Hello, I am not new to this forum. I come here multiple times a day seeking answers and I have posted on this site several times. I am going to write my story as well as what I've done so far and see what I should do next.
I noticed over the summer that my daughters were both getting bug bites. At first, I chalked it up to mosquitoes. I live in central NC and the mosquitoes this summer were horrible. But then I thought, "What if it's bedbugs?"
We had just traveled to the Outer Banks at the end of July/beginning of August and stayed at multiple hotels. I had taken plenty of precautions including checking the BedBug Registry, keeping all bags off the beds and floor and washing and drying everything on hot when I returned.
I then remembered that I had seen a jug of bug spray in my aunt's car back in April and remembered that she had given my daughters some clothes in June. They were washed and dried before they got put away in our drawers. Did she give us bedbugs?
Then recently, I heard that a kid at school had bedbugs and I remembered I had worked with his mom over the summer and maybe I had been exposed....made some phone calls and found out that they were in fact no bedbugs on him, that it was just a nasty rumor. That got me in quite a bit of trouble with my boss.
So the bites continued and I started posting on here. I originally didn't track how often the bites occured, but it seemed that my oldest daughter was getting the most.
In September, I tore apart my bed for the first time. I found no eggs, no shells, no poop and no bugs. I tore the dust cover off both my box springs and found nothing. I did notice streaks on the mattress, so I ordered Bed Bug Blue and tested all the spots. They were all negative. I checked the dressers and nightstands and pictures and found nothing. I checked my daughter's bunk bed and found nothing. I've checked my bed multiple times.
I also installed passive monitors on the beds. They have been clean each time I have checked them over the past 3 weeks.
The bites continued. I took my youngest to the doctor and he diagnosed the bumps on her body and the rash on her neck as eczema and impetigo. He gave her some creams and ointments and they seemed to go away.
I finally felt some relief temporarily. I am OCD and terrified of bugs and thought maybe I was just being paranoid.
Then, two weekends ago, I felt like all Hell broke loose. On Saturday, I noticed I had 1 bump on my arm and 2 bumps on my hand. Over the weekend, 2 more bumps appeared on my arms. I also noticed a bite on my youngest daughter, which later turned into two tiny scratches. So on Tuesday, I tore my bed apart yet again and I did find black specks of something on the mattress cover, which brushed off easily and did not stick and did not smear when wet. I also found some black smallish chunks on my dresser that were loose and did smear/break down with a wet q-tip. I posted on here and was told it did not sound like fecal staining. I've also found these "chunks" on my daughter's bedside table., but not recently.
I again, felt some relief. I thought I was going crazy and just being ultra paranoid.
On Friday, I saw my aunt and her granddaughter. I noticed some suspicious-looking bites in a line on the granddaughter's arm. The thought of bedbugs creeped back in .
Then on Saturday, while dressing my oldest daughter, I found a bug bite on her leg (on the side of her knee). I again freaked out and thought we must have bedbugs! However, she had been outside playing the day before in a dress and despite it being the day after Thanksgiving it was nearly 70 degrees. I even saw mosquitoes in the yard yesterday. So maybe it was a mosquito? I also noticed that my other daughter is starting to get spots on her body again.
For my oldest this how I've tracked the most recent bites:
10/24 2 bites on arm, one on lower leg
10/29 1 bite on outer arm, one on inner arm ( but she had been rolling around in the grass, wearing long sleeves)
11/11 one bite on lower back/upper butt (again rolling around in the grass at the park, went away by the next day)
11/28 one bite on side of knee (but she was playing outside in 70 degree weather in a dress)
I feel like I may have seen one more bite during this span of time, but I didn't document it and my memory may be wrong.
So last night, I decided to tear apart my daughters' bunk bed. The foot board was clean, the boards were spotless, the underside was spotless, the mattress was spotless. However, when I got to the headboard, I did notice one spot of something. It looked like a small chunk. When I wet it, it smeared/streaked slightly, and I was able to scrape it off the headboard and wipe away the streak. I am freaking out that its fecal, despite not finding anything anywhere else. I've also checked the nightstand and curtains and found nothing. The passive monitor was clean, too.
If we had bedbugs (potentially since August), wouldn't I be seeing them by now? Wouldn't there be just more than one speck of "something" on the headboard? Also, wouldn't the bites be occurring more than every 13-17 days?
Please help me! I am driving myself insane and I am sick with worry. I dread going to bed at night and I dread putting my children to bed. I feel like I'm sending lambs to the slaughter every single night. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. I am going to see my therapist today to see if she can put me on something to help manage the anxiety/OCD.
I feel like I am losing my mind and wonder if I need to be committed or if we actually have bedbugs.