Bed bugs? Lice? Beasties? HELP!!!! (Poor photo attached)

[BugLady75]

I have name changed because I am mortified! It's also in AIBU for traffic.

In the last 5 days I have found 4 of these critters! One on a t-shirt I was wearing (dead) and then I have found one in my bed everyday since Monday! . They've all been dead apart from one wriggling away on the bed!
They're bed bugs aren't they? Go on, I can take it I can't I've attached a photo but it's not clear, I put it next to a pencil for scale. The pictures of bed bugs I have seen on internet aren't as long as this beastie, more round, but I think I am deluding myself. I have lifted the mattress and checked for other signs but I've seen nothing! There is dust on the bed frame but I've seen no creepy crawlies. I thought they might be nits too as my DS has been scratching his head furiously for about a week but after checking I see nothing there.
Anyway, wise women of Mumsnet, please help! If they are bedbugs, apart from moving, do you have any advice?

Ha ha! Silent sounds like the voice of experience!

It's a thunderbug! Definitely not headlice and doesn't look like a bedbug at all.

Ok, quick update.
It's headlice! Just saw one crawling away in DS' hair

My Ds2 brought bed bugs back from a hotel down south a couple of years ago. I FREAKED. You can get bed bug resistant/proof mattress covers so you dont have to throw the mattress out if you dont want to. Spray everywhere with rubbing alcohol, walls, skirting wooden furniture. The whole bed frame actually, then use a bed bug spray. If you have a box spring either replace or cover that in the bedbug thingy.Pillows went in trash. All bedding and clothing went in the freezer for 3 weeks ( That was interesting). In the USA we dont get hot washes like you do in the UK so I had to freeze stuff.

I wrapped the legs of the bed with double sided tape and kept the bed away from all contact with anything else. Bed bugs need to crawl and climb so if the bed legs are the only access and they have double sided tape on them the buggers get stuck on that.

I bought food grade diatomaceous earth from amazon. Powdered death for bed bugs that stuff is. Sprinkle it EVERYWHERE and leave it. On skirting boards, round socket covers, over the headboard of the bed ( though if the headboard is padded it remove that and take a steam cleaner to it and leave it off covered in diatomaceous earth in the garage for a couple of weeks.

I ran the steam cleaner round all the skirting, sockets and joints in any furniture.

I got the buggers and that was the end of that but now im paranoid. If you lift up piping on the mattress, thats their favorite place. If you have an issue they will be in theres, even if you dont see them there will be browish marks, bed bug poo cos the eat blood. You can tell.

Good luck and diatomaceous earth is your friend

Get rid of your matress right this minute.

I also vote for a carpet beetle.
We've had a few very similar beasties (probably about 12 over the past 5 years) on the pillows and top of the duvet and I've done extensive Googleing and fretting about them.
Apparently bedbugs are a lot smaller, you get loads of them and if you pop them, they let out red blood.
My critters were harder and never looked like they were moving.
As long as they don't turn into a festering problem, just ignore them.

Sorry, missed the head lice update!
Wow! As well as constant itching now, I've learnt something new today!