How to Treat Bed Bug Bites
I explain how to treat bed bug bites below, but if you don’t get rid of them, you’ll just end up treating your bites again – so make sure to visit our section dedicated to bed bug treatment.
Bed bug bites can range in severity based on the person being bitten. Some don’t even notice the bite while others swell or even become infected. Take Julio’s picture below for example, this is was a bad reaction to bed bug bites and it wasn’t just his arm, his entire body looked like this! Think that was bad, check out these other bed bug bites!
How to treat bed bug bites? By far, the most popular answer is with baking soda and water to make a paste that you then place on the bite and let dry. Here is exactly how to treat the bites…
1) Make sure to wash the bed bug bites with soap and water.
2) Make a thick sticky paste with the water and baking soda, not too runny and thick enough that it will stay.
3) Let the paste stand until completely dry and then wait an hour or so. Some let it stand for hours while others find that an hour or less is fine.
4) Gently wash the paste off and pat dry.
Other natural remedies for treating bed bug bites include:
Witch hazel, St. John’s Wort and Lemon juice – all work by removing the desire to itch (Astringents).
The gel from the Aloe plant is how many treat bed bug bites and contains anti-fungal and antibiotic properties that work great! Simply trim a tip and apply the exposed area to the bite.
Handed down from generations is the bath with peppermint oil, fill the tub with bath water, then add a half cup of peppermint oil to relieve the itching.
How to Treat Bedbug Bites using OTC or Over The Counter medication.
- Cortisone cream to stop the itching
- Calamine lotion
- Just about any topical anesthetic containing pramoxine
- Hydrocortisone cream
- Naproxen or Ibuprofen or a anti-histamine like benadryl to help reduce swelling
- Light paste of aspirin and water like you would with baking soda and water
Have a home remedy or tips on how to treat bites? Feel free to leave a comment below!
What Do Bed Bug Bites Look Like?
Although we have a ton of pictures and their associated stories throughout our site, many people still ask what do bed bug bites look like; below you will find a sample of pictures of bed bugs and their bites. We have a ton more pictures of people bitten by bed bugs, just visit our Bed Bed Bites link in the menu bar above.
Probably the best pictures of bed bugs by themselves and their home are the four pictures below; these bugs were found on the end of a mattress. These images show it all including the eggs, bed bugs, bed bug feces (dried blood – turns black / brown when it dries), bed bug shedding and more.
Bed Bugs hiding on Mattress
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Bed bugs Hiding
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Bed Bugs their feces
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Bed bug eggs
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Although small in size, you can do a quick inspection to make sure you don’t have something similar, such as when staying at a hotel. They don’t hide in plain sight and this end of the mattress was covered and facing the wall.
Picture of a bed bug filled with human blood that burst open including eggs
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Note! This is a picture of what happened when visitor checked her bed for bedbugs using her bare hand.
Bed bugs pop easily when engorged with human blood and as you can see, she was exposed not only to the feces, but human blood as well!
Always wear some form of protection such as a latex glove when you check a bed for infestation!
To the left you’ll see a picture submitted by Ross showing exactly what bed bug bites look like. This happened during a stay in a cabin at Yellowstone National Park and was not limited to his head, but also over his entire body!
To the right you can see a bad reaction to bed bugs as they made a meal of Julio’s arm.
If you have a bed bugs photo you would like to include, please send me an email with the picture attached to badbedbugs@gmail.com; this not only helps you, but helps others figure out what bed bug bites look like and possibly identify their own bites.
Can you get aids from bed bugs
Can you get aids from bed bugs? You’ll notice that when the CDC and other organizations talk about the transmission of disease from bed bugs, they are talking about the feeding process, specifically when the bed bug inserts its tubes into your skin to deliver anesthetic and drink your blood.
Their statement might go something like this:
Tests conducted by the CDC do not show any evidence of HIV transmission from bed bugs or other blood sucking insects, however, viruses like West Nile, Yellow fever and Malaria can be transmitted by Mosquito and the same may hold true for bed bugs.
Human blood burst onto hand from bed bug!* Click to Enlarge *
The conclusion is that the blood from one human host is not injected into another human during feeding. However, a bedbug engorged with human blood can burst very easy as shown in this picture provided by a visitor that was simply checking for bugs and ended up with human blood on her hand!
If you inspect a room with your bare hands, you may run the risk of being exposed to human blood as you accidentally pop the bugs. Depending on where the bed bug was located on you as you rolled over during sleep, you could crush and expose yourself to human blood.
So, rather than ask the question “can you get aids from bed bugs”, I prefer to ask, “can you get aids from being exposed to infected blood from a bed bug”. It’s not the feeding process that I am concerned about, but rather exposure.
My advice – play it safe and wear gloves when checking for bed bugs.
If anyone finds a straight answer, please feel free to comment!
How to get rid of bed bugs
Want to know how to get rid of bed bugs without reading this entire site or without spending a fortune on pest control? I’m going to explain how you can do this yourself using natural products found at most stores.
- Perhaps you live in an apartment complex and the owner feels it’s too expensive to hire a pest control company;
- Perhaps you want to erect a barrier that will prevent bed bugs from entering your apartment or condo;
- Perhaps you have been bitten, are afraid that your brought them home with you and want to prevent them from spreading?
- Perhaps you have no idea what is biting you, but want to put an end to it?
How to get rid of bed bugs is as simple as spreading around a power called Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (also know as Silica Dioxide or Silicone Dioxide). This is non toxic, can be purchased at just about any feed and supply store and as you can read from visitor comments, works great!
Some people have had luck with flea and tick power which does the same thing as Diatomaceous Earth; that is, it dehydrates the bugs and causes them to die.
You spread this around your room (create a perimeter) and when the bed bugs cross the dust / power, they coat themselves and become dehydrated.
That is exactly how to get rid of bed bugs and prevent them from entering your rooms, etc.
Just this week I read a report where a team of scientists have found a way to scare bed bugs.
Bed bugs usually don’t come out to feed until humans are in a deep sleep which seems to be around 4am. They don’t usually appear in the day and can be very hard to spot (they are good at hiding!).
By spraying an area with a synthetic version of a bed bug’s alarm pheromones, bed bugs were found to start moving within five minutes after the application regardless of the time of day!
Diatomaceous Earth works great as long as the bed bugs walk through the power; with this new discovery, the bed bugs become so agitated, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll cover themselves with dust (provided it’s applied in the right locations).
There needs to be more testing before you’ll be able to buy Diatomaceous Earth mixed with these alarm pheromones, but if all goes well, you should start seeing products very soon.
For now, the best way to kill bed bugs is by applying Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth in the right locations. There are a ton of comments from visitors from around the world explaining how they got rid of bed bugs using this natural power found on our bed bug treatment page.
Warning! Make sure it’s FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth – if it isn’t, it’s dangerously unhealthy!
Diatomaceous Earth (aka Fossil Shell Flour) is sometimes found in amorphous form, which can cause silicosis; it should NEVER be mentioned without a safety warning near enough so it can’t be missed. On the other hand, food-grade DE is considered a safe additive in foods and feed, and regularly used to prevent digestive infestations. In livestock.
If you would like details on the study I refer to above, visit the Journal of Medical Entomology’s article on how to get rid of bed bugs.
MRSA Bed Bug Bite
MRSA is a dangerous bacteria usually acquired from hospital visits. It often happens when a person has a cut or bite, such as those you might find from bed bugs. It’s not the bite itself that causes the problem, it’s itching the bite and causing an infection that brings you to the hospital and eventually in contact with the MRSA Virus (although not really a virus, it’s a strain of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus).
When you catch MRSA and have not been in a hospital, such as a bed bug infested apartment complex, it’s called Community Associated MRSA or CA-MRSA for short.
What makes this bacteria so dangerous is its resistance to oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin and other antibiotics. This is how a few simple bed bug bites can turn into MRSA as in the picture below.
MRSA Bed Bug Bite
You can see that the bites started small, then the hand started to swell, then blisters and eventually the underlying skin begins to deteriorate; another bite that is prime for MRSA looks like the one on Lisa’s face below:
Looks like MRSA started from a bite
If you think you have this, then visit What Does MRSA look like.com and match up your bite to their pictures and learn about products to treat the infection.
The best treatment is preventative – when you have a bite from bed bugs or similar pests, make sure you keep the area clean, use an antibiotic ointments or gel and monitor the bite frequently to prevent infection and a hospital visit.
Bed Bug Song
I get a lot of people looking for the bed bug song, why? I have no idea, but here is the song – not really sure if it will put you to sleep at night, but none the less… just remember, bedbugs do bite – Take a look at the bed bug bite section above to see a ton of pictures of what bed bugs can do to you when sleeping!
By the Matthew Skoller Band “Bone to Pick With You”
(Tongue ‘N Groove Records) Track 10, Bad Bed Bugs
Bad Bed Bug Song by the Matthew Skoller Band
Bad bed bugs between the sheets
Bad bed bugs out in the streets
Bad bed bugs in strangers’ beds
Bad bed bugs will kill you dead
Bed bugs . . . lord, bad bed bugs
When you go to bed tonight
Don’t let the bed bugs bite
Bad bed bugs they ain’t no fun
Bad bed bugs threaten everyone
Bad bed bugs have no respect
Bad bed bugs scare me to death
Bed bugs . . . lord, bad bed bugs
When you go to bed tonight
Don’t let the bed bugs bite
Bad bed bugs don’t care who you are
A nobody or a movie star
Bugs over there, bugs over here
Bad bed bugs are everywhere
Bed bugs . . . lord, bad bed bugs
When you go to bed tonight
Don’t let the bed bugs bite
Bad bed bugs between the sheets
Bad bed bugs out in the streets
Bad bed bugs in strangers’ beds
Bad bed bug between your legs
Bed bugs . . . bad bed bugs
When you go to bed tonight
Don’t let the bed bugs bite . . .
(repeat till end)
And yet another Bed Bug Song:
I woke up Sunday morning,
I looked up on the wall.
The beatles and the bedbugs,
Were playing a game of ball.
The score was six to nothing,
The beatles were ahead.
The bedbugs hit a homerun,
And knocked me out of bed, a singin’.
Eeanie, meanie, meanie,
minie, mo.
Catch a wiggle waggle, by his toe.
And if he,
Holler, holler hollers,
Let him go.
Singin,
Eeanie, meanie, mynie,
Eeanie, meanie, mynie,
Eeanie, meanie, mynie,
Mo,o,o.
Here is a song composed and performed by Spoiler (Theophilus Phillip in 1953) who was born on March 23, 1926 in Princes Town, Trinidad.
Bed Bug Song by Theophilus Philip
Yes, I heard when you die after burial
You have to come back as some insect or animal
Yes, I heard when you die after burial
You have to come back as some insect or animal
Well if is so, I don’t want to be a monkey
Neither a goat, a sheep or donkey
My brother say he want to come back a hog
But not Spoiler, I want to be a bedbug
Just because…
Chorus:
Ah want to bite them young ladies, partner
Like a hot dog or a hamburger
And if you know you’re thin, don’t be in a fright
Is only big fat woman that ah going to bite
What would you like to be, I ask Mr. Ross
He say he’ll beg the Devil to turn him a horse
Ah ask another fellow they call Lawrence
He say he want to be a big black wood ant.
Dey too foolish. When you turn a horse
You have to carry people load, get licks from your boss
And as a wood ant, is old wood you have to eat
But as a bedbug, ah biting the human meat
That is why…
Chorus:
Ah going to bite them young ladies, partner
Like a hot dog or a hamburger
And if you know you’re thin, don’t be in a fright
Is only big fat woman that ah going to bite
Yes, I want you believe it, so help me bless
I’ll be a different kind of bedbug from all the rest
I ain’t biting no ordinary people
You have to be quite social and respectable
Such as female doctors and barristers
Duchesses, princesses with nice figures
An’ when ah bite them, friends, ah goin’ and boast
And ah callin’ meself King Bedbug the First
That is why…
Chorus:
Ah going to bite them young ladies, partner
Like a hot dog or a hamburger
And if you know you’re thin, don’t be in a fright
Is only big fat woman that ah going to bite
Yes, I know some husbands, how they fast and fresh
They will be waiting for the Spoiler to bite their flesh
But I wouldn’t bite a man if they kill me dead
Not as long as the opposite sex on the bed
Biting a man, ah might break mih teeth
To a bedbug, man skin harder than concrete
So if a bug bite a man the result is bad
Man foot ha’ too much hair an’ dey leg too hard
That is why..
Chorus:
Ah going to bite them young ladies, partner
Like a hot dog or a hamburger
And if you know you’re thin, don’t be in a fright
Is only big fat woman that ah going to bite.
Mattress Cover for Bed Bugs
You’ll see a large number of bedbug sites out there selling specialized mattress covers to keep bedbugs from getting inside your mattress (or outside, if you’re infested), but did you know that you can buy them right from your local store?
It’s a lot less expensive and you need only ask the clerk to direct you to the mattress section and look for allergy relief / dust mite barrier covers; these are effective enough to stop bedbugs from passing through.
For example, if I go to Walmart.com and search for ‘mattress cover’, the first result is an allergy relief / dust mite barrier pillow and mattress cover set for $25.
Check with your local store and see what products they have to keep out the dust mites and you’ll have found yourself an inexpensive bedbug cover!
For more information on how to get rid of bed bugs, then check out http://www.badbedbugs.com/bed-bug-treatment/
Apartment Complex Tackles Bed Bug Infestation
Nate Morabito (Johnson City, Tennessee) wrote an article “Johnson City Apartment Complex Tackling Bed Bug Infestation” that will make your skin crawl. This apartment complex, John Sevier apartments, happens to be a government owned complex that houses senior citizens and people with disabilities. For the last year and a half these residents have had to live with roommates, but not just any roommates, bed bugs.
One resident, Bryan Saunders says “Vampires are real, they’ve evolved over the years into tiny, tick-size little bugs.” Another resident, Lavon Brooks, claims they are extremely itchy. Many of the residents realize that the bed bugs aren’t necessarily a health issue but an extreme nuisance. So as you can imagine, the residents at John Sevier haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in quite a while.
So what’s the management going to do about this little problem? M & M Properties is the company that owns the apartment complex and their manager Harry Gibson hired Terminix to deal with the issue. However, many of the residents think they hired Terminix just a little too late, two years late in fact. A resident by the name of Brenda Springer claims that management has denied the fact that there even was a bed bug problem. But management denies Springer’s claim. A quote from the article states:
“We addressed it when we initially knew of the problem,” Gibson said.
“Here we thought we had it under control and about a month or so ago it
reoccurred.”
Terminix is holding sessions for volunteers and residents in order to prepare them for the upcoming extermination. Soon enough the apartment complex will be completely bed bug free and residents will be able to finally get a good night’s sleep. Springer however feels it’s “a band aid on a deep puncture.” However Gibson feels Terminix will remove the problem but agrees that a solution needs to be developed to keep future bed bugs out of the apartment complex.
Full story can be found here: tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/johnson_city_apartment_complex_tackling_bed_bug_infestation/14901/
- Bed Bug Bites
Bug Bite Pictures from people around the world and their stories - Bed Bug Treatment
How to treat for and get rid of bed bugs (solutions from our visitors) - How to Treat Bed Bug Bites
What to do when your are bitten by bed bugs and how to stop the itching! - Bed Bug FAQ
Everything you wanted to know about Bed Bugs (or perhaps didn't want to know) - Bed Bug Checklist
A must have list of signs that indicate bed bugs are in the room!
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