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calling all you bed bug experts

I

Icey101

Jun 22, 2011
492
10
Australia Victoria
#1
I posted once before and this is still going on, every two weeks I’ve been getting a single bite in the morning it appears, its like nothing I’ve had before, it comes up in a red welt almost a half inch across with a red dot in the centre, really itchy for a week, then slowly fades after a week, it’s not like a flea bite or spider bite.
I suspect a bed bug, but can you have only one bed bug? This is been going on for months and only one bite every 2 weeks, don’t these things bread and infest? It’s always around the ankle too.
I’ve tried taking the mattress out into the sun for a day and washing the sheets in hot water and it still comes back. I also cant see any signs of dried blood on the sheets. I have researched the net for all the signs. Can’t find a thing. Also i haven’t slept in any hotels.

What else can i do?
 
#3
maybe a very very small vampire? Do you have any unusual cravings for blood now?
the mattress in the sunlight should have taken care of it, but I would really consider looking for any tiny coffins. They would be about the size of a matchbook. If you find one, carefully open it, then jab a toothpick into the heart of anything within.
That oughtta take care of he problem... Good luck!
 
#6
Spider. I can tell you first hand.... if you have bedbugs you would KNOW you have them. YUK. Been through that mess.
Have you looked UP? A ceiling fan or light fixture above your bed may be the hideout. I had a spider using me as a fast food stop in an old apartment for months like that before. It was living in an outlet without a cover behind the nightstand. Found it by chance when I went to put a cover on it. I didn't think anything about it when I squished the little ahole, but the bites stopped. I didn't even put the two together until I noticed I wasn't being fed on anymore. But being in Australia, you may have plenty of critters I haven't even heard of. So, at the risk of coming off a bit silly, have you called the local zoo and spoken to an entomologist?
 
#7
basscooker said:
Spider. I can tell you first hand.... if you have bedbugs you would KNOW you have them. YUK. Been through that mess.
Have you looked UP? A ceiling fan or light fixture above your bed may be the hideout. I had a spider using me as a fast food stop in an old apartment for months like that before. It was living in an outlet without a cover behind the nightstand. Found it by chance when I went to put a cover on it. I didn't think anything about it when I squished the little ahole, but the bites stopped. I didn't even put the two together until I noticed I wasn't being fed on anymore. But being in Australia, you may have plenty of critters I haven't even heard of. So, at the risk of coming off a bit silly, have you called the local zoo and spoken to an entomologist?
Click to expand...

You said it yourself - he lives in Australia. If it were an Australian spider, it would have teleported into his room, hypnotized him by singing old Cher ballads, sawed off his leg using it's laser vision, then flew back out of the room (carrying the severed leg of course)with it's leathery butterfly wings adorned with skull motif. This is a known fact.
Since it's just an irritated ankle bite every now and then, I'm going to go with Toolmybass and say "flea". Having two dogs and a cat, similar bites have occurred to me on occasion.
 
#8
basscooker said:
Spider. I can tell you first hand.... if you have bedbugs you would KNOW you have them. YUK. Been through that mess.
Have you looked UP? A ceiling fan or light fixture above your bed may be the hideout. I had a spider using me as a fast food stop in an old apartment for months like that before. It was living in an outlet without a cover behind the nightstand. Found it by chance when I went to put a cover on it. I didn't think anything about it when I squished the little ahole, but the bites stopped. I didn't even put the two together until I noticed I wasn't being fed on anymore. But being in Australia, you may have plenty of critters I haven't even heard of. So, at the risk of coming off a bit silly, have you called the local zoo and spoken to an entomologist?
Click to expand...

Nothing above my bed, not a spider, had that before, no spiders around, had flea bites, this isnt like a flea, had that before....tell me about your bed bug problems, what happened?
 
#11
Okay my guess is this chigger bites sometimes have a tiny red dot at the center insanely itchy welts they leave behind, look for this
VQY08QD08QT0GQO0EQNK6QNK5Q6K7K1KIKHS2Q2K5Q104Q6KRKWKSKCK9QDKXKY08QPKMK1KMKAK.jpg


search the web for what you need to know about them
 
#13
I just want to say, people should read the reproduction section of the wikipedia entry on bedgbugs. Not for any good reason, just cause its kinda detailed and interesting. I just did and i think it's crazy that we know that much about such a tiny insect.

This struck me as a bit funny:

"Male bed bugs sometimes attempt to mate with other males and pierce their abdomens.[52] This behaviour occurs because sexual attraction in bed bugs is based primarily on size, and males will mount any freshly fed partner regardless of sex"

Ah yes, we've all faced that problem. You go out after a nice meal and suddenly all these guys are trying to have sex with you. I only go out hungry nowadays to prevent this. Personally i'm not gay but i think i speak for everyone when i say it's true that sometimes its hard to resist a freshly well fed man...mmm-mmm

Aren't we glad our reproduction habits are more evolved than animals and insects? The interesting part too is male bed bugs can release pheromones to prevent that from happening. It basically tell the other bedbug that it's a male and as such shouldn't proceed with their... current course of action. We humans also have such a biological warning system. It's called "GET THE **** OFF ME" (or alternately, "RAPE! RAPE!")
 
#14
I find it odd that before bedbugs were considered "pandemic" (which they are now)
they were considered to be harmful to humans and were gotten rid of at the first opportunity in decent dwellings.

However now that they are everywhere there is an attempt to downplay them by the media as being perfectly harmless and acceptable.

At least that's the way it is up here in the Pac Northwest....
 
#17
I really think your best bet is to talk with a doctor who specializes in insect bites. Really. I say this because:
- Things like bedbugs, fleas, chiggers (not even sure you have them there), or ants, don't work alone; no such thing as just one.
- I was thinking maybe a conenosed beetle (Assassin Bug, or Kissing Bug), but the bite you describe doesn't match what the ones in Australia cause, and since they're attracted by the carbon dioxide in your breath, they usually go for a person's lip.
- The only other solitary insects I can think of, besides spiders, would be scorpions or centipedes; and I doubt anyone could sleep thru getting nailed by one of those.

My vote would be some kind of spider; have to admit, though, that from what you describe, you can't rule the "Tiny Vampire" theory out. :D
 

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