Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » General Topics
One live unfed adult BB found, no other evidence. Next steps?
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Bugsy Malone
newbite
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Fri Jan 20 2012 19:09:43
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Hi all, new here and have learned a lot from reading through this forum.
A bed bug crawled across our loveseat I was sitting on last night. From all of the photos and diagrams I've seen, this most definitely was an unfed adult bed bug. We've not had any other evidence of them but I'd be naive to think we only had the one....right?
We recently moved to San Francisco from Canada. We didn't have bugs in our last apartment BUT were keeping many items in a storage facility for over 2 years (which now has all been consolidated with everything else), and used a moving company that had 4 other shipments in its truck with our stuff, so it's always possible that we got infected and didn't know. Or our new place (in a 12-suite apartment building) could already have been infected. I've checked the bed bug registry but this building isn't showing up there. In any case, all of our stuff arrived to our new place two weeks ago and last night was the first sign - the one adult unfed bed bug.
We've checked the mattress in the bedroom, which is on an elevated wooden frame and doesn't have any rips or boxspring, and no evidence of bugs anywhere there. The mattress was in a plastic bag during the move. The only other soft furnishing item we really have is the foam loveseat in the living room, which wasn't wrapped during the move...is it possible to be contained there only? We also have no evidence of having being bitten.
We'd like to figure out the extent of the problem before alerting the landlord, who will obviously blame us for bringing in bugs and not endear us to our neighbours. Would a dog sniffer be worthwhile at this point? Any suggestions for next steps?
Thanks!
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BedBugSpecialist
newbite
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 6offline
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Jan 21 2012 19:02:31
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It is possible that the unit you moved into had a bed bug infestation and you just happen to not be allergic to the bites. Therefore, a good amount of time can pass before you happen to see a bed bug. I would notify the land lord to make sure that a surrounding unit(s) does not have an infestation that is branching out into your unit. I would also have a K-9 company do the inspection (K-9's are quicker and more accurate than a human inspection). Also, it is possible that you may have picked up bed bugs from any number of public places, or from a visiting friend. And, it is also possible that the bug you found is a lone male.
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Bugsy Malone
newbite
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 9 2012 20:18:03
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Hi, thanks for your reply.
Very soon after sighting the bed bug, I did get bites and they seemed to fit the description on this forum, especially the 3-bite pattern. I think I even woke up a couple of times to the sensation of being bitten. Never saw another bug but there was one small blood smear found on the bed and there were some kind of marks on one side of the bed nearest me, which could have been from bugs.
While waiting for the landlord's response (which never came), we encased the mattress, put ClimbUps under the bed legs and stashed a few of those fold-over sticky monitors in the loveseat, chair and a few other places. The biting stopped. I then dusted with diatomaceous earth throughout the apartment, paying special attention to the areas around the bed and loveseat.
Meanwhile however, we were getting pin prick "bites" during the day or evening while sitting in the living room. As with the first round of bites, my boyfriend didn't exhibit any evidence but I did. We both felt it but couldn't figure out how we were getting bitten while looking directly at our skin...there was never anything there! It was worst for me around the waistband of my pants and I ended up with tiny red pin pricks across my belly, sides, etc. But still no night bites and no other evidence of bugs (no markings, casts, eggs...nada!). One night we put a beige coloured sheet over the loveseat and sat there, hoping to catch something coming for us, regardless of size or colour. Not only didn't we see anything, we didn't feel anything either. Hm.
Then 2 days ago, I found a bug wandering very slowly across the bathroom floor...an adult carpet beetle! After coming back to this site and others, I figure out that the pin pricks we were getting are from their hairs, which likely are around the loving room and covering the loveseat.
Aside from my skin reactions, the only hard evidence we've had throughout this situation is 1 live adult bed bug and 1 live adult carpet beetle. So the theory I'm going with at the moment is that the mattress encasement and DE have taken care of the bed bugs, for the most part at least. Frankly, living with beetles isn't exactly a big worry compared with bed bugs but I'd like to think the DE will help them meet their end soon.
Even though there's been nothing in the ClimbUps or the stickies since starting 3 weeks ago, we'll keep using them. Another good round of cleaning and "anti-static"ing should eliminate the beetle hairs. Then fingers crossed...
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Bugsy Malone
newbite
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 3offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 9 2012 20:25:56
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Bugsy Malone - 3 minutes ago »
... which likely are around the loving room and covering the loveseat.
Oops, we're a happy couple and all but you know I meant living room, right! What a freudian...
BTW, our apartment floors are hard wood with only a couple of very small throw rugs we brought with us, so carpet beetles don't need actual carpeting to do their thing.
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oldtimer
Joined: Nov '11
Posts: 2,488offline
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 9 2012 20:50:54
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"3 bite pattern" is more of a wives tale or bed bug myth than a key identifier.
pb
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