Desperate! Please help - bugs

harvestmoon

Hi all
I have got small 'round backed' bugs with around three stripes across their backs in the bedroom. They are small ( husband says around 5 mm) and I have seen them on the headboard, on the tablecloth of my round bedroom table and one climbing up the mattress on the OUTSIDE.
We have googled and think they are bedbugs. Steps we have taken to eradicate are......washing ALL bedding at 80degrees, hoovering all parts of bed mattress headboard and area around and under bed including seams. Unfortunately found more again today and been getting bitten again over last 2 nights. How do we find out if they are bedbugs and what is needed to get rid of them. They appear to only be in one bedroom. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

elsien

If they're bedbugs, they're not necessarily just in the bed though, they can lurk behind wallpaper etc as well. Have you been on holiday abroad at all? Just wondering if they've made their way back in the luggage.


I know you said you'd googled but have you looked at google images for bedbugs to check the similarity?

krlyr

Do they look like this?
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pest-Control-1500/2011/4/small-brown-bug-w.htm

GreyQueen

harvestmoon wrote: »

Hi all
I have got small 'round backed' bugs with around three stripes across their backs in the bedroom. They are small ( husband says around 5 mm) and I have seen them on the headboard, on the tablecloth of my round bedroom table and one climbing up the mattress on the OUTSIDE.
We have googled and think they are bedbugs. Steps we have taken to eradicate are......washing ALL bedding at 80degrees, hoovering all parts of bed mattress headboard and area around and under bed including seams. Unfortunately found more again today and been getting bitten again over last 2 nights. How do we find out if they are bedbugs and what is needed to get rid of them. They appear to only be in one bedroom. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

I book pest control treatments for a local authority. When the pest controllers examine the home, nine times out of ten, the householder who thinks they have bedbugs hasn't got them, they have something else of the insect nature.

Odds are, you are one of the nine without bedbugs. They look like this, and have a flattened oval shape:



That's an adult. They're seldom seen as they come out at night and are drawn to us by to carbon dioxide we exhale as well as by our body heat.

If you're absolutely sure that what you see looks like a bedbug and your bites match pix of bedbugs' bites (check the web) book a professional pest control treatment. But I think you've got some kind of other pest, TBH.

boiler_man

You might have carpet beetles. Google and compare images with bed bugs.

softpad

when you say three stripes I tend to think you have carpet beetles.

harvestmoon

Thanks to all for your responses!
Can I ask if carpet bugs would bite me in bed please?

carefullycautious

My dad used to call them furry bears (carpet Beetles) with the stripe.

GreyQueen

harvestmoon wrote: »

Thanks to all for your responses!
Can I ask if carpet bugs would bite me in bed please?

Not sure, but fleas certainly could. You may have more than one pest at a time. Do you have furry pets or has something in your home come from a pet-keeping home? Fleas can live dormantly for many months before they hatch.

The typical sign of bed-bug bites is finding lots of tiny specks of blood on your bedlinen, and that's often the only thing you will see.

Waffle_On

There are some occasions when the MSE approach isn't the best one, and IMHO household infestations are one of those times!


A professional pest controller should be able to identify and treat whatever it is for you.


From what you've said, being bitten and having bugs on the bed suggests bed bugs, but the stripes and other locations suggest possibly carpet beetles. Adult carpet beetles are attracted to the light, and tend to be particularly active on bright sunny days.

lolarosa90

Hi there!

In my opinion, you should hire a professional pest controller to identify the issue and provide you with a solution. They will also most likely give advice on managing the issue and making sure it doesn't return once treated. I would research a good tradesman, through a trade checker website to ensure that you are getting the best for your money.

Hope it gets resolved soon!