Bedbug Bite Photos
Many, many people have been searching this site for bedbug bite photos. I hadn't posted them to this point because they're fucking UGLY and they dredge up horrible memories but this is a site in the public service, and so here are the photos.
They are not the greatest quality, which is a combination of bad light, bad focus due to the fact that most of my bites were on my right arm and I am right-handed and was thus forced to take photos with my shaky left hand, and I just don't have the greatest camera. But... they should at least give an idea of what I went through and serve as some sort of basis of comparison if you're trying to diagnose your own bites.
And so, without further ado...
The first of the bites, 6/28/05
A few days later, 6/30/05
7/7/05
They are not the greatest quality, which is a combination of bad light, bad focus due to the fact that most of my bites were on my right arm and I am right-handed and was thus forced to take photos with my shaky left hand, and I just don't have the greatest camera. But... they should at least give an idea of what I went through and serve as some sort of basis of comparison if you're trying to diagnose your own bites.
And so, without further ado...
The first of the bites, 6/28/05
A few days later, 6/30/05
7/7/05There were many more bites but these are the best photos. If you haven't had enough to make you throw up and you really want to see more, send me an e-mail (Caitlinator at yahoo dot com) and I'll send them your way.
posted by Caitlin at 10:49 PM
41 Comments:
For people searching, I also have pictures of my bedbug bites.
Thanks, Caryn!
No problem. I've now added my pictures to my Flickr account. There are almost no pictures marked with bedbug-related tags, so I'm glad I could add some. If you have a Flickr account, you should add yours to it too. Cheers!
That is a really good idea. I think I will do that!
I', so sorry you have gone thorugh what you have been, trully as I saw your link in this fellow's web site about alleged issues with bugs as well;
As a fellow Blog member, I would invite you to look at some thoughts I have typed out over the last few days or so, and maybe it will also give you a few more perspectives on the issues here at 33 Isabella Street as I too am a renter...
Thanks kindly,
Nick
http://nick-gayiconoclast.blogspot.com/
Caitlin --
Thank you thank you thank you for your photos. I've been to three doctors and none of them had any idea what my bumps were. At least I could diagnose it myself from your pictures. Hope you're feeling better
hey there; I'm so sorry you've all gone through what you have, and right now i'm very afraid I'm about to go through the same thing. Thankfully, I spend several days a week at my partner's house, but she's a school teacher, and her bites are much more enjoyable.
My question is: from the pictures I've seen so far, it seems like the bedbug bites become rather large welts, whereas the bites I've gotten seem to stay small, around mosquito size. Do y'all have any thoughts about what I should be looking for?
If they're bites that are coupled together--look for scabies. Ask a local infectious disease doc for a biopsy of the bite, too.
Mine ended up being dog ear mites--which allegedly humans are "never" bitten--of course this was the one case..yadda yadda. :-) I swear docs need an extra year for diagnosis.
I would like to note and emphasize that a biopsy WILL NOT diagnose bedbug bites. If your doctor attempts to biopsy for bedbug bites, don't do it because it is a scam.
Both me and my boyfriend were bitten at the Bondi Beach Hostel in Sydney, Australia. Mine were horrible welts/blisters and his hardly showed. I think the swelling is an allergic reaction. Everyone's body is different, so there is no one look to the bite. I've never had such a reaction to any other bug bite though. I do seem to attract mosquito bites more than others.
When I showed people + a doctor in Australia, they all said "sand lice" until we found the bugs in the bed three nights later!
Could someone tell me if they get these symptoms?
A burning sensation on parts of my exposed skin - usually on my feet, hands and when I look the source is a small round red spot. Bugs are no where to be seen. It's usually gone by the next day as if it never happened. They are usually not itchy. I fear that these are nymph bites but am unsure.
I also noticed that I had red spots over my skin which the doctor called cherry angiomas which I had never noticed before the bed bug problem. Has anyone experienced this as well?
I just returned from vacation in the Caribbean with bites on my arms and thighs. They just don't seem like mosquito bites to me as it has been a week and they still itch. I do have some of the bites in rows of three but some are just random. Not having Internet access at the hotel, I was not able to research bedbugs but am now uncertain as to whether these are bedbug bites or mosquitos. I've washed all my clothes in hot, soapy water (I even boiled water and poured into the sink to soak the clothes in it - found a couple of dead tiny mosquitos in the water but no bedbugs). I'm just paranoid that I've brought them home with me in my luggage! Couple of questions - how long does the itching usually last? How did you actually find the bugs? I know I'm not going to rest well now that I'm afraid those critters might be in my house! Any suggestions on what to do to prevent infestation if in fact they travelled home with me? I'm vaccuming out my suitcases - don't know what else to do!'
I've just come back from Morocco and have 50+ of these bites - my reaction is exactly like the photos. Thank you for posting them... The two places I stayed in were Riad Waiter in Essaouira and Riad El Borg in Marrakech - not sure which one was the culprit. Ruined my vacation...
Does anyone know how to prevent scarring? The welts are very red!
I think I have bed bugs. I thought at first they were spider bites, or mosquito bites. I now am thinking they are bed bugs. I don't get them every night, but then suddenly I will. They are on my face, my arms and hands etc.
So nasty. They itch if I scratch them, but I usually find them in the shower when the hot water hits them and they hurt. If I do itch them they become quite inflamed, and I have noticed that the first ones I got which occured maybe a month and a half two months ago, still have slightly red marks left.
I have read that bed bug bites can have a residual effect of hepatitis B. Does anyone have evidence for this? Also, what is the protocol about reporting a colony (!) that attacked a guest in a prestigious hotel to the Health Department? Another Q: has anyone sued such a hotel and what was the outcome?
This is gonna sound really backwards and weird but my building has beem exterminated (I mean, MASSIVE extermination)...read my comment on the first page for the full story. Point is, I think I've gotten bitten again, but these aren't like the previous. No swelling, no itching....just a tiny red dot like a skeeter bite. Are these like.....wussy bedbugs or something else? Am I nuts?
I have been living in building on the 300 block of West 49th and the building has been plagued with bed bugs for 1 year now. My personal experience started last spring when I received bites for weeks before finally finding out it was Bed Bugs. Long story short my landlord had my apt treated by Pest Control professional and over the past 10 months my apt has been treated 5 more times and at this point Im leaving the building. All of my neigbors have had bed bugs and many have already moved. The best tips I can give anyone else living in Bed Bug building - 1. Keep your bed and bedding away from the walls and dont let anything touch the floor. 2. Use your freezer to kill bed bugs in pic frames,books and all non electronics. 3. Use silcon to seal all the small cracks where they hide( I have even found bbugs coming from my elec outlets ).4. Go by a vinal Matress cover at KMart for 10 bucks. 5. Move - you cant stop bed bugs.
Could you please upload some of the photos at www.allmosquitos.com and share your experience there.
i recently developed a rash, they are welts I guess you could say, they itch and are painful. They seem to feel like a knots under my skin until I scratch them and they progress into welts, some clustered together. I have had them for 3 or 4 days now and they have only gotten worse. Could this be bed bugs?
WOW!!!i never knew that bed bugs were real to tell you the truth intill lastnight my grandma told me about them.i am afraid to get them now
uuuhhhhmmmm
i think that that is what is biting me everynight and leaving me marks. thanks to this website i know now what it is!!!
If you want more scary photos of mosquito bites - go to www.allmosquitos.com
Here is a poll asking if you ever got them from a hotel: http://www.apopularitycontest.com/display_poll.php?ID=6688
First off, in response to the person who said their bites were small, not big welts - yes, they might still be bed bugs. My bites were no bigger than mosquito bites and remained pretty flat. If there are a few in a row and you get them more than once, and only at night, this a better indication.
And little ink-like black poop spots on your pillow or sheets are a dead giveaway. Use light sheets for a few nights to test. But not ones you care about - the spots stain.
So my question is: My roommates and I had a pretty bad bed bug infestation for awhile and were getting bit every night or every other night and seeing the lil bastards around quite often, even in the living room. Then we put our mattresses in plastic, threw out the boxspring that was infested most severely, and I used quite a bit of bed bug specific spray around my room. Now, there is no sign of them! My roommate was bitten most recently, nearly 3 weeks ago, and I haven't been bitten for almost a month. Could we really have gotten rid of them? I'm worried they're either just hibernating (it's getting colder out) or they've gone to my landlord's apartment downstairs and he's too senile to notice. Has anyone ever heard of a situation like this, where someone got rid of them WITHOUT an exterminator, let alone a thorough cleaning?
This post has been removed by the author.
My mother was severely bitten by bed bugs 2 nights ago. I feel terrible about it because she is on holiday visiting me in Malaysia and I should have taken her to a better hotel.
I have written a blog about it and uploaded the awful photos so that other people can avoid this nightmare:
Heeren Inn bed bugs
Bed bugs are evil.
I just returned from a bus tour to Key West, Fla., and have bits all over my legs and arms (was wearing sleeveless nightgown, and the bites STOP in all the places covered by the cotton gown). I have never had experience with these before! Am trying to get some relief from the bites, but more importantly, not to spread them to my home! could they have come home with me? Can I transport them on my body? Am reporting the motel -- Fairmont or Fairway Inn on US Highway 1 -- but that doesn't help me now!
Rebooters said...
First off, in response to the person who said their bites were small, not big welts - yes, they might still be bed bugs. My bites were no bigger than mosquito bites and remained pretty flat. If there are a few in a row and you get them more than once, and only at night, this a better indication.
And little ink-like black poop spots on your pillow or sheets are a dead giveaway. Use light sheets for a few nights to test. But not ones you care about - the spots stain.
So my question is: My roommates and I had a pretty bad bed bug infestation for awhile and were getting bit every night or every other night and seeing the lil bastards around quite often, even in the living room. Then we put our mattresses in plastic, threw out the boxspring that was infested most severely, and I used quite a bit of bed bug specific spray around my room. Now, there is no sign of them! My roommate was bitten most recently, nearly 3 weeks ago, and I haven't been bitten for almost a month. Could we really have gotten rid of them? I'm worried they're either just hibernating (it's getting colder out) or they've gone to my landlord's apartment downstairs and he's too senile to notice. Has anyone ever heard of a situation like this, where someone got rid of them WITHOUT an exterminator, let alone a thorough cleaning?
10:08 PM
IN RESPONCE TO REBOOTERS COMMENT ABOVE: Yes you can get rid of them. My friend who had them and also works for an extermination company was able to get rid of them when she had a friend bring them to her mom's house! I recently had someone stay with me who also brought them and now I am dealing with the situation. I followed her advice and although it's only been two days. I am hoping they are gone. I'll probably know in a week or so...
I have had a bedbug issue for the past month and last week had someone come in and spray. I have been bite free for 1 week!! My problem is the bites I got a month ago are STILL itching and hurting. I have been to the dermotologist 3 times and have tons of creams but they aren't going away.
The weird thing is that they will start to heal and no longer be visible, then all of the sudden they will swell and itch all over again!
The only ones that seem to go away the fastest are the ones I don't put cream on, the ones I let get very dry.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to heal them for good?
Could there still be poison of some kind in my skin from the bites?
please send me an email if you have any advice, would enjoy sharing stories!
sarahtuck85@gmail.com
I just moved into an apartment complex. My apartment is infested with the pesty bed bugs. When I first saw the bedbugs I thought I was seeing a bug that had just got off of a spaceship. I did not know what it was until my maintenance man told me. I had already been bitten repeatedly over my body. I know that my landlord knows of the infestation, she is just money hungry and do not care about her tenants. She is not the actual landlord, but she works for the landlord. Everytime I would get bit, I would send her a picture of the bites. She threatened to call the police on me for harassment. Instead I called the police on her so that I could have a witness. When the cop came in my apartment he began to scratch. I saw him observing a bug crawling by my door. The dam bedbug came out and greeted the police. The police perused the bug, while continuing to scratch. He was so disgusted he went and confronted the landlord. I wanted him to witness what I was going through.
I am suffering beyond words. I have close to 100 bites all over my body, even on my fingers. I even have one on my lip. The people before me had a cat. This made the apartment even more infested. I saw a chair outside of my apartment, by the dumpster and it read DO NOT TOUCH CONTAMINATED. This confirmed that the apartment complex is infested. I even saw other bedbug bites on other tenants. They are scared to come forward because they dont want to get evicted. I have always been a very outspoken person. I will not shut up until somebody hears me. I plan to seek legal advice. The emotionally pain is way worse than the physical pain. I always think something is crawling on me even when they are not biting. It's nothing that I can describe in words. When I tell the other tenants about the bites they say they are not being bitten, but the bites are visible to me on all of their body parts. Its a sad situation. I am typing in the nude because all of my clothes are infested. The bugs bite me even as I type. The old bites are burning and hurting. I am being bit by the early hatched eggs. I can't even see them. I smashed the big bugs, and my blood went all over my mattress. It was disgusting.
I am so mad at the landlord's worker. She is so unfair and she is a liar. Every time I am bit I send her a picture from my phone. I can't wait until they make it to her apartment. Then she can feel the misery for herself. She lives in the apartments. My rent is over 500 dollars. I can't believe that people can be so money hungry and not care about others. I told her that God will take care of this now. I have given it to him.
I have tips for other if they would want them.
Bedbugs can live in heat up to over 120 degrees hot.
Bug spray does not work, it makes them mad
Bug bombs does not work, it only brings them out of hiding and then they will bite you more
Vacumming does not work, it brings them out to bite you more.
You can avoid taking the bugs to your new place. Cover everything in plastic black trash bags, and put it in your car. You must do this in summer time. The heat in car will kill them, because it goes over 120 degrees
You must put your electronics in car too, and hope that they work after the heat is exposed to them.
Bed bugs are exstremely hard to get rid of
Even if the bug man come to extinguish, the bed bugs will still invade your home
You do not have to cover your electronics with the bags just put them in hot car for the heat
Bed bugs hide in your clothes and when you put them on they will bite you
It's almost morning here and the bugs will bite me more before dawn
I just came back from a Caribbean cruise on CARNIVAL cruise lines - The Triumph to be exact, but I'll never cruise Carnival again!! The room I stayed in had bed bugs - a 7 day cruise - needless to say, I am covered, legs, arms, butt, belly, chest, neck, feet and fingers....when I contacted the nurse onboard, they refused to see me (interesting, heh?)...it took me days to figure out what it was (I'd never seen bed bugs or bites before, only heard of them)....when I got home, we left luggage and clothes wearing out in the yard, came in naked and immediately jumped in a scolding hot shower....DO NOT CRUISE CARNVIAL!!!
I am on my second round of bed bugs in one year. I have washed everyting hundreds of times-my bed is in vinyl my house has been doused twice in a month. Each time I think I am rid of them a day or so will go by and I will find teeny dots of red which sometimes itch in pairs. Sometimes they show up muh later in the day-hours later. Are these bedbugs and if so is it possible they are in my clothes and biting me during the day as opposed to night time? How can I be rid of them!!!!
Wow, finally some emotional support. I have had an exterminator come 6 weeks ago, and still, I found another bug this morning. I threw out my bed and my 4 year old's also. I am living out of trash bags still. Bug Men (exterminators) came again a few days ago, said we must be reintroducing them ourselves in my home, like from daycare or my work...which is NOT happening. Then they said that maybe what I have now are not bed bug bites, mayeb i am just thinking that I am getting bitten becasue they see no evidence of the begs when they check. Sure, of course they see no evidence now, that's becasue I got rid of beds and curtains and they now live in the cracks of my floor! Evidence the stuff they use is not working is that "someone' had babies because i saw one today and they said they used growth inhibitors...how do yu finally get rids of these things???? You go to work bug-bitten and sleepless and can't exactly tell them that youhave bedbuds in your home, they just think your a little nuts. HELP!
hey, i just had a bed bug problem in residence at school. i guess a few people in my building have gotten them recently too. however i've been there for three months now and only started getting bitten about a week ago. we washed everything in my room, fumigated the room and my roommate and i were moved to a new room. but now i am home for the ewekend and jut got bitten again last night. i think anyway. there is only one bite, looks like a mosquito bite (like all my other ones were) and it is on my neck. its itchier than my other bites were. i'm scared that i may have transported the bugs to my home another weekend i was visiting, and also i have stayed multiple places in the last three months. the little buggers never go away it seems!! the bites are bearable, nothing like those pictures. but they are still annoying, and i don't want to bring them anywhere else with me, especially back to residence.
i'm also scared of getting them AGAIN at res because of other people getting them. they are like an epidemic!!
i'm also going down to cuba next month, and i can promise you, i'll be searching that room thoroughly before dropping a single belonging of mine in there!
i think the worst thing about bed bugs is the psychological effect they ahve on you afterwards. guarantee you i'll be paranoid for the next five years of my life.
so i have lots of sympathy/empathy to offer anyone who has suffered through this!!
keep fighting!
I feel your pain! I had bed bugs in my daughters room last summer. We threw out her bed, blankets, and stuffed animals. I used a spray that I got from Walmart and vacummed like crazy. Now I just found bugs again in my sons room. I guess I missed some and now they are popping up in another room. This time I put all of his blankets outside (it's about 20 degrees out there) but I know this won't kill the bugs right away, I plan on leaving them outside for about a week. We also bombed the apartment but I am now hearing that this doesn't work. I am looking for some spray that will help since I cannot find the one I used last time from Walmart. I am going to continue to vacumm and spray and was looking into a steam cleaner. I can't stand this!! I never had a bug problem before and I know if the neighbors have them that I will keep being infested anyway! I feel itchy constantly and am very frustrated! Any suggestions would be great. I know I should seal up all cracks and things but I rent and it's an old apartment building that would take forever to seal up completely. I do have hardwood floors which I guess is better than carpet. I guess I will just have to go to the laundry mat little by little and bag up everything once it is done! This really SUCKS!!!!
Hi.
I had problems with bed bugs. I was living in NYC. When I came back to my country (Brazil), I brought many bed bugs with me. Now they are learnig portuguese. I am teaching them...
Recently, I have been waking up with water-puss about the size of a quarter. It does not itch, but the area does not heal completely, which leaves a dark scar of sort. Is this a sign of bedbug bite??
Please help.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!! of the 200+ people here it seems only a select few get bit. why??? is it my blood? or my diet? if someone knows or can find out for me please e-mail me at glenni2761@yahoo.com. please please please thankyou
My sister gets bites like those shown here except they only come about monthly. She cannot find bedbugs when she searches her mattress in the middle of the night. She notices the bites in the evening after eating. She thinks they could be an allergic reaction to food or medication. She takes Lipitor for cholesterol. Her bites are not itchy. Could they be something elkse?
You can get rid of them yourself, but it is NOT advisable. Also, just because you have an exterminator come, that doesn't mean you're free of them. Bedbugs can live up to 18 MONTHS without feeding - so even if you're not getting bitten, that doesn't mean you're home free!
- All exterminations should be done for a MINIMUM of THREE WEEKS in a row. This is because there is absolutely no pesticide that can kill an egg. If an egg is laid, it will hatch in 7-10 days and immediately start feeding. A few weeks after that, it'll be mature and ready to lay its own 5 eggs/day. So get exterminated every week for AT LEAST THREE WEEKS (I recommend four or five, followed by regular check ups.)
- Launder every piece of fabric in your apartment in HOT (140 degrees) water and dry on HIGH Heat repeatedly to kill any bugs that survived. (Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there - when they're nymphs they're tiny.)
- Put the rest of your belongings that could be contaminated (books, etc.) into sealed containers or bags and DON'T REMOVE THEM for 12-18 months. This is very serious. If even one bug survived and hid, then you let them out again, you're re-infested. The only way to kill a bug that has survived extermination is to starve it - hence the sealing.
- Keep your laundered clothes in plastic bags until the exterminations have been completed.
- Seal all the cracks in your room and/or apartment. Bed bugs don't live in your bed - they merely lay their eggs on fabric and hunt you down to feed on your in your bed because they're most active from 2am-6am. They hang out in crevices and cracks - in floorboards, baseboards, behind electrical outlets, etc. Make sure these areas are exterminated.
- If you are going to self-exterminate, you will need the following:
Boric Acid
Pyrethrins
Diatomaceous earth (the natural kind which is safe, not heated/crystalizing, which is extremely toxic)
Make sure you use gloves and a face mask. First, spray the crevices of the room with Boric Acid. This will dehydrate the bugs. Next, use your combination of Pyrethrins (~.2%) and Diatomaceous Earth with a manual duster to spray behind all the electrical outlets and switches and in all crevices. Spray all around the room with a light dusting.
Allow a few hours for the dust to settle. Be careful not to get the dust on your skin, as it will cause skin irritation due to a crystalizing effect.
Every few days, vacuum up and mop the floor (using cold water), then reapply. Due this for a few weeks until the bites have stopped, then repeat every few weeks after that until you're certain that the problem has stopped.
- Remember:
* If there are bedbugs in other apartments in your building, you will never truly be free of the problem - it's impossible to control the actions of others, and unless they take the same measures as diligently as you do, the infestation will continue.
* One extermination is never enough.
* Giving in to your desire to access your stuff before the year is up may lead to another infestation - avoid the temptation and guarantee your freedom from the bugs!
* You can win the fight!! Don't give up!
I went to a friends house and was sitting on a chair of hers about 7 hrs and later when i got home i was itching ind started getting bumps all over! do u think i could have brought the bugs w/ me to my hous???
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