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Did I just bring one home from a plane? Row of 3 bites...

1. 

   lasttrain
   

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   Joined: Jul '11
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   Posted 1 year ago
   Mon Jul 4 2011 12:31:58
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   Hi,

   I just traveled home last night on a plane and woke up to a row of three bites on my ankle and one random bite on my calf. They itch terribly and look like mosquito bites. I was not staying in any hotels, just a friend's house for two months where none of us had any bites. I am wondering if I just brought one home with me?

   I haven't ever been bitten by a bedbug before that I know of but I react to mosquitoes.

   http://s1123.photobucket.com/albums/l547/lasttrainto/?action=view&current=Photo180.jpg

   In the photo, you can see two and there is another one lower down in a line you can't see well. There is also another one on my thigh. So there is a line of three and a random one.

   If that's possible, what can I do now to prevent a huge infestation? Do I wait it out and see if I get bitten more? What do I do with my luggage? I literally just got home last night, my luggage didn't even make it into my room and now I'm paranoid. I did not check the luggage.

   For reference, I haven't been back home for a few months, but I've never been bitten here, or anywhere. I did have an infestation of foreign grain bettles after a flood (they don't bite) and I sleep touching an open terrace window (with a screen) so random bugs could crawl in, I suppose. There were once some spiders here. But these are so itchy and in a line that I am very, very concerned.

   How do I find out right away if I have a small infestation? How to stop it if it's just one bug?

   I am unemployed and have a ton of stuff, the prospect of this is a nightmare as I literally couldn't afford to treat them right now.

2. 

   Nobugsonme
   

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   Joined: Mar '07
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   Posted 1 year ago
   Mon Jul 4 2011 13:23:16
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   Keep in mind that if it is a bed bug bite (and it could be fleas or mosquitos), it may not have happened since you came home or even on the plane. Bed bug bite reactions can take hours or days to appear. (In some cases, we've heard even a week or so.)

   So getting some bites less than a day after arriving home does not really tell you when or where this might have happened, if it is bed bugs.

   I would go to some trouble with the luggage, though, as you may have been exposed. There is a FAQ on what to do if you have been exposed, in the Travel FAQs. You should find some helpful suggestions for dealing with the luggage there.

   You can implement some inexpensive monitors (like BBAlert Passive and Bed Bug Beacon active monitors). There's a FAQ on monitors here.

   Carefully gathering the bedlinens and the clothes you wore home into bags (sealing them in bags where you find them so as not to spread anything around) and taking them to be washed and dried on hot may help. It's sometimes possible to kill a bug that is hanging out there.

   Also keep a log of suspected bites, when and where they appeared, if you get more. This can help you recognize patterns.

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