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bedbug free...I hope?
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 20:17:22
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Well, I have been entirely bedbug free since my last post a few months ago....no bites no sightings nothing, and my bed is still quarantined. Today I saw a tiny little bedbug on my sheets...squished it and there was blood, but neither me nor my boyfriend have any bites. Coincidentally, I opened a dvd I haven't watched in a long long time and put it on my bed. My question is, since I don't think anything could have crawled up all the tape around my bed...is it possible for an adolescent bedbug to hide in a dvd case and have it's growth stunted due to having no blood meals but still survive these months? Or is it probable I've been reinfested? Scoured my bed and found nothing.
Opinions?
Thank you!
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I am just speculating but both seem possible.
It is also possible to be bitten and not have a reaction. Or to have a bite that does not itch. Even if you have had them before.
I'd get a PCO in.
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Bugalina
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Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 508
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 20:38:45
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I was just talking with someone from the Yahoo Group last week and we both said that since our bed bug infestation experiences ( sadly his have returned ) We do not allow anything to be placed upon our beds. It was odd to me that both of us have such similiar Post traumatic stress behaviors. I personally would not bring anything onto the bed that is questionable. I have said this before , bed bug behavior is not an exact science, so its best to exercise caution. I agree with Nobugs, I would contact a PCO...
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 20:44:01
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Oh I agree with not putting anything on the bed and I am pretty religious about not doing so, but it's been awhile so I guess I slacked for a moment :/ That's the only thing I can think since when I had the bedbugs I had pretty pronounced reactions to them (I do to all insect bites) I guess I may just wait to see if I see any more activity, because it has to be from something I put on the bed since nothing can crawl up, and I just happened to put something on it today that hadn't been used in ages...keeping my fingers crossed!
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 21:23:27
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hi NeuralRust,
Sometimes I would wake up in the morning and feel a burning sensation in one particular spot and it would soon become a very small whitish round welt. Then it would just go away. Have you gotten any of these? It might be a reaction to a nymph bite and not even itch much at all.Also, I read somewhere that bed bugs could possibly crawl up ceilings then fall onto the bed that way. In which case, the tape would not necessarily help.
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 21:50:34
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TorontoBugged-
No I havent gotten any of those...when I actually had bedbugs I got bit all the time....the question I am more trying to figure out is if it is possible for a young bedbug to have it's growth stunted while hiding out...because it seems like a big coincidence to me that first time I've seen a bedbug in 3 mos. occured when I used something I hadn't in a long time and placed it on my bed...
thanks for the input though! -
If by have it's "growth stunted", you mean it just does not progress to the next stage, it seems like this could be possible, depending on the stage and if by a few months ago, you don't mean anything too much more than two months. In Usinger's book, Table 2-1 lists the longevity (mean days) of once-fed C. lectularius and C. hemipterus at various temperatures and 70-75% RH. S. posted the table in this thread:
http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/42?replies=33but here is just one column, around 80.6 deg Fahrenheit: the first stage can live 27.8 days without another feeding, the second 45.6 days, 3rd 71.2 days, fourth 73.3 days, fifth 39.5 days, adult females 86.7 days, and adult males 43.4 days.
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 22:32:44
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hi NeuralRust,
According to the website below, nymphs can last several months without food so technically it could have come from your DVD case. Sorry to be gross but was the young bed bug really blood red when you squished it? If so, I would think that this would mean that it had just fed recently on someone but cannnot be sure...
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 23:02:01
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Well in regards to the above two posts, it didn't look young enough to be a nymph but it certainly wasn't full grown....when it was squished it was red indeed, so my theory was that since we were laying in bed watching said movie with our cat, that it might have bit one of us (though I seriously doubt it was me, I have really strong reactions to insects). I should also mention I saw it crawling around in broad daylight next to the case in question, and not hibernating as would be the more typical behavior. My bed is encased entirely in white coverings and I see no other marks, smears, or signs of bug-dom. In regards to the dropping down from the ceiling, I have carpet tape on my ceiling outlining my bed because I was ultra-psycho when I got them. In my opinion all signs point to it ended up on my bed by being put there by an outside object, but I was curious to see if this was even possible given I have been rid of them for awhile now. :)
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 23:18:43
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If it was crawling around in broad daylight maybe it was really hungry and had been starved for a while...
Carpet tape on the ceiling outlining the bed is a great idea by the way. Thanks for sharing this idea.
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Aug 19 2007 23:22:14
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I'll take it as a good sign if it were starving, that means it hadn't been eating me before today, haha. I just really can't deal with this starting over again, especially since I am moving out in 2 mos. and dont want them to hitchhike with me...
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nightshirt
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Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 455
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Aug 20 2007 10:26:54
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toronto i have gotten a few of those since my infestation was over and i had nightmares that that was what it was. they are so far in between each other that i decided it was not that. they came and went in like 10 minutes. i think if i was having a reinfestation of a little bugger it would ave grown into a huge one by now?
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neuralrust
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 12
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Aug 20 2007 11:18:45
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Well no bites last night, so I will take that as another good sign....I've gotten a cat since the infestation ended so I hope he doesnt get bitten, but he sleeps in bed with me so I think they'd bite me first since he is a hairy beast...here's continued hoping that I just found an infestation remnant..
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Aug 20 2007 14:41:08
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Nightshirt,
I got 5 bites on one arm after getting that one small welt on my stomach. I used to get these small welts last year after the first and second visits by the PCO. Everyone said I was being paranoid since they went away so fast but this is the first time I've gotten them again. No reason to get overly alarmed in your case, but since mine came with definite bites, I would just not let your guard down as I did.
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