HELP ME! Bed Bugs!!!!!

Some people may not show that they are bitten. The bite usually only shows for people allergic to the bite. Others may be getting bit. You need to clean everything - wall sockets, surfaces, etc. Below is the information from a local hospital about bed bugs. The bed bug feeds only on blood. The main source for blood meals (i.e., bed bug bitesӔ) is humans. The bed bug is attracted to the host by detecting body heat and carbon dioxide. A blood meal is required for the female to produce eggs, and for progression of nymphs to each of the five developmental stages. However, an adult bed bug can survive for 6 to 12 months between feedings. Bed bugs are nocturnal and hide during the day unless extremely hungry. Preferred harborages are relatively close to the host, such as mattress seams and folds. However, bed bugs can travel several feet from a host and have been known to hide themselves in wall outlets, window and door frames, bed frames, drapery, baseboards, floor and wall cracks, drawers, electrical boxes, telephones, furniture, wall-to-wall carpeting, loose wallpaper, and behind wall hangings and headboards. Bed Bugs are not known to transmit any significant diseases. However, they are a clear nuisance. Bed Bugs typically feed at night. The elongated mouthpart of the insect is used to get a blood meal, which takes about 10 minutes. A single bed bug may take multiple blood meals from separate bites during a single feeding session. Bed bug bites often occur on the arms, shoulders, neck, and legs. The bed bug injects the site with salivary fluid that has both anesthetic and anti-coagulant activity to facilitate feeding. Bed bugs typically stay within 5 to 20 feet of their food source but is known to travel significant distances within persons clothing, luggage and other personal items. NOTE: The bed bug leaves the host once feeding is complete, so one will not typically see bugs on a person whose environment is infested. This is in contrast to other human infestations such as lice and scabies, in which the pest resides on the host. Therefore, bed bug prevention and intervention strategies, such as those described in this document, are directed at the environment rather than the host. Ectoparasites are insects that reside outside of the hosts body. Bed bugs are considered to be an ectoparasite as are other pests such as scabies, fleas, lices, etc. Each insect has unique behaviors and clinical ramifications. Therefore, it is important to identify the type of insect to best plan interventions to eradicate the pest from a person or a potentially infested environment. While this policy is primarily focused on bed bugs, the responsibilities and procedures may be used for other ectoparasites. Items that cannot provide harborage for bed bugs (e.g., cell phones, toiletries, food and beverages, etc.) typically do not require quarantine or decontamination.

I had a bed bug scare with my FFKs and it freaked me out! I had a service come that uses specially trained dogs to sniff out bed bugs. (Google them - these dogs work!). Thankfully I had none but the $300 I paid, although steep, was worth the reassurance.

I don't have advice, just hugs. We actually just had an outbreak at my office on my floor! I wont put my backpack on the floor anymore. I had no clue that they could travel on objects. I think you may need to call in the pros. Check them out first with you local BBB because it was on the news here that some are taking advantage of the outbreak. [url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bedbugs/DS00663/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs]Bedbugs: Treatments and drugs - MayoClinic.com[/url]

The boys brought them home from their dads. He was living in a transitional housing complex, and the entire place was infested with bed bugs. When I started finding new bites on the boys while they were at our house, I freaked out! Bed bugs is my biggest fear. We never actually found a BB, but we treated the house like we had. We threw away everything (in their room) that could not be put in the dryer. This included beds and mattresses. Luckily for us, that was about the only thing in their room, since we kept their dresser in the hallway, and their toys in the living room. We also paid (actually our agency paid) to have the house sprayed. They sprayed the boys room, and my daughters room (right next door) very heavy, and sprayed the girls mattresses really well. Then they also did a maintenance spray on the rest of the house.

We thought at one point Nugget had BB. They sent someone from the health dept. to check out mom's place. It turned out to be fleas. Frogger had bites on him when we got him and that turned out to be scabies. So you never know. There is lots of good info and pics on the internet to see the tell-tale signs of an infestation. They might also send for free someone from the health dept. Hope you don't have them. They are a pain from what I hear. Good luck.

I just need to know for sure that its bed bugs before I spend tons of money to treat something that is not there, you know??? I am so scared and also Helpless!!! Stuck til it gets worse or I never see another bite! I am SOOOO hoping that its just a random thing and its not BB!!!!! I wanna move away! My agency will pay, or so thats what they made it sound like, but they will need proof thats what it is! Any other way to know other than the dogs? Can a doc tell by just looking at the bite?

A doctor can guess but it would be just that. "Your skin reacts differently in different parts of the body. The skin of the face, hands and feet react the most when bitten by bed bugs. These are quite innocuous and are often misdiagnose as skin disorders such as scabies, or mosquito bites...The most common sign of bed bug bites that they will occur in a regular line of three. This pattern is referred to as breakfast, lunch and dinnerӔ by infectious disease experts."[URL="http://www.whatdobedbugslooklike.net/bed-bug-bite-symptoms.html"]Bed Bug Bite Symptoms[/URL]Unfortunately bed bug bites can be mistaken for other things and the only way to completely rule out bed bugs IMO is to get an inspection.

In college I did an internship in early intervention, which includes going to client's homes. I kept waking up with bites all over me... I would be half asleep and the memory would be hazy, then I would wake up without a mark on me! I thought I was crazy the first few nights and my roomies were experiencing NOTHING. But of course they lived on a different floor and the main living area was hard wood. I was convinced it was bed bugs... CONVINCED. My roommates didn't want me spraying as they thought it was my imagination. I laugh as I look back now, that I actually took pics in the middle of the night of the bites to prove to them. In the end I google'd it up and set a flea trap with the vain hope it was fleas. The flea trap showed fleas... I sealed my room, bombed it twice and problem solved. Point is, I was conviced it was bed bugs because of the severity of the bites, but it turns out I was just allergic to fleas. Good luck!!

When bedbugs started becoming problematic once again, it was quickly discovered that people were unknowingly bringing home the critters in their suitcases after staying at hotels. A few years ago, I stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in Boston during a business trip. This is a 5-star hotel (thank you, Harvard!)...and they were having a big problem with bedbugs crawling into guests' suitcases. Infestation isn't being caused by poor hygiene or lousy housekeeping...it's happening because we don't use DDT anymore. The DDT is what caused the critters to disappear for a couple generations. It actually took the bedbugs quite a while to proliferate again, since we banned the use of DDT a long time ago...thankfully, as it caused horrible mutations in the animal population.

Ok, BB's are one of my biggest fears too, but here are a few quick and easy tips for you that really do help! Dry EVERYTHING in the dryer for 120 mins...it takes that long to kill the bugs and the eggs. If ANYTHING touches the floor, even if for just a second, it goes back in the wash. Alcohol kills the bugs, and the eggs on contact as it dries them out. So, wiping down mattresses and placing them in the BB protectors will really do a huge number right there. Also, take everything out of the dressers and wipe them down inside and out, every single little nook and cranny with the alcohol too. Wash and dry aka "fry" the clothes, and then return to the dresser. Same goes for the linen closet. We found it helpful to buy the strongest rubbing alcohol and then put it in a spray bottle. Made it so much easier....just be sure to keep the windows open while using it...it's strong stuff! Then, when the dressers are good to go, slather a 2'' wide, 1/2'' deep band of vasoline around the bottom. This will keep ANY little bugs from crawling up and getting inside of there. This also works well on the bedposts. BB do not have a very good grip and are easily caught in the vasoline....plus it gives you a clear view of anything that may have been trying to climb up. Pillows also need to be washed in very hot water and "fried"...aka double dried, then put in the BB pillow protectors. All childrens toys should have a bleach bath twice a week. Bed sheets should be changed every other day at most. And, NO ONE should go to bed in anything other than fresh from the treated dresser, or hot out of the dryer, clothing. Literally, I mean teeth are brushed and everything, then nothing left to do except change clothes and get into bed. Also, in this case, I would not allow anyone in the house to re-wear their clothes, re-use their towels, ect. Once and done, for all of it, you know? Carpets should be steamed, furniture as well, and all curtains washed and "fried". Another little tip would be to switch out your purse and/or diaper bag to a cloth bag that can be put through the wash...and then every night, add it in with a load of laundry. It's an easy thing to do, and gives BB's one less dark quiet place to hide! Maybe also consider avoiding movie theaters, thrift stores and garage sales (very well known areas to pick up the bugs), as well as any hand me downs for a while to make sure if you DO have the bugs you can place when and where you got them. Diatomaceous Earth, food grade, available at Lowe's, powder puffed all around the baseboards is a very agrressive, and an incredible thing to do as well. It's cheap, and takes only a few mins to put down. It's made of ground up shells and things like that which cut the BB's (and any other bugs, spiders ect) when they crawl through it, and dries them out....also they will try to lick it off, and then that shreds their insides. It's non-toxic to humans, but should not be inhaled directly-they say to treat it like baby powder. These are a few of the things my family learned the hard way, and I can tell you they really do work! And while not an extensive list by any means, it's at least a super good start! Good luck, and I hope to goodness, you do not actually have those little boogers!

Do not panic, just call nearby pest control professionals.