To think there might have been bed bugs

[FeelingYuck]

We've just returned from a holiday within the UK, and the accommodation (a very rural cottage) was lovely. It got quite hot in the night so DH and I tended to sleep half-in, half-out of the covers and with skin exposed. We ended up getting one or two insect bites each night. We swatted one or two mozzy type insects in the house during our stay (during the day though, and downstairs), so I am hopeful that they are the reason for the bites... but I am extremely paranoid about bed bugs. DH and I looked hard for "evidence" like blood splats or bug shells, stripping the mattress right down and looking in cracks and crevices, but we couldn't find anything and it was all very clean.

DH has tried to convince me that there were definitely no bed bugs, but it's really troubling me. From arrival our holdalls were kept on a high shelf (which I always do as a precaution) and our dirty washing was placed into a bin bag, then went straight into the washing machine once we got home. The two holdalls themselves are still in the car as I'm a bit paranoid about them. One is empty and the other has some clean clothes in, but to be honest I will probably chuck those in the washing machine as well once I dare bring them into the house. They'd been stored in a dresser. We then had two bags which contained kitchen bits and bathroom bits, which did not come upstairs during the holiday so I wasn't too cautious with those. There are coats and shoes in the back of the car which I don't dare bring inside because they've been in the car with our other luggage.

Can anyone who knows about these things tell me how likely there were to have been bed bugs with no evidence around the bed? And if still likely, does it sound like I've been taking enough precautions? Gosh I'm such a worrier

Do you suffer from anxiety?

Because as well as being very unlikely, since you looked for evidence and were clearly bitten by mosquitoes, bedbugs carry no disease. So although they are irritating and can be expensive and annoying to get rid of, they aren't frightening.

Very unlikely. There are loads of other insects that can bite you in rural areas.

Thank you both for replying. Yes I have quite a bad anxiety problem - first appointment to try sorting it out next week actually! I hope I am being irrational. The above suggests that I probably am!!

I had a minor flea infestation about 4 years ago and it made me quite (mentally) unwell, so to think about the possibility of bed bugs is quite a worry. It's the mammoth task of getting rid of them that concerns me.

first appointment to try sorting it out next week actually!

Good for you!

If it helps, I worked somewhere for two years that had routine infestations and didn't get them.

We brought bed bugs back from a holiday once - was a very minor infestation (pest control could only find one nymph despite dismantling my bed!) but it was still obvious that they were there. Blood spots on the sheets, faeces, eggs, shed exoskeletons. In hindsight it was obvious the hotel had them if I'd known what to look for (or that bedbugs were something I needed to be aware of!). So given you found no evidence it sounds EXTREMELY unlikely there were bedbugs. The bites also tend to be in lines of three - just getting one or two a night would be quite unusual I think.

Bed bugs are greedy! One or two bites a night aren't bed bugs. There'd be lots of bites in rows. Neat, straight itchy rows.

1-2 bites a night is not bed bugs. It was mosquitoes.

Trust me, you’d know if you had bed bugs. I think I had 48 bites one night.

Heavens alive, I think you've overreacted a bit.

Thanks everyone for the replies, which have made me feel much better.

Sorry to hear about your infestation @Zebraaa, that sounds horrendous :(

I'm glad yours wasn't too severe @Spam88, I hope you managed to get rid of them ok. Disgusting things!