Ok, for a while now I’ve noticed that when I wake up in the morning I’ll have a couple of red itchy bumps. They don’t itch that bad and only last 15 to 30 minutes then go away completely.
One thing I’ve noticed is that it almost always seems to be about 5 inches above the kneecap or 5 inches above the elbow. Also, I’ve never seen the “breakfast, lunch, dinner” phenomenon, which is 3 bites in a row. Last night I bought some bed bug spray and sprayed the entire can in my room. I sprayed all over my bed and then washed the sheets, pillows & blanket. However I still had a couple of red bumps this morning.
My first question is if it’s not bed bugs what else could be causing these itchy bumps? Second, what is a relatively cheap and easy way to find out for sure if I have bed bugs?
Ug. I’ve been there (luckily the answer was no, but I’m still traumatized after reading all about the suckers online). From what I’ve read, it is odd that they’re not going for the torso, unless you’re well-covered there with no exposed skin. Still, it’s a possibility, and if you do have them, a can of bug spray likely won’t change that. Check the seams of your mattress and bed frame for evidence (tiny blood spots, casings), or put some sticky tape around there and check in the a.m. Do a general clean up in your room and whole flat (if it’s not huge), including vacuuming (throw out the bag afterwards) and some laundry. Running stuff through the dryer for 20 minutes is one of the few effective techniques in killing them.
It’s not fleas. I can always feel fleas when they bite and can usually grab & kill them while they’re in the act. I’ve got a nagging suspicion that after I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on exterminators that all along it was just some allergic reaction to laundry detergent or something equally stupid…
Article highlight: Bed bugs can live for a YEAR without feeding – enclosing your mattress in a special bug-proof cover for a year or more is required to starve them out.
When we had them, the majority of my bites were on my hands and lower arms. Our mattress is on the floor, I sleep with my arms under my head, and they were in the wall nearest my hands. Plus, I usually wear a T-shirt to bed.
The good (I suppose) thing about bedbugs is that you can see them pretty easily. They look like little red ticks. When you want to take a look peel back your covers slowly, otherwise you’ll just fling them off somewhere. Of course if you have crimson sheets and richly patterned spreads that could make them more difficult to spot. Above the kneecaps and above the elbows almost sound clothing-related.
Get a black light, bed bugs glow in the dark under one. A friend moved into an apartment and was immediately covered with bites every morning. She didn’t have the problem before she moved. With a black light the little critters could be seen all over the place, even a spare bedroom that had nothing in it. The landlord of course blamed her for bringing them with her. A call to the county health department was all it took, most of the units in the complex had to fogged to get rid of them. My friend also bought a new bed just to be safe.
Ok, so I think I may have figured it out. Let me know if this sounds feasible.
I always sleep with a fan on, even when it’s cold (it helps me sleep). So the fan blows dust & other small particles onto my bed. Since my body creases the bed in the middle, the dust will naturally settle in center of the bed. Now which of my body parts are a) exposed, b) in the center of the bed, and c) rub up against the sheets? Since I wear a t-shirt and boxers to bed I never get red bumps there. Since my face and ankles/feet are at the ends of the bed I never get red bumps there either. The only thing left is the top of my knees and top of my elbows.
I’ll wash my sheets again tonight and turn off the fan while I sleep. If I don’t have any red bumps in the morning then I’m set. I guess I’ll just have to get used to sleeping without a fan…
The rows of bites you describe are a hallmark of bed bugs and something I experienced first-hand. Of interest to you, perhaps:[ul]
[li]People seem to react to the bites variably-- they were a minor irritation for me and nightmarish welts for my wife (she also reacts poorly to mosquitoes)[/li][li]Bed bugs may prefer the ladies-- purely anecdotal from the internet, but I read that this was the case and my bed bugs certainly seemed to prefer her[/li][li]Evidence of their presence is not hard to come by if you have even a modest infestation-- look for black spots (or the bugs themselves) in and around the seams on the lower side of your mattress[/li][/ul]
As for resolution… we sealed the mattress in a large air-tight bag, disassembled the bed frame, and (not kidding here) crushed all the bugs/eggs on the frame one at a time with a flashlight and screwdriver cackling evilly all the while. If that response seems disproportionate, consider how you’d feel after a week or so of crawling into bed secure in the knowledge that They were waiting for you to go to sleep.
To this day, the bed stands 2" from the wall and its legs sit in small jars. The jars supposedly keep subsequent bed bugs (if any) from crawling up the legs of the bed as it seems that the little beasts have trouble with smooth surfaces. We don’t know what is happening inside the bag. I can only assume that if they’re in there, they ain’t happy.
