Bed Bug Bites Giving You The Itch?
September 23rd, 2009 Posted in Bed Bugs & Fleas
You weren’t outside recently, so it’s not a mosquito. And the teeth marks don’t make you think: spider? Uh oh…is it bed bugs?
We’ve all heard the adage. But how do you know it’s a bed bug that is ruining your tight sleeping?
This article will teach you how to:
Identify a bed bug bite
Bed bug bites:
- Occur on the face, arms, hands, and neck most.
- Appear in a straight line of small red bumps across your arm. This indicates multiple bites by one bed bug.
- Form blister-like inflammations.
- Will itch and can sometimes look like a rash.
- Create skin rashes similar to hives.
Don’t misdiagnose bites as those from bed bugs. Be aware that:
- Bed bug bites can be confused with mosquito or other bites.
- If the bite has a red spot in the center, it’s likely to be something else, like fleas.
- Rashes are often assumed as bites because of bed bugs’ habits of biting in a small clustered area.
Bed bugs will avoid hair; their legs are not made for climbing in it. If the bites are in an area with thick hair, it’s likely lice or fleas.
Treating a bite
It can take several days for a bite to begin to show or itch, and up to two weeks for them to go away.
Start with an over-the-counter cream to reduce the itch since scratching will only risk infection.
Extreme allergic reactions are rare but possible. In the case of a bad break out from bites, consult a doctor. He may prescribe an oral antihistamine or steroid.
What’s a bed bug look like?
First of all, your chances of seeing a live bed bug are very slim. But if you manage to spot one, it is a definitive confirmation of an infestation.
Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown insects, only 5-7mm in size. They are commonly confused with cockroaches or ticks.
Mature bedbugs have small wings, but bed bugs are unable to fly.
Signs of an Infestation
You suspect bed bugs, but how do you know, if they’re so hard to spot?
Where to find them:
- In your mattress and box springs.
- In small cracks in the wall or furniture.
- Behind peeling wallpaper.
- Behind curtains.
- Inside the corner of dressers.
Signs of their presence include:
- Small black spots of fecal matter (digested blood) on you bed.
- Dried blood spots from the bites on the bed.
- Shed skins or egg shells.
Preventing Bedbugs
Where do they come from?
Bed bugs appear in dirty areas, but can still thrive in clean environments.
Bed bugs will cling to clothes, bedding, and other materials, so it is possible to carry them home from places like hotels or your kids’ slumber parties.
Crowded areas such as dorm rooms are common breeding grounds.
They cling to birds and bats as well, so a high concentration of either will also increase the likelihood of an infestation.
How to get rid of them
Keep sleeping in your bed until they are taken care of. If you move, they will too. Consult an exterminator to find out if your bed needs to be discarded or not. It depends on how infested the mattress is.
Wash all of your clothes, curtains, bedding, etc. in hot water. The heat will kill them off. Dry cleaning will also work, but be sure to inform them, so they don’t contaminate anything else.
If you decide to put your clothing into storage (airtight bag), you must do so for a long time. Bed bugs can go for over a year without food.
Don’t use bug bombs. Because of their size and speed, bed bugs will escape the bomb and simply move to infest other areas of the dwelling.
32 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
By Anthony Maisano on Sep 29, 2009
I’d like to be a tester for your green products.
By Miriam Ravitz on Oct 6, 2009
Thank you. Everything else I found was so visual, but you did a good job describing. I seem to have a few mosquito bites, but I’d like to test just in case, since we had a problem at home before.
By Bed Bugs on Oct 15, 2009
this is very helpful, i’ll keep an eye out for these
By P. Snead on Oct 24, 2009
I’d love to test your different products.
Bedbugs definitely are NOT fun to have and can be spread throughout hotels, apt. buildings, etc., and brought home easily on clothes, in bags, etc.
By Robin Gulling on Oct 25, 2009
I have a neighbor and he just aquired bed bugs and in a new building only a year old. I would apprciate being a tester as well as a bug free tenent. Thank you in advance
By T. Gibson on Oct 25, 2009
Thanks, been getting strange bites. Gonna try your suggestion. Sounds possible. Look forward to being a tester, like the idea of gren.
By Cindy Williamson on Oct 30, 2009
Woke up this morning with three bites in a row on my arm. A Google search brought me to you! We only buy organic so being a product tester fits our lifestyle. We had a renter living here who had a dog that left last month. My first thought these were flea bites but our cats are not scratching. Maybe bed bugs??
By C. Courtade on Nov 9, 2009
I’ve been getting a strange rash which I thought was an allergy, but after looking at your site, it might be from bed bugs. How do I get your products to test?
By Sarah on Nov 10, 2009
I think I got bed bugs from my boss. He had to move but I can not. I do not see any brown or red spots on my matress. But I have bites and some friends that stayed on the couch had bights one morring. Not a lot just some on my arm and back. I would like to nip it in the bud right now. I live with a friend in a two bedroom in Queens, Ny. My friend has no bites..my boss said that some poeple just don”t get bitten. Is that true? We are Very green around the house and would like to test you products…
By Larry A Morrison on Nov 10, 2009
By Larry on 11/10/09 I’m convinced that Cincinnati,is the Bed Bug capital of the world. These bugs seem to be immune to everything including radiation. They may be mutants from a nuclear power plant that can not die,and have teeth like that guy “Jaws” in the James Bond movie. Wish i could find a secret weapon to get rid of them.
By Kelsey on Nov 15, 2009
would definately love to become a tester. i am suffering from a bad case of bed bugs and its driving me crazy. im also having a similar problem as someone above me, i wake up every morning with atleast one new bite but my husband and our roomate dont seem to be bothered by them at all. they havent even gotten one bite. i called an exterminator and they want to charge me $975 per room in my house and i just cant pay that much to get rid of them (although i desperately wish i could) need to find something that actually works.
By patty on Nov 15, 2009
I was looking up different websites trying to get info on different bites and came across your website don’t know if its bed bugs but not eliminating them either the itching is very irritible. Would love to give your product a test
By niki on Nov 16, 2009
i think I got bed bugs on a trip abroad and brought them back with me. I would love to test your products. I have a cat and i’m afraid to use harsh chemicals that might harm him.
By Lynn on Nov 17, 2009
I woke up this morning with new bites on my hands, neck and face. this has been going on for a month and i don’t know where to turn. i would love to test your product for bed bugs
By R Oliver on Nov 19, 2009
My wife just got back from traveling in Central America. We need to test your product!!
By Danielle on Nov 23, 2009
Found bites on my feet one morning. Husband travels alot. I keep getting a couple of bites each night but my husband gets nothing. Please let me test your product!
By Emanuel Segura on Nov 24, 2009
Hello,
I moved into an apartment complex with my family, and me and my son have been waking up with bite marks every morning. They are very itchy and annoying, we have had them on our backs, arms, legs, face and neck. There was an exterminator that came a few months ago that made his rounds through the apartment complex, but that did not solve the problem. Me and my son are still waking up with these bite marks that look like small bumps in certain areas, can we please test out your products, we are tired of being ithcy all the time. Thanks.
By Debbie on Nov 29, 2009
I think we picked up bedbugs on a recent rural vacation. I’m finding evidence in the bedroom – dark smear in the middle of the box springs, little specks of black on sheets, twice spots of blood, and bites on me and my dog -and I think they may be in the car, too. We spent a lot of time on the road with luggage in the trunk and in the cabin. Something has invaded the floorboard of my car and begins to bite as soon as it gets dark under the dash. Exerminators can’t treat a car, and I have a seizure-prone dog. I’m afraid of professional chemicals because they could easily kill her. I’d love to test your products. The sooner the better!
(I emailed you a few minutes ago on this topic before finding this email inquiry about testing. So you’ll have 2 emails from me.)
By Ann Reilly on Dec 2, 2009
My pets had bugs and gave them to me and they infested my home to boot. Had to bomb the place and even had to use lice medication in my hair from mites from pets that got on my pillow I sleep on at night. Ugh. My pets are still recuperating from the skin infections that affected their coats from incessant itching of the area. Ecosmart has a healthy,’Green’ alternative to chemical collars,powders and bombs that I have used in the past. It is surprisingly affordable for the average consumer as well. Way to go guys! You can read my post about this wonderful product on my ‘Green’ blog ‘Green is not a 4 letter word’. Go Green! -Ann
By bugbuster on Dec 4, 2009
It generally won’t cost you anything to have an exterminator come out and inspect your home. Their advice can be very helpful. Often times people think they have bed bugs but do not.
This article is a good start. Chances are you don’t have to trash your mattress tho. If you do but haven’t eliminated every last bed bug in your home, your mattress will just become reinfested and you will have wasted your money. You can probably use a mattress encasement instead. Google search it.
Use the luggage stand when you travel and check the bed thoroughly upon check-in. You can look up your hotel on the web in advance to see if it has bed bugs. There are many things you can do to help protect yourself.
By The Bedbug Blog on Dec 8, 2009
It’s great to see a site taking an eco-friendly approach to bedbugs.
By Lindsay on Dec 9, 2009
I would love to test your product. Woke up with a bug bite 3 separate times this month and am starting to get concerned. I sleep with my window open so its possibility it could be something else but they are always in similar locations on my upper arms.
By Charles on Feb 10, 2010
My house is infested and they are devouring my wife. Need something to kill these bed bugs.
By Arthur on Feb 18, 2010
My 9 yr old son has had bad bites on his face, arms, chest & upper back. We had him sleep in our room and bed for a few nights. He was OK there. In the meantime we washed everything in hot water and put them back on his bed. Left the stuffed animals and other things out. His mattress is a memory foam. Going back to his room produced more bites. He sleeps in a loft bed. We again took out all the coverings and things and washed them. We moved him to the floor (rug on the floor) just to see if that helped. It did for about a week. Today the bites are back and seem even bigger. We do not see any sign of bed bugs. He has several dressers, bookcases and a desk in his room. We feel so bad for him. We realize him sleeping with us cannot be a permanent solution. As someone said, they will follow him. We would certainly jump at the chance to test what you have. We are green & organic where possible. – Thanks for listening.
By EcoSMART Megan on Feb 22, 2010
Dear Arthur,
Your poor son! Because bed bugs seem to be such an overwhelming pest for you, I would contact a professional. Make sure to ask them if have eco-friendly products to use in your home.
Best of luck!
By MIchael Gist on Mar 14, 2010
We have been fighting these things for 2 months. I will gladly use anything you can throw my way.
By EcoSMART Megan on Mar 15, 2010
Dear Michael Gist,
For bed bugs, the best thing to do is contact a professional to rid yourself of these pests.
When you contact them, ask if they use commercial products from any of these EcoSMART partners. This will ensure you’re still only using eco-friendly products in your home.
By Jack on Mar 15, 2010
We’ve just finished quelling our second infestation in my apartment building here in CT. It’s an all elderly and disabled building, so not only are most of the tenants particularly easy prey for bedbugs, it’s especially challenging for us to manage things like moving furniture away from walls for treatment, and the cost of repeatedly laundering every piece of clothing and linen in the apartment really adds up when you’re on a small fixed income.
It isn’t the washing that kills the bedbugs and eggs, actually — they don’t necessarliy drown in washing machines! — so much as the drying. Make sure everything is heated to at least 120F for 20 minutes. (This does mean that already-clean clothes can just go in the dryer.) For individual items less than a laundry-load’s worth, they can be put into an oven bag and heated in the oven instead of the dryer.
And to kill bedbugs in electronic devices like computers & DVD players that can’t be safely heated, here’s what we discovered: Place the contaminated items in a large, sturdy plastic bag, cover with a towel or other padding, and place about 1/2 cup dry ice per gallon of the bag’s capacity on the padding, then squeeze all the air out of the bag (being careful that the plastic doesn’t come in contact with the dry ice) and seal it tightly. As the dry ice evaporates, the bag fills up with CO2… and, like us, bedbugs breathe oxygen. They suffocate in CO2! The carbon dioxide is heavier than regular air, too, so any oxygen in the bag rises to the top while the CO2 sinks to wherever the bugs are hiding. Since this method does NOT kill eggs, you should plan to leave items in the bag for 3-5 weeks and then dry-ice them again, so that any eggs laid will hatch and the hatchlings suffocate too. Of course all appropriate dry-ice safety precautions must be taken — never handle without insulated gloves (oven mitts work fine) and be sure the area you open bags full of evaporated CO2 in are well-ventilated so you don’t suffocate yourself.
Odds are that we’ll wind up re-infested at least once more, and we wouldn’t mind trying out EcoSMART bedbug control if that happens. Otherwise, we also have intermittent issues in our building with both weevils and those nasty little moths that eat food and clothing, and we’d really like to test out a product that would get rid of those without being toxic to humans or pets!
By EcoSMART Megan on Mar 16, 2010
Dear Jack,
Thanks, that advice is really helpful, and green.
Because bed bugs are such a problem in your building, the best thing to do is contact a professional.
Ask if they use commercial products from any of these EcoSMART partners. They are 100% safe to use around your residents.
By Jackie on Jun 7, 2010
Parent apartment got infected with bed bug. Leaving the light on at night at the infected area will minimal the beg bug from coming out. We dry vacuum the whole place – especially around the corner and crack. Wash the area with Clorex mix with water, let dry, then we spray the whole area with Ecosmart with phenethy. Now waiting for result.
By C Couturier on Jun 14, 2010
I have been getting bites on my face and arms. We had a professional here, but he did not find any evidence of bed bugs. I have dogs and we did find a few fleas, but I think that I am dealing with some very crafty bed bugs. Please help and send product right away!
By P. DiMare on Jul 25, 2010
I awoke this morning feeling as if my feet had been bit by 1000 mosquitos. Since then ive been on the hunt to find out whether its from the bed bugs or something else. I need a remedy ASAP!!