I think we might have bed bugs!!!

[Freakingoutbigtime88]

I'm feeling absolutely panicked as I think we might have bed bugs!!!

I've found two dead creatures (no photo because I'm an idiot) over the course of the week and spent today moving all the bedroom furniture and shining a torch in all the little gaps. I didn't find anything, nor any marks on the mattresses so thought we were in the clear and they much have been some other kinds of insects until I noticed blood stains on my sons pillow. Tiny little marks on just one edge. It could have been from previous nosebleeds (he has had a couple), but combined with the mystery creatures it's not looking good!

Bed bug bites are horrendous. The itchiest bites I’ve ever had. Several of them, all in a line.
I think if the blood was from bites you would know about it as they would be driving DS mad. It’s likely just some other tiny bug.

Bed bugs are quite unlikely and you’d be itching something fierce with the telltale bites in a line on you. More likely it’s a drop of blood from the nosebleed and a couple of random dead critters.

A couple of posters have suggested ironing the corner of your mattress, over the sheet. The bugs think it is a body so travel towards the heat. Lift the sheet to see if you have any bugs.

It might just be dust mites.

I have these. Have tried everything. Despite the eviction notice they will not leave!

I think they are coming from the mattress, so I need to burn it.

They are very difficult to get rid of. It cost us £1500 to eradicate them through heat.

I read that not everyone gets the itchy bites?

They are too big to be dust mites I think. They resembled the shape of fleas... but too big to be those either.

@RainintheDesert we will be doing the heat treatment mentioned below by @Parky04 if the test comes up positive. I actually can't bear the thought of DS sleeping in a bed with them!!

@Parky04 - how long does the heat treatment take?

Bedbugs don't look like fleas, they are more like an apple seed shape. Have you been away recently or had guests staying and thats how they could have got there? If not, I don't think it's likely or possible to just spontaneously get bed bugs

It was completely flattened and looked like it had been squashed in half. Not sure if that would make it the correct shape or not.

We went away in August, and DH has had a couple of nights away here and there so it's possible. Unsure why they would be in my sons room though if from DHs trips...

Sorry but some people have no reaction to the bites, and can feed them every night without knowing.. hideous things, if you suspect it I would say don’t mess about trying to deal
with it but get the professionals out. They are flat in shape for squeezing into crevices, I’m afraid.

I wouldn't be so sure they are bed bugs if you found two dead - bed bugs don't die easily. Did you search for a photo online of what a bed bug looks like - is this what the bug you found looked like?

Fleas maybe

I did search. And no. The shape of what I found were much more flea shaped. However due to it being literally completely flat as if it had been in a flower press I thought it was possible that its original shape was more bed bug like.

It was about 6mm so definitely too big for a flea I think?

@MadamNoo I have professionals coming out tomorrow to do a detection test. I think my husband thinks I'm mad, but I really don't want to wait until I know for sure!

We have bed bugs and have had them for a year. Honestly, it's horrendous. We've had heat treatment and about 6 follow-up sprays, and I am still getting bitten and now can not find them anywhere but only getting bitten once a week so assume there arent many left. The bites are awful so sore and itchy. I have bit the bullet and ordered a new bed and mattress as I don't know what else to do. We got them from my dad, who stayed, and they had them in the block he lives in. If you google a picture that is exactly what they look like, there isn't any mistaking them, to be honest.

Maybe these weren't bed bugs then. But I've no idea what on earth else they could be!! And my son has blood spots on his pillow. No bites though on any of the 4 of us.

I'm so sorry to hear you're having so much trouble. The people we have coming offer a chemical solution (which apparently doesn't kill eggs so needs repeating) or a heat treatment which supposedly kills everything

Could you have found carpet beetles? I found a few on/near my bed!

They didn't look like these either. I wish I'd taken a photo!!

You could've got yourself a uv vacuum about 60 quid and it would kill them. I've got one and it works a treat and bern using it got 12 yrs

We got rid of them using a steamer (recommended on here). Took persistence but after the first week there were only a few although it was months before we got rid of them completely. We started steaming every couple of days, then weekly then it dropped off. Helped that we have hard floors and wooden bed frame.

The swab test has come back negative... we think.
A line came up outside of the 5 minute cut off, so he's left some strip thingies down to see if any get caught over the next couple of weeks. He said he didn't think there would be any though.
He suggested the things I found could have been fox fleas brought in from the garden by our dog.

https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle

I found that if you get one in a handkerchief and squeeze it emits a nasty chemical smell