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Fecal stain on sheet or marker?
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egyptiannoor
newbite
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 2
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Mar 4 2009 17:14:44
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Ok, so a little background on the situation (so I don't seem absolutely neurotic). I was in Egypt for about a month and during my time there, I encountered bedbugs. Lots of them. I even found one of the little f***ers on me. Warned Mom before I headed home, both of us had a minor...ok, well, major freakout. There were threats of death and dismemberment. I did everything I could to avoid bringing them back (leaving all stuff in the garage for a few weeks, when it's been down to like -5F here lately, washing all clothes and running them through an industrial dryer for an hour and wrecking my shoes, etc). But I forgot to sterilize my laptop...D'oh! I brushed it with a stiff brush before it came in the house, but I didn't realize I need to heat or cool it.
So I've been watching like crazy for the signs. I've had two things crop up that seem a little scary. The first is 2 drops of blood on my bed that came off with saliva. Now, I still have the remains of the old bites and scratch in my sleep, and this was in the spot where my arms would have been, so I don't know. The second is the two marks on one of my pillows. This is a very old pillowcase and easily could have gotten nailed with a permanent marker, but I don't know if it's an old stain or a new one. Does it look like fecal matter??? It didn't come off when I put saliva on it or smear or anything, but it looks like it may have lightened ever so slightly (or I'm being incredibly paranoid).
http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss317/egyptiannoor/CIMG2212.jpg
Everything looks like a sign of bedbugs now! I checked my mattress and springbox and didn't find anything (well, except carcasses of nasty carpet bugs, silver fish, and wolf spiders under the bed...ew!) I've found what could be cases or could be bread crumbs all over the place.
Help help help! Please!
PS, I should note, the pillow has been put into isolation, in a vacuum bag (one of those space saver, bug resistant kinds?) I'm planning to get mattress casings before I move, but I really don't have the money right now.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,255
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Mar 4 2009 19:44:44
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I'm no entemologist, but it looks like marker to me. The bed bug fecal stains I had on my sheets were smaller and less even than that. Those look more perfectly circular, which (it seems to me) would be more typical of fabric coming into contact with something round and even, as opposed to bed bug poop which, like other poop, kind of gets squirted out.
The bed bug fecal markings I found were very, very dark black and much smaller spots than those look to be.
If you're looking for advice, remain cautious and keep inspecting so that if something does crop up, you'll spot it early, but don't allow anxiety to become so overwhelming that you jump at the sight of lint. (Easier to say than do, I know.)
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egyptiannoor
newbite
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 2
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Mar 4 2009 22:52:15
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Thank you so much. Because I'm not staying at my own house, the panic levels rise more ("what if I infested them", "what if I bring them to my home" kind of thing). All of the pictures I've seen are so magnified...What's the easiest way to tell without a magnifying glass?
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losingit
member
Joined: Nov '08
Posts: 292
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 10:18:40
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It looks like a marker or ball point pen stain. It also looks bluish?
I had a scare a while back similar to yours: I noticed a long thin darkish streak on the couch (where I spend far too much time, reading. No, really, I read non stop) and I freaked! Got the magnifier and squinted, stared, scraped at it, used a flashlight, every which way I could, my eyeball was practically touching the fabric.
I was sure it was poop but later in the afternoon with the sun now shining right on the couch, I see the streak is sorta blue. Blue? Oh, I also use my couch to write, and I remembered that I often jerk my pen accidentally against the couch, hence the stain. Mystery solved.
Keep your eyes open but don't panic.
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OutOutDarnBugs
member
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 166
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 10:50:20
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On this topic, does anyone HAVE a picture of fecal stains on a sheet? Both close(r) up, and farther away?
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