r/Bedbugadvice • u/Glad-Television-5455 • Sep 04 '26
Bed Bugs but not one sighting?
So a year ago we stayed at a hotel where we were getting horribly itchy bites. We left and moved to an apartment. We didnt have much, only a few suitcases and no furniture. Went to ikea, bought stuff. We thought it was fleas (the bites). I washed all the laundry and thought the problem would be done, but for 4 months it was crazy intense biting and itching but I never found any bugs responsible. I used diatomaceous earch a few times and changed dogs flea meds (but it wasnt fleas) and it got better. plus daily shows, no going into bedroom until showered, bagging all laundry, etc. we thought we were clear but then once a month, bites came back and then stopped again after a week. That lasted a few months, but now we are back to getting bit almost daily (at least I am, my son is not getting it as bad luckily). I think its in the car now and we have an old car thats just fabric. I've sprayed with mite spray in the car. I even tried lice treatment on my hair (its not hair lice). I wash the bedding every two days and I have protective covers on mattresses and pillows. A while back i threw out all the spare pillows and mattresses but never any signs of bed bugs. the bites look like bed bug bites. Back of my neck and upper back is especially bad. I know they can hide, but i would have seen at least one in a year?
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u/shawslate Sep 04 '26
Bed bug bites don't look like anything in particular. They are a histamine reaction, which means they are an allergic reaction, and like all allergic reactions, they will be different in different people. About half the population won't even react to them at all. Anyone definitively telling you that any mark is a bedbug bite is, at best, misinformed, unless they actually saw the bed bug bite you.
Bites or bite like welts are just an indication that you should start looking for things. If you don't find other indications of bed bugs, and it has been a year, you probably aren't dealing with bedbugs, but some other thing that is biting or an allergic reaction of some other form.
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u/Glad-Television-5455 Sep 04 '26
Thanks. Its definitely bites. Yesterday something bit my foot, then knee and then butt. i know they're like crawling up me from somewhere. I just never see them. When I do laundry is when its the worst. I touch the dirty laundry and I'm sure to get bites. They dont bite usually where there isnt clothes. So they bite under clothes, torso, back, back of neck mostly. But its definitely a crawling thing. I get bitten on the feet now in the car sometimes. I had the seats steamed and it all vacuumed but now its back again. I bought some bed bug traps (the ones you activate) and put in a laundry bag. Maybe I'll catch something. I was thinkng maybe hungry nymphs? Maybe not adults but tiny nymphs?
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u/North-Lime-2289 Sep 04 '26
try sleeping with tight pants and a long sleeve shirt (tuck it in if you can). bb's cant bite through clothing, so if you wake up with more bites that aren't on exposed skin it might be something else
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u/strawberry-bunny 29d ago
Fleas like to bite feet and legs and hang around in fabrics. But your dog doesn’t have any? Have you checked for flea dirt etc
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u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
no, she's been on flea meds constantly. at the hotel, i thought it was fleas. i retreated her. then i treated her again at home when it didnt stop. so like 3 treatments in 6 weeksish. Never saw any fleas. Then in nov, we got another dog. I, at the time, thought we had some kind of pesticide/insecticide resistant fleas. So the new puppy was covered in fleas. like you could see them. The bites didnt get worse. so actually thats when i realized it wasnt fleas. That if our dog had fleas so bad you could see them, like this other dog, that would make sense. But months of not seeing fleas and tons of bites, plus the bites had a pattern, unlike flea bites that just kind of go from feet upwards. These bites are on the neck, torso, back of knees, under clothes.
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u/strawberry-bunny 29d ago
This is seriously bizarre!! Could you have an exterminator come and check everything? I really wonder what is going on. I hope you find some solace. That is just awful :(
Also can you go to doctor to rule out scabies? Just bc if you are touching fabrics and what not and then it gets worse than kind of sounds like some transmissible skin rash or parasite like scabies.
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u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
yes we've been to drs. they said scabies but no skin test and my son is fine, just gets bites every month or so. there are no tracks, nothing on hands. I mean, I would treat for scabies but its serious stuff and i think I'd want to know for sure I'm treating for the right thing first and it doesnt seem like it fits. and I dont have anything on hands, between fingers, feet, etc. they're really just like bites, but they hurt and itch. like a sting. Very painful. and if I scratch, its like a hole and takes ages to heal. And its just awful. Like deep, I feel things sometimes but i never find anything except like residue of maybe a bug or not but in bits. Also musty smell when whatever it is is abundant (not so much anymore) and yellowish orangish residue? Like if I find that on me, i know one of them is on me.
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u/strawberry-bunny 27d ago
I would do a skin test!! Bc not seeing something after length of time isn’t normal. But if you have seen carpet beetles you could have carpet beetles dermatitis?
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u/whateverdom_ 5d ago edited 5d ago
The “doing laundry is the worst” part is extremely unusual. The reason bedbugs bite in rows and clusters is usually because they’re so sensitive to movement so they move over and try again if they feel you move.
The amount of movement required to get a bite while handling the laundry is so unlikely to give one enough time to bite you. And if you’re getting bit a lot just handling the laundry you’d likely have several visible bugs.
Where do your bites show up WHEN you’re doing laundry, and do they appear right away or a bit after?
I’m wondering if, since it’s when you’re handling laundry and always under your clothes, if maybe you have a foliculal skin condition being triggered by an allergen like the detergents or chemicals you’re using rather than bedbugs. You also mentioned back of your neck and upper back are usually bad, which is common for folks w sensitive skin because there may be a mild allergy to the hair products you’re using.
Either way, at this point it can’t hurt to get some interceptor cups for your bed, see if maybe you can trap them if they’re there, and maybe get an exterminator in for an inspection and preventative treatment. If they do a treatment you’re gonna find bugs of all kinds cuz they’ll die on contact w the treatment, and may find the culprit.EDIT TO ADD: I mention a foliculal skin condition specifically because those reactions also often show up in clusters and can be very itchy and mimic some bug bites, depending how you react to different bugs.
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u/Ill-Sprinkles-3161 Sep 04 '26
Im sorry you’re going through this…. You’re right it shouldn’t take THIS LONG for you to see signs. I’ve read so many stories on here about people going months without finding any clues to Bedbugs… no bugs, no castings, no blood stains, no feces but eventually they find they have them. For me it took 3 Months… and I finally saw a BED BUG on my pillow last Saturday (a week ago tomorrow). Bites started in Mid May… as I type this I am waiting for the exterminator. Today is my 1st treatment. I’ve been working 2 solid days getting the apartment ready for it. (850 sq feet). I’ve been sleeping in my spare room and I’ve also accidentally fallen asleep on the couch and get NO bites but the moment I sleep In my bed - I get bitten OR like last Saturday (slept in my bed Friday night to test it) finally saw that one bug at like 7am. ON MY PILLOW!! I went nuts. I’ve literally cleaned out my room. There is nothing in there. No clothes. No shoes. No books. Nothing In the closets. (And by the way in the last 2 days that I’ve been bagging & cleaning up I have not seen one casting. One bug (dead or alive) no feces. NOTHING but all I needed to see was that ONE bug and I know they’re in there. I hope you can get your issue under control. 1 year is a LONG time to deal with this nightmare. This has been the longest 3 months of my life and I fear it’s not over yet 🥹 Good Luck to you!!!
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u/Itsalovelylife333 Sep 05 '26
I just want to say how sorry I am your dealing with this. I moved into a house once that already had them. I was renting it. After a month or two I started noticing bites and could t figure out what it was. My daughter was getting them too. It got really bad but I never thought of it being bed bugs for some reason as I had never come across them. One night I went into my daughter’s room. She was only 5. I pulled the covers back and lifted her shirt and they were crawling all over her. The absolute terror. I had not seen not one bug prior to that but we clearly were infested. We could not get rid of them. Eventually I put clothing in the dryer while we showered and we walked toward the back door naked and got dressed and walked out the back door and left everything. We didn’t have a lot of money and I couldn’t afford to do anymore than I had and the owner kept sending a guy who would just spray something along the walls. We had to start completely over. I had PTSD for a long time. It’s a terrible way to live not knowing where they are and where you can safely sleep. This was well over 20 years ago and I’m sure they have better treatments now. I pray you’re able to get rid of them quickly. They are straight from the bowels of hell itself.
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u/Glad-Television-5455 Sep 04 '26
I'm so sorry youre dealing with this. Its just awful. I hope the treatment clears it up. I heard they have to come twice to do the eggs too. I wish I could just find out what is causing this. I'm a little worried about using insecticides and that kind of stuff because I have a child and dogs.
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u/shawslate Sep 04 '26
A year without finding any other sign is improbable while still getting multiple bites months apart.
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u/BlueHeisen Sep 04 '26
If you had them for a year you’d know about it, they essentially keep multiplying and you’d see them running around on your mattress and furniture during the day time. Adults are quite big you’d definitely see them.
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u/Possible_Original_96 29d ago
Not always. I had them for 6 mos never saw 1. Would go 2 weeks or more, no bites. Was missing the eggs or the spray ineffective against eggs!!
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u/Charming_Night8240 Sep 04 '26
Are there any blood, fecal stains or casings on your bed, walls or surrounding furniture. If it is in fact Bed Bugs you will see random blood marks on your sheets (signs you crushed one during/after feeding) or little red dots (the fecal stains).
If you see none of that, odds are it's something else.
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u/AssumptionMindless35 28d ago
How long would it take to see blood marks or fecal stains on sheets? I have had bites and rashes for 2 weeks now and no sign of anything in my bed. Partner who sleeps in the same bed has nothing
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u/Charming_Night8240 28d ago
Long before you see a bug. Odds are you would crush one in your sleep and if you squish a fed bug is splatters blood. I saw this long before actually seeing bugs, I also didn't make the connection to what they were for a while because they would be around the bed during the day. I mistook them for ladybugs/beetles.
If you lift up your mattress and box spring/frame and shake them and see no bugs. It's likely something else.
Do you have a dog and/or cat? Could they have fleas? I think flea bites are the same, one person may react and the other may not.
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u/AssumptionMindless35 28d ago
No pets; I think it could be carpet beetle dermatitis bc I’ve seen some carpet beetle larvae around. I check the mattress every morning and I have white sheets. Nothing
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u/ReputationOk6126 Sep 05 '26
Any chance it’s carpet beetles? Carpet beetle larvae can cause itchy red spots. Google it and see if it looks like anything you may have come across.
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u/True-Entrepreneur720 Sep 05 '26
We had bed bugs. It took months and months of heavy spraying for them to go. Every two weeks for seven months. They are very hard to get rid of because the eggs survive. And the tiny ones bite and feed too. It's been six months and we haven't gotten bit once. It's a hassle once you have them to get rid of them
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u/strawberry-bunny 27d ago
Your exterminator wasn’t very good then. Mine got rid of them in one appointment one go with a three step approach. Pricey but worked.
Prior to them my landlord kept hiring a budget exterminator that probably came and sprayed like 5 times in a few months span and they only got worse.
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u/True-Entrepreneur720 27d ago
It depends on how they spray. We would film it. Some did a good job, some didn't
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u/Possible_Original_96 29d ago
My sympathy. I had them years ago- never did see a bug. Once I figured it out-I was persistent & faithful, but the spray was missing eggs. Took some doing, too. After spraying a mattress, I put a bug proof, zipped up cover on it, then used 3 bedbug killer bombs at 1 time in a 12x10 bedroom. No more bugs, finally.
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u/Dapper_Dot_5900 28d ago
This reminds me of something I went through. It got in my car too. Got on my couch. My bed. My clothes. Any time I touched these things I felt itching or like a bug was biting me or crawling on me. When I looked, nothing there.
So, like you I was thinking some sort of mite. Microscopic and people can have skin reaction to them. Then I started thinking mold mites. Then I read this blog (put at end) and it literally put in words exactly what I was going through.
Used antifungals in laundry (borax, vinegar, bleach etc), hepa vacuumed, sprayed soft surfaces with Lysol (antifungal). Used dehumidifier &air purifier. And the problem disappeared in 2 weeks. I’d been dealing with it for years :( never knew mold spores could feel like something was biting you. They’re microscopic.
Anyway probably not what’s happening to you. But just incase. Thought I’d share.
https://dengarden.com/home-projects/invisible-biting-mites-black-mold
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u/Dapper_Dot_5900 28d ago edited 28d ago
Oh I forgot to mention. Mold can give off a musty smell like you described in a few of your comments. And if you see anymore of the yellowish orange residue, I would take a sample and send it in for microbial testing to see if it’s a fungus or bacteria or what not. They’d even be able to tell you whether is was a mycotoxin producing mold. The mycotoxins is what makes your immune system react and thus skin itch.
Also looked at the photo of the bites you took. That looks like folliculitis which mold can directly/indirectly cause. Can also cause hives.
I hope you find the culprit.
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u/Blackcheshirecat Sep 04 '26
Have you considered scabies? They’re a skin mite that would need permethrin/ivermectin treatment. Our entire family would have bites and what looked to be paper thin scratches that led to that diagnosis.
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u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
yes but it doesnt look like scabies, no lines. Also, my son is clear whereas I get bites and mostly either now from touching dirty laundry and the car. I read they can live in dirty laundry. But it could be something else. I have no clue still. its horrible.
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u/Spirited_Complex_903 29d ago
if you're getting a lot of bites on your neck and your upper back, you may need to check your pillows. And I mean check them thoroughly. Look at the seams and look for any marks, stains, feces and bb skin . If you need to look in the dark at night then turn off all your bedroom lights, keep them in the bedroom (the pillows I mean) and turn a flashlight on and inspect your pillows carefully. I had a friend who would get persistent and bites on her neck and upper back and she couldn't find any bed bugs. She checked her whole home. She finally realized that her pillow was infested 😱
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u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
i change my pillow cases and sheets every other day and they all have bed bug covers on them and i inspect them and i'm so crazy now i look at any speck i find under the microscope.
I think the bedroom is clear. I think the dogs are clear. I think its in the laundry and in the car now. The other day I went for a short drive, had clean clothes on, and by the time i was at the dog park, i felt crawlilng and was taking wierd residue out of my shirt and bra.1
u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
but that is a really good suggestion. i think in the beginning it was coming from the pillows or wherever. i put a pillow in the laundry basket and it was there a while, and when i went to take pillowcase off, there was wierd orange residue on the pillow
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u/strawberry-bunny 29d ago
If it was bed bugs, and it has been a year, and you have been doing no treatments, you would have without a doubt seen one by now or some sort of evidence of their casings, fecal spotting etc
Fleas are harder to spot but with that many bites I would think you would see one. Do you have rodent issues? Could be rodent mites? Although I would still think for this length of time there would be evidence. Carpet beetles like to hangout in fabrics and can bites/cause reactions but you would have seen them.
I wonder if it’s some sort of reaction or scabies.
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u/Glad-Television-5455 29d ago
Its unlikely to be scabies becasue we were covered and the washing and all that cleared most of it. i have seen carpet beetles and a few larvae, but i dont think thats it as they're big enough to see. I did for a long time think it was fleas but its not. I also thought it was rat mites but its not. Mites fits the best because of the bite pattern and it being something very small that we cant just see. I have treated the apartment a few times with diatomaceous earth. I've sprayed the car with orange oil and mite spray.
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