Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
I am afraid that I have bedbugs.
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alan bloom
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Joined: Feb '11
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 11:29:33
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i have seen bedbugs. They are supposed to be lots smaller about 1/4" or less. But they are visible over 1/2 inch long and 3/8" wide with brown shells compared with your phots. they look alike.
I found on window and bedroom walls. five of them at different times the past three months. I never saw them before.two questions?
1] Are they bedbugs?
2] How did they get into house? I have two cats.
I consider them bedbugs because I sprayed them with Hot Shot Spray Can: Bedbugs and Fleas from Home Depot. they responded. dead.
AB
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rAVENSFAN99
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 11:38:04
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First, anyone on here is going to ask for a photo before they can help you out with an ID on whatever's in your house.
Also, I believe it's unlikely (and someone with more knowledge than me can confirm) that your cats would bring them in from the outside. It's more likely that you would bring them in from the outside, unless your cats are hanging out a lot at movie theaters, shopping malls, etc.
Finally, about the spray. Little bugs are going to die when you spray stuff on them. Could have been a flea or a beetle or an ant.
Good luck. Hope you're BB free.
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spideyjg
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 15:56:20
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1/2 X 3/8" isn't going to be a BB. As Ravensfan said post a picture for an ID.
2 things to check. The antennae must be 4 segments. The short base counts as 1 so 3 long segments.
If not it cannot be a BB.It cannot have a split down the center, google elytra to see, and cannot have wings. If it has either it cannot be a BB.
Jim
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jrbtnyc
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 16:18:09
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Don't post here under your real name. If relatives, friends, employer, etc. see it there could be repercussions.
On one other thread nobugs, the website host, made this suggestion; and offered that she can retroactively change your onsite name (I think she said). But you need to make the change before search engines start picking any entries that are under your real name.
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alan bloom
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Joined: Feb '11
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 18:45:54
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jrbtnyc,
How do I change onsite name?
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anacreon
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 19:46:15
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Frenzy, paranoia, despair and worse--why?--because of a found seven foot sheepskin found in Brooklyn. Not thinking, a bit tipsy and totally unaware of the dimensions of this crisis, I saw a very nice large sheepskin throw rug tumbling down the sidewalk in the high wind of last night. My companion suggested i not pick it up--but, i like sheepskin and it seemed a nice washing would make it right. So I traipsed through various bars with this massive rolled sheepskin through the night. Someone brought up the "B" word and i put it down and had another drink inside. On my way out it looked so beautiful and i thought what are the chances that this was discarded for the reason of bedbug infestation? 10%, 20%... So, I decided to bring it to the apt and put it out on the fire escape (where it still sits). I woke up this morning and i had an itchy pimple-like lesion on my thumb (very tiny, about two millimeters). Another itchy red splotch on my arm.
Now come the rub, as the day has passed I've been feeling more itchy in a generalized way. I have had this feeling before when I've had what I construed as fleas, lice or mites. You can almost feel what you think is something crawling on you. I'm getting it on my scalp and my shoulder blades among other places. Could I have the dreaded curse or just another verminous one?
Can anyone recommend a prophylactic course of action given my scenario? What should i do about the accursed fleece hanging outside? What about my (still slightly) itchy self? How about the apt? Any rules of thumb or observations (Besides i write too much?)?
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 20:52:21
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I cannot change usernames. I can delete your account and you can start over but please stop posting with the current username if you are going to want to do this. You can email me here: http://Bedbugger.com/about/contact
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cilecto
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Joined: Aug '08
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 22:01:49
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Anacreon:
We can't definitively say what's "biting" you. BB, fleas, reaction to a different allergen, or the jitters...or if the sheepskin has anything to do with it.
That said, I'd bag, wash and dry what you wore out that night (drying is what kills BB, but you should probably wash, too, as you may have picked up some other irritant). Ditto for the sheepskin, if you plan on keeping it. This needs to be run through a dryer long enough for every last part of it -- the deepest recess -- to reach >125F. Likely not an easy feat without ruining it. It likely won't hurt you while on the fire escape. The BB (if any) probably can't pick up your scent from outside.
Next order of business is to read a comprehensie guide to inspecting and fighting BB. It's a little long, but easy. Please, please, please read it. You'll learn what BB look like (and what they don't look like), how they spread, how to inspect, what control techniques are effective and which to avoid. Please http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf Please.
Before BB, my wife an I were adventurous Craig's-Listers, Freecyclers, thrift-store-shoppers and trash-pile adopters. But things change. I'm saddened to see so much "good" stuff go in the landfill, but it's a new day and we need to adjust.
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cilecto
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Feb 19 2011 22:35:58
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Original Poster:
Does it look like this (but in the dimensions you described)?
http://www.ent.iastate.edu/images/hemiptera/stinkbug/brown_stink_bug_adult.jpgThe pic is of a stink bug. It seems a lot of BB related sites (even exterminators and branded products) mistakenly post these as pictures of BB.
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alan bloom
newbite
Joined: Feb '11
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 10:03:24
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cilecto - 11 hours ago »
Original Poster:
Does it look like this (but in the dimensions you described)?
http://www.ent.iastate.edu/images/hemiptera/stinkbug/brown_stink_bug_adult.jpg
The pic is of a stink bug. It seems a lot of BB related sites (even exterminators and branded products) mistakenly post these as pictures of BB.It looks very much like this. The most impression is its v shaped back.
it shows two antennas and 6 legs. therefore stink bug. is it harmless?Anyway, I sent last nite notice to delete my account. so far he has not done anything except getting new password for reset. maybe i should not be concerned about getting bb from others.
thanks for the picture. I wish I have camera with me so I can send you.
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your host
Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 10:56:39
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I have not received your email request to delete your account. Please resend it via the contact form or to nobugs at Bedbugger dot com.
In the meantime, please stop using this account and start a new one.
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anacreon
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 11:54:36
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Thanks Cilecto, you seem to have zoned right into the psychological manifestations of the thing. I'm about to do a wash of everything (and myself). I'm beginning to suspect fleas.....The sensation is similar to have but one or two follicular hairs on your body "sway" and this is the "crawling" sensation. Very localized--but creepy. To make the matters worse, I am sick with an undiagnosed GI complaint and have to consider if this (especially given that I had six drinks the night of my "discovery") might be contributing to my experience--i.e., it something systemic. The old expression: "One never knows--do one!" has a whole new meaning for me.
My wife (who is not at home) insists I cannot dry the sheep-skin. And although i haven't read the link you've sent yet, i'm surprised that a hot water wash wouldn't do the trick. If I left it outside the remainder of the winter would that kill them--or would they only become dormant? At any rate thank you for taking the time to respond. I assume you have conquered your "problem"?
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cilecto
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 13:43:49
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> it shows two antennas and 6 legs. therefore stink bug. is it harmless?
Most insects have 2 antennas and 6 legs. But if it's a stink bug, I think they don't bite humans, or hide in your bed, but give off an awful odor if "threatened" (perhaps if smashed). There's probably a Wikipedia article on it.
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cilecto
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 13:48:42
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Unless you have zero degrees F in the sun, for a week, would not count on the cold. Something this big could probably not fit in a residential dryer, but perhaps in one of those big ones some laundromats have.
Thanks for asking. I had a relatively easy time with my BB issue two years ago.
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anacreon
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Posted 2 years ago
Sun Feb 20 2011 14:12:57
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I'm beginning to doubt BB--seems more like a "contact allergen." Probably flea eggs or something i can't think of. Definitely handling causes some "itchiness" ( I just bagged it and am washing it at the local laundromat (hot cycle twice). But BBs don't reside on their hosts, right? They creep out in the dead of night or when driven by hunger, feed, retreat and [expletive deleted]--if i understand. Immediate reactions like mine seem to indicate another issue. Would anyone confirm or dispute this assertion?
I had similar reactions to a house we lived in upstate and to being in kennel (just visiting
last summer. I think I've been bitten by chiggers, spiders, gnats, midges and even lady bugs, but this strange 'skin crawling' sensation like very tiny static electrical charges is always related to a perceived intimacy with bugs who manifest in other ways that confirm their presence (and no, I am not having DTs--I hope :).
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