Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Detection / Identification of bed bugs
Possible BB problem - I could really use some advice :(
(4 posts)-
bluejello
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 2
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 18:56:27
#
Login to Send PM
Hi everyone, hope someone can advise me here!
I moved into a new flat about 3 weeks ago, which I share with a flatmate who was already living here. My room is furnished, and the bed is the same bed which the girl who owns the flat had been sleeping in for at least a year.
About 2 weeks ago, I developed about 20 red, extremely itchy welts, which were 1-2cm across - about a dozen on the back of my right thigh, another 4 or 5 on the side of my thigh, and 2 or 3 on the front of the opposite calf. I just assumed I had been bitten by a midge or an ant through my tights whilst sitting outside (I live in Scotland and we had a very mild September, although the weather is turning colder now).
However a few days later I developed a few more welts on my inner left thigh, same size and shape as the first ones. They were not in straight lines but in clusters. I would not always be aware of them immediately upon waking, but around the middle of the day I would feel an intense itch and scratch, only to find an angry, almost painfully itchy welt.
At this I began to suspect BBs in the back of my mind, so I washed all the bedlinen at 60C and tumbled dry on hot, bought a new duvet and pillows and borrowed my mum's steam cleaner, which I used to steam the mattress and wooden bedframe.
At no point have I seen a single live bug, egg, bloodstain (all my bedding AND the mattress are white and I inspected the whole bedframe and seams of the mattress) or shedding. I really began to think I was losing it in some kind of OCD freakout, especially as my flatmate and the previous inhabitant of the bed have never been bitten or shown signs of being bitten. I went through the room carefully, vacuuming the cream carpet multiple times and being really vigilant about not contaminating the bed or my clothing. However, a few days later - five more welts on my left shoulder blade, same as before.
What I don't understand is why BBs would not be biting my exposed skin, such as face, neck or forearms? I sleep in long pyjamas and long sleeve tops and all of my welts have been in areas which I keep covered at night - would BBs bite through bedclothes?
Anyway I have not had any new welts in almost a week, but I went ahead and ordered a Bed Bug Treatment Pack online, which contains 2 cans of Permethrin aerosol, 2 litre bottles of D-Phenothrin spray, 200gm Diatomaceous Earth, 2 x room foggers and a face mask and gloves. I am now wondering if I should treat at all, or wait and see if I develop any more welts? I am so unsure.
To complicate matters further, three nights ago I discovered that we have a mouse in our brand new kitchen :( which could have been running around the flat for who knows how long - so I began to doubt, and think maybe it could be bites from rodent fleas or mites?
BTW neither of us have any pets nor did the previous inhabitant - so I have ruled out fleas, plus none of the bites are around my ankles so don't really fit the flea M.O - About two years ago my former flatmate in another flat exposed us to cat fleas, and I am VERY allergic, came up in big red welts etc, I don't react well to bites at all.
I just don't know what to do - do I go ahead and self-treat with the chemicals I have already bought, or do I wait and see if the welts reoccur? Any advice that anyone can give would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance
Debbie
-
cilecto
senior member
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 515
Posted 1 month ago
Tue Oct 6 2009 21:38:46
#
Login to Send PM
Wow, sorry. You might be reacting to something other than BB. Or BB could be living in your clothes. Or your bites are happening outside your home. I'd be careful about treating. What kind of instruction came with your kit? And foggers are very controversial. Wonder who decided to make them part of the package and why? Please share more details with us and best of luck.
-
Debbie
Do not treat until you are sure about the source of the welts.
Treating blindly is not in your best interest.
The fact that you are unable to locate any physical evidence of bed bugs on white bedding is a huge red flag.
Be careful... Don't be tunnel visioned on bed bugs as a cause... Some mites prefer areas under clothing.
Here is a link to a university article on unidentified bites
http://citybugs.tamu.edu/FastSheets/Ent-1012.htmlThere are articles on mites / biting insects on the same website.
Check the links page... The Cornell IPM Guide has a list of biting pests to rule out on page ten.
Contact David Cain in London to order inexpensive passive monitors (BB Alert) to see if you can capture a bed bug specimen.
David and his staff may be able to assist you in locating appropriate resources in Scotland for further assistance or be able to provide guidance via email or on the phone to confirm or rule out bed bugs as a cause of your skin welts.
I suspect that you are dealing with a different source for your skin reactions... Just a gut feeling...
Do yourself a favor.. Wait to get a solid ID on the pest before you apply any pesticides in your home... Think twice about using a total release fogger in particular... It will coat many surfaces unnecessarily & it often complicates future treatment options.
-
bluejello
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 2
Posted 1 month ago
Wed Oct 7 2009 10:50:58
#
Login to Send PM
Hi, thank you both for your quick replies!
This is a link to the treatment pack I bought:
As I said, I haven't been bitten now for about a week, but I have read so many horror stories on the forums here of people not getting bitten, thinking they were in the clear etc - then finding out they were infested all along. I don't want to wait until the problem is really advanced, if it is bedbugs.
I am reluctant to share this info with my LL as there is no evidence that there is anything biting me at all, and my flatmate is welt-free - I just moved into the flat this month and I really don't want to rock the boat until I know for sure. I'm a student and there is no way I can afford a PCO out of my own pocket, just buying the treatment pack was a real financial stretch :(
Thank you for the advice about obtaining BB monitors to see if I can capture a specimen. I have already put each leg of the bed in a tupperware container and filled with oil, in fact since I did this last week I have had no welts at all - but I don't know if this is just coincidental.
Many thanks again
Debbie
Reply
You must log in to post.
