OT - anyone actually had the bed bugs bite?

[Scarlet834]

I came under attack from some insect or another in early November, being bitten on the torso, thighs, and elbow creases about 2-3 times per night for maybe a week. None since 11/8 thank goodness. No sign of infestation in the home, although we sleep in a waterbed so in the event something happens again we'll have our work cut out for us tearing everything down. I've never reacted to bites quite like this, ever. Horribly intense itching. I believe I irritated them in my sleep and they regularly flared up after days of being asymptomatic. Anyway, today is the first day I can recall that nothing itches.

I'm very suspicious this was a bed bug, but I can't be sure. I own cats (they are treated regularly for fleas), but my reaction to a known flea or mosquito bite is very different. My current theory is that I picked up something at an outdoor picnic in Los Angeles, brought it home (where it regularly dined on me), and lost it to it's death or during a subsequent business trip. I can only hope there was one only and that it was male. I hope never to meet up with whatever this insect was again.

[sronsen]

This reminds me of the shock we got shortly moving to Houston with two cats from Northern climes. FLEAS!

[sleepycarol]

I have noticed that our Dollar General stores are now handling bed bug spray in our area. I didn't pick up the bottle to read the ingredients, but a small bottle that couldn't have been over 2 ounces was something like $4.00.

I wonder if there is an epidemic?

I know my sister and daughter at various times have cleaned motel/hotel rooms and bedding is only washed upon use is the sheets with the blankets and bed spread being washed once a week or as needed (depending how busy that room has been). So when you think about it is kind of gross since you don't know how actually used the bed prior to you. There isn't any assurance they even slept under the top sheet.

[Gerryk]

And to think that I used to tease my wife about being a germaphobe. When we would go to a hotel she would go in remove the comforter put it away in the closed and wash her hands. She would always put the suitcases up off the floor and always left the clothes in the suitcases, only taking it out to wear.

Between that and the tv reports of things showing under certain types of lights I sure owe her an apology.

Glad your all better and lost your newly found feasting friend.

Gerry

[Scarlet834]

I'm praying, believe me! I know bed bugs can go weeks without eating.

I've battled fleas before also (being in Southern California), but those bites vanish from me in days, not weeks.
I eyed my kitties with suspicion, but I think they're innocent this time. (Or, it was a one-off insect that one of them brought inside. As long as they don't make a habit of it...)

[plr66]

And to think that I used to tease my wife about being a germaphobe. When we would go to a hotel she would go in remove the comforter put it away in the closed and wash her hands. She would always put the suitcases up off the floor and always left the clothes in the suitcases, only taking it out to wear.

Between that and the tv reports of things showing under certain types of lights I sure owe her an apology.
Gerry

Gerry, I agree that you have a smart wife. There is clearly a new serious concern about bedbugs. Not sure whether it has been classed an epidemic, but surely worth major concern for travelers. And your wife did all the right things.

[Slinky]

Yep, I've seen several news articles about the rise of bed bug infestations again due to all the immigrants coming into the country. Until reading those news articles I just thought the old adage "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" was just a saying. I had no idea they really existed.

And for those who don't bounce out of bed and start making up the bed - the news articles said it was better NOT to make the bed, to leave it unmade as the bed bugs don't like the light and the air. So you've been doing the healthy thing all along!

[sleepycarol]

Yep, makes me wonder why people think motel/hotel rooms are clean.

Until my sister worked at Best Western, I just assumed that the entire bed was stripped and washed. Didn't even consider that the blankets and comforter was reused for a period of time. After that I have always had a fear of picking up lice, never really thought about bed bugs.

After learning that, I stopped taking baths and instead take a shower when staying away from home cause it makes you wonder just clean that tub is.

I know we have a large immigration population here (thanks to Tyson's). I guess that is why the stores are now carrying the bed bug spray.

[kteague]

Sure hope your "problem" is over. Even some of the most ritzy hotels have been reported to have a problem with them. In Cincinnati the bedbug problem is rampant. There is discussion of the EPA lifting restrictions on a particular pesticide. Unfortunately most don't realize what the bites are until they've already had time to proliferate. Only a knowledgable, comprehensive, unrelenting response will resolve the problem, but they can be beat. But in apartments, even that may not be enough unless the whole building does it simultaneously.

Hot steam will pop them in an instant and can penetrate materials and cracks. Around here Lemon Scented Raid sells like crazy since word has gotten around that some apartment complexes have found it most effective for direct contact. Applying diatomaceous earth (from garden store) in every crevice and where they would have to cross over to get to your bed, chair or couch pretty much insures eventual death. If they are carried into your house, they WILL locate you. They don't nest or sleep far from where they eat, so an almost microscopic inspection nearby will often uncover the culprits.

Here's a story for you. A while back I pulled my wicker laundry basket alongside my recliner, put a notebook on top and used it as a tabletop for my computer mouse. Seems whatever finish was on the wicker irritated my skin, because for a couple days my inner wrist area was broke out in a rash right where it rested on the edge of the hamper. Almost looked like an irregular sandpaper rash. Nothing even resembling bedbug bites, that are usually in clusters or lines of 3 or 4. One late night (I was probably on here) my flaming red wrist was really stinging, so I took my hand off the mouse and lifted my arm to look at it, and some kind of movement caught my eye. Looked down in the wicker but didn't see anything, so thought it was my imagination. Went back to using the mouse, and felt the stinging again. This time I looked before I lifted my arm, and daggone if I didn't see a little sucker duck down under the wicker and peek out as if to see if it was ok to come back out yet! Somehow one must have been on something I put in the dirty clothes hamper, and it set up residence there. Why go out for food when you can eat at home, right? Figured out the many many tiny bumps were because it had to nip and run repeatedly trying to get enough to eat. Is that comparable to grazing? To this day I don't know what all was in that hamper. Saturated it with Raid and secured it in plastic for disposal. As I've looked for clothing items and can't find them, I wonder if I might have overreacted. NOT! Drastic times call for drastic measures.

Will anybody be able to sleep now? Sorry.

P.S. Those at higher risk of carrying a stray one home are those who have lots of public interaction. One was seen crawling in a nice park/playground locally. Public transportation - scary. An elementary school sent a letter home with parents saying that kids who were found to have bedbugs in their backpacks would have their items sent home in plastic bags. I'm sure every parent was panicked by that letter. I know a daycare worker for preschoolers (in an upper scale part of town) - they have a problem too. Seems few if any are immune.

[grandmma]

Yikes, thanks! NOW I'm itchy just reading all this. It's like talking about lice and nits, gets you scratching just talking about it.

Got to my advanced age and thought 'bed bugs' was just a phrase!!! They exist? That's disgusting!

Kathy, that story is just disturbing! What a calculating little mite!

[SleepyT]

Yep, I've seen several news articles about the rise of bed bug infestations again due to all the immigrants coming into the country. Until reading those news articles I just thought the old adage "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" was just a saying. I had no idea they really existed.

And for those who don't bounce out of bed and start making up the bed - the news articles said it was better NOT to make the bed, to leave it unmade as the bed bugs don't like the light and the air. So you've been doing the healthy thing all along!

I didn't know they were real either. My grandfather used to tuck us kids in and say that little rhyme about the bedbugs....and I always wondered what the heck he was talking about. I haven't met the little critters yet...and hope not to! Yuck!

[BlackSpinner]

Vancouver, BC is also having a big issue with them. You need to treat the entire building to get rid of them - every apartment and its contents. I believe they are talking of put clauses in the leases that if you have bed bugs when you move in you pay for the whole building to be done! And these are not slum building but pricy high rises.

[dkdc]

Unfortunately, I have become a semi expert on bedbugs recently as the place I work has gotten them twice (a residential facility for people with disabilities).

You need a good company to work with you, and treatment it involves lots of vacuuming and drying. And decluttering.

The wikipedia page has LOTS of info and seems to have correct information. Also, see bedbugger.com for good info.

I don't believe the influx of immigrants has much or anything to do with the rise of bedbugs. There are two theories I have heard: the cessation of use of ddt and other poisons, and the rise in air travel (probably both are the culprits - particularly the outlawing of DDT).

Anyway, no need to go into more detail here, pther than to say one guy was not allowed to get a sleep study due to his admitting upfront that he had bbugs in his bedroom. So, it can be a LARGE nuisance and get in the way of important things.

No eveidence that they transmit any diseases, at this time at least. It is just very hard to get rid of them.

[Wulfman]

Don't discount the possibility that it might have actually been a spider.......and not bedbugs.

I don't think I've actually ever seen a bedbug, but spiders are common where I live.


Den

[Guest]

Don't know about 'western' bugs, but here in the east we've had an outbreak of chiggers when outdoors in grassy areas. Itches (welts) for a couple of weeks. You mentioned that you were outdoors.