Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
Please help me!
(7 posts)-
calirgr
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 3
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Sep 28 2009 19:35:37
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Last week I was staying at a hotel in the D.C. area and I woke up my second morning there with a horrible itch all over my head/scalp. It was confined mostly to just the hair on my scalp, not the front of my face/neck. The itch progressively got worse over the following days and after 3 days I started to feel what I thought was things moving in my hair during the daylight hours. I suspected head lice and I went to the doctor. My doctor told me I did not have lice and that all he could see was irritation on my scalp. He thought I might have dandruff but also suggested bed bugs since some people show no visible bites.
What sealed the deal for me was when I got home and started experiencing nausea at night. I have been waking up in the middle of the night randomly feeling nauseated and my itchiness is still pretty bad, but also still only confined to my scalp. I can't find any visible bites but I also can't look at my own scalp very well, and there are no other bites elsewhere on my body or irritation elsewhere. The worst areas are the sides of my scalp, down to my sideburns.
I haven't found any bed bugs, dead or alive, anywhere in my apartment. I did find what I think is fecal matter (on the side of my box spring), but I'm not sure if it is fecal matter or something else, like possible dry ear wax that displaced from my ear while sleeping on my side (ok, creative excuse but I really don't know). Because I haven't found any bed bugs yet and I don't have any visible bites, I have no idea what this is.. I wake up at night scratching my head, I have insomnia and I get nauseated randomly (but it always passes after 20-45 minutes). This screams of bed bugs to me, however, as I said before, no visible bites and I haven't actually seen a single bed bug despite searching my bed frame, bed, box spring, and ceiling.
I still feel like things are moving in my hair from time to time but I can't find anything so I don't know if it is flakes of my scalp being shed and this is just really bad dandruff, an allergic reaction to something (such as too much detergent in my pillow cases?), or something else. As I said before, I haven't found anything actually in my hair despite feeling like things are moving, and my doctor didn't see any lice or anything else in my hair or on my scalp either.
Can anyone at all help me? My doctor has no idea and I am going absolutely insane. I am about to get my apartment treated for bedbugs and I just want to know that this is what it is, I almost hope it is bedbugs so that I at least know for certain. However, I also have heard that bedbugs don't typically stay in your hair and I have felt like things are moving on my scalp at random different times over the past week. I only get nauseated at night when I wake up with it and I'm pretty sure allergic reactions don't cause nausea in the middle of the night...
Can anyone give any suggestions? Has anyone had this before???
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hathead
junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 46
Posted 1 month ago
Mon Sep 28 2009 22:05:10
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i'm no doctor
but there are many medical conditions which could present those symptoms
unless you are having some unusual bb's which like your hair
and you also happen to have an unusual allergic reaction (nausea)
both situations unusual
and both of them happening to you?
bb's seem kind of unlikelyi would keep an eye on things - other bites? physical evidence of bugs?
and if your symptoms continue i would find a doctor who is little more willing to run some tests to rule some things out -
Calirgr
Your narrative does not sound like bed bugs ... It could be another insect... You might consider consulting an experienced entomologist
Try utilizing some of the inexpensive passive monitors like Climb Up Insect Interceptor or BBAlert on your bed / furniture to see if you can capture a specimen before attempting any treatment or have a reliable K9 team screen your residence, if you need to confirm or rule out bed bugs as a source.
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calirgr
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 3
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Sep 29 2009 12:57:57
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Hello,
thank you very much for your replies. I know I said last night in my original post that I had not seen any actual bugs. Today I came home early and really combed my bedroom. I found a live bug of some sort that was hiding at the edge of the carpet next to the wall in my bedroom. I took a picture of it - I apologize for the quality but my camera isn't that good and it is a small bug. Can anyone tell me what this is - does it look like a bedbug to you? It does to me but I know nothing about entomology. I found another bug like this in my bedroom that was dead. It is brownish on top and white on the bottom/belly and it looks kind of hairy but that is probably just small legs. The direct link is:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RR2cP9-WThOGY9vl_kHHTQ?feat=directlink -
spideyjg
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 1,405
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Sep 29 2009 13:07:40
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Dermastid (carpet) beetle larvae.
Their hairs have caused skin reaction in some people. They do not bite.
Jim
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calirgr
newbite
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 3
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Sep 29 2009 13:26:41
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Jim: Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! I've found several other bugs just like this and I'm wondering if this is causing a skin reaction. Thank you again! And thanks to everyone else who responded, I am much obliged.
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senior member
Joined: May '07
Posts: 436
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Sep 29 2009 13:54:28
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Abso fragging loutley dammit! I'm weighing in with Spidey and would raise him a varied carpet beetle at that although it's a bit hard to be exact from the photo. As said it has caused itching. Vacuum especially around carpet edges. Then put down monitor traps and see if you can find the source. You may also have noticed small beetles around windows especially in the spring as the adult beetles are positively phototrophic, attracted to light. If found in numbers they are probably breeding somewhere in your home as in many peoples homes.
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