT from now on or atleast til you KNOW your 100% bed bug(BB for short) free. I’m not sure what kind of vaccum you have. If it uses bags, immediately after everytime you vaccum, take it out, put it in a plastic bag and double knot it. It might be a good idea to double bag it then bring it right out of your house immediately. If you have the kind of vaccum that’s a bagless system, every time you vaccum empty the vaccum, on a non carpeted floor; empty the vaccum into a plastic bag, double knot it and put it in another plastic bag and double knot that one and again, bring it right out of your house immediately.
Now your going to sprinkle the DE along all the floorboards. I use a tiny sifter to distribute my DE throught my house. I find that using the sifter gives a good dusting. Your also going to put the DE under every bed, under all foor legs of every bed, between the boxspring & mattress of every bed, under the couch, love seat, and any other large living room furnature. More DE between EVERY door way, under any furnature that does set right on the floor. If you can’t move furnature like I can’t, do the best you can getting the DE under all the furnatute.
The ONLY “problem” I have with DE is that it makes your house VERY dusty and when I say dusty, OMGosh, your going to find DE dust where you’d never expect it which is why I think a lot of people stop using the DE but for me, I’d rather dust every 2-3 days and NOT have BBs.
Now your going to keep your house clean, free of clutter(well best you can, hey I live in the real world where kids make messes), keep washing & drying everything in hot hot hot. Vaccum every other day and replace any DE that has been vaccumed up. Keep this up and within 2 1/2 months you should be free of these stupid bugs. Please keep us updated on what you do and how things are going. A lot of people don’t update so we have no idea of what works and what doesn’t work. Good Luck!
If i wash my clothes in hot water and put them in a hot dryer chances are good they will shrink. granted this will be better than having the bugs, but is there a better way? can i have them dry cleaned.
My father died recently and while cleaning out his apt we discovered he had bed bugs. He was vacationing with me 1.5 months before he died and slept in my bed. How long will it take before I notice if i have a problem? I’ve been reading all about it and I don’t see any signs yet. I don’t know when I can stop looking. I’m making myself nuts over it!! Please help!
My son’s bedroom was infested with bed bugs. My cousin sleeps there he did not have any reaction until it was bad. He only noticed the infestation when we had 90F in June in Chicago. We panicked and called Guardian pest control. They gave an appointment later that week and did not have any advice on the safety instructions.
We panicked a lot and moved the mattress and mattress pad into the garage and back yard. My son has a captain bed with lot of under bed storage. We put all his toys in garbage bags and put them in the garage. PCO came in twice and sprayed we still have bed bugs. Later we got our house steam cleaned. After couple days we had bed bugs in our master bed room. We hired a different PCO. They in 3 times and sprayed, but no luck. At this point we think all bedrooms are infested and we think our family room couch is also infested.
So my all house is infested. We have a 2700 sq ft single family house with 4 bed rooms and 2.5 bath and basement. We have 2 kids and my parents are visiting. Total we are 6 people in the house. Need help in controlling the infestation and getting rid of them. Please kindly give me suggestions and help me.
At this point we’re very depressed not knowing what to do. We put mattress covers to all the mattress.
Please help us????
Bad news…. I just found this info about the DE made for swimming pools ….. “make sure you don’t get Diatomaceous Earth (DE for short) that’s designed to be used in swimming pools. That isn’t appropriate for your bedroom even though it’s called the same thing. You also shouldn’t breathe it in directly if you can avoid it (the pool kind is bad for that, but “food grade” has a lower silica quantity and isn’t as big a risk).” See Diatomaceous Earth for more information.
Angie, my mom works for an elderly apt. complex who are currently fighting bed bug infestation. Unfortunately, the company has been cutting corners and only exterminating the apts. that have bed bugs and not the ones next to them and above and below them so now they are bringing in the dogs. Long story short, the exterminator that she has been talking to didn’t know that the appts. also have a huge mice problem and have for years now. So he says to her, “you don’t have a mouse problem right?” She informed him that yes indeed they DO have a HUGE mouse problem. He said that the bed bugs can and do indeed travel from appt. to appt. on the mice. So from the mouth of an exterminator, bed bugs can and do travel on mice.
A PLUS to post about the Diatomaceous Earth (DE for short) working for getting rid of Bed Bugs. I have been using it for a little over a month now. It is very show going but it works. Originally I was catching 4-8 bed bugs a night. Yah, I was pretty much up all night and not getting much sleep. Anyway about a week ago I was excited as I hadn’t seen any in 2 whole days. One day I wasn’t sure of as I slept the whole night. My body had just given up and I slept so who knows if any came out that night. Neither my son nor I have had any bug bites in over 3 weeks now. Anyway, the 3rd night I caught 4 bed bugs. Grrrr! Anyway, yesterday I had said to my son with a knock on the wood, that I hadn’t seen any in 2 days again. I was wide awake all night as early into bed, I saw one pretty big one(I’ve seen them all sizes)on my blanket but didn’t see any the rest of the night. So knock on wood that after a little over a month of using DE, we might be close to killing all of the suckers. Even so, I will be using DE for the rest of my life even though I have to dust every 2-3 days instead of weekly. I have it along ALL the floor boards and in every door way. That way if we or my neighbors get some they won’t get bad like they did when we got them in Oct. or Nov. Yes, I’ve been fighting them since Oct./Nov. :o(
Speaking of yesterday, we were at my parents’ house and my mom was talking about their bed bug problem, no infestation in the apt. units where she works. Without saying too much, she works for the government in elderly housing. I didn’t tell my parents that we got BBs but that I was hearing a lot about them and that I was taking precautions against them. Anyway, I mentioned about DE. She said that some of the tenents have had it and are taking the BB problem on themselves and said that a lot of them had some powder stuff that she thinks somebody had said was DE. It’s a long story but they originally were only exterminating the apt. that had the BBs not the ones that abut it also. It’s so bad now that on the way to check an apt. yesterday she saw one on the wall in the hallway and was horrified. They are bringing in the dogs sometime next week but I have a BIG feeling that they’re going to have to bomb the whole building. Not sure what they’re gonna do with the hundreds of residents. Anyway, as I said, they were checking apts. yesterday and she went into one that has BB infestations on both sides of it, across the hall, above, and below it so she thought of course it would have BBs. The guy in the apt. was taking matters into his own hands and was using DE. She said that she was shocked, that they checked EVERYWHERE and there were NO BB’s in his apt. Mind you every appt. that surrounds his are infested. Just wanted to share this info about the DE and that it DOES work.
Oh and I know a lot of people have been having problems with finding DE since we have been told here that it is found in feed stores. I even had quite a bit of trouble #1 finding a feed store since I live in the city then #2 when I would find a feed store, they didn’t carry DE. Well in mentioning the DE to my mom, my dad said that they is what he uses in the pool filer system. I haven’t looked at it but make 100% sure that somewhere on the container that it says that it is NOT TOXIC and if you have a pet/s that it says PET FRIENDLY or PET APPROVED. That bag I got at the feed store says Pet Approved. It also says ORGANIC, so that would be something else to look for if you buy the DE used for the pool filter. Since the DE my dad uses is for the pool filter is for the pool and not used as an organic bug killer for plants as the ones in the feed stores are, not sure if it is safe for humans and or pets to breath. So if you can’t find DE where you live, go to a POOL STORE and check out their DE. Read the container and make sure that it is DE only with nothing else added. I just thought that this would be interesting info for those of you having trouble finding DE. :o)
The landlord is sending an exterminator. We’re supposed to prepare by emptying every cabinet and drawer, washing and bagging all of our clothes, and cleaning and bagging all of our possessions. How long does preparation take? How do we clean every book and file folder and cosmetic? I cannot visualize where to put all of our bagged stuff in a small apartment. Have people successfully done this or do they cut corners?
I live in Paris in a very old apt building. Last October i noticed a bug on my 6 month old daughters head when I went to get her from daycare. Only now do I realize that it was a BB.
I am going to speak to the directress of the day care and tell that I have found BBs on her and the marks that i thought were spider bites.
My question is: Can BBs be carried into our flat with mice?
We have found mice since last December. I am going through everything and cleaning. Am going to get a steamer. My husband works at Pasteur Institute and is going to look at the two bugs I found yesterday with a microscope because I cannot see well upclose. one was alive and the other looks like a shell. they were both mixed up with alot of mouse excrement and they are not fleas for sure.
I read Italian, English and French. The news in all the languages about BBs disenheartening but only in the US and the UK are people really doing something about it. Please let me know about the mice carrying them.
Will this be enough to prevent bed bugs from following us? Pls help!
So we just moved into a temporary place, a tiny studio, have no furniture, so we did the (now I realize) dumb thing and found a used mattress (no box spring.) For about 3 weeks we have had the mattress on the hardwood floor.
I am not sure we have bedbugs because we saw 3-4 mosquitos flying around last night. Only one night before have I noticed bites, but last night was bad. I have 5 bites on one arm, 2 on the other, 3 on my hand, and more have been showing up throughout the day. I have looked and seen no bugs, no mold looking spots on the sheets, etc. But I have so many bites that I want to be on the safe side and nip the problem in the bud. (FYI, mosquitos do usually go nuts for me, but the way they have been appearing throughout the day and the sheer number make me think it’s something else.)
Ok, so we are moving today into a new place. We still won’t have much furniture yet- we threw out the mattress and will dry our sheets on high for 20 minutes as I saw somebody suggest on this site. Then will buy an air mattress for the time being. Is this enough?
I put my pajamas next to my regular clothes- do I need to put them all in the dryer? What about shoes, table cloth, suitcase that was sitting a few feet from the mattress, dog or cat?
Any suggestions would be helpful. Again, I haven’t seen any bugs even though I was up at 4am last night and freaked out and lifted the mattress. I don’t want to be paranoid but I definitely don’t want to take this problem with me!
Can anyone tell me if bed bug fecal spots can be removed from your bed sheets and covers? What do I use as I have tried various powders etc. I suppose I’ll have to discard my sheets etc. Help!
scarlett ohara, unfortunately, I’m finding that these buggers can live anywhere. Originally, they were ONLY on my son’s box spring. Not sure how we got them but I strongly feel we got them by him forgetting his jacket/coat outside at recess and it getting put in the lost and found at school.
They have anywhere from 1 to 4 boxes in the front of the school with all sorts of forgotten/lost items, mostly jackets, coats, and sweaters. My son would is autistic and would take his jacket/coat off during recess and then leave it there when it was time to go back in then at the end of the day, we’d have to go in and get it out of the box. Anyway, after a long fight, I thought that we had gotten rid of them.
Although it was a pain(literally), I would pull apart his bed and pull up the box spring every 2-3 days and vaccum everything amongst other things and we had NO bites for months. Well just about 1 to 1 1/2 months ago, I began getting bites. I sleep on the couch and one night I stayed up just to see and sure enough, around 3-4 a.m. out came the bed bugs. I can’t see them as my couch is navy blue so I just keep vaccumming and vaccuming and putting down the DE.
My apartment looks like I have never dusted it and I’m getting a little upset as I have had the DE down for about 2 weeks now and I am still seeing the bugs come out at night, all different stages of life, from tiny tiny to big adult ones. Sigh. I don’t have the money for an exterminator and from what I’m reading, it can take an exterminator many many many visits.
That and I have two cats that can’t be around for the spraying. So anyway, from what I have read, have seen, and experienced, these jerks can live anywhere and are sooooo hard to get rid of. I barely even sleep anymore. I’m soooo tired. :o(
Ok was wondering if bed bugs can live in an air mattress?
Has anyone had any experience with bedbugs getting into a body cavity, mouth nose,ears,and living there? If not, then what bugs that are similar to bed bugs do that?
Hello Dawn,
I did some research on the product you mentioned and I couldn’t find any ingredients. However, I found a number of people talking about the product and their concern about this statement:
I would look for independent test data to verify their ‘effectiveness’ claim before you spend your hard earned money! Even if they do have a money back guarantee, how do you know you’ll get a full refund or any refund at all?
As you pointed out, testimonials can be self written designed to sell a product.
If this product you mention is so great, then why isn’t every pest control using it to eradicate bed bugs?
I highly recommend you read our page on how to get rid of bed bugs before you go and spend money on something that does not have any scientific proof to back up their claims.
Best regards,
Jim
Not sure how we got them but we have bed bugs. I have been in this apt. for 9 years with no problems. My son started a new school in Sept. and that is when I was noticing bites on my son. I looked and low and behold, ALL the evidence, the bugs, the skins, the poop, the blood smears in the folds of the mattress but a ton more in the folds of the box spring. Ackkk. I cleaned both with vacuuming (I have a Dyson) and spray bleach. I looked on the net but guess I didn’t look good enough as the first place I looked, just said to buy a mattress cover. I bought two, one for his mattress and one for his box spring. We had NO more problems til just about 2 months ago when I looked and saw maybe 3 bedbugs on the cover covering the boxspring only. I cleaned it, and bought a “better” more expensive cover for both the mattress and the boxspring. I wish then I knew what I know now. Grrrr! Cause I got a couple of bites(I sleep on the couch) so I looked at his mattress and boxspring and again on top of the 2nd cover that covers the boxspring, I found around 3 skins. I don’t think any were bugs as I didn’t see them move but I didn’t give them time to move either. So I go through the house and wash everything in hot water and dry it all on HOT.
Obviously, I did more investigating yesterday, I’m a single mom on disability(disabled veteran) and don’t have the money for an exterminator. I found a site selling a product called [snip] that claims can eradicate bedbugs, have you or anybody here ever tried this stuff? Of course on their site, there are testimonials that may or may not be true. They pretty much say we need to clear out everything which to me with my disability, I don’t think I will be able to do. I’m gonna have the rugs cleaned and then spray the crap out of everything. I’m also going to get a steamer to steam all the light switch plates and sockets, etc.
In the last week, I have found two adult ones walking around in the middle of the day. To me, that would mean infestation but I have looked around and the only place I have found them were on the mattress cover that was covering my son’s box spring, which I got off immediately. I pulled apart my couch and vacuumed the crap out of it and on the top next to the wall, I think I found some eggs. I would have never known and just though it was dirt had I not seen pictures about how they look like rice. To me, they were smaller than rice so it may have been dirt, I don’t know BUT today after cleaning and showering, I was sitting on the couch and think I had a baby one on me. It was tiny and almost see through. After flushing it, into the shower I went again.
The first time I saw an adult in the middle of the day was in my male cat’s bed. I have a Dyson vacuum and vacuumed the heck out of it. Then today, my female cat was laying on a blanket that I just washed yesterday and when she got up, another adult bug. Ackkkk. That blanket went back into the hot wash, it is still soaking in the hot water. When I clean and vacuum everything double plastic bagged and right out. I just feel that poor people have no other answer but to live with these critters where right people can just throw out everything and start over after having an exterminator go through. When I get paid next week, I’m going to try that [snip] stuff with the steamer and having my rug cleaned and just stay on top of things to see how they go. I just wonder if either of my next door neighbors are more infested and that is how we are getting them. As I said, I have been here for 9 years with NO problems. Thanks for listening and for any help. I will keep you and others here updated on how this new stuff works. Til I get paid, I am vacuuming everything everyday and washing everything in hot hot water every other day.
Hi Sarah,
The best precaution you can take is to bring a change of cloths. Place your work cloths in a plastic bag to be washed later, then change into your casual cloths, etc.
Many people on the site suggest creating a barrier with Diatomaceous Earth (see our treatment page at the top of the site).
Chances are good that you won’t have to worry about eggs (provided the cloths are not laying around in an infested area).
Hope that helps!
I work in a hospital where the kids come in frequently with bed bugs, we try to catch them and immediately wash their clothes and make them shower but some times a kid slips by with out. How can we keep our selves safe from bringing any home? Do the eggs attach to the bottoms of shoes or pants legs? What should I do to try to not bring any home from work?
to jim
result:
my partner has loads of bites on his arms, legs and back but i wasn’t getting bitten. He would go and sleep downstairs as he said he couldn’t sleep because he kept itching. This has been happening for a week now.
Last night with the same routine he went downstairs at 1am, i couldn’t sleep so was online on my laptop in bed when i felt something crawling on me, i swatted it as couldn’t see it very well in the dark, then there was another and another!
I got up and turned the light on and had the shock of my life! I saw about 10 bed bugs running around the bed. I ran down stairs and pointed out what i had seen, he was horrified as well.
We are now wondering how long it takes for the eggs to hatch as we seem to have got all the bugs just waiting for the eggs to hatch?
I found 4 live bed bugs on the back of my couch this evening. I don’t know where to start. I have a roommate who sleeps on the couch. I looked at my mattress and my daughters’ and didn’t see anything. I am going to look more thoroughly tomorrow but what if I don’t see them in the bedrooms?
Is it possible that only the couch is infested? Should I get rid of our mattresses anyway? And do I have to throw my couch out or can it be treated? It’s brand new. Also, if I have to hire an exterminator am I responsible or is my landlord since I live in an apartment?
me and my husband are staying in a motel and we believe he is being bitten by bed bugs. But i am not. Is it possible that because I’m pregnant that they are not biting me?
Are bed bug bites warm to the touch?
We have had a problem with the bed buds for a year and a half!
First discovered in my 19 year olds bedroom. He has asthma and the bites were all over his body and he had a bad allergic reaction. we could not afford and exterminator so my son and husband went to a pest control store and got instructions and all the gear to do his room and it worked. then about 2 months later the buds were in my mattress and the process was repeated again. it has now been a year since we have seen any bugs or had any bites.
My question is when or if i can ever take the plastic cover off of my mattress. i hate it and cannot get used to the plastic. please let me know if i can take the plastic off. thank you and god bless you and i wish everyone out there the best of luck. this was one of the worse emotional thing i have ever been through.
I was wondering if bed bugs can get on plants !
Ok so i had bed bugs, i moved out, and it has been almost a year since then. I haven’t noticed anything until this past week when i was bitten on the neck in back. A couple of days later Ive been bitten on the stomach?
Also winter just ended and it is pretty much spring time, so i go out a lot and some areas i walk have mosquitoes and i was out of town on the weekend and walked through and abandon house that’s been vacant for years; no one goes in there so there’s a lot of bugs. After I visited the house the next bites (stomach ones) showed up. I’m itching like crazy and its tripping me out i don’t think it would be bed bugs since i moved out last summer and it is pretty much a year since.
Could it be just normal bugs outside? I’m so paranoid i looked all through my bed, took my sheets off, lifted up my bed looked all through the box spring, nothing, so could it be bed bugs or no?
How do i no if i have them for sure? I checked but nothing yet there are still bites as I’m waking up advise!?
I’ve been suffering from bed bugs since April. I moved in current apartment from another unit in the same complex. We(me, my wife, and baby) had rashes and swells right after moving in. We suspected oak allergy at first but later I happened to read an article about bed bugs and remembered that I found one that exactly looks like a bed bug when we just moved in. Allergist confirmed that rashes are not oak allergy and he strongly suspect bug bites. Luckily(?), I found some bed bugs and captured them and taped them on a sheet. The sheet is now displaying all stages of bed bugs, from baby to adult with full feed.
We have gone through pest control once but frustratingly still getting bites. I personally tried mother earth but it doesn’t look effective. I talked with apartment office and decided to go through another pest control until they are completely controlled. And also, I decided to move out after (hopefully) exterminating bed bugs.
My question is, how can we tell whether bed bugs are really exterminated after pest control? For example, if I don’t get any bite for a week, does it really mean they are gone? I’m also worried about carrying bed bugs with us to new apartment. What am I supposed to do to leave bed bugs behind and sleep well in a new apartment?
I don’t remember when was the last I slept well. Please help me get out of this hell.
Thanks for any advice!
Is there any way you can get bedbugs from people? Someone I work with mentioned they had them, and I was standing near them. Do bedbugs hitch a ride on clothing when you’re wearing it?
Hi, I’ve had bed bugs the last three weeks… I know I did since I found a dead one, and also caught a nymph on me while it was feeding. In the first week both my girlfriend and I got several bites at random places on our body (such as head, feet, arms).
I could not, however, find their dwelling place/s – they were not in the mattress or box spring (I have a metal frame), not in the sofa, not in the furniture. I suspect they are hidden in my wooden floor…
Then I called the exterminator, and he sprayed the apartment. I got one bite a couple of days after the treatment and then no bites for about a week. The exterminator did a second application. Two days later, as I was walking home late at night, I felt a strong itch on my foot and when I got home I looked at it and it looked – and still does – like a new bite.
Does that make sense? What do you think is my situation?
My 16 yo daughter was bitten by bed bugs at a dormitory for church workers in Mississippi 4 nights ago. We thought we were diligent heating her clothes to hot in a dryer and then washing them when we came home.
However, she is now itching worse than before. Any chance we have brought the infestation with us? Can she itch worse from bed bugs 4 days ago, if not still being bitten?
Thank you,
Richard
Jim-
I was bitten several months ago after falling asleep on our couch in the den, next to the fireplace. A while ago I brought in some wet, decaying firewood to burn and it didn’t burn all the way. When I brought it in it was filled with the typical creepy crawlies associated with decaying wood. Anyway, I was bitten about 5 times in one night on my arm, just today we pulled what we think was a filled bed bug from my 12 year old son’s head. It was on his head 5 days and he thought it was a pimple or dead skin or something until he started messing with it today and pulled off a bug.
First, do they feed on a head for 5 days; and second I read they don’t like hair. We also had a bat problem several years ago in the house but rid them. So, could this specimen be a bat bug also. Next question, is this an isolated bug causing havoc. Before we treat, I am thinking we should wait to see if we get any more bites. I have inspected the area and do not see any. Another thing is I used to travel in my job and about a year ago I was bitten in a hotel and may have brought the bugs home too.
Thanks, Mark (Benjamin’s dad)
I recently went to my parent’s house where I noticed a few red bumps on my arms. When I got back to my apartment I saw an adult bedbug on my pillow. I’m not sure if it was there before, or if it was on me and fell off onto the pillow. There doesn’t seem to be any other signs of an infestation and I have not noticed any bites before.
Is it more likely that my parent’s house has bedbugs or that my apartment does? I am freaking out and I really don’t know what to do. I would really appreciate your opinion and advice. Thank you.
Jim,
How effective is a Rainbow vacuum on Bed Bugs? Since everything is sucked into water and then dumped outside, I’m hoping they will drown.
Also what about the ‘over the counter’ bug bombs, are those effective?
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?
Thanks for all your help.
Joy
Hello Cindy and Terry,
Cindy, the saliva from the bed bug during the initial injection into the skin acts as an anesthetic so that the bugs can get their fill while your sleeping so I’m guessing that the area (small area around bite) would be a bit numb.
Terry,
You are not paranoid, you are trying to investigate a series of incidents, such as the shed skin like matter on your mattress, the marks on your husbands back and the black specs.
It’s possible that your husband could be being bitten and you are not, there are plenty of similar examples on this site.
I am surprised that you didn’t find anything when you looked around in the middle of the night – it was around 4am, right? If not, try that time.
Have you looked around the furniture (head board, dresser, etc) to see if there are any signs of bed bugs? Do the items you are finding look anything like the first few pictures I have of bedbugs on a bed?
Perhaps it’s a case of dust mites but from what you describe, I’m leaning towards the bed bugs.
Let us know what you do, find, etc.
For what its worth, If I was in your situation, I’d be doing the exact same thing and couldn’t rest until I knew for sure what was going on!
Best regards,
Jim.
wow! I’m wondering if I’m totally paranoid! My husband thinks I am. We wash our sheets once a week, but our mattress pad only once every month or so. The last two times I changed the mattress pad, I noticed these very small shell like scabie things littered all over the mattress… I was in a hurry as usual, and sort of just brushed them off the mattress.
The last time I washed the mattress pad, I had my husband flip the mattress. Then I got bit (or something)… it itched like crazy–took a long time to heal. Then I started thinking… and thought maybe bed bugs?…. and then I started reading on the internet… and now I am paranoid like crazy. Can’t sleep. Feel itchy in bed.
My husband has lots of bug like bites on his back, but he claims it’s heat rash, which I doubt cause it’s the winter now. I checked my sheets and found black like specks near the foot of the bed, but they did not stick. They brushed away very easily, so am not sure if this is fecal matter or not. My husband tells me it’s from dirt I drag into bed on my feet, but I’ve been trying to brush off my feet every time I get into bed.
I did notice one “rusty color” smudge near the foot of the bed, which I am afraid is blood from a smashed bug. Last time I changed the mattress pad, I checked around the seam of the mattress for fecal matter, bugs, eggs, etc. and honestly could not see anything, even with a magnifying glass. I’ve seen a few really really small black like dots on my sheets (like a flair marker), but can’t tell if these are fecal matter.
Earlier tonight I found three tiny red specks in bed, which I placed in a plastic bag. I think they could be the nymphs full of blood possibly. Bright bright red, size of a pin head.
My son’s bedroom is right next to ours, and he has never been bitten.
I can’t imagine where we’d get the bed bugs from. We haven’t traveled in forever, haven’t brought in any used furniture for a long time (which we always wipe down). The last time we did travel, however, we stayed in a cabin on a lake where we had to bring our own linens… was about 3 years ago. I washed the linens in hot water, but not our pillows, right when we got home.
We live in a house. I moved in when we got married about 6 years ago, and the couch I brought with me does smell musty sweet, which I thought was just from being an old couch. Now I’m wondering….
I guess my question is, how long does it really take to show you’re infested, once you bring a bed bug in? I’ve never seen a bed bug yet.. I’m just really really suspicious. Like I said, I’ve only been bitten once, but my husband has welts all over his back and chest. And the scabie things on the mattress under the mattress pad sound like the shed skin….
This weekend, even though my husband thinks I’m a paranoid nut, we’re going to check under our box spring and our son’s bed.
I can’t sleep. I’m freaking out. I’ve been trying to catch a live one at night with a flash light, but no luck so far.
What do you think? Am I just paranoid?
is there any numbness where these bed bug bites?
I am so paranoid about taking the bugs with me when i move out of my apartment. Can they simply hook on to your shoes when you are walking around and moving out?
Can you see the young bed bugs and their eggs?
Do they often hide in plants? Basically, I just need to know if I can see evidence of them on my things…books, picture frames, and clothing.
The exterminator told me that I could put things in the freezer for one hour and that would kill the bed bugs. Is that sufficient?
My parents are putting a lot of stuff in their garage, which is unheated and in the Rocky Mountains. It gets down to 20F right now at night. Will this kill them?
Thank you for all of your help. This has been a hugely stressful process, and I constantly feel like bugs are crawling all over me.
—————
Hello Lily,
Yes, you can see the bed bugs and their eggs, take a look at the first part of the bites and pictures section of my site and you’ll find some excellent images of what they look like and what to look for.
Check out my treatment page for information on how to kill bed bugs. No, sticking the bed bug infested items in the garage at 20F will not kill them.
Best regards,
Jim.
You heard right Noreen, however, at -32F, you should only need a couple of days. The recommended temperature to kill bedbugs with cold is -26F for 3 or 4 days.
Hi Sherie – just a hot bath will be fine (doesn’t have to be uncomfortable hot. The bed bugs usually won’t stay on the skin once you are up and moving around. It’s the clothing, bed frames, mattress and headboard they like the most :)
Best regards,
Jim.
I have heard that you can freeze bed bugs out – like put your belongs in below 32 for two to three weeks will kill them – Is this true
Can you please advise how you remove bed bugs from humans, is it just general bathing in hot water or do you need to by a particular product? if so please let me know the name and where it can be purchased from. Thank you.
Hello,
What about treating the floor with carpet and what should we use when washing covers?
Once they have been found in your covers, how do I make sure they are dead?
Thanks.
Hi Bob,
I have not tried this myself, but I know a lot of other people say this works for them and that the bed bugs can not climb the soft surface.
While you’re at it, go down to the local pet store, buy some food grade Diatomaceous Earth and place it in the bucket – all you need to do is coat the bottom, you don’t need a lot.
Should the bed bugs somehow make it up the bucket (which I doubt), they’ll die anyway.
Best regards,
Jim.
I recently placed plastic containers under the legs of my bed, I’m wondering if bedbugs have the ability to climb these smooth surfaces. Bob
Hello Kelly,
It may take time for the spots to show, although in most cases they appear shortly after being bitten. If spots have already appeared on your daughter, then it’s doubtful new ones would pop up from days past.
There are a number of ways to check for beg bugs. Have you looked at our checklist for popular places these bugs like to hide?
Vee just posted some great pictures that show exactly what bed bug fecal matter looks like, see http://www.badbedbugs.com/bed-bug-bites/ comments for details.
Vee also mentions that her boyfriend has yet to be bitten; everyone reacts differently to bed bugs.
Have you set the alarm for 4:00am and checked on her, and around her, for bed bugs? This is when they like feeding. Use a flashlight – the room light may cause a bug to go into hiding before you can spot it, but with a beam, it won’t have much time to react.
Are the bites in lines or groups?
My daughter has many spots and sores that have been showing up for weeks. I have looked at every inch of her bedroom, where she spends most of her time, and have not found a single sign of bed bugs.
Her “spots” itch like crazy and look like some of the pics on the websites. I’m going crazy looking for some sign of bed bugs. I’ve read hours of information on them and other possible pests. She’s visited 2 doctors and they cannot determine if it is bites or an allergy.
Is there some test that can be done to check for bed bugs? There are 2 other people in this home and it isn’t a very big house-only 4 rooms and no basement. Only she has the problem. This site is the only one that I read that the bites may not show for 14 days. She spent 2 nights at a friends house and 3 nights in the living room.
She washed and dried her clothes and blanket she has used according to what is suggested on all the web sites. She even checked her fabric purse for bed bugs and took a plastic bag for her overnights instead of her bag. She has new spots this a.m. Is it possible that these new spots are still from 5 nights ago when she last slept in her bedroom?