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Is it true?
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whatsbitingme
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 33offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 16:20:10
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That you must have been exposed to bed bugs in order to have Carpet Beetle Dermatitis? I thought I read that somewhere on here.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 16:39:48
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Erm, I don't know, but I don't think so.
We have boatloads of anecdotal evidence (I'm not sure that what I'm about to say has been confirmed by scientifically rigorous studies) that someone who has been exposed to bed bug bites and/or DE and/or chemical pesticides is likely to have skin that is more reactive to allergy triggers in general.
And I would guess that someone with more reactive skin is more likely to react to carpet beetle hair-like-thingies-I-can-never-remember-the-name-of .
But I don't recall being pointed to anything that said that exposure to bed bugs first was a requirement for reacting to carpet beetle thingies.
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 6,748offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 16:46:13
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Hi,
No that one is false.
It's possible to get braciating eurticaria for carpet beetle hairs without ever having been in the same room as bedbugs.
However it would appear to be true that exposure to bedbugs can increase the likelihood of having a reaction to their hairs.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
whatsbitingme
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 33offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 17:06:41
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Thank you! I appreciate all the information I get from everyone on here.
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PANewBugger
member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 264offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 17:37:10
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Whatsbitingme, are you having a reaction to carpet beetle hairs? If so, curious about your symptoms?? We had carpet beetles are our old place (plus bed bugs), and I'm wondering if some mystery marks on my body are a result of carpet beetle hairs that I may have brought with me.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 17:58:28
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David,
Does this mean that I can just call them carpet beetle hairs and be done with it? Because I cannot remember the actual name of them if they aren't hairs.
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whatsbitingme
newbite
Joined: May '11
Posts: 33offline
Posted 1 year ago
Tue May 24 2011 21:05:09
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PANewBugger,
We can't figure out what is going on. I started with a rash 3 weeks ago. Pin prick like red circle welts with whiteish hives surrounding all over my belly and lower back. Since then, that rash has cleared and now I have random bite like red circles on my arms/legs mostly (without the whiteish hives). They are not clustered close, usually two or three but spaced out by a few inches. This may sound weird, but I sometimes feel like I can pull a hair out of the middle of them sometimes when I scratch.
Couldn't find any evidence of bed bugs. We had Orkin out...they couldn't find anything. I've been using home-made climb ups and a C02 monitor...still nothing. We have only found carpet beetles, beetle larvae and grain beetles.
I started sleeping in the guest room a couple days ago since we have the monitor set up and I haven't been bitten. It seems like if I avoid that room, I avoid bites (or whatever it is). Now my kids each have one mark each. It seems to me if they got bit by bed bugs, there would be more bites. They were rolling around in that room the other night before I knew they were in there. The other thing about this particular room....our cats....they practically live under my bed and there was a ton of cat hair under there which I would think would make a breeding ground for carpet beetles.
I also feel like with as many bites as I have had, you would think I would have found something by now. But, I know this is common. I'm trying to wait it out. We are going to work on thoroughly cleaning that room this week and get an air filter. If that doesn't work, I'm going to hire a K9.
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PANewBugger
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Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 264offline
Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 25 2011 12:39:34
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WhatsBitinMe, thanks so much for sharing! I feel for you and your family, and hope that you soon discover what the problem is.
In our old place, we thought that we had a flea infestation, and a few weeks later, bed bugs were discovered. During treatments, the PCO also found carpet beetles. I thought that might explain the almost slice like marks I'd find on my chest area (sometimes around my neck and collarbone area, too, but mostly on my chest). My marks didn't look anything like yours, and mine would have a painful, burning sensation.
In our new place, I've found a few of the slice marks again. We had a K-9 team here several times (I know it's excessive but we're so paranoid now), and our place has been cleared (we also had 2 k-9 teams here day of move so they checked each box. We threw away all our furniture when we moved out of the infested place). I'm wondering if it's possible that some of my clothes, like my polar fleece that I like to sleep in, may have carpet beetle hairs in them (I washed everything at least 1-2 times and dried clothes 1-2 hours before packing them for our move). Anyway, I decided to throw the top away.
Regarding hiring K-9 teams, I know that some find them controversial, but I think if you find a team that's been properly trained, the handler and dog can bring you some peace of mind. Good luck - I hope that you don't have bed bugs and you find out what's causing this!
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