Help-what is biting me??

[TaighNamGastaOrt]

OVer the last week or so, I have noticed on my leg (mostly my right) bloody sore bites!! These have been itchy when I notice them (morning usually) and red and I cant stop itching them!
Can't be bed bugs I dont think, fleas-our dog is regularly de-flea'd and I checked him. What else is it?
Dust mites? I work in a dusty environment but why only my leg? LAst week I found one on my upper thigh, the rest are around my knee or lower leg (not ankle).
Checked kids-nothing on them, I did have to remove a tick last week from DS, but we had been out in the woods.
DH bloody useless as he's not getting bitten!! Ouchy!!

Do you lie on your side in bed?

If so, are the bites on the leg you lie on?

Pics didnt upload-should be now.
Please excuse my peely-wally legs!!

Hey Wing, yes I do mostly. But not on the side I've been bitten on!

As well as those pictures, I have one further down my leg and two on my knee. TRying not to scratch!

They could be flea bites.

They look like bed bug bites, have the classic triangle.

I once got strange bites on my limbs. At that time there were ladybugs in the house that were staying there to survive winter (was hard to remove them all, whenever I opened a window they sneaker back in). My then neighbour told me they can bite humans if they have been starving for a long time .

Are there any insects you regulary see in your home that you might not suspect at first being responsible but they can be?
Also do check for bedbugs, Google can tell you how to do it.
Good luck!

Fleas, bed bugs, ladybirds!! Oh my! Bloody insects!
Interestingly, there has been a huge boom in ladybird population around here this spring but I've never seen them in the house!
I'll be gutting my bed later! Sent DH home to boil wash our sheets and check our mattress!
Looks like I'll be sleeping in the bath!

DH bloody useless as he's not getting bitten!! Ouchy

Some people are not as allergic and so their body does not react as much to bites. DH could also be being bitten but it doesn't show.

I’ve just been reading the bed bugs thread so I really hope it isn’t that.

Aye, DH is a tank. Except for midges. They love him!
Too early for midges. Googling suggests its more likely to be fleas.
Or hives.

Wait.....theres a bed bug thread?

Ladybugs are quite good at hiding.
Check the corners of your home and behind curtains!
I would advise as well to see your GP, he or she might be able to identify the cause of the bites!

It isn't as likely as fleas but If it is bed bugs, you need to act fast.

Have you been abroad recently. They can travel in clothing/suitcases. Some New York hotels for example have had a bad reputation for BB.

Currently DH is stripping bed so I'll look when I get home. He's not spotted anything yet, but I hve sharper eyes!
Not been abroad in years, so dont think its that! Getting a GP appointment would take 2-3 weeks by which time I'll be a wee husk or have scratched myself to death!!

Lower leg is typical of fleas as they live in the carpet and bite the easy to reach bits. The other thing to consider is bird mites - do you have any open fireplaces which might have nests stuck in them?

You can't diagnose bed bugs from the bites, they're too variable.

You need to lift up your mattress and look on the underneath, especially around seams, labels and buttons. Also in the nooks and crannies of your bed frame. If you have a divan they'll likely be inside that if you have them.

As well as the actual bugs, which look a bit like an apple pip when fully grown, the easiest sign to spot is their poo, which looks like little black dots of ink.

I am going slowly dermented battling bed bugs here at the moment.

Look at your bedsheets, are there any splotches of blood or little black splats that looks like someone has dropped ink on them? DD was being bitten something silly but actually her brother and DH and I had worse beds.

Also look for little black specks on mattress and underneath it.

If those are all clear then fingers crossed it's not bedbugs

Pencils those are really useful pics, far more akin to what we found rather than the horrors that Google returns

Pencils, thanks for those pics, we'll be double checking ALL beds. And our sofa as its a sofa bed too and is used occasionally for guests.
@Chartreuser sorry to hear about your visitors. Do my bites look familiar at all? Mind if I ask how you are killing the horrid wee beasties?

Tbh DD reacts badly to bites so the bites themselves look different (hers more swollen) but the clusters look similar, she even had three under her eye bless her (she's 12).

So far we have thrown out two divan beds of the dc and our Warren Evans lovely fabric bed received a month before they went into administration; thrown away duvets and pillows/sheets/cheers from affected beds; washed everything in the ruins (bathroom still full of things to wash); done a maybe declutter; emptied cupboards from rooms; put all cuddly toys and spare bedding into vacuum sealed bags to leave in loft for months; deep cleaned our rooms; saturated mattresses with sprays; encased mattresses with bedbug proof covers; fogged our rooms; hoovered loads.

Since we have done that (Friday/Saturday) there's been two bites between 4of us. Our new bed bad come today, will hoover again before building it, using bedbug traps on legs and brand new bedding on bed. Have powder round edges of room that should kill any residual bugs, make sure beds not touching walls or other furniture and hoover like mad and fog again twice more a week or two apart.

It has been insane and cost us hundreds, and I lost so much sleep once I realised what the problem was but before we had started the clear up

Chartreuser that sounds a nightmare. I hope they've gone but it's quite likely they haven't - a couple of things you have done may have made things worse:

Foggers - please don't use any more of these! They don't kill many bugs but they do piss them off and cause them to scatter and hide, so what was an isolated colony on your bed is now dispersed all around the house.

Throwing away beds - unless you completely sealed the beds in plastic before moving them it's likely you've spread the bugs on the way out. Any bugs that are left will likely move back onto your new bed.

If you notice any further signs it really would be best to get the professionals in. It won't cost any more than all the furniture you're replacing.

We used this company: www.bed-bugs.co.uk/

They're based in London but will travel further afield. They have a special procedure for previously treated properties because of the dispersal issue.

Thanks. As we dismantled the bed we sprayed the entire thing and killed all the ones that were on it, and the eggs. It was a fabric headboard and they were clearly living in it, our new bed is a cheapie from Ikea which is v sparse frame (metal) so far fewer spots for them to live in.

We cannot afford to get someone in, we have had to put the stuff we've bought on credit card but would have had to do that anyway whether we got professionals in or not as no way anyone was sleeping in those beds once we found what was living in them. Getting pros in would be another £3/400 on top of what we've doesn't, not instead of. I reckon we've only spent £50 on sprays etc. Everything was bagged and sealed at source in the rooms and had gone from sealed bags into the washing machine directly. And we can barely move for diotomaceous earth everywhere

Your poor DD. And poor you, sounds tricky trying to eliminate them. And expensive, I mean replacing your bed.
Are you able to claim it on house insurance?
We haven't found anything in the beds, or on the pets so the mystery rumbles on. I suspect a deep clean and hoover under the beds wouldnt hurt, its a bit dusty and a damn good tidy up. But I will be keeping my eyes open for signs of bed bugs, thank you for your help.
Chart, I hope you get it under control soon.

OK, in that case I recommend the bedbugger site. It's the best source of info I found for DIY methods and there are a lot of pest control experts and entomologists who post on the forum there.

This is a good place to start - Think you have bed bugs? Some dos and don’ts

Taigh phew so glad you seem to be in the chest, if not BB then fleas are likely if lower limbs mainly affected.

Pencil thanks, the company are very near us, if when using the traps it's clear that we still have a problem I'll definitely give then a ring, but will have to wait until next pay packet.