To ask for your help to find out what is biting us?

[hibbledibble]

Recently an insect has been making a meal of all us. Dh in particular has been bitten lots. I have no idea what is causing it, and want to find out so we can take preventative measures!

Information which may be relevant:
We have a dog but she doesn't have fleas. I have checked carefully.

I have looked in the beds and can't see any bed bugs.

We don't live particularly close to water that I know of, and live in a city. Windows are open at night.

I never see anything like a mosquito lurking.

The bites are very itchy and on exposed skin.

Any ideas?

Where on your body are you being bitten? How are the bites grouped?

Pretty much everywhere that is exposed: backs, arms, legs, back of neck, feet, hands.

I have only the odd bite so no grouping. Perhaps some grouping on dh, but more like just lots of bites.

I'd guess bed bugs - do you have a headboard or maybe a chair DH sits on more? I've been bitten similarly and it was by a bed bug infested sofa - it was the palms of my hand that itches the most!!

There was a little black insect in Hong Kong (think they were midges?) and they gave us bites very similar to bedbug bites (similar severity and took days for the swelling/redness to go). They would attack in a horde, usually near water but no always, and only on exposed skin.

Have you Google-imaged them?

I think you need to rule out bedbugs properly. Any tiny blood spots on sheets?

I'd guess bed bugs also - have you brought anything into the house like an old piece of furniture sourced from somewhere else, recently? (It doesn't need to be that but if you have..........)

I have looked at Google images of bed bugs. Our sofa is leather so I don't think it could be harbouring them (at least not in great quantities).

How do I properly rule them out?

The idea of bed bugs makes me sick.

Nothing new in the house, apart from a lodger

I just read a story on ticks that are coming out for the summer maybe them?

Could be scabies. We had an outbreak of them at work last year, they thrive in areas of close contact, so schools, care homes etc.
They are notorious for biting around fingers, wrists and ankles. I'd go to your gp and get a professional opinion.

My dc have been waking up with bites over the last week or so. Not bed bugs (they just so happen to have brand new beds and mattresses) or fleas or similar. No pattern. No particular body part. The children always get bitten before us and I never get bitten tbh. I'd seen no bugs anywhere.

DS crawled into bed with us at around midnight the other night and we all went back to sleep. At 3am something woke me up but I couldn't work out what. I lay there for a minute and realised it was a buzzing sound. I put my reading light on and sure enough a ruddy mosquito was buzzing around ds's head, about to land and bite. I chased it off and then squashed it. No more bites thus far.

Where do you live Saul ?

Tbh I would prefer this was mosquitos as its the least gross of the options.

It doesn't actually need to be new furniture - just some way to have them arrive in the house such as trips away with lots of lovely suitcases for them to stow away in. They're fairly widespread these days and all it takes is one pregnant female to land in your house as far as I know.

I have a memory that you can buy fairly cheap bedbug monitors but I haven't used them myself. Maybe someone else has a recommendation.

We went on holiday 6 weeks ago cozie but the biting has only started the past couple of weeks.

I'd say mosquitoes. They can be a bugger to spot, I've seen a couple the last few days. Try lighting a few citronella candles.

I'm in East Anglia but if you're in the UK, they're everywhere. I've got my citronella candles out atm.

Can you post a picture of the bites? Flea bites look different to gnat bites-they are more uniform and circular whereas gnat bites are often uneven.

I actually have very little in terms of bites so I don't know if a photo would be much use, and poor dh is at work.

I have ordered the bed bug traps and citronella candles, thank you for the ideas!

I've been badly.bitten when doing some gardening. There's lots of no seeums . Little teeny tiny spiders, teeny ants. Bloody annoying. My leg is like a war zone.

Got them last year when gardening. I'll need to wear trousers or a beekeepers suit.

Need a picture to give more advice!

But if a lodger has just moved in then alas, it could be bed bugs. If it is, you'll need to call the exterminators in - they are incredibly hard to get rid of , traps won't do it.
You rarely see them - they hide very well. Rows or groups of intensely itchy bites are their hallmark.

Skipton I really, really hope its not bed bugs!

I bought some of the traps online, so hopefully we will see them if we have them.

Dh has most of them, and yes they are intensely itchy.

Skipton I tried to take a picture of mine but it doesn't come out well as I have barely any bites, and they don't itch me so much. I'll see if I can get a photo of one of the other victims!

I know you said you checked your dog for fleas but they are very hard to spot. I speak from bitter experience here as DDog has had them recently and they were only spotted on a trip to the groomer. He'd been treated regularly but apparently they become resistant to treatment. I've had a few bites myself, very small, red and itchy. Little black specks of dirt are a sign apparently.

The fleas might not be on the dog.

We don't have any pets and live in a newbuild so there have never been any pets here, yet we still get fleas in the house. Had them this time last year and they've just reappeared I think they live in the back lawn.

I get bitten every time I take the rubbish out through the back garden gate. And I suspect DS's 'suspected chicken pox' last year was actually flea bites.