Re: Odd Bug Bites..Please Help ID..

Posted by fredct on September 06, 2005 at 22:57:34:

In Reply to: Re: Odd Bug Bites..Please Help ID.. posted by Mara on September 06, 2005 at 22:07:38:

Tape might catch some but it might not, depends how sticky and where they are living - for instance, it will not catch them if they are living inside your mattress or box spring and therefore do not need to enter/exit the bed during the night.

Heat traps, like cockroach traps, may help, but maybe not, because bed bugs, like mosquitoes, are attracted not only to heat, but to the CO2 that you breathe, so they *will* prefer you over the traps.

Yes, bedbugs are quick little buggers and they can easily make it across a whole room in a minute or two, nevermind all night. They move probably about as quick as large ants, maybe a bit faster. They are about the size and shape of ticks, so they are not tiny (except the nymphs) nor are they immobile.

Yes, they feed very late at night (3 am to 5 am sounds about right, from personal experience), so you will rarely see them during the day and they hide *very* well.

Vacuuming will help bedbugs, but ony as part of a comprehensive plan including spraying the rooms and heating or freezing other possibly infected objects. Vaccuming will do little on its own. It will not suck up eggs nor will it ever get a good portion of the current population.

It's entirely possible that this has nothing to do with Florida and that was just a coincidence. They could be coming from a neighbors as well. You may want to talk to the neighbors and see if any of them are experiencing anything similar or have had a problem.

Finally, the BEST way to figure out if it's bedbugs is to check the signs I mentioned in the other post:

1) small drops/stains forming on the sheets - drops of blood that come from crushed bed bugs or from 'overly full' ones that ate too much
2) black crud that looks like small pepper 'balls' glued together, often found on sheets, sides of mattresses or box springs, bed skirts, bed frames, etc, etc.

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