So I found what I thought was maybe an insect egg in my bed. It was fairly white. When I rolled/squeezed it, it smeared on my fingers (it felt kind of sticky, not watery) and had a black spot. Would a bed bug egg do this?

Ok, I have had bed bugs before and my apt has been treated SEVEN times!!!

I just found this on a hand towel in my bathroom this afternoon. By coincidence I had just come back from the park and could potentially have brought it on me… (denial is amazing isn't it?)

The photo is the bug in a ziploc baggie. Sorry I couldn't get a closer photo but this is the best I could do.

Any help will be appreciated.

I’m new here, having just discovered 4 live bugs in my house over the last 2 weeks or so. I’m pretty positive they are in fact bed bugs but I can’t seem to upload the pics I took to photobucket to post here to confirm at the moment.

But here’s my question: Not that I can really afford it , but I obviously want to have a professional come out and inspect and hopefully come up with a treatment plan. I am in the southwest Ohio area (Cincinnati/Dayton areas), and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of a good PCO? Of course, there’s the bigger known companies like Orkin, Terminix or Scherzinger. I’m wondering if they would be the better way to go, or get a smaller independantly owned place that specify they treat bed bugs? Anyone have any experience with any in the local area, big or small?

I imagine it’s wise to have several companies come out and inspect and compare findings & estimates, correct? Do most of these companies offer free inspections/estimates? What should I ask each one?

I am so overwhelmed right now, but I’m trying to be calm and take the right steps here and not completely freak out. I want to do this right, and in the most cost effective manner as I can as I’m stressed enough financially and otherwise as it is. Do any companies offer any type of payment plans or is that pretty unheard of?

Any help, advice, suggestions appreciated.

I've found that in addition to fighting bedbugs, I'm fighting for my sanity, I'm also fighting the neighbors downstairs and occasionally the landlord.

What are my legal rights as a tenant if the apartment adjacent to mine isn't complying with bedbug treatment? What are the legal rights of the property manager? I live in the state of Massachusetts.

The neighbor(s) in question are directly downstairs, we are both renting from a larger management company in a multi-unit building. We suspect there are more occupants in the downstairs apartment than are legally allowed, and we also suspect they are running some kind of childcare operation out of the apartment. We don’t have concrete proof on either count but there are 6-8+ kids that get dropped off and picked up. Because we have been finding scattered hungry-looking adults, we think the infestation may have started downstairs and some have made their way through the walls to our apartment. We have found 2 small "colonies" on the box spring (thrown own) and on a couch (still there, but treated). The pco seemed not concerned the first time, thinking the infestation was relatively minor, but a week later we found the couch colony (a couch that had been inspected a treated the week before). There were only adults and eggs on the couch. It seems strange that it would go from a "minor infestation" to a multi-room problem in the span of a week, which is another reason we think there may be a larger infestation downstairs. This building is old and full of cracks/crevices.

The tenants downstairs have been either not home or not answering the door when the PCO comes, even though they have had ample warning that someone would be coming to inspect their apartment. It has now been almost a month since we saw the first bug and reported it to the landlord and that apartment has still not been treated. Theoretically their apartment will be treated (and ours will be treated for a third time) on Thursday, but we have no faith that the tenants downstairs will be home let alone do any of the arduous prep that is necessary.

I'm afraid that, it won't matter how much we treat our unit, if the adjacent units aren’t doing their due diligence. What (if any) rights do I have in this situation.

We also DON'T WANT TO MOVE which is the most frustrating. I'm sure we could get out of our lease but we want to stay! We just want the people downstairs to stop being so terrible.

Hello, dear bedbuggers. 'Tis I, Montrealer2, back after 7-plus months of increasing hellery dealing with each new batch of unknowns in the Phylum Arthropoda universe.
Quick summary - the apartment had bedbugs last summer, which were treated with two sprays by a PCO and my own follow-up of Dichlorvos (DDVP) no-pest strips hung all through the apartment, dismantling and exposing all my furniture and belongings to the fan-dispersed chemicals, and vacating (with my indoor cat) for a few weeks. Seemed to work. Big phew, and big big thanks to expert P (Paul) Bello for all his advice, help and mutiple-question-answering. And thanks to Loubugs, David Cain and everyone else on this forum who chimed in with advice, comments and support.

When I returned to my place, however, I found all these little small dark rock/dirt-like "droppings" everywhere - under my rugs, on the floors, the balcony, etc. I also started getting little bites on my ankles. The "PCO" the building mgr. called in had no idea what these things were or what was biting me, but since they didn't find evidence of BBs (or, I didn't point them directly to the evidence, as I had previously), they called it a day, but suggested the overhanging trees on my balcony and roof be trimmed.
Squirrels had been using my balcony as a bathroom for a while, but still my Landlord decided to do nothing about the trees, the little sharp rocks/pebbles/dirt, or my bites.
Cut to: I finally get my cat back in the place, and clearly some specks were flea dirt, because suddenly we are now fighting fleas. Odd with an indoor-only cat. I put him on monthly spot-on meds (Revolution) and vacuum and wash like crazy, but still I see flea eggs and dirt everywhere.
I then notice that *I* am emitting flea dirt - from my hair/scalp! So I read every whack-job's blog, read all the University and Gov't info sheets, and wash my hair and my cat with Dawn dish soap, spray lemon and garlic, spray us both with apple cider vinegar, comb comb comb, douse my hair in petroleum jelly for 24 hours, soak my head with baking-powder paste, change my bedding nearly daily and wash and dry everything on hot hot hot, give my cat more meds. I spray Flea Killer and Surface Spray (Nylar + tetramethirn + d-phenothrin) everywhere. But still the eggs are everywhere and we're both still scratching.
In the meantime, we are told there's an emergency with the roof and the roof will be redone (in February, the coldest month in a Montreal calendar year); then all the doors and windows are suddenly replaced - again, in February.
The specks and rocks continue to show up - some seem fused to the floors unless I soak them in bleach. And I see lot of bugs and dirt on all the new white windowsills in the bldg. I begin noticing the black specks, spots and rocks in the laundry room.
And my "flaking" problem continues; flea eggs occasionally fall from my hair. (Ugh!); scabs and sores develop on my head from all the scratching; my cat is losing some fur on the back of his ears; and I find little red bites (small, circular, not raised) on my arms, chest, legs, feet. The back of my neck is sore and bumpy, too, and I get exhausted pretty easily. Plus I begin to feel occasional sharp jabs on my scalp, at the sides, on the crown, at the back.
I start suspecting lice, research that issue and then apply recommended OTC cream rinse (Nix, 1% permethrin). Doesn't seem to help the issue in my hair, but I reapply in 9 days anyway, as per directions.
During the suggested daily combing with a nit comb, including when I feel those sharp jabs, I begin to look at these black specks and detritus being removed from my hair using 2 magnifying glasses - and see that they are little bugs of all shapes! Some seem to be attached to long spindly hairy stems, others are free. Most are black.
I can't tell if they are mites (rodent, from the squirrels; maybe bird, from trees that overhang/touch the roof over my head or the balcony) or maybe ticks or burrowing fleas or lice. Maybe all of the above, since I am pretty sure my eyebrows are being affected - every time I wipe my eyes with a white paper towel, there are little black specks on it, regardless of whether I've just showered or washed. (And for those suspecting dreaded pubic lice, which can affect eyebrows and lashes: for better or for worse, I could not have contracted these this year, at least not by the usual means.)
Anyway, I have snapped picture after picture and am pasting a link to a photo album. Sorry for the somewhat blurred photos and some near-duplicates, but I don't know the subtleties of these things and don't want to edit out a detail that an expert might be able to use to identify my newest roommates.
The "blue" pics are the ones taken mostly through one or two magnifying glasses, of bugs in a blue dish of boiling-hot water - look for the dark specks and zoom in. Some have several creepies in one pic, including some lighter ones.
The pics taken on top of my striped bedsheet are more of a mystery - I found these in my digital camera, undated, and don't know if I took these during last year's BB bout, after I settled back in, after I gathered a bunch of bugs and specks and piled them together for the group photo, or whatever. But clearly the assortment should provide me with the reminder I need to kick my new-apartment search into high gear.

Link to album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskCHix83

Thank you all for reading this not-so-short summary/rant, and thank you for whatever help you can offer.

Before I pop for another 75 dollars on another bed bug related product, would like to know if anyone has any good or bad experience with these liners. Very few reviews on line.

Hi everyone,

My senior parents were recently INFESTED by bedbugs. As my father was a borderline hoarder, they essentially lost everything and walked away with the clothes on their backs. I moved them into a small apartment in the basement of my house and now we have them...something I knew was likely. We had the house treated with a Pest Control company 5 days ago. They used a steamer on all couches, beds and boxsprings, undersides of chairs were spot treated, residual dust was applied to all outlets and along baseboards and encasements were placed on beds and boxsprings. In addition, I have used a quality hand steamer labelled for the killing of bedbugs every 2 days on our sofas. Bedding is washed and dried on high heat daily and clothing has been kept in tightly sealed bags (both clean and dirty) My father is largely an invalid and had been sleeping on the couch but moved to the bed last night. I thought I had been getting a hold on the problem but then I found castings and nymphs on the sheets this morning where he slept. They seem to be ON him. We bathe him and keep him in clean clothes daily as well as steaming his wheelchair (largely, fabric, metal and plastic) daily. Am I expecting too much too early or am I missing a crucial part of treatment? It seems they follow him wherever he goes. We take a step forward and he brings us 2 steps back. Should I put him in respite care until we can get this under control?

I need a little help please. We had a PCO come on Sat. to spray. My husband was determined to do everything himself until he saw the new bites on me the morning before. I seem to be the only one that has a severe reaction, from the bites. These new bites were very large blisters, extremely painful and very itchy. It has been almost a week since I got these bites and they keep turning back into big blisters and BURN like all hell when I get in the shower or tub. I have been keeping them as clean as I can and using peroxide and antibiotic cream on them along with a bandaid. What else can I do? They don't seem to be getting any better. They are weeping on the band aid but still look pretty bad.
The PCO did confirm bed bugs and we have been finding dead ones, but in my anxious mind right now every bug I see I zap with straight alcohol. The PCO also said with bites like mine it looks to be a allergic reaction to them and not just a normal reaction.

Hi, is this a bed bug egg? Found it in my climbups. thanks

https://flic.kr/p/JmSYMY

https://flic.kr/p/JmSZpQ

https://flic.kr/p/HtPqWd

https://flic.kr/p/Jicjiz

thanks!

Found this bug in bathroom sink, anyone know what it is? Is it bedbug?

Found this bug in bathroom sink, is it bed bug? Do you know what it is?
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/0uTuOQu

Felt a sting and grabbed this off of me, the color and small size made me wonder.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0aPgotwSSS-TjJRdVdlendycFU

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0aPgotwSSS-NkRIN3M1TkJmMjA

Hi! I posted here a few times before around last year but I forgot my username and everything so I apologize for making a new account.

I had bed bugs last year around April at my parents house. After some months, I guess the exterminator or bed bug guy, I'm not sure their official name, I'm sorry, said that the bed bugs were gone. But we had to continue spraying a few times just to make sure that any and all possible bed bugs would be dead. My dad did it for awhile but then never bothered spraying again.

Well, this may I think we COULD have brought in bed bugs after visiting a pretty gross motel out of state. This was back in May, and now that it's July is it possible to have a big infestation or anything again? I found a single bed bug on my dad's night stand table, but it was only one adult and I'm not sure if it's possible he brought in any more, or if we got them from somewhere else... I found the bed bug in June, by the way. June 5th, and we were out of town in the first week of May. So I'm not sure if there's more bed bugs, or what. I'm hoping that it was just one bug that could've found its way home and I killed it...

We also all have the mattress with the bed bug encasing, so if we do have bed bugs again I'm not too sure where we could look. I looked downstairs at the couch and recliner and I didn't seem to find anything that could point me towards bed bugs, but since it's only been two months I'm not sure if I would find anything at all.

I'm sorry if I'm not quite making sense either... And I know I'm asking a lot. I'm scared to tell my dad we could have another infestation because the last time he just went nuts and threw everything away and just made our lives miserable. I'm so paranoid about bed bugs now because I'm moving soon and I'm terrified I could possibly bring the bugs with me.

Someone please help. I just don't know what to do...

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/143122484@N03/28197110746/

Edit: I should also mention when I saw the bed bug, it was pretty still. I actually thought it was dead (I wish) but then it started to really sluggishly move its legs. I'm not sure if that means it was unfed for awhile or just playing dead, but I thought it could be helpful to mention.

I also haven't seen any cast skins, especially if they usually look exactly like the ones from this website. But we have the special bed bug covering on our mattresses so I dunno if they could be hiding it somewhere else, IF there is more than one. I really hope it was that lone bed bug and I could live in peace...

Hi all... new here, but thought I'd post here in case anyone else had a similar problem.

TLDR: I used too much DE and am freaking out now.

I'm FREAKED out right now. On Saturday (4 days ago) I inspected my boyfriend's bed because I'd been having strange bites. We found 3 live bugs. We don't live together, but I"d usually take a bag over there when spending the night, and had just moved out of my old apartment into my new place (a shared home). I have not seen anything at the new place, but did have 2 new bites. on Sunday (3 days ago)

Anyways. I immediately talked to people who'd dealt with bed bugs before and they all recommended DE. They said, just pour it around. WELL. I poured it very liberally all over the baseboards and edges of the room, and even some on the mattress and the mattress cover. Even the trunk of my car where I'd been transporting stuff. (I was in panic mode, ok?)

Now I realize that was a STUPID thing to do. I slept in the room for 2 nights (Saturday and Sunday), but mainly Sunday night was the night that there was a lot of DE.

Since then I've bought a N95 mask, which I've been wearing anytime I'm in the room, and even when I sleep. I've cleaned the matress cover thouroughly and put a sheet on it, so I should no longer be sleeping next to DE, at least much of it. I'm in the process of trying to vacumm up the excess (have a hepa filter vacuum), and need to figure out how ot get it out of my trunk.

I've been using the Safer DE brand from Home Depot and called their customer service today, but they couldn't tell me what percentage of Silica is in it; it doesn't say on the bag. The lady I talked to said DE is just crushed seashells and that's the primary ingredient....she seemed to think a regular dust mask would be fine, but I'm not convinced. She seemed to be more worried about me getting it on my skin.

I'm really feeling overwhelmed because I've made this a huge stinking mess by panicking and am worried about having it on my skin and inhaling it. I just feel so overwhelmed and don't know what to do. Advice? How do I safely clean this up so I'm not constantly breathing it? Is a N95 mask going to be ok? Fortunately it's only been a couple of days (4), but still. I feel sick to my stomach with nervousness and stupidity!

Hello everyone.
This is my first experience with bed bugs. I'm devastated that my home, my sanctuary has been infiltrated by these disgusting pointless creatures.
We went on vacation and our house/pet sitter brought them in. She had complained of her son getting bit but was adamant it was not BB's because no one else was getting bit. This should have been a red flag to me but until now I was ignorant about BB's.
Four weeks ago I began having bites I shrugged off as mosquito because it was one bite. But it kept up nightly which seemed odd to me so I brought it up to my husband who was less than concerned and didn't agree with my belief of it being BB's, because he was not getting bit! Sound familiar?
The bites increased to two or three and appeared on my arms and or legs.
We still hadn't connected the dots between the phantom bites and my sitters complaints.
Finally fed up I decided to go on a bug hunt.
It was incredibly difficult to find anything. I searched my matress and bed frame
No fecal marks, no blood spots, no bugs...
Then, Eureka! In the shoe totes under the bed I found one bug casting. With this find I triumphantly texted my husband that I was right! Ha!
I deepened my search on the bed frame and an hour later came up with one adult live bug, a live nymph, and another casting. I stored them in a tight container for proof and called the PCO.
They came and agreed my bugs were infact BB. They treated by vacuum, steam, and an aerosol pesticide that makes a white film. They placed climb ups under the legs and that night I slept sound. ( naively)
But it wasn't to last. I checked the climb ups in the morning and found four nymphs in them.
I was again devastated. We and the PCO agreed it was a very small infestation and caught early! Why hadn't the treatment worked! Two nights passed and the bites came back. Its thanksgiving so we have to wait until Monday to get reinspected and treated again. I'm also deeply depressed by this point and find it hard not to cry at any given moment, I don't feel I have anything to be thankful for, I'm not in a festive mood.
I decided as I wait that I will do nightly bug hunts because I can't just lay idly by doing nothing and getting bitten for a week as I wait for the holiday to release my PCO to me.
I strip down, grab my tweezers , a container with an alcohol bath for them and a flashlight. Two nights I've spent hours painstakingly, methodically, pouring over every inch of my bed frame that I can reach without disturbing the climb ups. I've carefully and slowly tweezed out - 41 eggs, 12 live nymphs in first or second life stage, and 4 dead various aged. My bed frame is adjustable so this makes it convenient to search as I just hit the remote and raise the head and legs of the bed frame. I've become adept at finding the spots they like on my frame. They've become predictable to me, and they make themselves easy to catch because they just sit there while I wrestle with getting the tweezers in the right place to grab them . Since doing this I've had two nights bite free. I'll continue to pick at them until my second treatment. And I'll continue still until I'm satisfied.
One question for you all, we have chosen to store our clothing in totes in our safe zone rather than bags. Do you feel this is wise?
Thanks for reading.

Washed linens today and when I went to replace them I found this guy in one of those little depressed circle button like things on the mattress top. No history of any pests besides silverfish. No evidence of bed bugs:no bite marks, no feces, and I can't find anything else on the mattress. What concerns me is the size and reddish tint to the abdomen of the shell. The legs look like rear crab legs, like fins. It's about a 1/4" long but I'm not sure if it's 100% intact. I can't tell if there is a head on this thing. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.

http://imgur.com/yArTYWg

http://imgur.com/ZrZyiI2

http://imgur.com/qUW2TcL

http://imgur.com/4ntNfAW

http://imgur.com/ctWzRiC

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/143143260@N07/

Can someone tell me if any of these are bed bugs or if they're ticks? I think 2 are just carpet beetles or something but the other 2 are flat. I'm kind of freaking out and debating having orkin come check tmw but I'd have to call out sick from work.

- sorry for the poor pics and lack of scale- I'd say they're around the size of an eraser head on a pencil. Maybe a teeny bit smaller.
- my dog sleeps in my bed
- I haven't found any ticks on me or my dog recently but we go to parks a lot
- I found these in the bed bug interceptors under my bed legs
- I have seen the beetles before and I think they have wings
- I can't tell if I have bites bc I have terrible skin already
- the dots on wood don't smudge or turn red but they don't flick off at least not easily

Please help to identify..my husband I found this bug on our bed and we are scared it may be a bed bug. It was found on our pillow and we searched everywhere around the bed, under the mattress, around the corners..and found no traces of bed bugs anywhere. We also have had NO bites at all.

Here is the picture:

Please help us identify this bug!!! Thank you!!!

How long do bed bugs survive if they can not locate a host?

My husband and I brought bed bugs from a hotel back into our apartment. It's been 2 and a half weeks of absolute hell, almost no sleep, constant washes, dealing with our huge amount of clutter (small NYC 1-bedroom apt) in prep for PCO treatment, and constant anxiety about whether we are transferring bed bugs every time we go outside. We have determined for sure that we have bed bug eggs which hatch in our hair. Even though everyone says bbs don't like hair, I'm here to tell you IT'S NOT TRUE!! "Our" bbs LOVE our hair and it's driving us out of our minds! Our empirical evidence is that we have actually combed out both eggs and nymphs from hair with a lice comb (both after regular hair washing as well as washing with conventional lice treatments, such as RID, NIX, and Malathion). When the lice comb catches on a bed bug egg, it detaches from the scalp with a little tug. Even so, it's extremely difficult to remove them, and we are exhausted from the many time consuming hair washes and combings. Also, the way we discovered this is that several times, while sitting at the table, either I or my husband would notice a number of tiny bright red nymphs on our table and down the front of our shirt. We wondered, "where the heck are these coming from?!" and inspected the ceiling, the table, the chairs -- nothing. When we started to notice patterns of bites right at and below our hairline, and for me since I have long hair -- also at the point on my back and shoulders where the hair strands end, it's clear they have set up shop in our hair. My husband also has a beard, and we combed out and egg and several nymphs from there as well once we figured out what was happening. A few days ago, my husband spoke with an acquaintance who dealt with bb's recently, and this man mentioned that they had them in their hair and it was tremendously difficult to get rid of them.

My question is, has anyone else had this and dealt with it successfully? I read Adele's thread about bed bugs in hair, but nothing seems to be helping us. I've doused my head with 91% alcohol, but even if it gets the nymphs it still leaves the eggs there. Either we're not getting everything out (seemingly impossible after so many washings and combings), or they keep coming and laying new eggs. WE NEED HELP! I literally feel like I can't make it through this. Tomorrow work starts (I work at a school) and I'm terrified and paralyzed by the thought that I might take these things with me on my hair. The washing and combing with lice comb takes over an hour. Not to mention that even after our treatment we're still battling the bugs in the apartment itself. We went to a hotel last night to get a decent night's rest. Of course, we took every precaution and more in order to prevent any bbs traveling with us. We showered and combed with lice comb before leaving home, wore only washed, dried, and bagged clothes, treated our shoes with alcohol, bought a new suitcase because we're afraid to take anything out of the apartment, we showered and combed again immediately after getting to our room. And yes, I saw 3 nymphs on the bed where I was sitting, right beneath my hair. I thought I was going to collapse from horror and guilt. We immediately rolled a lint roller (Helmac) over the bedding, pillows, and towels. Also the carpet around the bed and the couch in the hotel room. We can't go on like this. If anyone, anyone has any experience and success with this problem, please respond. We are desperate.