Becki::

Where do these bites occur on the body? Do they ever occur in the private (genital and rectal) area? Sorry if this is too graphic, but that’s the info I need to know. Thanks!

Linzee::

My son is 2yrs old and last night he woke up and he came running in the living room crying. I calmed him down and tried to rock him back to sleep but he kept rubbing his legs, I looked down and about freaked out he was covered in bites that looked just like mesquito bites. I thought that maybe they were, then I kept looking at him and noticed there were about 30 of them on his legs and inner thighs. I called my sister and she said that it might be spider bites so i hurried and ran to his room and searched the bed. Sure enough i found a little tiny baby redish/brownish looking spider when I went to catch it i accidentaly squashed it. I hardly touched it and it squashed so i couldnt really tell what kind it was then i looked over and i saw a little black hard bug(i had found a little black hard bug like this one in my hair the other night when i was brushing it) but i just threw it away i couldnt tell what it was….. and by the time i seen the little spider i had already made my mind up that he was bit by spiders.I rushed him to the hospital because he is only 2 and i had no idea what spider bites could do i had never been bite before. By the time we got to the hospital they went down alot they turned into more of a big red blob his entire leg was almost red. The doctor gave him some antibiotics and bendral after he gave him the medicine they completely went away then earlier today about 12hrs after it bite him they came back. but then there was some on his arms. But last night they werent any bites on his arms. I gave him so more of his medicine an d they went down again. Now its 1am and i just checked on him and there back, he is also running a small fever. There are a few on his face now. I dont know if there spider bites or not. The doctor at the hospital just figured they were spider bites since i did see that little baby one in his bed. But now after looking it up tonight i think that they could be bed bug bites. What do i do? it is driving me insane! Do bed bug bites go away and come back like that though. and then pop up in different places?…. Im so worried how seriouse are bed bugs? Ill take pictures of him and post them up. Thanks…

Jim::

Hi Shannon,

It’s most unfortunate to hear about your daughter’s bad reaction to bed bugs. When you visit the doctor, ask him or her to document the seriousness of being exposed to bedbugs.

I would hope that once her father sees what could happen with continued exposure, he’ll take the necessary steps to call an exterminator! Perhaps print out some of the information you find here and give it to him to read.

I also have some bedbug videos on this site he can watch to learn out them.

Good luck and keep us informed!

Jim.

Jim::

Hi Rosie,

It’s not that they are magnetized to your, but that you are reacting differently than other people being bitten by bed bugs. These bugs do love the carbon dioxide and the average person exhales 1kg per day, perhaps you exhale a bit more and it attacks them to you rather than another person.

I would take some time and check the beds at your work. Look between the seams of the mattress, under the tag and for mold looking spots. Also, how about the residents at the nursing home, do they have any bites? I’d just quietly look around and take note. If you find something, look for the bugs in the places I mention in my FAQ and if you find them, then document it as best you can.

Management should jump on getting this taken care of real fast if there is an issue, and they may also feel compelled to pay for your exterminator as well.

Good luck!

Jim.

Lynda::

Please help! I feel like I’m losing my mind. Two days ago I went to my parents house in the evening. I haven’t been there in years. I spoke to my brother who had been staying and who express to me that he has been bitten by bedbugs for quite some time now. He also showed me the bites all along him arms. I didn’t think much of it… until I got home.

Ohhhh my goodness….Once I got home I saw a bug crawling down the jacket I was wearing….I took a closer look to see what it was then without any further hesitation I killed it. I’ve confirm that it was indeed a bed bug….but how did it get to my house….I traveled on 2 buses from my parents house to my home…and I still carried it home with me.

That night I was scratching almost ever where apparently I had been bitten by the next morning I had bite marks all of my lower back and legs…I counted a total of 13 bites that look like mosquito bites. I started feeling like it was the begging 2 the end. I only found 1 bug….within minutes of my arrival home from my parents house.

What are the chances that there were more than one and how soon will my house become infested. I have all new furniture less than a month old…new mattress and everything…I only lived in my apartment for 3 months….I’d hate to throw my things out. I don’t have that type of money…I work so hard to buy my furniture….this is a nightmare. What am I going to do? Please help?!

I haven’t been able to sleep much….and I really paranoid. I’m going to wash all my bedding today and take some measures to prevent them….but this is already day number 3…..I had a delay in response…because I just wasn’t sure if I should panic, besides I only saw 1…but I scared. I have carpet…brown carpet at that…the same color as the bedbug, so how would I know if they’ve gotten in my apartment. How long does it take for your home to become infested with these horrible creatures?

By the way my skin is still itching but I don’t think its any new bites…just the bites I apparently received while visiting my parents. Should I be alarm? I don’t plan on visiting my parents home any time soon? I’m so upset about this. I’m not angry with them….I just don’t want to risk bring another one of those bugs 2 my house. Someone please…anyone…help me?

I haven’t stopped thinking about about the risk of my house being invaded…I’m horrified!

Mandy::

Hi everyone,

I woke up about five days ago with a cluster of red dots on my knee. They didn’t itch nor were they raised, but as the days went on, they developed into little blisters seemingly filled with water. I have noticed some little blood stains on the sheets, but never very many. Sounds like bed bugs to me, but my bites have never itched. Is it possible to have bed bug bites that don’t itch???

JM::

Hi there, i also have discovered bedbugs after myself and kids coming out in these terribly itchy bites. I got the pest control out and they discovered the nest under my sons bed in a spare cover. We had the whole house sprayed from top to bottom and the bites stopped occurring.

That was a couple of months ago and I’ve been checking regularly and now and then discover 1 or 2 that seem to be dead. I thought the problem was dealt with although on receiving my sons new bed this morning i was moving out his old bed and discovered a bed bug underneath. I thought it was dead and picked it up with tissue and discovered it was still moving. After freaking out i inspected the bed carefully and found another 5 or 6 bugs.

I called the pest control man and told him about my findings and he said not to worry as they can lay dormant and come out after treatment. As my home was sprayed with long term insecticides as the bugs come out of hiding they slowly die due to exposure of the chemicals. I have sprayed the bed with household insecticide and throwing it out. I plan to leave the plastic covering on the new mattress to stop infestation and if anymore appear they should die off and hopefully end this problem.

So now the plan is…..I* am currently washing all bedding and inspecting as i go along. The key is to keep on top of the problem and to regularly inspect everything. You think the problem is gone when they could be lying dormant waiting to be disturbed and reappear. So have your premises treated with long term insecticides by a professional and then keep on top of inspecting and laundering everything.

I’m still afraid of them :)

Rachel::

THANK YOU ALL and thank goodness for the internet, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have any other experiences to compare mine to! I live in Chicago and moved into a new apartment in October of 2007. Within a few weeks of moving in, I started receiving some itchy bites (not NEARLY as many as I have now….).

At first, I thought I had mites, then scabies, then fleas, then an allergic reaction to food or chemicals, then hives. (I had previously told the exterminator that comes monthly about my bites and he checked my mattress for bedbugs and didn’t see anything.) The pictures of my bites are below.

The reason I thought I had an allergic reaction to something was because my boyfriend who lives in NY has stayed with me for a few weeks at a time and didn’t receive any bites. A doctor friend of mine says that the case may be that I am healthier and bugs tend to feed on healthier beings. (My boyfriend is NOT a healthy person.)

Also, I am pretty sensitive–mosquitoes seem to love me and their bites usually swell up pretty large. The bites seem to be mostly located on my arms, hands, and shoulders, and sometimes I get a few on my legs and side of my face. Occasionally I wake up in the middle of the night with itching attacks…sometimes they itch in my dream and I wake up and the itching is SO intense.

When I went to a doctor because I thought I had scabies, he was just as puzzled as I was, but ended up prescribing me betamethasone valerate to relieve the itching. It works, but doesn’t get rid of the VERY unattractive bites.

Today I had a huge breakthrough and saw a bedbug walking across my sheet within ten minutes of getting out of bed! I quickly ran to get a small Tupperware and caught it. I called my maintenance man today, he checked the bug out, and indeed, it was a little bedbug. :o( I have noticed, as someone previously stated, that it cannot climb the sides of the Tupperware.

The maintenance man is coming back tomorrow morning to spray or something. I noticed on other bedbug sites that an area should be treated ten days after the first spraying – and chrissie, I am going to try the lavender oil–not only do I LOVE lavender, I love that they don’t like it. :o) I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight and have set up duct tape on the floor near the areas that I think they’re hiding. hopefully I find something.

I am sort of nervous about all of these pesticides being sprayed near where I sleep–should I be worried? I am sure that pesticides nowadays should be child-safe, but it still concerns me.

Also, I know I receive bites during the night, but some also seem to appear during the day. Are these additional reactions to the ones I received or could they be in my clothes or hair? I have never seen them on me, nor have heard of them living on humans…just wanted to inquire.

Scared Lady::

I found out two days ago that I was bitten by bed bugs. I had woke up one morning with a couple of “mosquitoes” bites that had swollen and were so red that I panic. I went to my own Doctor and she did not know what it was.

The second time it occurred i went to hospital and from there I was referred to dermatologist who told me what it was. I was shocked, embarrassed, devastated, scared and in a state of disbelief, well, I am still.

I researched all the information possible and went on a mission. I found 5 three adults and two lighter color. I started crying hysterical because I have two little girls (who never were bitten) only me of all in the house. I vacuum, cleaned everywhere, mattresses are gone but I still feel they are at the house.

I check the furniture and everything. Right now I am waiting to get a little bit of money to pay an exterminator to finish my job. They are so expensive. I am afraid to tell people, nobody knows. I am even afraid to tell the landlord.

Anne::

I have a question for anyone who can help. I have just discovered bed bugs in my apartment and am so freaked out by this. They have been here since I moved in and I didn’t even realize what is was, I have noticed little blood stains on my cream colored 500 thread count sheets since I moved to this apartment.

I actually had been blaming my boyfriend and thought he was scratching or picking pimples or something. My landlord is now blaming me and says that there is no way that they have been here, she has been here 20 years and never seen this!

Is it possible that they were here when I moved in?? I am fighting with the manager everyday and she expects me to pay for a bombing in the apartment, I refuse as I have never had this problem in my life. I need any advice that can be given, the apartments offer pest control services on a regular basis at no cost to the tenant, so why should I pay??

Could a neighbor have bed bugs and not know as I didn’t know for so long???

Help Me,

Anne

Debbie L::

Hello,

I ran across your website while researching some bites that I recently received while in the Mayan Riviera. I was hoping someone might be able to tell me what kind of bites these are and if they are caused by bed bugs.

The pictures of the bites below were taken approximately 5 days after I had been bitten.

We were in the Mayan Riviera from Feb 3 – 10. I went to bed on Sunday night and woke up with a bite under my right eye. Each morning it appeared that I had a few more nights…eventually reaching 60 bites in total on my legs, arms and face. On my one ankle there were 5 bites in a line.

The bites were very red, had what appeared to be a blister on the top of them and upon drying up they would ooze a little from the top. I never felt anything biting, they were not itchy at the start but towards the end of the week they began to itch.

There were mosquitoes at the resort so initially I thought they were mosquito bites but since arriving home I am beginning to wonder if it was not something like a bed bug?

Greatly Appreciate any help.

Debbie L.

Julie::

Not sure if i have bed bugs, do not see any, turned mattress checked all seams, board slats and changed bedding, but definitely getting bit and/or have a rash mostly on hand and wrist and extremely itchy although for me mosquito bites are extremely itching. I did see a huge misquito that I killed last week. I do have cats so wondering if i have fleas, but pretty cold out and my cats are indoor and I don’t see them scratching. Does anyone know, do bed bugs bite cats? Of course after reading this, I feel like i itch everywhere.

Jim::

Hi Tanya,

It is possible that you are not reacting to the bites like other people, but over time (a few months) your reaction will be much worse (Usually happens this way). Look for signs of bed bugs to make sure you’re not donating blood as you sleep!

Hello Charlene,
The key is to use a cover that zips up, this way, the entire mattress is sealed and the bedbugs inside (if there are any) won’t get out and will die, and the ones outside won’t be able to get in. Of course, you’ll want the room free from bed bugs first and zipping the mattress is the last step.

Regards,

Jim.

Tanya::

I hope this is not bed bugs but I wake up several times at night to feel a tiny sting. Sometimes I see a tiny red dot but most of the time there is nothing there. I feel these little bites on my arms legs back and neck. I don’t get any reaction to these bites. Also my husband doesn’t feel anything. Does this sound like bedbugs? Is it possible that I am able to feel them bite?

Gina::

My daughter came and showed me some bites about 10 days ago. I thought that they looked like mosquito bites, but it’s winter here. I really didn’t give it much thought until a few days after that. She came to me again and there were more. Again, never thought of bed bugs.

I didn’t know what they were. The next time she came, I started researching on the web. We haven’t found any bugs or evidence of them. But, her mattresses and frame are really old. The mattresses have definitely seen better days.

I sprayed down the mattresses with lice and bed bug spray. We washed the bedding, but I still have her sleep in her sister’s room on the top bunk bed. I have gotten up a couple times in the middle of the night to try and see the bugs, but haven’t seen anything.

No one else has any bites. I think I’ll get some sticky boards and try and catch the little nasties, if they’re present. After reading these posts, I think I will put the old mattresses in big bags and into the dumpster. They are ripped, so the bugs could be in there.

It sounds like this bed bug thing is going to be a nightmare.

Line::

Hi, i had my house sprayed three times for fleas but after reading all this information, I’m wondering if i could have bedbugs? my daughter and husband are the only ones getting bit and my daughter is covered and it looks like when she gets attacked it’s all at one spot?

How could i check the difference? i had seen the fleas before in my house but i’ve done everything and nothing is working. I always thought that because my daughter’s mattress is new that there would not be bed bugs in her bed and her bed is plastic.

Help.

Amanda::

I am staying at a mission.

I got bed bugs. My brother and I are the only ones being attacked. I know they are bed bugs because my father stepped on one and said “its a baby cockroach” It wasn’t because I looked up and found a picture of the exact bug.

He doesn’t believe me but I am printing six or seven pages with bed bug pictures and info to show him.

We are sick of them and if I get and infection I will be very disappointed.

Aldana::

I’m scared because I got bit by something (i’m almost sure it was @ school but i don’t know if it was a bed bug or something else) the bite is a red circle (VERY small red circle) and a little white head. Sort of like a pimple but not as swollen.

Please tell me what you know!! Should i tell my mom to take me to the doctor? Do you know any home remedies? I put neosporin on it and put a band-aid on it. Just as my friend and science teacher advised me. everyone tells me its not bad. What do u think??

Ronicca Whaley::

My Mom had had this weird possible bug bite on her back for months now. It has a hole in the middle of the bite. When you squeeze it worm like pus comes out, and of course, it hurts her.

There is always a mound of pus under the skin. When I put hydrogen peroxide on it, it does not bubble what so ever. We don t know what to do, it even hurts her to wear a bra. Help!

Doris::

In June 2008 we rented a beautiful condo in Fl, I started to see blood stains on the bed, this is your first sign of bed bugs. I’ve been exterminated 3 times in 6 weeks and continue to get bit, my husband is itchy but not bit, I’ve froze all our clothes 2 times, vacuum regularly and do the wash in hot water/hot dryer, many many times.

Can’t wait to move out of here,unsure if I’ll make it to June!!!!

I’m going to purchase an online repellent see if this helps.

Jim::

Hello Renee,

From what the California Department of Public Health Vector-Borne Disease Section says, a bed bug bite may not show for up to 14 days!

Everyone reacts differently to bed bug bites, but if a reaction does occur, it usually happens by late morning.

Great question and thanks for asking!

Jim.

Trina::

Oh my God!! Finally i am not the only one!!! I thought I was crazy!

I have been sleeping on the same mattress for three years now but in the last 6 months I have suffered from various bites on my arms ankles but most often my bottom!!! The only consolation I have so far is that they haven’t bitten my face.

I am black and they turn red at first then bruise if I scratch too hard. Black and blue bruises. I already have extremely sensitive skin i already use fragrance free and dye free soap and detergent, no perfume or fragranced lotion just to give you an idea of how sensitive I am!

I thought they were mosquito bites because i do have allergic reactions to them but soon realized they couldn’t be, because of the severity of the reaction and the # of bites(so, many) I just don’t know what to do. Then i thought they were Japanese beetles, (which look a lot like ladybugs), but they bite,because I did see a couple of those in my bed. Now I don’t see those anymore but I am still getting bitten they welt up, and come to a head with pus in them.

They itch worse than any bite i have ever experienced. My skin is becoming scarred up, been trying to use cocoa and shea butter to retone my skin.

At least I now know what is bitting me and how to kill these bedbugs. Thank you!

Jim::

Hello Susan,

The bedbugs are not going to come from not chancing the sheets, but if ever there is one in the area, they will gravitate towards his bed. We shed a lot of skin and excrete fluids as we sleep and bedbugs can detect that.

If you were to take that sheet and throw it into a room with hungry bedbugs, the bugs would be all over it (thinking that a food source must be near!).

I’d encourage him again to change his sheets!!

Good luck!

Jim.

VANA::

I think that I may have bed bugs at night while am asleep I feel something biting me whatever it is, is leaving my skin red. It is leaving a black mark on me after the bite. The bites itch like the dickens and I need to know how they look on black people.

Barb H.::

Maniana,

I worked in the medical records department a long time, had a terrible reaction to the the dust mites that love to hang out in file rooms. Also , i did get scabies but from a fellow employee in the file room. Yuckie !

Jim::

Hi June,

Make sure you use my bed bug checklist before you stay at a hotel! They would di in the microwave, no question about that, but if they just finished a feeding cycle, they will explode in the microwave and create a big mess, so I would advise not to microwave them.

They usually do not get in the books – check out my bed bug FAQ section to discover their favorite hiding places.

Using the hair dryer in that fashion may start a fire, however, most hair dryers have a safety feature that will shut it down when it gets too hot, so I don’t think that will work.

You can see bed bugs with your eye, so shaking the suitcase and visually inspecting it should do the trick.

Don’t scratch the bites! There are some great tips here on reducing the itch, check them out and go from there.

Most important, be aware – that checklist will save your skin :)

Best regards,

Jim.

Jim::

Hi Becky,

I would worry too! Bed bugs don’t like the light, so they will seek dark places. If they are on the person, say in the fold of their cloths or most likely, their briefcase or boxes, etc, the bug (it only takes one to make thousands in a matter on months!) could travel from the transport object to the closest dark area.

First thing I would do is help the bug infested person understand their problem but pointing out (in some nice way) the tips killing bed bugs I have posted on this site.

You can use some sticky tape around the edge of your office area and try to capture it – although one visitor pointed out that sticky tape doesn’t seem to work. If you try this, just make sure to get the tape made specifically for bugs.

I would check every day before I went home that I didn’t have any hitchhikers and if I did find bed bugs, I would bring it up to management, then write a letter reiterating your finding and concern.

If you end up bringing one home, you’ll have proof that it was most likely caused by an employee at work and the company may end up paying, especially if they didn’t act on your findings. Getting rid of bed bugs can be very costly!

Let us know what happens!

Sam::

lei’s picture reminds me of the bites i got earlier this year around knees and upper legs, upper arms, stomach and groin; according to the dermatologist, and confirmed by the vet, my cat had transferred his ear mites to me. i was itching and scratching in a frenzy, particularly at night and the single treatment of crotamiton creme followed by lotrix creme for 15 days cleared it up. i found this site today because I have started itching again!!! think it might be dust mites , the cats are ok. just got woolies and cords out of cupboard and wearing them since yesterday, they were washed before being put away, but i wonder if they might have picked something up during the hot humid summer months.

Fiona::

Bit of a strange question here. I’m in the act of attempting to identify a bed bug problem. Being bitten but not so often that I can confirm it yet. But one night out of one of the bites there was a yellowy-white thing sticking out…looked like a spear of rough skin. I’m wondering if this was an egg sack? I know that sounds stupid but I don’t know what it was as I don’t eat in my room or anything. Look at pictures though and egg flasks seem too rounded to be able to penetrate skin. Any thoughts/experiences with this? Many thanks xx

Cory from KY::

I wish I had taken pics, but at the time I didn’t know it was bed bugs. I found out after being treated for an allergic reaction. I washed my clothes because the Dr. said maybe it was my laundry soap… in that process I washed my sheets and there is where I found a lot of ‘fed’ bed bugs. I must have been there ‘dinning place’ for at least 1 week. A week after I found the bed bugs the Dr. done blood work because my knees, ankles and wrists we hurting and swollen. The blood work confirmed I now have LYME disease. No one wants to say it came from the bed bugs, but I am not convinced… I have been fighting Lyme now for 6 weeks… I hope that the dr. can fix my problem and that someone will conciser that it is possible that bed bugs now carry some blood diseases.

Jim::

Hi Jackie,

Bed bugs are not easy to get rid of and if you found them in the crack in the ceiling (which is one of their favorite hidding places), then chances are they are around your bed frame and other areas (see Bedbug Checklist above).

To answer your question: You may or may not react to their bites and the reaction may change from time to time but over the long haul, your body will become sensitive to their bites and you’ll start to react more severely.

Keep us posted!

Best regards,

Jim.

DEB KILDAU::

I went to California about 2 months ago. About 2 days after we came home I started to get this rash that really itched on the top of my legs and my stomach. I scratched them so bad that I have scabs. They started to spread all over my body. I now have them everywhere but my face and feet.

I have been to my regular doctor and a dermatologist and even to the hospital to try and find out what they are from. All the doctors just stare at them? And say I don’t know what it is but here is some cream for it. Which of course doesn’t work. Then I got a staph infection on my shins from scratching so much and they gave me meds for it. But that has gone away. I’m still getting new ones and the itching has gotten so bad that I could jump out of my skin.

I have tried every kind of itch cream that there is out there but nothing works. I have a hard time taking a shower because the water feels like acid on my skin. I can’t wear a coat or anything heavy because it makes me sweat and I itch more (and it was 23 degrees here to day). When I was with my in-laws today we were talking about it and someone said they heard that a lot of people were having trouble with bed bugs and that I should check my bedroom. My husband and I checked our bed tonight but didn’t really find anything that we could see.

Tomorrow I am going to take my room apart and see if I can find anything. Does this sound like anything that anyone else is experiencing? Especially with the water on there skin and the heat making it worse?

Natalie Bartrum::

A few months ago I let my son’s friend stay at our house for a couple a weeks. At the time he had this really nasty rash on his body, he said it was some kind of reacting to something. About a month or so after he left, my son started showing similar symptoms. A week went by and the rash spread uncontrollably all over his body. He couldn’t quit scratching, nothing helped.

I made him a Dr. appointment, the Dr. tells us it’s his nerves and prescribed him some kind of anxiety pill with antihistamine in it. We proceeded to take the medication as prescribed. Only his rash got really bad. So I took him back to the Dr. He said the same thing again. Only I made the Dr. prescribe him some kind of antibiotic cream.

After awhile it seemed to start to go away, but now my 2 year old daughter is now showing the same symptoms. Do we have bed bugs? I’ve looked for the signs that are mentioned but I don’t see anything what am I not doing right? I don’t have any photos believe me I wish I would of kept a diary of it all.

Terribly wrong::

I’m suffering the most from Bed Bugs! I slept on my grandmothers couch and when i woke up i was itching like crazy. now I’m just washing and putting ice on every single bump i have. The bites look horrible and i have to go to school everyday…. What i should do??

sissy::

We’ve been dealing with bedbugs for about a year now. I thought we got it beat. Havn’t seen a trace for about two months. we bought matress covers, emptied all the rooms, treated with boric acid, even patched and painted the walls,but tonight my son found one. In the couch. I just want to cry. This is becoming a full time job!

Jackie::

I just wanted to update and tell you all I haven’t seen a bed bug in more then 2 weeks now. I haven’t had a bite in weeks.

Don’t give up! you can win!

I hope i never see another bed bug again!

Julie::

Hi there…

Question on these bites…I didn’t find any evidence that these bites where caused from a bed bug. They are just peppered around my ankles and a few on my wrists. I noticed I was being bitten when I recently took the thick sleeping bag from the camper and used it…

I have now put it outside….freeze whatever was living in the sleeping bag, with the help from Wisconsin winters.

Yes, they itch something terrible, and find that I wake at night….wanting to itch them. Seems like I get new ones…

I noticed that this condo unit….sure does have a lot of spiders…
spider bites, spider mites, bed bugs or something else?

Please help….

bitten in Wisconsen

Tay::

Mine looks like a mosquto BITE and it kind of stings like sort of a bee but only when i touch it and feels tingley when i dont touch it and i only have one but i need to know what it is or hopefully was HELP PLEASE I WANT TO KNOW is a little bit redder than my skin BUT NOT a lot ans its pretty big thanks :)

Laura Coronado::

I got bite by something in a motel room on sat night in Fresno, California. in Oct. it started out like a lot of red ink spots then by Tues it started to bother me they got bigger and got pus in them. then by Fri it swelled my leg got 2 blood blisters and bites kinda look like a flea bite then they connected together now it looks like rigimortis set into my shin of the leg but still can feel my skin.

I have about 100 bites on the right leg and 10 on the left leg including the feet of both legs 2 bites on the stomach and 2 on the right arm. i have been bite by flea’s before but it doesn’t do this to me i went to the hosp. sat morning one week after i couldn’t take the burning pain anymore it was just really bad now its been 8 days and i still look like i have rigimortis in my shin and the bites are still there all it feels like now is an infection and small amount of pain the dr put me on anitbiotics and steroids but i don’t think it’s getting that much better.

What do you think i might of been bite by, bed bugs?

Kimberly::

My name is Kimberly I am 9 months Pregnant. I have been seriously bitten i thought first thought it was maybe Chicken pox then I thought it might have been measles. Then considering that I was Pregnant, I thought it might have been stress bumps the doctor says that Pregnant women get weird rashes. I started to get more man they itch like crazy i was going insane. I didn’t think bed bugs because i never had to go through with bed bugs before recently I was staying at my Boyfriends sisters house.

I used to sleep in the kids beds and barley getting bit but, I was getting to the point were I couldn’t walk upstairs so I had to sleep down stairs on the futon in the Kitchen. In the kitchen it was hot so i kept the door open for awhile and the next morning I woke up to find Mesquito bites they were fluidly like and I was itching like crazy again the bite had changed they didn’t look like Chicken poxs they looked like the mesquito bites. So i didn’t think so much about them and I was really thinking man I was really getting bit buy mesquitos. Well My boyfriends sister noticed that everyone was getting the same bites. She was sitting up stairs and noticed that there was a weird shaped bug on her bed she killed it. She had told someone about it and she said they are Light brown, flat shaped body, a small head, and they move real fast, that person told us that it was bed bugs man we kept looking there was nothing well they apartment complex sprayed there house for roaches a every 6 month thing the complex does and then they started to notice a lot of bug they moved the couches and there were tons of bugs eggs and left over shells .

They look like Sue #28 (Bites) and Sue#33 are the bugs man they are so nasty I now went to my house i was really careful about bringing something in the house well I went back to my house and now my Mother has spotted a bug she thinks it may have been a bed bug. Bed Bugs are a serious matter and very hard to get rid of u can use any spray they get stronger on a lot of sprays. They are every where you pretty much got to throw everything away and exterminate the house.

Wash all your cloths in hot water and Dry your shoes in a heated dryer. Well If anyone has any Ideas to let me know how i can get rid of the bed bugs in a way where i can afford it would be well appreciated thank you.

Ross::

I recently stayed at a hotel in West Yellowstone and received over 500 bites on my arms, legs, neck, and head.

I am now paying for this in the form of extermination fee’s and doctor fee’s. I’m not sure what else will come later.

If anyone knows how I can protect myself from other costs please let me know.

RM::

HELP!!!!! I lived in a new state and rented and had bites all over my body for many nights and my landlord had an exterminator come and inspect. He barely looked at the room and bed when he said you don’t have bedbugs. Then he sprayed for regular bugs. I asked why i had been bitten and he said i don’t know but its not bed bugs. I kept getting bites. Now I have moved away out of state to a new place. I did not bring my furniture, I sleep on an air mattress, I have washed and dried all of my clothes and inspected everything.

After 4 days of living in new place i have bites again, i searched and found possible white eggs in a cluster on the bedroom wall baseboard. I wiped them off with a paper towel and they came off easily. I flushed them. These are my questions ans please answer them as bedbug person because i notice that you answer some questions but not all of them. PLEASE help!!! I appreciate it.

My questions are
1) Can the eggs come off that easily and what size are the eggs?

2) at what point of not getting bit will one know that they got rid of bedbugs?? How long of not being bit?

3) are there any pictures anywhere of what the nymphs look like with the naked eyes and not enlarged 100 times? DO bedbugs leave little dots of brown or black lint looking things on the sheets and if so, do they always have blood or do they sometimes not?

Thank you so much and I look forward to the answers.

Dana in AL::

I initially got on this site looking for pics of spider bites for my husband, he has one on his inner thigh, and we were trying to identify what it was that bit him. Then I happened upon the bed bug link and here is my story.

Back in Feb 07, my husband and I bought a box springs from a local thrift store. Ours was one of those cheap ones, and had been broken for a while. We did not think much about it, since we would not be directly sleeping on it. It was not long before I was covered in little bumps. All over my arms, legs, hands, anything that was not covered by clothes. I would have literally hundreds at a time. I was pregnant, so I went to the doctor and she told me it was a “crazy pregnancy rash” that would go away after the baby was born. She gave me a prescription for a topical cream to relieve the itching. I had so many of them, that it took almost the whole tube to cover them all.

The end of April, I went into premature labor (2 full months of itching…with no idea what was causing it) While I was in the hospital, they put me on antibiotics and several other meds to try and stop the labor, and the bumps went away. I thought it was because of the antibiotics, but now I realize that I was sleeping in a “clean” bed.

My baby came early, at 27 weeks, so after 2 weeks in the hospital, I went home. Woke up the next morning with about 20-30 bites on my arms/legs. I would wake up daily with more “bumps”. Not knowing what it was, we tried changing laundry detergent, soap, everything I could think of. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something.

When I went back to my doctor for my 6 week checkup, I showed them to her and she put me on steroids. The bumps went away, the itching stopped. It was like magic. Then, after the 14 day round of steroids, they came back. I called my doctor, and she phoned me a different type of steroid, and set me up an appt with a dermatologist. It was July before I could see the derm, so by this point, I had been itching like crazy for 5 months.

When I saw the derm, she took several vials of blood – to check for any kind of infection, then determined – in her expert opinion – that I had an old fashioned case of the ‘hives’. Since I am nursing my daughter, there was very few meds I could take, so she put me on some antihistamines to try and do whatever, and told me that basically I had to deal with it.

About 2 weeks later, around the first of August, my husband (he had been in the same bed as me the entire time, and never had any on him at all) anyway, he woke up with a bug on his hand, we stripped all the sheets off the bed, and raised up the mattress and box springs.

Inside, there were literally hundreds of bed bugs. All different sizes. He threw both the mattress and box springs in the back yard to burn. We started sleeping in the LR. The next day I started doing research online and determined for myself they were indeed bedbugs.

There is only one exterminator in the area that treats bedbugs, and that was going to cost somewhere in the thousands. My husband and I are now in the process of moving. We are taking each thing out one at a time. Washing in hot water and drying what can be washed and cleaning everything else by hand. My daughter had a co-sleeper bassinet attached to the side of our bed. We have a small (8′) pool outside, so we put it in the pool to try and drown any bugs that may be in it.

I have since done more research, and found that anything that you cannot wash, you can sit outside, sealed in black plastic, for a minimum of 4 hours in the hottest part of the day. The bugs cannot survive the heat that is generated by the sun and the black bags.

I currently have a recliner wrapped in about 4 black contractor bags on my grandmother’s patio. This was a complete night mare for us. I have been itch-free now for about a month and a half.

It was weird, though, how the bumps would look. Some would swell up like mosquito bites, while others would get a clear liquid filled head on them.

I would never wish these pests on anyone.

Bella::

I am wondering if any one gets once in a while. I got bit about a month ago on my arm. It looked like about 10 bites. now my boyfriend stayed over and he got bit on his back. I thought bed bugs bite more often. I am really freaked out! I have searched the mattress and box spring but nothing. It is only 6 months old. I have 3 sticky pads down on the floor and no bugs. Could these bites be from a spider?

I do have high ceiling in my room and there are spiders I see every once in a while. My bites look like mosquito bites but larger with an extremely intense itch. They take much longer to go away and when they are almost gone the skin has a dry patch where the bug was. And in some areas where the bug bites were there is still a darker area that marks the spot I was bitten.

Please help if you can!

Ashley::

I have been bite by a bed bug :( fortunately, i got rid of them and here is how! I had bites on my neck, feet, legs, arms EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! i itched all the time. I had heard that bleach helps get ride of them so only a week later, my worries were gone! :)

Sunday Ajayi::

I would like to know if i have a beb bug in my home and has been treated for over a year, now i have decided to bring some of my cloths that has been in the basement for one year into my room, but i have had problem with my landlord accusing me of bringing back the bed bug into the building.

Please i will like to know if they have been in the basement for that long can they be alive after one year, please kindly help me with my predicament am likely to be evicted because of this situation.

I will be waiting for your reply thanks.

Janet Wilson::

Katherine, that photo looks more like what we call Silverfish. They are frequently found in houses, are silvery grey and kind of wiggly, they like the shade and damp so are often found in bathrooms and kitchens. Silverfish have those large antennae, and they do not bite people.

As for bed bugs….we have had isolated incidences with them, but only affecting our youngest daughter. I never thought at the time of bed bugs…but after reading the accounts here, I wonder! We just assumed it was a rash or something, and bedbugs may explain the fact she has had a chicken-pox like rash three times in her life. I can’t remember now if she always got these rashes after we had been to a hotel or something like that, or if we were at home. In any case, they do not seem to be infesting our house.

Thanks for the stories!

Catalina::

Yesterday I spotted the first one, climbing on the wall in the dining room. It was big about 1cm or more and rectangular. I sprayed some ant killer that I had at hand, it took off and started flying in circles. Finally I smacked it with the slipper, it was full of blood…

Today 3 more in the same area, climbing on the wall in broad daylight. So you think these are bed bugs? Cimex lectularius, Does it really fly?

I don’t see any bite marks, no signs in the bedroom so far. How can I establish what it is?

Thanks

Catalina