Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs are real and have made resurgence in the U.S. and infect hotels, apartment complexes and homes. We are going to provide you with information to help you determine if you have bed bugs and how to deal with infestations and protect yourself during travel. There are some easy ways to check for these bugs in hotels, before you sleep in the bed!
What are bed bugs?
Before I explain more, take a look at this video - warning: you won’t be able to sleep after this!
Bed Bugs are insects, more specifically, ‘True Bugs’, which have piercing mouthparts that in most species are used for feeding on plants. Unfortunately, there are some species of bugs with mouthparts that have been adapted to feed on human blood while inflicting very little pain (most never feel the blood feeding).
Human bed bugs found in the U.S., Cimex Lectularius, have a flat oval shaped body without wings and range in length from 4 to 7mm long. Their color is shiny reddish-brown but after a good serving of your blood, they appear dark brown and swollen as in the picture below.
There are three stages in the bed bug’s life cycle: egg, nymph and adult as indicated in the picture below:
The eggs are white and about 1mm long. The nymphs look like adults but are smaller. Complete development from egg to adult takes from four weeks to several months depending on the temperature and amount of feed available.
Both make and female bed bugs feed on the blood of sleeping humans during night. In the absence of humans, they will feed on mice, rats, chickens and other animals. Feeding takes about 10 to 15 minutes for adults and less for the nymphs; they feed about every three days. Depending on the conditions, bed bug nymphs can survive for months without feeding.
A good way to tell if you have bed bugs is by looking for blood spots on the mattress seam as in the image below. The spots are dark colored and in groups which indicate current or past infestation.
Can I get a disease from Bed Bugs?
To date, there is not a know case of disease associated with bed bugs and most people are never aware they have been bitten. Bed bug bites usually look like little red bumps which can look a lot like mosquito bites and for those that have sensitive skin, a allergic reaction can occur as in the picture below
If you have such a reaction, check with your doctor who may recommend an antihistamine or topical cream to relieve any itching and or burning. Do not scratch the bites as this may lead to infection.
How do bed bugs get into a home? Usually from hitching a ride on clothing or furniture. Once the bed bugs are in your home, they will gravitate to the sleeping area and will hide out in the following areas:
Seams, creases, tufts, and folds of the mattress and box springs.
- Cracks in the bad frame and or head board
- Under chairs, couched, beds and dust covers
- Between the cushions of couches and chairs
- Under rugs and the edges of carpets
- In drawers, baseboards and window casings
- Behinds electrical plates, cracks in plaster
- Televisions, radio clocks and phones (scary!)
Bed bugs can also travel to adjacent rooms or apartments by making their way over plumbing and electrical wiring.
What to do when you find Bed Bugs!
The best way to deal with bed bugs to seal your mattress and pillows with a plastic or hypoallergenic zipped cover. This traps the bugs that are inside your pillow and prevents them from feeding and kills them over time - remember, a nymph can live for two months without feeding.
Do not apply any pesticide to mattresses or surfaces that would come in contact with the skin unless the pesticide specifically states that the product can be used in this manner.
Wash all your linens and place them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes (or you can freeze them at -5 C or below for five days).
You can vacuum to capture bed bugs and their eggs, but because the eggs are embedded to the fabric, you may have to scrape the surface. Once you have vacuumed everything, immediately place the vacuum bag into a plastic bad, seal it tight and dispose.
Seal items mentioned above to prevent the bugs from hiding. You can place glue boards or sticky tape around your bed and in the room to catch the bed bugs as the move around; this gives you a way to monitor the effectiveness of your efforts.
A few ways to prevent bed bugs from getting into your home include:
- Hang clothing in the closet farthest from the bed
- Place luggage on the folding rack found in most hotels
- Place luggage in the dry cleaning bad found in the hotel.
- Most important, don’t bring home a mattress that has been used by unknown sources.
If you have been bitten by a bed bug, please take pictures and the bite or even the area with blood stains and drop me an email (see bottom of page for address). I would be happy to post it for everyone to see and will make sure your information stays private. These pictures and / or your story will help others around the world deal with this common problem!
Written by Jim on August 5th, 2007 with
126 comments.
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I am a flight attendant, who was staying at the Crown Plaza in Pheonix. I got bit by bed bugs, as I slept. The affected areas have turned into large water filled blisters/boils. I now have staph infection as a result of these bites.
i have had bedbugs for over a month now. dealing with it on my own since i dont find many anymore. i recently found one hiding and captured it with my pencil. this is what i discovered.
1. they love wood…more than you could imagine. it didnt want to get off the pencil. but it wouldnt walk on the painted part no matter what i did.
2. i put it in a plastic food container and it couldnt climb the sides. i am sure that they cant climb smooth hard surfaces like glass metal and plastic. they hate these surfaces very much. to them it is like slippery ice.
3. i put one on double sided carpet tape and it slowed it down a bit but it was still walking all over both sides until i pressed on it then it wouldnt move. so i wouldnt bother with tape.
4. i found several in spider webs so spiders are your best friend.
Help! I am not quite sure what these bites may be but they seem to be bed bugs. I’ve searched all over and I could not find the bugs or the blood stains mentioned in the article. I have no idea what type of bites these can be and would appreciate any help.
The photo of these bites appear below.
I didn’t take pictures of my bites, but they totaled nearly 30 on my legs. I was literally “bugging out” because these (what I assume now were bed bugs) are horrible. What seemed to really stop the bites was grabbing all my sheets at once, rolling them up and placing them far away from my bed, later washing them in high heat. I then slept on top of my metal spring mattress but in a zipped up sleeping bag and the bites stopped occurring.
My boyfriend and I have been getting some bites around our ankles during bedtime over the past couple of days. We couldn’t figure out if it was spiders or bedbugs? I stripped the bed down and looked inch for inch, but unsucessfully discovered the source. What could it be? You can see the bites in the photo below.
Many thanks!
Lei
Hello Lei,
It is very difficult to tell, but I’d bet this is a case of bed bugs. Did you happen to recently get back from a vacation and if so, where did you stay (woods, hotel, etc?)
Are there any stains on the mattress?
Regards,
Jim.
I have been looking for information on how long bed bug bites last once a person is bitten, and if there was a medication/cream that people use to help quell the itching.
Thanks for all that info previously printed, though, for I’m going to be armed with it the next time I go to a cheap hotel.
We actually just got back from Vegas now that you mention it, we stayed at Treasure Island. There aren’t any stains on the mattress at all, so this concerns me. To this date, I have not seen one bug! I’ve had the bite marks for about 5-6 days now and for some reason, they begin to itch/swell every time I go outside in cool weather. Hydrocortisone seems to help with the itching.
It is now 3:30 a.m., and I am awake with fear at the Hampton Inn/Mobile, Alabama. Having checked in yesterday, and arising yesterday morning with no itch or symptoms, I began to itch furiously about 9:30am. I am suffering with horrible allergic reactions to these bites, and thought I only had 2-3 on my arms. However, when returning to the hotel tonight, I noticed them on my chest, and bottom extremeties as well.
I don’t see anything on the mattress, but plan on finishing my research, packing up, heading home, and leaving my bags and clothing in the garage upon arrival. I will also plan on washing and drying on high heat any articles of clothing from the trip, including spraying my luggage with a household pesticide.
I can’t believe that these bites are as painful as they are and I didn’t even feel the bite. I am also notifying the front desk of my findings and hope that they’ll investigate and based upon their findings, treat the room for any future, unsuspecting guests.
Discovered these bloodsuckers yesterday. Caught one and compared to pictures from the internet and confirmed they are indeed bed bugs. I have declared war on them and have discovered their camps and bases. Operations launched and ammunitions of quarters have been ordered. Figure out that a lot of unused linen around the bed had been housing them. Will be cleaning a truck load of linen tomorrow and see what happens.
I find comfort in reading that other people are bugged in bed by these quiet little beasts. I grew up in California thinking that bedbugs were an imaginary thing like fairies and the Easter bunny, but last summer I realized they are all too real.
Since then I’ve ripped out all the carpet in my Brooklyn apartment and have spent many days sealing up the cracks and holes along the walls and floors. I have a bedbug graveyard taped to the wall. As for the living that remains, it’s impossible to track them down; it’s like an ant in a library. I just hope they are a curse that’s about to be lifted.
On a scientific note, I have lately encountered a few baseboard dwellers that look a bit like a bedbug, but with a bulby back, more like a spider. Wondering if anyone knows about these guys, dark brown, reddish, but not with the flattened football body like a bedbug. These guys are more bulby and I wonder if these might be bedbug eaters, the good guys, and that’s why I haven’t seen so many bedbugs lately or maybe they’re pregnant bedbugs?
Like life, the mystery abounds…
p.s. stayed in a cheap hotel in fort stockton this summer, and my goodness, the lone star state might have the biggest, baddest bedbugs in the union!
Bed bugs are driving me insane! I have not only displosed of my old bed but changed my mattress twice. I have also completely re-decorated my room and cleaned it from top to bottom.
Running out of ideas on what I can do, even thinking of selling up!!
Couldn’t send photos, because my camera’s broken, but I can describe the bites pretty well. They’re like mosquito bites, only in clusters or rows (I have a nice L shape going on my right foot…), and itched real bad. I picked up a tube of AfterBite at the drugstore today, because that worked for my mosquito bites at a friend’s, and it helped somewhat, though they still itch a bit.
Trouble is, the only bugs I’ve found (and I have found a few of the same kind around the edges of my mattress) look nothing like the pictures of bedbugs. They’re small and oval-shaped, but kind of bristly-looking on the main part of the body.
I spent the weekend at a friend’s in Massachusetts, and the morning after I came back had bites on my feet and lower legs that really itched. The next morning I had more. I have no idea where they could have come from so suddenly, and I still don’t know if they’re really bedbugs or not. Anyone have any suggestions?
Hi, I think i have bed bugs but i’m not sure. my parents had them, and i told them that the bugs in my bed look a lot like bed bugs, but they keep telling me i dont have bed bugs because we cant find dark spots on my mattress, and the only adults that i have seen have never looked swollen like the one in the picture. i wake up with bug bites that look like misquito bites on the back of my arms and some on my back, but i dont know if thats all from my bed or if its from being outside. is there any way i can find out whether or not i have bed bugs?
I am a flight attendant and I also got bit by bed bugs in downtown Des Moines Iowa (Fort Des Moines) My bites started to itch the next morning on my wrist and later that day I had many more on my arms. The next day I had bumps on the sides of my knees and they started to ooze. I even had one on the bottom of my nose. I have been to the company clinic and they just say I was bit by an insect. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow and i am curious to see if he can identify these marks (I have pictures to show him too). Also, any legal advice?
Hi Sally,
We don’t give legal advice here, but LawRefs is a good place for free legal help.
Send us a picture and we’ll take a look and post for everyone to see, plus, you’ll have it documented then.
Regards,
Jim.
Hi, I’m new here but I believe Lei’s bites look like flea bites. Fleas get everywhere, I know for fact. We moved into a new house and on the first night there had to sleep on the floor, twenty minutes after we went to bed, we were covered in them. They had lain dormant in the carpet, and the vibrations of our feet had hatched the eggs etc.
We self bombed the entire house with the canned bombs, and we continually vacuum up with our kirby vacuum, to get deads fleas eggs etc. I believe the last tenants did not have such good hygiene habits so managed to infest the house with human fleas (there are three types of fleas dog fleas, cat fleas and human fleas, the fleas usually prefer they’re own type (cat fleas like to feed on cats etc, but will still feed on dogs or humans if there choice is limited). Thanks
No photos not sure what is biting me but i itch like hell NOTHING makes the itching stop it fells like im constantly being bitten all over my body when im in my house when im in other places it itches but not as bad. When im in bed it is just unbearable havent slept at night in 4 days i end sleeping at my friends just to sleep during the day. Small redish bumps EVRYWHERE
Help, I need help killing these bed bugs! They won’t die, no matter what we do and how we do it. We have cleaned and we have sprayed, what else can we do? Someone please tell me because I am one of those ones that are allergic to them and look horrible.
Please help…thanks
Weird, my roommate discovered bites about a month ago. He never saw them and I never got bit, yet found bed bugs in little clusters on my mattress zipper. If I do get bit, I don’t have any reaction. The bugs I found I would squash and they are full of blood. I also see some strange stains on the wall that look blood colored, little track like dots.
Anyway, I lost my roommate over this and I have tried to clean/spray/seal all aspects of these in my room and am a little scared to get a new roommate and how that could pan out if they are still around. This is flipping my life upside down because I can’t afford this apartment by myself and probably couldn’t afford the high rates charged around here anymore.
My renters insurance doesn’t cover bed bugs and am so unorganized having had my whole apt bagged. I can’t find anything and don’t have a mattress to sleep on. This may lead me to a city hostile.
Hi everyone, I recently saw a report on the news about bed bugs that, ever since, has literally had me feeling like things are crawling on me. I know, I’m a slightly paranoid, but to everyone here with the bed bug problem, I have some suggestions.
1. Wash all linens (including pillows) regularly in HOT water, use chlorine bleach on white sheets and pillows and non-chlorine bleach on colored sheets and dry everything on your dryer’s hottest setting for about an hour. I wash and change my sheets every Saturday.
2. Boric acid! Put boric acid along baseboards in rooms with beds and linen closets. You can put real sticky traps (not double sided tape); I’m talking about the sticky traps meant to trap mice and rats. Put them under beds and in corners, when the bugs fall/walk onto them, they are done. I use them in my basement to trap crickets, but tons of tiny bugs have been caught also. I buy boric acid at Home Depot (approx. $2.00 for a large cylinder) and sticky traps at Wal-mart (approx. $3.00 each).
3. Steam clean and vacuum carpets. You’d be surprised what can live in carpets that are not maintenance regularly. The best vacuums on the market are Dyson and Rainbow (Rainbow vacuums are expensive $1500-$3000), they pick up everything, it’s incredible. I run the vacuum every day.
4. Wash mattresses with bleach solution (1 part bleach/2 parts water) and damp towel or sponge. Don’t drench the mattress, just enough to see the mattress is wet and rub off top soil and dirt.
5. Vacuum mattress with hose attachment. So obviously vacuum before you wash the mattress. lol
6. Put rarely used clothes, linens, pillows, ect in air tight bags, like the space bags sold at Target and Wal-mart. You insert objects and suck the air out with a vacuum flattening the objects which, creating more storage space, killing bugs that might make it into the bags (no air equals no life) and eliminating future bugs from getting in.
7. Seal the bottom of box springs. Box springs come with that thin fabric on the bottom to keep the wood from being exposed. Seal it off completely with strong fabric and a strong adhesive. You might want to treat the wood first if you find the bugs living in there. Since you don’t sleep directly on the box spring you can treat with a house hold pesticide and/or boric acid.
Once you get your home clean and bug free be careful about the places you sleep at outside your home and the people you let sleep at your home.
Good luck to everyone, I hope this helps someone.
If everything else fails…
Throw the mattress, box spring, sheets, ect in the dumpster. Hire professionals to clean and buy new stuff.
Hi, My husband and I are being bitten regularly. Our bites are exactly like all of the photos, although for me they are always on the upper leg/lower torso. We have absolutely no evidence, though, in our room. No blood spots, no sightings, nothing. I started the process of dry cleaning, bagging, encasing, etc - everything recommended on all of the bed bug sites - before we call in the professionals, and found the bug below in the folds of our comforter.
Is this a bed bug? It doesn’t look like any of the bed bug pictures, but it’s the only bug we’ve seen. As a description, it is 1/4 inch in length, tan with black around the perimeter of its flat “shell” and another black strip down the center. The shell has little ridges on the lower half, perpendicular to the stripes.
It does not stick at all to sticky tape, and when I pressed on it ever so slightly under the sticky tape, it squished, oozing a grey fluid (no blood), and died. (Note that the back end of the bug is usually just rounded. It looks a bit distorted in this photo from being accidentally squished.)
Any thoughts on what this bug is would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hey everyone,
Thank God for blogs like this, at least were not alone. I had a problem about 4 months ago with bed bugs. I only found 1 but had been bitten several times. I have a really bad reaction to the bites. Aside from the unrelenting itch, the area around the bite swells about 10 times the size of the actual bite.
When all this happened I disposed of the matress and box spring and had an exterminator come in and spray. The linens and pillows also were thrown away. I did not, however, put all my clothes in plastic. I wash all the washable clothes in hot water but the rest just stayed in the closet. I had the exterminator come back a month later and spray again (I was paranoid) but all was well. Until a few nights ago I woke up with about 10 bites on my arm. Here we go again!!!
I can not find any evidence of bed bugs. no blood stains, matress is in perfect, brand new condition. I checked every fold, every crevice, but I know they are somewhere. I called the exterminator back and he said “I really don’t think it is bed bugs because it has been too long since the last time” Ok! I don’t think I am imagining the bites on my arm. so he is bringing over the sticky pads to see what we can find.
I have slept on the couch since the bites and will do so until I am free of these bugs once and for all. I will also tell you I live in a four bedroom house and no one else has ever been bitten. My boyfriend sleeps over quite a bit and he has never been bitten.
Strange, very strange. Does anyone know if this is possible that 4 months can pass and then bitten again? HELP!!!!
Katherine, yep that’s a bed bug. I unfortunately know almost everything about them.
My poor baby!!! I will love you forever if you can help me. My two year old has been waking up with bites for about two weeks or so. They are swollen and perfectly round, very similar to a moquito bite that is a day or two old. Sometimes there is a pink area around the bite that is not raised at all but is encircled with a darker, almost red line and I’m wondering if they are bed bugs?
If you can tell me how to send pictures I will be happy to. Here is the other thing, I recently (about the time the bites started) moved her to a toddler bed. She still has the same mattress as before, but the bed frame was in the attic. I have also realized there is bat feces in the attic right around where the bed was stored. Have not seen bats yet and don’t really want to look for them…yikes. We also have mice. Not a lot we can do about that (that I know of) as we live on a farm and they never seem to really go away. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Sara
Hello, i learned alot bout these bugs tha hard way because my friend brought in a bed from the garbege. All this time i thought that “dont let the bed bugs bite” waz a joke untill some months ago. Now I get these bumps that has a head on it with yellow stuff coming out because he got bit by them so much.
I use to wake up with bites all over my neck, back, legs, and everywhere else. The only way i got rid of them is by kicking one of my friends out with the bed, also i got rid of all fruniture because these bugs love to travel. I ended up getting air beds. i dont know how long bites and itching last because i was getting bit everynight, but after everything was gone it took about 3 to 4 days for tha itching to stop and 5 to 7 days for the bites to leave.
PLEASE DONT SCRATCH or you will get those boils and let me tell you, those hurt real bad!
Several years ago we stayed at the YWCA in Quebec City which was obviously infested — blood spots and bug parts appeared on the sheets. The YWCA said “it’s only you.” I thought I had gotten rid of all bedbugs that came back in our luggage by vacuuming, laundering and pesticides, but we still get bitten occasionally. I have never seen a bedbug in the house and can’t find their dark spots anywhere, but the bites usually appear overnight and are in rows (see photo of below).
I’m putting out sticky traps to try and catch one. If I do find one, I’ll quarantine our beds by steam cleaning the frames, encasing the mattresses and box springs in vinyl zippered bags, laundering all bedding, and putting the bed legs in bowls of mineral oil. (I’ve been doing my research.) There’s a great folk remedy for the itching: In the bath or shower, use water just as hot as you can stand to treat the bites for a few minutes. It itches intensely for a few seconds, but then there is relief for many hours.
Hi, it’s Swasti. Two months we shifted to new apartment and after couple a days we had get bitten buy bed bugs, we thought it was an allergy, but we saw bedbugs and informed to house owner. The owner did steaming to carpet and after two days he use professional bugbugs spraying, after that, we didn’t get eaten by bed bugs. About a week later, I saw one crawling in my bed which I likked and again informed to house owner and again was sprayed by bed bug professionals.
Do you think need another spray or it will work? So far, we have not been eaten, but yesterday I was vaccuming the room and I think I now have an allergy, but I never had allergies before the spraying.
Please help.
So I was researching spider bites, allergies and whatever else I could come across to try to figure out what I have. That’s when I came accross this site and believe I may have gotten bit by bed bugs. This looks like a nightmare!
The first bump was on my knee. We camp a lot so just brushed it off. Now for about 5 days or so I have been noticing more and more by the day. I have at least 30-40 spots on my body (feet, ankles, legs, fingers and even a few spots behind my ears now!). I would have to say they are almost clear with little bubbles (that itch like crazy and when I give in to itching, do sometimes break and leak a clear liquid…no pus). It seems to be just one and gradually get a small cluster in a spot (about 2-6 “bubbles” gathered).
What do you think? My husband works third shift so sleeps during the day and has none of these. My baby (who sleeps in the room next to ours) had a bump/bubble a few weeks ago (again started as one bite and ended up being a little cluster). I had/have no clue what she had, but only one spot. She’s 17 months, but didn’t seem bothered by it. After a week or so it almost got a scab on it and came off. Any ideas? Does it look like I’m in for bed bugs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Good luck to you all too!
Also - I searched my bed and came up with nothing. Not the best at laundry, but did just put new linnen and blankets on the bed hoping it would help, but it didn’t.
Since I came down with the bumps, I have gotten a nasty cold (sinus, sore throat, tight chest, terrible headache) and a slight fever comes and goes. Since I submitted the last entry, I was reading more info and these symptoms were present in other things. And even more odd, I have been really stiff! I thought I was just being a wuss, but could this be something? I plan on making a call to the doc, but currently I’m pretty PO’ed at them (they don’t seem to be able to solve anything I talk to them about…how hard is it to diagnose migraines? to tough for my clinic…but they are looking for my $$$$)!!
Anyhoo, anyone else find some of these odd, seemingly unrelated, signs/symptoms? I had taken some allergy meds to help with the cold symptoms and the anti-histimine seems to really help with the itching. Bath seemed to itch more during, but felt ok after. Looking forward to others responses…if any.
My ex and I share custody of my 14 year old daughter. About a month ago, his wife called me to say that her youngest had chicken pox, and since my daughter had never had them, I should be on the lookout. Two days later, my daughter had a horrible oozy rash all over, and was itching like crazy. I thought it was chicken pox because she hadn’t had them and I thought my ex had been to the doctor about it.
As I was taking her back there that day, I told them they could treat her for the chicken pox, and they said it wasn’t chicken pox. They said the doctor had no idea what it was except that it was an allergic reaction to something.
Yesterday, his wife called to tell me that they found out what it was. They had gotten a used couch and just discovered that it was completely overrun with bedbugs. My daughter is allergic to the bites. Now I’ve gotten bites that are almost like mosquito bites, but they itch really bad. I’m worried that my daughter brought some bedbugs with her from there. They said they threw the couch out, but I don’t think that completely took care of the problem and it will keep coming to my house now. I need help.
I dont know much about bed bugs, but I’ve been getting some suspicious bites on my legs recently thet itch a lot. They are usually in little groups, just like bed bug bites are supposed to be. I cant really look for blood stains though, because I have a waterbed. Basically what I want to know is: Can bed bugs live in a waterbed? I dont see why not. It would be easy to squeeze between the bladder and the wooden frame, but I dont know.
P.S.: once they find a bed, do they wander around or just stay there?
I have been getting bitten since May when I got back from a road trip. I had had to spend a total of 4 nights in motels on that trip. I never thought to check the beds!
The bites in the picture above, have been getting more and more lately, and look like large mosquito bites that itch for far longer than one. I have been spaying these bites with rubbing alcohol. It helps for awhile but I do find myself waking in the night just to spray the bites.
Finally, yesterday, I showed my husband what I’ve been finding in the bed for the past week. See the pictures below.
This looks like termite poop only smaller and more brown in color. I have a waterbed also so have not been able to ’see’ blood stains.
I am going to try to do all of these little tricks everyone has been saying to find out for sure if this is what’s going on and try to control them. Throwing the bed out is not an option at this point. (It’s less than a year old, and we all know how expensive waterbeds are!) We are moving soon so we can break down the waterbed and clean it as much as possible. I’m hoping this will take care of the problem. I don’t have carpets but I am concerned that the bugs will get into the wall sockets.
Let me know what ya’s think?
Literally hours after I sent my last message I found a small bug on a sticky trap near my bed. He is definantly a “true” bug and has a flat body, back legs longer then front four. I now remember seeing the same bug in our laundry room and on a towel in the bathroom. (I’m very observant). The only strange thing is that he is covered in what looks like white lint, all three of the ones I’ve seen were. It makes him look fuzzy. Is this a bed bug?
Here is what I use for dealing with the intense itching of bedbug bites: household ammonia, straight, on a cotton ball, paper towel or tissue. You have to hold it on the bite for a few minutes, you don’t get instant relief, but after a little while it stops the itching. For me, the itching sometimes doesn’t come back at all, or if it does, it’s not as bad and not until the next day.
I wish I had as good luck getting rid of the bedbugs as getting rid of the itching!
To Sue, Post #33.
I beleive that little brown poop is not from a bed bug, but acutally flea waste. Take a few of them and break them in half and if it looks like blood, then changes are it is flea poop.
Good luck!
Cindy
I keep getting bit by something in my bed every night, every time I wake up it gets worse, what can I do? I’ve tried everything, from spraying it down with bug killers to frebreeze to even plastica sheets, it’s crazy, I might be allergic to them or something, they are starting to bruise over.
Sue:
It’s possible that those are fleas… my experience with bedbugs is that they leave a trail of bites, if you have fair skin like mine you realize that they find a vein and follow it. if your bites are more random, it might not be bedbugs (but i’m not an expert).
The best ointment I’ve found for healing scarring from bedbites is Brave Soldier Antiseptic Healing Ornament. My skin showed significant improvement after just one day. Others ointments which helped include CVS Scar Cream, Dr. Blaine’s Scar Care and PreVenin-AT Advanced Scar Therapy. I usually do not use antiseptic soap, but I discovered it does help heal the bed bug bite marks, so I’ll use it until I run out of the small bottle I bought and then go back to normal soap.
hi- im with ya all! i have over 100 bed bug bites currently and im so itchy i feel like im having panic attacks! the dr. put me on steroids-antihistimine and cream but to no avail. I am very itchy! i stayed in a hotel which i obviously was a midnight buffet!
To no surprise, the general manager said that there is no evidence of bed bugs in that room (OF COURSE THERE WOUNDNT BE!). Never even apologized, how rude! Anyhow, I’m sending along some pics for you all and i am seeing an attorney. These things are gonna leave NASTY scars!
I know I mentioned in the post above, but it’s worth mentioning again - if you’re serious about suing the hotel, you should visit LawRefs and get some free advice (it’s really free, no half answers, etc). I’ve used this site in the past on our content; she specializes in medical malpractice and internet law.
Yesterday I spotted the first one, climbing on the wall in the dining room. It was big about 1cm or more and rectangular. I sprayed some ant killer that I had at hand, it took off and started flying in circles. Finally I smacked it with the slipper, it was full of blood…
Today 3 more in the same area, climbing on the wall in broad daylight. So you think these are bed bugs? Cimex lectularius, Does it really fly?
I dont see any bite marks, no signs in the bedroom so far. How can I establish what it is?
Thanks
Catalina
I’ve done a lot of reading on the web about this - Catalina, bed bugs can’t fly, so whatever you sprayed was not a bed bug!
Meanwhile, I’ve been getting covered in bites lately, but I’m not sure if they’re mosquitos or bed bugs. (Which is why I’m doing so much reading.) Most of the bites aren’t clustered, they’re just random. They’re on my arms, legs, and face. Since I got the first round of bites, I’ve been sleeping in socks, pants, long sleeves, and covering all exposed skin with mosquito repellant. Two nights ago I was exhausted and fell asleep wearing short sleeves and no spray, and got covered in bites again. I’ve checked my mattress and haven’t seen any signs of bed bugs. I’ve also seen a couple mosquitos (I think) flying around.
But right now I have something like 30 bites - and although they’re not in long lines, a lot of them are close to each other. Some of them are really itchy and even painful, all of them are red and raised, some are big welts, some are small.
I’m going crazy trying to figure out what these are! I have included pictures below:
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Katherine, that photo looks more like what we call Silverfish. They are frequently found in houses, are silvery grey and kind of wiggly, they like the shade and damp so are often found in bathrooms and kitchens. Silverfish have those large antennae, and they do not bite people.
As for bed bugs….we have had isolated incidences with them, but only affecting our youngest daughter. I never thought at the time of bed bugs…but after reading the accounts here, I wonder! We just assumed it was a rash or something, and bedbugs may explain the fact she has had a chicken-pox like rash three times in her life. I can’t remember now if she always got these rashes after we had been to a hotel or something like that, or if we were at home. In any case, they do not seem to be infesting our house.
Thanks for the stories!
I have had bites for as long as I can remember. I have kind of ignored them, since no one can seem to figure out what they are. I have hundreds of tiny scars from years of this. Never really thought they were bedbugs. I don’t have pictures–I will have to take some. I have several bites that are healing now, that I have had for three weeks, and still itch. Got them on my wrist, ankles, and some where your underwear covers. Too close for comfort, ya know? I guess my brain has tried in a way to supress constant thought of this for if I focus on it too much, I will surely go insane! Sometimes, I don’t notice bites until I am out somewhere and start itching. It’s so WEIRD! and ANNOYING!
I would like to know if i have a beb bug in my home and has been treated for over a year, now i have dicided to bring some of my cloths that has been in the basement for one year into my room, but i have had problem with my landlord acussing me of bringing barck the bed bug into the building.
Please i will like to know if they have been in the basement for that long can they be alive after one year, pleaese kindly help me with my predicament am likely to be avicted becaurse of this situation.
I will be waiting for your reply thanks.
I have been looking at the Bedbug comments, We have sprayed a few times just in case it was something in the bed, my hubby did find and kill a few spiders what were lurking under his cloths which he just drops on the floor under the bed. He does not do that any more. if its bedbugs why is my hubby not being bit, really strange, my husband never gets bitten like me, but i always have a bad reaction to any bites, mosques or others. I do store in plastic boxes lots of materials which i have collected over the years cause i am a sewer, under the beds with lids, but not sealed, also books in loads of cardboard boxes not sealed. Does anyone think these places are harboring things, my skin is crawling at the thought. I am scared to check because of creepycrawly things. Maybe just burn everything i am keeping, what do you think, am i being over reactive? Please help.
I have been bite by a bed bug
fortunately, i got rid of them and here is how! I had bites on my neck, feet, legs, arms EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! i itched all the time. I had heard that bleach helps get ride of them so only a week later, my worries were gone! 
For years i’ve had bumps and itched. I also have many allergies and have moved often. I’ve lived in a great many hotels and motels. Now that i’ve read this artical i’m going to search my bed for the teltale signs. I don’t itch so bad durring the day. When i crawl into bed within 15 minutes my skin is crawling and i swear something is biting me. I look and find nothing. I’ll use the tips to detect them and get back to ya’ll. It would be nice if my constant itching is not ‘in my head’.
I am wondering if any one gets once in a while. I got bit about a month ago on my arm. It looked like about 10 bites. now my boyfriend stayed over and he got bit on his back. I thought bed bugs bite more often. I am really freaked out! I have searched the mattress and box spring but nothing. It is only 6 months old. I have 3 sticky pads down on the floor and no bugs. Could these bites be from a spider? I do have high ceiling in my room and there are spiders I see every once in a while. My bites look like mosiquito bites but larger with an extremely intese itch. They take much longer to go away and when they are almost gone the skin has a dry patch where the bug was. And in some areas where the bug bites were there is still a darker area that marks the spot I was bitten.
Please help if you can!