Difference between bed bug, flea and mosquitoe bites?

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Difference between bed bug, flea and mosquitoe bites?

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knyc2007

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Posted 5 years ago
Thu Nov 1 2007 10:19:54
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This may sounds stupid- but is there any way to tell the difference between mosquitoe, flea and bed bug bites?
I have seen a couple mosquitoes in my apt but feel like I have to many bites for them it be the only culprit. I currently have 3 bites on my arm, 3 on my face, and 2 on my fingers. I had a PCO come out a month ago because I thought perhaps I had bed bugs and he treated the apt but said there were no signs of bed bugs. I also have a dog (although she is treated with Frontline and I have never seen fleas on her)s didn't want to rule out fleas.
Anonymous

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Posted 5 years ago
Sun Nov 4 2007 0:43:09
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Unfortunately there is no way to be certain of a bedbug bite just based on appearance. Have you read the FAQs? You should look for evidence. I know it's very hard but you must try. You're looking for specks, cast skins and actual bugs. You may only find the specks. They hide really well! In most cases one treatment is not enough so if you had a few bugs, they've now had a chance to re-establish themselves.

I don't have pets but I think there are things you can do to check whether you have fleas at home. Search the forums for that.

Sometimes people find that bedbug bites continue to cause discomfort and itch severely. You've had mosquito bites all your life. Sometimes you know the difference but the prospect of having bedbugs is so terrifying that your brain goes into denial. It happens to a lot of people. Of course, in your case it may not be bedbugs at all. You have to investigate thoroughly.

I suggest an inspection by a PCO. Maybe a different one that can do a serious inspection.

Good luck.
pleasehelp

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Posted 5 years ago
Sun Nov 4 2007 11:20:12
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Not everybody reacts the same, but here's how the 3 bites differ for me: mosquito - various sized welts that itch for an hour or 2, don't scab. Fleas - hard, pimple-sized swellings, mostly on ankles, very itchy for about a week, scab over when scratched. BBs (sadlly just confirmed this AM) - Often appear in groups, lines, 2, 3, or more together. Some don't itch, most itch like mad on & off. Some appear only as a tiny red pinhole dot, most appear red & pimple sized, but when scratched, they scab over & get bigger, some to more than .25 inch. The scabs bleed profusely for their size. There's a thread on this site, a bite survey, with detailed bb bite descriptions from a number of people.
pleasehelp

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Posted 5 years ago
Sun Nov 4 2007 14:28:27
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PS RE my bb bites: they often last more than 1 month & leave scars.
Nooneimportant

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Posted 5 years ago
Fri Mar 28 2008 4:52:43
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Talk about a quandry! I'm used to being eaten alive by mosquitoes, so whenever I noticed new bites on my body, I had always put them down to that. But then last week I saw three bites on my right calf, two about two cms from one another, and the other about 15cms higher, more or less in a straight line. They were small, raised and bright pink. My first thought when I saw them was they looked like flea bites. But then I don't have any animals in my apartment, so how could they be fleas?

I'm guessing they're bugs, so now I've got the stressful task of searching wildly for evidence before I bring in a PCO. It is turning me into a nervous wreck. I hate that there is so much variety in the bites and reactions people have.
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 5 years ago
Fri Mar 28 2008 6:42:47
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Hi,

Having read the post I suspect you are right to keep the diagnosis open at this stage.

Although your dog is treated for fleas resistance to flea treatment does occur from time to time. As a rule I would always suggest rotating your flea treatment every 3rd application to avoid this. You may also want to try a plug in flea trap to see if that catches anything.

Keep windows and doors closed to exclude mosquitoes and if you are still being bitten then you can rule the first two out. That does not automatically mean its bed bugs, there are plenty of other things it could be but it’s a logical start point.

I appreciate that not knowing exactly what it is can be a stress in itself but the best thing you can do is work through it logically. I wrote a section for bedbugbeware.com talking about unidentifiable bites which can be found at http://www.bedbugbeware.com/index_files/page404.htm

Hopefully it will be one of the other pests rather than bed bugs.

David
nycyn

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Posted 2 years ago
Wed Sep 29 2010 23:54:25
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BUMP!

I'm addressing my two occurrences of multiple bites on two occassions (one of two days) and am still trying to figure out fleas or bed bugs.

I want to think fleas (I think.) Random localized patterns of multiple bites (roughly a dozen); 2 or 3 occurrences about 3 weeks apart. Last over two weeks ago and no bites since...

Showed up upon wake-up. (I have no reliable sleep pattern but that is why I thought "bed.") On arms mostly and mostly on one arm the last time. First go around the bites were also on my inner thighs so I thought I had a bug(s) in my pants.

I'm fairskinned so noticed the red bumps with centers pierced right away. ABout 48 hours later they were insanely itchy. I did the cortisone cream and all that but this last time I let loose and scratched like a kid. Even the ones I didn't tear at are visible to me (teeny scars--some teeny scabs) and again it's been weeks. And yes one I scratched at developed a big bead of blood--bigger than I expected but that doesn't mean anything; I don't have a scratch-a-thon story to compare it to.

I do not think they were mosquito bites.

Anybody?
nycyn

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Sep 30 2010 19:45:36
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BUMP! or,

WELT! or,

BITE!
loubugs

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 1 2010 1:12:31
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I'll post in both places. I react with a welt and itchiness when bitten by mosquitoes. Bite area remains hardened and itches, but it is not unbearable. Bed bug bites create a small bump, they disappear and within a few hours a small red mark is visible where the bed bugs bit. Not itchy. My reaction to bed bug bites was more intense when I first began feeding them (around 10 years ago) but now the reaction is very much reduced.
nycyn

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 1 2010 3:02:44
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loubugs - 1 hour ago »
I'll post in both places. I react with a welt and itchiness when bitten by mosquitoes. Bite area remains hardened and itches, but it is not unbearable. Bed bug bites create a small bump, they disappear and within a few hours a small red mark is visible where the bed bugs bit. Not itchy. My reaction to bed bug bites was more intense when I first began feeding them (around 10 years ago) but now the reaction is very much reduced.

Oh. After ten years of bb's the bites aren't as bad for you as they used to be? Well, this is heartening.
loubugs

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 1 2010 6:09:09
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This parallels what happens in people's situations where they have bed bugs for a long time and react less and less which persuades them not to complain about the insects in their home. Insects are there and people aren't bothered by them, so don't do anything to get rid of them. The bed bug population increases and spreads out to other adjoining apartments if people are living in multi-family building units.
DeedleBeetle

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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Oct 1 2010 8:01:04
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i suspect i got fleas from one or more of 5 dogs i visited last weekend. those bites are very round pimple sized, pink with a darker pink visible pin hole prick right in the center. they itch and respond to the same "treatment" i use on the bb bite. These bites seem to be taking a longer time to resolve than the bb bites in terms of itchiness, that is.
i'll have to wait and see how long the scars take to heal and disappear.

bb bites for me are large red welts that start out looking just like mosquito bites. they also have a noticable pin hole. They itch like nuts also. i still have darkened skin areas from the bites i got earlier this year!

Carpet beetle larvae hairs - skin reaction looks and feel just like bb bites.

mosquito bites for me are itchy for a short period of time...maybe a day and then they start to resolve.

ugh!
newbie82

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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Apr 17 2011 8:17:03
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Hello every one!
I am panoid about bedbugs since i had a bad experience in a hotel room in Madrid 2 years ago. Since then, i search hotel rooms like a mad woman, even if it's the Four Seasons, every time I have to stay in one. About a week ago I was coming to Barcelona and I had to stay in Madrid overnight (a diff hotel of course). Obviously I searched from top to bottom looking for bed bug evidence (including the mattress, covers, bed, pillow cases, pillow, rugs etc). I amnot sure if i got bitten again but i have 3 "bites" in my body (that appeared like 4 days later. One tiny one in my forearm, another tiny one in my other arm, and a bigger one on my knee that is the size of aprox. 3 mm (and the one on my need is all raised, Do you think it could be bed bugs? When i got bitten 2 years ago I had many bites (even though i only stayed in the hotel room for 3 or 4 hours and my hubby and son didn't get bitten at all) and they were in clusters and in the bfast, lunch and dinner patterns.) My son has a tiny mark on his hand but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Also, he slept on a different room, on a different floor and my parents, who slept with him don't have anything. I am not sure if its bed bugs or not but of course I am paranoid (I even have nightmares about it.) Iam staying in a rented apt in Barcelona now and I also didnt find evidence. Any insights?