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.
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.
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 and below, you can see the bed bugs and damage they can do!
A special thank you to Ross and "Afraid to sleep at night" for sharing these pictures with everyone around the world!
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.
Hello-my 7 year old son woke up this morning with welts on the back & front of his calves, 2 on his cheek & some on his arms. I thought it was a rash & took him to the doctor who said it looked like a reaction to something he’d come in contact with like a new shampoo or detergent.
We haven’t changed anything recently so I can’t imagine that could be the case. He also mentioned they might be flea bites from our dog but our dog doesn’t have fleas & never has. No one else in the family is having any trouble. We were away about a week ago at a waterpark & stayed at the hotel there for 2 nights & have been home for a week.
Could this possibly be bedbugs from the hotel? Could it take this long to show up? I don’t have any pics right now but can some post some. Any opinions would be great:-)
Help, about once a month for the past six months I have been waking to find one or two bites on my left arm. I vacuum my room and bed once a week and wash my sheets in hot water and dry everything on high heat.
I have gone over every inch of my bed looking for bed bugs and their droppings but have not found any evidence of the little biters any where.
This morning I woke to find six new bites to accompany the 2 I had received at the begining of January – I had cleaned my room, bed and bedding saturday.
What the heck have I got that keeps biting me?
Last Saturday afternoon I noticed these two welt-like bites on my arm. They were pretty painful (burning after scratched) and everybody I know who has had spider bites said it was definitely a spider. I treated them with hydrocortizone and the next day they remained pretty painful except there almost appeared a pink “ring” around them (thus making me think they were spider bites even more.)
Could this be bed bugs, a spider or a renegade mosquito? I looked carefully last night around my bed and couldn’t find a thing; will look further this evening.
Thanks so much, I’ve also emailed because I can’t figure out how to post a photo!
Christina
I spent the night at a motel for one night, 2 nights ago and when I woke up I had a single bite. I woke up the next morning, in my own bed mind you and I have about 15 bites altogether but only on my arms! I’m so confused and a bit creeped out right now because I hate the fact that this is something I wont be able to get rid of! I live with my mother, father and sister.. and we have 4 cats. Please please help me! I’m itchy all over my body just with the thought of it and I don’t want anyone else in the house getting anything :(
@Kim-No, I have not seen any evidence of any bed bug only the bits. I have two new bites also.
Hi Cheri,
That’s looks like just the bites a bed bug would leave, but I would not jump to that conclusion from one set of bites. It’s impossible to tell what bit your son from the picture, but if it keeps happening, I’d start looking and begin to worry at that point.
Hello,
They don’t have a red dot in the middle and he complains they itch like crazy and burn. Could he have been bitten by a bedbug?
Thank you
2 bites: one on my hand and forearm.
My doctor told me these weren’t consistent with bed bug bites and that I could be having an allergic reaction to something.
The next day I found the bedbug!
Hi Kristen,
Are the bumps the same bumps or new ones? I would not assume they are bed bugs yet, especially if your not getting new bites!
Hi,
So I was just at Disney World in FL for the College Dance and Cheer Nationals we got back on Monday the 16th. Since then I’ve noticed little red bumps on my neck, arms and back.
I’ve heard back from all but 1 of them and none of them have these bumps. You get this a lot but I’m freaking out because we won and were in the news paper and all this stuff and now I might have bed bugs. My mom said if I do I have to contact my landlord and I’ve slept at my boy friends and a friends house and I dunno please let me know what to do
Thank you,
Kristen
Update: 1/19/12
I posted yesterday about the bumps on my neck, I went to the doctor and he took one look and said they were bed bug bites. After my panic attack of what I do about my apartment he spoke with me about every thing.
I stated my suitcase was on the suitcase rack and away from the bed and never physically came in contact with the bed but the clothes in it obviously did. I live in Fargo, ND and the windchill is -30 today so he told me to throw my suit case on the deck for a few days and that will kill them off, also he said bag up anything the came in contact with the suitcase or clothes from it and do a load of laundry so Id have clothes to last me 4 days. So I got home and loaded all my clothes from my dresser (thankfully didnt hang anything from the suitcase) and put them in plastic bags out on my deck.
So now my question is, my suitcase was unloaded on my bedroom floor then shoved in the corner of my room it was close to my closet but did not touch any clothing. How worried do I need to be that I brought bugs home with me? And what can I do to prevent them from multiply now rather than waiting till there is a lot of them and I physically can see they are there? (I searched my whole bed, box, and dust ruffle and didnt see anything which would make sense since the suitcase never came in contact with the bed)
Also the Doctor said to take benadryl to reduce the irritation, your body is having a reaction to the bite and the allergy meds will help reduce the discomfort. And then to ice the big bad ones to reduce swelling, then sit and wait it out.
Thank you
Hi
My boyfriend and I stayed in a hostel in Paris about 3 weeks ago. I woke up one night with three really itchy bites on my ankle. The next morning I showed him. He has nothing on him so we assumed it was just a mosquito. Then, while on the plane to Ireland, my wrist got really itchy, and I had been bitten three times by something. Again, no one else around me got bitten.
Since being back at home in London, I have woken up twice during the night, with bites on my feet, and one on my elbow. While I have been sitting here typing, a bite has come out of nowhere on one of my fingers.
My bites swell up and get very itchy. They can then stop itching, and then after a few days get itchy again. I have taken tablets a few times to stop the itching.
Does this sound like bed bugs? I’ve washed all my linen and everything we took away with us. I haven’t seen any traces of bed bugs that people have said to look out for.
Hello,
I was hoping someone could tell me if these are bed bug bites or not?:)
Thank you,
Kym.
Hello my name us Katelyn and I have a HUGE bed bug infestation.
The picture above is of my son who is allergic to the bed bugs and also my husband. I have actual scars on my legs from being bit and my son went into a severe allergic reaction. I’m meeting with a lawyer tomorrow afternoon to sue my landlord. Any help you can give me???
Thank you kindly,
Bruce and Katelyn
Update:
Hi Jim it’s Katelyn and Bruce, It was defiantly a bed bug issue and it was BAD!! to the right I’ve included a picture of the bed bugs and the scars they left on me! You can click on the image to see a close up of the bugs and bites.
We actually had our house exterminated and a few weeks later they came back so we got the house exterminated again and so far so good…
we actually go back to court on the 25th of January for images because we lost almost everything.
My son is a lot better also.
Thank you for your concern.
Hi Carole,
Could this be scabies mite? check out badspiderbites.com/scabies/
If you find out, please write back and let us know will you?
Thanks!
Hi,
Any ideas? would appreciate any help you can give.
Thank you for your time & cooperation.
Gratefully
Carole
Many thanks for your advice, much appreciated. I went to the dermatologist today and whilst they could not confirm nor deny that it was either a spider/bug bite, they could confirm that the rest of the “crawling, itching” sensation I had been feeling was Hives brought on from possibly an insect bite, or a few other sources ranging to the un-known. That may be some advice worth giving to those commenter’s that cannot find any trace of bugs yet still feel that every “crawling feeling” every evening. I have been prescribed Xyzal every day for a month and Luxiq topical foam
Living in NYC and within an epidemic of Bed Bug infestation your website is a source of information, knowledge and sharing which believe it or not is also a source of comfort. Great website and great job.
Kind regards,
Sasha
Hi Sasha,
That does not look like a bedbug bite, more like a spider bite. Keep an eye on it and if you start to see what looks like a line under the skin, or it get’s worse, it’s time to go in, but I’m guessing that’s as bad as it will get.
Hi,
I’ve been feeling biting sensation and then noticed these two bites. Are they bed bug bites?
Many thanks in advance for your advice.
Kind regards;
Sasha
Hi Cashawnda,
Ouch, these look like they hurt! Have you done a complete check for bed bugs? They can be hiding in the curtains, inside the mattress and other hard to find spots. Bed bugs can pick on just one person in the bed, but in that case, they are usually close to that side of the bed, so I would concentrate your efforts there. Go to Walmart and get a mattress encasement that completely seals and designed for dust mites (if it keeps dust mites in, it will keep the bed bugs in also).
I can not say for sure that those bites are from bed bugs, but if it was me, I’d get the encasement and also look again with a fine tooth comb!
I recently started getting these red welts after I woke up one morning
i went to my mother in laws and they called after I left and said they had bed bugs and that her husband had the same bites….I’ve since come home and am waking up to find more and more….
although I am the only one in the house or that bed that is getting bites. I’ve not found any sign of them but can you please help….these are itchy and I’m going nuts! Please get back to me asap…
Jennifer,
If you have more than just the bites shown in the picture, they could indeed look like bed bug bites! It’s impossible to tell from a picture, but I’d start looking for signs of bed bugs. Have you found any signs so far, such as dark stains on the mattress or bed frame?
They are really itchy also and I am the only one getting them. Sometimes I can feel something biting me and then I will start to itch and there will be a big welt there.
Can some one please help me!
jezzz i don’t know much about bedbug bits :o i was staying a in a hotel in Lloyd with some friends cause i had a game in the morning (basket Ball)
i really needed the rest but then my my friend saw a brown bug crawling, i was to scared to get bitten so i stayed up all night with my friend but when i came home i took a shower and i saw two red dots :( i asked my mom what they were and the story when i was in a hotel , are bedbugs suppose to be itchy Jw i need to know I’m Really scared i don’t want this to be in the rest of my life :/
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, it’s very possible the ones biting you were in your mattress and that sealing them will prevent this from happening again while the bed bug dust will kill those that remain. It’s important you do another round of dusting in the weeks to come to make sure you get any infants that recently hatched!
Please keep us up to date on the results, will you?
Thanks!
I have a question ….
Is it possible after I vacuumed EVERYWHERE and encased both my mattress and box spring in bed bug covers with zippers and my pillows as well as washed ALL my cloths in hot water as well as dried on highest temps that they’re gone?
I’ve had no bites not seen any at all … No signs on my boxspring it is as white as can be … I also sprinkled the earth stuff all around my bed and all over the legs of my bed frame and put glue traps around base boards no sign! I have lost many hours sleep absolutely terrified my bites are starting to heal but they’re scaring :(
RESPectfully,
Jennifer
Thanks, Jim!
I had a PCO inspect my bed, and there isn’t anything he could see. I’ll stay on the look out for any signs.
Hi Jen,
If he has not received any more bites, then I’d write it off to something else, a harmless spider, etc – however, I’d get a picture of the bug that was crawling on your x if possible, just to be sure!
My son stayed at my ex laws a week ago and the next day the school called with him having this ‘rash’. Could this be?
But tonight they say they found two small ones crawling on my ex father inlaw.
Should I be super worried about them coming to me house? None of the kids have gotten anymore bites.
Help please, I’m freaking out…
Jen
Hi Karen,
Is there any way you can get me a picture of the bug(s)? And no, a bed bug bite in December would not take that long to show up.
I woke up to two smushed bugs, dark brown and round around 2-3 mm long on 12/06 but thought they were too small to be bed bugs.
Yesterday morning, 1/04, I noticed a row of red marks across my torso back – 6-9 bite marks as shown in the picture below. Again inspected and vacuumed/washed bed and bedding as I did the first instance.
Could I have brought in the 1-2 bugs mid-December and just now see evidence of bites from those two? Or is it more likely I have others hiding that fed more recently?
I live in LA and have not traveled recently. I did have a job that week of Dec 6 and a disheveled looking valet was parking my car. Could be from that driver or the office itself, right?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Karen
Hi “Afraid to sleep at night”,
I am SO SORRY that you are dealing with this, and yes, those are bed bugs in the pictures! You need to find the nest (check out my bed bug checklist), there is one or more and once you find this, it will be easier to get rid of them. What you should do right now is go to Wal-mart and get a mattress cover that is designed for dust mites (it works for bed bugs as well but cost half the price!) and make sure that the cover seals completely – if it doesn’t, then they’ll find the way out!
Read my bed bug treatment page and focus in on the Diatomaceous earth (make sure it’s food grade!), it’s inexpensive and works like a charm!
I’ve move your pictures to the top of the page as well, they will help others identify the bed bug and learn exactly what bed bug bites look like – thank you for sharing by the way, you’ll help more people than you know!
Also, please, keep us up to date, take pictures of the nest when you find them will you!
Thanks!
I am grossed out, disgusted and embarrassed. Please help me!!!!!!!
I am a single mother who makes a living as a Sales Agent. I am in peoples homes ALL THE TIME!! I can go far back as the 11th of Dec and I know I didn’t have any bites then!
On the 12th of Dec I went to a home in Midland and they were young kids who weren’t the cleanest … ( i know cleanliness has nothing to do with bed bugs). Later that week, on my forearms only but both arms.. I started to have what I thought was an allergic reaction to something causing me hives and like a fool, i scratched and scratched causing open wounds.
My forearms became a mess, and I would wear long sleeves to hide them… I have for the past week or so been treating the bites with hydrocortizone cream and now they are healing but scaring … OMG!
I now am putting on scar zone – a silocone cream to diminish the scars that are going to be there.
I have thoroughly cleaned my room, and encased my boxspring and mattress, I have vacuumed everywhere, window ledges, baseboards, light fixtures, pictures, mattress, bedframe etc… I have put every piece of clothing i own in garbage bags and have just started to rewash everything, and keeping the clean clothes in garbage bags… my room is full of bags…I bought new pillows washed bedding all in hot water and dried on hot temp… NOW WHAT??? WAIT?
I cant take it anymore, the past 3 weeks has driven me crazy … nobody else has gotten bitten just me … so i don’t know if they’re anywhere else in the house or just my room.
I am becoming paranoid, i barely sleep (afraid too) I awake to turn on the lights and have a look around.. I am grossed out at the thought of having these things on me …
I cant afford an exterminator ($400-600) I already called to ask and I don’t know what else to do… I wish there was a live chat room somewhere that you can talk to people and get answers right away..
Please help …
Hi Lucy,
Send your pictures of the bed bugs and / or bites to badbedbugs@gmail.com and I’ll take a look and see if I can tell you exactly what you have. Either way, I’ll get it up on the site so that others can help as well!
hi i woke up this morning and i had all these spots on my legs and they are really itchy and I don’t know if they are bed bugs.
i got them on my thigh back and front and on my legs back and front plus i got them on my feet but just the front then i noticed that i got 3 of them under my left arm-pit so I’m a bit curious.
I went to go have a look under my sheets an i saw all of these little dots but then i saw a little thing that looked like a tiny bug but it was skwushed.
At first we thought it was mosquito but I’m still really curious about what this is and they a read so i put some salve on it [it's a cream that gets the bacteria away/out]and they went down a little bit so could you if you can please send me an Email asap!
thank you
OMG512 – it sounds to me you have shingles, and not bed bugs. Google shingles, and look at the pictures.
I was at home depot today and saw a non- toxic way to get rid of insects. You plug it into your wall and it makes a noise only insects can hear and it kills them almost instantly. Has anyone tried it yet? I just purchased one because I thought my dog might have fleas. I figured these might be the bites I am seeing on my 3year old. Now looking at these pictures, I’m thinking it could be bed bugs. I will let you know how well it works!
About two weeks ago I came up in a red rash behind my ears. The rash was dark red and raise in the last week it has progress rapidly and spread from my ears to my arms back stomach legs feet and face so most of my body. I have been to the doctors five times and they have said its an allergic reaction. Could this be a form of bed bugs?
So I’m like 98% sure we have bed bugs, i have bites that swell and itch uncontrollably. I have found bugs on our wall and googled them which looks exactly like a bed bug. I called the manager of the apartment building and told them about it, nothing has been done. I know that cleanliness isn’t an issue with bed bugs, but I feel like I need to say that we are extremely clean people, and have never in our lives lived with bugs so this is mortifying! I have a 1 1/2 yr old son and he’s getting bitten and I’m helpless.
For those of you with children the worst possible feeling is not being able to help your child. I have considered moving, even have a place lined up and waiting for this weekend. I’m conflicted about moving because obviously I am scared about bringing them with us. I have called exterminators and googled to take preventive measures so I wouldn’t be bringing them, but I am so paranoid. I don’t want to be the person that bring bed bugs to another building and ruin the lives of other people. What should I do? Any suggestions??
Ok, so I’m a little paranoid after looking at all these pics & reading all the stories! =/ I seem to have these re-occurring itchy bumps mainly on my torso. They started on my stomach & have slowly moved to my back. But its weird because I have no bumps or bites on my arms or legs. I have examined the bumps to look for a puncture on top to indicate its a bite but cant tell the difference because I scratch & cause the bumps to scab.
The itching is so miserable that it keeps me awake at night! My skin is crawling every minute of the day. I do suffer from allergies so when the bites first occurred, I simply brushed them off as a rash. But since my boyfriend is also suffering from the same thing now, which leads me to believe the issue is bed bugs. I have begun to notice that the bites happen mostly when we sleep on the couch. The couch was purchased from a friend & now I’m starting to think that this is the source of the problem. I have checked my mattress and found nothing. I’m a little freaked out by all of this since I Hate bugs! Please Help!! Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Man! I know how you feel and worse of all is when you tell people, then don’t believe you. The first time I got bed bug bites was horrible that I didn’t believe it was bed bugs, at first! Trust me, I went through hell. I thought it was that time of year – the flu season. I found a few red bumps on my arms and leg and passed it off thinking it was the spiders that bite me and perhaps it will go away with due time.
The first time I was bitten, was a year ago. So, I woke up in the middle of the night and my arms started to itch hard like crazy. I was still very drowsy and needed to sleep, but then my hands started to burn really hot like on fire after the itch. It was December so my room was freezing cold anyway. I just rubbed it until I fell back to sleep. Seriously I was sleepy and rubbing it help distract my brain that it was burning. When morning came, I hopped out of bed, but then I dropped dead to the floor. My body wouldn’t move after and I burned with a fever. I ended up sleeping on the floor until my fever calmed down. I was alone in the house at this point.
That day, my body slowly swelled from the head down to my feet. When night came (still thought it was not the bed bugs), I slept in that same bed. Then next day I look like a deformed monster, my brother had said. I looked into the mirror and did see one.
The following year I moved. Still get bites from time to time, but they got better in due time. Now I just itch under the skin.
Heidi-how do I contact you? My m.i.l. Is having this problem. It’s just started so I think we can get it under wraps if we work quickly. I am glad to hear someone say u CAN get rid of them and sound so believable because I’m terrified. Thanks!
Bee,
Anchorage, Ak
I woke up on a Saturday with two red bumps on my index finger, which is the hand I tend to have sticking out when I sleep. On Sunday I woke up with two other pairs of similar red bumps that itched. On Monday I woke up with another pair on my elbow, but this time on my right arm. I went to the doctor and he swore it was a mosquito or spider bite. I checked my mattress and found pepper looking grains, but it was flaky and it doesn’t spread.
I also found a bug, but its dry and dead… What do you think it could be and where can I send it to be tested? I have not found anything else. Spending the night on my couch. I have a picture of my bites. I can email them to too because I can’t figure out how to post them on here. =(
I work at a pest control company and we do about 10 bedbug treatments a week – mostly in apartments. I feel for these people, but I don’t understand why anyone would live with these things for more than a day!?? I’m reading posts, “I’ve been dealing with this for a year, etc…” I can’t believe it! You CAN get rid of bedbugs! They breed like wildfire! Do not wait! email me if you need advice ~ we can help! It is kind of expensive to have a professional come out to treat and half of them do not know the proper ways to treat. We have GREAT success! Heat treatments are the way to go you literally watch them die. BUT, heat treatments are spendy, so people usually opt for the chemical.
Good luck and….don’t let the bedbugs bite!
The best way to get rid of them, is to first put all your clothing and blankets in bags, separated by color etc. Put them aside, oh and there are services that give your clothing etc an extra hot wash.
What I did was purchase a spray specifically for bed bugs which worked radically, and sprayed all over, on mattresses, couches, carpeting, making sure to get nooks, crannies, corners, spray your insides of your shoes too.
then used the hot steam cleaner and did my couches, mattresses, underneath them.. and the carpet. It takes a while, and you get sweaty but it’s worth it.
Unfortunately, if you have wood slats for your mattresses, you need to either heat steam and spray the heck out of them, all the holes, cracks, corners.. a few times, or just get rid of them. They can hide in cracks n stuff. Metal is better, and even then, put Vaseline around the lower part of the legs, so they can’t crawl up them.
After you have sprayed, and then steamed everything…then you can vacuum and make sure to throw away vacuumed up stuff in a separate bag and throw away, far away.. or what I did was flush it.
THEN: using a hot steamer, shampoo your carpets.
If you are a hoarder, you may as well just move. but if you can get rid of all needless items do so. They can hide anywhere. After a days rest, then it’s time to go through your closets with bed bug spray. Steam them out too. Wash ALL clothes n stuff,
I actually did it a second time, the next day for good measure… vacuumed, heat steamed and then sprayed.. but I was getting a bit paranoid! I’d see a dark fleck and think it was a bug but it wasn’t.. :)
anyway.. it’s a lot of work but worth it and I didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a service.
AFTER all is done, and until you know you’ve gone through everything and get on with life… when you change your clothes, do not just throw them on the floor. You must immediately put your used or dirty clothes in plastic bags and tie them. Use hot water when you can.
and before leaving on vacation, or even just for the day… I would respray everywhere… well, at least for that first month.
Hope that helps!
I think that’s about it.
I have a bedbug problem which started in the spring. After buying a major bedbug spray in large quantities from the store which did nothing I contracted a professional company but could only afford a one month treatment. I washed and dried everything which took forever since I am single and a senior citizen.
They came back for the second treatment did a so-so job. I continued to find bedbugs and kill them. I also tried diatomaceous earth which I don’t know if it actually works or not because after falling asleep on my couch twice I woke to one biting me each time. After applying the earth I did see one die after it crawled through it.
I then called the company back and even though they were a little annoyed they agreed to come back for another spraying (of course for an additional $200). This was a much more thorough job and guaranteed for 3 months. They were a bit touchy because I originally only bought the 30 day treatment. I told them if I could have afforded the 1 yr. guarantee I would have but I have very little money. My skin is extremely sensitive and reacts badly to bites. I felt a some itchiness last night, but no real bites, however, my grandson woke scratching and I spotted two blood splotches on his sheets. These were fresh sheets and light colored. I only hope that it is the result of the spraying and I am seeing the beginning of the end. I have cleaned and cleaned and my house was not dirty to begin with. I have thrown out bag after bag of clothes and excess clutter. I can not put away anything until I feel my drawers are bedbug free.
Right now I feel like a TV hoarder because of all the plastic bags waiting to be put away! I can not continue to go through this again and am at my wits end. It is embarrassing, disgusting and repulsive. I wish something official could be done to eradicate these parasites. Or maybe it’s the 7 year locust all over again. Fire, flood and pestilence – what’s next. I just need to know what else can I do?
Hi. I posted on Sept. 13 and never got a reply from anyone. Look on that date for Katrina with photos. Please I have been suffering for over a year with this. Any opinions regarding my situation would help. Please read what I have posted. I’m quite desperate.
Katrina Z.
Hi Amanda,
They usually bite during the early morning hours when you’re in a deep sleep so chances are you won’t see them, you have to look for them and signs, such as blood stains. Check out our bedbug checklist at the top of this page.
How soon after being bit do you actually see bed bugs?
Hi, so I was recently staying at my mom’s house in my sister’s room (2 weeks ago). I stayed there for 3 nights (luckily my power came back on the 4th night), and a week after I stayed there my sister called me to tell me she saw a bed bug in her room :(. Here I am two weeks later and I have bites appearing on my arm, I have a feeling they’re bed bug bites but I have no idea! Any help is greatly appreciated. These pics are of the same bites above my elbow:
Hi, I really hope you can help me out. I have literally been suffering by being bitten by SOMETHING for over a year. And previous to that year I had bed bugs, and we used a well recommended canine unit / pest control company to determine and then treat with vikane gas.
then a few months later I was being bitten again. On my body, face and scalp. It’s driving me mad. I have photos attached of bites and also of two bugs I found. I am hoping you can give me a clue what this could be either by the bites or the bug. I have never found any on my bed visually. I also have had numerous canine inspections since the, and they found nothing.
But yet I am still getting bitten and feeling quite desperate. Please reply as soon as you can. The worst is that even after I tell my doctor or pest control this they tend to just treat me like they don’t believe me, it’s very frustrating.
I have attached several photos of bites and 2 bugs. The bites are shown on my face and on my lower back.
Thanks,
Katrina
For the last month, my almost 2 year old son is waking up with bites all over him.
He sleeps in his crib in mine and my husband’s room and we have nothing on us. They itch him very bad because he has been making himself bleed from scratching. The Dr said they are mosquito bites but these don’t look like those to me.
Please take a look and tell me if they look like bed bug bites to you.
Thank you and have a good day.
Theresa
Hi there,
I used to get bedbug bites in the past 2 years. I kinda know what it looks like or feel like. It’s one of the most terrible things in my life. I told the landlord and they got rid of them by using chemical. I also move away from the apartment, and I thought it’s over.
Last 3 weeks I got bites just the same that I got before. :-( I suspect I got bedbugs back again somehow. I tried to blame it to spiders. hehehe Anyway I know how bad the bites are like because I totally allergic to it. The venom of it make my skin swell so bad. It’s red around the edge and because it’s swell so bad so it’s yellow in the inside (no blood, just lymph), sometimes I have to poke it so it won’t be so tight.
I slept on a mattress that places directly on the floor. I checked my bed but no sign of its habitat. I went and get a bed frame that has legs and put a lot of Vaseline ring around the legs so the bug can not bite me at night.
Last night, I came home from work my room was dark and I am terrified from the bugs so bad, so I grab more Vaseline to put more on my bed legs, I saw something looked like a water melon seed on my carpet, so I put my wet finger with Vaseline tap on it. It is a bedbug! I was so happy as I suspect that there’s only one in my room and I got it. I put it in a zip bag and staple the outer seal so the zip will be totally secured. hehehe I’m gonna torture the thing.
My friend told me that there won’t be just one bedbug :( that’s really concern me, but I do believe, according to the amount of the bites, there’s only one that lost to my place. Tonight, I’m gonna sleep on the floor to see if there’s anymore bites. If not, I’m lucky. If there is new bites, the war will still going on between ME and The Bedbugs :-$
The way I do it is I use the Tobi steamer zap though everything. Then put my clothes inside a garbage bag and put the steamer handle inside at the bottom of the bad and let it steam the whole bag until it’s extremely hot, then I do the next lot. :-) Steam everything, but make sure electronic is unplugged. Even it takes me a whole weekend but it worth it KILL the bed bugs!
I wish I have steam gun like bazooka. Maybe someone should invent that. Bedbug Bazooka And it’s thhhhime! to declare war with The BUGS! sounds little crazy now I’ll end it right here. Hope you guys can get rid of them whatever way it takes. oh by the way, dumping the furniture and buying new isn’t gonna help to end the war against bed bugs, so don’t do that way, unless the bug poop is everywhere on the fabric and too disgusting to keep. Good Luck!
Hi ! For about a few days now I’ve been waking up with what looks like mosquito bites on my body. These bites are usually found on my arms and legs. Me and my boyfriend have been living together for over a year and we sleep in the same exact bed everyday and he does not have anything. I only go to bed at night when its time to go to bed…
This might sound insane but yesterday I decided to go to sleep and literally cover my body from head to toe to see if I would still wake up with bites.. I even tied the bottom of my pants and long sleeves with rubber bands and I wore long socks and I still woke up with bites… 1 on my lower back, one on my arm and another one on my finger.
We’ve checked under our mattress, all the seams and nothing! We have a west highland terrier.. who we’ve had for 9 months now and I took him to the groomers for a flea bath and they refused because they did not find one flea on him and said there was no need for that, I took him to his vet and again no fleas found and the vet gave me these tablets to give him monthly to prevent fleas but he stated my dog had no fleas.
I don’t know what to do I’m going crazy! My boyfriend is convinced we don’t have bugs and refuses to continue looking (i make him strip down our bed every night) I wanted to contact an exterminator but honestly that is out of the question because we cant afford that right now …
Someone help me please!!
Hi, my name is Dana Bowman. I’ve never had bed bugs, before my grandmother passed she had bed bugs herself, and when my mom moved some of her things to our house, I think that’s were it all started; they are only in my room and nowhere else.
Since the frame of my bed is broken, I was forced to sleep on the floor, and also we even had the pest control come over and spray, he did exactly that, and that night, I saw something oval shaped like crawling on my sheets, so I took my sheets and burned them. Then I went to bed, and I woke up with a bite on my wrist and one on my breast. I was told that they like to hide in mattresses, and holes as well. And they only come out at night.
The guy that came over and sprayed said that there are some insects that look like bed bugs, not really for sure if it is a bed bug or something else that looks like one. Ever since, I’ve been sleeping in my sisters room, and I’ve never had a bite since then.
Also here is a tip. Bed bugs like to hide underneath the bed, so I went to Walmart and got a some type of bed cover and also get tuck tape so you can put tape on the zipper, that way the little buggers can’t get in. Do the same thing for your pillow. You can get these things at Walmart.
The frame of my bed is all wood, so now I have to get a new frame, one that isn’t wood. My little sister has a metal from.
1. It’s comfortable for my back.
2. The bed bugs would have to find a new place to hide.
Yes, they can live in cloths and you can bring them to work. Perhaps you have a night job :) Use bed bug dust to help get rid of the bed bugs.
Hi Sarah,
The bites at the top right are grouped together like those of bed bugs, but hard to tell for sure. Are the bites on just one side? If so, that’s the side of the bed you want to concentrate on. Have you tried using a mattress encasement? I can’t tell you how many people report being bitten and couldn’t find the bugs only to later report they finally found them and in great numbers. Also, I list on this site a bed bug trap you can set up (costs less than $10) to see if you can catch any.
If you completely encase the mattress and still are being bitten just as bad, then look hard at the frame of the bed – if it goes away, then great – they will die encased in the mattress after about 9 months – yes, they can survive that long without feeding on you!
Hello, my name is Sarah.
I’ve tried looking for them and washing my sheets, but nothing is working. No one else in my family has these kinds of bites. They hurt when touched and sometimes have pus in them.
I’m desperate for answers, I’ve been researching the possible explanations, but nothing is working.
I literally just moved out to an apartment complex about 3 weeks ago. There not top notch but they arent slummy. My roomate and I have had some issues with bug bites lately. Her bug bites look like bed bugs bite and she thinks she just found 2 yesterday and my bites look like dust mite bites. We just had our apartment sprayed just 2 days ago and were still getting eaten alive.
So heres my question, can the bugs live in our clothes and blankets? I sometimes get bug bites while im at work and its extremely frustrating WE CANT GET AWAY FROM THEM. Is there any way I can take care of this issue MYSELF. What products work the best and how to rid my home for the next year of these things..
I woke up with what looks like a bite on my arm, its itchy and its only 1 spot.
a month back I got 2 on the other arm and they were quite big and took a week or two to go but ive got another one today, i dont know whether its to do with the cat sleeping on my bed as it was covered in hairs, my girlfriend woke up this morning with me and she did not have any, any ideas ?
dear scott, thanks, no one else got bit, and she hasn’t had any other “bites” since. i saw her pediatrician today and she said quite adamantly that if it’s bed bugs, it would be most likely be along her torso where it contacts the bed, not on her upper arm. she think that her skin may have gotten scratched by a plant or contacted something that irritated it. she said it looked like contact dermatitis, and to use hydrocortisone cream on it. it’s so strange, i don’t know what to believe. any more thoughts from anyone??
Hi Karina,
Yes, these are the same patterns found when bed bugs bite. Doesn’t mean you have them, but myself, I’d set up a bed bug trap and go crazy on my search (see my bed bug checklist).
Hard to tell a child not to scratch!
Has there been another other cases of your family being bitten? If it’s not a one time thing, then that pattern is right in line (pun intended) with bed bug bites. use the checklist at the top of this page to search for bed bugs and set up a bed bug trap.
my 6 yr old daughter complained about some bites on her arm that were itchy and painful. when i looked, i discovered 6 tiny “pimples” arranged in pairs in a triangular pattern. the symmetry freaked me out!! i looked online and am getting confused. do you think they’re bed bug bites? or spider bites? we brought home a rescue dog 7 days ago. could he have brought them home? please advise!!
Hello,
I have no idea how one can tell whether they are from bed bugs or other pest. How can one differentiate? If you look close at the bites, you’ll see a linear pattern in each, is this what they look like?
Please advise.
Thank you.
Hi Ashley,
From the picture I would guess that is not a bed bug bite, but if you want put it to the test, then set up a bed bug trap (see my link top right of this page) and you should know within a few days!
Hello!
My husband and I recently stayed out of town with our 5 month old. About 9 days after returning my husband woke up with numerous bites all over him–however, I didn’t have anything. I figured he got into something outside, but the next day he received more bites… We washed our sheets and sprayed all over the room.
I an attaching a picture of the small bump/bite?? that I had when I woke up this morning. It seems small and not quite as angry as most of the pictures I have seen.. What do you think??
Update: 9/9/11
Turns out we did have bed bugs! We opted for the heat treatment.
Thanks!
My gut tells me you had a one day reprieve :) I’d get some food grade diatomaceous earth and start spreading that around! If the bed bugs are in your hoodie, then chances are you have a big infestation! You could put one of those bed bug traps under your roommates bed, it will attract the bugs to that area and you’ll get a good nights sleep :) – just kidding, but a trap would give you an idea of how bad the infestation is!
Hello,
There still on there. But today i took off my jacket and my friend pointed out to me that i had red bites on my arm theres about six of them and they go in a line.
I’m really worried and need to know if i could be bug bites or something else.
These came back 1 day after spraying & a good visual search before sleep!
If any suggestions, please reply. In a 2man room. Roommate was bitten once. Seems to like me better. They have a outside cat in & out. No collar.
Locked in for 18mts.
Help! Did have 1 day reprieve…lol
Also, here is a video of the bedbug that was crawling around in my hoodie!.
my roommate and I have stayed in EconoLodge in portland for two nights. We got bitten by begbugs, those bites showed up after three days we got home. The bite showed up as mosquito bite at first, it was itchy and rashes, but then keep spreading all the body, neck, arms, hands…
it is really bad experience which my roommate and I still struggling with those hives…..Painful! It is killing me deadly.
Hi there,
I live in NYC but am visiting family in the Midwest, and these bites showed up about a week after my arrival here.
My brother has similar bites on his feet and ankles, but no one else in the family–and we’ve all been staying in the same house–has bites.
Please help!
Thanks so much.
Annie
Ive been acting weird lately for about 2 weeks now because i woke up with these bite marks on my feet. Now as of today, i have bite marks all over my feet to my ankle to my thighs, my hands and arms and starting of my back and neck. Like wth>? are these bed bug bites or what- because they look like mosquito bites at first then they start turning red. is it because the bed im sleeping on. or did i catch it from somewhere else. If i caught it from somewhere else; does it affect where and what im sleeping on now. > ? Please help me ! And what am i suppose to do !.
my family isnt sure if we have bed bugs becasue only one person has bites she has 8 on her left arm and 1 on the side of her face. they’re red welts. Shes four and sleeps with her mother but her mother doesnt have a single bite no one else does. Do we have bed bugs?
My question is simply, why am I immune to bed bugs? I’ve stayed unknowingly at 2 different homes for a total of approximately 2 months and was not bitten even 1 time. My kids mom kept telling me she had bed bugs but I told her she was insane! My children have lived there for 6 months without 1 single bite. Whats so special about us? I finally believed her and I lifted her mattress and sure enough at the edges of the be there were several on the little bastards. We sleep next to each other and she wakes up after getting bitten, and it only happens when I leave for work. I need answers please!
I haven’t been able to sleep at night!
I started noticing that I have these weird marks on my body. They are small, flat, red, and itchy.
They’re all over my body; on my legs, thighs, arms, stomach, I’ve even found a few on my breasts.
These were the few that I found on my left breast.
Do you think that these are bed bug bites?
Thank you!
First I noticed red dots on my legs (thought I was starting to get old age red spots). However, they turned into bumps that looked like pimples without the whitehead, but itch like mosquito bites. After a few days, they have now spread sporadically throughout my legs, stomach, hips, and just noticed a couple on my chest.
PS – I sleep on air mattress, and have only one fabric recliner in my apt, no couches. I did, however, catch a few hours of sleep in a motel when traveling last week. I slept in the motel last Friday night (over a week ago). I fell asleep with my shorts on, on top of the bedspread because I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Only slept for about 3 hours and then got back on the road. That’s why I think it might be bed bugs, but would they be on top of a bedspread???
There is a bed in one of the other rooms in my house that I never sleep on and have never slept on. If it’s in that bed, could they travel by themselves into another room onto my recliner?
I have yet to see anything on my sheets in the bed (air mattress) I DO sleep in. I have notices beetles outside my front door and a couple have gotten into my cats, which my cats quickly destroyed. I know it can’t be fleas because I have 3 cats and they show no signs of fleas or itching whatsoever. Fleas tend to gravitate to animals before humans because of the fur.
???????????
@ Carrie, it’s a small building, not really a complex, it’s on Hawthorne st in Brooklyn
Vanessa,
Feel like sharing what the name of the apartment complex is? What did management say?
Just thought I’d share my pics & long story, I found your site through a goggle search.
I took the pics with my camera-phone so excuse the quality & I didn’t take pics in the beginning so some of these bites are healing, I guess.
Every other floor had bed bugs, all the odd numbered floors for some reason so since this has happened I’ve been keeping an eye on things but obviously not enough. So about 3 months ago I noticed changes in my skin, at first I thought they were just mosquito bites because by the time I noticed it they were red & itchy like hell. I also happened to get bit by mosquitoes at the same time as these other bites so it wasn’t a farfetched conclusion however I noticed these bites didn’t look like my usual mosquito bites, these looked angrier, lol redder, more swollen, like they were mad at my skin for existing.
First I noticed what appeared to be welts on my skin that weren’t red at all, I have a pic of one of them enclosed. Like a clear welt if that makes any sense. A day or so later the welt that previously wasn’t red would be red & about 2 times the size as it was the day before. so red then it would swell then a few days later between me scratching & breaking the skin turn into a small irritated pimple looking mark.
I’m always attacked by mosquitoes in the summer, no matter what I do so I thought they are just attacking me again. That is until I started to research & really examine the bites, for the most part they were in a line, clustered sometimes but always in a line or right next to each other. Each morning I would wake up to more new bites.
I thought oh no bed bugs, but how? I didn’t buy any new furniture, it’s the same mattress I’ve had for years, I don’t really invite a lot of people over, where the hell are they coming from & why are they in my room & why am I the only one in the house that’s being attacked??? Lol my Dad is always inviting people over so I’m going to guess a bed bug came along for the ride with one of them on their clothing or bag etc. during my ordeal the inspectors came to check my apartment a few times & said they didn’t find any bedbugs & maybe I was having some sort of skin allergy to maybe the laundry detergent or something else etc.
So when they said no bed bugs after I called again because my skin began to look like 101 Dalmatians I began to think maybe I’m nuts. Maybe this is just a skin reaction to soap, perfume, laundry detergent & the more freaked out I get the more this “rash” spreads.
I just made an appointment for the dermatologist earlier today because I really started to think I’m losing my mind, can’t be bed bugs if the inspectors keep coming & telling me that they didn’t find anything. That was until TONIGHT. I went to bed later than I usually do so after I brushed my teeth, I came back in my room to see an insect walking across my bed. I just did laundry last night so I have white sheets down and it was very visible. I tried to kill it but it wouldn’t die by my slipper because it was so flat so I grabbed a piece of tissue & squished it between the tissue.
As I was about to throw it away u thought wait, go online & look it up to see if it’s a bedbug. I remember the inspector telling me if I found anything that I thought was a bedbug to keep it after I killed it so that’s why I headed to the net. Lo and behold what walked across my white sheets was a bed bug, caught the damn bastard doing the tango across my sheets. It is about 1 am here in NYC so obviously I can’t do anything now but building management will get a piece of my mind in the morning
Vanessa Moore (still up at 1:30 am in Brooklyn, about to sleep on the couch, & disgusted that I was made to feel like some hypochondriac female when it was clear to me with research that I had bed bugs although the inspectors kept telling me I didn’t)
I just came upon this site from something else I was looking at and noticed a comment that someone made over a year ago from Chicago. I just want to let you know, that the cleanest of clean people can get bed bugs too and that it is not just so called ” dirty people” that get them. So before you go judging someone else take a look at yourself and your surroundings. It is a problem that everyone will eventually deal with and you too will get them just without warning. So watch out and quit judging other people based on how they live please.
Thank you and God Bless!!!!
Hi,
At first they started off as looking like mosquito bites usually do, they were slightly raised.
I really want to know if these look like bed bug bite scars and what I can use to treat them. The picture of the scars are only on my right leg.
Thank you!
Lauren- sounds like you inspected it and it was clean but it was actually on you mattress. Do you know how you missed it? Was it because it was too small or the infestation was pretty small at that time? I had a professional check my place and he said it was clean but I’m starting to doubt his thoroughness. I still get one or two bites every nite , less then before but still some. I wear long sleeves and spray repellent before going to bed so I wonder if that’s preventing more bites. I’m really worried I do have bed bugs and I’m letting the infestation grow. Or I’m just going crazy!
I think its interesting that the majority of posts here describe getting them while on vacation at such n such hotel, from high class to motel level. Remember the days when people used to wash and dry their clothes thoroughly before packing and going on vacation? These critters are spreading because people nowadays just don’t care. If you have bed bugs, you know it. Its rarely a big surprise prior to going somewhere that you are infested at home. Do the rest of the country a favor and wash and dry on high for a good while before traveling please. Also get lemon oil and clove oil spray, spray the inside of your luggage, they hate that stuff.
im not sure but i think there is bed bugs in my house i never had a problem until my kids came back from florida now every one in the house has red swollen bited all over them that itch like crazy. if they are bed bugs how can i get rid of them without calling an exterminator being a single mother of 3 with another one on the way i dont have money to spend on an exterminator any suggestions please let me know than you
What nights / dates did you stay there Patrick?
The Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore has bed bugs. Yeah. Real nice.
I stayed there two nights this week and now have roughly 25 bites that have been showing up for the past few days. Cool.
hey ,
Resently I stayed at a hotel im Myrtle Beach and I now see little red bumps all over my body.Even in between my fingers. Could this possibly be bed bugs?
Last week I noticed two large bug bites on my stomach and left leg. At the center of the bug bites were raised welts about the size of a half dollar and around the welt on my stomach, was a red circle about the size of a softball. I thought they were spider bites (which did creep me out), but I didn’t pay much attention to them. But earlier this week I noticed about five bites; two on my right leg, one on my left leg; and two on my left arm. The ones are my leg have the same reaction as the one on my stomach with the big red circle around it. They’re super itchy and have a puncture mark in the center. Are these bed bug bites? I’ve just never heard of the red circle around it. PLEASE HELP ME!
Yes I have noticed over the past few weeks that I have bites appearing all over my body. They itch REALLY bad and I just thought they might be mosquito bites or maybe flea bites. After looking into it I may believe they are bed bugs. I have a clean room and haven’t seen any bugs in my room. I saw one bug the other night, but i’m not so sure it was a bed bug, it looked more like a beetle. Does this sound like bed bugs? or maybe something else?..
Hi Ken,
Send your pictures to badbedbugs@gmail.com and I’ll get them posted on the site…
could you please tell me how i may post a picture for you to look at – cannot tell if this is a bed bug or not but i have found 2 of them just now – the pic turned out very clear – please let me know
Recently my boyfriend has been getting bites all over. We sprayed for bed bugs because we wernt sure what it was. Now my son has these little bumps on his wrist and behind hisear and one on his forehead. They are hard bumps that are a little red. We jyst moved into our house and can’t afford throwing out everything and paying tons of money to an exterminator. What can I do if these are bed bug bites?
Hi Brittany,
These do look like bed bugs bites but impossible to tell for sure… Try the bed bug trap listed on this site, it works and if you have bed bugs, you’ll trap them and have confirmation Also, make sure you take pictures of the trap and bed bugs, you could get paid for it :)
SO for over the past 3 and 1/2 months I have had these little red dots scattered across my body and they are very itchy. When it first started, it was only on my belly and my sides (also under the armpits and breasts where the under-wire on a bra would rest), nothing below the belt.
I visited the dermatologist and he said it looked like a insect bite or a rash of some kind and gave me some cream and pills. It went down but not away completely after a few weeks and I had assumed it was an allergic reaction to something. Then the red dots popped up again and even more making their way down my body, around my inner thighs, where the leg bends (led pits) and a few on my shins.
SO I proceeded to go to another dermatologist who said it was some type of allergic reaction but she didn’t know what and once again i was sent home with cream and pills. I have had these red dots for over 3 months and all they do is go down a bit and then spread again. I’m not sure if they are bed bugs because I have had several people sleep over my house and in my room, none of them have experienced any of these red bumps.
My bf who sleeps in my bed with me and I sleep in his doesn’t have anything either. I don’t know what they are and how the hell to get rid of them. IF it should be bed bugs what are some preliminary steps to take in exposing of them and making sure they are gone. Something effective and inexpensive would be great!
Any information as to what this could be and the best way to get rid of it is greatly appreciated!
Thank You in advance
<3 Brittany
I have these little red bites on both of my legs and one big one by my ankle. They don’t itch or even hurt. Some are little red and other a light pink but I recently woke up with them. I don’t know what bug bed bites look like, but I sure hope it’s not them!
Hi Veronica,
I can’t say for sure, but that does not look like your typical bed bug bite :)
PLEASE HELP! Is this welt a result of a bed bug bite?
colored, irregular welt looks like a reaction to a bed bug bite? I finally
returned to my bed after two weeks, and low and behold, I awoke at 2am with a
tingly feeling and went to the bathroom to check.
The same, irregular shaped
welt appeared yet again, but this time, it was lighter in color, but had the
same shape as my last bite. Can someone please tell me whether this can be from
a bed bug bite?
Thanks.
Hello,
Thanks so much for taking a look
Vanessa
Well my daughter has all these red bits on her all the doctors said was ezama but i think different and shes the only one that has it in the home what do u think it would be
Some of you may also want to see a dermatologist about Moscollum Contagiousum which produces marks like those left by bed bugs. This typically appears on hands, arms, and legs and they are extremely itchy! It also spreads easily! I was told that this can be contracted from and is often found in young children, especially those attending daycare.
So despite Internet information, it is not always sexually transmitted. I suspect I contracted mine from a back scrubber I purchased – Lord knows how many unwashed kiddie hands played with it in the store! Ha! Never fear, it will clear up but can take a very long time to do so. Mine lasted about 9 months. Do not wash with so much as a washcloth! Get a bar of soap (I used Aveeno w/oatmeal) and just use the bar in hand to clean up. I know this doesn’t really clean as well, but using anything other than the bar and hand will cause it to spread …
I learned the hard way when it spread from my arms and ankles to my inner thighs! Ha, ha. Unfortunately, my current affliction is definitely a case of bed bugs from the resort we stayed at last week. They only got my left, inner thigh though so I guess it could have been worse. Best of luck to all of you in figuring out which critters are eating you up and getting it all cleared up!
Hi, I’ve recently been noticing little red bited on my feet and ankles. I’ve also found some on my wrist. I have a cat and we thought she had fleas, so we treated her, but I’m wondering if the bites are from fleas or from bed bugs. The bites I have are fairly small and only one has developed a blister. They itch on and off, and are red with a darker red center. Do bed bugs live on the ground? We have a bathroom where the caulk is pulling away from the edges of the shower and the stone and I have seen some small bugs crawling on the floor, but they are very small, I had to crouch down to see them. They were easy to crush, but jumped around a lot. I know this is sounding like fleas, but they weren’t flat, and like I said before, they were easy to crush. Any ideas of what they might be? Please help me.
I came across your article, last month I traveled two about four different continents and stayed in few hotels.
I am sure we do not have them at home as my wife and I sleep on the same bed and she pregnant. This happened after traveling to Colombia.
Thank you for your help.
Regards,
Simon
Hi Bed Bug Girl!
Also have a bad bite near my elbow which is raised. The bumps have turned red on my skin and itch. The one on my elbow is really tender and is really warm to the touch, more so than my other skin surrounding it.
My mom thinks it might be a loner mosquito and some others say a spider (due to another bite under the armpit that was four itchy bites almost in a perfect square – bizarre?) Appreciate the work you are doing! Nice to know there is a resources that folks can explore before taking things further more expensive steps…be well.
Andrea
I’ve included a couple of pictures.
What do bed bug bites look like, like these?
They itch like mad and nothing seems to help. Any ideas?
Is there anything bed bugs does not like? Some fragrance …Any ideas?
Well—I didn’t receive an answer here, but I can now answer myself–YES-THEY ARE BED BUG BITES. I went to the dermatologist and he said they looked like bites. After weeks of weird rashes and ripping my apartment apart looking in every crevice with a magnifying glass and flashlight and finding nothing–this morning I bent over to reach for my shoes and there it was on the floor! (They are not small either). My nightmare has only begun.
Listen up New Yorkers! If an anally, careful and super clean and tidy person like myself can get them on her $2,000 mattress—so can you! (I don’t even allow people to wear shoes in my apt), I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation, and I have had no overnight guests.) You can pick them up in a cab, a movie theater, the subway, a delivery….
LISTEN UP MAYOR BLOOMBERG—you should be doing something about this! Public places should be fumigated. My dermatologist told me that I was one in a long line of patients who have come to her with bed bug bites.
I’m a pretty clean person,but some how i got bedbugs. Thank God i caught them before they got out of hand. I used some spray that is for ants, water bugs, and other bugs I did not care what the can said it was for, i used what i had. Not knowing what a bedbug looked like i found out. I thank GOD for THAT bug spray because i went crazy spraying.That night i did not sleep in my bed.The next day i looked and saw that the bedbugs were dead. I called maintenance and showed them. And sure enough i had bedbugs! A friend gathered the dead b-bugs put them in a ziplock bag.The specialist came in told me to stop using the the spray because it would stop their treatment from working. I did after i sprayed my vents. Anyway i got rid of them before they got out of hand and took over my home. Praise the Lord!
Hello,
I have been getting bitten all over. I ripped apart my bed and did a search with a flashlight and magnifying glass and I could find no bugs. I do live in NYC and a friend of mine who had bedbugs said she never saw a trace of them either.
I am a pretty allergic person and am wondering are these bed bug bites? Some of them on my fingers look blistery. Should I treat anyway as if I had bedbugs? I am sending the bite marks to you separately. Thank you.
It’s hard to tell without pictures Bridget. My email is at the bottom of this page – send them in and I’ll take a look plus post them so that others can tell what bed bug bites look like.
Thanks!
A week ago i noticed I had alot of small bumps on my neck it was about 3day before they went away but they were not itchy. After they left I noticed more on my left arm and they were not itching neither. Is this a case of bedbug bites?
Hi Kate,
These look more like a skin reaction rather than bed bug bites. Here is what you can do to help confirm an infestation of bed bugs – see the “Bed Bug Traps” link at the top right corner of this site? On that page I have all the instructions on how to build your own trap for less than $10 and it works. Let me know what the bugs you catch, of any, look like!
I keep getting these itchy bumps on my legs. They’re not in a pattern, but some clusters, especially around my inner leg, get itchier and redder than others. I feel them all over my legs, and can see them if i look closely, but then there are a few that are red and stick out.
Some of the bumps have acne-like whiteheads. I can’t tell if they are bed bug bites or not? They never seem to go away and itch frequently. I’ve searched the place for warning signs, but can’t find any.
Could this just be dry skin/razor burn or is it something more serious? I’d appreciate any help you could give me.
Included is a picture of my boy with these hive looking things covering his body.
He wakes up with and black dots on his bed frame (bed bug feces?)
The doc said it was hives but it only happens if he sleeps in his bed. We have got a new mattress and deep cleaned his room. The bed frame his grandparents got him was used and I believe this all started from that.
The add thing is, we have younger kids that play on his bed and in his room but no one else has these bumps.
Please, anyone have any ideas?
About 2 weeks ago – the morning before I moved – I woke up with 3 bites on my wrist. In a triangle. I live in nyc, so I freaked out. Talked to my roommate, checked everything, under peeling paint. Nothing.
I have really sensitive skin, and they didnt itch, so I thought maybe a spider? They started to itch more 4 days later, but again, I’m always getting random rushes/skin irritations.
Moved on Feb 1, and still no other bites. So should I consider myself safe? Still checking the new place, but I figure they would have made an appearance by now, huh?
Thanks!
Bad Bed Bugs,
I have clusters of red bumps along the waistline of my stomach and back. I was convinced that these were bed bug bites. The bumps are not itchy. However, around the fifth day, the bumps became filled with pus and are extremely painful.
I went to the doctor and learned that the bumps are not bites at all. Instead, I have shingles! Lesson learned: if you’re in pain, go to the doctor!
Okay, just today i noticed the itching and hurting theres a big reddish bite on my neck. What kinda bite do you think it is, bed bug?
Back in august my boyfriend moved to Atlanta for about a month and in that period he had to sleep on a floor where he was staying. so when he decide to final move back to Texas with me and his skin had gone crazy! It was really dry and bumpy with black dots. soon afterward he has bits so up that looked like ant bites, meaning when he popped them the watery stuff came out, but then after awhile i started getting the same marks and now both of our skin itchy like crazy. a doctor try to say i had dry skin, and gave me cream but that hasn’t fixed the problem and i was trying to see if we had bed bugs or scabies.
About 3 weeks ago I stayed at my boyfriend’s place and when I woke up I had this bug bite about the size of a dime on the side of my wrist. It started out pink, and it seemed each hour that went by it got darker and darker pink until it was just about red. I didn’t even think about it might being a bed bug bite until now.
It itched real bad, and it took about 9 days before it went away completely. Now it’s been 3 weeks and it left a scar that I hope will go away. I thought that if you had bed bugs you would have been bitten by them every night, and that he would have been bitten too. He’s never had any bug bites. Is it possible that they may not bite him because of something that’s in his blood?
I’ve stayed at his apartment a lot since I first got bit by something, and thank god it hasn’t happened again. If it was a bed bug, have I now transferred them to my house? Could they have hidden their eggs in my pajamas, and when I brought them home (pajamas), the eggs rolled out or do they stick the eggs like a lot of other bugs do?
My last question is, how are they transferred by clothing?
If someone out there has the answer to these questions, I’d appreciate the info.
Those could be mite bites, can you take a picture of the bites and send it to me?
Thanks!
I think we may have bed bugs, but I’m not sure. I keep waking up in the middle of the night thinking that something is crawling on me and when I look there is nothing. But then I wake up in the morning to bright red marks all over my arms and some on my legs. Then kind of resemble mosquito bites, but itch a thousand times worse. I’m the only one in the house who has these bite marks and seem to have a really bad reaction to them. I inspected my bed and my whole bedroom, but I don’t see any sign of bed bugs. I’m completely clueless to what this could be, any advice on what it is or how to stop the itching cause creams and antihistamines don’t work at all. Thank you.
After reading all the stories here, I am almost convinced I have bedbugs. The first time I felt a bite I do now remember I had just woke up and I had a row of bump it seemed that turn into one big bump after a few hours or so.
Initially, I put some cortesoid cream on it no help but it started to itch real bad so I grab the first thing on my nightstand which was some hand sanitizer the itching stopped but started back up later. I have since then received one single bite on my thumb, one single bite in between my finger and now just one on my forearm. I just recently noticed spots on my bed sheets and can not really tell if this is bed bugs or just spots that I picked up on the floor walking with no shoes on.
My mattress is old and have little debris in the crevices so I have not been able to determine if these are bedbug. I don’t want to be in denial because I can not avoid to get rid of these things if it is a case of bedbugs. I have a few things that make me think it could be bedbugs, but I can’t pinpoint where I could have received them.
I have recently stayed in a cabin, 2 weeks or so apart I stayed in a hotel and my son also just went on a retreat and stayed in a cabin. I am not sure if his trip was before or after my first bite. He said he have not received any bites.
My question is how long does it take for these bugs to manifest and become infested? Is it possible to have had them for a while and now it is infested enough to bite? Do i have to do everything in my apartment if I have been in other part of the apartment.
I went to the cabin October and then Las Vegas the latter part of October. My friends that I traveled with have not complained and I definitely do not want to complain about the cabin we stayed in as I one want to continue to go and don’t want them to think that if no one else has experience this that I might just have bedbugs and will take it back when we go again and not allow me to go. How will I know where this came from?
I do not have a vacuum cleaner as I have hardwood floors I cannot throw out my mattress or bed linens, I live in an apartment and not sure if the dryer we have will get hot enough to kill them and plus it cost a dollar to wash and one dollar to dry. I cannot very well wash and dry all my stuff because my comforter are too big for an apartment size washer and dryer. I am not working and cannot avoid to treat this problem, any suggestions, What can I do to deal with this until I can get some money to treat it other ways I have read about. please help?
What are the tenant laws regarding bed bugs in PA. I moved in a year ago without any problems and recently my apartment complex has been doing unit inspections of all the apartments and now that I know what bed bugs look like, I think I might have them!
I am on section 8 and have 3 children and I am a single mother I do not want to move and I am very afraid of being evicted for this if i report it. I also am low income and I cannot afford to pay the extermination fees. Please help. Does my landlord have to pay for it? and can they evict me because of it??? I know they had problems in the past with other units having bed bugs.
I caught a bed bug and experimented with different things to kill it. The one thing that killed it was believe it or not….SCOPE MOUTHWASH (green). I sprayed my sons mattress which was brand new with it. I have not had anymore problems with bed bugs, but I check ALL beds, couches…etc frequently just to make sure. I always have my SCOPE spray bottles handy.
Hi Stacy,
Yes, they could be if you’re finding them all over your body, but, usually the bites appear in groupings, is this not the case? Have you looked at our bedbug checklist (see top menu bar) to locate any bedbugs or signs of bed bugs?
Could these be bedbug bites? I have them randomly all over my body….gnats, fleas, or bed bugs?
Hi Mary,
Unless I can see a picture, it’s hard to say. Can you take a few and send them to badbedbugs@gmail.com? I can give you a better answer once I see the bug bites.
Hi, I live in an old house and it has been unusually hot and humid outside the past few days. The other night I could not sleep because I felt like there was something crawling on me, the same sensation has occurred over the past few nights. I wake up, turn on the lights and do not see anything! I live with two roommates and we have had a kitten for the past few months. Just yesterday I noticed 2-5 bites on my stomach and last night found some bites on the insides of my arms and legs. The bites are small and slightly raised. They are not necessarily in a line but spread out in random places and it looks like they have a small red dot in the middle. Neither of my roommates have gotten bitten.
I have not seen any traces of either Bed Bugs or Fleas and our cat has not been scratching. Last weekend I stayed in a cabin sleeping in an old sleeping bag that I have not used in over a year. An exterminator is coming to our house in the morning – any good suggestions of what I should ask him? Are these fleas or are these Bed Bugs??? Could I have attracted them from staying in the cabin? I am hoping that these are fleas and I can bomb our house, from what it sounds like, my bites resemble flea bites?
please help :)
Can you email some pictures John G?
I think I have 2 distinct specie of bed bug. One is the typical and the other is very small, gray in color with stripes and hairy. Anybody else finding these tiny, little guys? They are so small they look like a crumb from a slice of bread that hits the table. A small crumb, in fact. I use a magnifying glass to inspect them.
One morning I woke up with only 1 bite on my arm. I am worried that it’s a bed bug, though I think I’m just being paranoid. Two of my daughters have a couple bites, but not that many. But my son, daughter, and my husband have none. They are red, and puffy and look a little like some of the pictures I’ve seen. I washed all the sheets, but am not sure because I only have 1 bug bite. Am I just being paranoid?
After staying at a hotel which I’ve stayed at a few times before, which happens to be part of the Hilton family and also where my aunt works, I got these bed bug bites and what a hellish night of itching!
Just wanted to share what they looked like! I hope no one has to go through this!
hey , so i was sick about three weeks ago. I got over it but while i was getting over it . small red bumps started appearing on my fore arms and legs. they look just like mosquito bites. they itch like crazy after a couple of hours.
At first i didn’t know what it was because i thought it was weird that they appeared right after being sick , but then i realized i switched detergents about 3 weeks ago . lol. so i thought this was a problem so i washed everything including sheets and pillows and comforts. then i still kept getting these itchy bumps everywhere from my lower back to my belly.
I really don’t know what it is . i cant see a doctor because i am a 19 year old girl living on my own without insurance. so i looked up everything about bed bugs , and it seems like i have them but i really just don’t know now=(( please help …thank you
i woke up one morning with about 5 red dots on my arm they didn’t itch at first but then after a couple hours they itched like cray a day later i found more scattered around my stomach and back i wouldn’t have noticed them because they didn’t itch but when i examined my body i was shocked at how many red dots i had…my mom is in denial that their bed bugs but what else could it be if i woke up with them. how can you detect these bugs? I’m so creeped out by my bed now i have to sleep on the couch….
I’ve recently moved back into my apartment in Ohio, which was shut up for the summer, after spending the summer in Paris and Italy. I didn’t have any problems with bed bugs during my travels, but now I have a few troubling bites: two on my thigh, one on the side of my right foot and one on the bottom of my left foot. I would know if these were mosquito bites, because I’m very allergic to mosquitoes and have a terrible reaction to them. None are itchy except the lone bite on the bottom of my foot, which is new today.
I also found a beetle/flea-like brown bug on my sheet this morning. It was sesame seed-sized. I took a photo (which can be uploaded later) and compared it to photos of bed bugs — the main difference is that this bug didn’t seem to have striations on its abdomen. Do bed bugs always have those striations? I peeled back the sheets and took a close look at the mattress, found no blood spots or brown/tan spots. I looked at the seams of the mattress and didn’t see anything.
Questions: 1) could new tenants in the other apartments in my building have brought in bed bugs? I live in an old Victorian house. 2) Could my horrible 1970s shag carpet be infested with some biting insect, like fleas? My landlady refuses to change it. Does it sound like I have bed bugs?
I have been bitten by so but can’t figure out what . They looked like a bedbug bite at first but the have turned into a fluid filled blister. Is that what bedbug bites do? They turned to blisters in just a few hours after getting bitten.
OK. I know I have bed bugs. The brown spots on the mattress can also be described as beige. Take a hair dryer to it to test. On high heat, if you see movement, you have them; I am now a leper, so grossed out!!
Sleep on leather couches that have no pillows. Dose with 70 percent rubbing alcohol. This is War!!! KILL THEM ALL!!!
Some of the Photos on this web page really scare me! My apartment now smells like rubbing alcohol! I have to travel to Ohio next month. CBS called that state “The Bed Bug Capitol of The United States!” That is what has me freaked out. I never want to sleep on a mattress again.
My skin has not stopped crawling. I have given myself bruises just by swiping away imaginary bugs. I think I now hate the E.P.A…. from what I have been reading their solution puts the responsibility on the individual. That’s great if you live in your house, but not good if you have to live in an apartment building. I have zero control over how my neighbors live.
I need a chemical solution. It’s great that there is an agency protecting the environment from us. ..But there should also be an agency protecting us from the environment. I think I would give up ten years of my life to rid the world of bed bugs. Fair trade I think…lol
I woke up with a couple of bites and had a bruise next to them the bites are sometimes itchy but the bruise has become very large
because of all the news about bed bugs I threw out all of my bedding sprayed the matress and box spring with a bed bug spray
I didn’t see any signs of bed bugs but the four bites are about an inch apart and in different area but the bruise doesn’t have any bite marks actually the bruise has a area near the bites that is fine almost like a half of moon
what is this and should I see my doctor??
I woke up and took a shower and my left foot was scratching at my right foot. There were three red dot bites. I heard the saying Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. That when you are sleeping you may feel it and not wake up. That you would scratch at it and the bed bug would move. Also I woke up in the middle of the night and felt something just above my upper lip. It felt like a scab..one I did not recall having. I had to scratch it away. I then looked in the mirror and saw a red dot. I know I was in denial. I have not seen anything. I have slept in my bed afterwards with no more bites. It only happened twice. Do I have bed bugs?
Hi Jim,
The rash this morning, however, is bright red and still itches. Please help me identify whether or not it’s a bed bug bite! I’ve been paranoid ever since I stayed in that hotel. I hate not knowing what caused these itchiness.
I’ve seen one on the wall in the daytime and last night one on a pillow that was on the floor. We threw out a second hand mattress and while out in the hot sun in the driveway they came crawling out of a tear on the underside. Gag. However we can not find an infestation anywhere!
I still have treated everyday since then with a spray that I read about on another site. It seems to me that if what I have is bug bites they are only biting in the same place, on my left shoulder blade and at the top of my tail bone. Nothing big and red, just teeny tiny patches of rough skin and a discoloration in those areas that has the appearance of the color of a brownish birthmark, but over about a 5 inch area.
Nothing on my arms, face, legs, belly, or feet! But I know for sure that I have bedbugs! I have killed some. I have been using that spray I read about with that chemical in it that the exterminators use as well as vacume everyday! Plus i bagged up everything and left in in the trunk of my hot car during the heatwave as recommended.
If anyone can explain why i don’t have those horrid bites like I see in the pics I would like to know . I will add this what marks that I do have itch so terrible! i take benedryl, seems to help.
Hi Christy,
See how those bites appear in a line (look at those three right next to each other on your leg), those are what bed bugs look like. It certainly could be something else, but their appearance and the fact that you stayed in a cabin hints strongly that they may be bed bug bites. [Note: We receive a lot of complaints of bed bugs in cabins!]
I’d take that sleeping bag out of your car, open it up over a clean white sheet outside and see if anything falls out. If you have access to the cabin, you could revisit it and look for signs of bugs (see my bedbed check list).
If they are bed bug bites they should be healing up by now. If they do heal up and you end up with more bites, then look at that checklist and search your bedroom.
Let us know what you find out!
Jim
Hi Jim,
I just got back from a camp on Saturday. We stayed in cabins, so I slept in a bunk in my sleeping bag. When I got home, I started noticing all these red spots on my skin. At first I thought they were mosquito bites, but they didn’t really itch. Yesterday I was researching it more and I think they may be bed bug bites. I searched my mattress and box spring and my bedroom in my apartment (and the couch) and I couldn’t really find anything or any signs of bed bugs. So I don’t think I have bed bugs in my apartment, but they may have been in my sleeping bag or I may have brought them home somehow. Right now my sleeping bag’s in my trunk until I can get it washed (I’ll probably have to vacuum the trunk of my car too).
Some of the spots are really red now, but not itchy, while others are pinkish red and itchy (like mosquito bites). I’ve attached some photos. Do you think these are bed bug bites? I’ve never actually found a bed bug or seen evidence of them (as you mention on your site), so I don’t know if I should contact my leasing office to have someone check and spray yet.
Any help you may be able to give me would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Christy
Update: 8/18/10
bed bugs causes paranoia in lots of cases including me we just got back from our cabin where i was bitten quit a bit. last night i had the worst sleep itching n moving every time i felt something now after reading this i think i’m worse i did a load of laundry n we didn’t bring our own blankets or anything just pillows which i made my bf check before bed i really hope one didn’t hitch a ride on my suitcase….. also if only one did n it was either male female which ever but just one could it still reproduce eeeewwwww!
on day i slept on my carpet and then the next day it was a bunch of bumps on my right shoulder i didnt know what it was so i looked it up on google i saw lots of bed bug pictures and it didnt look like any of the ones i had i was hoping you could help please help me im sooo confused
Ok, I’ve read the section on bedbugs Ive got a rash that is on my right forearm only just on top of the arm not under they itch like crazy I have red raised spots my skin is actually warm to the touch I’m not sure if it is bedbugs or nor I don’t have these marks anywhere else on my body & my husband don’t have any is it possible for bed bugs to be biting me & not him Ive look over my bed pillows washed bed clothes did all the things suggested but every morning I wake up I’m itching more.
I moved into a new apartment one month ago. I did not feel itchy until last night. I had changed my sheets yesterday morning, so these sheets were washed at the laundromat and I had put them into my night table drawer.
Anyway, I woke up 3 times in the middle of the night, very itchy. I have 3 tiny red bites on my left leg, and a few extremely tiny red specks on my arms and tummy. I also noticed extremely tiny black specks on my white pants today.
Am I being paranoid, or can I possibly have bed bugs? Or is it a mosquito that got into my room? Also, what is diatomaceous earth and where can I buy it? I heard that this kills bed bugs.
I’ll admit I’ve been a bit paranoid ever since i came to New York for the summer- everyone in my new work place was swapping stories about bed bugs and they hadn’t even occurred to me! Last week I found a couple bugs in the bed but they turned out to be beetles- definitely NOT bed bugs. But now time has passed and I found two bites on my right foot (vertical) and then a day or two later two bites on my other foot (vertical). I’ve checked the seams and sheets of my mattress and box-spring at the foot of my bed but there are no tiny bugs- no spotting or smearing. now what?
Over the past week, I’ve been complaining about bug bites on my legs and feet. They’re pretty itchym but they seem smaller and more pink instead of red like mosquito bites. I was telling my roommate about it, how every time I wake up in the morning, I seem to have a couple more bites than the night before, and I was upset that apparently mosquitoes are eating me while I’m sleeping. He said he hoped it wasn’t bed bugs so we searched my room and all my linens and the mattress, etc. I bought new sheets, washed the old ones, and even switched out my mattress. We never found anything – no blood smears or fecal matter, no shells, eggs or live bugs. But I still got two new bites last night.
I’m so confused! We found no signs of bed bugs, but I have almost 20 bites on my feet and legs. Could I still have bed bugs, even if there’s no signs other my bites??
Please answer, I’m getting so freaked out about this!!
Ever since the end of March, I’ve been living in a trailer park… unfortunately what’s bad around here is that EVERYONE has ants… they’ll find a way into your house. I’ve woken up several times to just a bite every now and then. My girlfriend woke up to a bunch of itchy pink spots all over her upper arm. The next night, I wake up and find the same marks all over the bottom part of my back.
I did hear that bed bugs are going around in the park, but we never have anyone over and we don’t go to any others house except for my mom’s, but she doesn’t have them (they haven’t complained of any marks.) We haven’t noticed any bugs other than ants in our room or on our couch and we have no head board. I’m really scared that it is bed bugs… I’ve already dealt with lice and scabies within the past year! Stupid bugs!!!
Hello Abel,
If you found bed bugs, then chances are that it’s bites from last night.
A number of people on this site found they had scabies which often show up as a bite with a black dot in the center – just throwing that out there…
To help get rid of that itching feeling, many claim that tea tree oil does wonders with the bites (regardless where they came from).
thank you for your reply brenda. i thought i was going nuts. i took walk today and in the middle of the street i was itching on my legs and looked like a weirdo scratching them. well i hope you’re right about seeing them.
i read an article a little while ago stating that a boy brought up the same claims as i and the result was he had nymphs crawling all over him. he only saw them after a couple days pass. sometimes i feel as if im being punished for something.
well, thanks again.
Hi Abel,
You would see the bed bugs clearly if they were on you, however, if they had you for dinner last night, then you may now be feeling the effects!
Can somebody help me out with this? i know i have bed bugs and have been bitten on my legs continuously. we had a pest control company come in to rid us of them but to no success. after a few weeks they came back. so i decided to take measures into my own hands. i sleep in the basement so my cleaning job wasn’t to difficult.
I began by tossing out my mattress and everything associated with it (frame, pillows, blankets…). then i vacuumed three times. then sprayed the floor with rubbing alcohol. i hit all the base boards with it as well. i showered after cleaning and put on clothes that just came out of the dryer. then i went up stairs to my computer to see if anyone has a special weapon against these bugs and as I’m writing this now i feel as if I’m covered with bed bugs. Is this because I’m just anxious to kill these things or am i literally carrying them around? I’m searching my skin with a magnifying glass and flashlight but nothing appears when i itch… this worries me greatly. any advice??? anything at all would be much appreciated. thank you for reading.
My son has these 4 bite marks on his back there all in a shape that looks like the little dipper i recently found out my neighbor across the hall had them can i get them and what does the marks sound to you thank you Hilary
This is for molly – molly, recently i got something similar to what you have. I saw the doctor and he thinks it’s “Pityriasis Rosea”. What you have sounds exactly like that description. I myself have been looking at bedbug bite pictures to make sure he diagnosed me right though. For this condition, however, all he gave me was this topical steroid like cream which you apply thin and frequently. Good luck!
I woke up with what I thought was a rash. A curved line of little bites grouped in 3. SO itchy and so gross. The bites have no hole in the center. They are on my hip and stomach. They definitely look like bed bug bites, but I’ve searched my bed and room and can find no evidence of them????
A few weeks ago I found a bug that looked like a tick. This is the second specimen of this bug on an all white bed-during the daytime. Sadly, many months after the first one. I didn’t think much of it until I searched the internet out of curiosity. To my horror- I think we have bed bugs! Apparently, while this is an increasing problem- it doesn’t seem to be out in the mainstream.
After much reading, panic and finally resignation- I decided to contact my pest control company. Based on my reading-I was not pleased with their plan of action. The guy told me they would steam treat and spray. Nothing was mentioned about what I should do to prepare or how these things require ongoing treatment.
So- I bought every product that seemed to be logical and enable me to try to get some control over the situation. This includes a steamer that reaches recommended temp, Nightwatch, a DIY kit with Mother Earth, Cyonara 9.7, Pyganic Dust, Sterifab,Bedlam and Gentrol. I also bought mattress covers and every other item that someone had used or recommended. I know that I will need to supplement my efforts with the chemical treatment and that it’s not the only thing that will resolve the problem.
So, I am getting ready to wage war and it feels like it may be a war. My question is- if I manage to control them in my bedroom- will they move to the living room and use my cats as a source of food? I live in a single family home. I have just completed a major renovation- bought mostly new furniture… and fear that if I don’t start out with a finite plan- I may make the problem worse. I simply don’t trust the info I am getting in my area on the treatment of bedbugs and therefore feel compelled to do it myself armed with logic over emotion.
I would really appreciate any advice from current or past warriors who are effectively treating this issue.
Tired before I’ve begun…Houston
recently i got this spot like thing on my arm and i havent really bothered with it but it has developed into a scanb i also have them on my bag and stomach and my chest they are oval shaped slightly red with a rough surface and i have no idea what they are?
Hi Wyatt,
Send me some pictures of what you think might be bed bug bites and we’ll go from there.
i have just recently started getting these red spots on my legs that look like little pimples, can they be bed bug bites? ive never seen them but i do work for a furniture leasing company is it possible i brought them home? i cant figure it out please help
Hi Alex,
This does not sound like a bed bug bite, but rather a spider bite!
Hi,
I woke up the other morning with a red hive type thing on part of my middle hip. I thought it might’ve been an irritation spot, so I let it go, but I think its gotten worse.
It is pinkish and swollen, also pinkish around it too (it looks like under the skin). It is painful, especially when I sit down, because it hits my leg.
Also, today, I noticed a little thing sticking out of a small part of it. It was very tiny, but I continued to pull it out. After I did, this yellowish type thing came oozing out, and I had no idea what it was. It stopped coming out after a while, and I washed it with soap and water, and iced it. The swelling has gone down, but it is still pinkish and painful.
Any idea what this is? I just washed my sheets and have never experienced this before, so I don’t know if it is bed bugs or not.
Well I just started to this itch two nights ago and I don’t no from what. At first I thought it was just a bug bite but so itchy and I showed my mom she says it maybe bedbugs so i moved into another room I hope it is not. and I just changed my bed sheet a few days ago. The itchiness is OK it’s sort of pink and look like mosquito bites. I’m thinking I might have irritation but I don’t no. The size vary but looks like mosquito bite. Can any1 help me . This itching started when I washed and changed blankets they were clean. Only begun when i washed my bed sheets and everything and got my summer blanket.
How long do they itch because mine don’t itch for very long maybe an hr and wen I itch it it turns red but wen it calms down u can’t really c it.
Update: Like is it only there fir a little while and next morning the bites will begone so is that a bedbugs
Sandy,
If they have black dots in them chances are that it’s scabies.
I have had particularly itchy skin for a while on my body, even on parts of my body where I don’t have eczema, and especially on my head. Though my head has been checked and there’s nothing there either. A few days ago I started scratching my skin and I noticed there were two red, circular marks with lumps beneath them. The next day I found another, and my friend said they may be flea bites, but I have three cats and with past experience knew they were not. But this morning I woke and noticed three red circular marks on my right arm, but they weren’t itchy until I poked one. Waking up with these marks, I decided to ask my mum what she thought they may be and she suggested they could be bed bug bites, do my bite descriptions sound accurate? Also if they are, how do bed bugs get from on top of my mattress and through the sheets?
I’m a bit confused with my situation. I woke up a few days ago with five bites on my right leg, three around my knee and two on my shin.
I checked the internet and found this bed bug site here, so I’ve been checking my bed and blankets for bed bugs (in fact all my sheets are getting washed right now, haha), and I’ve now vacuumed my bed and the surrounding area.
But the thing is, I didn’t see anything. No feces, no bugs, no curious stains. I took some pictures of the ones on my arm, but they look kind of different from any of the images on the bed bug site. I was wondering if perhaps you could help?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
I forgot to mention… I work over nights, so I sleep during the day. I have good blinds so my room can get pretty dark during the day.
Michael says:
January 19, 2010 at 3:36 am
A few months ago I noticed a bug on my bed as I was getting reading to go to sleep. I had never seen a bug like this before. I killed it and have not seen any more since. Seeing these pictures of bed bugs on your site, reminds me of what that bug looked like. I don’t experience any itching or redness on my body however. It is possible that there was only one bed bug or am I wishful thinking? Once you see one, does it mean there may be several more or eggs that may have been laid?
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Micheal have you got a reasons to your question about wishful thinking on only having perhaps just One bedbug? I recently took over a different bedroom in my house and got bit by a bedbug, I did however find One, and killed it.. I’m praying there was only one but I don’t know how they work, am i also wishful thinking?
It sounds like Hayley might have scabies which there is a cream you can put on to get rid of it. If you have bed bugs you will eventually find one on your sheets or bedding. They can hide in the walls or the cracks of the floor or even in your mattress. You should get mattress and pillow covers, and you can also spray to get rid of them. the scabies you just have to wash your bedding in hot water and then make sure to get the cream and maybe the antihistamine pill if your rashes are worsened by an allergic reaction.
I have wooden frames on my bed. I don’t see any bed bugs or dust mites. But I have recently just got bitten by one of them . The bites are all over my back my legs my arms neck and some parts of my face. I don’t know what to do. I can’t bring myself to sleep in my bed. If it is these horrible little creatures how do I go about gettin ride of them.
Can u only get Bed Bugs if you have a wooden frame?
I think i’ve got bitten by them but i’ve got a metal frame and no bed bug infestation. But my bites are all over my legs and look Bed Bug bites
My partner and I just moved into an apartment together about a month ago and within the last week I’ve had my left leg bitten 3 or 4 times. The bites get badly swollen, ending up to be about 2 or 3 inches in diameter; they’re extremely itchy, hot to the touch, and burn after being itched.
I asked her if she was getting bit too and she said no, that nothing is happening to her. Our bed is up against the wall and I sleep on the side against the wall. Could this be bed bugs?
I got bed bugs from buying a used bedroom suite from an apartment dweller. They didn’t have any furniture in their apartment, so I thought they were getting new furniture. It never dawn on me that they were battling a bed bug problem nor that they could be transferred from a headboard, I only got the the wood furniture , not the mattress. I had an experience with bedbugs as a child and I could feel them bite.
I started getting really itchy bumps I thought was nerves: until I found a brownish mess on the side of my mattress and on my sheets there was also little blood spots, I thought was because I scratched my bumps too much. After closer examination I realized they were bugs and I remembered my experience from childhood.
I’ve got them under control for now. By: hauling the invested furniture to the dump, treating the mattress and carpet with bed bug spray, from Lowe’s and also spraying 91% alcohol on everything, especially rubbing the alcohol in the seems. I also, encased my box springs & mattress with dust mite proof mattress covers.
Sandy, I had a condition that drove me crazy when I was like 20 yo. It sounds quite similar to what you are experiencing. Have your doctors treat you for a Norwegian mite infestation. It’s the same treatment for scabies I think (quell shampoo etc)… See if the problem doesn’t end with that….
For the last several months I was getting red welts all over my body. It seemed to occur after spending the night at my boyfriend’s house. I questioned him, but he advised me he thought they were stress hives. The welts appeared two more times after that.
I saw a physician and a dermatologist, both of whom were clueless! Finally, I had the boyfriend come over to my apartment with his sheets. We had conjectured that I was allergic to his laundry detergent. In hindsight, this was a huge mistake–having him wash his sheets at my house–as he later revealed he had a horrific mattress infestation of bed bugs the month following.
Two months later, I started getting the welts again. They were smaller and less pronounce. Last night, I found a bed bug. Ew! I captured it, put it in a sandwich bag, and smashed it with a spoon only to watch blood spatter all over the interior of the bag. I have brought this to the attention of my apartment complex.
Hi! My name is Susie I’m up now trying to figure out what can you do when your neighbors are very nasty and Chicago Housing Authority (CHAange) won’t evict these residents. I’ve lived here for 17 years and never had beg bugs until they relocated residents from other developments without inspecting the units they were in. Before I moved into my unit my furniture was sprayed before I can into a new unit, now they have stopped spraying because of lack of funds. What can residents do to get nasty neighbors to clean up?
A few months ago I noticed a bug on my bed as I was getting reading to go to sleep. I had never seen a bug like this before. I killed it and have not seen any more since. Seeing these pictures of bed bugs on your site, reminds me of what that bug looked like. I don’t experience any itching or redness on my body however. It is possible that there was only one bed bug or am I wishful thinking? Once you see one, does it mean there may be several more or eggs that may have been laid?
For about two months now I’ve had incredibly itchy skin and random marks all around my body. I’m often woken in the night because the itching is so intense. I’ve been to the doctor and they suggested it might be scabies but I’ve only ever got a few marks so think it’s more likely to be bed bugs.
I have been staying in two different beds, could I have brought the bed bugs from one to another? I’ve never seen the bed bugs and have a mattress protector. The itching and lack of sleep is driving me insane! I now have several red dots on my body, some have a black spot in the middle. Is this the result of a bed bug?