Identifying a Small Black Biting Bug?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

May 7, 20180 found this helpful

It could be a tick, or a mite.

Hello
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 107 Posts

May 7, 20180 found this helpful

is the small black bug really black or a ruddy red with striated pattern? Is it also round and fairly flat, or somewhat oblong and turgid looking?

are the bites generally all in a row on your body?

have you travelled anywhere strange lately or had any strange houseguests (I guess by 'strange' I mean ppl you don't know well or who have been travelling a lot) ?

if you answer 'yes' to these questions then you could be looking at a bed bug infestation.

You say you don't think it's bed bugs so the other option is that you have mosquitoes or other such bloodsuckers coming into your room from the outdoors. You say the weather's been extra moist and mosquitoes breed easily in those circumstnaces.

you really should check your bedding for odd black marks on your sheet and mattress which are little spots they leave behind, though because if you do have bed bugs you need to find that out straightaway

cybergrannie
Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks

May 8, 20180 found this helpful

You must have a reason for saying you do not think it is bedbugs but your bites sure look like bedbug bites.

• Just in case you have brought some in from somewhere or a visitor brought them you should start checking signs right away because they multiply rapidly.
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• Their usual feeding time is at night and their favorite place to hide and feed from is your bed.
• Here is an excerpt from one medical site:
• These nocturnal creatures can hide in beds, floors, furniture, wood, and paper trash during the day. We humans usually become their dinner during the night, with peak biting activity just before dawn. They can obtain their meal in as little as three minutes, after which they are engorged and drop off the host, then crawl into a hiding place to digest their meal. Bedbugs can live for 10 months, and can go weeks without feeding.
• Here are a couple of links you should check out even if you do not think you have bedbugs.
• www.webmd.com/.../bedbugs-infestation#1
• www.webmd.com/.../slideshow-bedbugs
• You can start a treatment process with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) (food grade only) as it will kill bedbugs but other measures may have to be taken also.
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  DE (food grade) is safe for humans and pets and can be sprinkled on everything, especially on the mattress crevices.
• DE can be ordered on line if it is not available at stores in Dublin and is not very expensive (remember - food grade only).
• You can check it out on this link:
• www.diatomaceousearth.com/.../diatomaceous-earth-natural-bed-bug...

Be sure to treat your bite areas as excessive itching/scratching can cause infections and scarring.

Kathy

May 8, 20180 found this helpful

Sounds like bed bugs. They are fairly easy to get. You could have stayed at an hotel or someplace that had them or even been near someone else who has them.

mom-from-missouri
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts

May 8, 20180 found this helpful

It looks like bedbug bites. You can get bedbugs anywhere. Lately, they were in the Kansas City Airport, and one terminal had to be closed down and cleaned due to it. Before that, one of the movie theaters had them in the seats. I have also heard of them in rental cars, hotels, and if you are shopping and try on clothing--bedbugs and lice can be in store hats and clothes from previous persons who tried them on.

Christine J. B.

May 9, 20180 found this helpful

Maybe fleas.

See here: www.hunker.com/.../how-to-tell-if-you-have-bed-bugs...

Essentially fleas like arms and legs; bedbugs like torsos to bite.