Can two people sleep in a bed, but only one get bitten by bed bugs?

Yes. Two people can sleep in the same bed and only one seem to get bitten by bed bugs. Sometimes the bugs feed unevenly, and sometimes one person reacts while the other shows little or no visible bite reaction. Worried’s story below shows how confusing that can be.

The middle of January I woke up to intense itching on my back so I asked my husband to scratch it for me, which he did! So I asked him was anything there and he told it was 3 bumps. Still I paid it no mind, my daughter came in my room and I asked her to look at my back because it still was itching and she did! Yet she said something different then her father, she said “it look like something bit you, and they tore you up!” I told her maybe it was my bra because it seemed that it had been poking me in that exact spot. She insisted that it looked like angry bites.

8 days later I had 2 on my leg and 1 on my finger. They weren’t together. Still I didn’t know what to think.The end of January I woke up with 1 on my toe and it was then that I thought something was going on. That was my first time getting on the net reading about bedbugs.

Now I have been bitten by bedbugs before over a friends house when I was 11 they tore me up. I slept wit my clothes on and when I tell you they hadn’t left a single part of my uncovered skin unbitten except my face I won’t be telling a lie put it like that. Still I remember details, that when I told the people whose house it was that I was bitten; they looked at me as if I was lying! Then the other kid who was a guest and shared the bed with me, said “nothing bite me.” I felt bad and I told my mom when I got home who confirmed that yes it was bedbugs bites.

I disregarded the bed bugs because I hadn’t been bitten like I was as a child. The pictures that I did take a look @ seem to be the same pattern as the ones I had when I was a child. It was til the middle of February I woke up with another bite on my finger that I flipped out came back on the internet and really started to consider the option of bedbugs because it became clear to me that something might be feeding off of me.

I told my husband and daughter it could be bedbugs but my husband said he would of been bit too. Which made sense before because he doesn’t have sensitive skin that breaks out very easily. Still I began to ask Google specific questions one of which was: can two people share the same bed and only 1 person be bitten by bedbugs!” To my surprise it was plenty of stories that said HECK YEAH!

With This evidence I was able to convince my husband to do a search. He explained that he to knew what bed bugs look like and the same information I read online he told me the something. He got his handy flashlight and searched the seems of the mattress. Check the opposite side of it, checked the box spring lift it up and checked the bottom of i said he was looking for blood smears, eggs, cast off! We found nothing! We checked the baseboard on my side of the bed, nothing!!

At this time I decided to remove the dust ruffle from the box spring and everything was ok… until 12 days later when I awoke to 2 painful new bites @2:23 in the morning. I was laying next to my charging cell phone. These bites burned so bad it woke me up and I had only been sleep for a hour. I believe it just happened! My arm swelled up so bad that it looked as if it was pregnant! I couldn’t stop rubbing it or itching it. When I did fall asleep after our second inspection it burned like fire in my sleep. It actually felt warm/hot to the touch.

Our second inspection turned up nothing and this time I had my husband removed that thin cloth part on the box spring and look in. It was as clean as a whistle. I also had him check the sofa and open the cloth underneath that. Still he found nothing. Not to mention we have 3 dogs and a daughter who has never been bitten.

I started cleaning with alcohol and bleach every night and not sleeping-til the morning. Tomorrow will make two weeks that I haven’t been bit. My 3 dogs r constantly under furniture and never act as if they seen any bugs or was ever bit. I’m worried but don’t know what to think. We’ve been living in this apartment for 5 years. All This furniture was new i haven’t entertained any guests since my mother died. Can this be bed bugs or am I crazy? I need help, I’m so sleepy!!

Answer: Yes, two people can be sleeping in the same bed and only one receive the bites, or, one has a reaction while the other does not which gives the appearance of no bites. There are many testimonials where couples describe the same problem, found nothing for a long time, then discovered they had bed bugs!

The key here is finding them, best thing you can do is buy a mattress encasement, use climb up blockers or make your own (see my bed bug dust page for a picture and instructions. Also, set up a bed bug trap using dry ice or Alka-Seltzer and see what you catch, it might not be bug bugs at all!

If you do confirm bed bugs, our guide on how to get rid of bed bugs walks through the next steps.