Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
My home exposed to bed bugs; What to do now?
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alfred
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Sep 28 2009 16:17:22
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I am in need of bed bug advice. My story unfolds with some complexity. At first, I thought I had a skin rash instead of bed bug bites. I was also totally ignorant about how bed bugs migrate and how to deal with them.
I live in Sacramento, California. My father was a World War II refugee who is becoming quite elderly. He lives in Long Beach, California.
I stay at my father’s house in Long Beach in the same bedroom several times a year. For example, I stayed there for a week in July 2009. (No bed bugs ever.)
My father asked me to accompany him on a trip to the town where he was born in Belgium. We agreed to make the trip at the end of August 2009.
I flew to Long Beach to meet him for the trip to Belgium. I spent 3 days at his house before we departed for Belgium. (No bed bugs.)
We left for Belgium via Los Angeles International Airport on a non-stop flight to Paris. All of the checked luggage we had on the trip to Belgium belonged to me.
We stayed at only one hotel in Belgium on our whole trip and it was absolutely wonderful. No problems of any kind. (No bed bugs.)
We returned from Belgium to Los Angeles International Airport on a non-stop flight from Paris on Sept. 12.
I unpacked our checked luggage bags in the guest bedroom at my father’s house in Long Beach where I have always stayed. (I also kept the luggage bags in that same bedroom). The next day (Sept. 13) I woke up with what seemed to be a serious rash on my face and right hand.
The next day (Sept. 14) the rash seemed to spread to my left leg and left arm. I repacked my luggage bags and left for my home in Sacramento, and arrived home that evening. I started unpacking my bags in the living room and in a spare room (not our bedroom). I left the bags out half unpacked that night.
The next day (Sept. 15) I saw my doctor about my rash. My doctor diagnosed the rash as bug bites (bites in groups of three). My wife (who had not gone to Belgium) thought I brought home bed bugs inside my luggage from the hotel in Belgium. She vacuumed the insides of the luggage and put the luggage bags away in the closet of our spare room. We washed the bed clothes and pillows in hot water and dried them on high heat.
The next day (Sept. 16), when I woke up I had a poppy seed sized bed bug squashed on my hand and a few minor bites.
Later that day, I shook out the contents of a plastic bag I packed on the bed of the guest bedroom at my father’s house on Sept. 14 and found a bed bug the size of a poppy seed filled with blood. I shook the outside of a luggage bag from the trip to Belgium and found another poppy seed sized bed bug.
My wife and I again washed and dried our bedding on high heat.
I received a few minor bites on the night of Sept. 17.
We again washed and dried our bedding on high heat.
I have monitored the sheets carefully and since that time there have been no further signs of bed bugs on the sheets as of today (Sept. 28).
There were no bed bug bites since Sept. 17. But, yesterday (Sept. 27), I received a single bed bug bite. The itching started at about 5:00 pm.
(My father has had no problems. He washed and dried the bedding in the bedroom where I stayed on high heat. His bedroom is not located near the guest bedroom.)
I am convinced that the bed bugs arrived via the OUTSIDE of my checked luggage bags on the flight from Paris to Los Angeles. They probably hopped on from another traveler's infected luggage. Since I came to this realization, I have put the luggage bags in plastic bags with no pest strips sealed inside.
My question is what do I do now about my home in Sacramento? (Several rooms in my home have been exposed to bed bugs. And, yesterday I had one bed bug bite – but it’s not clear in what room I got the bite.)
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nervousaboutbedbugs
junior member
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 69
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Sep 28 2009 17:50:17
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With confirmed bed bugs in your home, it's definitely time to get a professional in. Research PCOs in your area and find one with experience in bed bugs to come do an inspection. Keep a sample of the bugs you're finding so the PCO can confirm it's a bed bug.
Your dad's home should also be checked. It's possible that he has bed bugs in the guest room that haven't made their way to his bedroom yet, or may not come out until the next time someone sleeps in there. It's also possible that they are in his room and he doesn't react to the bites so he doesn't know.
Good luck.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Sep 28 2009 19:10:02
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I don't know PCOs in the Sacramento area.
I can tell you that I used the Hydrex office closest to Long Beach (I think they are based in Long Beach) and was very pleased with them.
(I will warn you that the people I spoke to on the phone were often rude to me. I rent, so it was my landlord who hired them; I'm not sure if that was part of it. The people on the phone were also sometimes rude to their employees--I could hear them over the phone when the employees were on the phone with the office people. However, the phone people were polite to me when they thought I was my landlord, and the supervisor who came out to inspect my place was super nice and polite and helpful.) The Hydrex office based in Long Beach does offer thermal as a treatment option (or did as of last June) which may be the best option for your father as it doesn't involve a lot of prep--prep that I would imagine would be harder for an older person if health or mobility issues make that much laundry and furniture moving a challenge.
I might wait to call a PCO for him until you're 100% confirmed that the bugs you have are bed bugs. There are a few other closely related species that an entomologist or experienced PCO can exclude with inspection.
I will cross my fingers that he turns out to be bed bug free.
do keep in mind that we know it can take nine days after being bitten for the bites to appear on your skin, and that some people don't react to bites at all. For that reason, getting a pro in to inspect your dad's place is a priority.
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alfred
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Sep 29 2009 19:41:28
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I dropped off my bug samples this morning with a recommended bed bug experienced PCO. (An entomologist did not appear to be easy to locate here. ) The person who took the sample said someone would call me later in the day. I called at 4:30 pm to see what the status was. They said they would call me right back. They did not. I called again at 5:30 pm and the business was closed for the day.
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Yesterday I received a phone message from a man at the PCO. He said the bug was a book louse. He said I probably picked it up in Europe. He said it is “usually just a heating issue.” “If you decrease water” [or moisture] “in an environment, they will go away.”
BUT, THERE'S A PROBLEM...
I called the PCO back today and left a message. Here is the problem: All the documentation I have read says book lice never bite people. They are not blood feeders. My call to thr PCO was not returned today.
This PCO has a good reputation for battling bed bugs effectively. I believe they know what bed bugs look like. But, on the other hand, I think the PCO can’t identify the bug.
I will call them again tomorrow.
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MyWorstFear
member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 266
Posted 1 month ago
Thu Oct 1 2009 21:40:55
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I just want to tell you to keep looking. It's good that the PCO doesn't want to treat until he is sure that you actually do have bed bugs. Of course just because the bug you found was a book louse, it doesn't mean you can't have bed bugs too. Maybe get some of the monitors around your bed. What about calling in a bed bug dog? Did you also bring the squashed bugs to the PCO? Maybe you just have one lone bed bug that's still alive? If it's only one, and not a pregnant female, you will be a lot luckier than most of us, but it will be hard to find. Did you check the box spring on your bed?
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I called the PCO today. They said no bed bugs were found and maintained that only a book louse was identified. I pointed out that book lice don’t bite humans. They insisted that only a book louse was found.
I asked him to talk to their technician who is certified to examine bugs to see if the louse could be identified as another kind of louse.
They called me back to say that the technician told him that there were several inconclusive bug samples and one head of a book louse. He maintained that the book louse is the only thing that could be identified. He said I could collect some additional samples and bring them in for identification.
He said sometimes people can be allergic to being around book lice. I said I squashed a bug that was biting my hand. (The bug’s head was in my skin. I removed it with a tweezers) I told him that I squashed another bug that was full of blood. I told him I captured another complete bug that was part of the bug samples I gave them. All 3 bugs looked the same under my magnifying glass.
He insisted that the technician said there were no complete bugs.
I have the luggage bags from the trip in a locker in our garage. They are in sealed plastic bags with no pest strips inside. I vacuumed them before putting them in the plastic bags. But, it's not absolutely impossible that I might still be able to find a another dead bug inside one of them.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 2 2009 18:37:37
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alfred - 11 minutes ago »
I said I squashed a bug that was biting my hand. (The bug’s head was in my skin. I removed it with a tweezers)That thing was not a BB then. Ticks burrow their heads in the skin but BBs don't do that.
Jim
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Thank you for your thoughts on this.
None of the bugs I have look like the tick pictures I've seen.
The bug head was only superficially attached to my skin. It was not dug in. I did not intentionally kill the bug. I somehow I inadvertently squished it by turning over in my sleep.
But, I will be very happy if these bugs are ticks and not bed bugs.
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spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 2 2009 22:11:27
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Resist the urge to smash the bugs and just capture them for ID.
FWIW ticks or mites will have 8 legs and not 6.
Jim
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