https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvtaxc7dir7fmrq/Bug%201.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/smaebu9bak7oqrv/Bug%202.JPG?dl=0
Short request -- can an expert check out these photos and tell me if this is a bed bug? And if it's not, any idea what it is?
Now, for the longer version of the story:
I awoke after spending one night in a hotel with a few itchy bumps (bites) on my back. Didn't think too much of it at the time, so I checked out, hopped on a plane, and flew home. By the time I went to bed that evening, the few bites had turned into a decent-sized welt, and more bites had materialized -- not in a "line" exactly, but in a meandering pattern. Now, 5 days later, I have at least 6 large patches of bumps/welts and a few other less impressive bites as well. Some of the bites have morphed into fairly small blisters. All in all, it's pretty gnarly. The itching isn't unbearable, thankfully, but it's not exactly pleasant.
I suspected bed bugs by the end of the first day. And I suspected the hotel room must've had an infestation as I've never experienced any bites like this in my own home. Because I had already brought my luggage into my home and unpacked, I pretty feverishly began taking all the steps I've read outlined here and on other sites to try to combat any unwanted hitchhikers. To be safe, I stripped my entire bed and searched for any signs of the critters -- saw absolutely nothing. Yet bites continued to materialize. (I now know that bites can keep popping up from the initial feasting several days later...fun fun.)
Today, while checking on something in my guest bedroom, I found the creepy crawly in the images dead beside my guest bed (which is in the same room as the closet where I store my luggage, for what it's worth.) At first, I was certain I'd found a bed bug -- and I began wondering if it had hitched a ride from my travels or if it had been here in my home all along (I did have an out of town guest stay in my guest room for a few nights about a week prior to my trip...so I suppose it's possible she brought some bugs in with her.)
After closer inspection, though, I'm not so sure this is a bed bug, as this critter is missing the stripes I've seen on pretty much every bed bug photo.
Would love an expert to take a look and tell me if this is, in fact, a bed bug? If not, any idea what the heck it is?