Ewwww! Do I have bedbugs?
I've been waking up recently with bug bites on my arms. They definitely don't look like flea bites--more like mosquito bites, but with some broken blood vessels. I looked at pictures on-line, but they don't seem to be as large as any of the bug bite pictures posted on-line. Is there any way to tell if it's bed bugs? And then if it is, what should I do about that (besides call an exterminator).
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13 Answers
If you go to a doctor, they can probably identify the bites. There's been a bed bug resurgence going on, and they're apparently very difficult to get rid of.
If you change your sheets to a light color, you can check them in the morning to see if you have tiny red or dark spots around you (those are crushed bedbugs).
Whatever is biting you, sleep somewhere else and do your detective work - light-coloured sheets, double-sided sticky tape, etc -w/o your bod in that bed. Ewww! might turn into something more serious. And what exterminators spray around can be pretty nasty. Check very carefully before you let a masked guy w.a spray cannister run amok in your abode.
I think that legally exterminators have to disclose what chemicals they use. Like outdoor pesticides, some are much safer than others. I had Terminex person here once for carpenter ants outside, but fired him after the first visit. Used honey and borax after that.
From the Harvard School of Public Health. Note caveats about extermination.
you may also have spider bites. i get them all the time in our first floor/basement apartment.
If you have spots of blood on your sheets, then you definitely have bed bugs. I've heard that the only solution (when you're desperate), is to bathe before bed in a bath that is one part unsalted butter and one part Wild Turkey bourbon. Make sure that your butter is unsalted.
despite how much I like the idea of bathing in bourbon, if you have bedbugs, don't bathe in any weird baths--the only solution I've heard that works is to get rid of your mattress. And wash all your bedding in scalding water. You may also have them in your walls or carpeting, in which case you will probably have to call the exterminator.
I got bit by bed bugs in Brazil. One tell-tale sign is that they typically leave a trail of bites, all in a row. In my case, I must have had 50 - 60 bites on me, mostly on my back. It only happened that once, thank goodness, but it was pretty nasty. I found out later that each time they bite, they also poop. Really gross.
i heard that if you encase your mattress and box spring in plastic covers (can get them at walmart for under $10 each) that will smother the bed bugs. also you have to treat walls and furniture with a bleach/water solution.
BED BUGS EGSIST?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I SPELLED IT RONG
Are the bites in close laying clusters that look like multiple mosquito bites? If so, you are probably being bit by yellow sac spiders. They are night creatures that hunt during the night and they love humans to feast off of. Check around your home to see if you see any webs that look like loose cocoons of spider webs, sometimes you can even see the spider sleeping in them.
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