Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
Bedbugs....or "Crazybugs"....and are they seasonal??
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itchywitchyboohoo
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 3
Posted 5 months ago
Wed Jun 24 2009 1:10:00
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Wow. I am going nutty here. I hope someone can help me please!! Here's my story:
I have had this mattress/bed for about 3.5 years now. I bought it used from a good friend in the fall. The following summer...CRAZY bites all over my ankles and legs. Checked mattress, saw nothing. On and off for that summer and every summer since...I get a lot of bites, but nothing quite like that first spring. My two roommates don't get bitten while they sleep. Now this summer is beginning and I am getting lots of bites...basically all over, but I have gotten at least 6 on my FACE in the past few days. So, once again, I am wondering if this is bedbugs. I came home tonight and lifted a corner of my sheets, looked on the seam of the bed to find what appeared to be dried blood clumps. I thought. I could swear that was similar to something I had seen when freaking myself out online at work today. I am sitting across from my bed freaking out with my mom on the phone all evening. THEN I SEE A FREAKING BUG!!!! It was a small (but not TINY) black bug. I immediately thought for sure it was a bed bug. I tossed it in the toilet and continued my panic. The more I see pics online though, the more I think that this is NOT a bed bug. It does not seem to be the right color at all. I captured it from the clean toilet water and have it in a container now since I could not get a good picture of it to post. I continued scouring pics searching for whatever I had seen that looked like what I see on my mattress. I was TERRIFIED to look anywhere else on this mattress. Just a little bit ago I took a pin and scraped at this "dried blood" and notice that...umm...it looks like...umm...fur....from my cats. Weird thing is, it entirely looked brownish red...like dried blood might. Neither of our cats are this color.
Um, am I totally freaking insane!??!?!
MAJOR questions I would love answers to please!
1. Do bed bugs take the winters off?? (I only get bit in the summer...and only sometimes) Are bedbugs seasonal in any way?
2. Could a bed bug be black?
3. I was under the impression that this dried blood stuff could be their feces stuff...since that is what they eat...but all I can find now online are pics that show black stuff and the actual bugs, or a flat out blood stain, like...probably directly from the human upon the moment of suckage.
4. Do bed bugs like to bite your face? Someone suggested, if these were bedbug bites...why wouldn't they bite my legs or arms or body that is under the blankets closest to them...why my face? They think this means it had to have been some other type of bug.
5. Would my cat be showing any signs of trouble with bed bugs? Mine sure isn't.and of course...back to the main question:
Does anyone think this is bedbugs?
Thank you SOOO much for ANY help you can offer!
I can't believe we have to deal with this stuff!!!
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itchywitchyboohoo
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 3
Posted 5 months ago
Wed Jun 24 2009 1:12:22
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Just to clarify...the black bug I found at the height of my panic tonight...was, in fact, ON my bed. And I recall having found a similar bug and tossing it in the toilet about 2 weeks ago here...which was moseying on top on my bedspread and I did not have any idea it might be a bedbug then.
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Fearful_and_Buggy
junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 53
Posted 5 months ago
Wed Jun 24 2009 1:53:05
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I have a small series of bites on my neck at the moment. So they can bite something other than your torso. The only way to tell if this is a bedbug or not is for you to grab some pictures of the bugs you find.
What I do is inspect the mattress with a flashlight and some scotch tape. Whenever I find a bug, I stick it to the tape, fold the tape over it, and put it in a ziploc bag. Then, I put that in the freezer for safekeeping.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 5 months ago
Wed Jun 24 2009 9:32:23
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Bed bugs are not black, and they do not take summers off.
Without a photo, no one can identify the bug for certain, but based on your description, it doesn't sound like bed bugs. Bed bugs are brown or translucent, not black. And once a bed bug infestation gets started, they don't really take time off.
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1. Do bed bugs take the winters off?? (I only get bit in the summer...and only sometimes) Are bedbugs seasonal in any way?
No, they aren't.
2. Could a bed bug be black?
No... nymphs abdomen turns to black after 24-48 after the've fed, but the rest of the body is bright... if it's "all black" isn't a bedbug and probably is a beetle (black carpet beetle - Attagenus sp.)
3. I was under the impression that this dried blood stuff could be their feces stuff...since that is what they eat...but all I can find now online are pics that show black stuff and the actual bugs, or a flat out blood stain, like...probably directly from the human upon the moment of suckage.
No... BBs feces are black tar-like round spots
4. Do bed bugs like to bite your face? Someone suggested, if these were bedbug bites...why wouldn't they bite my legs or arms or body that is under the blankets closest to them...why my face? They think this means it had to have been some other type of bug.
BBs don't make differences between body's parts... they bite you just where they can do it...
5. Would my cat be showing any signs of trouble with bed bugs? Mine sure isn't.
They prefer to feed on human blood, so they'll tend to bite you and not your cat...My opinion:
It's a seasonal problem, so I think it's not BBs related.
The "black bug" may be a black carpet beetle or a woodworm: they're both seasonal and may both cause "bite like" symptoms.
In case of black carpet beetles it's caused by larvae shed skins hairs (they're hook tipped)
In case of woodworms, it's caused by woodworms mites (Pyemotes ventricosus)Try to catch another specimen and take pictures of it....
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itchywitchyboohoo
newbite
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 3
Posted 4 months ago
Wed Jun 24 2009 20:34:07
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Oh THANK YOU ALL. I was really driving myself crazy with this, and fortunately I don't believe this is a bedbug problem. I still don't know what it is, but THANK YOU for your answers!! I am so grateful for this site, though I really wish there were no need for it! Good luck to all!
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And, I forgot to mention, carpet beetles and woodworms are both seasonals...
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junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 88
Posted 4 months ago
Thu Jun 25 2009 7:44:29
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Most of the information shared here was accurate and I agree with the big picture in that what itchywitchyboohoo doesn't sound like bed bugs. That being said.....
Bed bugs are not seasonal in that they take winters off but they are seasonal from a pest control perspective. We complete much more work in July, August and September (summer) then we do during the rest of the year. That trend is similar to lots of indoor pests. Cockroaches tend to work that way too.
Bed bugs do not choose different body parts to feed on but they do tend to bite on exposed skin surfaces. A lot of times in your heavier infestations you can tell what clothing people where to bed because the bites are typically where clothes aren't. If somebody calls up and tells me the bites they are experiencing are on their upper thigh and they wear pants to bed every night, it doesn't sound like bed bugs because their upper thighs are covered at night but that's not a definitive conclusion.
To say they prefer to feed on you rather than your cat isn't something that we know at this point. There haven't been any studies completed on host preference so to say that they definitively choose humans over pets may not be accurate. It's not like your cat can tell you it's been bit and because of the hair you can't see reactions, if they even react at all. That being said, I do think they would choose a human over a cat just because of the hair and ease of feeding but that's just a thought based on no evidence. I've actually watched a bed bug feed on the bottom of a cats foot (where the hair wasn't) and what's to say they don't all do that (and I didn't watch that in a creepy ASPCA way, it just was happening as I was standing there)?
Lastly, I'm not sure where Effeci is from (I think Italy), but indoor carpet beetles are not seasonal here in the States. The can be active year round in the home. Outdoors, yes they are seasonal here in the Northeast but they may not be in your warmer states/areas. Remember in states like Florida your temperatures don't average less then 65 during the day and therefore they can be active year round.
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Carpet beetles are seasonal , because adults have a diet different from larvae: they feed on flowers, eating pollen and nectar. They have to feed before mating, so they can't complete the cycle indoor...
But I admit I didn't think about a tropical climate like Florida...Bedbugs are not "seasonal" in heated homes... no doubts there are more "outcomings" in the warm season, but I passed the winter fighting against BB infestations...
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