Lynn::

My family and I found bed bugs in 5 different rooms in the Comfort Suites West of the Ashley in Charleston, South Carolina on Oct. 19,2009. I insisted that one of the desk clerks come to the first room and look at the bug and she confirmed that it was a bed bug, but the manager insisted that his hotel did not have bed bugs via another desk clerk. When I asked the other desk clerk to go check the rooms she refused. Even after my step-daughter was bitten.

Ashley::

The last couple of weeks, I have been waking up with really bad bites, and it’s getting worse. This morning I woke up with it covering my shoulder. It’s on my ankles, my wrists, and there is one on my knee. I checked my back, and there are a few there too. I know it’s not acne on my back either, I can tell the difference between a bite and a pimple. Plus the same marks are on my wrists and ankles.

I told my landlord about it, and he asked if he could check my bed. He didn’t tell me if he thought they were bedbugs but I thought about it after he left. Is that whats causing all these bites? I’ve never had a problem with them before and I’ve been in this apartment since March. It’s just recent.

K.Jean::

well…it looks like I have bedbugs…blahh..I have not found any or any blood spots… or dark spots. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the pattern and looks of bites. I am presently trying ALL the solutions. (hard to find bugs at 0400 when you need #4 reading magnifiers.) My specific question is about BOOKS. I am a serious bibliophile. and have literally 1,000’s…on the floor, against walls, two deep…and bookcases everywhere.
??????? HELP!!

Steph::

I just moved from an old apartment that was infested by bugs. We got sprayed a couple of days before we moved and were very diligent on having all the bedding, linens and clothing heated in the dryer and kept in secure tightly knotted plastic bags until moving day.

I had a nest on a sheet that was covering my box spring so I had put on rubber gloves, bundled up the blanket (being careful not to lose eggs or bugs) and put it in a garbage bag and immediately disposed of it. We have now lived in our new place for a month and a half and last week on monday I found a bug.

I had spent the weekend at a friend’s cabin so automatically my mom assumed that it came from there. We’ve been checking our beds, boxsprings, frames and baseboards every day multiple times but have seen no sign of nests. We hadn’t seen anything until last night, 9 days after the last one. It was not too far away from the place that I saw the first one on the wall by the baseboard.

I want to believe that it’s coming from below us crawling up through the crevices and cracks for electrical or between floors, but what if we had eggs on some of our stuff and they’re maturing now getting ready to nest in some place in, under or around the carpet?

I just bought a new bed too. Almost $2000 with taxes. I can’t afford to deal with this crap again. We bought mattress bags for both the boxspring and mattresses and I have my bed on plastic bed raisers (mostly for storage purposes) but now I hear that they don’t really like walking on plastic.

Tonight we’re buying sticky traps to see if there actually ARE any in our suite and if they’re moving around. I want to believe that it’s coming from the apartment below us, but even if we spoke to our landlord, its not like she’s going to go snoop around in their residence for us.

Having bed bugs is a situation that makes you feel so powerless. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it from happening.

michael::

what is the best remedy for bed bug bites. they itch like crazy and the cortizone cream barely helps me. what is the best cream i can get???

MICHELLE::

Hi i live in a 500 apt building the whole building is infested with bed bugs, help, help, help, i am going mad! I just brought new furniture and even every one on my floor has them in their place. I’m crying help. talk to building manger the saying us tenants are bring them bull

Reginald Breydin::

Here are some pictures of bedbug bites and how they progress. A very painful experience that can leave scars!

I can tell you that these bed bug bites are terrible! The bites are very disgusting and very sore. I use vinegar to clear up the bites and kill the bed bugs and believe that the vinegar keeps the bedbugs of your legs. I don’t drench myself with vinegar, I just rub it on the parts of my body (legs and arms) that seem to be bitten at night.

Nikki::

Hi,

My workplace is infested with bed bugs and I am constantly feeling sick and having nightmares of being in contact with bed bugs. Could you recommend in what I should do about this because its scary to have too handle mattresses, etc where bed bugs are hiding. I fear too bring them home to my family.

Nikki

Toni::

I live alone now. I noticed one day at work that i was itching very badly on my arms back and face. I’m thinking i must have woke up like that not noticing. The bites began to swell with the scratching and i had 60 of them. They did not ooze anything out.

Then i woke up again with them on my neck and face and one on the bottom of my foot which was agonizing. my husband saw a couple of bugs on the comforter. they were little and round. they looked red to me. i squished them and they were full of blood. i called the landlord and maintenance. they had someone check (ecolab) and we found one. It looked like some of the pics above, and so do my bites.

We however found only one and no traces of anymore. (mattress, bedding, ect.) He said it wasn’t bed bugs. I’m still getting bit though. They think they are spider bites. LOl i called a pharmacist about the itching. They recommended coraid cream and benidril cream. They both work! I use them both together and the bites are shrinking and disappearing not to mention the itching subsides.

They do have mattress covers that zip the whole bed in. they are specifically for bed bugs. They kill and stop them and saves your mattress and boxspring. you can find them on these bed bug sites and at JC Pennys. I’m getting one before it gets bad and i suggest you do too. they are a little spendy but my mattress was 1,100 $ so 90.00$ to save my bed and stop being bitten is excellent relief to me! and worth the money!

Nina::

I noticed my 4 month old son had 2 bright red round welts behind his ear this morning about 1/2 an inch apart and then a third red round welt on his chin. They didn’t look like they had actual bite marks in the middle though.

The bug bites were a little bit lighter in the center and also when I cleaned them with mild soap and water they were hard. They didn’t seem to be bothering him at all, even when I was washing them. They still look the same even 17 hours after I first noticed them.

Does anyone have any idea what they could be? I thought bed bugs but there isn’t the mark in the center like most of the pictures and like I said, he doesn’t seem to have any discomfort with them.

Janet::

My daughter just took people in overnight because their apartment had bed bugs and was being fumigated. These people slept over the house with pets and I’m wondering if there’s a chance that they could have brought the bed bugs in this house???

Michele::

I suspect we have bedbugs on our trailer (not at home), though I’ve found no evidence yet except for the 30 bites on me (none on my husband) that I acquired in one weekend. How have they got on to the trailer (neither of us have been near a hotel)?

Cari Sanders::

Regarding bedbugs: Diatomaceous earth also kills bed bugs. There are rather expensive mattress and boxspring covers that also trap and kill the bugs.

It takes up to eighteen months for them to die as they can live for 18 months without feeding. They love wood for all you waterbed users so that’s where they are living.

I had 50 or so bites on my legs and arms and found one single bedbug one that’s it. They are hard to see and the larvae ones just hatched are clear so you cant see them at all. It is recommended that you have someone come to your house for an entire year to spray but throwing everything away and using diatomaceous earth worked for me.

I have been free for over a month now and the eggs hatch after 1 to 2 weeks so spray for a little longer then that.

Bedbugs itch so bad you will scratch then until you bleed; i used a brush on mine that’s how bad they bothered me. Only a 3rd of the population shows signs of being bitten. I have done my research i searched site after site for days till i found out what i needed to know.

Good luck to all of you and one thing that helps is VACUUM, VACUUM, and carpet shampoo then spray your entire house like i did. My complex is infested but for me so far so good they haven’t returned yet :)

Cathy::

Hi There,

Just thought I’d update everyone. I was scared to death that I had brought the bedbugs to my mothers house because bite marks kept appearing on me 2 weeks after staying in the hotel. I finally went to a doctor who said I was either still getting bitten or was having an allergic reaction to the bites. She started me on a round of steroids and antihistamine and it stopped. I am so relieved!!!! The marks are still on me, but getting smaller and not itching. There is hope!!!

EB::

There are companies that sell a combo of Diatomaceous earth and pyrethrum that non toxically and naturally will kill bedbugs, their eggs and keep them from coming back. It works not via chemical agents, but through physically dehydrating the insect. To us it’s harmless (it’s even added to flour to prevent flour bugs), but to an insect it’s like shards of glass!!

Once you put it in all the nooks and crannies, it will remain there to continually kill them, until you sweep it up. But if it’s out of site and hidden away in cracks etc., then why would you even want to sweep it up. The ONLY precaution would be to wear a mask to protect your lungs. You should avoid breathing Diatomaceous Earth. But once it’s applied, it’s pretty heavy and shouldn’t get into the air like dust would. It pretty much stays put.

You MUST absolutely make sure you ONLY use “food grade” Diatomaceous earth, NOT the stuff that is heat treated that’s used for pool filters. If it’s heat treated or sold in a pool store and is not ‘food grade’, then it is very dangerous to ingest or breath in, PERIOD!! USE FOOD GRADE ONLY,NON HEAT TREATED! WITH THAT SAID…this stuff works like a charm for all kinds of insects, but especially well with bedbugs and fleas. It is even used internally to kill parasites in livestock and humans.

Monica Foreman::

This is our first encounter with bed bugs. I never knew what they were but had always heard the saying. Anyway, about 3 months ago, I started getting the worst mosquito bites. I had never had them before and they itched like crazy. They were also much bigger and lasted forever. Then, these bites started turning into little red bumps like the pictures shown here.

Right now my arms have little bumps, scabs, and scars from where I had been scratching. Needless to say, I have figured out that these were bed bugs. I finally realized that I only itched at night, in bed and not during the day.

My husband has not been bitten and we are sleeping in the same bed. We traced back to when I first started noticing the bites and it occurred around the same time my husband helped a friend move into a new place. This friend was moving because he had bed bugs and couldn’t get rid of them. Anyway, yesterday we took the mattress and box springs to the dump.

We finally put two and two together Sunday morning when my husband and I were brushing our teeth in the bathroom and I noticed this bug crawling around in his hair. We took it out and sure enough, it was a bed bug! EWW! So, our bedroom and closet are completely empty.

We have bagged all of our laundry and bedding and we are in the process of washing it. We are sleeping on a blowup mattress in the living room. I got down on my hands and knees and vacuumed the carpets and he steam cleaned them. We moved the dressers out to the garage. When we moved the dressers away from the wall, there were these black dots left on the wall. So gross.

I called Orkin today and they are going to come and give us an estimate. I’m glad other people are experiencing this because my mother thinks we are these awful dirty people, but we aren’t. I am scared though because I saw one bug come out from the socket in our bedroom and I am afraid our baby and two toddlers are going to be bitten eventually. I have inspected their rooms and have not seen anything.

What is funny is that months ago when I started getting the bites, my husband lifted up the mattress and vacuumed it all over and we never saw anything at that time. I am hoping this works but thanks for all of the tips. I am willing to try anything at this point.

Kathryn::

Jim,

How do people cope with bed bug bites. I have been dealing with bites now for three days. My doctor put me on all sorts of antibiotics itch stuff steroids for the inflammation and benadryl. Nothing seems to do anything. I don’t even want to leave my home. I live in Phoenix Arizona and I am at the point to where I am wearing long sleeves and pants and scarves to hide the bites when I do leave my home. This is unlike anything I have ever dealt with and again I am really trying to figure out how people cope with this problem. Which leads to my next question how long before the bites go away even with the treatment and a new bed?

Thanks Jim

iatemyteeth::

This is a more recent obsession. There is somewhat of a bedbug pandemic in the area of Brooklyn and Manhattan but I can definitely understand. The fear that is more than justifiable, is irrational to everyone else, I’m dealing with a diagnosis of OCD and retarded doctors (not really an oxymoron).

I’ve been staying awake at night picking away at balls of lint on anything fabric,and have slept on a vinyl couch after I decided to tear up the carpet in the main bedroom. I also began over washing clothing and bedding and scouring my skin, pretty much completely off, it doesn’t help that I am heavily tattooed and am having difficulty in determining whether the raised areas over my arms are a recurring allergic reaction from the pigment in the ink or bites.

I haven’t seen any of them in action, or found evidence other than the existing bites but I’m convinced I’ve come in contact with either scabies or bedbugs, not really sure how or when, which is even more terrifying, the avoidant behavior is getting progressively worse and I’m starting to withdraw from my dorming friends and public upholstery.

I’m too afraid to look at pictures of any actual infestation because it will definitely exacerbate the psycho schematic episodes. I apologize for the ramble, but the fact that something could be both internally and dermatologically destroying me is debilitating, I also work in an office and i have been coating my cubicle with an antimicrobial sanitizer, the janitor and I have become bffls, but to my colleagues I now look, not only like a psycho, but a kleptomaniac for the unexplained copious bottles sitting under my desk.

I’m surrounded by ignorant people in denial, including my roommate who likes drinking the thrift shop and my father, a brooklyn sanitation worker who believes he is indestructible until a proper diagnosis and a good CBT, this phobia is incurable.

clover::

I am being bitten in bed and my two favorite chairs. I can’t find bugs, there are not bites on my body where I feel the bite or sting. I tried raid and it stopped for less than a day. Now I use the personal clip on pest things and no more bites. Hate the smell of those clip on things. I want to get rid of the bed bugs but can’t find out what they are.

Cory::

Dear Bedbug man,

I have been waking up in the morning with bites for quite some time now. Sometimes I have the sensation of something crawling on me. I was doing some research on your page a couple of weeks ago and thought for sure it must be bedbugs. So (slightly freaking out) I stripped my (brand new) mattress, checked it over really well, washed all our bedding and the dog’s bedding in hot water, vacuumed my bed frame (also brand new) but I could NOT find any signs of bedbugs.

I’ve included pictures of the bites below, they include
1. Left breast
2. Left forearm (also have 5 bites on my upper arm, same side)
3. left hip
4. Back of right leg (from a previous attack)

No bugs or bug poop in the cording, or floor, or within the wooden slats of my bed frame. None in my side table, under the drawers, or behind the headboard. So I’m not sure what it is, but this morning I woke up with the worst case of bites so far.

What you think.

Thank you,
Cory

Wendy::

A few months ago I started noticing weird red bumps on my right hand and arm and I mentioned to my boyfriend that was happening and then I wake up today and they are everywhere, all over me and I itch all over!

Reading all of these experiences on here I think that I am right. We are moving in a few weeks and I am concerned and do not want to bring bed bugs with us. it might be bed bugs and he thought I was crazy. Well it kept weird little bumps on, not sure if they are bed bug bites or not…

Jim::

Hi Jo,

I doubt that with all the precautions you have taken, you managed to bring anything back; it sounds like you were on top of everything and even if one did manage to sneak a free plane ride, it wouldn’t cause that many bites.

A week is a bit long, but not unheard of, for a delayed reaction, so if you find new bites, then most likely, you are indeed being bitten by something.

Do you have any pictures of the bites?

Best regards,

Jim

tracy::

My friend is having me keep his cat while he gets exterminated? Will i end up with bed bugs?

Tiffany::

I live in Colorado.Until the last like 5 years, I haven’t heard, or had to DEAL with bed bugs. Now I have had to deal with them TOO much. In at least 4 of the last 6 places I’ve lived. Some worse than others. I don’t know if they like women’s blood better, or if women put out more carbon dioxide, but I’ve found that my fiance, and other men that have been around during these infestations, have either not gotten bitten at all, or very very little.

I don’t get it. All I know is that I’m SO TIRED OF THEM. I currently have them in my apartment now. I just killed 2 adults today. After they had already bit me of course. The landlord has had people come and spray, but I’ve lived here over a year and they’ve only sprayed 2 times. From what I know, you need to keep spraying. I don’t know.

I get so tired of walking around with bites that are visible, and having people ask me what they are. Since it is summer now, I just say that they are mosquito bites, but that wont last long. I just want them GONE. So I suppose I’ll do whatever I need to to try to get rid of them. I PRAY to GOD that it works. I know my fiance is also tired of hearing me complain about my bites, since it seems he doesn’t get bit. lol.

I’ll look more into what I can do myself in order to get rid of them. The professionals, I know, have a hard time getting rid of them, admittingly. I’m not a “dirty” person, but having them makes me feel dirty. The stigma that is associated with them, and when people overhear that I might or do have them. They look at me like I’m nasty, which I am not. Its not my fault that I have them. But I hope it IS in my control to get RID OF THEM.

Liz::

Hi Jim,

Our granddaughter, who has severe allergies–numbers off the charts–and severe excema, started manifesting these weird bumps about four weeks ago. She would arrive back at our house from her father’s scratching much more intensively than I had seen her doing before.

Here are some pictures and if you click on the picture, you will get a close up of the legs.

There would be clusters of little bumps and varying degrees of larger ones and some quite red and hot, some with peaks in them, some looking like a boil. They seem to run a course and eventually turn into just little flat purplish places, kind of like a scar.

She has the spots mostly on her legs, the worst ones, anyway and on her arms but none on her back and stomach. We wonder why they don’t show up on those areas if they are bed bug bites, but her spots sure look like many of the pictures on your site.

Is there some way to verify for certain what is biting her?

Liz in Indiana

8/28/09 – Update…

Turns out these weren’t bug bites at all, but a nasty Staph infection! A heavy duty barrage of antibiotics and other treatments ordered by the doc is making headway against it. This is nothing to fool around with as there is a high risk of MRSA–the bacteria resistant nasty stuff!! Liz

Stefany::

so i guess the mystery is NOT solved :( i went back to the doctor because was i MISERABLE even after eliminating the contact with the carpet beetles or whatever. they said that it was “odd” and they wanted to treat for scabies just to rule it out even tho they weren’t convinced that’s what it is. they said to use the cream treatment and bag everything for 2 days and if i still have new spots on Monday morning to call and get a referral for a dermatologist. SIGH. any other suggestions or ways to make this more comfortable would be greatly appreciated.

and TONI – you would have LOTS of bites. at least more than one. if you have just one it is probably a spider/mosquito bite

Ava::

Have you heard anything about the hotels in Montreal, specifically the Quality Hotel (midtown & Downtown),
If you know of a bug free hotel list that would be a great help in making reservations. Thanks

Jim::

Hi Stefany,

Have you gone through my bedbug checklist to see if there are any signs of bed bugs?

It’s hard to tell if those are bed bug bites or not, but they do resemble them. Without proof of bugs, it’s hard to tell.

Set your alarm clock for 4:00am and use a flashlight to check your area, they are most active during this time.

Once you find out what is biting, you can come up with a plan of attack!

Please, keep us posted on your efforts!

Thanks,

Jim

Stefany::

I have 20 plus lesions all over my legs and a couple on my arms. i thought they were mosquito bites because that’s what they look like and they itch like CRAZY. i have one on my elbow that has swollen and hardened the skin to almost 2 inches across.

On my thigh i have a long line, almost 3 inches long but it is one single bump, not lots of small ones. the big one on my elbow and a group of 4 the back of my calf has pus yellow/orange/clear liquid.

My mom and i have been sharing a bed for 5 days and she doesn’t have a single bite. any suggestions? I have included some pictures below:

I have tried Tylenol / benadryl / triple antibiotic ointment and nothing seems to help. the Tylenol takes the edge off the itch but nothing makes it go away – even for a short time

PLEASE HELP

Melinda::

Hi,

I woke up to find myself with these bites. Can you tell from the bug bite pictures below if they are bed bugs or something else?

Thanks,

Melinda

Adam Butterfly::

Here’s an update to my last post. I had asked the manager at the Inn for a new pillow since the pillow in my room was stained. I also asked if I could be compensated for the annoyance. He informed me that I would be defrauding the company I work for since the room is payed by them.

We just checked out of the hotel and he phoned me to inform me that the exterminator found nothing. He told me then that I brought a flea into the hotel with me. Because I am the first complaint ever. He blamed me. Ha ha. I guess making me stay quiet wasn’t an option for him. He’d rather lose a lot of business from us. Btw. What is the best way to stop the itching?

Stephanie::

A small heads up too, I had them at my old house pretty bad.

Spraying them with alcohol kills them on contact, but make sure you find their eggs and dispose of them.

Also, if you sleep with your mouth open at night, that gives you 4x the chance of getting bit due to their attraction to carbon dioxide.

Mokshi::

Hi,
I have just come to United States for my further studies. I never had allergy or any kind of skin problems. It took me months to figure out that all marks on my body were due to bugs and not any allergy to water or lotion. I cannot sleep at all because of this bites. I have to wear jeans and long sleeve tops as my legs look horrible with those marks.. I am mentally sick of this now…

michelle::

I had bed bugs in my house, so we sprayed and I still got bit. Then we sprayed again and by this time I moved into my mother-in-laws house because I couldn’t heal and they were driving me nuts!

I only took what was necessary and washed all my clothes in hot hot hot water, I went out of town last weekend and washed all my clothes again before I came back into the house. I haven’t got bit until this morning, but the bite is different, it has two bite holes in it.

Is this just a spider bite? Because all of my other bites are healing and I only got this one and its in my inner thigh.

Dawn M.::

FYI…. those bed bug covers for the mattress and box spring ONLY save your mattress & box spring but the bed bugs can and DO live in the creases of the plastic covers. I originally covered my son’s mattress & box spring with a cover that had plastic on the inside but had cloth on the outside.

It seemed to work but then 3 months later the bites started again. I looked and low and behold, they were there again. I then got the more expensive covers that were ALL plastic. Again, it seemed to work but then a couple months later, during a periodic check, I found 3 to 4 adult bugs living in the creases of the plastic boxsrping cover. Sigh. Again, I vaccumed and cleaned the mattress & boxspring covers then about 2 months later, I began getting bites.

I sleep on the couch. Staying awake one night, out came the bugs. Grrrr! I’m still fighting them and seem to be losing the battle. When I pulled apart my son’s bed about 10 days ago to put the DE, I foudn 1 adult bug on the carpet under the bed, no bugs on the cover but did see bug poop. I vaccumed & cleaned everything and put the DE everywhere. Sadly, they seem to be coming fast and furious in the living room. When I get my disability check on the 1st, I’, going to double my attack by purchasing a steamer and use it WITH the DE.

Knock on wood, I pray they stay away from my baby. My heart just breaks when I see the bites on his little arms and legs. :o( I wish and pray that somebody would come up with an easy, non expensive, nonpoisonous(I have 2 cats), sure fire way to kill these darn things quickly.

bilbob::

Those of you who have wood bed frames, I got rid of mine and purchased a metal bed frame. I also got rid of my mattress and put it in a mattress enclosure that’s bug proof, yes they do make them.

Buy fly paper, usually comes in a pack of 5. Unravel one pack, it does have a knack of curling back up, at the base of each bed frame leg and up about 2 or 3 inches, wrap each leg twice around making sure the overlap of fly paper is smoothed out and is sticking to each other. Do this on each remaining 3 legs of the bed frame. Check every couple of days to make sure fly paper is still sticking to the frame and not curling back up. The fly paper was designed to catch flies, small and large, it will catch and hold bed bugs.

As to the above comments, that bed bugs hate plastic and smooth metal surfaces, this is another reason to switch to a metal bed frame, but when starved for food the bed bugs will at least try to climb any surface. So far after two years I have had no bed bugs bites after years of suffering.

Hope this helps and good luck…

Amanda::

So I have a new significant other and about 2 weeks of staying there I noticed a few little red bumps that itched like crazy on my neck and a few on my fore arms. Well everyday since then they have seemed to have gotten worse. She has 3 kids and none of them nor her have ever had this issue before.

I am terrified that I am some circus freak! I have been to 2 different doctors and they just say its hives and give me steroids and anti itch stuff or tell me to take zertec. My significant other doesn’t seem to believe that these are bed bug bites but I know I am not imagining what I am seeing on here by the way of pictures and then comparing it to myself and they are identical.

I have never seen a bug in her bed or on the couch but then again i have never thoroughly looked either. I have yet ANOTHER doctor’s appointment for the dermatologist hopefully he can diagnose me correctly so that she will take whatever precautions she needs to to get them out of her house so that I can stay the night there again. I just want to stop looking like this and itching so flippin much!!

Taylor::

I know we’ve had bed bugs but I thought we’d narrowed down the problem and extinguished it for the most part. Then I bought a new sofa – brand new! I think it came with bugs of some sort. Anyone who stays up really late watching tv or spends hours on the sofa seems to get bit but I haven’t found one bug. I thought it might be an allergic reaction but it doesn’t seem so. I’ve discovered it could be itchy mites – maybe since the sofa was from the east coast. I don’t know but its embarrassing when its brand new furniture. Don’t give up the fight!

Tammy::

I moved Feb 15th from a condo apt upstairs to another one downstairs 3 months later i was noticing some bites but thought nothing of it till it formed into a rash. Thinking an allergic reaction to something but only on one side of my body until one morning i woke up at 4am feeling something crawling on me. I jumped up, got my flash light and low and behold there they were!

My room was infested with bed bugs! I had the apartment sprayed 3 times already and went through great expense throwing away bed, pillows, doctors visit, etc, etc.. This amounted to almost $1,000!

What rights do i have as a tenent to get my money back seeing as these bugs were here waiting for someone to move in. Now, i still have them and my kid is getting bit! arggh please respond ty

Jen::

My mom and I were outside weeding in the flower beds for about 2 hours. At the end of the day we both noticed that we had a few bug bites that were making us itch. The bites are on our back and stomach and a few on the upper arm.

The next morning we both agreed that we noticed new bumps/bites popping up and that they all had a hole in the center of the half inch red and swollen areas. My moms bites have turned into bruises and have been keeping her awake at night because of the itching. I am now experiencing soreness in my stomach muscles which I guess is from all the scratching?

We have been using Z extra which the pharmacist recommended and a solution of vinegar and baking soda. Seems that the vinegar and baking soda works better than the Z extra? No headaches or nausea though? Not sure what the heck got us but UGH are we miserable! Will check with the doctor Monday!

What a itchy fourth of July this has been.

Jen in Kentucky

tanya marie::

I live in pittsfield Massachusetts. i began itching and breaking out in a rash which appeared to be poison ivy or oak, i went to the emergency room, and they told me it was poison oak.

They obviously misdiagnosed me. two days later the “poison oak” started to turn into what appeared to be hives, i returned to the emergency room and they again misdiagnosed me and said i had hives. The next day several people that live in the seven floor building that i am currently residing in told me that the building was infested by bed bugs. I then returned to my apartment and looked at the box spring and seen BEDBUGS scattering.

I was eaten alive and the building did not warn any of us in the building that several other apartments were infested now our apartment is infested and we have to wait over a week for the exterminator, we are in federal housing and they refuse to pay for a place for us to stay while we wait.

Everyday that goes by the bed bugs are multiplying. i can not even find a anti itch cream or antihistamine that takes the itch away or that will even ease it am still covered up in itchy bites and welts.

Do Bed Bugs have wings?::

Hello!

I just discovered what I think are bed bugs, after having had mosquito-like bites popping up on my body, at random times every day, for about 2 months now. I couldn’t find any mosquito’s nor other insects, but after I’ve informed myself about these bed bugs, I started to look for them and found 3 this morning. I scanned them in and attached the pictures below.

Are these bed bugs? Do bed bugs have wings? At one point I crushed them, to see if there was any blood, but I could only see some creamy substance (insects blood) coming out of their bottoms. As you can see on the picture above.

Thanks in advance, and hopefully these pictures are helpful for the rest of you.

Good luck everybody!

Gijs

Wow, this is a great picture and you would think bed bugs at first glance except that it has full wings. Everything I’ve read states that bedbugs do have wings but that they are greatly reduced wings called hemelytra [Schuh and Slater 1995] and are greater in width than they are length with a rectangular appearance.

The wings that are half membranous, half hardened and have lost their original function through evolution. The tiny wings do not serve any purpose and can not be used for flight.

A good thing to! Imagine if a bed bug could fly into your home! There are bat bugs that can hitch a ride into your house, but they can’t do it themselves (see my section on bat bugs for details).

Exactly what these are I am not sure; hopefully someone can identify them.

Best regards,

Jim

cars::

Stamford motor lodge in stamford ct is the most rank, degenerate-run hellhole I have ever seen. After 2 minutes in a room (after we had already paid in our road delirium), we tried to get our money back, then were told they have a policy where you can’t get it back if more than 5 min has passed.

The conniving clerk gave us a ‘new’ room, which reeked of what I’m certain now were pesticides, and we left and took the 70 dollar loss. In our new, cleaner-ish la quinta hotel, we smashed a blood filled bud that crawled off of me and now I’m so grossed out and furious with myself for even setting foot in that nasty, mean spirited dump with mean, lying employees and a major bed bug infestation! Don’t stay there (why would one stay anywhere like that without thoroughly inspecting the bed!)

Jim::

Unknown,

Where were you staying? Did you take any pictures? Can you take some pictures and I’ll make sure to post them – perhaps once they are up on the site the management will have a different attitude!

Good luck!

unknown::

I’m currently staying at a hotel and have been here for a a little over two months, one night we saw bed bugs in our room. I went and talked to the front desk the next morning and they said they would move us into another room and after remodeling our room they would move us back into the same room. We moved that day.

The next morning I woke up with bed bug bites on my face, back, legs, stomach and ankles. They itched so bad :-( I have never had an itch like this before. I talked to the manager and showed him the bites. His response was i don’t understand how this happen and you’ve been here all this time.

We stayed in that room waiting for the the other room to be completed. In the mean time since being in the room they moved us to for almost a week, I was still getting bit by bedbugs every night. I went to the doctor who confirmed they were bed bug bites and I told this to the hotel management again and he said after the other room has been complete, he will have it inspected for bugs and then move us back into the room. In the meantime I’m still being bit by bugs every night.

Finally I decided to look for the bugs in the room since I had not seen them in there yet but have been waking up with new bites everyday. I raised the mattress and box spring of the bed and saw the bugs on the box spring. I then called the front desk and asked was the other room ready yet, I also asked the desk clerk to come upstairs so I could show her the bugs. She saw the bugs and went down stairs telling me to come get the key to the other room.

Then with a nasty attitude said the other room has been inspected and if you receive bites again there’s nothing else we can do for you. I asked to talk to the manager and he said with an attitude we have never had this happen and I can not extend your stay at the end of the week you have to leave. I was shocked at his reaction.

This was a horrible experience.

jeff and yvonne::

Yvonne gets small blister like bumps and red dot type bites that are driving her crazy with the itching. Do these sound like bed bug bites?

We are on the road all the time together as we drive a truck long-haul, the trouble with diagnosing whether it is bed bugs is she is the only one getting bitten and the only one with the small blisters and bites,, and the only one itching all the time.

If it is bed bugs why is she the only one being affected. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank-you.
Jeff and Yvonne

Susan::

Jim,
About 1 week ago I woke up at home with a cluster of bites on my stomach. Then I had some on my back and they keep popping up every day – I find some new ones. They don’t itch – the mostly hurt.

We moved into a new home with hardwood floors about 6 weeks ago and have no animals. We trimmed our trees outside and when I first saw these bites, thought they were spider bites. We had an exterminator come out and there are no signs of bed bugs – but he suggested mites or spiders.

Meanwhile, we did get rid of our bed set and are getting a new one. Ortho states that they have memory foam in their mattresses and that bed bugs don’t like the foam – is there any truth to this?

Also, if I’m not itching all that much – but the spots are red and continue to show up over time – do you think these could still be bedbugs? They are mostly on my left side around my stomach and mid back. Any help from you would be appreciated. Looking for an answer.

Susan

keisha::

I’m a home attendant and was at a client’s home over night. I sat and slept in a couch. One night i went home, took a shower, went to bed woke up itching like crazy. When i looked behind my arm i saw reddened area and a lot of other smaller bumps. i went to emergency they said it was allergic reaction to food.

So i went back to work not knowing that when i woke up the next morning the same thing now on my hands. any where i was exposed there were bites. i am so afraid that i have brought them home with me. My sister gets bites in her room she thinks its mosquitoes i just don’t know.