Chicken Pox v.s. Bed Bug Bites

I thought I would post up a picture showing a rash from chicken pox to contrast it with bed bug bites.

Generally the pox will show up just about anywhere on the body and in a disordered pattern. Bed bug bites, however will be more or less grouped in line.

Experiment Update

As introduced I have bottled a number of bed bugs at various age stages in order to examine feeding behaviors and longevity without feeding.

It is purported that bed bugs can live for 365 days (or more) relatively quietly while waiting for their next meal to arrive. Actually many bugs reliant on blood feeding have this same trait. I have seen documentaries about tics in the desert that bury themselves into the sand until a passing buffet disturbs the ground and they wake up and jump on for a feed.

Well, I bottled my samples five months ago and most of the samples are still going strong. There have been a few deaths, a few babies but mostly adults. I cannot say for certain how old the adults I captured were already, but this is what I have noticed.

-Most of the adults have died.
-The babies who have never fed before who were born a few months ago are still alive.
-The babies who have fed and have shed their skin and morphed to the next stage are still alive.
-The gang, adults and young ones held in an airtight container are not doing as well as those in a fresh air container.

One bottle group I put mesh over the opening, and another I put cotton cloth and have intermitently fed them by placing the material against my skin.

First I blow through the material to activate the bottle with CO2 and then tip it onto my wrist or arm, and then observe who is feeding and how long it takes.

My first purpose was to test if they could bite through material, and if so, how thick a layer can they effectively bite through. My second purpose was to have a control group, a group that is fed periodically versus a group that is not fed and to test the longevity of both.

This is what I have noticed about the material thicknesses:

-The adults do not bite through the cotton. They take no interest in it. Even if they have not eaten in months! However the newly hatched babies and the young ones not yet morphed into an adult seem to recognize skin through the cloth and eagerly chow down.
-The adults and the babies do recognize skin through mesh however and feed heartily.
-The bugs also prefer to bite at the edge of the opening rather than the middle, however if the places around the rim are taken they will snug in next to their neighbors or just wait their turn.

The latter point proves to me my theory that bed bugs prefer to feed where they perceive shelter. I quite often find a line of bites running up my shin. When I sleep I do so on my side. My leg is lying on the bed and where the mattress is in contact with my leg, along the edge there is where the feeding takes place.

In this way I can tell from this pattern, the bites occurred while I was lying down.

I also have had a line or grouping of bites across my foot near my toes and realized that the line matches exactly the straps on my sandals so that means that the bites are occurring while I am standing or sitting somewhere for long lengths of time, probably at my desk, and should investigate that area for bed bugs.

I hope you have found this post of interest, by signing up for the newsletter you will get updates in your mailbox when I have posted something new.

At last! Bed Bug Free

Finally, I changed my bed and did not discover any families in the sheets or pillows. In fact, I have not had any new rashes recently which indicates to me the bed bug problem is resolved! Or, At least, I have succeeded at preventing the from biting me at night, from getting them off my bed! Woo-hoo!

Let me take you through the steps I took here.

Bed Bug Quiz

Here is a quiz from medicinenet.com to test your knowledge about Bed Bugs! Think you know everything? Check again!

Bed Bug Quiz

BedBugs 101: Free iPhone App to Recommend

I just discovered an excellent FREE iPhone app called BedBugs 101. It is like an instant information resource when you need it.

It is packed full of facts and pictures.

Yes, it is an advertisement for the Protect-a-Bed system, a set of mattress, box spring, and pillow encasements that I am willing to endorse, but you do not have to buy anything to enjoy the application itself.

Plus, if you ever find any bed bugs you can instantly report it at the Bed Bug Registry, right there in the App. (I also link to this registry check the side bar.)

I absolutely love this App!

Here is the link!

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/bedbugs-101/id411932955?mt=8

Bed Bug Bite Pictures: Getting Cheeky, Are We?

Bed Bug bites are never welcome, but bites on the face are simply not acceptable. Grrr! These guys were not only hungry but way too cheeky! It is a good thing I was not getting my portrait done!

Bites on the face are too often assumed to be blemishes. This is clearly Bed Bug Bites.

And what about this lovely ear stud? Not!

Bed Bug in Action Video

Check out this illuminating video from National Geographic.

Bed bug enters the room via electrical outlet and feeds on the sleeping victim.

Clicking on this link will take you to YouTube. If you have not signed up for the newsletter yet, do so now and then click this link to watch this simply yucky video!

Pictures of Bed bugs on the pillow case hem.

If you have bed bugs you will recognize them by their shape, color and nesting habits. You will note that bed bugs like to nest in places that offer complete or partial covering in locations rarely disturbed. Here is a picture of a new nesting place in some pillows which are not moved very often. A cursory search daily is recommended.

Should I Throw Out the Couch?

Visitors are asking, if they have bed bugs, should they throw out their couch, or their bed?

The answer depends on circumstances.

When you discover you have bed bugs, the temptation is to throw everything out, which is fine, but do not bring in new furniture until the bugs are gone from your home. In most cases it is possible to clean the bed bugs from the furniture while you are treating the home against them.

But if you are insistent at throwing it out, for example the bed or the chair or the sofa or the couch could be the only thing that is infested or it is so badly infested you cannot imagine clearing it of bed bugs, and if so, please do throw it out.

If you decide to toss the items, to ensure that you do not spread the bed bugs around to others, take the following precautions:

• Contact your municipality to let them know you are throwing out a big item and that it is infested with bed bugs so they send the proper collection service. 
• Also paste a big sign on it "Bed Bugs!" warning pickers from taking it home with the bed bugs.
• Try to put it out on a sunny day, because the bugs will dehydrate with the heat and it will be less likely they will survive a hike to the nearest building.
• Also, put the item at least five feet away from the building so they don't have access to returning.

If you decide to treat the couch or bed, there are a number of steps to go through which I will go into in a separate posting, but I will share a really easy one:

Put the furniture out in the baking sun for a day.

What to do to help stop the itch

Many readers are asking me, fine I got bed bug bites, I know what they look like, but, What do you do to stop the itch?

These instructions are for adults. Parents, use your own discretion when applying salves and balms to your children.

This is the way I have handled it: If there is no mark yet, just a pin-prick like itch, I scratch or rub the whole area until the skin is red. Let's say it is about twenty scratches' worth. The reason for doing this is because it activates the skin's natural repair responses. The tiny pin sized red spots show up within a minute. Now that you know where they are, do the following.

Option One: Rub the strongest rubbing alcohol on the spots. I have a handy spray bottle, one I got empty and clean from the dollar store which I fill with 99% rubbing alcohol. I spray the area with this and then rub it in.

(The reason I have it in a spray bottle is because bed bugs die on contact with it so it makes a good general spray when I see them live. That is another story.)

Option Two: A decent topical Cortizone cream does wonders. I apply it on all the red spots daily until the lesion is gone or stops being itchy. Also anything you would use to reduce the swelling on a pimple that contains a salicate, or salicilic acid is also perfect for bites.

Option Three: Mopiko, a Japanese ointment, if you can get it is great for insect bites. Due to the camphor content do not use on children two or younger. Tiger Balm will also work.

Option Four: Baking Soda wash. If you have scratched till bleeding you would not want to apply a salve or alcohol on the lesion without calming it down with a baking soda wash. 1 tblsp of soda to a cup of warm water. Dissolve and apply with a cotton ball or wash cloth gently.

Leave comments if you have any other tricks.

Bed Bug Humor: An Honest "Apartment for Rent" Sign.

Come Live where Bed Bugs Thrive! This is Your Chance to Rent and Share Your Space with that infamous biter. Wake in the middle of the night scratching! Wonder what bit you! Complain about it at work! Drive yourself insane searching for where in the thousands of cracks, crevices and nooks supplied in this old 1940's charmer they might be living! (Don't forget to examine the insulation between the walls!) Don't miss out! Rent today! What are you waiting for? Call now!

What's Biting You Guide Coming Soon!

Get your copy of the What's Biting You? guide and find out what is causing your horrible rashes. No sense treating for bed bugs if your problem is fleas! Get the answers to your most burning questions:

• Are these bites or just a rash?
• Why do I get these bites and my partner doesn't?
• How can you tell the difference? 
• Can you tell from the bite alone? 
• What about the location of the bite? 
• And the color markings around the bite zone? 
• Is it red because of scratching?
• Am I just going crazy?

"Look, I keep getting these tiny bite marks, two little punctures right beside each other. Could they be spider bites?"

Inside the Guide you will get:

-- Descriptions and photo examples of the red spots and marks that you can compare yours marks too.
-- Ways to trap whatever may be biting you to find out if it is a bug or what.
-- Steps towards taking care of the problem once you have determined what it is.

"I got my place sprayed three times for bugs and even sprayed my own can of spray everywhere only to find out I did not have bugs at all -- I was allergic to my laundry soap! I am glad that was all it was!"

How to Pre - Order: Click on the link below. It will take you to PayPal where you can take care of the payment, You will be added to the newsletter list and then we will notify you by email when the book is available and how to get it downloaded. It Is as Easy as That!

Normally $9.99 this book can be pre-ordered now for just $3.99


Guarantee Your 100% satisfaction is guaranteed. Not happy with your purchase? I will return every penny you paid for the book. But I am sure you will love it. What a relief it will be to finally identify what creature is biting you so you can finally take care of the problem once and for all!!!


What are you waiting for? Click here to get started


Note: If you prefer to pay the full price please do so here!

A Great Bedbugs and Skin Problems Picture Site

Recently, I found a great site with good information that I thought I would recommend. It is at MedicineNet.com.

It shows pictures of other skin irritations so you can compare between them and identify what your "red spots" could be. What is important in identifying what the mystery itchy red marks are is eliminating what it is not.

Here is a list of links that open in a new page up at MedicineNet.com, a reliable site for medical information. There are hundreds of slideshows, photos and articles which I have sifted through to pick out only the ones relative to identifying skin problems.

Here they are:

Itch Mite (Scabies)

Head Lice

Psoriasis

Nerve Pain (itching with no lesion)

Bad Bugs (bugs and their bite)

Ring worm

Bed Bugs

Childhood skin Problems

Spiders (black widow & brown recluse)

Lyme desease

Boils

Skin Cancer

Skin gallery

Bed Bug Article

Skin Primer, Part 1

Since Bed Bugs feed by inserting their beak into the skin, I thought a primer on skin would be good.

This diagram image from Kidshealth.org shows a cutting of skin.

My questions are:

1. What does the skin emit that lets the bed bug know skin is near?
2. How deeply does the bed bug beak have to penetrate to get blood?
3. Can bed bugs bite through a layer of material?
4. How thick would the material have to be before the bed bug cannot penetrate the skin?

What skin emits:

From cosmetic sites I found out that skin actually does not breathe, so it does not emit carbon dioxide or any other waste gasses per se. However the sweat glands release salt, water and toxins, and the oil gland releases oil. When we sweat, as in during a work out, ketones get released in the sweat, a by product of breaking down fat. What does get emitted is infrared radiation.

How deeply a bed bug has to penetrate to reach blood:

Here is an image of the bed bug's mouthpiece from bed-bug.org:

What we need is a measurement.

To quote directly mdconsult.com (Ferri: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011, 1st ed.)

A bedbug’s bite is a wound caused by the penetration of the bedbug mouthpiece into the skin as the insect feeds on blood from vessels or extravasated blood from the damaged surrounding tissue.

Do they need to hit a capillary or a vein? Does breaking the skin, the outer layer cause bleeding?

To find out more I had to get more technical. The mouthpeice is called a "haustellum"which is defined as

haus·tel·lum/hôˈsteləm/ Noun: The sucking organ or proboscis of an insect or crustacean. (wikipedia - Merriam-Webster The Free Dictionary)

In looking for information about how deeply a bed bug has to insert the haustellum to get blood I came across an interesting examination of a tic-like blood sucking insect called a Ked engorging a mouse ear.

Melophagus ovinus: Feeding mechanism on transilluminated mouse ear

W.A. Nelsona and Denis M. Petrunia1,

Veterinary-Medical Entomology Section, Research Station, Canada Department of Agriculture, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Melophagus ovinus (L.), the sheep ked, when fed on a mouse ear, is a vessel feeder (solenophage). The haustellum of the ked penetrated the skin through the stratum corneum by rapid eversion of the prestomal teeth reinforced by pressure on the haustellum. It probed the subepidermal tissue with a reciprocating motion, accompanied by continuous activity of the prestomal teeth. When the labella contacted a venule of 30–100 μ, they immediately penetrated it, the prestomal teeth everted and anchored the labella to the vessel wall. Sucking of blood followed immediately and engorgement was complete within 5–10 minutes. Bursts of saliva were seen entering the vessel four or five times during engorgement. Sheep skin biopsy material containing the haustellum indicated that the ked fed from venules near the level of the apocrine glands and bases of wool follicles. Previous work is discussed in relation to these results.

Prestomal teeth. Labella. Bursts of saliva. This is what is happening folks!

I learned from cirrusimage.com/bedbug that

"[Bed Bug] mouthparts are modified for piercing and sucking.....Bed bugs grasp human skin with their forelegs, pierce the skin, and inject anticoagulant and anesthetic-containing saliva." 

which pretty well describes the above quote about the ked. The Cimex family (bed bugs) are also solenophages.

The stratum corneum (n. , pl. , strata cornea) is the horny outer layer of the epidermis, consisting mainly of dead or peeling cells, as per answers.com. I gather that the mouthpiece only needs to penetrate the outer dead skin layer, which, according to en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/437704 is between .01 and .04 mm depending on the "grip requirements" (e.g. the palm or sole of the feet, it is thicker.) They provide this image of skin layers:

I have never felt bitten on the sole of my feet or on my palm so by this I see they prefer the thinner layer areas on the body.

Can Bed Bugs bite through a layer of material?:

Yes, they can.

How thick does it have to be so that the mouthpiece does not reach the skin?


I do not know yet, however in one experiment I have attempted to do with trapped bed bugs in a bottle is to cover the bottle opening with material and press this up against my skin and see how long it takes for the bed bugs to realize there is skin under there and to see if they take interest and try to bite.

This is how I got onto this line of questioning which is far from answered.

Removing Eggs from the Curtain Hem

Another inspection of the bed area shows fresh Eggs and Fecal droppings in the hem of the curtain near the bed.

It is very important after treatment is applied to continuously inspect the room for more nests and other evidences. If the treatment agent does not kill them they just move and set up shop somewhere else.

There is no treating and forgetting where bed bugs are concerned!

Finally, when the inspections pass without any findings, and when a whole month goes by without a bite, can it be declared the problem is finally gone.

This is a rough clip I did with my iPhone 4 rendered with iMovie.

Bed Bug Bite Pictures

Example 1. Red marks foot and ankle.

Here you can see how the bed bug(s) followed along a line. Not necessarily a vein line, but rather the edge of the resting place. The victim was sleeping on her side. The leg and foot was pressing against the mattress  on the side we are facing now. The bug(s) bit right where the skin edged along the flat of the mattress. Adults tend to bite. Then walk a bit and bite again, and then again. Younger bed bugs also behave similarly but do not walk as far. Young fresh babies bite all in the same area. The red patch near the big toe is a cluster of baby bites. Although bed bugs do bite out in the open they seem to prefer a slightly squashy place where at least one side is pressed.

Example 2. Elbow.

Here the bites are several days old.  You can see the three bite cluster and line patterns. The victim scratches at the bites sites and causes them to bleed and fester. Actually bed bug bites are harmless, except only that they can be quite itchy for a time. It is the constant scratching and the breaking of skin that causes the blisters and infections some victims experience with bed bug bites.

Bed Bug Experiments Journal, Introduction

During Bed Bug sweeps of the bed area I capture live bugs in all stages with eggs and store them in old plastic pill bottles. This makes a good home because they cannot climb up the sides so I can open the top to make adjustments without fear that they will escape.

I have run a few tests on them to see how resilient they are.

In this journal, I will be reporting my findings and observations.

Let me bring you up to date so far.

Exhibit 1 (March 2009)

My first intension was simply to test the theory about how long an adult bed bug can survive without a feeding. It is purported that they can stay relatively quiet and resting for up to one year between feedings. I am sure this is true, so I wanted just to see it for myself.

I popped one in a bottle and called it Exhibit 1. It died after three months.

Of course, the adult I captured could have been already close to one year old, there is no way for me to tell. It could have also been that by not removing the lid to let in fresh air and moisture it asphyxiated. Further, it could have been that I did not provide anything to shelter under so it died from anxiety.

Exhibit 2 (May 2009)

I caught and stored two bugs and bottled them. There was no shelter again. I observed that they piled up on top of each other providing each other shelter. I lifted the lid weekly to let in fresh air. I threw in a corner of paper towel and they separated and found their own spot to settle in.

Exhibit 3 (June 2009)

I had laid down some sticky traps in the hallway to see what kind of insect traffic there was there. A bed bug got trapped on his back. His legs were not stuck to the glue, only a part of the back. its head was also not stuck. Every now and then I checked the trap and noted to my amazement the trapped bed bug remained alive for more than six months! Finally, it stopped kicking when I blew on it.

Exhibit 4 a&b July 2009

I captured two adult bugs and put them into one bottle each. I soaked a corner of paper towel with the spray liquid post a pest controller visit to the building and added it to one bottle. The other, I sprinkled Boric Acid powder. The adult in the boric acid died within 48 hours. The adult in the chemical soaked paper towel bottle lived for two weeks and finally died. I captured another adult and added it to the boric acid bottle and it too died within two days. Noted this for future treatment options.

Exhibit 5 (October 2010)

I found a nest, not just stray bugs, on the corner of the pillow under the inside flap of the pillow case of all things. I scrapped off the eggs and dropped them into a bottle and caught the little babies and adults tending to them. I added a corner of paper towel and closed it up. Within 14 days some of the eggs hatched but unfortunately the scraping killed most of the eggs.


Exhibit 6 (November 2010)

I found another nest in the pillows, this time on the pillow case. I sacrificed the case by cutting the section where about 20 eggs were laid and where a few babies and adults were hiding and popped it into a bottle. I hardly disturbed them.  I also picked up any strays I found and added them. This starting colony had four adults, several nymphs in various stages, and about 20 eggs. This time, all of the eggs hatched.

Future postings titled "Bed Bug Experiments Journal" will provide updates.

First Bites

A bed bug infestation is not a walk in the park.

These resilient bugs can hide in any crevice and they can lie in wait for up to a year for the next meal.

They also only need to eat every ten days.

If you have them, the problem probably came on very slowly.

Let's imagine you brought home with you two adults, male and female.

The first bites are not telling of a bed bug infestation. The five or six bite marks look and appear like any old allergic reaction, most likely to the laundry soap or a fabric.

Most people cast it off as an itchy spot, nothing more.

Ten days later the adults that bit you ten days prior feed again. You notice more itchy spots and wonder what you ate.

What has happened between the first and second set of bites? They mated. The pregnant female laid two to three eggs every day. And the first eggs are just about to hatch.

Between day 11 and day 21 you will get a rash of tiny bites every night. As the little bugs hatch two or three at a time they rush for their first meal. They are a little bit awkward so the bites are a bit messier looking. They molt a few days later and rush for their next meal.

And then the adults come back for a feed, after having laid another set of eggs two to three a day.

By this time, day 30, you have probably had over 50 biting incidents. And exponentially, more is on the way.

Sound familiar?

Good. You are in the right place. Stay tuned.