How to tell if you have Bed Bugs?

Question

my daughter has beg bites all over her body. At first, i thought it was a fungal infection, so i bought some OTC cream, and it seemed to work. For two days, she slept in another bed besides her own. Last night was her first night back in her bed. This morning, when she woke up, she had even more bites. I dont think it's bed bugs, simply because we have not seen any crawling, and most puzzling, no blood spots. Does anyone know what these mystery bugs might be....and how to treat them, or even a simple way to help identify what type of bugs were dealing with?

Answer 1

Research bed bugs on the internet. You need to look along the cords of the mattress. They are so tiny.

Might you have fleas in the house?

Keep up the cream so she is sure not to have scarring. I know kids like to itch.

My son actually has the same issue. I think it's bites from outside for him. Good luck.

Answer 2

You will be surprised, but nearly all beds have bed bugs.

Despite their name, the bugs don't just live in beds, they actually prefer places higher up, such as on the curtain tabs - which is why you do not see them during the day. They are smart little things.

However, when they detect carbon dioxide in the breath of a sleeping human, in this case your daughter, they crawl down and feed on the blood. They may also lay eggs at the sides of the mattress.

You could call a pest exterminator. They do sound like bed bugs.

Were her bites like this? :

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1033/5677...

The best way of treating them would be to call in a pest exterminator, they will usually place poison on the fabrics in your house (curtains, mattresses, settees), which aren't dangerous for humans, it will kill off any bed bugs within a few weeks.

Temporary, I suggest have your daughter sleep in another room and use the OTC cream on her bites, and tell her to not pick at the bites, they can scar really badly.

For reassurance, bed bugs can occur in very clean homes and dirty homes as well; so it is nothing to do with the amount you clean.

Edit: To the chap below, I meant dioxide, hopefully no-one has carbon monoxide in their breath! Thanks for pointing out the error.

Answer 3

One of the posters said the bugs are attracted to the carbon monoxide in human's breath.  I hope you don't have carbon monoxide in your breath!  (just kidding, i am sure that he meant dioxide)

Check the folds of the mattress and box springs for small black marks and the walls particularly around any wood and near cracks near windows or wood molding.  Look for the small black spots about the size of a pinhead, if you see this, you most likely do have bedbugs (this is their poo) and if you do have them, it is highly unlikely that it can be taken care of in a DIY fashion.  The services of a professional are best, and be SURE TO GET A GUARANTEE!  

Not everyone bleeds from bedbug bites, and only 50% of people react to them at all.  and like a previous posted said, they can live nearly anywhere, many people erroneously think they only live in beds