Possibly found 1 bed bug, no bites, moving? what to do?!

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Possibly found 1 bed bug, no bites, moving? what to do?!

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scaredbedbug

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Apr 12 2011 11:16:25
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I'm sure everyone has had this question a million times before, but the panic is unbearable and I'm not sleeping (plus I'm a university student in medical school - can not afford to lose sleep!)

So while I was studying on my couch, this tiny little red bug crawled up on to the cushion. It was maybe a maximum of 3mm in length, very tiny, BRIGHT red, and kind of an oblong shape. It had a tiny pale yellow head and a bunch of legs near it's head. It moved pretty quick, but I was able to get it on to a piece of white paper and stare at it under a light. It was definitely bright red, not brown, and it was hard to tell if it was flat or not. Then I got grossed out and flushed it down the toilet.... then promptly realized I should have kept it

My question is if anyone knows what this might be? I'm praying it's not a bed bug.... my friend's apartment building just recently had an infestation and they're fumigating the lower half of it right now. I was over at that building on Friday too for a couple hours during a party and didn't know, but I was on one of the higher floors. I also have a cat, so I'm worried it might be lice, but he's not scratching at himself and my head isn't itchy either. I look it up on the internet and it could have passed as a tiny red louse.... or a 1st instar nymph. It did have the little black line on it's butt, but it was really really red, no brown at all. I don't think its a mite because I've seen those a lot before. This was slower than a mite and not as round or small. It was almost as red as a mite though.

Also, please note that it had crawled out on it's own on to the couch with direct light on it. Do bed bugs do this? I thought they hid in the dark and didn't just randomly crawl around?

I have turned my couch, mattress and rug upside down looking for signs of any more bugs and I've found nothing. No feces, no bed bugs, no shells, eggs, etc. And no other red bugs. I also can not find any bites on me or my cat.

Now generally I wouldn't be too concerned, I would just think: "Well, search up the signs of an infestation and see what happens. If you get bites or the cat starts scratching, call up the building manager and an exterminator." But here's the kicker... I'm moving to a new apartment building on May 7th. The last thing I want to do is bring bed bugs with me!! I could possibly delay moving until June 1st but that would suck very much. So should I tell my apartment building manager today and get the apartment fumigated without a definite idea of what that bug is? Do I wait to see if I get bites?

WHAT DO I DO?!
jrbtnyc

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Apr 12 2011 13:10:09
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From your description, did it look like this?

http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/please-id-this-bug-4#post-105322
scaredbedbug

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Apr 12 2011 13:22:54
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I think it might have been. Hindsight is tricky. I should have saved the darn thing.

I decided to play on the worst case scenario, and told my building manager and they're bringing in someone to inspect my apartment. I'm thinking of bringing in a canine unit.

If it is a bed bug, at least I found it in an early stage right? And I'm not being bitten yet... (and I'm sure I would be one of the people who react, I have serious reactions to bug bites generally)
buggybattler

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Posted 2 years ago
Wed Apr 13 2011 8:54:28
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If the bedbug was bright red with a yellow head (assuming it was a bed bug), that tells you that it had bitten someone recently. If you were the only one around, that means that you probably were bitten and the source of the blood meal.
Also, just because the bug you found was possibly a nymph, doesn't rule out that there are adults breeding in your couch.
When is your room getting inspected?
buggybattler

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Posted 2 years ago
Wed Apr 13 2011 8:57:25
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Of course, it could also just have been a single bedbug that you or a guest carried in. Do you have roommates? Do they have their own bedrooms which could be harboring bedbugs?