If we brought back bed bugs, how long til we'd know?

RainbowLaura

As the title says really

Husband and I went away from Monday to Friday last week, to a lovely cottage in the woods. Needless to say, although very clean there were many bugs and flying insects around due to the location. Each night we both got bitten once or twice. I am a bit paranoid about bed bugs already so we flipped over the mattress and had a look around, but there didn't appear to be any evidence around the bed. Just to be on the safe side we put all clothes straight in the wash when we got home. However, I now realise that they can hide in places like books and electronics (which we had with us and went straight back in the cupboard at home), and also we should have put the clothes on a hot wash (I thought 40 would do). I can't stop thinking there might have been bed bugs in the cottage and that we might have brought something back with us. I know they can live for literally months without a meal, but realistically, how soon would we likely start getting bitten if we'd brought anything back with us?

Apodemus

You don’t mention whether the Cottage was in this country or overseas. If you were in this country, the balance of probability is that the biting insects were normal:

It’s been a warm wet autumn with no frosts yet to kill off midges and mosquitoes.

If a property has previously been home to cats, then lie unused for a period, it can literally be jumping with fleas, since they hatch from their pupae in response to vibration as you walk in.

Your visit could have coincided with the “autumn rise” of tick numbers in the forest (although I suspect that the old two-peaks of tick activity have been eroded by global warming).

The presence of bed bugs is much less likely. You would notice the bites in the morning, potentially little spots of blood on the sheets and if you are attuned to it, the smell.

But to be honest, I suspect a touch of paranoia in the way you express your concerns, so perhaps you should google “delusory parasitosis”.

RainbowLaura

Apodemus wrote: »

You don’t mention whether the Cottage was in this country or overseas. If you were in this country, the balance of probability is that the biting insects were normal:

It’s been a warm wet autumn with no frosts yet to kill off midges and mosquitoes.

If a property has previously been home to cats, then lie unused for a period, it can literally be jumping with fleas, since they hatch from their pupae in response to vibration as you walk in.

Your visit could have coincided with the “autumn rise” of tick numbers in the forest (although I suspect that the old two-peaks of tick activity have been eroded by global warming).

The presence of bed bugs is much less likely. You would notice the bites in the morning, potentially little spots of blood on the sheets and if you are attuned to it, the smell.

But to be honest, I suspect a touch of paranoia in the way you express your concerns, so perhaps you should google “delusory parasitosis”.

Thank you for replying, and making me feel a bit better
You know what, I think I've had delusory parasitosis since we had a flea infestation a few years ago
I got in such a state about it and have been so paranoid ever since.

The cottage was in the UK, and we did see lots of mosquito thingies in the garden during the day. I just worry that the bites were always discovered first thing in the morning. Fleas are a possibility - the cottage was purpose built for holidays so unlikely to have housed a cat at any time, though dogs were allowed to stay there.

ka7e

You could use a Permethrin insect bomb - it's not a very nice chemical, but it will kill off a huge range of beasties including fleas, mosquitos, moths and bedbugs.