Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
PHOTOS OF BLOOD SMEARS
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dawnsimonds2
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Aug 24 2007 12:35:23
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Does anyone have a photo of the blood 'smear' that results when a bed bug is crushed? I'd love to see what one looks like.
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your host
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Aug 24 2007 12:46:29
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Dawn, there's footage of it on the CBC video, when the woman is showing her bed encasement, she talks about crushing bugs in her sleep and shows a spot.
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dawnsimonds2
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Posted 4 years ago
Fri Aug 24 2007 14:36:41
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i took a look at those. those don't appear to be from crushed bugs at all. i read something about a streak or a 'smear' from crushing bugs. is anyone familiar with this? i think S mentioned she had a photo of a smear but never posted it. S?
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old timer
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 26 2007 21:12:42
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Hello Dawn,
I tried to answer your email about this but I am out of town and not able to send emails as I am not on my server.
It is very difficult to crush a bed bug in your sleep. Even if you do roll over on one it is not likely to kill it.
If you did crush one there would be no hard fast rule for what it would look like. After all, no two bed bugs would have the same amount of blood in them, nor would they be crushed in exactly the same way.
Sincerely,
Sean.
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wantmyskinback
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Aug 26 2007 23:27:41
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I was wondering about blood smears as well. Some people see streaks. Others blothces. But when I thought I had my infestation I saw droplets that were red and wet and perfectly round as if someone took an eye dropper and placed one single circlet on my sheet.
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bbto
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Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 27 2007 10:59:14
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quoting: <It is very difficult to crush a bed bug in your sleep. Even if you do roll over on one it is not likely to kill it.>
Sean- does this apply to 1st instars as well or are they more easy to crush? Thanks!
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old timer
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Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 27 2007 12:07:10
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Any instar right after it molts will be vulnerable as the exoskeleton has not yet fully hardened. For this reason the insects do not normally leave their harbourage until a couple of days after moulting.
An adult exoskeleton is harder than that of a nymphs.
Sean.
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dawnsimonds2
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Posted 4 years ago
Mon Aug 27 2007 12:07:52
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Sean,
So they can be droplets or smears but the bug would still be alive if you do crush it? That's the part I don't understand. In addition, how big would the mark be, roughly?
Finally, would you be more likely to crush a bug on the fitted sheet or the pillow than on the flat sheet?Thanks,
Dawn -
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Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 28 2007 17:12:48
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If the bed bug was not ruptured (squashed) there would be no mark. If it is squashed it would die.
If your bite did not coagulate (stop bleeding) right away then it is possible that you could see a streak, a drop, a blob, etc. and vary in size and shape depending upon how the blood made contact with the sheets.
There just isn't a hard fast rule on what it will look like.
Sean.
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dawnsimonds2
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Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 28 2007 19:16:26
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Hi Sean,
Now I'm thoroughly confused because you told me, and I quote "Most people do not continue to bleed after a bed bug has fed. If they do it is minute." and you told me that people who see blood on the bedsheets are not actually seeing blood from the wound but rather they are seeing fecal spots. This is why I assumed the blood would have to be from a crushed bug rather than from a wound. Can you please clarify for us?
Thanks,
Dawn -
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Posted 4 years ago
Tue Aug 28 2007 20:08:39
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Dawn,
I don't see where Sean said you were seeing fecal spots... -
old timer
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 10:09:35
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Dawn,
As I said in my email to you; bed bug bites do not normally continue to bleed after the bug has finished feeding. This is because the size of the feeding tube is very small and most people's blood coagulates quickly. For those that do not coagulate immediately the amount of blood that may leak out is minute.
Bed bug feces is digested blood. This is normally a darker red brown colour.
As I also told you, it is more likely that you are seeing a blood streak left over from a shaving nick, pimple, or other skin abrasion.
Sean.
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lieutenantdan
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Aug 29 2007 10:27:15
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OK, I will put my two cents in.
Back in October of 2006 I found a small bed bug probably second instar and it was about one inch under the end of my living room area rug, I used some blue 3M painters tape to trap. The bed bug immediately exploded into black digested blood goop and nothing that I could see with the naked eye was left to the bug. I have traped other larger adult bugs and they did not explode.
I believe that the bug that exploded had just a few hours earlier feasted on me or my wife or dog.Once I woke at 6AM and looked in the mirror to see a small spot of blood forming on my nose. My thoughts were and are that I had just got bitten. It freaked me out man.
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