Black pepper fecal markings? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Black pepper fecal markings?

(9 posts)

satansbed

newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 19

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 3 2008 15:08:05
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Hi everyone, so far no more bites since Sat night and I've searched thoroughly and found nothing. Of course every little piece of lint on my bedsheets gives me a scare. Thought I saw something on here about fecal markings looking like blood smears (haven't seen that) but also maybe like grains of black pepper? I have seen some of these, they don't adhere to the sheets but are just little like granules. Could these be feces? Help! Thanks
wirehead

member
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 129

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 3 2008 15:57:18
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You can try getting them wet (maybe by putting them on a wet paper towel) and seeing if they turn into blood spots. That works with flea feces, I'm presuming it would work for BB feces too.
satansbed

newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 19

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 3 2008 21:17:09
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Thank you for the tip, I just tried it with the one I could find and nothing. Couldn't get it to smear, it was hard. Anyone else have any insight on this? Thank you!!
Itchy-Scratchy

senior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 470

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 3 2008 21:28:03
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I have no insight ... but I have the same problem as you. Those damn poppy-seed pieces of dirt(?). And they don't smear. I can't believe it's dirt, because I vacuum EVERY day ... so where the h*ll is this stuff coming from??
satansbed

newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 19

Posted 1 year ago
Wed Sep 3 2008 21:45:25
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Something I probably never would have noticed if it were not for this problem! I felt like I was being very careful when I moved, and the PCO's made me feel like I was being absolutely nuts with how crazy I was going. Since my infestation was so light, they said (one bug found by me only, no bugs or markings or anything found by them at all...) I didn't have to worry about things like my guitar, my grandmother's sewing basket, clothing in the coat closet kept far from the bed. Wish I could go back in time and have them spray even MORE...really can't tell if this itching is psychosomatic or if I'm really getting bit.
buggedmama

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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195

Posted 1 year ago
Thu Sep 4 2008 22:15:00
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Before bed bugs, I had never used white sheets. Once I started using them, even though I was washing them every 3-4 days and vacuuming daily (though we have parquet flooring so it's never really clean), I couldn't believe how much crud ended up in our bed sheets. We even had this ritual of rubbing our feet together over the edge of the bed before getting in. Black pepper flakes that didn't smudge even in water were common at our house, and I initially thought maybe it was because my husband is a fitter welder and brings home metal shavings. But I read several other posts/threads about these black pepper flecks and no other BB signs and figure they're just some sort of environmental debris. I'm sure you could find some sort of lab to send them off to, but personally if it's not feces or blood I wouldn't worry about it.
Itchy-Scratchy

senior member
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 470

Posted 1 year ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 5:57:30
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Hi buggedmama;

Thanks for the clarification. I spoke to my PCO about it yesterday, and he said the black pepper flakes are NOT feces.

Phew, what a relief!!
satansbed

newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 19

Posted 1 year ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 7:36:48
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Thanks for posting, that's good news!
wirehead

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Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 129

Posted 1 year ago
Fri Sep 5 2008 9:17:45
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@buggedmama I was going to post something very similar. With the white sheets and inspecting them every day, it's just amazing to me how much dirt, lint, random unidentifiable crud ends up in the bed. Even with washing them every 2-3 days! I would normally blame the cats, but we're keeping them out of the bedrooms, and only touching the bed wearing the bed-only clothes. Where does it come from? It's enough to make me OCD for life. ;p