Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
Entomologists - comment on the "black pepper flakes"?
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worrywart1
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Joined: Jul '09
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Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 14:51:22
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There's been some recent discussion on here about whether black, loose, peppery-looking flakes/specks that can easily be brushed off the bed are a sign of bedbugs. Some people who are experienced with bedbugs have said no, they never saw that kind of feces with bedbugs. Others have said yes, they had that and after they got rid of bedbugs they didn't have it anymore. I've posted elsewhere about my efforts to find out if I have bedbugs. But as far as signs of feces, this black peppery-looking stuff is all I've seen. I greatly respect and appreciate the experience of people who have been through this. But if there's an actual entomologist reading this, please clarify: would there be some stage of a bedbug's life when they would leave black, peppery-looking stuff on the bed? (I showed this stuff to the PCO tech who checked our bed and he said, "That's nothing," which wasn't very reassuring or convincing, because it was definitely "something" that wasn't there the night before.)
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would there be some stage of a bedbug's life when they would leave black, peppery-looking stuff on the bed?
No... bedbugs leave the same kind of feces in all their stages.... it's something else not BBs related...
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spideyjg
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Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 16:46:05
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BBs poop very liquid feces and will soak into a fabric.
The PCO shouldn't dismiss your "pepper flakes", although they aren't from BBs., because it may be a clue. Is it possibly some material the fell from the ceiling?
Somebody a while back was all wigged out on these objects that kept appearing but clearly were not BB related. Turns out they had a blindfold they slept with that had a hole and these little seeds were falling out of it.
Jim
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 17:07:49
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I'm not an entomologist (I think maybe I saw Star Trek XI too many times because I seem to spend a lot of time in posts writing "Well, Jim, I'm just a bedbug sufferer, not a _________, don't i?).
But as someone who cares about words, I did want to say this.
All the fecal traces I saw from bed bugs were one of the two types of spots I've described before: the stains that look like a permanent marker with its cap off bled into the fabric or the little tar-colored dots that look like a very dark black, matte version of candy dots.
However, not everyone is as precise in wording, so I don't want to mislead people. Some of those small black dots were very small. I could see someone thinking of them as looking like ground black pepper flakes.
The difference in what I saw in my house, what I've read described here over and over by pros and sufferers alike, and what I've seen described in the literature on bed bugs versus the non-bed bug related might look like pepper flakes to someone things is that the bed bug related stuff doesn't blow or brush away easily.
I'm happy to stand corrected if I've gotten the wording wrong or if people with a large sample size have seen exceptions to that fact.
In other words, yeah, the fecal matter might be the same color as ground black pepper, but unlike pepper or flea dirt or lots of other things, I didn't have any bed bug fecal matter that could be easily brushed, wiped, blown, or even vacuumed away. It tended to stay put.
It seems to me that if that's a definite characteristic of fecal matter, which seems to be the general consensus, that that particular detail would be useful information to people who are trying to figure out whether they have an infestation or not.
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spideyjg
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Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 17:12:20
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Flea droppings are hard little black objects. Run a flea comb across a cat you will get fleas and this little black "pepper". Place the "black pepper" onto a damp paper towel, give it time, and watch it turn red.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
Can you do me a favour and have a look at this link.
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/DB2/pepperflecks.pdf
I am beginning to think that it may be fleas or more accurately a single flea getting in and causing some carnage.
I saw a unknown case that turned out to be a single flea the other day but was luck enough to catch the flea in mid jump while inspecting the bed. I am working on tweezers to sterilise them in the air but it certainly shocked the client that I moved that quickly. I guess I have been practising the wax on wax off a little too much recently.
It may be worth putting down a plug in flea trap to see if it uncovers anything.
I can still say that in all the cases I have seen faecal traces have only ever taken two forms:
- round, flat and soaked into the surface in the case of wood or porous materials
- spherical or ball shaped in the case of non porous surfaces such as synthetic material
I have never seen anything flat in a confirmed case of bed bugs and have only been presented with flat samples on a few occasions.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
de-selftreat
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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 46
Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 19:48:35
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I had some small black things on my bed, though larger than pepper flakes, and worried about them for a bit but they turned out to be seeds from a weed growing in my houseplant. It literally sprayed them out all over the room. Do you have plants? It could be that.
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spideyjg
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Posted 7 months ago
Sun Aug 2 2009 20:45:00
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The smear reacts like flea dirt (feces).
I'm on good terms with the neighborhood feral cats and next time at the store I'll get another flea comb and do your tests on the dirt.
Back when I had my fleas and my old cats the dirt reminded me more of tiny poppy seeds than anything else.
Jim
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Try rubbing with a damp cotton swab if it turns red it might be blood. Also works for fleas as well. The pepper thing does not sound likely for bbs. Perhaps spilled pepper then?
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bait
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 520
Posted 7 months ago
Mon Aug 3 2009 12:23:00
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This may sound silly, but it's true. If you're in professional treatment - and treatment for bed bugs is relatively extreme - all bugs in your residence are going to be under attack. Other bugs may be seeking out your sleep area because it's one of the only places not being doused with chemicals. It stands to reason all bugs will look for shelter in your bed.
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spideyjg
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Posted 7 months ago
Tue Aug 4 2009 9:14:13
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Cats cooperated and I bagged the flea comb and boiled it to kill the fleas themselves. Hopefully the boiling didn't afect the dropping from condensation.
Will harvest the dirt and see what I can do tonight.
Jim
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spideyjg
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Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,613
Posted 7 months ago
Tue Aug 4 2009 22:34:45
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Flea droppings as Black Pepper flakes.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/spideyjg/BBs/Fleas017.jpg
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Cablekat
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Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 1
Posted 6 months ago
Sat Sep 5 2009 18:22:27
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My elderly mother got a new comforter made in India about a year and half ago. She kept finding patches of these hard black and brown specs on top of her comforter but nowhere else. They were not on the mattress nor in the bedding. they appeared in the same spot over and over even though she would remove them all. She washed everything in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. Eventually, the numbers decreased and they disappeared. She was never bitten or saw anything move.
Last week she noticed a large round patch of the same things on top of the pillow she does not sleep on. Over the last week she left them there and the population increased over the week but the size of the spot (like a small dessert plate) remained the same. These spots were also on the back of the mattress but always on the outside cover. Nothing was inside any of the sheets or covers. She found a small group of the same stuff inside a dresser drawer in a far corner.
We are extremely puzzled what could be making this. They look like small poppy seeds, but some are black, some are dark brown and some are light brown and all the same size. Could this be bedbug excrement. It doesn't match up with the information I have been reading. The fabric itself looks untouched so I have ruled out a fabric eating insect. I am not sure what the fabric is. We live in Southeast Florida so we have very hot and humid weather. Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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respectablefish
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Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 6
Posted 6 months ago
Tue Sep 8 2009 10:25:57
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Last week 9/1/09 I woke up to 40 bites, all on both the sides of my torso only. For the previous few nights, before bites appeared, I'd wake to lots of peppery stuff in the bed, didn't think much at the time and brushed it off. When I woke the morning with the bites, I immedeitly shook sheets out and laundryed them. So evidence is gone. I did not carefully inspect sheets at the time. Here is my question, if it is bed bugs will there still be evidence of feces on the sheets after a laundry?
I have slept in my car the past few nights, too afraid of more bites.
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bgroovin
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Joined: Jan '10
Posts: 1
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Jan 26 2010 10:57:58
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I have been finding these droppings on my pillow and in my bed only where my upper body (shoulder , torso) is. They are squishy putty like. I am confused because it's there in the morning and I check back in the day and I find specks. Sometimes I find longer ones like in the picture. I have no bites but tend to feel slightly itchy prickly. Have yet to see any bugs except this on in pic. It's known there are cockroaches in this building but have yet to see one or trap one. I do find coffee type specks throughout apt and on kitchen counter but they keep coming during the day as well, after I clean. Same with the bed.....I clean it in the morning and later there are a few more. I am thinking these droppings are not bed bugs as I have found no blood or droppings anywhere in the mattress or in the rest of my sheets. Same droppings found on the yellow light bulb package and throughout the apt. Please help.
[IMG]http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/69/769/0/55/54/2093055540105317176fecPRu_th.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/75/75/4/39/24/2103439240105317176ZSmXLW_th.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://thumb16.webshots.net/t/76/76/8/84/79/2334884790105317176ajFhLb_th.jpg[/IMG]
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Hi,
The beetle pictured is a grain beetle of some variety known as a stored product pest, usually found in kitchen cupboards or places they can live of carbohydrates. Unless you are seeing them in significant numbers (more than 20) a good deep cleanse and clean of the area will usually suffice.
The items lifted in the sellotape look most likely to be dirt and artifacts and are 100% not BB related as are the things on the yellow box.
I am not sure what is causing the symptoms you are experiencing but from the images it is not likely to be bed bugs. Sometimes allergens can build up and just need a good spring clean.
Hope it helps.
David
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