Identifying the problem: Do I have bed bugs? Or something else?
Bed bugs can be difficult to detect!
First, if you haven’t yet, read this FAQ: What are bed bugs? Do I have them? What else can cause these symptoms? How can I detect if I have bedbugs?
(Remember that bed bug bites look different on different people. There are photos of bed bug bites here. They also look like lots of other conditions. You need to rule out other possibilities per the FAQ above.)
Then look at photos of bedbugs and signs of bedbugs.
Then look at photos of creatures commonly mistaken for bedbugs. See also these photos of cast skins from bedbugs, compared with cast skins from dermestid beetles, carpet beetles, and German Cockroaches.
This FAQ gives a rundown of the latest detection possibilities. And consider using the tips in this FAQ, which describes possible ways you might catch a bed bug for identification.
If you’re thinking of hiring a bed bug sniffing dog, read this FAQ.
Do bed bugs have a distinctive smell? What do they smell like?
{ 51 comments }
I found little black specks all around the edges of the cushions of my couches when I took the zip-off covers off to wash them. The covers have not been washed in a couple of years. I looked all over but could not find any bed bugs, but there are a lot of the black specks and the location of them seems suspicious. Could we have bed bugs even if we haven’t seen any actual bugs? Or maybe it is flea castings. We just found out that our cat got fleas outside, so now I am cleaning everything and am pretty paranoid and itchy!
Another question is about using natural diatomaceous earth for fleas and bed bugs inside the house. I want to use it on the carpet, apolstered furniture and mattresses. How long do I leave it on before vaccuuming it back up?
Thanks.
Yes, you have bed bugs. Fleas leave VERY small black specks. So small that they are virtually un-noticable. With bed bugs, the specks are fairly large.
With DE, just read the instructions. Most call for 4-6 hours. I just leave DE in nooks and crannies.
Another tip is for you to put a thick layer of Vaseline on the legs of your bed and lightly cover that layer with DE. Prevents bed bugs from feeding off of you.
I have been hanving a problem with what I believe are fleas but i am not quite sure. I live in florida and we had a dog..I have gotten rid of the dog and I have treated the house with sprays, powders and even a fogger. I still feel little things crawling on me and sometimes I even get little red bites. I know that fleas in the dirt are quite bad this year but I have also heard about this no see um bugs…what could this be??/ and could you give me any ideas on what to do…??? I am beginning to get despereate.
Thanks
hello. i am going a bit crazy with some bites i have on my legs (only – below the knees). i had bed bugs a couple of months ago – thought i got rid of them. but i have these bites on my legs that i don’t think are new but they are only getting worse – scabbing, INTENSE itching (esp at night!). is it possible that the bed bugs are truly not gone or is there any way that these old bites are just old and not going away. sorry if this is nonsensical but i am going crazy. i want to add that about a week ago i went apple picking upstate (new york) and i thought that’s where i got the bites bc i felt the piercing/biting while i was there though i did not see any mosquitos. how can i find out for sure where these bites are from? has anyone else with a BB infestation ONLY received them on their legs/calve area? help!
It’s possible to be bitten by fleas if walking in a grassy area that is infested. You may have been bitten by fleas or mosquitos while apple picking.
The question is whether the bites occurred only while you were apple picking or if other bites occurred before or after that time. It is possible for bed bugs to come back, but I would expect new bites to keep appearing.
Hi!
I’m a very sound sleeper, have been getting strange bites (some look like mosquitos, some look like 3 little bites in a triangle, some swell up into larger areas that are oblong and weirdly shaped) about 2x a week for a month. Started washing and bagging my clothes and bedding immediately and getting rid of stuff I don’t need and want in sealed bags.
I still don’t think I’ve found any bugs or cast skins, though, and I will need to really prove I have bugs to get my landlord to pay. Not sure if I should pay for exterminators myself, have spent way too much already on drycleaning, laundry, bags, etc. and need to buy a new mattress (listened to bad advice and threw out my mattress without knowing where they were or for sure if I had them). I’m tired of doing the hasmat routine before leaving the house, but I know I need to protect others if I do have them.
I’ve been setting sticky traps with air-activated handwarmers for 4 nights now with no signs; how long do you think I should set them out before thinking I have no bugs if I have a possible low infestation?
Also, is it reckless to rebag clothes I’ve worn to the office if I put them in a trash bag right when I come home? Also, should I keep washing my clothes in hot water each time I do my laundry and drying them hot? I don’t want to destroy my work wardrobe; some things can stand a little of that, and I’ve bought new dryel bags to experiment with cheap drycleaning alternatives.
Thanks SOOO much… your site has been a source of sanity and great help. I do live near standing water, and there’s mosquitos out now, but some of these bites are very unlike mosquito bites, and the first morning 1 month ago, I woke up with 40 bites early in the morning, itching like crazy.
and I apologize… I meant to ask if it was reckless to reuse clothing if I bag it right when I come home.
With a new infestation it can be hard to catch a sample (even with glue traps and handwarmers, a method suggested by Sean Rollo of http://thebedbugresource.com
Unfortunately, washing clothes and linens (and reaplcing a mattress) can make it even harder for a professional to find signs (though a good one may have more luck than you in doing so). On the other hand, if you truly had a small infestation, localized to the mattress, and you did not spread any by moving the mattress outside (a big “if), then you may have gotten rid of them.
A bed bug k9 may be an option for detection. Users on the forum may have a recommendation for a reputable one.
I do not suggest arranging your own treatment because if you are in a multi-unit dwelling, they may be coming from neighbors (who may not even know they have them). Dealing with it on your own isn’t just expensive, it also means you may not solve the problem.
Rebagging clothing the minute you enter the home (in a bag set aside for this purpose) and putting it on directly before leaving home is probably fine.
The recommendations about dealing with clothing are mostly common sense: don’t wear anything to hang out at home that you are going to wear outside the home, without making sure it is bed bug free.
Finally, if you have other questions, please go to the forums: http://bedbugger.com/froum/
I just returned from a trip in which I spent 4 nights in a motel. The second day, I started noticing little red welts on my arm and abdomen, and they itched like hell. But before this stop I had stayed at the house of a friend who had cats; however, I did not notice any bites while I was there. So, is it flea bites or bedbug bites?
I’ve been home for a week and don’t know what to do because I don’t know what I’ve got. I’ve never had this problem in my apartment, and it bugs me (!) to think that I have probably brought whatever it is, bedbugs or fleas, with me.
Anyone out there have any advice on how to tell what I have? Thanks.
John, to positively identify bed bugs, please read the post above, and the comment directly before yours, with suggestions.
To positively identify fleas, you can buy a plugin flea trap. You can get one at a hardware store or there’s one model available via the links on our “useful stuff” page:
http://bedbugger.com/usefulstuff/
Please come to the forums if you’d like to discuss this further:
http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Hi, I was really worried some time ago that I had got bed bugs. I recently moved to a flat in Haifa (Israel), and after a month I got those bites. I had problems during three weeks, but since the beginning of November I haven’t had any problems at all.
The thing is that I am going back to my home in Sweden in a week, and I wonder how I should tackle an eventual bed bug-problem?
Hopefully these bites (a little bit bigger than Swedish mosquito-bites, and also stayed a little bit longer, but I also had a few spots with three or more bites in a row, although maximum 5-6 bites at the same time) came from some other bug.
Should I take any measures when going back just in case? Because no way I want to bring them to Sweden.
During this 3-week-period I had a total of 20-25 bites.
What do you think, what is your recommendation? Does it sound as a bed bug-problem, or was I lucky to be bitten of some other bug? What should you have done in my case?
Yours sincerely,
Jonas
Hi Jonas,
It would be very unusual for bed bugs in your home to bite you for three weeks and then stop for an entire month.
It is possible that you were being bitten somewhere else (in transportation, in a hotel, workplace, etc.). Since bites can appear (we’re told) up to 9 days later (though they often appear much more quickly), it is hard to say where you could have been bitten.
Some people seem to have lessened reactions to bed bug bites after being bitten for a long period of time, but I have not heard of anyone who stopped reacting entirely to bites after only three weeks.
It could not have been a single male bed bug, since they only bite once a week. (“Three bites in a row,” we’re told, can mean one bed bug made several attempts before success, and so three bites can = 1 bed bug or three.) Even if it attempted to bite multiple times each week, this would probably not yield 20-25 bites. Multiple male bed bugs that all died off in three weeks does not seem statistically likely.
It is impossible for anyone to say whether you have or had bed bugs, based on your description. But it would surprise me if bites ceased entirely after three weeks. If I had to bet, I’d guess you were bitten outside the home. Or possibly had another problem entirely.
Still, you can take precautions to avoid bringing bed bugs home to Sweden. See the FAQ in the travel section about avoiding moving bed bugs from one place to another, once exposed.
If you have more questions, please come to the forums. You will get many more responses there.
I guess you didn’t realize that in this century they have extremely effective anti-flea medications for dogs and cats. There is no reason a dog or cat should have fleas in this day and age. It’s pretty straightforward and easy to keep your pets from getting fleas. What a shame your poor dog had to be gotten “rid of” just because you were an irresponsible pet owner. I hope by that when you said you “got rid” of it you mean you found it a new – and better – home.
P.S. My post was directed at “Daniela.”
Hi,
I had bed bugs in my room – due to a former tenant. I trashed the bed, thoroughly cleaned the bed area, and bought a new bed and mattress. I change sheets once a week. But in the recent two weeks I found my wrists with red bites, and also I found little blood spots, just on the pillow. I tried to check at night, but I didn’t find any other trace. Same for the bed, I moved that around, moved the mattress… but nothing.
I have a bunch of questions:
1. Could that be that it’s just one bug or so, hiding INSIDE the pillow? I didn’t change that, and the little amount of bites (two or three) would explain the fact they’re all localized in the pillow area.
2. Any other possible explanation? I’m wondering if I’m becoming obsessive…
Thanks,
EFR
I live in an old apartment building – there are 3 concected buildings actualoly and Building 1 had bedbugsin a number of apartments. a company was brought in with a dog to go thru all the apartments in the building and suddenly found that 16 out of 24 of them had bedbugs. None of the tenants has ever been bitten, none have seen any bed bugs or markings on furniture indicating bed bugs. We are very warry of this company and now our managemnt group wants every apt checked. I have ants in my apartment (which they never do anything about) and no bed bugs or signs. my friend had his aparment cleaned by this company 4 times since november (and never saw a bug) and they keep saying he still has them. Any advice out there?
Was on vacation and we got bedbug bites, despite washing as suggested we are being bitten at home. How do you find the bedbugs so someone will exterminate?
Chloe,
Your best bet is to find a pest control operator who has extensive experience killing bed bugs. If you can find someone who does careful visual searches (which take hours to do) or who has a reputable bed bug sniffing dog, they may be able to find evidence and treat.
Please come to the forums if you would like to discuss this further: http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Last night my husband felt like he was being bitten by something. He killed a bug which looks like it could be an adult bed bug. This morning he has one bite on the back of his thigh. We haven’t been anywhere, nor have we introduced anything new to our bedroom. I also haven’t seen any of the other signs you have talked about (casings, dark spots, etc.)My husband did have several similar looking bites last fall, never more than 3 at a time, maybe a total of 10 over a month but they stopped, and I never received any. We never were able to find any bugs of any kind that time. Is it possible that we just had a couple last fall that died out and now that it’s getting warm again (we just had a 3 day stretch of unseasonably warm weather)the eggs are hatching out, or they were dormant on our summer quilt which I just pulled out of the closet and put on the bed a few days ago? Could it be something other than a bedbug?
Cathy,
If your husband had bed bug bites, and they stopped after a month, it could be because you had a bed bug in your home that died without reproducing. It could have bitten only your husband, and it is also possible you yourself do not react to bites.
The bites could have been received outside the home also.
You should look carefully at the photos on the site (see bed bug photos in top navigation menu) and read this FAQ. If you have additional questions, please come to the forums.
we spent the first night in our new apartment and woke up the next morning covered in little red bites/rash. I had already had a few mosquito bites. I know for certain they were mosquitos because I saw them on me and killed them. However, these new bites/rash I woke up with was very different and couldn’t be caused by a mosquito. First of all, there is a patch at the bottom of my neck. They’re little red things, but don’t itch very much, if at all really. My arms and back also have these smaller bites but are spread out more than the patch at my neck. I had my mattresses in storage, brought them to our new place, went to sleep and woke up with this! The thing I keep hearing though, is that bed bug bites are extremely itchy and these aren’t. It’s hard to tell what’s going on because I have also, like I said, been bitten by mosquitos and spiders and those bites are itchy. It’s getting hard to really tell what the deal is.
I’ve examined the mattresses and do not see any visible sign of bed bugs but the floors in our place have a lot of cracks (hardwood) and big gaps at the baseboards. This is an old building in Brooklyn.
I asked the landlord if there had been any previous infestations or reports, but she said there hadn’t. I asked the storage unit if my things could have been infested from my unit and they said that they have never had a problem with bed bugs.
My landlord is sending Orkin out on Monday. Any suggestions? Advice?
Are the bites really itchy or can that vary? do some not itch?
Is Orkin a good company?
Some people react to bed bug bites, others don’t. Of those who react, there can be a wide variety of reactions — from very itchy to not, bites that last a while and those that don’t.
The major PCO companies like Terminex and Orkin vary a great deal from one location to another. Some report very positive experiences, others not. This is true of non-chain PCOs as well: a lot depends on the tech who treats your home, how much time s/he takes, how much experience s/he has.
Insist that your home be treated every 2 weeks or so until the problem is gone. Most people need more than one treatment.
Also, landlords lie. Check the city’s records (on the HPD section of the nyc.gov website, you can search for current or past violations). Also check the bed bug registry. Ask neighbors if they have experienced itching or seen unusual bugs.
If you have further questions, please click the “Forums” button at the top of the page and post to our forums, where you will get more responses and a quick reply.
Why is this the most confusing problem i’ve ever had? i’m moving and i get them while im packing -.- they’re in my carpet.. beds.. wow i can’t deal with this i’m throwing everything out, washing all clothes. can they get into like solid objects like wood? this is annoying. -.- AND they’re ugly to know that they’re biting you ! :[
I moved to a new apartment about 3 months ago, but recently (in the past 2 or 3 weeks) I have had the feeling that something in my bed is itchy – I spend a lot of time working/reading in my bed (don’t have a desk) and I notice that I am itchier than normal, and have even noticed some spots that look like mosquito bits on my legs, even when I am wear tights or pajama bottoms. Can bed bugs go through fabric? And I have looked between all my sheets, blankets, covers, and haven’t been able to find anything (I have white sheets, so it shouldn’t be too hard to see, right?)
I’ve washed my bedding, but it’s still itchy, and the marks on my legs make me believe it’s bed bugs, even though the bites go away very quickly and aren’t noticeable after a day or two. What’s the absolute easiest and surefire way to get rid of this problem? Thanks, this site is great!
additional info: I have been drying my sheets outside on the laundry line, could my sheets be picking up something outside that makes me itchy? should I just go back to the dryer now? my other clothes that I line dry outside have been fine…
I moved into an apartment 5 weeks ago and got a new bed/bedding about 3 weeks ago. In the last few days I have noticed bites on my feet, legs, lower back, and on my arms near my elbow. It seems most likely that I have bed bugs, but what I don’t understand is why the bites are occurring now and why they weren’t occurring earlier. Where are the bugs coming from? I’ve never had them before.
nathalie,
Please read this FAQ about other possible causes and determining if you have bed bugs. Many things can cause itchy skin, but bed bugs 3 months after a move are a definite possibility — it can take a while for you to notice or start reacting. My advice is to rule out other causes (detergent, folliculitis, scabies) and try and determine whether you have bed bugs. You cannot get rid of a problem unless you first find out what it is.
alysann,
It’s possible you got bed bugs with a new bed or with a move (either the moving truck or the new apartment could also have been a problem). It’s also possible to get bed bugs any time just by traveling, going on a bus or train, or visiting someone, just to give you a few examples.
It is fully possible to be bitten for a while and not react (some people seem to never react, others develop an allergy to bed bug bites over time, and others seem to react right away).
If you have more questions please come to our forums — where you will likely get more responses: http://bedbugger.com/forum/
A few weeks ago I noticed little red bumps on my feet and got nervous so I googled what bed bug bites look like, but mine don’t look nearly as bad. Although the bites are really itchy I don’t think they are mosquito bites, and they are only on my feet. I started researching bed bugs and got too freaked out to sleep in my own bed so I’ve been sleeping in both my mom’s bed and the guest room bed. I miss my own bed!
I have noticed as well that there are actually little black specks, not in one general area though, just randomly, and not very many. I’m thinking that maybe it’s because of my cats, they sleep on my bed, and maybe they just brought dirt onto my blanket, but I don’t know. I haven’t seen any bugs or casts or anything like that.
I just don’t know where to start. Do I have bed bugs? Should I start sleeping in my bed again? This is insanely frustrating..please help.
Hi there,
We had a bed bug issue at my office a few months ago. They sent a memo out and treated the office several times. Over the past few weeks I have noticed little dots all over my body and they have been getting worse. I didn’t think they were bed bugs because they didn’t itch and my boyfriend didn’t have any bites. But after doing some research here it seems very likely that I have the bed bugs
I’m wondering if I can confront my employer about this. Do you know if they will be responsible for the exterminator/new bedding etc charges? It’s a pretty large company so I can guess they would want to keep it discreet but I’m not sure their policy for something like this. Do you have any advice for what to say when I confront my HR representative?
Thanks!
Ashley,
It seems possible that you may have bed bugs at home, or you may also have a recurrence at work — where you may have obtained the bites. Several treatments is not always enough — and any employee could have taken bed bugs home and brought them back again.
I am not a lawyer, and you may wish to consult one about this. You may ask others on the forums, but I don’t think anyone will know for sure what to say or how your HR dept. will react.
Hello,
I went to a camp in last year in late August and ended up bringing bed bugs from the cabin I stayed in into my dorm room. I experienced severe reactions to bites until the middle of December. Throughout September-December, my university performed 4 total pesticide treatments in my room. Towards mid-December, I noticed that the bites had become fewer in number and healed faster for each new set of bites, until, finally, I stopped experiencing the bites completely. Until now, I had thought I had successfully gotten rid of my bed bug problem.
I am at a new university now, and I fear I may have brought the bed bugs with me. I know bed bugs can stay dormant for very long periods of time, but how likely is this? Today, I noticed a couple bites on my face and neck that appear very similar to the bed bug bites I experienced last year. Over the winter and spring at my last college, and then during summer at home, I had not experienced any bites. How possible is it that the bed bugs were in my belongings and simply dormant from mid-December 2008 to this November 2009?
Thank you for your help.
Hi Nancy,
I can only speculate but I think it’s unlikely that bed bugs were present in your immediate vicinity and did not bite you, unless they were sealed away and could not do so.
It is possible, I suppose, that bed bugs were stored in items not used in the interim and only recently brought out. If bed bugs were stored away somewhere, they may not have been able to get out and bite you.
It’s also possible you’ve experienced a new exposure to bed bugs.
There may be other explanations I’m not aware of.
Please come to the forums if you would like to discuss this further: http://bedbugger.com/forum
I’m trying to figure out if I have bed bugs or not. I live in NYC and have been in constant fear of getting a bed bug infestation. 4 days ago I noticed 3 itchy, red bug bites on both my arms & ear. The next night I had no bites. Then the next 2 nights I was bit 2 more times, so now I have a total of 7 bites on my arms, neck, face, & ear. I have looked all around my bed and bed area (I live in a small studio apartment) and can’t find anything, no feces, no bugs, & no exoskeleton remnants. I also have a dog, I have checked him out for fleas & can find nothing, plus he is not itching more than the occasional ear scratch. Last night I found a mosquito flying around the apartment, so I put on DEET before I went to bed (I’ve read conflicting advice on the internet about DEET being affective on bed bugs). I also read that bed bugs like it around 70 degrees, so I put the air conditioner on high, so it was probably upper 50s to lower 60s degrees in the house overnight. Well I didn’t get any additional bites last night. So do you think that bed bugs are the problem? Or do you think it might have been an attack of mosquitoes or some other biting insect?
Hello everyone I am so freeked out because when I go to sleep at night, I get little bites but only below my knees and on top of my knees and it freaks me out so much that I have been washing my bedding and healivy ironing it out everyday, I have even vaccuumed my mattress and I have found no evidence of bed bugs nor black little spots, but I don’t travel and I live at my parents house, I was thinking they could have come from my brother’s dog, which my parents hated so much and when I was at work at the office my brother was sleeping and his dog would explore the entire house and I saw the dog scratchin itself many times repeatedly everyday and at my job they told me that they were invaded by rats and when I started this new office job, I had a long vertical chair that goes up to my neck made of material and there was lots of dandruff on the top of the chair so I asked the girl who was assignin my tasks and she said the guy was old and he retired, he had his cat at the job plus he had dandruff, so maybe they clinged onto my clothes and now I’m freeked out that the bed bugs are in my room, and I’m worried that they’ve invaded my socks, pyjamas, furniture, closet coats, extra pillows and I’m so freaked out cuz I read on this page that they reproduce at least 300 times a day and may even hang out in the little hardwood cracks but many people trash out their mattress twice and still get bites at night, since this I find myself steaming all my clothes, scarfs and coats and bed linnens and covers and I don’t know whats going cuz when i feel a bites on my calf at night, i jump outta my bed and scan the bed and find no evidence, I am so frustrated, what is going on, how can i stop this problem at the source, where are they coming from?
Hi there,
Recently my building has gone through a massive bedbug scare due to a tenant bringing in infested furniture. We had all the apartments sprayed and washed all the bed clothes and bagged/checked everything.
I saw one bedbug on my bed right when the scare started (8 or 9 weeks ago) and killed it (that sucker!). Since then, and through all the sprayings, I haven’t seen any others.
I’ve been getting a bite here and there for the past few weeks. Never more than two really, and never every night. Last week I checked my mattress and found bedbug droppings (about 8 of them, all in the same area). Naturally, I freaked and sprayed that area and other areas of my mattress. Still, I didn’t find any bugs. Finally, 2 days ago, I found a bedbug hanging out on my mattress and I killed that sucker, washed my bed stuff and sprayed a little more for good measure.
Is it possible that I only had that one little bugger living in my bed this whole time? I tried to compare my mental image of him to the female/male pictures I’ve seen and I’m hoping it was only one male feasting on me for the past several weeks…is that possible?
Hi Megan,
You say you weren’t bitten every night for the last few weeks.
Were you bitten more than once a week? If so, you likely have more than one bed bug, because a single bed bug does not need to feed more than about once a week.
It is very unusual to see even one bed bug. I would guess you have more, and I would take it seriously and not try and treat it yourself. Your best bet is to get someone experienced to deal with this (and licensed pest pros who are experienced in treating bed bugs can use more serious chemicals and target them more safely and effectively).
Sorry that’s not what you want to hear. Please come to our forums if you would like support or input.
My daugheter had been getting the red welts all over her body BUt mostly on her hands and feet. I thought maybe it was an alergic reaction. But then i was putting her on her bed and in between her crib matress i thought it was dirty but i swiped it with my finger and little tiny bugs swirmed out. So i had my husband take everything out of her crib and found a pretty big flat bug , and when he squished it blood squirted out. So we figured BED BUGS. Well i got rid of her old crib matress and bedding and bought brand new ones. And i havent noticed any on the new things But I am very scared that that didnt get rid of them. Should I call an exterminator because I am absolutely terrified and since they were in her room Does that mean more than likely they r in my whole house ? And do u think theyr for sure bed bugs …
EwwwIHateBugs,
Sorry you’re going through this. The tiny bugs and the big flat bug do sound like bed bug nymphs and an adult bed bug. And the welts suggest this also. But I can’t say for certain.
Look at the photos here, and compare them to what you saw: http://bedbugger.com/photos-of-bed-bugs-and-signs-of-bed-bugs/http://bedbugger.com/photos-of-bed-bugs-and-signs-of-bed-bugs/
Not knowing how long you had them and where they came from, it’s hard to know how far they have spread, and indeed you don’t know where they started out. It’s possible others in the home are being bitten and do not react to bites. It’s possible they are elsewhere in your daughter’s room, other bedrooms, even the living room or the entire home.
If your home’s walls, ceilings or floors are attached to another home or workplace, you may even have got them from an attached neighbor.
I would definitely call a pest pro and find one who has lots of experience killing bed bugs. Make sure the home is carefully inspected, treated (for whatever pest this is) and re-treated at approx. 10-14 day intervals until the problem is entirely gone.
Don’t move things or go crazy cleaning or throwing things out until you have an experienced-with-bed-bugs pro in there telling you what to do. If you find another sample (which is not all that likely if it is bed bugs, since they hide well) be sure and save it for the pest control company to look at.
Good luck and come to our forums if you need support: http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Hello,
I’ve just recently been waking up and noticing what I assume to be tiny bites, they are barely even visible. I’ve only been getting them on my torso which seems strange, and there are quite a few, 20-30 I’d say. They’re itchy but not unbearably so, I’ve checked my sheets and the area around my bed and haven’t found any traces of bedbugs, plus I don’t even own a pet nor have I slept anywhere strange lately. The only chance I can think of would be occasionally throwing my jacket on my bed after work. Could this be bed bugs? I feel that with the number of bumps I should be able to see some sign of the little buggers, I scoured pretty hard. I’m hoping its just my skin reacting to the climate or something else less costly to amend than bed bugs.
My problem started about a week ago or more when during the night I felt lik I was bein bitten and itchy. To no surprise I awoke to a single mosquito bite rash on my wrist. During the day though it seemed to itch more and expand and swell up to the extent that I had to vist my doctor and receive two very painful shots. While my mother was worried this was due to a dog I had been taking care of for the last 3 weeks the doctor assured us it cud have been anything to an allergic reaction or mosquito bite. 2 days ago I had the same feeling during the night this time though I awoke w/about 8 bite rashes that seem to swell and get larger and itch terribly. Earlier today while laying on my bed I felt the same feeling and discovered very vey almost undectable black bugs. They’re so extrememly small that unless you pay extreme close attention they look like dirt and unmoving. The bites have only been on my arms. I have no idea what these could be! Could they be bed bugs or dog fleas as the dog has slept on my bed please
I don’t know what to do and am planning to get rid of everything in my room becuase I simply cannot stand the constant itching and are very afriad we won’t be able to even see this little bugs or whatever they are since they’re so small. We’ve only found three so if anybody has heard of this before please help any info will be useful!
Hi pleasehelp!
I am so sorry you’re having this trouble.
I would try to rule out fleas. You can get a cheap plugin flea trap to help you determine if you have them. Adult fleas are not so small that they’d be confused with dirt, though they do leave feces (known as “flea dirt”) around.
Bed bugs are not black. The smallest first instar nymphs might be as small as what you saw, but they are translucent/tan or red if newly fed. Other instars and adults are brown/reddish-brown. You can see photos here which may help you determine if they are the same.
It’s impossible to diagnose from your description but you may have some kind of pest.
I would not throw out your stuff at this point because (1) it may not be necessary and (2) it may not even help. If you do have bed bugs, you probably do not even need to do so. And you may have another problem which won’t be solved by throwing things out.
You need an identification in order to get help.
If you can catch a sample, you can send it to Harvard to have it identified for $20 (info here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/#examined )
If you have a good camera, you can take a close-up shot and post it to our forums: http://bedbugger.com/forum/
If you live near a university, look up their extension service, where an entomologist may be available to ID a sample.
If you live in NYC, I will have additional suggestions.
Please post follow-up comments or questions in the forum, since you will have more readers and respondents there: http://bedbugger.com/forum/
Over the last couple of days I have been getting bites all over me. I was outside with my son playing two night ago and that evening found two bites on my lower legs. The next morning I found one on my arm , one on my stomach and another on my leg. Last night I found one on my face and this morning there is one on my earlobe.
It is the begining of Mosquito season, and I do tend to get a lot of mosquito bites, but never this many so early in the season and I have NEVER had bites on my face and stomach. I am now wondering if they are bug bites, especially since the ones on my stomach, face and arm are all on the left size of my body and I tend to sleep on my right side.
The only time that I have stayed in a hotel over the past year, was over three months ago for one night. I don’t know where I could have gotten them.
Do I have bedbugs or is it just a bad mosquito season. Please help! I couldn’t sleep last night thinking there were mosquitos in the house, I will certainly NEVER sleep wondering if I have bedbugs.
THANKS!!
Hi Cat,
It could certainly bed bed bugs.
You do not need to stay in a motel to catch them. They are spreading. You may pick them up in a workplace, school, cafe, movie theater — even in the home of someone you know who may not yet know they are infested.
Don’t panic. Read the FAQs carefully, and employ some of the methods in the Detection FAQ to try and figure out if you have them. Consult a knowledgeable professional if bites continue or if you see any signs. And come to the forums for more feedback or suggestions.
Hello, I am Jonathan,
I am new to the forum and new to bed bugs unfourtunatly.
I live in New York and my family and I have not had bedbugs but very recently I have been waking up with bedbug bites on my legd and arms. It seems to be from what I can discern the early stages of an infestation since we do not have them crawling around regularly, in fact there has only been one bed bug sighting and killing of an adult bed bug which seems to have been well fed on my blood. It was definitly an adult with a dark color and the abdomen flat and large.
My mother grew up in the Dominican Republic and when she was a girl her and her family dealt with bedbugs. When we sqashed the bug she said it had the unmistakable smell of bedbugs and now we are very worried.
A day or two after we started by washing all the sheets and comforter. We did not wash the pillows however and many of the pillows had holes. We sewed up the holes in case they are homes for bugs. We took all the pillows to the landromat however to be dried, but I do not know if we dried them long enough to kill any bugs. We did not get a chance to unbolt the bedframe yet however it is at the top of my list to dissasemble the bedframe to see if there are and bugs and or eggs in the cracks and joints.
So far the before mentioned bug is the only one actually seen and killed however we did not know to save it for reference at the time. In any case there is no doubt in my mind that we have had at least one bed bug but I am certain that there are more since just this morning at around 5:00 or later I woke up with a new itching bit on my elbow. Before we killed that bug I was getting bites on my legs and some on my arms. After the killing of the bug and the cleaning of the sheets and vacuming I have only had it on my left arm which was stretched out toward the head of the bed, does this mean that the bugs would be living in the region of the head of the bed since I recieved the newest bites there and not on my legs?
As of now my bed is the only bed affected. How soon can they spread to other rooms including my parent’s room? Also the apartment is a NIGHTMARE for someone who is trying to find much less get rid of bedbugs since from what I read here and everywhere else says that they can basically hid anywhere! The apartment is small and cluttered with alot of furniture and clutter in a small area. Since things are so tightly packed together it is very possible that if something is not done and the problem left alone that they can spread to the entire room quite easily!
I did search and vacume the bed quite thouroly however I did not get a chance to take apart the bedframe yet as I mentioned. I did not find any bugs and I was hoping that I possible brought home one bug (the bug that we killed) and that would be the end of it. However as I mentioned earler I woke up with 2 new bites on my left arm even after that.
It is very likely that I brought them in via the purchass of a compromised item. However I am also more worried since I recall that sometime last year in the backyard of our building there was a matress discarded with a sign that simply said “bugs” which means that at least one other apartment in the building had or still has an infestation but I do not know which apt it is. I also have visited the home of someone recently several times who I had not visited before and it would seem to cooincide with the appearence of my bites.
In short, I definitly gathered that the best way is to get a trained and able professional involved ASAP and see check and or inform the landlord and adjoining apts to resolve the situation before the situation gets out of hand. I have also gathered that it is very difficult if not impossible to deal with them in an effective manner acting alone unless acting very early and or have much experience dealing with these critters.
Herein lies the rub… what is the advice of more experience bedbug sufferers for a family with limited financial resources who cannot afford to hire a professional.
I know that we must do something and that simply ignoring the problem will not make it go away in fact it will only excacerbate the issue and cause it to spiral out of control eventually.
One last question is this. What constitutes a light infestation, moderate, advanced etc… is there a way to determine the level of infestation based on the bites I recieve. How can I accuratly estimate the number of individuals based on this. When we cleaned the bedding and inspected the matress we found no bebugs or black spots on the matress or stains on the sheet. I definitly havn’t seen the eggs. Its probable though that we didn’t look in the right location. As I said, I don’t believe that they are quite settled in or at least I hope they are not but I believe it is best to err on the side of caution and assume that they are reproducing and have a working nest and I hope (with advice) to respond accordingly to nip this problem in the bud before it gets out of control here and or spreads to other apts.
Sorry for the long post, please advise a worried individual!
Jonathan
I have strange bites all over my stomach. Kind of like mosquito bites but bigger and kind of painful. I went to wash my sheets and found a small brown thing that kind if looks the size of lint. Do I have bed bugs? And if I do, where do I sleep tonight?
@Jonathan, It may well be the case that other beds are infested, since many people do not react to bed bug bites either right away (in some cases, people don’t seem to ever react). You will find suggestions for treatment options on our forums (see below).
@Rita, you may have bed bugs. You must determine this for certain before taking action. See our FAQ on detection, listed here: http://bedbugger.com/faqs
I strongly encourage you both to repost your questions in our forums:
http://bedbugger.com/forum
You will get much support and advice there from a wide variety of people including Bedbuggers and professionals, and will see similar questions already answered, which may be of help.
In contrast, few people read these old comment threads. I am usually the only one and am limited in what I can do. Many people post questions and never read responses on these comment threads, also, which again makes the forums a better site for these discussions.
Can bombs for fleas and ticks kill bed bugs?
Do not use bug bombs to treat bed bugs. They are not effective and may make problems worse by spreading bed bugs. See our FAQ on bug bombs/foggers for more.
okay, i saw a bed bug in my bed about 3 nights ago. when i saw i immediatly killed it and snatched all of my sheets and pillows off of my bed. i washed eveerything including my pillows and to be honest, i havent seen not one sign of bed bugs. Ive inspected my bed throughly and i havent come across feces or shedded skin. But i still panicked and vaccumed my bed. Now i know i must sleep in my bed (ive been too scared to sleep in it ever since i saw that bed bug) and i dont know if im being over dramatic over one bug because i also stayed up late at nights and just stared at my mattress to see if any would emerge. So am i being over dramatic or did i catch the issue early enough?
ashanti,
Sorry to tell you this, but it’s a rare thing to see a bed bug. They hide well. You may have them and see none for a long time. It is entirely possible to have a single bed bug, but you should not be reassured by only seeing one.
Instead, I would do some work in detection. See our FAQ on Detection for various methods.
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