bed bugs?!!!ahhh

scooper

this is a rather horrible thing to have to post but i need some advise please.
on wednesday we discovered we had bed bugs, so we instantly got rid of the bed and matress, also we have somone from the council coming on monday.
but i would like to know if anyone has ever had these, what did they do?
i feel horrible and im itching all the time.we are not dirty people at all so i cant understand why we have got these, unless we bought them back from our holiday in a caravan, i dont know?.
also what do i need to buy to protect us from ever getting these again, i.e duvets pillows?and where would be the cheapest place to get them from?
any help would be appreciated.

Sofa_Sogood

http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/main.asp?page=880

HTH

Queenie

((hugs))

They may well have hitchhiked home from the caravan holiday with you.

Here's an interesting article for you ...

Bed Bugs

and another ... Bed Bugs (US Site)

Have a read, put your mind at rest and ... don't beat yourself up

Sofa_Sogood

Sorry scooper - my post looked a little blunt, and that site looks a bit scary.

Have you rung Environmental Health for advice? I recall my Grandma getting them, and it wasn't very nice. I'd imagine she'd have called in E.H.

But I'd agree with what Queenie said, you probably have brought them home with you.

Good luck x

SallyD

Boil wash all your bedding and bedclothes. No point in having Enviromental Health in to spray if you do not do this - by the way did you know they travel, so if you live in a flat, sorry, but you should tell your neighbours! False economy just having the bedrooms sprayed - do the whole house.

scooper

thanks i will have a look at all those articles.
i had never seen one but i saw 2 when i was in bed whizzed downstairs to my pc and found out what they were, we have all been getting bites over us but when my husband said he had bites i didnt think nothing of it, then when i seen those bugs it all clicked into place what they could be!.
we went to haven holidays in sep, so they could have come home with us couldnt they?
i know we are not dirty, but it makes you feel dirty doesnt it?i have a 6 month old daughter who had them on her after sleeping in her cot next to us so feel horrible about that as well.
we have the council pest control coming out mon said he will do some tests, so i will post back to tell you what he /she says.
thanks again

Sofa_Sogood

scooper wrote:

i know we are not dirty

My Grandma was the type that was up at 5:30 a.m just to clean and donkeystone the doorstep, so no, you're not dirty at all. Hers were brought in from a bed she was given.

I know it's easy to say, but take care and try not to worry

Cenobite

Don't panic and throw everything out!! Not unless you are completely over run anyway!!

Try this stuff...

http://www.pestfree.co.uk/protector-c.htm

Lillibet_2

I used to be a property manager and saw them more often that you would think, they are quite common but don't seem to be talked about They are nothing to do with cleanliness, just like fleas. They spread by hitch-hiking from place to place so you probably did bring them home with you. They are fairly horrible I agree but environmental health should be able to sort you out & the spray they use will offer some future protection too, get them to give you all the details. Hypo-allegenic bedding etc won't offer any protection from bed bugs so would be a false investment.

Good luck & don't feel bad, getting them is beyoned your control;).

Cenobite

It certainly isn't the same thing. Bed bugs do NOT live in or on the skin. They like to live within a few meters of their meal ticket ( ie anywhere they can suck blood from! ) so they live mainly around the bed or sofas in your house. They also lay eggs along the edge of carpets so thats a sensible area to treat. The eggs take up to 2 weeks to hatch and there is nothing available which will kill the eggs as far as I know so you need to treat the room weekly for a few weeks with the spray I posted a link to earlier. They generally only come out at night which is why they bite you while you are asleep. They do not pass on any diseases and the only effect of the bite is itching and many people don't even notice that.

They are easily visible to the naked eye at about 1/4 " long and they are dark red/brown and have six legs.

Savvy_Sue

Don't they also hide in cracks in the wallpaper / skirting board - anywhere really?