Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug bites, skin, etc.
bed bug?
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 16:41:52
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for 2 weeks i have been getting bitten at night, i can find no evidence of anything on the mattress, box springs, nothing.
i bought plastic zip covers for the mattress/box springs, washed all the linens and i still am getting bit
i find tiny black dots on the carpet which fall apart when i touch them, they look like lint.
i finally found a tiny black bug, looks like 6 legs, maybe a white spot on it, defined head?
not sure what this is. i tried a raid fogger for bed bugs and placed some boric acid around the bed, any thoughts? -
natalie
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 16:48:53
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That sounds more like carpet beetles, but you should try to catch one and tape it to a piece of paper. Then an experienced person could identify it for you.
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 16:54:24
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i have it in a ziploc bag, its dead, can it still be identified?
would you know where to take one to? -
ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 16:57:54
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also, the bites look like mosquito bites but some resemble a pimple, pop it hurts like hell and scabs?
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your host
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 20:47:16
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Is it smooshed, or in one piece? If it is more or less intact, identifying is not a problem.
You could take it to a local PCO's office or pay $25 to send it in to Harvard where they ID them for a fee. If you're in NYC there are additional options.
And of course, you could take a close-up photo if you have a good camera and someone can ID it here.
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your host
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 20:48:58
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Just based on your description, the white spot does not sound like a bed bug.
I would not use a fogger for bed bugs, and boric acid is useless too. (It kills roaches, as I understand it, because they ingest it; bed bugs do not clean their feet with their mouths.)
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Sun May 31 2009 22:41:18
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ok just sitting on my couch, and found a tiny black bug small in length racing up the wall?
tiny black, possibly 6 legs moving almost like a flea? what the hell -
Hi,
This is really one of those cases where a picture tell much more than a 1000 words.
If you can take a picture, either close up with a camera or by getting the camera to focus on a magnifying glass we may be able to give you more accurate information and an accurate quick diagnosis.
Unfortunately all insects have 6 legs and the vast majority are a colour that most would describe as black. At a level of detail that most can not visualise they are actually amazingly varied creatures with subtle differences in colour, texture and surface patterns. Sadly to sit and describe all these subtle differences and how to work out what it is from them take equipment not available to most and much better suited to a book on entomology.
Capturing things free in bags is ideal but gentle immobilised on tape is fine for most as long as all efforts are made to avoid smooching. O went through a spell of having to send id sheets back as some sort of insect squashed to death but 90% certain its not bed bugs based on remaining body parts. With an intact samples I could have been 100% certain.
It is always better to get an identification of what is at issue before you start to try and kill it, after all you cant really measure your sucess if you don't know what it was.
Hope this helps.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 5:41:18
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woke up on the couch, ton of bites everywhere:
found this guy this morning on my patio door:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38971996@N02/3585231180/small black bug found on wall last night:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38971996@N02/3585222170/collection of these random things:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38971996@N02/3584415599/ -
Hi,
Now that is a lot easier.
The first picture is I believe a masked hunter which could explain the bites.
The second image is too out of focus to be certain other than its not a bed bug.
The third is debris but non of it likely to be BB related.
The fourth and fifth also look like debris but are too out of focus to tell much from.
At this stage with no faecal traces I am as sure as I can be without inspecting your home that this is unlikely to be a BB issue.
Hope this helps.
David
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 7:35:48
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some of the links did not copy over, however there are 5 pictures on flickr i believe they can be viewed by goign thru a slideshow.
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The first picture is an ant queen, not a "masked hunter" (Reduvius personatus)
In the other pics there are a lot of things but, agreeing with David, none is BB related. -
ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:06:02
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ctd2009
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Posts: 38
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:22:11
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what the hell is this, i am so freaked out
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paulaw0919
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:25:04
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I have no clue what that is on the blue paper, but it's definitely not bed bug related.
The debris on the door hinge is common. My husband used to spray lube our doors for squeeks and we get that same debris. Hard to get off and it smears. From what I can see of the picture, that is what it looks like.
To try and ease your mind. If you have bed bugs, from what I'm told, once they are established they like to stay close to the host for easy food access. While it's true they could be "anywhere" I don't think they would establish a nesting area like that until the bed area (mattress, inside box spring, frame areas...) have gotten a bit crowded. I'm not a professional but maybe one could shed some light on it as to help you look in more common areas and if anything else to help your mind a bit.
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spideyjg
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:39:40
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ctd2009 - 17 minutes ago »
what the hell is this, i am so freaked out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38971996@N02/3586495474/Some kind of beetle. Stop freaking. Once you start tearing a house apart you find lots of harmless insects such as beetles.
Jim
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:47:54
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hard shells only found, round blackish color
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Pieces of insects, but not BB....
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 13:57:19
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Dude. Seriously. This comes from experience. Once you start looking closely, you're going to find a lot of stuff--bugs, lint, debris--in your house than you'd expect.
Absolutely nothing you've posted looks like bed bugs.
This is good news.
I know that bed bugs can be crazy-making, stress-inducing bugs. I know that the uncertainty that surrounds them complicates matters. But this is excellent news for you. In looking for bed bugs, what you've found is what most of us here know: there are a lot more bugs that live in our residences that we know.
But you should be happy. Nothing you've posted is even vaguely suspicious.
You might be having reactions to carpet beetles, or fleas, or something getting in through the window. At this point, I would focus on things you can do to rule those critters out. Plug in flea traps are probably a good next step. Reading up on carpet beetles and their larvae is another good next step. (They don't bite, but people can have bite like responses to them).
Also, do you work outside the home? Is it possible that you are getting bitten by something at work if you do?
It looks like you've looked really thoroughly through your whole apartment, and turned up nothing bed bug related. That's good news. Bed bugs are so much harder to eradicate than other pests. Whatever is causing your bites (or bite like responses) is probably not bed bugs, and therefore, easier to get rid of. This is good news.
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Hi CTD2009,
In order to reduce your stress level and that of those on the boards here please take 5 minutes to have a look at the gallery here:
http://www.bedbugbeware.com/gallery.html
It is a gallery of images of bed bugs and bed bug related things.
If what you find looks similar to those take pictures and we will help you identify. If it does not I suggest you post it to:
There are a small team of PCO and entomology professionals on this board and so things are not spread to thin we do like to try and keep the conversations on topic and specifically bed bugs.
But as others have said when you start looking you will find things but thankfully so far non of what you have found is bed bug related.
David
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 14:11:06
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guys/gals,
i want to thank you, i know i have been a pain in the butt with this. your responses and time to respond is greatly appreciated. again thank you as i know i am beyond freaked out
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ctd2009
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Posts: 38
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 16:11:13
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just got back from western pest, they confirm from the stuff i kept that one is a beetle and the others are in fact bed bugs
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just got back from western pest, they confirm from the stuff i kept that one is a beetle and the others are in fact bed bugs
Who said that? An entomologist?
One is clearly a beetle, from family Carabidae.
Others are pieces of old, crushed insects but NOT pieces of bed bugs. Colour, shape and thickness are wrong. I guess they are fragments of beetles abdomen. -
paulaw0919
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 17:50:32
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I would lose all respect for the one who states that what is shown above is anything bed bug related. It's a shame that some large companies many have incompetent @$$holes out there to put a poor worried person into a needless frenzy.
ctd2009....If you have those specimens BE SURE TO TAKE IT ALL TO AN ENTOMOLOGIST!!!
Harvard has a website with a sheet you can send it to them for verification. Many universities have entomologists on staff that can also ID it for you. Shit in fact I would go to a higher regional rep of Western Pest and INSIST that the specimens are brought to their entomology dept if they have one...and/or have them come in with an entomologist and perform a very detailed inspection at no charge. You already have this thread and pics here as evidence regardless. -
biztrvler
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Posts: 8
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 19:30:49
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Agree with oldtimers, get a second opinion before you spend money on PCO. Wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, won't solve your problem, will waste money. It's spring and some insects breed quickly in a short time (a swarm). I never would have recognized a termite swarm flying around my window until a friend pointed it out. Bugs look wildly different at larval / nymph / adults stages. Hang in there and good luck.
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biztrvler
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 19:37:56
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Sorry just reread this - your couch is where you get the most bites. Did you inspect the underside for the bb evidence per bedbugscouk pix? Do you have pets (i.e. fleas....they leave flea dirt, looks like pepper). You might have a variety of harmless bugs + couple problems (carpet beetles...fleas or something else that bites). Flea bites are pretty itchy, usually smaller than mosquito bites. Bed bug bites are bigger than flea bites, insanely itchy, tend to occur in a line as the bug moves.
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 20:53:46
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yes flipped the couch up and down, moved all cushions, i see nothing, even my chairs. if this is a bb issue, i tend to start sleeping in bed and wind up on the couch every night, just habit.
some bites there are 3 and some 1 here and 1 there, i am so confused, there is black crap in little circles everywhere and i can not seem to find anthing but still get bit. i have a turtle my son has had for 3 years never an issue with bugs before.
the one i pulled off the comforter before looked like a bb, brown/tan alittle translucent, maybe i am just losing my mind but the collection of bugs is driving me nuts, convinced something is on me all the time at this point -
spideyjg
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Posts: 1,614
Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 21:13:57
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You need to pull off the batting under the couch and check the woodwork in there.
So far nothing you posted looks BB related but I wouldn't stop being vigilant.
the one i pulled off the comforter before looked like a bb, brown/tan alittle translucent
That sounds like a it could have been a BB though.
Jim
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 21:25:45
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the couch and chairs are hollow bottom so the wood and frame are easily exposed, i looked and saw no movement or anything? there are black "specks" on the wood but look like wood grain marks.
there are a ton of these tiny black bugs everywhere too, i know the picture is terrible but the one in the ziploc bag is what i keep grabbing -
ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 21:27:16
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the one i got from the comforter was after it was in the dryer for 1.5 hours
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biztrvler
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 22:23:29
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A bedbug would be very dead and in tough shape after 1.5 hours. A beetle holds its shape? Also Google turtles and little black bugs - see fungus gnats, very small black bugs that swarm in potting soil and can migrate to turtle tanks. Black specks on wood - see if you can figure out is it grain or bb spots. FYI - bbs don't like Murphy's Oil.
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ctd2009
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Posted 9 months ago
Mon Jun 1 2009 23:28:20
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fell asleep on the couch woke up with this white/light yellow goo on me???
a 20 minute nap and this is what i get
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