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Original poster

Bed bug paranoia!!

27 replies

gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 17:48

I am a very anxious and paranoid person with a massive overthinking approach to life so am often conscious I could be catastrophising.

help me see this clearly!

just got home from two nights city break in a hotel. Did a bed bug check on arrival, no signs anywhere mattress pillows bed frames crack etc , checked again day two, nothing.

on packing up today I saw one adult bug in corner crevice of walls opposite beds. Sent kids down to the reception and did another bed check, nothing more evidence of eggs, larvae, skins, blood nothing.

I have one bite on my knee that was a bit mosquito like. Nothing else kids both fine.

talk me down. I’m freaking out that we are now all infested and I have just infested my home by stepping back in.

unpacked the suitcases in kitchen on floor and washing and tumble drying everything. Steam cleaned with hand held steamer all items that can go on machine… bags and cases books etc.

my son just went straight to his room and hasn’t come out and I’m now freaking out he has taken bugs. I’ve not told the kids my panic as they are also naturally anxious.

help!!!!!

OP posts:
TheOtherAgentJohnson · 19/08/2025 17:50

Did you actually see a bed bug, or some other insect on the wall?

Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 17:57

I took a picture and googled it… it’s a bit squished as had to get it out of the crack 🙈

Bed bug paranoia!!
OP posts:
Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 18:09

Paranoid bump

OP posts:
Hazlenuts2016 · 19/08/2025 18:26

Op, having had them myself, I'm not even sure that is a bed bug. Sounds like you've done everything possible to minimise the risk of transmission if you have brought them home. Maybe give your son's room a vacuum and/ or steam mop and check out anything he took back to his room.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 18:37

I’ve just hoovered his room and he’s gone back out in the jeans he’s had on all day. Do you really think it’s not a bed bug? I was convinced? What else could it be? Thank you for replying to me

OP posts:
Hazlenuts2016 · 19/08/2025 19:13

It's squished, so hard to tell and I am not a bug expert, but maybe a beetle of some kind? It looks a bit too plump to be a bed bug. The bed bugs we had (and they were definitely bed bugs that infested our bed and gave us tell tale bites) looked a bit more flat, almost like seeds. Just do all the cleaning/ washing you reasonably can and then try and put it out of your mind.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 19:58

Thank you. How did you get rid of yours? What precautions should I take? Maybe it was plump because it had fed?

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Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 20:33

foes anyone think it could be a bed bug?

OP posts:
JennyShaw · 19/08/2025 20:41

I don't know if it is a bed bug but there are precautions you could take. There are these plastic things you can put under the legs of your bed to stop insects moving up into your bed. You can buy an encasement for your mattress and for your pillows. You can wash clothes and bedding on a high temperature. All of these things are cheap to do. I bought mine from Amazon.

I remember when I was researching it that the pattern of bed bug bites is different. If you are bitten on the lower body it is more likely to be fleas.

JennyShaw · 19/08/2025 20:53

Also you can put bed bug traps on the floor touching the walls.

The reason I did all this was because when I moved into a flat last year they told me there had been bed bugs in the block of flats. They made it sound as if they had it all under control. Then they said there was a new outbreak.

I was talking to one of the other tenants and she said her family had bought her a metal bed frame because bed bugs can't live in a metal frame. That's not true though, the landlord should be telling all the tenants what they should be doing. The encasements etc.

They don't know what people should be doing though. They told me my flat had been sprayed twice before I moved in. There's no point in spraying a flat if there haven't been bed bugs there, you can't do it as a precautionary measure. So either they don't know what they are doing or the flat had an infestation that they hadn't told me about. I wouldn't have moved in if I thought there had been an infestation in my flat.

Or they are using a company that has a vested interest in keeping people in the dark. It's a nice little earner for them to be called out to do a spray, there's no money in giving advice to people about encasements etc.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 19/08/2025 23:13

Thanks. I just can’t settle, convinced myself that we have brought home clothes and items covered in eggs and bugs and we are now infested. Is there anything else that I can do if we have done so?’ To stop an infestation!

OP posts:
JennyShaw · 20/08/2025 08:02

You're in a similar situation to the one I was in last year. I was afraid there might be bed bugs in my flat, although it turned out there weren't. The methods I used and still use, the interceptors and encasements, are cheap and not noticeable. I don't usually wash my clothes on the highest temperature any more. The other thing they say is tumble dry for at least 30 minutes. And vacuum thoroughly, especially cracks and crevices.

Unless you notice bites on the upper part of your body or on the other members of your family then I shouldn't worry too much. If you do notice bites then there are other measures you can take but I never got to that stage. I still use the interceptors and the encasements for my pillows and mattress but I don't worry about it any more. I've still got a few of the traps around but they've never trapped any bed bugs.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 20/08/2025 09:16

Thank you jenny. I have just bought some traps from
amazon and will carry on being vigilant. This is my daughters worst nightmare ( ocd and contamination anxiety) so I am desperate to be as preventative as possible for her mental health

OP posts:
Original poster
gratefulheart · 22/08/2025 23:11

It’s been three days and I’m still obsessively checking the entire time. It’s al consuming. I’m so scared

OP posts:
Original poster
gratefulheart · 24/08/2025 15:39

Can someone please help me, I have not stopped steaming, vacuuming, laying traps, obsessively checking and googling and I just can’t stop. Inspecting every tiny mark on my body, I’m exhausted

OP posts:
Hazlenuts2016 · 24/08/2025 21:03

I honestly think you would have found one if they were there by now! Plus I didnt think the photo looked much like a bed bug. Even when fully fed they look flatter than that. Please try to relax. We really did have an infestation a few years ago and managed to get rid of them with no recurrence.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 25/08/2025 00:12

Thank you! I’ve been maniacal this weekend. Spent a fortune on traps and mattress cases and steamers all that I can’t afford, not eaten or drunk been
fully focussed to the avoidance of all around me
including my basic needs. It’s been really really rough

OP posts:
Hazlenuts2016 · 25/08/2025 07:19

You just need to relax now and definitely start looking after yourself properly as it won't be good for your family if you carry on like this. Honestly it sounds like you haven't brought any home with you and if you had they would have been blitzed by now. It takes time for them to establish themselves and all your cleaning would have prevented that! You've done all you can. Relax and enjoy the last bit of the summer.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 25/08/2025 17:42

But what if I missed one or it’s too late and they’ve already laid eggs and I’m going to be infested

OP posts:
Tantastic12 · 25/08/2025 17:51

Well as you said it’s too late then. You'll just have to treat the problem when it’s confirmed.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 25/08/2025 20:03

It’s the unknown of this that I can’t step away from. What if? When? It’s all consuming

OP posts:
JennyShaw · 25/08/2025 20:59

An infestation cannot happen. If you have interceptors then they cannot move up into the bed. As long as you keep the bed away from walls or tables. Encasements for pillows and the mattress mean they cannot get into these. You can wash bedding regularly and do some vacuuming but there's no need to be obsessive about it. I wouldn't bother with the steaming. You've got the traps to tell you if they're about. They cannot survive if you have these simple measures which are cheap.

SpiceDad · 25/08/2025 21:20

My wife was recently worried about bed bugs after getting a few insect bites. To put her mind at ease we called out a local pest removal company to do a check. They found no evidence so thankfully we were reassured. Might be worth doing the same as otherwise you might keep convincing yourself that there is a problem.

PencilsInSpace · 25/08/2025 21:36

SpiceDad · 25/08/2025 21:20

My wife was recently worried about bed bugs after getting a few insect bites. To put her mind at ease we called out a local pest removal company to do a check. They found no evidence so thankfully we were reassured. Might be worth doing the same as otherwise you might keep convincing yourself that there is a problem.

I agree with this - get someone out to check.

We got rid of our bedbugs using CimeXa which is a fine silica gel powder and we leave it down all the time now as a precaution. You only need a tiny light dusting around the bed frames and it will kill them in 2-3 days. It stays active indefinitely so you only need to reapply if you've hoovered it up.

Original poster
gratefulheart · 25/08/2025 21:48

How long should I leave it before I ask them to come do a check. Everyone I ask says it’s too early to spot anything yet

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