Is this a bed bug?

[Bedbugfears]

I have developed an absolute fear of bedbugs. We're currently on holiday, just arrived to a lovely holiday home which I inspected before bringing our luggage in. I didn't find anything until the last bedroom.

I've never seen anything that looks so much like a bedbug exoskeleton and feel sick. But then it seems to have pincers at the back which bed bugs don't have so maybe there is hope? But because I can't think what other insect it could be I'm stuck in full panic mode.

Please help :(. My anxiety is so bad I've been withdrawn all afternoon and letting DH sort the kids out.

That’s not a bed bug at all !

No that's not

No

Not a bedbug

Nope. Relax and enjoy your holiday.

Really? I thought everyone would tell me it definitely was.

I got worried as I also found black marks that look like bed bug faeces. They are mostly on the window frames so I assumed fly or spider poo(we are in the country side in the middle of nowhere so lots of bugs about) but I also found some in a couple of corners on the wooden floor :(

I wiped it lightly with a wet cloth and it didn't smear as it says bed bug faeces should but I am still so worried.

Beds and mattresses on the other hand are spotless.

But I'm still imagining bedbugs coming out from between the floorboards to bite the DC at night and our house being infested when we come back :(

Nope, that is a juvenile cockroach exuvium (shed skin).

I'd guess German cockroach. But difficult to tell.

Definitely not a bedbug.

@C1N1C thabk you for responding! Cockroach, delightful! Would those black marks be theirs too? Can they infect my house?

OP are you getting help for your anxiety? It's horrible living like this.

Truth be told, it could be a native British cockroach. I played the odds, not knowing where you were. The British cockroaches are endemic to the South of England, so if you're London or below on the map, that's probably it. We have them all around here, and they tend to like leaf litter, so if you have lots of plants or trees out back, you'll probably get these.

Harmess and not the infestation-type :)

The frass (poo) could be from them... or it could be a spider in the corner, or it could be completely unrelated. I wouldn't worry until you see others, but after having looked at it, more likely to be a regular harmless British one.

And to put your mind at ease, cockroaches, even the 'infesty' species like Asian, German, American, brown-banded etc etc, UNLIKE bed bugs, do not like to hitch lifts on clothes and bags etc... so it's a one in a million chance that if this is a more 'pesty' species, you could roll in them all day and be extremely unlikely to carry them home.

Tho probably don't roll in them... 😂😂

You're fine OP, no bugs, no infestation

Have a glass of wine and enjoy your holiday

So i just went up to bed and was greeted by this on the bedside table. What's the diagnosis @C1N1C ?

I am so bad with creepy crawlies. I have decamped to DS's room. He's only 1 so no help but his presence makes me feel safe!

Yes that did make me laugh!! No chance of me doing that!

That looks grasshoppery?? Bouncy back legs.

Do you not get bugs, beetles, spiders, flies, in your own house OP?

@KnittedCardi very rarely to be honest, but I think it's because I'm not on edge at home so not paying attention I guess

@DueyCheatemAndHow I'd love to but last time I tried I was told I can't be referred for therapy and was just sent information about anxiety...

It's genuinely ruining my life. I keep feeling phantom bugs on my legs, I can't sleep!

Cute mr grasshopper

You need to try really hard to grip this bug fear - I know.... - but you're going to spoil your holiday

You're there to relax and have fun, please try

I understand about these fears, OP - I don't like bugs and spiders much inside my home - yet none of them are likely to harm you or your family. Can you try some relaxation techniques (aka mindfulness) like deep breathing, visualisation or even music?

There will be self hypnosis apps with episodes specifically about insect fears, I'd do some research and download a couple and listen every day you are away, might help reduce the anxiety a bit?

That last pic was also a cockroach. Probably a Tawny cockroach :) - no doubt where the skin came from.

It's a casual invader, less of a nuisance than all the other bugs being posted in here.. funus gnats, fruit flies, bed bugs, mosquitoes... I'd choose this guy over all of the above.

@C1N1C what about this one? Is it a Tawny one? Just found it in my kitchen, we live rurally and have had all windows and garden doors open with the heat the last few days. Could it have come in this way or is it likely we have an infestation? I don't know whether to cry or start emptying and bleaching all the kitchen cupboards :(

It looks harmless to me but I'm not an entomologist. Hire an exterminator. That way, you'll have peace of mind?

Same again, native British cockroach. These mostly live in woodlands and are absolutely harmless. They don't colonise your house, eat your food or crawl up through drains or anything. It's just passing through.

No, it's nothing like one