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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

In wondering what the flip is biting me?!?

58 replies

Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:05

For about 5 weeks now I have been getting chomped on a daily basis. Just me, not DF, not DS. I don't have pets, I've hoovered, boil washed the bed linen, washed all my clothes, have tumbled rather than hung them out...

Still, every day! This morning I have a line of 6 up the side of my calf...

What the actual fuck is it?!?

OP posts:
nubbins · 15/04/2011 09:08

if it's just on your legs, could it be flea bites? if you don't have animals you might be picking them up at work or somewhere you go but DF and DS don't.

OsbegaEthelwulf · 15/04/2011 09:11

I know you say you don't have pets but still sounds like fleas to me; you can easily take a passenger home when you been in company of dogs or cats or their owners- have done it before. It may also be biting you dh and ds but not everyone comes out with a lump; I used to be covered in them when I have a load of cats but ex partner didn't have a single mark.

if it is fleas then they will die shortly as they cannot survive long term without their proper host( dog/cat) Human blood isn't good for them apparantly.

If you have a steam cleaner then do the carpets and whatnot just to make sure the buggers are dead

TandB · 15/04/2011 09:11

Is it a dead straight line? If so, it is almost certainly a bed-bug - they bite in straight lines for some reason.

I can't remember whether it is something you can deal with yourself or if you have to get someone in. Some friends of ours had them in their house a while ago.

Original poster
Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:14

I was wondering but DS is still newborn so I'm at home still and he goes everywhere with me. The previous tenants had dogs, so I was wondering if the fleas could have been dormant over the winter and waking up in the carpets now it's warmer? Can they live that long though? We have been here for 8 months...

Getting a bit paranoid about it!

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:17

I was thinking bed bugs as well. But why only on my legs?

Oh, it's making me itch all over now!

OP posts:
TandB · 15/04/2011 09:18

Is it a straight line?

jellykit · 15/04/2011 09:20

Fleas. Boiling your bedding wont do anything.

Maryz · 15/04/2011 09:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

slightlymad72 · 15/04/2011 09:23

Fleas, they can lay dormant in the carpet for up to 8 months, when the conditions are right, moisture and warmth they wake up and feed. You need flea spray.

nubbins · 15/04/2011 09:23

yeah still could be fleas from the previous tennant. They were in our house when we moved in and the old lady had been moved out for ages and there were new carpets, but the little buggers still managed to survive somehow.

we used smoke bombs to get rid of them.

fishandlilacs · 15/04/2011 09:24

about 40 quid for a days fumigation from local companies i'd guess.

Also if ti's fleas you can cath them in a flea trap a shallow dish like a pie dish a tea light candle lit in the middle, fill the moat with water and a few drops of washing up liquid and leave in the place you think you're getting bitten the most for a few hours. If it's fleas they get atrracted by the warmth and jump in and drown. You can see them then and youll know.

canadajin · 15/04/2011 09:24

bed bugs. we had them and I got bit on my calves, DP didn't. They are attracted to certain body chemicals I think. Check under mattress for black marks that smear under pressure. Do you have a wooden bed or slats? Need to get someone in to get rid of them if that's it.

Original poster
Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:24

Kungfupanda It's a meandery line, two close by my ankle, one a bit round but a bit higher and the rest up by my knee. Almost like something was trapped in my jeans, or went for a stroll up my leg having snacks on the way!

Is there anything I can nuke the house with that will be safe for DS (16 weeks)?

OP posts:
TandB · 15/04/2011 09:25

Probably not bed bug then - they apparently do dead-straight lines with the bites close together. They bite and then move on just far enough to get clear skin to bite again.

Original poster
Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:29

Crikey loads of responses!

I have a wooden bed, but I am noticing the bites at all hours, not just in the mornings so whatever it is is biting me during the day as well. Just in case though I'll have someone come to look at the bed.

They are small bites that get bigger and swell up. Itch for days. Not mosquito-y.

I do seem to react badly to bites though.

OP posts:
youretheoneformefatty · 15/04/2011 09:39

Been in long grass lately or to the beach? I always get bitten by gnats and sand bugs (don't know what they're called) this time of year as do my DS's. DH very rarely gets 'got'.

We come up in massive welts at first, (anywhere but mainly legs) which then die down to small spots after a few days. the itching, though can go on for weeks. Antihistamine (sp?) cream does calm the itching though.

FranSanDisco · 15/04/2011 09:42

I'd say it's fleas.

midnightexpress · 15/04/2011 09:42

Bed bugs apparently have a distinctive smell. I can't enighten you further as to what that smell might be, but apparently old people who were familiar with them in the olden days recognise it.

With the warm weather we've been having, could it be mozzies? They always go for my ankles for some reason.

Original poster
Mumofaflump · 15/04/2011 09:43

I need to dissapear to baby group now, thanks for all the responses!

Will follow up on the advice given.

Cheers!

OP posts:
FranSanDisco · 15/04/2011 09:43

Do the bites have a red centre?

MumsieNonna · 15/04/2011 09:52

I think it's possibly bedbugs and they have just woken up in the recent hot weather. They nest in the edges of carpets under the skirting board and can travel from next door. They can also be found in the seams of clothing hence your bites are in a straight line. There is some very useful information here about bed bugs. bedbugs Wiki

Just an aside, but scroll down to the bit about reproduction and there is a photo of bedbugs shagging. I kid you not! Shock and what the male gets up to is disgusting.

LDNmummy · 15/04/2011 09:53

Sounds like flea bites to me. I get the same reaction to flea bites and had them before as I had cats. My DP at the time didn't have any bites or indication of fleas and thought I was barmy as mine didn't even swell up that much, though I would feel it all day. Eventually I did get some distinctive one's around my ankle but we were moving out by then.

Bed bugs would bite your back and belly.

RevoltingPeasant · 15/04/2011 09:56

kungfu not strictly true

They bite quite close together, in lines, but you can get different 'groupings' of bites in the same night.

OP, we had this after a bed-bug hitched a ride in my DP's suitcase after he came back from a conference. Hotels are great places to pick them up, apparently, even really nice ones (hotels, not bugs....).

We got Pestek in. Google them. They did one treatment and it was entirely sorted.

ElsieMc · 15/04/2011 09:58

It's defo flea bites - the same happened to us. The bites were all below the knee and affected the whole family. We had rented a cottage from a friend, who was also complaining about bites on her legs whilst she lived there. She thought it may be fleas, but I told her not to be so silly. Serves me right. You can get a spray for your carpets etc. Not messy and it will solve the problem, although its not cheap.

MigratingCoconuts · 15/04/2011 10:02

Flea eggs can stay in carpets and in cracks between floorboards for a very long time waiting for signs of a host coming by.

You can treat the carpet with powders...it will require you spraying everywhere and leaving the house for an hour or two. Go to a local pet shop for advice!