Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
fecal specs pepper/poppy
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overdone
newbite
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 4
Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 1 2007 23:03:01
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I just wanted to know I have read that fecal specks are like pepper flakes or poppy seed size. Are they very hard? Do they crumble? I have found some long black speck but they crumble and also very hard round specks. Can someone help :)
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mrbill0626
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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 1 2007 23:33:37
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Overdone:
Most fecal specks I have seen are just blood spots on the bed sheet, nothing like what you're describing. Probably your best bet is to get an inspection by a PCO (exterminator), if you have not already done so. These are usually free. A PCO should be able to tell you what the specks are, if they are, indeed, fecal specks left by bed bugs.
Mr Bill
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 9:41:13
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Terrible news everyone.I guess I might have bb's after all. I found some black specks on my daughter's bed sheets.
and I put vaseline everywhere too. like overdone, I found some small round specks that looks like pepper flakes and are hard and then I found some long black hard specks as well. what are the long ones? It has to be from bb's right? I am deeply sad finding these evidence today. -
minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 9:54:29
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Actually now that I looked and rerviewed the bedbug pics and the fecal specks online, It doesn't really look like what I found. I found exactly what overdone found. Overdone- did you get any bites? along with finding these specks? I am very stressed out.
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pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:02:07
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mini - did you put them on a white paper or fabric surface & add water or peroxide? If they're fecal spots, you should see red bleed out.
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:03:05
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o cool I'm going to try that now. thanks
so what if it does then it means I have bb's AHHHhhhhhh -
pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:10:06
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I'm no expert but from what I've read & from a trusted PCO, it's a very good indication of bb's.
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:16:15
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hmmm. are you sure that method works? I just did it and nothing happened. I even tried to squish the black speck and there was no color run. it just kinda broke like charcoal. so what does that mean?
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pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:20:58
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I'd say that means they aren't from bb's... To be sure, I would try both peroxide & water (separately)...
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lieutenantdan
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 10:51:44
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overdone,
bedbugger.com sidebar does have images of fecal spots and images are all over the web. In my experience I have seen hard poppy seed specs and soft specs that smear and blood stains. -
minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 12:17:53
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I did try both. will bb specks contain blood ?? have you tried this?
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 12:20:17
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I'm finding like light brown poopy seeds like really light and non of them seem to contain blood. what's happening???
I went out and got myself a magnifying glass anyone know how their specks look under a magnifying glass? -
minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 12:23:31
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I just looked on the web on how fecal spots are supposed to look and I have never seen those examples on the mattress or sheets.
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pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 13:02:59
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They contain digested blood. I've tried the water & peroxide on a couple of pieces of dirt I found, but didn't see red... also haven't seen any blood spots on white sheets & bedclothing. But I'm itching like mad.
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Nov 2 2007 13:08:22
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are you itching because you have bites? my daughter never itched her supposed bb bites.
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mini, feces can look hard like poppy seeds (anywhere from black to red), and I'd call these fecal specks. Some are softer. Some are dark stains on the mattress, and I'd call these fecal stains or spots. Others may be using a different terminology.
I suspect the variance may have to do with the humidity and temperature in your home. People see wildly different things, all from bed bugs.
Blood stains on a mattress are a separate matter.
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minibughater
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Nov 3 2007 9:07:59
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ok so then will they stain if you try to pop it or if you put peroxide or water on it? I'm talking about specks
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pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Nov 3 2007 12:02:05
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Mini,
I've been told that putting peroxide or water on fecal stains, spots, & specks from bb's will bleed red, but nobugs & others will probably weigh in on this. Yes, I have bites that are itching. As you've no doubt read, people have varying degrees of allergic reactions to the bites. Bedbuggers, does anybody have experience with visible bites that don't itch??? I think it would, because my bites (tho not yet confirmed to be from bbs) have a very wide range of itchiness. The ones on my face haven't itched, and I think I've heard that before. -
mini--they should dissolve in time if soaked on a wet paper towel, making red or brown liquid around the edges. This does not always happen quickly.
please, yes. i have noted that was my experience too with facial bites.
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Bites44
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Nov 3 2007 17:41:27
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Pleasehelp:
The bites I have been getting are mostly small pin pricks, (and had one largish white weal,) and there is no itch at all. Maybe a flare-up for about 1 minute, then only the pin prick remains. -
pleasehelp
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Nov 3 2007 18:34:42
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Bites, I'd say that's the best kind of reaction to get - one that allows you to monitor their presence, but not too uncomfortable.
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Bites44
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Nov 3 2007 20:01:23
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Pleasehelp, yes, certainly lucky that way. I am really horrified when I see photos of people's bites. On the other hand I do want to know if I am getting bitten, that gives me some sign that they are still around. Yesterday while sitting on a sofa chair, I got a small white weal under my armpit. Itching just for about one-half minute. Now, uncertain whether that white bump was there before or not. This is a devil of a bug!
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mini,
It sounds likely that it is bed bugs. I have also seen the wet black ones that stain. These things vary and people see different things at different times, in different places.
I think you need a PCO to treat. Your daughter is probably being bitten if the specks are in her bed. She may not react right now, and she might or might not react in time. Although people of all sexes and ages can react, I often hear of men and children not reacting and women reacting. It's a common pattern.Do not go crazy cleaning if you're getting an inspection--let the PCO see the specks in the beds.
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minibughater
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Posts: 88
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Nov 5 2007 9:04:16
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but the specks are really hard and actually like a grey color or sometimes a very light brown. It is so weird. If the bb is getting a good feeding off my daughter shouldn't I be seeing blood stains and darker fecal specks? maybe I should post some pictures. I just don't understand what's going on. It's actually like the size of a grain of salt. not really poppy seed.
My husband thinks its pimples hahah a 3 yr old getting pimples because she sweats at night. anyways. still trying to slove this mystery
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hollybkln
newbite
Joined: Nov '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Nov 5 2007 14:43:14
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I'm going crazy with the same problem - I've been bitten since early
September, and have had 4 treatments, continuting to get bites as
of last week (just had a 5th treatment a few days ago). My
intital warnings were the bites and blood spots on the pillow but
the specks I've found have been black or brown and gritty, like sand,
and the ones I watered down didn't run. I've been anxious and depressed,
like many of you, so I certainly could have missed something, but this
uncertainty is torture. Over the course of about 8 weeks, I have
also seen 4 very tiny bugs, too tiny to ID when I had them, and then
my husband accidentally threw them out! Can anyone help figure this out?
I'm kind of disgusted at the thought of just having to wait for
more bugs to show up. -
Bites44
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Posts: 99
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Nov 5 2007 15:00:54
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Join the club, Holly. You are not alone, and we are with you. Hope things get better for you.
The nymphs can be very very tiny. While cleaning my BR, I rolled up a cover on my desk, very slowly, looking for them. Surprised 2 nymphs, these were clear, appeared to have no color, and they sped off very rapidly. I put my finger on each one, and could have missed. I was horrified on two counts. How small they are, if I had not been looking I would not ever have noticed them. Secondly, the rapidity of their movement. then I knew finally why it is so difficult to find them. And how difficlut eradication would be.Last night (I am still waiting for mattress covers to arrive) upon going to bed, as always, I looked under the pillow to check. there was nothing there. In the middle of the night, I had to get up, and looked under the pillow.
There was a small brown something, a little smaller than a flax seed. I didn't want it to get away, so I put my finger on it. Out came a dark liquid, and very little of the bug was left. It was certainly was a BB, perhaps an older nymph. I couldn't even save it as an ID.To date I have also found two very distinct cast skins, and I am getting bites, although my bites do not swell nor itch very much.
An Orkin man (PCO) advised me to catch one, so that they would ID, and then come and treat the house. I think it might be difficult to catch one if the infestation is still in the early stages. Perhaps I could sleep with a roll of scotch tape under the pillow.
I am going crazy too. As I sit here, I swear there is something crawling up the back of my neck.
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lieutenantdan
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Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,162
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Nov 5 2007 15:10:56
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minibughater,
Long black dried material could be mouse droppings. Try a google for images.
This bite detection is hard for most people including myself. -
minibughater
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Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 88
Posted 2 years ago
Mon Nov 5 2007 16:39:21
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lieutenantdan that's cute =). I know what mouse droppings look like since I also had a mice problem and can spot them and Id them from a mile away. (eww I hate mice) anyways the long specks I mentioned look almost like black thread but very very very small in size. and like holly I have been finding gritty sand like specks that are not exactly black at all. and when I try to break it down it just kind of crumbles like charcoal. very weird.
and holly-maybe what you or your husband found were pantry beetle larvaes. That is what I was finding around my daughter's mattress and mistook them for bb's. they are very very tiny and look fuzzy with light colored bands
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mini
The consistency (hard, wet, crumbly, sticky, staining) seems to depend on the climate in different regions or even in your house (some people's homes are dry, others are more humid). The dark one that crumbled could be from bed bugs. But none of us can say. Unfortunately, it is tricky.
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overdone
newbite
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 4
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Nov 6 2007 20:28:22
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Nobug
would an ento or pco be able to tell?
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