Help with bed bugs

[hollymonster]

Hi all

Hoping you can help.

I've been in my current property just over a year, it's a two bed as we always intended to start a family soon after we moved in. I am now 7 months pregnant and have finally got around to sorting the nursery.

This room has been empty for a year, we've literally not used it for anything. Except the odd occasion where people have stayed over and in those situations we've had an airbed and a duvet in there. The room is empty otherwise.

So when we went to take the duvets and the airbed out my husband noticed 1 dead bug. I've never seen a bed bug but we assumed this is what it was. He has terrible OCD so this set him off and was scratching and washing his hands all night!! Anyway, we searched the rest of the bed, and in total we found 4, very dead bugs. I wouldn't call this an infestation and we've not noticed them ANYWHERE else in the house.

We've decided to throw out the airbed and duvets etc just to be safe, and got a quote for a chemical free exterminator and it was £649!!! What a joke.

My question is, we feel they really are only confined to this room, if there are even anymore (we didn't see any) - have any of you used a steam cleaner before and found this effective?

Thanks and sorry for the rambling!

[CurtainsforRonnie]

Did you take a picture? Are you sure they are bed bugs?

[atticusclaw2]

I didn't even know bedbugs were a thing in the UK. I thought they were an American thing. You learn something new every day.

[NapQueen]

You definitely need to establish what sort of bug they were.

[hollymonster]

Have downloaded here, any ideas? My thumb is there for size ref haha

[CurtainsforRonnie]

Looks like woodlice maybe? Bit hard to see though.

[CurtainsforRonnie]

Have you looked near the windows & skirting?

[hollymonster]

We have yep, there's nothing else around. And there's not really any other furniture in the room, they seemed to just be in this one duvet (under the duvet cover)

[hollymonster]

Big bigger!

[WowOoo]

That looks like carpet beetle larvae to me.

Does it look like this:
insectsinthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/do-carpet-beetles-sting.html

We had some in a room that was used for storage for a while. I've cleaned and cleaned and emptied the room and the problem has gone. They are the larvae of the carpet beetle and will eat carpets, wooly blankets, tops etc.
Far less worrying than bed bugs. Bed bugs are much smaller and harder to kill off.

[SealSong]

Pretty certain that is a carpet beetle larva, not a bed bug.

[WowOoo]

The link I showed you is not a good one....just wanted to show you a picture of the larvae.
It would be a good idea to move furniture and really vacuum underneath and behind it as they tend to hide in dark, undisturbed places. I found ours behind a chest of drawers.

I have slept in this room and never been bitten or had any adverse affects. Tell your husband to try not to worry. Google another pic and don't show him that link, sorry!

[hollymonster]

Amazing news! Thanks so much! Someone else suggested carpet beetle but we weren't sure, now pretty convinced.

They are welcome if it means no bed bugs! As I mentioned not much furniture in there, so we're going to steam clean the whole room

Thanks everyone :)

[Crinklesc]

good advice on bed bugs here, it does look a bit like one?! pyramidtravelproducts.co.uk/how-to-guides/mosquito-nets/avoiding-bed-bugs/

[js1000]

It's natural and affordable.

[buffalobill]

You could also use this bed bug spray to kill them.