Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
Need help with identification
(5 posts)-
I recently stayed at a hotel that wasn't very clean. (I had no choice, since I was with a tour group.) There were a lot of roaches and I woke up the next morning with itchy welts on my legs and arms. I didn't think much of it at first since I was constantly near insects for the past week. I'm in China, studying in Shanghai for a few months and I was traveling in less developed parts of China.
When I got home, I didn't think much about the welts, thinking they'd recover in a few days. But then new welts appeared, prompting me to think that there was something biting me at night. I immediately thought bed bugs, but couldn't be sure. The good part is (if you can call it that), I found bugs under my bed sheet. They were very tiny, about 1mm in length and not visible unless you were specifically looking for something moving. I caught about 4 or 5 the first time.
Everything on my bed save the mattress itself were replaced. I checked every night before sleeping to see if they returned and after a couple of nights, they did indeed return. This time, everything including the mattress was replaced. By this time, I already read so much about bed bugs that I was hesitant to have stuff moved around the apartment, but it was the school administration's call.
Well, after a night, they're back again. At this point, I've gone a week without peaceful sleep and I'm constantly anxious at home (for example, it's 4:30 AM here in China and I'm still trying to figure out what these bugs are). I've been told professional exterminators aren't very prevalent here, so that only adds to my anxiety.
I'm really hoping someone here can give me a confident answer about these bugs. These pictures are the best I could muster. Taken with a 1:1 macro lens, I can't really do much more than that with what I have. The bugs might be a bit distorted because I caught them with tape. I personally think they look like bed bug nymphs, but I'm no expert and it could be my paranoia speaking. I was told they might be roaches at first, and then maybe mites.
If it helps, my welts primarily appear below my knee on my legs and below my elbow on my arms. Small ones have started appearing in the upper part of my arms and legs though, but only one or two. I also visited a doctor the other day and he wasn't sure if they were even bites.
PICTURES:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d19/diablo2189/mini-IMG_6144.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d19/diablo2189/mini-IMG_6149-1.jpg -
upagain
junior member
Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 164
Posted 1 month ago
Sat Oct 10 2009 16:04:36
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Pictures are not too clear so I am not 100%, but look like they could be book lice from second picture. Can;t really tell from first. Hopefully someone else has a better idea.
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Not sure about the first pic, but it's not BB related (probably a nymph of another insect)
Second pic: Psocids -
Thank you so much. I looked up psocids and they do indeed look like them. That's a relief.
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earthangel
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 28
Posted 1 month ago
Sun Oct 11 2009 11:11:01
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You've probably done this but - I'd look for local people to ask about what these are and what they do - I'd look for middle-aged women, on the starting assumption that women are usually in charge of the household and will maybe know about the available measures to take against a local pest.
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