What's living in my wall?!

[Eatenalive]

Hi all!

I need some bug experts to help

A few weeks ago DH both noticed we were itching more at night....didn't think much of it and put it down to change in washing powder.

Until he noticed a tiny weeny little bug crawling along his phone....

On close inspection, we seem to have lots of tiny critters living in the cracks in one corner of our bedroom! They are only localised to that one area, he has found a few dead ones on his bedside table but not seen them anywhere else.

For now I have taped over the crack and this is how it looks this evening. We are spraying with general bug killer stuff every day and it's not getting worse but without know what they are I don't know how to sort it!

Money is tight so would rather fix it ourselves if we can

Thanks in advance

Should add...they are tiny! Less than 1mm id say. Really hard to see unless you're searching with a tourch. They are black/brown in colour and round bodied (not hugely clear from photos)

Has anyone experienced this?

Does your local council have a pest control service? They might be free or only charge a small fee. I’d get their advice.

Is it near an extractor fan or anything? We had something similar and it turned out to be mites from an old bird's nest that was near our extractor fan. We sprayed it with insecticide and taped up the extractor fan and they died out in a week or so.

I don't know what they are but I'd red can Raid them temporarily. Red can Raid kills every bug! Get it from Tesco.

Have a poke about in your loft and see if you have any birds nests or dead birds up there. Could be bird lice.

I have no bug expertise at all but used to know a pest control man and some of his stories have obviously stuck in my head!

Not bed bugs?
they can also live in cracks and plug sockets?
they bite in threes
really itchy!

Thought it was ectoplasm at first!! Then I re-read your post... ahem...
Anyway, if its any help, pigeon mites are tiny really weeeny white bugs so if all bird mites are that colour then its not that.
Can you not get pest control out for a free estimate and identification?

Hope you get it sorted. Making me shiver thinking about it. I'll get my coat...

This?

www.rentokil.com.sg/blog/book-lice-walls-tiny-black-dots-see/#:~:text=These%20are%20actually%20Booklice.&text=How%20the%20presence%20of%20booklice,is%20food%20for%20these%20pests.

Or a whole library of critters here:

www.rentokil.co.uk/stored-product-insects/species/

Spray them with raid and/or smoke bomb the room. Boil wash your bedding. Hoover everything. If the problem persists yeah you have to call your local exterminator...

I hope you get it sorted. Can you plaster / seal those cracks?
Also me now:

Use bug spray on your skin to stop them biting - at least til you can get rid of them.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4621937-tell-me-what-this-is-before-i-burn-the-house-down

I agree, spray Raid as suggested.

It's possible it's bed bugs although doesn't quite fit their behaviour. Could you get a close up pic of one of the dead ones for identification?

This is abed bug. They live in cracks usually in the bed frame. Where about are your bites?

Really?

A bed bug that's nearly a centimetre long.

That'll be one hell of a bite.

@VeniVidiWeeWee
apparently so, that pic is from the nhs website, yuk!

We get a lot of starlings in our eaves.

A few years ago I had loads of tiny black dots in the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. They started biting me and I'd find the occasional squished one in my bed.

It turns out they were bird mites. I paid to have the loft fumigated. The other option is for you to sleep downstairs for a couple of weeks. They need blood to survive so if there's none available from you, they might go on their own.

If you do have the loft fumigated, please check you're not pregnant. I miscarried at 12 weeks shortly after this episode and I will always wonder if the chemicals were the cause.