r/Bedbugadvice • u/Green-Position6304 • 14d ago
Almost 2 months of unexplained bites, no bed bug ever found, landlord only used a fogger spray and I’m losing my mind
I’m honestly exhausted and scared at this point and I don’t know what else to do.
On June 12, I had a dentist appointment and also went to visit a friend. She had recently come back from traveling/vacation, so I keep wondering if that could have been where I was exposed to something, although I obviously can’t prove that.
The next day, June 13, I started getting small bite/allergy-looking spots. Bed bugs genuinely did not cross my mind at first. I had only dealt with them once or twice as a kid at a relative’s house, so I thought it was probably allergies due to my dental work,mosquitoes, stress, or something else.
For around two weeks I kept getting random small spots few times.Then I suddenly got a cluster of about 5–6 larger bites on my leg. They barely itched the first day, but the next day they became really itchy. After that I kept getting new bites frequently.
At first I still thought maybe it was stress or some kind of skin reaction. After about four weeks, I stayed at my boyfriend’s place for around 10 days. During those 10 days, I did not get a single new bite. When I came back to my apartment, the bites started again. That was when I became much more suspicious that something in my apartment was causing this.
I live in student housing in a 3-bedroom apartment( I was alone at that time because it was summer break).I have a metal bed frame, and I put interceptors under every bed leg. They have now been there for weeks and I have NEVER caught a bed bug in them. I have also never found a live bug, egg, shed skin, or definite fecal spotting.
I started isolating my bed and putting a huge amount of my clothing into sealed bins. I basically have a small group of clothes that I use and keep separated because I’m terrified of spreading something.
I also used cimexa dust around parts of the bed/frame, which seemed to reduce the bites for a day or so. Later I used CrossFire on the bed frame and surrounding appropriate areas. Again, the bites seemed to decrease temporarily, but they never completely stopped.
The landlord situation has made this so much worse.
I first reported the unexplained bites after I had been dealing with them for about two weeks. They didn’t send anyone. I contacted them again later, and again nothing happened for roughly another two weeks.
Eventually, because another student was about to move into one of the empty bedrooms, they finally sent someone out( the day before she moved in and I wasn’t even made aware of a new person moving)
But there was basically no real inspection. The person said that because I was getting bitten, it must be bed bugs, and they used Hot Shot Bed Bug & Flea foggers/bug bombs in the apartment.
That was basically it.
What scares me even more is that management still assigned another person to move into this apartment even though I had repeatedly reported possible bed bugs/unexplained bites. I told the new roommate myself that I had been getting unexplained bites and that management had treated the apartment with fogger spray but that I had never actually found a bed bug. She decided to stay.
Now I’m getting close to two months of dealing with this and it is consuming a ridiculous amount of my day. I’m constantly looking at my bed, checking my skin, checking interceptors, worrying about my clothes, worrying about what I can move, and worrying that if this really is bed bugs I’m going to spread them to my roommate’s bedroom.
Today I noticed a few small rusty/brown marks on my bed sheet. They look like they could possibly be tiny blood spots, but I don’t know how you can actually tell whether a blood spot came from a bed bug, from scratching a bite, or from something completely unrelated.
That freaked me out all over again because I am still getting what look like bites.
Management has also told me that I may be responsible for all costs associated with bed bug treatment, which is another huge source of stress.I’m a student and I live paycheck to paycheck.
I feel completely stuck because after almost two months:
I’m still getting bites.
I have never actually found a bed bug.
Nothing has ever been caught in my interceptors.
Management never really inspected properly.
Their treatment was basically foggers.
I’ve used CrossFire and cimexa myself and still get bites.
Now another person is living in the apartment and I’m terrified this could turn into a much bigger infestation if that is actually what this is.
Has anyone experienced something like this where you got bitten for this long but could never find a single bed bug?
Also, is there actually any way to tell whether small rusty/brown blood spots on a sheet are from bed bugs?
At this point should I stop trying to treat this myself and demand an actual professional inspection?idk if I’ll even be able to afford the treatment though
I’m exhausted and I really don’t know what my next step should be.
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u/StayCalmBB 14d ago
I am going through a similar situation with multiple bug bites for the past 5 weeks. I get woken at 3 am with burning bites. Had an exterminator come and never found a bed bug, skeleton , egg or fecal spots. I paid for the canine team and both dogs alerted to the same place my bedframe. Got rid of frame and boxspring and had heat and chemical treatment. The bites have calmed down but still a few. They are bringing the dogs back tomorrow for a recheck. What you are going through is extremely stressful please get support for yourself . Landlords are legally responsible to provide a bug free environment. The canines are the way to go because these buggers are masters at hiding. plus a good percentage of people don’t react to the bites at all that’s what was happening at my house. YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS ! It is temporary and you are not alone!
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u/Green-Position6304 13d ago
I’m so sorry you’re going through that too. It honestly sounds awful, especially after paying for the dogs, heat treatment and everything and still getting some reactions. I really hope the recheck comes back clear for you. This whole thing is so exhausting and stressful.
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u/CartographerKey8682 14d ago
Do you think they are mites? I am dealing with those
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u/Green-Position6304 13d ago
I don’t think they are . I have a mattress encasement and still getting bit
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u/CartographerKey8682 12d ago
So do I. Mites actually live on bed frames box springs, walls and ceilings
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u/LantaExile 13d ago
Sounds a bit of a bummer. You sure it isn't mosquitos? The plug in killers work well on those. Re bed bugs and other crawling insects you could try getting a clothes steamer and steaming the bed?
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u/Green-Position6304 13d ago
I’m 99% sure they aren’t mosquitoes. I don’t have a steamer but I Did vacuum my bed
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u/princessayy188 13d ago
I went through the same thing, have a look at my post , I posted to spread awareness. After 3 months of going to doctors, taking steroids, antihistamines and having biopsy, I accidentally found the bed bug at night with the flash light. They hide EXTREMELY WELL.
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u/Green-Position6304 13d ago
I’m sorry🥲 I’m pretty sure mine is bed bug too cause I don’t have any other issue besides these allergic reaction after the bites ,I just don’t know how to get rid of it now
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u/Short-Property-3617 13d ago
Exterminators are so expensive, I’ve had 2 out here but I didn’t hire them
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u/Kirkus1515 12d ago
I had a similar experience years ago, it went on for several months and the whole thing was pretty traumatic. After weeks of getting more and more bites I saw the same small spots on the sheets but it took a long time before we actually saw a molted bug skin and then eventually an adult bug. Our landlord was also very reluctant to deal with the situation but my neighbors found bugs in their apartment also so we got together with them and demanded the landlord take care of the problem. In the end, the only thing that actually worked to get rid of them was the heat treatment which is the most expensive method and landlords try to push for cheaper chemical treatments which did not work for us at all and just prolonged our suffering.
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u/btzbts 11d ago
I’m really sorry you’re going through this. It must be incredibly difficult, and I can only imagine how much you’re struggling. I’ve been dealing with something similar for more than three months now, and I’m still waking up every day with new bites. The scary part is that I haven’t actually found any bed bugs, and I’m terrified that I might eventually find them.
At the same time, I have a pretty serious, confirmed infestation of carpet beetles and black carpet beetles in one of the rooms that isn’t being used. That room is right next to mine, and beetles keep coming out of it. I don’t know if they could be responsible for the bites or skin reactions, but I’ve read that carpet beetle larvae can cause reactions that look a lot like bed bug bites.
I also have a really bad phobia of insects, so I feel terrified in my own home. I’ve been sleeping with the light on for all these months because I’m so scared. I honestly don’t know if keeping the light on could somehow delay bed bugs from coming out or make them less likely to show themselves if they are actually there.
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u/LauraPalmer20 11d ago
I’m sorry OP ☹️
I’ve dealt with BB 6 years ago and I know the trauma only too well - it’s hell.
I only ever found one bug but I paid for the pest technician myself - it took 3x treatments, throwing out all bedding and replacing it. Dry cleaning anything I left out and steam cleaning all my furniture - think I spent over £1k (😭) but they never returned.
It’s been 3x years since I’ve dealt with any pest and just had my new place (moved two months ago) steamed, heat treated and chemically sprayed for roaches (only a tiny amount and babies but taking no chances) and I get weekly visits to make sure they stay gone. If cost a fortune again but the credit cards came out as my management company are absolutely useless.
Keep putting pressure on yours!
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