Bites but no other evidence - are they bed bugs

[SisterAgatha]

I’m tearing myself in knots over this.

Daughter has one line of bites up her leg. She’s been moaning about them itching for a little while; I’d never spotted bites before today (Note that her room is notorious for spiders, we get them there all the time, as it’s the corner of the loft where they like to nest in the window. None of us are scared of spiders, we just hoover them up and deal with it. Never had bites before) We live by lakes, get lots of mozzies and bugs anyway.

I’ve looked at her mattress a lot over the last year as she still wets the bed. Never seen any evidence of anything related to bed bugs. Maybe tiny bits of lint but never anything at all like the pictures online.

But obviously as she wets the bed does this mean I’ve changed the sheets so frequently (daily) that I’ve washed away evidence??

no one else in the family has bites. She stayed at her Granny’s last week who has a dog and he is in our house quite a lot so could it be flea bites?

What do I do??? I keep checking her bed hoping to find something and there’s nothing.

Is it a tracking line, could be scabies? Doesn't sound like bed bugs though given everything else you've said

Post a pic of the bites?

My thought was mosquito as I get bitten all the time, or mums dog has fleas (other grandma has a cat also)

First thought was fleas. But when I've been bitten in the past. The bites were close together.

One thing to tell difference about mosquito or flea bites. Flea bites stay itchy for days and are crazy itchy. A lot more itchy than mosquito/midgey bites.

I’m not lying when I say we have had a magnifying glass over the mattress looking at tiny bits of lint. She has stuffed toys too and I’ve been over them.

Also if it were bed bugs you’d expect the rest of us to have bites too, right?

The pattern is bedbuggish. If in doubt, hit them hard with every chemical under the sun and flow all the guidance anyway. If they get a foothold you’ll be fighting them for months

Not everyone reacts so you could be getting bitten and never know

Probably fleas. You need to have a word with Granny about Fido.

How will I know if there’s no casings or poo? What can I do, freeze all her clothes? Should we rent a steamer etc How can I approach this? I’m panicking 🥲

I think it just depends on how you react to them. When my cat had fleas, the bites were itchy, but not for long. If I get a mosquito bite it swells up dramatically and is really itchy for weeks. If I get bitten again nearby, the original one reactivates!

Right I’ve checked the other kids beds and (while one is clearly grimier than the other, teenager) there is still no poos or shells of dead ones. I’d see them right?

That pattern of bites looks like bedbugs to me.

There are so many midgey biting insects about in this humid weather.

At night, when she has been in bed for an hour or so, gently lift the covers and look at her body and sheets with a torch. If there are bed bugs that is when they would be out and about.

If it was bed bugs I would think she would keep getting them all the time.

I suspect fleas. Kids are on the carpet more than adults.

I have the cleanest bed in my town as I have changed my bed twice jn.a week. I have bites too. Bed hovered too- no evidence of bed bugs. I can account for one bite, but the others must have been when I had the windows open. I think some people more prone to bites than others. Feel your daughter's psin. It horrible. I.have heard bugs don't like lavender peppermint. Think.i the onli.person with peppermint scented trainers🙄

Oh I’ve just seen that fleas do bite in a line. I wonder if it’s the dog as she is all over him tbh.

Yes our windows are open a lot as we previously had damp in an old house so I keep them open preventatively. I am going to close them for a bit, see what difference that makes.

Found nothing in my bed either. I will see how she goes and if it happens again/around the time we see grandparents pets. DH has told me his DM’s cat did have fleas as he treated the cat himself when he saw one.

I will get some lavender and peppermint oils as well perhaps.

I also don't think think bed bugs. The bites would be closer together, and you'd see them on her upper body probably more than her legs. And you'd probably see pin prick blood marks on the sheet.

It's almost certainly fleas. You can check by running a damp paper towel over the pet, but sort of get it in the base of their fur. You'll find dark brown dots, which is their poo. They need to be treated for fleas. This should be done regularly anyway.

Do the pets come to yours? Could they be in your carpet? You could also try checking with a small tub of water, with a tiny dot of washing up liquid in it. Leave for a few days and see if any insects are caught.

Oh you said dog DOES stay at yours....

If the dog spends time at your house and then goes home for long periods, fleas and hatching flea eggs will have no resident dog to feed off so look for the next best thing.