Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
Do they come out every night?
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itchinglikecrazy
newbite
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 3
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 8:45:22
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We think we have bed bugs. I flew home from Texas on Saturday and my husband and I both woke up on Sunday morning with bug bites. I have probably three times as many as him and mine are way more itchy. We checked underneath our mattress and examined our sheets with a flashlight and have not found any sign of anything. Our one year old daughter sleeps between us in bed and she has not gotten any bites. Last night my husband and I both woke up around 3am and pulled out the flashlight and found no signs. I have no new bites. Were they full and did not come out last night? We're calling a PCO to come inspect today.
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completelybuggedout
junior member
Joined: Feb '08
Posts: 101
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 9:00:48
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I hope and pray what you are dealing with is not bedbugs. To answer your question it really depends on how many of the bb are present. If you have a smaller infestation, no, you may not get bitten every night because the things don't require a daily meal. They will generally feed every 4 to 7 days, and in the meantime hang out wherever they are harboring to digest their meal. If you do have a PCO come out and inspect your home, make sure they are thorough. It sounds like if in fact you are encountering bedbugs, it is in the very earley stage, and evidence may be very difficult if not impossible to find. Have you checked nightstands, headboards, under your mattresses and boxsprings, light fixtures and outlets in the affected rooms yet? I wish you the best of luck, and please keep us all posted.
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parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 913
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:07:33
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If you had been away, maybe they were all hungry and came out the first night you were back? Or do you think you brought them with you from your trip? Even if you stay in a place that is bedbug-free, there is always the chance you can get bedbugs on a plane or in a baggage handling area.
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itchinglikecrazy
newbite
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 3
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:19:09
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My concern is I brought them back from my visit to Texas. Just me and my daughter flew back - my husband did not go with us. The bites feel and look like mosquito bites and I am highly reactive to mosquito bites. But from what I've read, bedbug bites vary from person to person. I called a local PCO and she told me to wash sheets, vacuum, etc. before calling them out here. She said if they were bedbugs then there would be signs in our sheets. Our sheets have been clean - no signs of anything on them. If it is in fact in the early stage, would they already be in our bed or are they coming from some of my clothes? This is freaking me out. I stayed with my parents when I was in Texas and did not get any bites there; so the only way they could have come was by plane. Is this common? If this is the case then nobody is safe.
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Hi,
It is generally believed that bed bugs feed every 3 - 5 days and then return to their refugia to digest the meal. Feeding is an essential part of the bed bugs development and mating process and they are not able to reproduce or develop into adults without a source of food.
Inspection is the key point here, it might be feasible that you were exposed while away and if lucky did not bring any home with you. I realise that you responded to the bites while at home but there can be a delay between being bitten and when your body responds.
I would suggest that you keep accurate records of any activity and inspect on a regular basis. Bearing in mind that this may be a recent infestation evidence may be difficult to find and as such you should select the pest controllers with as much relevant experience as you can.
As a side note bed bugs are not in fact nocturnal creatures, they are opportunistic feeders and will adapt to match the pattern of food availability, for example if the occupant of the room works nights then they will be active and feeding during the day. They simply respond to the pattern that you set with you use of the property.
Always check any location that you plan in staying the night in and where possible protect you bags from potential exposure while traveling.
Regards,
David
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:39:53
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MixedFeelings
member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:42:16
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Hi Itching,
David makes a good point - that some people have delayed reactions to BB bites. However, you mention that your husband did NOT travel with you, but now has bites, so to me this means that at least he (and probably you) are being bitten at home. The bites you describe do sound like bed bug bites. If indeed BBs, they could have come home with you, or have already been present in your home as someone else suggests (I personally find this less likely tho).
Based on my experience as a regular citizen suffering with BBs, many PCOs (even in large urban centers) do NOT know very much about dealing with bed bugs. So the person who told you "there will be evidence in your sheets" is sort of wrong - there *could* be evidence (such as live or dead bugs or more likely, blood stains), but there very well could be no signs! That is our case. We have confirmed bed bugs (by canine detection as well as ongoing bites), but very rarely find any sort of physical evidence.
Thus, it may be hard for you to find "proof" that your skin issues are bed bug bites.
It's hard for me to suggest what to do next. I know it's logical to wait for more evidence (to avoid treating for nothing, or treating the wrong type of insect), but as someone currently suffering through bed bugs, I feel that early action is best. I might be inclined to start bed bug treatments and protocols right away. But that's just me.
At the very least, read the FAQs on this forum, and start taking steps to avoid spreading BBs around your home and/or to others. Keep sleeping in your bed (ie: don't move to another room or couch), etc.
Good luck! Keep us posted, and come back if you have questions.
MF
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MixedFeelings
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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:52:53
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BTW, more thoughts:
- I note the PCO asked you to clean before they came over. If they are coming soon (with the intention to inspect first, not just spray randomly), it might actually be good for you to *not* disturb any evidence by cleaning, etc. But of course you must do as your PCO says. Just wondering out loud here.
- If you do in fact have BBs from recent travels, it is likely there are only a few bugs present, and that they are hiding somewhere near where you are getting bitten (in your case, your bed, which is very common). So they are probably somewhere in, or very near, your bed. So that would be the bed frame, on or between mattresses, on bedding, on items stored under the bed, maybe nightstands or any other furniture close to the bed, perhaps the baseboard near your bed, etc. You and the PCO can inspect these areas carefully with a flashlight and magnifying glass. You may or may not find them (and it's always possibly they are hiding elsewhere, but these areas are the most likely). Treatments could be targeted in these areas. Your goal is to kill as many of the bugs present as you can as quickly as you can before they lay too many eggs (which they may have done already, we cannot know this). A follow up treatment ~14 days after your first would probably be recommended to kill the nymphs from any viable eggs that do hatch.
Hope this helps!
PS - Don't give up, I know it's overwhelming now. It's very likely most of us suffering right now *will* eventually conquer our BBs!
MF
- Another thing: I made the mistake of selecting the first PCO I found (based on someone's online recommendation, a different forum not this one). That company turned out to be not great. So if needed, take a day or two to research multiple PCOs in your area. There's a thread somewhere here with some suggested questions to ask when interviewing them. Finding a good one upfront could potentially save a lot of trouble later. We now know this from experience.
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MixedFeelings
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Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 181
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:57:55
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Here's a list of questions, from one of my own old threads. Another member posted some good additional questions there too.
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itchinglikecrazy
newbite
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 3
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 10:58:15
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We live in Pensacola - population of about 60,000. No, my husband did not have any guests. His bites might be from mountain biking though - he went Sunday afternoon. The local PCO said they couldn't come until next week so I'm going to call around for someone to come sooner. This is a small city so I'm not sure if any of these places have bedbug dogs. My parents live in a small city in Texas as well, outside of Houston and nobody in their house was bitten. I've confirmed that with her today. I'm just at a loss as to where to find them. I would rather assume we HAVE them and move from there then go back and forth if we do or don't. So if I don't FIND any, where the heck are they? My suitcase is in the garage right now so the only way they are in our room is from my clothes.
Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. It makes it less stressful knowing I'm not the only one!
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Ottawabugs
newbite
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 8
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 14:23:38
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Hi itching and supporters,
We too, feel that we picked up bedbugs on a trip and brought them back with us. We however did find blood stained sheets in our hotel room but only my husband reacted and that was a week later back at our home. We didn't realize that bbs were the culprit until I did some research (thanks bedbugger.com) and when no one else was affected by bites after my husband and all the trip stuff was washed we thought he must have just had a delayed reaction.
Three weeks later though, I received 1 bite and now our 3 year old daughter who sometimes sleeps in our bed, has started getting small red bumps almost like little pimples on her body. We also have a 1 year old son who so far has not shown any bite marks. We now cannot try to hide what we suspected. Although we have not seen any "evidence" either, we will be calling a PCO ASAP.
My concern as is probably yours itching, is that of our small children. What kind of "bug killing" stuff are they going to use and is it harmfull to the kids, let alone the adults? Can you or anyone else let me know what I should be watching out for as far as harmful products that might be used by PCO's? I do understand you are in the very early stages as well, so maybe someone can help us both out.
Also, we are from the Toronto area in Canada, can anyone reccomend a PCO in this neck of the woods?
Good luck to you itching and no, you're definitely not the only one!
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buggedmama
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Mar 11 2008 18:21:33
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Hi Ottawabugs. I am in the GTA, and I also have a very young child. Our PCO was the one that our property manager has on contract. Most PCOs will use a permethrin-based spray which, no doubt, is bad to be breathing in. They say that if you have a child under 1, to be away for 24 hours. We always stayed away for more than that, at least 36. It STINKS when you come back home.
If you live in a freestanding home that you own, you may have more options in terms of treatment, i.e. mostly mechanical methods and using pesticide selectively, but, in a multiple dwelling you really will need the pesticide because you do not want the problem to spread to your neighbours.
As I said, our PCO was brought in by management, but before property management said they were bringing pest control in, I did some calling around of my own and found that Ole Nielsen at NIMBY Pest Control was pretty knowledgeable about bed bugs. They use steaming and pesticides and bed isolation, etc. Their prices seemed fair, too. My ONLY concern was when I asked him whether they come back 2 weeks later to re-treat (to kill any newly hatched eggs) he said they've never had to. If I were to have hired them, I would have insisted they come back in two weeks. Other than that, they sounded great. There's a post on the blog about a Toronto company that even has a bed bug dog, but I e-mailed them and they never got back to me so I can't say I recommend them.
Best of luck, sorry you're here.
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Ottawa,
You can also post a new message with the subject "Toronto PCOs" to get even more suggestions.
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