# A Question for Entomologists on the board **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342 "2020-10-30T20:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/1 "2020-10-30T20:08:58Z")
I have been getting bitten by ‘something’ in my house… usually when I sleep. When whatever it is bites me, a small white bubble protrudes above the skin that looks like a whitehead, but it is not a whitehead. When lanced/popped, the discharge is clear and oily (but it cleans up easily with rubbing alcohol). The skin that was underneath the white head is always red and looks as if it was burned by some sort of substance that dissolves flesh. Even covered, it takes several days to heal. Q: Is this some kind of a spider bite? No one else in the house ( including pets) is/are getting bitten. My diet has not changed. Also, no this is not a radioactive spider as neither Kirsten Dunst nor Emma Stone is returning my calls… ---
**Author:** ![CoconutPete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coconutpete/32/5294_2.png) [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/2 "2020-10-30T20:25:24Z")
Sounds more like a question for a doctor, are you sure they are bites? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/3 "2020-10-30T20:44:50Z")
I am not an entomologist, but as I understand, spiders do not bite people for food, but as a defense mechanism. So unless you may have rolled over onto a spider as you slept, and it bit you to get you to move away, it is unlikely to be a spider bite. Also, aren’t most spider mouth parts too small/fragile to penetrate human skin? I would consider other sources for the blister you are getting. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/4 "2020-10-30T21:04:09Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Also, no this is not a radioactive spider as neither Kirsten Dunst nor Emma Stone is returning my calls… Maybe you can fall into some radioactive waste? That usually helps clear up bug bites. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/5 "2020-10-30T23:15:32Z")
Need more info to “diagnose.” How many times has this happened? How frequently? What parts of your body have been affected? More than one “bite” at a time? Any pattern to the bites? Do any animals share your home? Do you have allergies? How old are you? Have you been experiencing stress or anxiety? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/6 "2020-10-30T23:20:01Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Have you been experiencing stress or anxiety? You’re thinking Shingles, right? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/7 "2020-10-30T23:51:00Z")
Arachnologists say it’s almost never a spider bite. Some say it loudly, while other say it with quiet resignation; but they all say it. The [University of Kentucky](https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef649#:~:text=In%20some%20mystery%20bite%20cases,night%20while%20they%20are%20sleeping.) has an online list of possibilities and a checklist to fill out if you’re going to go to a doctor. Nothing on their list made a white bump. All their bumps are red. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/8 "2020-10-31T00:23:30Z")
Fire ant bites often include a small clear fluid pustule. See a Google Image search [https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+ant+bites&safe=off&rlz=1C9BKJA\_enUS633US634&hl=en-US&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk03T8divVUPRxBQHYniI0bu17auEFQ:1604103729676&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgyPWHyN3sAhVQrFkKHZNbDO8Q\_AUoAXoECCEQAQ&biw=1112&bih=719](https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+ant+bites&safe=off&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS633US634&hl=en-US&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk03T8divVUPRxBQHYniI0bu17auEFQ:1604103729676&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgyPWHyN3sAhVQrFkKHZNbDO8Q_AUoAXoECCEQAQ&biw=1112&bih=719) ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/9 "2020-10-31T01:36:25Z")
I have been bitten by fire ants and bed bugs in my work travels. The fire ant and bed bug bites looked the same. As you describe. The fire ant bites were immediately burning pain. The bed bug ones did not annoy so quickly. Did not wake me. They annoyed the next day. I suspect you may have bed bugs. Or similar. There are many good articles online as to how to deal with bed bugs. The only reason I got many fire ant bites, is they were moving house and my bed happened to be in their path. The stream of ants passed right where I stood to get into bed and they also went up and down the bedpost. So I had ants going up my legs and on my bed clothes. The bed bugs were left over from a previous guest at a work site room that I got next. You can kill bed bugs with high heat. Send your bed clothes through the dryer several times. Seal up the bedroom and run some heaters in there for a long time. Also chemical warfare. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/10 "2020-10-31T05:09:18Z")
Not spiders. That is 100% fer sure. In the USA, there are two dangerous spiders - Black Widow and Brown recluse- you will absolutely know if you get bit by one. Then there is the wolf spider and tarantula- neither bite is dangerous to the normal person, but both bites are very painful. You will know. Spiders also dont bite repeatedly. It is _once,_ in defense. They dont feed on your blood. Things that bite people repeatedly in the home include fleas, ticks, bedbugs, and mosquitoes. This sounds like bed bugs. I agree with USCdiver that fire ant bites look like that, but they HURT! Are they in a row? Do the bites itch? This also might not be a bite at all, but something you are allergic to- have you changed detergent? or softener? This is a great site: [MYSTERY BITES: Insect and Non-Insect Causes | Entomology](https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef649) _I am not a medical doctor._ ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/11 "2020-10-31T13:03:51Z")
Where on your body are the lesions located? How frequently do they occur? Always single, or multiple, or in groups? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/12 "2020-10-31T15:15:14Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this is a real world issue, let’s move it to IMHO (from GQ). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/13 "2020-11-02T03:48:05Z")
I could never be an entomologist. Just not into buggery. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/14 "2020-11-02T20:20:39Z")
At best… two at a time? The latest one was on the soft skin between the elbow and the underarm. I was truly hoping that it was not B.bugs… especially since my wife never gets bitten. I have found that rubbing talcum powder all over myself before bed prevents whatever it is. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/15 "2020-11-02T20:36:49Z")
Wife was waking up with bites several days ina row. Not me, so we ruled out bedbugs. Then they got me, too. We didn’t want to seal and heat the room. So, we tore apart the bed. Put all sheets in plastic trash bags and left them in the yard for several hours (it was over 110 deg F that day). I found the bugs in the underside of the box that supports the mattress. I don’t like to kill animals, but I terminated them with extreme prejudice. Left the box outside for a day, too, in case I’d missed some. That was years ago. Bedbugs fear me now. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/16 "2020-11-06T20:32:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Are they in a row? They are in a row. My wife has been cleaning out my MIL’s house (she’s in a nursing home but hopes to return home) and there are lots of ‘outdoor cats’ there. Nothing about this says bed bugs, but she may have brought home some fleas. \< off to buy flea powder \> ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/17 "2020-11-06T22:58:15Z")
I think bedbugs, examine the bed very carefully, including underneath. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-entomologists-on-the-board/924342/18 "2020-11-07T01:51:46Z")
In a row bites strongly suggest bedbugs. Some people don’t react to the bites which means that 2 sharing a bed could both be bitten but one doesn’t itch or show any signs of bites.