I have never seen or experienced bed bugs (knocking on wood). I seriously hope not. Is this really a much of a possibility? This condo was obviously a rental so it probably sees some traffic, at least in the winters. But my wife did not get any bites at all, and my daughter did not either (my wife and I switched bedrooms with my daughter the second night). They were very localized, just the seven bites in a reasonably small, err, I mean huge area. And these are huge, itchy welts. I swear, they feel like wasp stings with that hot, burning, poison, itchy feeling if you know what I mean.
Anyway I can check? We packed up and brought everything home; if we get an infestation I fear for my countrymen. The war may spread and collateral damage may be possible. Did I mention I have an advanced degree in physics?
Your wife and daughter didn’t get (or notice) any bites. All of yours are in an area typically covered by underwear. Any chance that you ended up with some manner of biting insect (e.g. chiggers) trapped in your underpants while hiking? For instance, did you change clothes outdoors, or drop trou for a nature break on the trail?
I was teaching a class at a local university in Pisa, and they put me up in a hotel for a week, just about one block from the Cathedral and Tower. It was supposed to be the “second-best hotel in Pisa”, which was probably true but was not saying much. I was teaching in July, and it was record heat - I think close to 100 F - and the anemic air conditioner in my room barely kept the temperature to 80 F at night. The first night I kept being woken up to sudden stabbing feelings - like a needle being driven into me, but couldn’t tell what was going on. In the morning I saw welts on my back in the mirror, and at breakfast my faithful assistant (who had just flown in from Scotland the night before) said “Oh yeah, they have bedbugs here.”
I said words to the effect of “WTF? WTF do I do?” and her response was “you just have to get used to them. Every hotel in this bloody stupid town has them. Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you.”
By the third night I was sleeping sitting in a chair with the lights on, hoping to keep them away. That was a very long trip.
I didn’t actually know what a chigger was and had to look it up. They are pretty rare in Colorado, though they do sometimes turn up in the eastern part of the state. Anyway to answer your question, no. Nothing like that.
We do have ticks in Colorado, but not really where I was. The lowest elevation we were out of the car was around 9200 feet during our weekend stay, not a common elevation for ticks. But who knows? Assassin bugs, not at that altitude. Mosquitos, spiders and biting flies. Maybe some wasps and carpenter bees. Not much else up there that I can think of. I have had ticks before and this was really nothing like that.
True, all true. I know this about spiders and I know that most spider bites are not actually from spiders (I have been a doper for almost 15 years!), but I am hard pressed to identify what else it could have been. A biting fly maybe?
Here is what I know: the bites definitely happened at night. The part of my body where I was bitten was covered; according to this site most bed bugs don’t attack places covered by bed clothes. Spiders can attack when they have taking refuge in a piece of clothing or a shoe and you put it on. And the yellow sac spider is very common in Colorado, even in Breckenridge.
But, I agree, it was probably not a spider. I can’t imagine any house centipedes in Breckenridge. I really can’t imagine many bugs living is Breckenridge. Scottsdale is nice and relatively bug free from what I remember, but Summit county is the high Rockies and there are just not that many bugs there.
Whatever, I stand by my pledge to kill anything with more than 6 legs.
Did you burn your clothes and luggage? I would have. Sounds like a very tough trip. I have probably spent 3-4 months in Italy over the past decade and never had this problem. Sounds truly awful.
If it was localized to one area, underneath clothing, and no one else got bitten after sleeping in the same bed… then maybe it wasn’t bedbugs after all. Still doubtful it was a spider, but maybe these bites are the exception that proves the rule!
I don’t want to hijack the thread completely, but if during anyone’s Google travels to see if they can find out what bit Itchy Sad Sack happens to know what would bite me only on the top of my legs when they are under my desk, and only at night, I’d be very grateful! I too am busy killing anything with 6 or 8 legs, but apparently my Google-fu sucks.
Spiders do bite when threatened or disturbed and there are spiders that hide in things such as linens rather than spin webs. This ER reenactment show featured one such case: an Aussie bloke and his girlfirend changed the sheets on the bed and he ended up getting bit on his ball sack. Two tiny holes right next to each other.
With so many bites and all in areas normally covered by clothes, I highly suspect chiggers. They are impossible to see, cause hideously itchy bites with big welts, and tend to do their thing under clothes, especially in areas covered with bands. Horrible, horrible things. I’ve found that I usually only notice the bites the next day, so maybe you were bitten during the day and only realized it the next morning? Were you aware of being bitten at the time of the bite?
Chiggers. I got covered in those bloody bites when on Ex once, from elbow to fingertips both hands.
My tent mate did not get a single bite. Another woman a few spots over was worse than me. They were awful and we were actually put in isolation for a while, because they were worried that we may have measles or chicken pox or something. So itchy. Stupid chiggers.
