Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
What if I don’t have bed bugs?
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Sobek
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
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Posted 5 years ago
Sun Jul 22 2007 23:48:00
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What if I don’t have bed bugs? It can be mosquitoes, sandflies, triatomine bugs or
harvest mites, fleas and biting flies. Any one of these things may be feasting on me.
How do I find out if it is not one of these demons attacking me while I innocently sleep?
Hey what if my friends dog gave me flees? Those fools will be dead in the morning.
Man I bet that mutt gave me flees, I’m sure of it. Acting like he only had an itch yesterday, but I noticed he was frantically scratching his tail when he thought nobody was looking. Ahhhh… how do I find out what it is? Please somebody help me with some information. I’m going out of my mind, its 04:31 in the morning and I cant sleep. My sleeping pattern is already messed up and its only been 2 days since I first felt an itch.
Yo if I have flees I’m gonna force my friend to give his a dog a flee bath and wash his house.
My clothing a bedding are going in the wash. I’m gonna go upstairs and check they are in fact bed bugs in my room. I haven’t seen them yet. But I wouldn’t be able to see the other bugs either because they carry similar nocturnal traits as the bed bugs. Yo it’s the night of the parasites making me all paranoid.Please tell me how to distinguish bed bugs from the many other parasitic bugs that are waiting for their pound of flesh (and blood), because the FAQ didn’t specify this.
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 0:30:11
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You had them before right? you'd kow if you had similar reactioins.
See this link, above, for a good pic of all stages. I THINK the maginification is a bit confusiong they are apple seed size plus a hair or two longer and bigger as adults.
also--if you stay in one thread for a while others will be able to find you more easily. this applies to all of us--especially ay first aye?
As you are a "new Bite" not yet in the Animal Science program (at Shetfeild) right? lets work on it in an orderly fashion. Or--you'll be in all sorts of forum rooms and everyone does not read all the catagories or follow everyone's story.
This makes for better answers faster.
Sound like a plan Mr flan? -
Sobek
newbite
Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 6offline
Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 1:44:15
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Ooops, Sorry… Ok I’ll make sure I don’t go overboard with future comments.
I have only had a few bits so far and I think my paranoia (which I coincidently acquired once I started searching bedbugs online) is blowing everything out of proportion. I feel itchy where I haven’t been bitten and once I look to see if I have been bitten the itchiness goes because there’s nothing there.
The university of Sheffield? Lol na I’m going to attend the University of Essex, closer to London, you know what they say (you can take the man out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the man). I’m too urban to go to Sheffield, Essex is only 30 minutes from London (give or take).
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 6,746online
Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 3:30:27
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To be sure its bed bugs look for the physical signs that they leave behind:
Trace fecal blood spots
Molten skin cases
Blood spots on sheets (not in all cases)In short search the area but do not remove anything from the room to avoid spreading the infestation to other rooms.
Depending upon what part of London you are in there is a higher chance that it is bed bugs than fleas or other biting insects. The UK does not have many biting insects although I did actually see my first mosquito of the season on Friday.
Good luck hunting.
David Cain
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk -
willow-the-wisp
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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 8:09:35
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Dear Sobek, look up formacation, you'll possibly see that this is what you are experiencing, in part: “the feeling your being bitten all the time by the bugs,†OK so you don’t have to look it up—that’s basically what it means. This formication is quite common with bed bug bites. But why? …
Is it an allergy to something in the bed bug exoskeleton (perhaps the chitin) or is it a systemic, histological immune response? Is it an allergy to the numbing fluids the bed bugs instills, before drawing out the blood? I don’t think anyone knows that yet, for sure.Some say it has ... (and I think this is at least partly true in many cases including mine) it has ... in part ... a psychological aspect to it too.
Many get the itchy scratchy feelings, and so we often think there are a lot more bed bugs than there really are. On the other hand, often, too, those who don’t react much or at all--often think they have less bugs than they actually have. This often causes stresses in relationships and we here one partner saying that the other is a loony-bird after a while.
Then we get the affected person saying the non-affected person is the real nut!Seriously, it can stress relationships, and so yes, no women visiting until you figure it out—and visa versa—You’d not want to give any bugs to any pretty girls either.
Cool baths and ice cubes on burning welts (if that is what you have) will help ease some of the itchiness and a good hydra ration cream will help reduce SOME of those “extra†itches. Hypoallergenic creams with little or no alcohol content would likely be the best choices. The fewer huge chemical names in the ingredients is usually the best too. (Hard to find that –these days.)
And … never do a hot shower—it often “brings bites up to the surface again.â€
See the FAQS on skin—a work in progress--and the care of it.Can you give us a detailed description of any physical skin symptoms you are having and see what comes back to you, as responses, about that, from this site? I may have covered it all just now however. So many people react so differently to the bugs and their wretched “exudatesâ€
Really, the more details we get, the more we can say about it all and perhaps we'll hit the nail on the head for you--or help you hit your own head with a nail--ok ok ok ok (just a small joke).
Laughing, you know, produces good chemicals in the body. As sad as all of this can be--since we so often feel such a lack of control, a good laugh now and then (and even a good cry—helps too).Willow
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 15:34:53
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Good post Willow.
The only thing I would add is in a past case I was able to get a bite type response from someone by placing a dessicated and long dead bed bug on the bank of someone hand. This would rule out bed bug fluids in this case and would point towards a hypersensitive response to chitin the material in exoskeletons. I would add that the person was also highly stressed by the infestation and prone to calling me on weekends and out of hours.
Chitin hypersensitivity is not a well researched area but there is at least a clinical test for it. The low tech solution to the test is to place a dead bed bug in the middle of a marked area and see for a response. I prefer the low tech solution as it also tests for potential psycho somatic reactions as well. Could this finally be a use for the bed bed bugs? They don't make good soup!
My summary is relax as much as possible and focus on the physical signs.
If the OP is on the East side of London it is where the worst problems currently are along with two vertical infestation lines on the edges of the financial district.
I had an odd conversation with a regular hotel client today who said they would be willing to acknowledge that they conduct a monthly bed bug screen to ensure all rooms are clear. Is there merit in having a list of bed bug aware places to stay? Its a small acorn but hopefully the mighty oaks of the hotel world will one day follow suit.
David
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willow-the-wisp
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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 16:22:19
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good post David--I'd add--it would save the mighty oak hotels money in the long run--we, moslty all know that--But we want them to come on here and see it! That's why we say it!
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Sobek
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Joined: Jul '07
Posts: 6offline
Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 20:03:02
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Ok… thanks for the information. Well I live in Kingston upon-Thames. So not east London and no where near the current break out of the bedbug problem.
My mum (who is a qualified radiologist in mammography and also experienced in midwifery and biological science) said the bites look like mosquito bites. Obviously I’m taking her words into consideration because she knows what she’s talking about. But I cant help but think, what if its bedbugs. Ok I’m not going to lie, for some reason bugs love my blood. When I went to Uganda to see my family I was eaten alive, but my sister brother and mom were chillin with no bites. In fact they slept without mosquito nets and I was still being bitten with my mosquito net (mosquito nets are crap, the young and smaller mosquitoes can pass through the holes with ease). Anyway I have received bites on my left leg near the ankle. From what I understand this is a characteristic trait of both flees and bedbugs (but not selectively seen in only these species).
My skin is rather sensitive, bruising very easily. My doctor said I have very high immunity for someone with asthma, but bites always last for days. Today I have seen the dog again (bobby is his name) and it’s a coincidence that I was bitten on my left leg and bobby tends to sit next to my left leg. Lol maybe I’m thinking too much into it.
Anyway I’ll start looking for telltale giveaways that may indicate my room is infested by bedbugs. So far I have tidied my whole room but nothing. I found a fly jus cruising around thinking it is gansta (acting like a pimp), maybe it bit me. Or could it of been a spider? Most spiders in England cant penetrate the skin, but the odd species can. However I wouldn’t consider that to be an option yet.I’ve read a lot of post talking about people moving out and changing rooms. But if bedbugs are so sensitive to light, why not sleep with the light on? It will be harder to get to sleep but at least you will have a bite free night. I don’t know if that’s what anyone has been doing.
Thanks again guys your posts were really informative, interesting and helpful. I’ll remember them for future reference.
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Anonymous
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Posted 5 years ago
Mon Jul 23 2007 20:14:15
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Leaving the light on will not give you a bite-free night.
Why not call in a PCO to inspect, Sobek? You either have them or you don't, and if you do, delaying treatment is not in your best interest.
Anyway, good luck.
Just one more thing, we don't know who comes here to browse and, well, let's assume it can be anyone, so you might reconsider some of the language! Just a friendly suggestion.
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oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 6,746online
Posted 5 years ago
Tue Jul 24 2007 4:09:42
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Hi,
Please focus on looking for the physical signs rather than the bites. Insect bites vary dramatically from person to person and I am not aware of anyone in the world who can positively identify the bites of any insect based on the skin reaction alone with the exception of fleas which invariably have a red dot in the center of the bite.
There seems to be a fair amount of activity in the Kingston area, mainly focused around KT2, KT3 and KT15 postal areas, I personally suspect the KT2 and KT3 cases are linked to public transport in the Kingston hill area but I am not about to get on a bus to test that theory.
If you need advice I am London based and free to chat with on the phone.
Regards,
David Cain
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk
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