Kay::

Hello,

What about treating the floor with carpet and what should we use when washing covers?

Once they have been found in your covers, how do I make sure they are dead?

Thanks.

Noreen::

I have heard that you can freeze bedbugs out – like put your belongs in below 32 for two to three weeks will kill them – Is this true

Lily::

I am so paranoid about taking the bugs with me when i move out of my apartment. Can they simply hook on to your shoes when you are walking around and moving out?

Can you see the young bedbugs and their eggs?

Do they often hide in plants? Basically, I just need to know if I can see evidence of them on my things…books, picture frames, and clothing.

The exterminator told me that I could put things in the freezer for one hour and that would kill the bedbugs. Is that sufficient?

My parents are putting a lot of stuff in their garage, which is unheated and in the Rocky Mountains. It gets down to 20F right now at night. Will this kill them?

Thank you for all of your help. This has been a hugely stressful process, and I constantly feel like bugs are crawling all over me.

—————
Hello Lily,

Yes, you can see the bedbugs and their eggs, take a look at the first part of the bites and pictures section of my site and you’ll find some excellent images of what they look like and what to look for.

Check out my treatment page for information on how to kill bedbugs. No, sticking the bedbug infested items in the garage at 20F will not kill them.

Best regards,

Jim.

Terry::

wow! I’m wondering if I’m totally paranoid! My husband thinks I am. We wash our sheets once a week, but our mattress pad only once every month or so. The last two times I changed the mattress pad, I noticed these very small shell like scabie things littered all over the mattress… I was in a hurry as usual, and sort of just brushed them off the mattress.

The last time I washed the mattress pad, I had my husband flip the mattress. Then I got bit (or something)… it itched like crazy-took a long time to heal. Then I started thinking… and thought maybe bedbugs?…. and then I started reading on the internet… and now I am paranoid like crazy. Can’t sleep. Feel itchy in bed.

My husband has lots of bug like bites on his back, but he claims it’s heat rash, which I doubt cause it’s the winter now. I checked my sheets and found black like specks near the foot of the bed, but they did not stick. They brushed away very easily, so am not sure if this is fecal matter or not. My husband tells me it’s from dirt I drag into bed on my feet, but I’ve been trying to brush off my feet every time I get into bed.

I did notice one “rusty color” smudge near the foot of the bed, which I am afraid is blood from a smashed bug. Last time I changed the mattress pad, I checked around the seam of the mattress for fecal matter, bugs, eggs, etc. and honestly could not see anything, even with a magnifying glass. I’ve seen a few really really small black like dots on my sheets (like a flair marker), but can’t tell if these are fecal matter.

Earlier tonight I found three tiny red specks in bed, which I placed in a plastic bag. I think they could be the nymphs full of blood possibly. Bright bright red, size of a pin head.

My son’s bedroom is right next to ours, and he has never been bitten.

I can’t imagine where we’d get the bedbugs from. We haven’t traveled in forever, haven’t brought in any used furniture for a long time (which we always wipe down). The last time we did travel, however, we stayed in a cabin on a lake where we had to bring our own linens… was about 3 years ago. I washed the linens in hot water, but not our pillows, right when we got home.

We live in a house. I moved in when we got married about 6 years ago, and the couch I brought with me does smell musty sweet, which I thought was just from being an old couch. Now I’m wondering….

I guess my question is, how long does it really take to show you’re infested, once you bring a bedbug in? I’ve never seen a bedbug yet.. I’m just really really suspicious. Like I said, I’ve only been bitten once, but my husband has welts all over his back and chest. And the scabie things on the mattress under the mattress pad sound like the shed skin….

This weekend, even though my husband thinks I’m a paranoid nut, we’re going to check under our box spring and our son’s bed.

I can’t sleep. I’m freaking out. I’ve been trying to catch a live one at night with a flash light, but no luck so far.

What do you think? Am I just paranoid?

Joy::

Jim,

How effective is a Rainbow vacuum on bedbugs? Since everything is sucked into water and then dumped outside, I’m hoping they will drown.

Also what about the ‘over the counter’ bug bombs, are those effective?

There has been a fowl odor in our house the last couple of weeks – like something decomposing, not sweet, but pungent. It was strongest in the kitchen and bathroom (on opposite ends of the house) and hardly noticeable in the bedroom in between. Could that be another sign of bedbugs?

Thanks for all your help.

Joy

Benjamin’s Dad::

Jim-

I was bitten several months ago after falling asleep on our couch in the den, next to the fireplace. A while ago I brought in some wet, decaying firewood to burn and it didn’t burn all the way. When I brought it in it was filled with the typical creepy crawlies associated with decaying wood. Anyway, I was bitten about 5 times in one night on my arm, just today we pulled what we think was a filled bedbug from my 12 year old son’s head. It was on his head 5 days and he thought it was a pimple or dead skin or something until he started messing with it today and pulled off a bug.

First, do they feed on a head for 5 days; and second I read they don’t like hair. We also had a bat problem several years ago in the house but rid them. So, could this specimen be a bat bug also. Next question, is this an isolated bug causing havoc. Before we treat, I am thinking we should wait to see if we get any more bites. I have inspected the area and do not see any. Another thing is I used to travel in my job and about a year ago I was bitten in a hotel and may have brought the bugs home too.

Thanks, Mark (Benjamin’s dad)

Hi Mark,

Bat bugs would be a consideration, but because it was years ago since you had the problem, I’m guessing that’s probably not it.

bedbugs only feed for a short time, so this doesn’t sound like a this is what bit your son. If it were me, I would start checking everything for any signs for bugs (take a look at my bedbug checklist) and see if anyone is bitten again before diving into treatment.

It sounds like this is the only bite you have noticed and doesn’t sound like it was a bedbug. Can you get a picture of the bug? Perhaps it was a tick rather than a bedbug? It’s hard to tell without a picture or detailed description of the bug.

Let me know what happens will you?

Thanks,

Jim

Ronan::

Hi, I’ve had bedbugs the last three weeks… I know I did since I found a dead one, and also caught a nymph on me while it was feeding. In the first week both my girlfriend and I got several bites at random places on our body (such as head, feet, arms).

I could not, however, find their dwelling place/s – they were not in the mattress or box spring (I have a metal frame), not in the sofa, not in the furniture. I suspect they are hidden in my wooden floor…
Then I called the exterminator, and he sprayed the apartment. I got one bite a couple of days after the treatment and then no bites for about a week. The exterminator did a second application. Two days later, as I was walking home late at night, I felt a strong itch on my foot and when I got home I looked at it and it looked – and still does – like a new bite.

Does that make sense? What do you think is my situation?

Lee::

I’ve been suffering from bedbugs since April. I moved in current apartment from another unit in the same complex. We(me, my wife, and baby) had rashes and swells right after moving in. We suspected oak allergy at first but later I happened to read an article about bedbugs and remembered that I found one that exactly looks like a bedbug when we just moved in. Allergist confirmed that rashes are not oak allergy and he strongly suspect bug bites. Luckily(?), I found some bedbugs and captured them and taped them on a sheet. The sheet is now displaying all stages of bedbugs, from baby to adult with full feed.

We have gone through pest control once but frustratingly still getting bites. I personally tried mother earth but it doesn’t look effective. I talked with apartment office and decided to go through another pest control until they are completely controlled. And also, I decided to move out after (hopefully) exterminating bedbugs.

My question is, how can we tell whether bedbugs are really exterminated after pest control? For example, if I don’t get any bite for a week, does it really mean they are gone? I’m also worried about carrying bedbugs with us to new apartment. What am I supposed to do to leave bedbugs behind and sleep well in a new apartment?

I don’t remember when was the last I slept well. Please help me get out of this hell.

Thanks for any advice!

WanDa Brown::

I was wondering if bedbugs can get on plants !

Judy::

Are bedbug bites warm to the touch?

Kathy::

I found 4 live bedbugs on the back of my couch this evening. I don’t know where to start. I have a roommate who sleeps on the couch. I looked at my mattress and my daughters’ and didn’t see anything. I am going to look more thoroughly tomorrow but what if I don’t see them in the bedrooms?

Is it possible that only the couch is infested? Should I get rid of our mattresses anyway? And do I have to throw my couch out or can it be treated? It’s brand new. Also, if I have to hire an exterminator am I responsible or is my landlord since I live in an apartment?

Sarah::

I work in a hospital where the kids come in frequently with bedbugs, we try to catch them and immediately wash their clothes and make them shower but some times a kid slips by with out. How can we keep our selves safe from bringing any home? Do the eggs attach to the bottoms of shoes or pants legs? What should I do to try to not bring any home from work?

Dawn M.::

Not sure how we got them but we have bedbugs. I have been in this apt. for 9 years with no problems. My son started a new school in Sept. and that is when I was noticing bites on my son. I looked and low and behold, ALL the evidence, the bugs, the skins, the poop, the blood smears in the folds of the mattress but a ton more in the folds of the box spring. Ackkk. I cleaned both with vacuuming (I have a Dyson) and spray bleach. I looked on the net but guess I didn’t look good enough as the first place I looked, just said to buy a mattress cover. I bought two, one for his mattress and one for his box spring. We had NO more problems til just about 2 months ago when I looked and saw maybe 3 bedbugs on the cover covering the boxspring only. I cleaned it, and bought a “better” more expensive cover for both the mattress and the boxspring. I wish then I knew what I know now. Grrrr! Cause I got a couple of bites(I sleep on the couch) so I looked at his mattress and boxspring and again on top of the 2nd cover that covers the boxspring, I found around 3 skins. I don’t think any were bugs as I didn’t see them move but I didn’t give them time to move either. So I go through the house and wash everything in hot water and dry it all on HOT.

Obviously, I did more investigating yesterday, I’m a single mom on disability(disabled veteran) and don’t have the money for an exterminator. I found a site selling a product called [snip] that claims can eradicate bedbugs, have you or anybody here ever tried this stuff? Of course on their site, there are testimonials that may or may not be true. They pretty much say we need to clear out everything which to me with my disability, I don’t think I will be able to do. I’m gonna have the rugs cleaned and then spray the crap out of everything. I’m also going to get a steamer to steam all the light switch plates and sockets, etc.

In the last week, I have found two adult ones walking around in the middle of the day. To me, that would mean infestation but I have looked around and the only place I have found them were on the mattress cover that was covering my son’s box spring, which I got off immediately. I pulled apart my couch and vacuumed the crap out of it and on the top next to the wall, I think I found some eggs. I would have never known and just though it was dirt had I not seen pictures about how they look like rice. To me, they were smaller than rice so it may have been dirt, I don’t know BUT today after cleaning and showering, I was sitting on the couch and think I had a baby one on me. It was tiny and almost see through. After flushing it, into the shower I went again.

The first time I saw an adult in the middle of the day was in my male cat’s bed. I have a Dyson vacuum and vacuumed the heck out of it. Then today, my female cat was laying on a blanket that I just washed yesterday and when she got up, another adult bug. Ackkkk. That blanket went back into the hot wash, it is still soaking in the hot water. When I clean and vacuum everything double plastic bagged and right out. I just feel that poor people have no other answer but to live with these critters where right people can just throw out everything and start over after having an exterminator go through. When I get paid next week, I’m going to try that [snip] stuff with the steamer and having my rug cleaned and just stay on top of things to see how they go. I just wonder if either of my next door neighbors are more infested and that is how we are getting them. As I said, I have been here for 9 years with NO problems. Thanks for listening and for any help. I will keep you and others here updated on how this new stuff works. Til I get paid, I am vacuuming everything everyday and washing everything in hot hot water every other day.

Al Merritt::

Has anyone had any experience with bedbugs getting into a body cavity, mouth nose,ears,and living there? If not, then what bugs that are similar to bedbugs do that?

Dawn M.::

scarlett ohara, unfortunately, I’m finding that these buggers can live anywhere. Originally, they were ONLY on my son’s box spring. Not sure how we got them but I strongly feel we got them by him forgetting his jacket/coat outside at recess and it getting put in the lost and found at school.

They have anywhere from 1 to 4 boxes in the front of the school with all sorts of forgotten/lost items, mostly jackets, coats, and sweaters. My son would is autistic and would take his jacket/coat off during recess and then leave it there when it was time to go back in then at the end of the day, we’d have to go in and get it out of the box. Anyway, after a long fight, I thought that we had gotten rid of them.

Although it was a pain(literally), I would pull apart his bed and pull up the box spring every 2-3 days and vaccum everything amongst other things and we had NO bites for months. Well just about 1 to 1 1/2 months ago, I began getting bites. I sleep on the couch and one night I stayed up just to see and sure enough, around 3-4 a.m. out came the bedbugs. I can’t see them as my couch is navy blue so I just keep vaccumming and vaccuming and putting down the DE.

My apartment looks like I have never dusted it and I’m getting a little upset as I have had the DE down for about 2 weeks now and I am still seeing the bugs come out at night, all different stages of life, from tiny tiny to big adult ones. Sigh. I don’t have the money for an exterminator and from what I’m reading, it can take an exterminator many many many visits.

That and I have two cats that can’t be around for the spraying. So anyway, from what I have read, have seen, and experienced, these jerks can live anywhere and are sooooo hard to get rid of. I barely even sleep anymore. I’m soooo tired. :o(

Erica::

Will this be enough to prevent bedbugs from following us? Pls help!

So we just moved into a temporary place, a tiny studio, have no furniture, so we did the (now I realize) dumb thing and found a used mattress (no box spring.) For about 3 weeks we have had the mattress on the hardwood floor.

I am not sure we have bedbugs because we saw 3-4 mosquitos flying around last night. Only one night before have I noticed bites, but last night was bad. I have 5 bites on one arm, 2 on the other, 3 on my hand, and more have been showing up throughout the day. I have looked and seen no bugs, no mold looking spots on the sheets, etc. But I have so many bites that I want to be on the safe side and nip the problem in the bud. (FYI, mosquitos do usually go nuts for me, but the way they have been appearing throughout the day and the sheer number make me think it’s something else.)

Ok, so we are moving today into a new place. We still won’t have much furniture yet- we threw out the mattress and will dry our sheets on high for 20 minutes as I saw somebody suggest on this site. Then will buy an air mattress for the time being. Is this enough?

I put my pajamas next to my regular clothes- do I need to put them all in the dryer? What about shoes, table cloth, suitcase that was sitting a few feet from the mattress, dog or cat?

Any suggestions would be helpful. Again, I haven’t seen any bugs even though I was up at 4am last night and freaked out and lifted the mattress. I don’t want to be paranoid but I definitely don’t want to take this problem with me!

Charlie::

The landlord is sending an exterminator. We’re supposed to prepare by emptying every cabinet and drawer, washing and bagging all of our clothes, and cleaning and bagging all of our possessions. How long does preparation take? How do we clean every book and file folder and cosmetic? I cannot visualize where to put all of our bagged stuff in a small apartment. Have people successfully done this or do they cut corners?

Dawn M.::

Bad news…. I just found this info about the DE made for swimming pools ….. “make sure you don’t get Diatomaceous Earth (DE for short) that’s designed to be used in swimming pools. That isn’t appropriate for your bedroom even though it’s called the same thing. You also shouldn’t breathe it in directly if you can avoid it (the pool kind is bad for that, but “food grade” has a lower silica quantity and isn’t as big a risk).”

Mandy::

My father died recently and while cleaning out his apt we discovered he had bedbugs. He was vacationing with me 1.5 months before he died and slept in my bed. How long will it take before I notice if i have a problem? I’ve been reading all about it and I don’t see any signs yet. I don’t know when I can stop looking. I’m making myself nuts over it!! Please help!

Dawn M.::

Phani. I’m not sure how things are going for you since you wrote this 2 weeks ago. Hopefully you come here and check for replies so you will see this. Have you tried Diatomaceous Earth(DE for short) yet? All I read is that you called for the help of two different exterminating companies.

I’m not sure how much you’ve read on this site but I’ve read the whole thing and after reading all the promising posts about DE, I figured what the heck and tried it. It shouldn’t cost any more than $15 a bag. It wasn’t a fast treatment by all means but “knock on wood” it worked! As long as your patient and follow what I’m going to write, you should be bedbug(BB for short) FREE in about 1 1/2 to 2 months. I haven’t seen a live bug in over 3 weeks; I lost count. I did see a big dead one two days ago in the cat bed when I was vaccuming it.

This is what your going to do. Clean your whole house from top to bottom, don’t miss any spot. Wash ALL of your clothes,sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. in HOT water and dry on HOT from now on or atleast til you KNOW your 100% bedbug(BB for short) free. I’m not sure what kind of vaccum you have. If it uses bags, immediately after everytime you vaccum, take it out, put it in a plastic bag and double knot it. It might be a good idea to double bag it then bring it right out of your house immediately. If you have the kind of vaccum that’s a bagless system, every time you vaccum empty the vaccum, on a non carpeted floor; empty the vaccum into a plastic bag, double knot it and put it in another plastic bag and double knot that one and again, bring it right out of your house immediately.

Now your going to sprinkle the DE along all the floorboards. I use a tiny sifter to distribute my DE throught my house. I find that using the sifter gives a good dusting. Your also going to put the DE under every bed, under all foor legs of every bed, between the boxspring & mattress of every bed, under the couch, love seat, and any other large living room furnature. More DE between EVERY door way, under any furnature that does set right on the floor. If you can’t move furnature like I can’t, do the best you can getting the DE under all the furnatute.

The ONLY “problem” I have with DE is that it makes your house VERY dusty and when I say dusty, OMGosh, your going to find DE dust where you’d never expect it which is why I think a lot of people stop using the DE but for me, I’d rather dust every 2-3 days and NOT have BBs.

Now your going to keep your house clean, free of clutter(well best you can, hey I live in the real world where kids make messes), keep washing & drying everything in hot hot hot. Vaccum every other day and replace any DE that has been vaccumed up. Keep this up and within 2 1/2 months you should be free of these stupid bugs. Please keep us updated on what you do and how things are going. A lot of people don’t update so we have no idea of what works and what doesn’t work. Good Luck!

raquel deanda-ring::

How can I tell old bites from new bites?

Star::

Is it possible to only have one bedbug? How does that one come home with you and reproduce? The reason I am asking is I recently had about 10 dreaded bites over the course of 2 weeks and I cleaned everything and disposed of some stuff and I haven’t been bitten in 2 weeks. Could I have rid myself of them completely already?

Andrew S::

I just got back from Cuba and stayed there in a resort for 1 week. 1 and half days after i returned i started getting very itchy and a lot of bumps on my body which look like mosquito bites, I am pretty sure they are not mosquito bites. do you think they are bedbugs?

Mary::

I’m a flight attendant who woke up in an infested room on Thursday, Dec 3. I went straight to a laundromat, changed into brand new clothes, bras, panty, shoes, everything. Everything that was in the room was either washed and dried on the highest setting, or thrown away.

The only items that were not washed or tossed were credit cards, passport, some lipstick, my ipod,and a few pieces of jewelry. These things were placed in ziplock bags and brought home to my freezer.

I came home with all my salvaged belongings in a new garbage bag, my suitcase was discarded. The trash bag was knotted shut until the next morning, when I took it to another laundry mat to rewash and dry everything, even the clothes I changed into.

I was confident that I had caught the problem before I brought it home, but this weekend, Sat the 12th I noticed several bites on my arms, hands, and back. A few more surfaced on Sunday morning. This morning I had a hard time finding fresh ones, but kept turning the lights on every 30minutes or so.

The bites I developed this weekend are the only ones I’ve experienced, there weren’t any on the 3rd. My husband, who was not at the hotel with me, has none.

Is it more likely these bites are a delayed reaction to the hotel stay, or that I’ve brought them into my home? I can’t find any blood, droppings, or any other evidence in my apt, but maybe just a few got in, not enough to leave clues?

I’m scared. Especially because we are supposed to fly to the in-laws this Wed for our Christmas visit. I’d hate to bring it to them too!

Sister T::

My sister just called me from Las Vegas, Nevada where she decided to spend her Birthday. She is so stressed out because she stayed in a room infested with bedbugs.

She woke up with bedbug bites all over her arms and neck. She complained to the hotel staff and they told her she was lying and making it up. How can she be lying, she’s bitten all over.

She saw the bugs and asked for help from the hotel management. they barely helped her by getting her transportation to the laundry, where she had to spend most of her day washing her clothes on her dime. They only wanted to give her thirty 30 dollars to buy medicine for the itching and small red areas on her body. It has been a night mare she said. She was moved to another room and is still asking for help from the management.

One of the female managers has been so rude and mean to her. I found this website and told her to call her attorney right away. This is not right. She can’t even enjoy her stay there or find time to gamble.

Sister T

Marie::

I have found that 20 Mule Team Borax will kill bedbugs and fleas. Just sprinkle it on the contaminated areas and leave it over night. Then vaccum the area. You may have to treat the area a couple of time, but It works.

Nancy::

How long does the DE stay on the carpet for?

Mary Ann::

Do you have any reports of bedbugs at the Michaelangelo Hotel on 54’th Street in New York City, and or
70 Park Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City?
Thank you in advance for your help.

Jim::

Hey Jeremy,

Wow, over 100 bites! Some hotels respond right then but the pest control company may not be able to get there for a few days in which case they lock the room down including adjoining rooms.

Unfortunately, some give you a line, act concerned and send you a report showing it was all clear when in fact, it wasn’t. If they admit that they are infected, some feel they could face a lawsuit so they fudge the report. It doesn’t matter how nice they are or how clean the hotel is, you should check to see if they have had this problem before.

If you like, you can visit my Hotel Bedbugs page and submit the name of the hotel and I’ll research it for previous bedbug infestations.

By the way – how long did it take for the bites to leave? Do you have any pictures you can share?

Jim::

Upload them using the link at the top right of this website.

Jim::

Hi Hal,

Great question, so I included a picture of a bedbug set next to a paperclip.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Jim

Jim::

Hi Charles,

bedbugs don’t live inside the human body, but they do love our blood. Have you had them inside? Have you seen a doctor? What were the results?

Barb::

Found our first bedbugs at the not so lovely Hotel Intercontinental in downtown Chicago.

Endora::

hi , i was wondering f there are any attorneys that you know of that will take any cases ?

my children and i moved into our new place totally unaware of what we would be dealing with now , my 6 & 8 yr olds have bites / scarring every where , not sure why they are not eating my 11 yr old but thankful , the kids beds are all brand new , less than a 1 yr old . i have just found out the place next door ( we live in towhouses ) was horribly horribly HORRIBLY infested so badly they were crawling around at all times day or night! ! ! on the walls , bathroom shower curtians , and no one said word 1 to me !

i am a sec 8 tenant , we live in a heavy Hispanic area. this whole complex i feel is infested and nothing new to some tenants that claim its been over a good year that they all been battling this , the homeowners will not talk about it.

The landlord denies that they are infected with bedbugs even after a professional came to inspect and confirmed that the bugs i had captured are indeed bedbugs , he will not pay any more than 250.00 and if that does not work well !

I can seriously say my boys have hundreds maybe thousands of bites / scars from all this . i personally feel housing had to know there are way too many housing clients that live here , with infestations as bad as some places are there is no way that when the places had housing inspections that it was not noticed, as also the public health dept , and even the school that about 30- 40 kids here go to, someone has had to had bites. I am told that they are even in some tenants cars ! ! ! !

so i am trying to find and attorney to take the case , since no one can sleep at night , my 6 yr old will only sleep in my arms and he will not go to bed until the sun comes up ! we are seriously going threw hell over here , i can not afford to throw out everything , i can not replace it all ! i barely get my bills paid .

When the garbage people actually do come , sometimes we go 2- 3 weeks with no one taking our garbage all you see is furniture and beds , big tv’s , dressers , kids toys and clothes , all in the garbage piles .

I moved here so that my 3 boys could all have their own bedrooms , we had lived in motels , been homeless . i had gotten my section 8 and i was only trying to give them a nice home now this ! they are afraid to go in their rooms and may never sleep in their beds after this . how in the world will i ever secure them that their home is a safe place to be ?

Again its 1:32 am the kids are all up in my room , scared to go to bed afraid they will get bit .
please help !

Charlene::

Dear Jim,

How are you today? Hope this email fines you well. I hope you don’t find me rude but I found you on the World Wide Web and I was hoping you could provide me with an advice of a potential problem I may have on hand.

I bought a second-hand bed frame with a cushion headboard and sofa a day ago and had it moved from the seller’s house to my new apartment yesterday. The seller lives in a carpeted townhouse. The furniture were the last to be moved into the new apartment and probably had sat in the apartment for about 20 minutes before the movers started to assemble the bed frame. However, before they assemble, they found dark spots of bedbug excrement on the headboard cushion. They informed me about it and we threw it away (there’s about a 15 to 20minutes time in before both sets of furniture were moved out of the apartment).

I have the bedroom (which is also the location where headboard cushion was placed) wiped down with chlorine and water and left the windows and doors closed overnight.

Just to provide a little more information, because this is a new apartment, most of my stuff were in moving boxes that are sealed close across horizontally with moving tapes. There are some clothes that I had previously hang in the closet in the bedroom. I also have a piece of clothed luggage which was put in the living (that is where the sofa was put before we threw it out).

Although the furniture did not sit long in my apartment, I am very concerned if any of the bedbugs or the eggs might have dropped onto the hardwood floor. Based on your experience, how likely is my apartment infected and what should I do now?

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear back from you.

Regards,

Charlene

Charlene::

Hi Jim,

Thanks, the information is GREAT! I will try now today. However please bare with me as I’ve more questions for you – I know I may sound a little paranoid…

Ever since this happen, I’ve been keep a very close watch on the floor. As mentioned, after I cleaned the room with chlorine, the next day I got some insect spray (The building management got for me so I’m not aware what exactly it is) and spray around the wall corners. I left the apartment windows shut tight. After a couple of hours, I came back and examine the wall edges and floors but didn’t quick see anything close to the bedbug picture that you had on the website. Is it safe for me to assume there’s probably no adult bedbugs?

Also, because I just moved in, I had cartons laying around my house. Should I throw out the contents of the stuff in the cartons or they are pretty safe(i.e. As long as I do a thorough wipe down with alcohol)? I read from www that Hot Spray (a type of insect spray) is pretty effective when dealing with bedbugs because they contain a chemical that supposedly kills bedbug. Is there a need to spray onto these cartons/ into the contents of the cartons? After I sprayed this, typically how long should I leave things for before I can clean up?

Lastly in the case of my situation, doing a total extermination/ cleaning with steam/fog etc is probably overkill right? I was contemplating doing a routine extermination spray but I was also advised to do a full extermination…

Regards,
Charlene

Susan::

I’ve lived in my apartment for 7 years, and I’ve had the same bed and furniture the entire time. For the last 2 nights I’ve slept on the couch (the first time ever) and this morning I awoke to find what I believe are bedbug bites on my leg, a total of 8 located near my ankles and my knees.

I can only think that the way they came into the house was from my husband’s clothes because he spent the night at a relative’s house and was sitting on the couch the next day, so I’m hoping it’s only a few adult bugs and I can catch them by vacuuming the couch thoroughly. My question is, how fast do they move and how far can they travel in one night or when disturbed?

Jeri::

Hi Jim,

I am hoping you can perhaps provide some peace of mind or at least insight into what’s going on in my home… I live in an apartment and have lived here for 2 years. A couple of weeks ago as I was laying in bed in the early morning a bug fell on my arm from the ceiling. It kind of resembled the pictures of bedbugs I have seen on your site and elsewhere on the internet, but not exactly. It didn’t seem thin like they are usually described. It was probably about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch long (honestly I was too panic-stricken to estimate properly), oval, and light brown in color. A few days after that, I noticed a similar bug crawling across my pillow. I also have been getting what appear to be insect bites all over my arms and chest, though these have been happening occasionally for a few years now and I think they might just be a product of my incredibly sensitive skin and/or insect bites (not necessarily bedbug). The part that worries me is that I have noticed a couple “clusters” of three bumps in different areas and this has made me paranoid.

However, I have only seen the two bugs that I described earlier and I have not noticed any evidence of bedbugs otherwise. I lifted the mattress and inspected it thoroughly but saw nothing that looked like casings or fecal matter. I also checked out the box springs and couldn’t find anything there, under the bed, or around the baseboards either.

Does this sound like it could possibly be an infestation of bedbugs or am I just being overly cautious?

Jeff::

hey Ive just noticed that I have a bedbug infestation, Ive noticed in the FAQ that you don’t necessarily need to throw out your mattress if your infested. The trouble is I sleep on a pull out couch. I just want to know how likely it will be for me to keep my pull out couch if I am to try sterilizing it with a steam cleaner/pesticides .

Pam::

I moved into a new apartment a month ago. Three weeks into my lease, I woke with bites on my legs and arm. Upon investigation, I found bedbugs all over my sheets. My apartment has treated 2x in the last few weeks and have apparently “destroyed the nest”, thought I have my doubts as I woke with a new cluster of bites on my leg. They have also discovered the person whom brought these in and are evicting him.

My question is regarding the boxes that I have not unpacked. It is possible that they have crawled into these boxes and made themselves at home? If so, how do I treat books, papers, and other items? As to clothes, can I dry them as I was intending to donate them?

Please help
Thanks
Pam

Lisa::

Hi, I’m dealing with bedbugs problem in housing unit, single mother of two and expecting another baby. I had to throw out my couch set, bed and whatever is wood in my home. Having bedbugs and getting rid of them you lose out and they’re really annoying. I am seeking whatever help is available to get rid them myself. Housing does have these units sprayed from every 2 mths, but, them bedbugs still keep coming back. I wish the city allowed deet back then we the world wouldn’t have bedbug problems.

ROSlinda::

can bedbugs stay on my body threw out the day and still bite me as i do my daily runs? can you confusion bedbugs and flea bite ?

Melissa::

Hi Jim,

I find your website extremely helpful and informative!

I was bitten by bedbugs on dec. 2007. I found out that I was bitten by bedbugs when I moved to a new apartment on January 2008. Some of my clothes were in big laundry bags and I left them in the basement. Once again, I was bitten by them when I lived in the new apartment. I sprayed the mattress, bed frame, headboard and the crevices on the walls with “Permacide P-1, as well as the powder. in addition, I followed all the procedures as stated on the website. On the next day, I found a few bites on my arms and legs. I decided to spray the areas once more and not sleep on it for at least a few months.

My brother moved in a few months later (April 2008) and slept in my old room ever since. He was never once bitten. His bed is next to my old bed. My computer desk is still in there. I was so stressed out and freaked out that I haven’t slept in that room for a little bit more than two years. It is now Aug, 2010. I am moving in two weeks. I went down to the basement and found an old bag of clothes that I forgot to throw out two years ago.

so my question is…
1.) Are they still alive?
2.). I found one in my old bag but it was dead.
3.) Do they hide in books, papers and in objects?
4.) The bedroom floor is covered with carpet. Can they possibly be alive after all two years?
5.) I threw out my bedframe and bought a new one which is going to be in my new apt. But i didn’t throw out the mattress because it’s expensive.

P.S. I am sorry for the long message. I am just a bit worried about getting it again.

I hope you can help me!

Thankssss!
Melissa, NY

Lisa::

Me and my husband found our first bedbug a few months ago. Since then we have replaced the mattress, sealed it , we have sprayed, fogged, did everything that was recommended. We slept on our couch for about two weeks and started sleeping in bed again. NO Bites. Until a few days ago, still no bites but we saw like one or two bugs. We own our home so moving is not an option. We are stuck right now and dont know what else to do. We cant really afford to hire an exterminator.

Anita Holste::

Any bedbug problems in Comfort Inn Times Square, (Apple Core Hotels), 129 West 46th St., New York, New York?

Beth::

My daughter suspected she had bedbugs when she woke up one morning with a bite. We examined her room and found 3 small black bugs that curled up almost into a ball when touched (not pill bugs though). I have never heard of bedbugs doing this. Could this be another type of bug? There was no evidence on her bed, they were found on the floor in her bedroom. I found one feasting on a piece of food. Do bedbugs eat old food? I know they are not cockroaches. She is moving and has moved in with me and I am terrified that she will bring these into my home.

joe the bug hater::

Hi Jim,

My wife’s aunt moved from 1 apartment to another on the first floor in the same building in feb/10 by march she realized she had bedbugs and tried saying they came from a tree near her window. The management didn’t do anything till June. By then she had a really bad infestation and had to throw out most of her furniture and washed all her clothes. The exterminator had advised her on what to do.

They did a couple of treatments and eventually the building and exterminator gave her a letter that they were all gone. The building bought her new couch beds etc. and said it was fine to bring the new stuff in. At the end of July she said she had a letter stating that they were all gone and she came over to my house and sat mostly outside,except for about an hour where she came in and sat on my couch. I sleep on that couch because of my injuries to my back from a M.V.A.

Two 2 mornings later I woke up with bedbug bites on my ankles and feet. I’m a light sleeper so they were the lunch type. At first I thought they were mosquito bites because I’m in my back yard a lot. The next morning I woke up with more bites and I was showing my wife and my mother- in-law was over.

We were speculating on what they were from when I remembered her aunt having them and she was over 3 days before. I got really worried. I went and bought D.E. and spread it around and on the couch where I sleep. But before I spread It I vacuumed the couch with my shop vac. then vacuumed the whole basement. I found one dead beg bug in the vacuum.

I Steamed the couch and Steamed the floors and around the baseboards with the H2O mop. I left the D.E. down for about 8 to 10 days. For that period I had not been bitten again. About the 8th or 10th morning I found a couple of new bites. I then repeated the whole process again and this time I caulked all the baseboards top and bottom. I also sprayed everything down with alcohol. and repeated the alcohol spraying every night on and around the couch and myself and wife’s hair.

Its been now 2 weeks and no more bites. I hope they are gone. I think that she brought one over in her hair or clothing. I killed it the first time I cleaned for them. But I think by then it had laid eggs. Because around 8 to10 days later were the second bites.They weren’t as severe so they were probably nymph bites. Which I probably (hopefully) got with the second cleaning. I still have the D.E. around the floor of the couch. I put Vaseline on the couch feet. I just hope they are gone as I just bought this house last year and payed it off in full. I also bought all brand new furniture for the whole house 3 bedrooms and finished basement. This all happened in the basement.

If I do get an infestation from this. Can I sue her building for giving her a letter assuring her they were gone and because of this letter she took the liberty to come over to my house. If I knew then what I know now I would not have let her come over.

Dee::

Hi, Jim – I found one small red bump on my back but no staining on bedsheet. However, I saw one tiny black hard thing almost like a small poppy seed on the top sheet of a bed next to it.

If a bedbug had bitten me and left the bed would it be likely to climb down my bed and up the other one and excrete one “terd”?

Also, what is the consistency of bedbug fecal matter?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Teenaaa::

@Dee.. rea ur post was wondering if you have pets because it sounds like you found a flee not a bedbug.. flees are black but when they fill themselves with blood they turn red.. hope that helps :)

Joe::

Hi. I found a few very tiny bugs that are almost the size of apple seeds on my bed. They were crawled up in a ball, but when one or two of them un-curled themselves and started moving it was very slow, whereas I thought bedbugs were quick-moving. Does this fit the description of a bedbug? Thank you.

Cathy::

Have there been any reports of bedbugs at the Hyatt Place East in Louisville, KY? When I woke up on August 27 in in my room there were blood stains on the sheets where my arm would have been. My arm was facing the outside of the mattress. I went to my mom’s home from there. Now she has a bedbug infestation in her home. This makes me ill to think about!

Liz::

My friend is visiting from out of state, and it appears that she has gotten bit by bedbugs previous to her departure.
We’re staying at a hotel together, in seperate beds… but how to we prevent the transfer?
She has two bedrooms, one at college and one at her moms and she has no idea where theyre hiding to exterminate the problem.

Nikki::

hi i work as a visiting nurse & recently learned one of my clients homes is infested with bedbugs. i always go during the day and i live in Rochester and it only started getting cold about a week or two ago. up until then it has been 90’s plus. i noticed earlier this week before my client notified me of this infestation that i have 6 small bite marks on my hip all in somewhat of a line.

i have searched my room along with my 3 month old daughters room for bedbugs and have not found any evidence of them. my daughter nor my husband have had any bites. is it possible i was bit while at this persons house ? when i got home i immediately stripped down and put all my clothes in bag over bag over bag. when i learned about the dryer for 30 mins i then put my clothes in the dryer and then washed them.

what are the chances that i have brought these creatures into my home? please help.. i am afraid my daughter is going to start to get bit. and when an exterminator does come in and fumigate your house is it possible it will not always kill them? or is there store bought products i can buy?

Sarah::

Hi,

I just saw a very small red bug running up my arm. I grabbed it out of instinct, it popped, and a small amount of red blood was left smeared on my fingers and arm. This is the only bug I have seen and I have not had any bites. I have looked around at my mattress and still no signs of more bugs. Is it possible that this one bedbug got carried home with me from work and since I popped it there will be no further problems?

What is your advice and thoughts?

Kelse::

Hey,
My I have been spending one night a week for the past two weeks at my boyfriends house. I have developed bedbug bites and he has recently found some bugs in his bed. I washed all my clothes, and vaccummed my bed and room. I have not found any signs of bedbugs at my house. Is there s chance i still have bedbugs if i have not found a sign of them?

Nikki::

i recently emailed i work as a visiting nurse & i have spent the past week washing drying clothes vacuuming my mattress box-spring floors over & over again. i sealed my mattress all the cracks & holes in my room with caulk and i still never had any evidence i brought these bugs home and haven’t had any bites besides those 6. i haven’t had blood stains any “skins” or feces.. i don’t know wether i am just extremely paranoid or what. i haven’t slept more than 3-4 hours at night for the past week trying to watch for these suckers to see if they are in my house. the spray you mentioned.. is that safe to spray around children? and can i spray it on my mattress?

Sarah::

Nikki72,

Don’t be embarassed or ashamed of your reaction to all this…it is natural to feel this way over bedbugs. I recently had a bedbug incident in the apartment I was staying at. July was when I discovered the truth, it is now September and I am in a new place, have been for 3 months and here I am still googling information trying to see if there is any possible way I could have brought them with me or if my experience is over for good. The experience as a whole was traumatizing. As pathetic as it sounds bedbugs can really turn a persons world upside down. I was furious with my landlord and with the property management company. Apparently they knew about all this but did not say anything until people came to them with concerns. So as the bedbugs creeped from apartment to apartment, infesting the entire building, they did nothing to forewarn us. For the longest time I thought I was getting spider bites, it was summer and the idea of bedbugs did not even cross my mind. I did see a few of the bugs but since I’ve never had to deal with bedbugs, I actually just thought they were strange looking and killed whatever ones I saw, not realizing I was just allowing them to multiply day by day.

Finally one day at work I noticed the bites on my legs were not typical of any spider bite. A bunch of tiny red dots in a line, probably about 8, all the way up my calf. So I thought randomly to google bedbugs and sure enough there were the pictures of the bugs I had seen before (one even crawled next to me while I layed in bed reading a book. I assumed since I just pulled the book out of a box in my closet it was just a harmless bug that was living in the dark..). Ew, I’m getting itchy now just writing about this!! I felt sick when I saw the pics, I couldn’t even work.

It said on the website to check the creases of your pillows. It’s bizarre because I washed my sheets often and yet never noticed bugs when I changed my pillow cases, but I’m thinking my infestation wasn’t terribly bad like others have been. I got home and looked in my pillow cases in the creases…yup…bugs just sitting there. I over reacted….I immediately threw my pillows, blankets, sheets and all in garbage bags and off my balcony. I checked my mattress and never saw any…which was strange…but in the days after this I did find one crawling in my bathroom where I thought I could keep my clothes and be free of them! Crawling right by my jeans!! And that is how people carry them from one place to another I guess!

If you brought them home you likely can’t do anything now to ensure you don’t have them. They will multiply and find you…as gross as it sounds. I read that one female can lay 40 eggs a day. A DAY! I don’t know if this is the honest truth but it was enough for me to get out of my place asap. I moved out within 2 days of them spraying.

I am pretty sure they will find you asap if you brought them in….although here I am googling trying to find out the same thing 3 months later. So far, all the stuff I’ve found is if I don’t have them by now I won’t have them..but I don’t have any bites being in my new place. You have marks on your body…that is a good indicator that you have some. Don’t be like me and assume they are something else!! This went on for months for me until I realized what they were.

Check the creases of your pillows and the creases of your mattress. Use a bright flashlight. When they are new, they are clear, waiting to get full on blood. They are hard to see because of the clearness but they are a good size. When they have been around for a while they are reddish brown, full of blood. The one I saw at this stage was plump too, like it just ate me or something. Just pay attention to your marks. If you in fact have the bites right now and those marks are bedbug bites, they will continue and they will continue rapidly. They won’t die off.

Sorry if this doesn’t help…

Melissa::

Okay so here is my hard luck story……Moved in June of this year 2 weeks in my fiancee is covered in bites all over his legs and ankles the vet tells us its fleas and gives us a can of spray to use as well as treatment for our cat. 2 weeks later still having trouble at this point I’m actually picking them off of me while sitting on the couch!!!

We call the exterminator he sprays and tells us it sometimes takes more than one treatment, I say okay and hope for the best…… 2 weeks later the exterminator is back this time he treats the mattresses…… Problem solved!!!! Now 3 months later I’m noticing bites in groups of 3 on two different occasions, I go looking for my cat this afternoon sure enough she’s sleeping under the covers, but wait……… what is that next to my pillow???? A beetle??? Nope it’s a flat, somewhat round reddish brown…….OMG a bedbug!!!!!!

I cannot believe what is happening!! I was packing this morning because we are moving again and now am afraid that we r going to bring these nasty things with us!!! HELP!!! Do I call the exterminator again to spray my stuff before I pack?? I ONLY HAVE 9 DAYS before the movers come and I don’t want to infest other ppls things in the moving truck!

Megan::

so i moved into this house a couple of months after giving birth to a beautiful daughter… after living in this house we have been renting since June we have found out without notification from anyone that we have bedbugs sadly we had to find out the hard way..which ended up in me being bitten and being allergic to the bites… me and my husband share the same bed and oddly enough I’m the one that’s being bitten i have recently found the bugs crawling around in my daughters crib and it really scares me..i just want to get out of this house as soon as possible.. its not me I’m really worried about well i am because I’m allergic to the bites but..now that I’ve been finding them in my 6 month old daughters bed its really freaking me out and making me more frantic to move!!!

bedbug Girl::

Dear Stu,

I searched a variety of online databases and could find no reports of bedbugs at the Best Western Hill House, 700 Truxton Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301-4817.

Thanks, bedbug Girl

bedbug Girl::

Hi Manny,

It’s probably psychological IF you don’t see any irritation whatsoever AND have checked to make sure they are not to be found in your room. You can never be too careful!

bedbug Girl::

Hi BeeGee,

Sorry to hear you’re having this problem, it is never fun, but there is an end, you just have to keep at them. It’s not easy.

1) Yes you could have a delayed reaction, but more like hours later, not days.

2) Yes, they could be in your cloths, such a cloths in stacked in a closet, etc. They won’t live in the cloths you wear, but will hitch a ride :)

3) Yes, bedbug infestations are not limited to homes, they are found on buses, clothing stores and even hospitals! They tend to be active at night, but that all depends on the environment.

Let us know how this works out!

Lee Anne Cash::

Moved into a rental in Feb. Beginning June MAJOR infestation of bb. My husband and I both have OCD. Threw out all bb furniture. $6,000 worth. No furniture left. Used boiling water, steam, powder, bed covers, duct tape, removed all photos, hangers, EVERYTHING. Son is 11. Had allergic reaction. SEVERE. Doctor didn’t recognize the bites. Worse than photos on here. Three months left on lease. Sleeping in car and tub. Landlord told us the bugs were not here before we came? My husband has a chronic disease. Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. He goes to Shands off and on. Hospital. Broke, going bankrupt, he was terminated while on FMLA.

What should we do. We continue to fight them. We have two small dogs. One dog pulls plugs of hair out. I’m losing my mind. Trying to care for my son and keep my husband stress free. Please help.

RyanNYC::

I’ve just independently (through research on this site) come out of denial, and to the conclusion my bedroom is infested with bedbugs. I’ve woken up with bites for the past week or so, but have blamed it on mosquitos. Too many bites now to be a mosquito. Something I will be trying, which I haven’t seen mentioned on this site anywhere, that I felt I should share, and let everyone know how it works.

I’ve rolled approximately 8 inch pieces of duct tape and formed a line around my bed. I bought a plastic mattress cover to block them from coming anywhere except on the outside of my perimeter. I just would roll an 8 inch piece, place it on the bed (on top of the plastic cover), roll another piece, overlap the ends of the role, and continued until I have a square of duct tape rolls around me. This is obviously just a short term fix, but I think it will help with the next step as it’ll provide some solid information. When I wake up in the morning, I’ll be able to see which directions they are coming from due to where on the tape they are stuck. I’ll also have a general idea of how bad the infestation is due to how many are stuck. I have yet to actually see one, so I really have no idea. And I only have five or so bites on my body. I can then put extra emphasis on applying pesticides to those areas tomorrow. And it also has the great benefit of peace of mind (at least for one night). Yes it was rather tedious, but worth the effort in my opionion.

bedbug Girl::

If it’s just one bite, then chances are it’s not a bedbug – it could have been a spider. Check out BadSpiderBites.com – but be prepared for some scary pictures :)

Angela::

Hey i saw your post on some website I was researching for bedbugs….
I was just wondering if i could ask u a question??

So over the past few nights I’ve been bitten about 4-5 times. they are itchy, get red, and raised and have a small dot in the center. I have a indoor cat- who doesn’t seem to have fleas. I was researching bedbugs, and they say the bites are usually in a line, well 2 of the 4 or 5 are side by side, but ones beside my knee, and the other on my back… the two together are on my shoulder……

Now i already called my landlord and there has never been a problem in this building. However pretty much every building around us has been infested with bedbugs, and i noticed a mattress was taken out the other day…. I don’t know what to think at this point. I’m 22 this is my first apartment..I’m so confused!!

Howard::

Would a bedbug ever just sit on my comforter and let me walk right up to it?! I just found two tiny bugs on my comforter that didn’t look a lot like bedbug pictures I’d seen online, a couple of millimeters maybe with small narrow oval shaped bodies and tiny hairlike legs that fanned out evenly around the bodies – they didn’t move at all when I walked up and picked them up in a tissue and crunched them.

There was no blood or anything else, they just crunched and sort of broke apart. My bed is right underneath a window which was open at the time, so I’m hoping they could have just blown in the window, but I’m terrified. If it’s unlikely that a bedbug would sit still and let me walk up to it, please, please let me know! It would really help set my mind at ease.

Alicia::

Hi, I’ve been reading online and came across your email about bedbugs. I see there is much advise on how to get rid of bedbugs and to even treat the bites. However, is there anything you can put on your skin that serves like a repellant similar to Off spray of misquitos to keep them from biting you?
Thanks

—
Alicia
“Living on PURPOSE”

bedbug Girl::

Dear Kathy,

Previous post:
bedbug Girl says:

I searched a number of online databases for reports of bedbugs and could not find any for the Doubletree Hotel Chicago – Magnificent Mile, 300 East Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60611.

Thanks,
bedbug Girl

Tiffiney::

Hi, I saw your email on a site and sent you the picture below (click on it to see the full size).

I am freaking out! I saw a bug going across my kitchen floor, it isn’t anything familiar looking.

Can you please tell me if this is a bedbug and is it possible that someone could have possibly carried only one in on them and I saw it and killed it, so I wont have problems or should I still seek treatment?????

Please help!

LN::

HELP! I cannot sleep. Two evenings ago my husband and I went to a show. Last night I was doing some light housekeeping and picked up my shoes I had worn to the show to put them away. I found an insect that I believe to bed a bedbug crawling on my floor where my shoes had just been sitting. (I put it into a plastic baggie and compared it to pictures found online). I will take a picture and email you the photo.

My husband and I cannot find ANY SIGNS of an infestation. We have checked the areas where they are typically found. Nothing in our room or our children’s rooms. No feces, blood stains, molted skins, eggs, other bugs to be found. Is it possible this bug hitched a ride home with us? I’m concerned because the clothes we wore that night were removed and put in our dirty laundry basket which is located in our walk-in closet, FULL OF CLOTHES! My jacket I wore that night was hung on our coat rack in our foyer with other coats/jackets/backpacks. Not to mention my personal vehicle driven home that night. If this bug hitched a ride home what are the chances there are more? Or that it/they laid eggs?

In addition, I’ve come across other information online that states it is not typical to see an actual bedbug, so to see one is a clear sign of an infestation. I thought it odd to see it on my foyer floor near the entrance to my kitchen.

PLEASE ADVISE!

Jess Bryant::

Hello,

The bites are only on my arms and hands, there are only a couple big ones, and most are smaller and very few. There are none anywhere else on my body…. Are these bedbug bites?

nicole::

i seem to have only one bedbug that terrorizes only me. i believe it lives in my couch since that is the only place where i get bitten. my child has sat on the couch for hours and she has never been bitten once. do bedbugs discriminate when it comes to feeding?

i have been steam cleaning my couch, spraying hot water with soap and even spreading baking soda and still whenever i sit on my couch i get a bite or two. i have inspected my couch by turning it upside down and can’t see anything! no bugs, no eggs, nothing! so this is why i think there is only one that has a very good hiding spot in my couch somewhere.

the bites have been happening for about three months now, so it is possible to only have one bedbug that happens to be a male? if so, what would be the best way to get rid of him?

Kenny V.::

Is it possible to just have only one bedbug. I was getting bitten once a night, so we tore apart the room looking for them and did find one hiding in the curtain. I did kill it and haven’t gotten bitten or seen anymore since.

Thanks

Kenny V.::

Hi, it’s Kenny again. The curtain that I found it in is right at the head of my bed, less then one foot away! Thank you for the checklist, it was a big help!!!

vboscaino::

I first noticed a couple of red welts on the right side of my upper torso when I woke up one morning. At first I just assumed that these were mosquito bites. But then the next day I woke up and had a few more. The next day, again a few more. Of course I did what everyone does these days, hopped on to my trusty laptop and started working with Google.

It didn’t take me too long to arrive at bedbugs as a possible culprit. I actually found some pictures of bedbug bites and compared them to my red welts and bingo, it was very clear to me that bedbugs were the problem.

Thanks!

karly::

OMG! So I was laying down watching TV and I started to feel really itchy on my back so I took off my shirt and sweater and saw this huge bug on the inside of my sweater, by the looks of it its a bedbug.

Is there any way that I could only have one, and could they only be in my room and hopefully not in my whole house???

Katy K::

Hello,

I’ve been experiencing bites for the last couple of months. Currently I have 20-30 bites on my arms, neck and back. Last night, my boyfriend and I tore my apartment apart looking for bedbugs. We found nothing on the mattress or in the bedding nor on any clothing or in my dresser. The only evidence we have found is black specks on the sheets that are flat (in most cases). The specs are hard and usually do not smear. I have been collecting the specks and putting it in a bag for my landlord to see. I have placed double-sided tape around my bed frame, as well as, purchased mattress covers. We sprayed my room with Raid, vacuumed the carpet, put carpet tape on the base boards, pulled the bed away from the walls, and washed all of my bedding and clothing.

I did the double-sided tape experiment about a month ago and found nothing stuck to it.

My boyfriend has been getting bites too, but not nearly as many as I have. I live with another girl who has experienced no bites whatsoever. The bites I have are mostly on my arms, neck, and my back. They start out as swollen itchy red bumps, but turn into swollen open red sores/scabs after a couple of days. I have seen two doctors that stated that these bumps were hives; however, my doctor called me back today and told me to do treatment for scabies.

Does this sound like scabies or bedbugs?

Would scabies leave black specks on clean sheets?

How do I treat my cat for bedbugs/scabies?

I will try to post pictures! Please help!

Katy

stacia::

hi i was wondering if bedbugs jump…we have a small case of bedbugs and when i was checking the laundry room for any i ended up seeing a bug when i tried to kill it, it jumped away like actually leaped way from me. and also will natural dust help kill them because if they are in are laundry room its going to be a lot harder to kill them

elizabath::

to michelle, jan 2, 2011. you might have fleas in your home. you should use a flea bomb, and bomb the place. its a mist of solution that is sprayed into the air, and it kills them. but you cant be homewhen you do it. also, if it is in fact the bedbugs, then you need pest control to come out. but i learned that extreme heat kills them, so put your clothes/bedsheets etc. in the dryer for a while, spray all your items with rubbing alcohol on a mist setting.

bedbug Girl::

Hello Angel Nurse,

Unfortunately, people don’t understand that bedbugs can are brought into the hospital and not a sign that the hospital is dirty or unsafe; in fact, there have been news reports on bedbug infested hospitals in the U.S.

The hospital has a DUTY to get rid of bedbugs and must act upon an infestation, no question about this. If the hospital is ignoring the problem, and the doctors are actually putting up with it, then there must be someone in charge that can’t be reasoned with and that doctors are affraid to complain to. This is sad as it will turn into a big problem. Let me ask you this.

If a bedbug fills up on an infected person in the waiting room, and then another visitor pops that bedbug and is exposed to the blood (say a cut on the hand, etc), would not that person be at risk?

If you warn family members, you could end up losing your job and this may in fact follow you to your next job.

What can you do? Educate management and staff (you never know, perhaps a doctor brought them in) on ways to eliminate bedbugs, such as diatomaceous earth – we have a lot of information on this site on how to treat bedbugs. In the U.S., each area has a health department that can be called and a complaint filed, perhaps in India they have something similar?

Can you take some pictures and send them to me? I could post them on the site without reveling the identity of the hospital (I can edit the photos, etc).

bedbug Girl::

Hi James,

bedbugs DO NOT burrow under the skin, they only drink your blood so you have nothing to worry about. Scabies however, do burrow under the skin (you can see their tunnels).

As for recourse, I’m afraid you can do much. You would have to prove they did this intentionally and were aware they had bedbugs – hard to prove. Check out my bedbug Treatment page (see menu at top of page) to find out how to kill the bedbugs yourself.