http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Sat, 25 May 2013 23:30:56 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-8062 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:06:22 +0000 bittenbitten 8062@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>it's in a ziplock. i sprayed some permacide p-1 in the bag to see it react. hate to admit it, but i kinda enjoyed watching it suffer. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-8057 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:51:06 +0000 Nobugsonme 8057@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>bitten,<br /> I do hope you saved it! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-8055 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:46:05 +0000 bittenbitten 8055@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>oh. no worries about writing to this post. i don't consider it "hijacking" at all. it was on topic and relevant. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-8053 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:44:26 +0000 bittenbitten 8053@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>i found a bed bug while sitting on my couch a couple nights ago. my apartment is full of bags now. i was lucky to have found it. i never saw any blood spots or fecal stains. i checked for them under the mattress and box spring (bunky board actually) with a flashlight and never found them. my only clues were the bites - many of them 3 in a row. then i finally found that sucker. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-8039 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:03:35 +0000 Nobugsonme 8039@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Susan,<br /> Your photos are in the bed bugs flickr pool.<br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/bedbugs/" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/groups/bedbugs/</a></p> <p>You may be thinking of bird bugs (which are VERY like bed bugs, but often come after a bird deserts its nest) as well of bird mites. The two are very different and require entirely different pest control treatment. (Whereas bird bugs require similar treatment to bed bugs.)</p> <p>But you should realize that most people who come on this site actually have bed bugs. And some have bird bugs and bat bugs. </p> <p>In any case, people are often bitten by bed bugs for a while before finding visual evidence. You should definitely search. Where you commented on the blog, I linked to a FAQ you should read to learn to recognize the signs.</p> <p>Bed bugs, bird bugs, bat bugs, and bird mites must be identified by a professional entomologist or a good PCO (and often they need an entomologist's assistance in ID-ing variations -- bird bugs vs. bed bugs, or one species of bird mite vs. another).</p> <p>The most important thing is not to try and treat an infestation until you know what it is. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7992 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:13:40 +0000 Ru 7992@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>There was a Starling nest in the Eaves above my bedroom, which when i moved into the house 2 months ago, i asked the landlord to remove. She did, and sealed the hole. Approx a month later this started to happen with me. The house has old aluminum Florida windows-- easy for anything to crawl into. Drapes hit the floor, next to the bed. I wondered if it was Bird Mites at the onset, but was confused about it for awhile because i couldn't find them, and wondered if it was bedbugs because of the similar behavior. It took me about two weeks to start finding specimens. It was difficult. They are practically microscopic. I have a 10x Photo loupe and it doesn't quite cut it. 40x or 100x power is what you need to really see them well. But once you know what they are, then you see them more easily. They often wrap themselves in fiber and what you think are fuzz balls are really bird mites. I washed many of them off me in baths not being sure what it was, and it wasn't until i could feel one actually biting me while in my jeans fabric that i was able to remove it with strong plastic tape-- and picking, and looked at it with the 10x loupe, i could see the little legs coming out of a ball of cotton jean fuzz. Then i knew for sure. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7985 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:43:36 +0000 Saltysusan 7985@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Ru - thank you for this advice - I was keeping bird mites in the back of my mind. AND, we had a nest in our eve recently (in a hole), then my husband repaired the hole, so the birds are gone. What I've read indicates they go for humans when the nest disappears. And, the nest was in the living room which is where the couch is. I have awakened from a short (~hour) nap on the couch with fresh bites twice in the last two weeks. How did you finally figure out that it was bird mites? Did you actually find one? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7982 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:52:43 +0000 Ru 7982@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Dear Susan: I am in St Louis, and in the past month had a horrible infestation of BIRD MITES that bite/ suck blood just like bedbugs do, they would wake me from 3 to 6 am, i would find bites in the morning that itched terribly, and at first they only itched for a coupla days but after the infestation really took off a new bite would itch for 4 days or even more. They did get into my couch and computer chair. I have been thru this war, and i have reduced them, but i can't say i've eradicated them yet until i'm free and clear for awhile. This site is full of good people and information. It was hard for me to find evidence of my infestation, so keep looking. I never could see anything in my mattress, yet they were there. Using lint rollers/ tapes help, and clear plastic tape, to pick up the little bugs like Bird Mites. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7973 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:12:35 +0000 Saltysusan 7973@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Here's the link: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11334033@N03/" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/11334033@N03/</a> I'm not sure what I did wrong, but when I signed out of flickr and went back to the grou, they weren't there! It says that they are public...I suck at this blogging stuff... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7972 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:06:32 +0000 Anonymous 7972@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Can you link to them here? If you don't know how, just copy the text in the address bar and paste here whenever you post again.</p> <p>Good luck and I hope you see your doctor soon. I hope you get some rest anyway. And don't ever think that it's a problem that can't be solved. It may take some detective work... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7970 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:02:34 +0000 Saltysusan 7970@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks for caring, hopelessnomo. I posted the pictures to the flikr group "bedbugs" - maybe I did something wrong?? I can see them when I go to the group. Anyway, my 1st doctor visit was at one of those walk-in clinics cause it was a Saturday, and I was pretty sure I had an infection so didn't really care that it wasn't my regular doc. Sleeping with a flashlight tonight in case I wake up and feel like looking around. This is a very helpful site with lots of caring people, thanks for all the energy people have put into helping others with this problem! </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7966 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:46:43 +0000 Anonymous 7966@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi Susan,</p> <p>You are right to consult your doctor(s). The allergist sounds like a better bet since you already saw your dermatologist and presumably he or she already ruled out scabies? Or was it a GP? Anyway, that is a good step.</p> <p>As for the lack of signs, yes you should be seeing something at some point, although some of us see very little and even see no bugs. But at the very least, you would be seeing at some point a pepper-like dust somewhere. The heavy stains and signs are only seen in advanced infestations.</p> <p>Good luck. Btw, I went to see the photos but did not find yours. Not that we'll be able to say "yes, bedbugs!" but since you had uploaded them, I thought I would look. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7959 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:02:08 +0000 Saltysusan 7959@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks, hopelessnomo. I have read through the FAQs tirelessly, and while what I have seems to be bed bugs, just a few things don't quite add up, like the complete absence of any fecal spotting on my bed or anything. I have scoured and cannot find anything remotely hinting of the bugs (no staining anywhere on sheets or mattresses, baseboards, etc). Also, I have never had anything like this before, why, all of a sudden would both my bed and my couch be infected? I would think if it came into the house, we would end up transporting it from one place to the other, but what do I know?? Also, this just started on Aug 1, and since then I have been bitten nearly every day. Everything I read indicates that they only feed once/week or so; if I am being bitten everyday, then wouldn't I have a pretty heavy infestation and would see some evidence of it?</p> <p>I am definitely going to see a doctor - should I see a dermatologist or my allergist? I guess I will start with the allergist and see what she thinks. Thanks for all of your help...this is very vexing... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7956 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:55:17 +0000 Anonymous 7956@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Also, SAVE all bugs and evidence. Do not throw anything out.</p> <p>The FAQs will help. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7953 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:38:48 +0000 Anonymous 7953@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Oh, forgot the bedbug sniffing dog option, but I don't have a recommendation, but it is a possibility. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7952 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:37:22 +0000 Anonymous 7952@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Bedbug bites look different on everyone. Someone might be able to say that they had bites similar to yours, but that is not going to help you.</p> <p>What kind of bed do you have?</p> <p>We're told bugs like to go for the box spring first. So, the sheets are not where you're going to find them, as they like to hide really well. You can inspect the tiny crevices of the bed frame, headboard and nightstands. You need to turn the bed over and inspect the underside and seams really carefully. Same with the sofa, look underneath near the seams and folds next to the wood frame, and deep between the cushions and frame.</p> <p>Professional PCO inspections are low or no cost, but PCOs also have a hard time to find bugs in new infestations.</p> <p>Finally, I'm sorry to say that you cannot say with any certainty that someone does not have bedbugs. Some people are not allergic. I'm not saying that your brother-in-law has bedbugs! Lord, no. But, it's not helpful to eliminate sources in that way. Your best bet is to continue to inspect very carefully.</p> <p>And I would consult a doctor or dermatologist to help eliminate other possibilities. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7951 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:58:23 +0000 Saltysusan 7951@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Pix are posted on flickr in bed bugs group... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7949 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:39:35 +0000 Saltysusan 7949@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Willow - yes I am a New Bite! I am pretty computer literate but these forums just confuse me...I almost didn't psot at all. I live in the Chicago suburbs...very hot and humid, but I thought heat rash was more like a bunch of bumps, these are clearly just one. My skin is not too sensitive and I don't typically get heat rash. I am going to have my daughter try to help me take and upload pictures to flikr...she should be able to figure it out.</p> <p>We have had the couch for five years, the bed for 17. My husband travels regularly for work, but had not been in a hotel for nearly a month before my first bite was discovered. Yes, my brother-in-law recently slept on the couch..but they don't have bed bugs. Is it possible that we have a very small (new) infestation and so would not see any evidence? I cannot find any fecal spots or blood in my bed anywhere, and it would be easy to see with my white sheets. Does it generally take a few weeks for the bites to show up initially? Will try to upload pics now.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7948 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:11:08 +0000 willow-the-wisp 7948@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi Salty,<br /> I don't THINK you would get "folliculitis" in an area like a breast or in the bend of an elbow or the back of a knee-joint (mind you I said THINK).<br /> How long have you had the couch? Has anyone ELSE in the family been traveling, or had you thrown or been to a party recently? Did anyone sleep over on the couch?<br /> If you check back a few weeks from your first symptom you MAY find the cause-and it could be some chemical(s) in the hot tub too. Sounds an awful lot like bed bug bites--can you tell us whereabouts you live? ie Queens or Chicago? That is general enough. Can you go to the flickr area on the main blog and upload some pics of these bites you have, but also add some very descriptive captions, like; "2 weeks old bite on breast" or "this one is from 3 days ago" like that?<br /> Bites are usually the first sign founder in new infestations.<br /> Keflex for only 5 days? Usually it is prescribed for at least a week or for a full 10 days. Bacterium are all around—so whether or not you scratched the itch or not, and even if the keflex seemingly helped some is almost a moot point.<br /> Could it be heat rash? How's the weather bee nwhere you are at--and in your history does hot, sticky weather, ever cause such reactions to you or on you before?</p> <p>Also, salty ... please start a new thread to post in as now we have two posts from two different people in the same thread--this can often make it difficult to get answers or for the answers to sometimes get confused--especially with New bites such as you may possibly be? </p> <p>Thanks.</p> <p>Mr. Willow </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7947 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:19:02 +0000 Saltysusan 7947@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I also need help identifying mysterious bites. I have spent hours at this site and others, trying to figure out what this. I noticed 2 bites on my left shoulder and 2 bites underneath my right breast upon waking on Aug 1 (I had slept in my own bed and have not traveled recently). They were very itchy and I put Caladryl on them for several days. Later that same day, I also noticed a bite on my left bicep in the bend of my left elbow. These had a tiny pimple-like center, which I squeezed (bad, I know). They both oozed a clear fluid and became very swollen. The one on my right elbow resolved itself in a couple of days, but the one on my bicep developed a red ring rash, which got bigger each day. I saw the doctor who thought I might have a bacterial infection for which he prescribed Keflex for 5 days. The redness did go down, but did not completely disappear, and during the course of my antibiotics I got 2 more bites nearly on top of each other on my left shoulder. They also developed the ring rash, but I had not messed with these bites as I had the one on my bicep. Since then I have also developed single bites on the inside of my thigh, on one of my breasts, (two but not close together) on the left side of my stomach, 3 behind my knee, three right in a line on the bend at my thigh, and on my back - the one on my back I felt being bitten during the afternoon while wearing the clothing I had put on in the morning. These bites are all red, round, slightly raised and have a little pimple center. They itch intensely and take days to go away. My husband has no bites, I have no symptoms other than the bites. I was convinced we have bedbugs but cannot find one speck of evidence on my sheets, mattresses or near my bed. I have white sheets and cannot find one single spot of bug feces or blood. I notice the bites upon waking, but some of the bites I noticed after falling asleep on the couch in the evening. If our home was infested enough to get bites on the couch as well as my room, wouldn't I see some evidence of bugs on my sheets? </p> <p>I read through what other things might cause these symptoms in the FAQ, and I think it could also be hot tub folliculitis (we just got a hot tub a month ago), but noone else in my family has these symptoms, and they use it more than I do.</p> <p>Sorry for the long post, I am really at a loss here. Last thing, the initial bites on my shoulder and under my breast have "healed", but there are reddish-purple scars with red dots in the middle where the bites were. Any thoughts? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7887 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 02:41:35 +0000 Nobugsonme 7887@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Read the FAQ on choosing a PCO (pest control operator). It will help you know what to ask them, to see if they know their bed bugs. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7858 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:53:26 +0000 buggeroff 7858@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Fleas are quite noticeable- you can see them on the dog and on the sheets. When you're lying in bed reading, a flea will jump on your book. If you just sit there and watch awhile, you will see one jump on the sheet. Flea dirt on the bed or on the dog looks like small black specks down by the skin. Poke around by the dog's throat, in the dense hair on his face or at the base of the tail to look for fleas or flea dirt. If you find black specks, comb a few out onto a paper towel, drip a little water on it and chances are the specks will dissolve into a rusty brown/red stain on the paper towel. That's flea dirt. </p> <p>If you hunt on the dog and can't see anything, put your suitcase into a big trash bag and take it outside on a sunny day for inspection. Open the bag over a spread out white sheet. Remember, though, even if its bed bugs, it might be related to your neighbors and not to your Miami trip.</p> <p>Have an exterminator (or three) who claim to know something about BBs come over to help you look for signs of bed bugs. They'll usually do this for free if they're also giving an estimate on treatment and they know where to look. Hire the one whose plan of attack seems most reasonable to you (which should probably include repeat treatments). Expect to have them return several times. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7856 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:40:45 +0000 Anonymous 7856@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>If it is bedbugs, the bites could have been received during your Miami trip and what you are now experiencing are the delayed reactions. Bites may sometimes not show up right away and the timeline is consistent with delayed reaction bites. This might mean that, although you were bitten in your hotel room, you did not bring any home.</p> <p>Unfortunately, there is no easy way to determine whether you did or did not bring any home. Other than careful cleaning and monitoring, you probably need to wait for additional signs of a current infestation. There are specific FAQs that address the bringing bugs from hotels issue. See the faqs button below.</p> <p>If it is not bedbugs, it can be many things, of course. A doctor or dermatologist might be able to help. A careful inspection by a PCO might also help, although it's hard to find signs in an early infestation. A bedbug sniffing dog is another possibility.</p> <p>If I were you, I would clean (not just ordinary cleaning, mind) and monitor and encase my mattress and box spring. And I would consult a PCO, as a first step. Inspections are low or no cost. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/help-diagnosing-bed-bugs-fleas-ticks-please-help#post-7854 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:04:05 +0000 bittenbitten 7854@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>My wife and I have been getting bites on our ankles, arms, lower back and neck. Here is a sequence of events.</p> <p>aug 1-4 trip to miami<br /> we got some (mosquito?) bites on ankles<br /> aug 4 return home<br /> aug 5 evening, my wife notices bites on her arms<br /> aug 6 the bite get worse and continue<br /> aug 7 i notice bites on my arm in the morning, later in the day the bites get worse and worse<br /> there are at least 20 bites on each arm. one hand has 10 bites. back of my neck has at least 20 bites. some bites on legs and ankles as well.<br /> aug 8 bites worsen<br /> aug 9 wife and baby are evacuated from home (baby has not bites yet, thank God)<br /> wife and baby take extreme precautions not to spread whatever we have. all clothes were place in dryer in high heat before leaving. before arriving at sister's place, wife and baby used lobby bathroom to shower and throw out old clothes and wear new clothes. clothes were again washed at sister's laundry room<br /> aug 10 my wife notices some bites on her face<br /> we suspect bed bugs, but have not found any blood spots on the bed sheet nor fecal stains nor shed skins.<br /> i have looked under and around the bed with a flashlight and found nothing.<br /> we live in an apartment and there are dogs, so it might be fleas.</p> <p>any idea what this might be? any ideas how we can confirm if it's bed bugs or not? I don't want to spend thousands of dollars and many days of prep work for bed bug treatment.</p> <p>please help. thanks. </p>