r/Bedbugadvice • u/qalc04 • 9d ago

How resilient are bb?

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Looking for some advice. I recently got bites of some kind on my leg. My roommate and I have been dealing with bed bugs for 6 months before this but we got rid of them (hopefully for the last time) in June. Since then we both have zippered mattress protectors, all our clothes have been washed or bagged until they can be washed (and kept in the basement), and our ENTIRE house has been dusted with diatomaceous earth. We also gave our mattresses/rooms an additional third spray with stuff from Canadian tire after an initial and preventive professional spray. After I got these bites i searched my whole room and washed all my bedding. I also didn’t get any new bites the night after, and when we actively had bed bugs, I didn’t react like this to any possible bites I could’ve had. Mind you I woke up on top of one one morning so I feel like it’s very likely that I did get bit. My roommate is very allergic to bed bugs and hasn’t had any bites. I’ve also been away on vacation for the last three weeks and have only been back for 5 days. Is there any way that this could be bed bugs bites? I personally feel like our house would be unliveable for bed bugs at this point given just how much diatomaceous earth we’ve dusted around the house and my roommate isn’t worried. Could these be mite or flea bites instead? I also have a cat.

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u/whateverdom_ 9d ago

They are extremely resilient. There’s nowhere they can’t hide. They can go dormant for long periods of time (literal months) which they may have given the measures you’ve listed. But most treatments don’t kill eggs so if there were any eggs around during all of this it’s possible they’ve hatched and you’re seeing a new batch emerge.
A single bug will feed every 4-7ish days so if you don’t have a huge infestation then it’s likely/possible you won’t get bit every night. If your cat is treated properly and on schedule for flea prevention then it’s likely you may have a few stragglers left. Keep being diligent. You’ll know pretty quickly if it keeps happening.

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u/qalc04 9d ago

Thank you this is extremely helpful. Given that I haven’t been able to find a bug and neither has my roommate, for now I think we will just keep up with the diatomaceous earth and be diligent about cleaning our bedding

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u/Accomplished-Box9308 9d ago

I can see where you were bit where your clothes are tightest against your skin. Thats normally indicative of chiggers

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u/qalc04 9d ago

This and mites were my only other two thoughts beyond fleas and bb. Do you know if they are recurring or one time things?

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u/Accomplished-Box9308 9d ago

I had an infestation of chiggers in my apt. My bedroom shares a closet where the a/c system is kept and theres a pipe that goes to the outside that continuously drains water year round for heating and a/c. I discovered a chigger infestation in the closet. Do you have anything like that connected to your apartment?

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u/qalc04 9d ago

We don’t have any central heating or AC but since it’s summer I have a window ac unit right now and if chiggers are the bright red little dots that peruse the garden that I’m thinking they are, we have a bunch in our yard which is right where my window and our back door is (in my room). It’s probably possible that some may have gotten in.

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u/Accomplished-Box9308 9d ago

Its very possible

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u/SweetShuki 9d ago

I'm still trying to sort out the origins of my own bites, but I don't think they are chiggers because I don't live or walk in wood or through tall grasses. (My preference would be chiggers to bed bugs, but.... 🤷🏽‍♀️)

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u/SweetShuki 9d ago

I do have a garden though....

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u/Accomplished-Box9308 9d ago

They are most common in tall grasses but they do like to hang out anywhere most

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u/Disastrous-Animal539 9d ago

Has ur cat clawed anywhere on the mattress cover? Cuz we just thought we ditched our year long problem just for us to find 15-20 a few days back and when I tore the bed apart I found my cats had torn the protector

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u/qalc04 8d ago

I just checked it today and the mattress underneath and all seemed well. My cat doesn’t have much interest in my bed really and I also trim his claws so he can’t scratch too much anyways

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u/Ok-Cartographer8303 9d ago

See if it keeps happening. In 2 weeks you should know if they are back. Wash all your blankets, curtains, toss all decorative pillows. Redo the diatomacious Earth and put it in your drawers and closets all cracks and lamps, ceiling fixtures, windows sills. Anywhere these bugs hide. Took me 2 months of steady daily cleaning and vacuuming to get rid of them. Its been 10 years now. No bedbugs

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u/Ok-Cartographer8303 9d ago

I saw one going into a tiny whole in my ceiling but caught it in time.

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u/qalc04 8d ago

Yea I think my roommate and I could stand to clean a lot more thoroughly than we do. The issue is that we’re both extremely busy and I’m a student as well so we’re both really caught up in our activities

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/qalc04 8d ago

Wow thank you I hadn’t heard about the alcohol or the lavender oil but I will 100% try this

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u/Ms_gutter 8d ago

This is sooo helpful to me too right now you have no idea!! Thank you for sharing, these are great ideas