Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While bites on your leg could indicate bedbugs, they could also be caused by other things. Bedbug bites actually take days or weeks to start itching and become noticeable, so if you do have bed bugs, you have probably had them for a while. Did anyone else in the house have bites? If not, it may be an allergic reaction to something like carpet beetles which are frequently confused with bedbugs but aren't nearly as difficult to eliminate. Not everyone is allergic to carpet beetles so some people in the house may react with welts that look like bites but others will not.

OP here. No one else in the house has bites. When I stripped the bed, I didn't find any bugs. What I did find was what the internet told me was evidence - small black dots (their poop) and several small rush colored stains on the mattress (from them getting smooshed.) I had both. The thing that made me suspicious of the bites what that they were all in a row down my leg - apparently this is an indicator of bedbugs. But I thought the same thing - what if they're not?

I figured I would treat it as bedbugs. I have washed all bedding (even the kids on the off chance there was a problem even though I found no evidence) on the hot steam cycle in the wash and dried everything on the highest setting for an hour. I took everything out of my nightstand and put it all in the freezer. Sprinkled the dresser with diatomaceous earth and laid it all around the baseboards. Have bedbug interceptors on all feet of the bed. Luckily we don't have a headboard (which I heard is a real booger to treat), we just have a metal frame. Encased the mattress and box spring in a bedbug proof cases.

In the back of my mind, PP, I'm still hoping you're right.

That is bed bugs, sorry.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, my mother just got the heat treatment a few weeks ago. I am so apprehensive about staying with her for the holidays.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While bites on your leg could indicate bedbugs, they could also be caused by other things. Bedbug bites actually take days or weeks to start itching and become noticeable, so if you do have bed bugs, you have probably had them for a while. Did anyone else in the house have bites? If not, it may be an allergic reaction to something like carpet beetles which are frequently confused with bedbugs but aren't nearly as difficult to eliminate. Not everyone is allergic to carpet beetles so some people in the house may react with welts that look like bites but others will not.

OP here. No one else in the house has bites. When I stripped the bed, I didn't find any bugs. What I did find was what the internet told me was evidence - small black dots (their poop) and several small rush colored stains on the mattress (from them getting smooshed.) I had both. The thing that made me suspicious of the bites what that they were all in a row down my leg - apparently this is an indicator of bedbugs. But I thought the same thing - what if they're not?

I figured I would treat it as bedbugs. I have washed all bedding (even the kids on the off chance there was a problem even though I found no evidence) on the hot steam cycle in the wash and dried everything on the highest setting for an hour. I took everything out of my nightstand and put it all in the freezer. Sprinkled the dresser with diatomaceous earth and laid it all around the baseboards. Have bedbug interceptors on all feet of the bed. Luckily we don't have a headboard (which I heard is a real booger to treat), we just have a metal frame. Encased the mattress and box spring in a bedbug proof cases.

In the back of my mind, PP, I'm still hoping you're right.

Anonymous wrote:While bites on your leg could indicate bedbugs, they could also be caused by other things. Bedbug bites actually take days or weeks to start itching and become noticeable, so if you do have bed bugs, you have probably had them for a while. Did anyone else in the house have bites? If not, it may be an allergic reaction to something like carpet beetles which are frequently confused with bedbugs but aren't nearly as difficult to eliminate. Not everyone is allergic to carpet beetles so some people in the house may react with welts that look like bites but others will not.