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We spent the next two days inspecting everything around us and have found no dead bugs. Then this morning my husband found bites on his ankles (looks sort of like the pictures) which may or may not be from bed bugs as he was in the woods this weekend on a trip. These bites are “new” pieces of information for us to deal with that weren’t present at the time of the inspection (My husband had been away all weekend and my houseguest and I hadn’t gotten bitten), so I am not sure what to do.

So my questions are:

1) The PCO told us to “wait it out” to see if there are any bugs after spraying the JT Eaton stuff. How long do we wait, especially now that the bites happened (which I understand now could have happened as long as 9 days ago)?

2) Is (a)one instance of bites (3 separate clusters), (b) one live bug that we saw in the bathroom which may or may not have traveled from the toiletries from our houseguest, and the (c) potential molten skin enough evidence to treat?

All thoughts on this matter is much appreciated as I want to be doing the right thing. If getting treated is the best measure, even though it is costly, we will do it.

1) if some one wakes up with a lot of bites (i.e. over 100) how many bugs would you assume there are doing the biting?

Each bug will feed once a week.

But sometimes bed bugs start feeding, are disturbed, so stop and start again. This can lead to two or three bites in a row (”breakfast, lunch, dinner). For this reason, it is not possible to know exactly how many bed bugs caused 100 bites. Probably no more than 100 bed bugs, but no less than 33. But I seriously doubt they were all biting three times. I suspect a lot of bed bugs. I’d venture a guess in the high end of that 33-100 spectrum.

a) If you think a lot, would simple washing of the bed linens likely kill them all?

In the room you were bitten? Not likely. They can be in the bed–mattress, box springs or frame– and also in the room itself and maybe other furniture.

b)Or could there have been only a few bugs that would have bitten her many times each?

No. Bed bugs need feed only about once a week. (Like I said, they can create more than one “bite mark” with a false start and stop, but many people don’t get bites in the 1-2-3 pattern, and their 100 bites might represent 100 bed bugs.)

c) Or could these bites have occurred at the hotel (where there were likely to be a bunch of bugs) and not shown up for 4 days?

Sure. We’re told that bites can take up to 9 days to appear.

But this does not mean you did not ALSO bring bed bugs home. It’s unlikely that you brought 33-100 bed bugs home, but you could have brought some. And if there are a few, they may not begin to show themselves, nor bite enough to be noticed, for some time.

2) how long could it take for bites to show up and cause itching?

Anywhere from hours to 9 days.

3) how long could it take for new bugs to declare themselves after the house has been sprayed if they were not all killed?

Impossible to answer. But if the home is sprayed, the sprays is unlikely to get all bed bugs. Eggs will likely survive. And then you will need a retreatment in 2 weeks.

4) what do you do for all of the books and paper goods that are in a room that has to be cleaned? does black-bagging and putting in the sun work?

No. See FAQs on getting bed bugs out of your stuff.

5) does fabric-stuffs/clothing need to be washed or can it simply be dried on high heat?

It can be dried — and for less time. See FAQs.

FYI–if others shared the room, do not assume they were not bitten if they have no bite marks. Many folks are not allergic or do not react at first.

If you brought a small number of bed bugs home, they’d be very hard for a PCO to find, since there may be few and because they are newly arrived. It does not mean you do not have an infestation if a PCO cannot visually detect a few bed bugs you just brought in.

If you have additional questions after reading the FAQs, please come to the forums:
http://bedbugger.com/forum

2) how long could it take for bites to show up and cause itching?

3) how long could it take for new bugs to declare themselves after the house has been sprayed if they were not all killed?

4) what do you do for all of the books and paper goods that are in a room that has to be cleaned? does black-bagging and putting in the sun work?

5) does fabric-stuffs/clothing need to be washed or can it simply be dried on high heat?

Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

Alternatively, since your DoH inspector cannot verify these are bed bugs, I would encourage you NOT to put samples in a jar of DE. Instead, put them in a jar and seal. I suspect 91% alcohol could also be used as a preservative and to prevent escape, but I am not an expert on this.

Clearly, you need to convince the DoH inspector that you have bed bugs.

The DPH did a check of the mattress — no visible bedbugs. I showed him my jar — now filled with nearly a hundred — but the D.E. powder mix makes the color impossible to determine. He wants to put in sticky-traps to confirm before proceeding with the application of chemicals.

While moving books, I discovered dozens living *in the books* — that is, along the edges, singles and in groups of two-five. Lots of the tiny ones were back there, too.

To catch them is tricky, as they become highly evasive once they notice. I use two folded cards, one with two folds to create an area for them to be pried into. One card on either side. brought slowly together, can pull them off from wherever they are clinging.

This method works to get them onto a card, if they don’t manage to jump off. They can then be scraped off their new perch and into a jar of D.E.

Oddly enough, at about 3AM last night I noticed an extremely big specimen popping in and out of the molding, up near the ceiling. This one climbed right onto a bamboo stick I held up there. Was this some sort of “overbug” or something?

It would be nice if somebody other than myself were interested in this sort of thing, as the larger types may provide clues to this outbreak.

Meanwhile, I must now find a way to burn all my books in case the tiny ones still hide among them. Besides, the countless new spots seem unclean. Any value they once held is now lost, in all respects.

If you are seeing and catching 20 bed bugs every morning, you have a very serious infestation (as you may realize).

You need professional treatment by someone who really knows bed bugs, ASAP. If traditional pesticides are used, it will likely take more than 3 treatments spaced no more than two weeks apart. If you are in a multi-unit building (or attached house), all neighbors will need to have a professional inspection and treatment (if needed).

Please come to the forums if you need support or want to discuss this with others.

Not sure where you are, or what the local department of public health’s stance is, but are you a tenant and have you notified your landlord?