please tell me its not bedbugs

amother

Mon, Nov 22 2010, 3:19 pm

Every morning I get my kids dressed right before breakfast. This morning, as soon as I put my 2-year-old in the high chair, I saw a bug on his shirt. I have a big roach problem and have an exterminator come every Wednesday, so I know what roaches look like, and this wasn't a roach; it was too light. Usually I kill roaches by either slapping them or pinching them. I wasn't going to slap ds, so I removed the bug with my fingers, but when I closed my fingers, I couldn't find the bug. I didn't have time to look for it as my kids have to make the school bus. After I took my big kids to the school bus, I noticed that my arm was a little itchy. I took off my shirt and found 3 dots on my arm and 3 on my back. I called the exterminator and asked if he could check for bedbugs when he comes on Wednesday. I googled bed bugs, but found too much information. I read all the bed bug threads here and am confused. I can't find anything on any beds. Ds was wearing the shirt for less than 2 minutes before I noticed the bug and it was just washed. I don't have my own washing machine, so I suppose its possible that we picked up the bug in the laundry room, although why would it stay on a shirt for a few days? (The last time I did laundry was Friday.) My 2-year-old has eczema so I can't tell if he was bitten. It could be those dots on his leg are really bites. I already decided that I'm not going to make myself crazy until the exterminator comes on Wednesday. Does it sound like a bed bug to you?

grin

Mon, Nov 22 2010, 3:25 pm

AFAIK, bedbugs aren't light colored and don't crawl on shirts - maybe lice? (don't know if you think that's better or worse. Confused

)

amother

Mon, Nov 22 2010, 3:30 pm

Lice is better than bedbugs as it only attacks the head and doesn't hide the way bed bugs do. Do lice walk on shirts and bite arms and backs?

amother

Mon, Nov 22 2010, 3:38 pm

I'm afraid to tell you that it might very well be bedbugs.

They are light colored before they bite and feed on blood Puke

and are difficult to catch and kill with your hands, they escape quickly, you really have to "pinch" them well, like crush them, in order for them to die.

And they are likely to be on clothes as well... Sad

I'm talking from experience unfortunately and still fighting it Sad

grin

Mon, Nov 22 2010, 3:41 pm

amother wrote:

Lice is better than bedbugs as it only attacks the head and doesn't hide the way bed bugs do. Do lice walk on shirts and bite arms and backs?

walk on shirts, yes. bite - no. I guess it's bedbugs, after all. Sad

amother

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 5:34 pm

op here. The exterminator came and he said that we have no bedbugs, but we do have carpet beatles. The pictures I saw online of carpet beatles do look like the bug I found. Does anyone know how to get rid of carpet beatles?

octopus

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 5:39 pm

carpet beetles are no picnic, either. They eat through your clothes. Oy, I feel for you!

sky

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 7:01 pm

amother wrote:

An exterminator should be able to spray for that.
vacum all corners and along edges of the wall. Vacum matresses, on all the seams.

amother

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 8:02 pm

Carpet beatles also eat natural fibers like wood and leather, not just clothing. Like said before, vacuuming is key. The perimeters of all rooms. Also, dump contents of vacuum in an outside garbage. You can also spray for this on your own. There is a spray called supreme sc. It works. Also, if something is truly infested, like a couch, you may need to throw it away.

leomom

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 8:09 pm

I just noticed that Bed, Bath & Beyond carries something called bedbug spray... also a bedbug-deterring mattress cover. I have no idea whether these things work, but I thought I'd mention it here in case they could help someone.

sky

Wed, Nov 24 2010, 8:29 pm

If you want to do your own upkeep after the exterminator you can spray yourself with this: http://store.doyourownpestcont.....d=244

We spray it along all wall and floor seams every so often.

Bedbugcommunity

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 2:39 pm

yy wrote:

I'm glad it wasn't bed bugs! I recommend getting bed bug mattress covers; from places like Bedbug.com to prevent bedbugs because they really are a nightmare and that is the best prevention you can get for your household as a whole.

leomom

Thu, Jan 27 2011, 9:44 pm

Bedbugcommunity wrote:

yy wrote:

Is bedbug.com your website?

Bedbugcommunity

Sun, Jul 10 2011, 11:31 am

yy wrote:

Hey there,

Carpet beetles do often get confused for bed bugs. While I don't have experience with them, I do with bed bugs.

I know that regarding mattress covers you need to be careful that they are tested and work well. I suggest securesleep bedbug mattress covers where they also have bed bug proof laundry bagss... If you want to go to bedbathandbeyond, I think they have a company called allergy luxe that makes reasonably priced tested bed bug mattress covers. Good luck! Smile