What’s eating me ??

[BittenInLondon]

Does anyone have any idea what these bites could be?

The pic shows the latest on my hand from last night - there are 4 in a semi circle shape, ending at the base of my ring finger.

I get bitten like this multiple times a day, usually at night. It’s always on exposed skin (so whatever it is doesn’t get under clothes). The bites start itching some hours after they’ve occurred and itch like a bitch for a few days from there on.

It’s been going on for almost 2 months now and I can’t figure out what it is!

DP and DC are both fine. DCat doesn’t seem to be itching or biting for fleas. I’ve slept on the nursery floor and in the marital bed and been bitten either way.

We live in a top floor flat of a period conversion in central London. It’s well heated, no damp or anything like that. We generally don’t have many pests that I can see, save for the occasional fruit fly infestation (happened in high summer) and drain flies (when drains got mucky). Both have long been dealt with.

I can rule out:

• mosquitoes and gnats (I’d have spotted them by now and there just aren’t any here)

• bed bugs (pattern is not a straight line and is actually a circle sometimes, plus the puncture wound through my skin is tiny)

• spiders (just don’t see spiders coming back multiple times over 1-2 months to bite me. I also haven’t seen any spiders here)

Any ideas Mumsnet? I’m at my wit’s end!

have you fully checked for bed bugs? pattern doesn't need to be straight line.

I haven’t (how would I do that?), but was thinking that it’s unlikely to be bedbugs because:

• only I am getting bitten, not DP or DC
• I am only getting bitten on exposed skin, so - extremities now that the weather is cold and I’m in full PJs
• no bleeding or skin taken off in the bite
• I haven’t seen any bed bugs…

Do you have a cat that sleeps on your bed? Could be flea bites

Yes. But she isn’t acting like she’s got fleas , wouldn’t that be a giveaway? Also, wouldn’t DP get bitten as well ?

The bites start itching some hours after they’ve occurred and itch like a bitch for a few days from there on.

This does sound a bit bed buggy 😬

Not everyone reacts to the bites so it's possible you're all getting bitten.

We had them a couple of years ago. Check the seams and tufts of your mattress and all the nooks and crannies of your bed frame, headboard and any furniture (e.g. bedside table) that is next to your bed. The usual first sign is little black dots.

They only make tiny puncture wounds and don't take off lumps of skin. The only time you'd notice blood is if you rolled over and squashed one after it had just fed.

When was the cat last treated for fleas? If its months then I will bet its that. Some people are more allergic to flea saliva (me) and I always knew when it was time for the flea spray waayyyyy before the cat started scratching.

@LangClegsInSpace I’m terrified now, but will check when I get some time this afternoon

@Pixiedust1234 she’s not been treated since last year actually. I should have some of the anti flea neck drops somewhere though, will try to find it!

If you do find anything, don't panic, don't start tearing your house apart or blasting everything with pesticide.

Get some Cimexa and watch a few youtubes for how to use it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROCKWELL-CXID032-CimeXa-Insecticide-Rockwell/dp/B0085HRWI8/?th=1

Fingers crossed it's just fleas.

Run a fine tooth comb through the cat, near his/her neck and behind her ears. It could be fleas, I get bitten terribly by them but others in my family seem to live alongside them 😂 (3 outdoor cats, it's inevitable!)

Looks like fleas to me. I got bitten by fleas so badly last year that I couldn't form a fist on my right hand it was so swollen! Nobody else had a single bite. I thought it was scabies at first. (Scabies burrow under the skin between your fingers so check for marks there.)

Scabies often bite near and between fingers and in a line - maybe check against pics of those bites?

I have one cat who is a flea carrier, can be covered and never show any signs and another who is highly allergic and loses clumps of hair at the first sign of fleas.
first step would be flea treatment, preferably the three month one.

Last year, I started having little bites like this and man, they were itchy! I often sleep with the window open so wondered if something was making its way in. In the end, I let off one of those fumigator bombs in the bedroom (some are not suitable if you have pets) but it did the trick.

These are horribly itchy once they get going. They keep me awake at night, which is hardly ideal when I’m up a lot for the baby already!