Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
Strange bed bug behavior? Or serious infestation?
(22 posts)-
bekalekah
junior member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 54
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 11:06:45
#
Login to Send PM
I keep reading here about people who never see their bugs, or who only find them at night with a flashlight. In our situation, we've seen more than a few.
A little background first.
My roommate acquired a mattress/box spring from a friend upon our moving in together in August. The friend had lived in a bedbug situation less than a year prior (which we found out later, after confronting her about the mattress), and said she thought they were only in her roommates room. She wasn't really sleeping or spending much time at home in the month or two leading up to her giving the mattress to my roommate, so it's possible they were dormant inside of the mattress.
My roommate also, upon moving in, promptly left town 2 days later for about a month. So now we're getting into September. No signs yet. In fact, she did not discover the bedbugs until late October. And they were just hanging out on the seam of her pillow. She pulled back the sheet to find more, and as the days went on she began to see them crawling around her room -- on the walls, the furniture, the floor -- with the lights on, in the late evening hours but by no means their pre-dawn feeding time.
The night of discovery, she killed the ones she saw, tossed the pillow, bagged up her bedding, opened the window, closed the door, and began sleeping on the couch (against my objections). We covered, then tossed the mattress/box spring about a week later, a few days before the first treatment. (The PCO that inspected said it was pretty bad.) We sealed the doors shut with tape since they were now homeless, and tried not to think about them retreating into the walls/floors. We still found some here and there when we would go in, but nothing like the activity we saw those first few days.
We were sprayed once about a month ago, and he said he was unable to flush any out, that it was a good sign. He did the whole apartment, not just her room, per my demands.
My roommate found another this weekend crawling on her while she was on her (new and encased) bed, again in the late evening. It was smallish, but my no means a nymph.
Neither of us ever got bitten with any frequency during this time, but maybe we are both non-reactive? I did have some suspicious bumps last week, a couple days before she found it in her room.
Since this all sounds abnormal compared to what I read on these forums, I'm wondering if this is just strange behavior or a sign of a larger problem? The theory that gets me through the days (and more importantly, the nights) is that we did get rid of the bulk of them with the mattress, and that the spraying killed most remaining active bugs, but some eggs hatched and that's what we found. Is there any good info out there regarding the behavior of dormant bed bugs becoming active? Is it possible that's what the frenzy was all about?
I'm calling to set up for our second appointment today, and we are being even more thorough this time in our preparations. But any insight would be appreciated.
-
bekalekah,
Look at it this way: you have bedbugs. Any number larger than zero is a problem. You can get rid of them, but you need to be extra cautious because neither of you reacts to the bites.
When people don't react, the population can build undetected until they are actually seen crawling around. Or, some people have said that in extremely well-sealed rooms (caulked, no cracks, etc.) they're easier to find since they have fewer places to hide. Flushing agents and treatments may also bring them out. Leaving a bedroom vacant for a period of time may also be little more than an invitation for them to go explore elsewhere.
The mistake you made was not getting a follow-up visit by the PCO after treatment. That's a big no-no. But now you are here and, while I would love to but can't say and you're safe, you're at least on the right track and have access to the right information.
Don't despair. You just need to kill every last one. And you can.
-
If I had to, I'd guess you and/or your roommate were being bit during those two months, at least the roommate when she returned. Many people do not react, and those who do have a variety of reactions. They also may have spread to the structure from the mattress when she was away and you were home.
Please get your treatment and follow up every 2 weeks until there are no signs or bugs. Since you both may not be allergic and may show no signs, I'd repeat a few times regardless. If you actually see a bug, many more are likely present. It is difficult to see even one. So I would assume you have an infestation that will take at least two and probably 3 or more treatments, spaced 2 weeks apart. Since the first was a month ago, I'd count the new treatment as #1.
-
bekalekah
junior member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 54
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 13:44:44
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks for the feedback.
When I saw my (possible) bites last week, and couldn't get ahold of property management, I called the exterminator company directly to ask what their protocol is for follow up:
"We don't come back unless you see them."
I spoke to property management this morning & made an appointment for this week, and explained that if we wait until we see them then the infestation continues to grow. She said she had no problem with scheduling follow ups two weeks apart. We'll see if this holds true.
But I am still curious about the activity of bedbugs coming out of a dormant state, if anybody has any info.
-
buggedoutinbaltimore
junior member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 55
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 13:59:53
#
Login to Send PM
bekalekah, would you like me to mail you some of my very dead and taped bugs? that way you'll have something to show the PCO and you can get treated. :) i'm sorry you're dealing with this.
we should begin a nationwide insect mailing campaign on behalf of those that are refused treatment without an insect to hold hostage. (i kid, of course).
-
currentinsomniac
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 121
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 14:25:48
#
Login to Send PM
BB's can go dormant for a myriad of reasons.....temperature....sensing undesireable chemicals...no food source around. There is questions of bed bugs being able to sense pyrethroids which are used in most of the pesticides currently being used on bed bugs. (Other insects can sense them, so I assume that BBs probably can as well). If this is the case, some may not handle the hunger and come anyways, exposing themselves to the poison. But I have read in more than one blog out there that people have found bed bugs that will just hang out in a dormant state until the chemical is no longer detected. So it is important to continue the sprays and use other methods to combat them (aka caulking, etc).
(BTW, there has been cases of BBs acting screwy/unnatual when exposed to some chemicals. I found a really interesting article about bedbugs in Africa going crazy after being exposed to DDT (which they have been using over there to help combat the mosquito/malaria problem) and aggressively attacking people in broad daylight.) -
I actually had a bed bug do something that they are not supposed to do. One night as I was laying on our futon(thrown out now) I observed a bb crawling up the wall starting from the baseboard. Curious as to where their nest was I decided to watch him. He crawled about a foot up the wall and then headed toward the head of the futon. Then he jumped!! Yes I said jumped over to the futon. PCO said it was probably due to the nerve poison that was sprayed a few weeks earlier. I just wanted to share my strange bed bug story. Thanks for listening!!
-
pleasehelp
member
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 301
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 16:09:59
#
Login to Send PM
OMG! How far did it jump, Angie?
-
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 16:17:44
#
Login to Send PM
Thanks so much for posting about seeing a bedbug jump from the wall over to the futon. Wow. Scary, but very interesting. I've seen bedbugs "fall" from the ceiling onto the bed. So even if people tell you that certain stories about bedbugs are only myths, if you've seen it with your own eyes, you know differntly.
-
It only jumped about 3-4 inches and it was the strangest thing I have ever seen. If you have seen a flea jump, that is how it looked only a bigger bug. I did realize later that the bug nest was actually in the futon. I know what I saw but no one at the exterminators believed me.
-
itchyincharmcity
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 262
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 17:45:16
#
Login to Send PM
May I play devil's advocate for a minute? Are you certain it's bedbugs?
Have you had an entomologist identify your bugs as BBs? Seen any other evidence of BBs such as fecal specks, blood spots, cast skins, etc? You say your bugs are exhibiting atypical behavior, running around during the day, and you don't get bit often. Maybe you don't react, but maybe you actually aren't being bitten.
I ask because I had a similar situation. Itchy bites occurred only twice and two weeks apart. I convinced myself that I had stopped reacting. I had visible bugs seen on the walls in broad daylight. The PCO identified them as immature BBs and treated accordingly.
But I sent some samples to Harvard and they turned out to be spider hatchlings. I and my PCO were both totally convinced I had bedbugs. But now that I am calm and bug free I look back and I have to admit that I probably didn't have BBs. During my cleanup I found one dead beetle of some kind and quite a number of insect larvae that I suspect may have been carpet beetles. That could have been what bit me.
I am not saying you don't have bedbugs; unfortunately, you probably do. That matress sounds like it was infested. I am just recommending that you document all your evidence and do everything you can to be 100% certain that it is actually bedbugs.
-
bekalekah
junior member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 54
Posted 1 year ago
Mon Dec 10 2007 20:50:28
#
Login to Send PM
Buggedout,
I don't think they require another sample for treatment, they just don't want to come back unless you see them. Obviously, I will be lying from now on. I just didn't know any better before.
Currentinsomniac,
Thanks for the info. Those African bedbugs sound wild! Mine are from Harlem, brought deep into the south of Brooklyn. Maybe that's why they're not afraid to come out face to face. Or face to... whatever they have.
Itchy,
I'm sure you went through the worst part of this, like so many others here, but you must have been relieved to find that you did not have bed bugs.
We did not have an entomologist ID the bugs, but the internet & our PCO did. The mattress was riddled with fecal specks and blood stains, & we found several cast skins (or as I like to call them, mini-heart attacks) when we got rid of the mattress. I am sure they are bedbugs, unless there is another insect out there that looks exactly like them. The ones we caught/killed the first time around were full grown, and even our recent catch is a young adult, so we're not trying to identify nymphs here.
Just to clarify, they aren't coming out in broad daylight, but late evening while we were still active and in most cases the lights were on.
And don't get me wrong. I do itch. All the time. Just not from actual bug bites. There's something crawling in my shirt/shoes/pants/hair as I type. At work, where I'm safe. Or so I think.... That would just be the worst. Any stories on here of people giving them to their coworkers? I sat in someone else's chair today, and as soon as I hit it I was alarmed at the notion of spreading them here. Amazing how this experience changes the way I look at every aspect of my life.
-
Hmm, well if they can jump 3-4 inches that would nullify some of the isolation moats we use. Mine must be the none-jumping variety as my 2" tape and vaseline moats have been effective, so far. Thank goodness. Jumping BBs would be too much for my fragile psyche at this point.
-
Angie: There has been indications that they will drop/glide. Was the distance straight across or was it more of a glide or drift from a higher elevation? You did say it jumped like a flea and my experience with fleas is they spring up in a parabolic arc.
-
It was about 1 inch above the edge of the futon so I guess it could have glided across, but I know what I saw and it was a bb. I have had the bugs checked out by the PCO and the pix on the internet are exactly alike. I also have been seeing more lately than I have been in the past month. Scary thought!! I found out yesterday that 2 or 3 apartments are going to be empty soon and they are also infested. I have talked to the tenants myself and spread the word. That can only mean one thing to me...FEEDING FRENZY!!! Sorry about the babbling, it's nice to talk to people that totally understand what these bugs do to a person!!
-
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Dec 11 2007 17:51:28
#
Login to Send PM
If the other apartments become empty, you are right that the bedbugs will stop by to dine at "your place"--but if you have DE or some residual pesticide around, you might kill end up killing MORE bedbugs than you would if the people in those units weren't being treated. So it might have a silver lining.
Do you think there ever was a "bedbug circus" like there used to be "flea circuses"? Yours and my bedbugs could qualify since ours seem relatively more athletic and less sedate than other people's bedbugs, huh? The "Flying Wallendas" of the bedbug world!
-
I have seen spiders leap like that but have heard bed bugs do not jump. They can fall as NotSoSnug relates.
-
Angie: I would say that if the elevation difference was only 1" it was a jump not a glide. I wonder if this is a change for a small population. Did you notice if the bug was the elongated looking BB or the rounder one, since there are different body shapes. Maybe they are acquiring this ability in your local population and it's not evident in all populations. I suggest you catch the next one you see jump if you can and keep it alive and hand it off to an entymologist that can confirm any adaptations such as jumping.
I think this is significant. If that jumping trait becomes an adaptation across a large population we have a bugger, err bigger problem that we used to.
-
The bb that I caught was the usual shape before a feed, nice and flat and fast! I am happy to hear that what I saw was not disreguarded as "it couldn't be a bb, they don't jump" because while my mental state is sleep deprived, I am not seeing things and I don't need a shrink. That was the only bb that I have ever seen that did that and since we have no furniture anymore, there is not elevations to jump to. All they have to do is walk to the nearest prey! I will talk to my PCO and let him know that the apartments will be empty soon and have them do the treatments because this place has already cost me pretty much everything I own plus $40 a week in laundry!! enough is enough!
-
I have seen the tiny ones "hop" short distances like fleas. I thought I was seeing things at first. It was confirmed when I watched this phenominom a second time, a separate occasion.They were small and elongated nymphs and in moist places. THESE WERE NOT FLEAS!
-
Also, my nymphs seemed more careless about being seen in daylight. I had (fingers crossed) a small infestation, but yet saw this "weird" behavior from nymphs only.
-
I take that back, just found that my jumping bb's are probably springtails. They were found outdoors(all our belongings are in trashbags in the backyard), makes sense and the image matches. Whew! But those BB nymphs did come out to crawl on my bed when the light was on in the evening (I wasn't in the bed, but I was working around it taping in hopes of catching them) and another time (a bigger nymph) came out of our fabric LR chair/sofa in the middle of the day. Again, we had a small infestation, we caught it early on, like, 6-8 weeks after the first eggs (or pregnant female BB) traveled into our home.
Reply
You must log in to post.
