Is this a bedbug?
April 22, 2021 8:21 AM Subscribe
Six weeks into a new apartment. Pretty much bought all new bedding, beds, mattresses, etc. Found this guy (image link) this morning. Scale in millimeters. Is it a bedbug?
Yes that is definitely a bedbug :(
posted by yeahlikethat at 8:26 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by yeahlikethat at 8:26 AM on April 22, 2021
I'm not an entomologist, but it looks like one, yes. This page has a nice diagram of the life cycle and different shapes they take. Your image looks a lot like the adult female (left).
posted by jb at 8:27 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by jb at 8:27 AM on April 22, 2021
yep sorry. could conceivably have come in on the new stuff -- my exterminator told me they sometime find those guys in factories etc -- but at least equally likely, was in the apartment's crevices from prior occupancy or came through a shared wall from a neighboring apartment.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:32 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:32 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
In case your next question is about bedbug management: it's difficult, but not impossible.
There are covers, for example, for mattresses that are impervious to bedbugs. Putting one on your mattress won't get rid of the bedbugs, but it will trap the ones already inside and prevent others from coming in. That means the ones inside will gradually (very gradually) starve and die -- and those on the outside cannot get it, which means that you will be able to vacuum them off the outside.
Bedding can be bagged and run through a dryer for about 20 minutes on hot, which will kill any bedbugs and eggs on them.
This is separate from extermination efforts (spraying, etc.) - but they complement them and mean that you don't have to replace your mattresses, bedding, etc. It doesn't help with the bedframes - but some frames are easier to clean than others.
citation: family member lived with bedbugs for ~2 years, managing and eventually getting rid of them without moving. They did eliminate all their other soft furniture (couches, chairs) - and it wasn't easy (especially as they also had a child). They had just inherited a lot of excess bedding (sheets, etc.), so they changed the sheets daily - stripped the beds and throwing it all into a big clear plastic bag - and washed it all at the end of the week; quilts were just dried, I think.
posted by jb at 8:37 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
There are covers, for example, for mattresses that are impervious to bedbugs. Putting one on your mattress won't get rid of the bedbugs, but it will trap the ones already inside and prevent others from coming in. That means the ones inside will gradually (very gradually) starve and die -- and those on the outside cannot get it, which means that you will be able to vacuum them off the outside.
Bedding can be bagged and run through a dryer for about 20 minutes on hot, which will kill any bedbugs and eggs on them.
This is separate from extermination efforts (spraying, etc.) - but they complement them and mean that you don't have to replace your mattresses, bedding, etc. It doesn't help with the bedframes - but some frames are easier to clean than others.
citation: family member lived with bedbugs for ~2 years, managing and eventually getting rid of them without moving. They did eliminate all their other soft furniture (couches, chairs) - and it wasn't easy (especially as they also had a child). They had just inherited a lot of excess bedding (sheets, etc.), so they changed the sheets daily - stripped the beds and throwing it all into a big clear plastic bag - and washed it all at the end of the week; quilts were just dried, I think.
posted by jb at 8:37 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. There are some pretty good new treatments on the market that you can ask the pest control professional about. Aprehend is a new-ish biologic agent that is a bed bug-attacking fungus that's very effective that the bugs have no resistance to, and Crossfire is a reinvigoration of some older technologies that are more effective against resistant straints.
Get a professional immediately. Do not try any foggers or DIY solutions. Don't sleep in a different area. You want to keep the infestation as local as possible and all those other things just disperse the problem and make it harder to treat in the end.
posted by hwyengr at 8:39 AM on April 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
Get a professional immediately. Do not try any foggers or DIY solutions. Don't sleep in a different area. You want to keep the infestation as local as possible and all those other things just disperse the problem and make it harder to treat in the end.
posted by hwyengr at 8:39 AM on April 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
Yep that’s a bedbug.
Definitely bring in a professional, but also don’t panic — one single bedbug does not an infestation make. I found a single bedbug on my bed once, called my landlord who called the exterminators, he did all the usual treatments but said he didn’t see any sign of an infestation, I washed all my bedding on hot just to be safe, and never had any further issues. Most likely it’ll be ok!
posted by mekily at 10:11 AM on April 22, 2021 [8 favorites]
Definitely bring in a professional, but also don’t panic — one single bedbug does not an infestation make. I found a single bedbug on my bed once, called my landlord who called the exterminators, he did all the usual treatments but said he didn’t see any sign of an infestation, I washed all my bedding on hot just to be safe, and never had any further issues. Most likely it’ll be ok!
posted by mekily at 10:11 AM on April 22, 2021 [8 favorites]
I am an entomologist. Yes.
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:29 AM on April 22, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 10:29 AM on April 22, 2021 [11 favorites]
Another hopeful comment-- when we moved into an apartment that was truly infested with bedbugs, we knew, like, immediately. The place had been vacant for a few months and they *descended* on us. So I think if you are only having issues now, six weeks in, that's a very good sign.
Getting rid of the bedbugs when it was a serious infestation was misery, but a couple years ago (a few apartments later), we found a single bedbug and it took one very easy visit from the exterminator and we never saw any signs of them again. Don't read the horror stories.
posted by geegollygosh at 10:50 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Getting rid of the bedbugs when it was a serious infestation was misery, but a couple years ago (a few apartments later), we found a single bedbug and it took one very easy visit from the exterminator and we never saw any signs of them again. Don't read the horror stories.
posted by geegollygosh at 10:50 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Thoroughly examine your bed and furniture near it. Bedbugs can flatten their bodies and they live in the joints of wooden furniture.
I had a major infestation and diatomaceous earth solved it pretty cheaply and quickly. They die within hours of coming into contact with it.
posted by mani at 12:00 PM on April 22, 2021
I had a major infestation and diatomaceous earth solved it pretty cheaply and quickly. They die within hours of coming into contact with it.
posted by mani at 12:00 PM on April 22, 2021
Just another "Yes this is a bedbug" comment, but also, this is a great pic and I am going to bookmark it as an example to show to otherswho ask the same question.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:04 PM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:04 PM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I got the heebie jeebies just clicking it. Yuk and yup. That's the little bastard
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 2:38 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 2:38 AM on April 24, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pipeski at 8:25 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]