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Ugh, Mosquitos.
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Emmm
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Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 219
Posted 4 months ago
Sun Jun 28 2009 16:31:13
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Last night I was sitting out on my porch with friends. One was slapping at his legs periodically and the other commented on seeing so many mosquitos. Very soon after I had two bites on one foot, one on the other.
The only reason I bring this up is to ask how do people NOT freak out when they have mosquito bites so soon after an infestation? We've had no surefire signs of anything for months-- MONTHS. Anything that COULD be anything very simply has another explanation. Truly, I've had no bites like my original ones since before our first treatment, and we've seen nothing, staying vigilant all the same. Things that could have also been bites are hopefully nothing, maybe flea bites (small welt, itches for a minute, disappears quickly). An all-clear from a bed bug dog (reputable company, but a new dog on the team, so I worry...) should have been cause for celebration, but I still worry and wonder.
So here I am with friends insisting I calm the heck down about these mosquito bites, even when I wonder if they really could be something. How does one get perspective and sort out what's real and what's not?
How does one decide enough is enough and chance going back to normal? I'm moving within a month, and my boyfriend's already decided he's going back to normal when we do. I need advice for how to believe we're really in the clear. And how to differentiate between mosquito bites and bed bug bites. :P
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natalie
newbite
Joined: May '09
Posts: 13
Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jun 30 2009 21:38:05
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I feel you. I'm going through this right now. I feel paranoid with every mosquito bite, pimple, etc. 6 weeks bed bug free and I still can't sleep.
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 164
Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jun 30 2009 21:54:40
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That just happened to me today! I was out in an outdoor bar last evening, around dusk time (and some time after that), enjoying the warm summer weather. There were mosquitoes (I flicked one off my arm!) all over the place- heck, they were lighting those bug candles to keep them away! Then why, even with knowing all of that information, do I have the stomach-turning paranoia when I see my legs, exposed, of course, to those bugs, covered in itchy bites?
I think it's the fear of not wanting to be oblivious again, in my case. Living with the bugs for a couple of months without realizing anything makes me paranoid that it will happen again. I just need to stop focusing on my skin, as hard as that is (especially during the summer months!), and keep an eye on my sleeping area for concrete signs.
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paulaw0919
oldtimer
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 1,013
Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jun 30 2009 23:11:25
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OutOutDarnBugs - 1 hour ago »
Living with the bugs for a couple of months without realizing anything makes me paranoid that it will happen again. I just need to stop focusing on my skin, as hard as that is (especially during the summer months!), and keep an eye on my sleeping area for concrete signs.I totally agree with your thoughts on what makes you worry of it happening again. "them possibly being back here one day and not realizing it for months." But what you said on keeping an eye on the sleeping area for concrete signs is dead on accurate and very wise imo.
Nicely stated OODB. -
Adele
senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 666
Posted 4 months ago
Tue Jun 30 2009 23:46:50
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I was walking my dogs in the very leafy and grassy park wtih a water fountain (mosquitos, huh?) last night and all of a sudden my arm started to itch and there were 2 huge itchy swollen lumps that were not there the whole day
good thing I knew they were mosquito bites 'cause they sure looked like bedbug bites!!!
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Fearful_and_Buggy
junior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 53
Posted 3 months ago
Mon Jul 20 2009 6:47:51
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Right now, there's an itchy spot on my ankle. I can't figure out what it is. I am leaning towards mosquito bite because of my "itch pattern". I scratch my bites pretty relentlessly, so I tend to rip them open and make them bleed.
I have a sample mosquito bite on my elbow and two or three sample bedbug bites. My bedbug bites tend to have a red circle around them that is almost uniformly raised. The red tends to stay there for a few hours or days. When I itch them, it takes a while for them to bleed and, if they do, they bleed in the center. They rarely flat-out hurt when I poke them.
My mosquito bites typically fade in color pretty quickly. Also, they bleed much more easily, in a flat, diffuse pattern. Also, they lymph a lot and hurt like hell after they scab over.
This is my non-scientific study. I'm sure I'll get more mosquito bites to keep testing it. :(
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DrFrank
junior member
Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 122
Posted 3 months ago
Mon Jul 20 2009 15:28:08
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Given the evidence that visual inspections by experts are unreliable, I don't think it's worth my time to even try. The most accurate means of detecting the bugs seems to be monitors, so I rely completely on them to tell me if I've got bed bugs.
I keep the bed isolated to maintain the validity of this technique, but without bites and without bugs in the monitors, I just have to remind myself that paranoia is a common response, so it's likely I'm being irrational.
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