text:
Thomas A. Sykes represented Nashville in the 42nd Tennessee General Assembly (1881-1882), but few Middle Tennesseans would recognize his name today. His story echoes the experiences of many successful African Americans during the 19th century – he climbed from obscurity to political prominence in a few short years, only to disappear from public view as Southern legislatures slammed shut the window of opportunity for black citizens, stripping them of voting rights and other liberties for many decades.
Early years in North Carolina
Thomas Sykes, who would become one of Nashville's most powerful and respected African American political leaders during the final decades of the 19th century, began his life as a slave in North Carolina between 1835 and 1840. In an 1882 article in the Daily American (reprinted from the Washington Republican), Sykes reflected on his early years:
While [he was] a slave, a little girl, one Sunday, asked him to get her a watermellon [sic]. He proposed that she should teach him the alphabet, and he would pay her a sixpence for her services. After toiling through that sum- mer Sunday afternoon, at night he found himself master of those magical letters. The shop where he worked as a cabinet maker was near his master's house. Through a hole in the shop that he made by punching out a knot he could command a view of his master sitting at his meals. With one eye on the knothole and the other on his book, he prosecuted his early studies.
The 1870 census described Sykes as a 35-year-old mulatto male, born in North Carolina, and living in Pasquotank County, on the state's northeastern coastal plain. The entry listed his occupation as "Representative" and recorded the value of his personal property as $1,000, a considerable amount for the period. The Pasquotank County Board of County Commissioners had mentioned "T. Sykes' Work-shop" in an 1868 document, so, as Ballou suggests, Thomas may have operated a "mechanical or carpentry shop" prior to his legislative service. His family at this time included wife Martha (27), "keeping house"; Jane Sykes (59), Thomas's widowed mother, also "keeping house"; and two young daughters, C. J. (age 10) and E. C. (three months). The record declared that the family members other than Jane "cannot read" and "cannot write." That statement seems improbable since Thomas, who claimed to have learned to read during slavery, was serving in the state House of Representatives, had written several pieces of legislation, and soon became a customs officer responsible for inspecting and weighing shipping containers and maintaining tax records. Furthermore, he was a nationally respected speaker. Several examples of his elegant prose have survived – there is no question that he was well educated. Pasquotank's proximity to shipping routes suggests that Thomas may already have been working for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the federal agency that would shortly bring him to Tennessee.
Political activities in North Carolina
T. A. Sykes was a member of the first Republican state convention in North Carolina, and he served as a member of the State Executive Committee of the Republican party from its inception until his move to Tennessee.
According to several 1869 news articles in the North Carolinian, a Pasquotank County newspaper, Sykes played an active role in the political schemes of both county and district politics during the Constitutional Convention. The Convention set standards for election: each candidate for one of the 120 seats in the legislature had to meet a number of conditions, including being a qualified elector and a resident of his county for at least one year. Some members had wanted to keep the name, "House of Commons," for the legislative body, but the majority chose to call it the General Assembly.
According to North Carolina historian Leonard E. Ballou, Sykes was elected to five one-year terms in the North Carolina legislature – July-August 1868 (first taking his seat on July 1, 1868), 1868-1869, 1869-1870, 1870-1871, and 1871-1872. In fact, 1868 was the year the first African Americans were elected to the state Assembly – 15 Representatives and 2 Senators. In a startling parallel to similar events in Tennessee history, after Democrats took back power in the early 1890s, no African American was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly until Democrat Henry Frye won a seat in 1968.
Sykes was appointed to three legislative committees: the joint committee on "removal of disabilities from citizens of North Carolina," which monitored Congressional limitations imposed on former Confederates running for political office; the committee on privileges and elections; and the joint committee on public buildings and grounds. Thomas Sykes also introduced a number of bills, several of which became law. Perhaps his most memorable moment in office, however, occurred on his second day, when the House voted 82-19 to approve the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Senate followed suit the same afternoon, voting 35-2 for approval.
In February of 1872 Sykes was one of several political leaders from across the country who addressed "a mass meeting of colored citizens" at Union League Hall in Washington, D.C. Those present passed several resolutions thanking politicians who had supported equal rights and demanding bills "like unto the one presented by the Hon. Charles Sumner in the Senate, designed to protect us from outrage and insult by common carriers, in inns, in common schools, and in courts of justice," and other legislation intended to protect the civil rights of all Americans, black and white. The bill introduced by Senator Sumner was one of the first efforts to strike down the various Jim Crow laws. African American legislators in general assemblies across the South would present similar bills for years in a fruitless attempt to remove such restrictive legislation, including Tennessee's Chapter 130 (1875). The assembly in Washington, D.C., marked Thomas Sykes's first appearance on the national stage.
Sykes's name appeared on the March 20, 1872, Pasquotank loyalty declaration of one James A. Woodard, who stated, "that he did not voluntarily serve in the Confederate army or navy, either as an officer, soldier, or sailor, or in any other capacity, at any time during the late rebellion; that he never voluntarily furnished any stores, supplies, or other material aid to said Confederate army or navy, or to the Confederate government, or to any officer, department of adherent of the same to support thereof, and that he never voluntarily accepted or exercised the functions of any office whatsoever under, or yielded voluntary support to, the said Confederate government." The two witnesses attesting to Woodard's loyalty were William E. Bond, Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, and Thomas A. Sykes, Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina. In June Sykes's name appeared on a list of representatives to the 1872 Republican National Convention, which nominated Grant for a second term, with Henry Wilson of Massachusetts as Vice President.
The move to Nashville and an Internal Revenue post
In late 1872 Sykes moved his household to Nashville. On December 19 he opened an account with the Freedman's Bank, his application providing quite a bit of information about his family. Born in North Carolina, he was the son of Armistead and Jane Sykes. He and his wife Martha had two daughters, Mary and Emma. His residence that year was at the Harding House, a boarding house owned by Sampson Keeble.
Sources say Sykes came to Tennessee "with high revenue officials" to work as an Internal Revenue collector. At least twice he was elected or appointed to terms as a "gauger," the title given to a revenue officer who inspected the contents of casks or bulk goods in order to determine duty. He and fellow Nashvillian James Napier, who eventually became a federal official, traded the job back and forth over a period of several years; the position was still held by an African American named Manson as late as 1890. Any position working with scales or other scientific instruments during that period was considered highly sophisticated work, so Sykes must have been fairly well educated in order even to qualify for the job. He also, along with former state representative Sampson W. Keeble, Tennessee's first black legislator (1873), held the post of Davidson County magistrate for several years at the end of the 1870s.
The name of Thomas Sykes first appeared in the Nashville city directory in 1873, the same year Sampson Keeble represented Davidson County in the Tennessee House. The entry identified Sykes as an assistant assessor for the Internal Revenue Service at 67½ North Cherry (today's 4th Avenue). He was still boarding at Harding House, managed during that period by Keeble himself. Harding House was located at 166 Cherry Street, where the Ryman Auditorium would spring up in 1892. Directory entries from this period did not list family members, so we cannot tell who was living with Thomas in Nashville; his own name did not appear again until 1877, although the dearth of directory entries does not mean he had left the city – it is not uncommon to find gaps in the entries from year to year.
Active in local politics
During the 1870s Thomas Sykes began to take an active role in local politics. Among other things, he was a Davidson County delegate to the 1875 State Colored Men's Convention, where this emergent voting bloc developed its political voice and shaped its vision. Sykes was also involved in a reform movement against Thomas A. Kercheval's Republican political machine. (Kercheval was mayor of Nashville in the years 1871-1874, 1875-1883, and 1886-1888.) Sykes and other black leaders, including city councilman James C. Napier, preacher George W. Bryant, and attorney William H. Young, allied themselves with white reformers to elect a slate of candidates that would eventually break the grip of the Kercheval organization on local politics. The coalition made significant progress, seeing many of their number elected to office and increasing the number of African American workers in a variety of city jobs, from construction workers to fire captains. Sykes himself was elected a member of the county court. Praising the gains made by the reform government, Sykes told the Nashville American the new administration was "the best form of city government we have ever had. . . . The colored man who would go back on all that ought to hold his head down in shame." In his book Race Relations in the Urban South, 1865-1890, Howard Rabinowitz calls Sykes and J. C. Napier "Nashville's two most important black politicians," but points out that the two were constantly at odds, probably because of their ongoing competition for the few patronage positions available to African Americans in a political world still strongly controlled by whites.
On September 19, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), making the first presidential visit to the South since the Civil War, arrived in Nashville to lay the cornerstone of the new Customs House. The building, still a Broadway landmark today, opened in 1882. (Hayes, who was a strong advocate of education, made many trips to Nashville after his single term in office, working with the State Board of Education and the Peabody Fund to help develop higher education in the South for both black and white students.) Sykes was one of the prominent African Americans invited to a reception for Hayes during the dedication of the new building. The Customs House would eventually become the home of the Revenue Department.
In 1877 Thomas Sykes was still working as a "U.S. Gauger," living on West Church Street (10th District). That year's city directory was the first to identify African American citizens with a (c) for "colored." Sykes's entry in the 1878 Marshall & Bruce Directory reads, "Sykes Thomas A, (c) (Bosley & Sykes,) H Harding Pike 1½ miles," and the listing for the firm says, "Bosley & Sykes, (J.B. Bosley & T A Sykes) Henry Harding agent, house furnishing goods 116 N Cherry." Sykes apparently continued to work at his old Revenue position at the same time. The 1878 entry in Tavel, Eastman, & Howe, a competing directory, reads, "Sykes Thomas A., c (Bosley & Sykes) and U.S. gauger, r Church, 13th District. J. B. Bosley himself was involved in politics. He was the Greenback Party candidate for state representative in 1880 and continued to be active in local politics for many years. By the time of the 1880 census Thomas A. Sykes, 45, was head of a household on State Street in Nashville. [The Nashville City Directory for that year said his home was "Church nr Douglass av.] The census gave his marital status as "married," although his family was not living with him – a young black couple in their 20s boarded in the house: Thomas Underwood was a saloonkeeper, and his wife Elizabeth was listed as housekeeper, perhaps for the entire residence. There is no mention of Martha and the girls after the move to Nashville. City death records list a Martha E. Sykes, October 4, 1880, in Nashville's Seventh Ward, but the entry states that she was white. A Jane Sykes, possibly Thomas's mother but also identified as white, died on November 16, 1882. By 1885 Thomas was married to schoolteacher Viola Hoyt.
Election to the Tennessee General Assembly
The decade of the 1880s ushered in a busy and productive time for African Americans in Davidson County. In September 1880 Sykes was a delegate to the Republican National Convention; two months later he was elected to the 42nd General Assembly, representing Davidson County. The only African American elected that term from a county in which the white population exceeded the black, he carried all the Negro wards. However, the fact that he received many fewer votes than other Republicans on the ballot indicated that reluctant white voters must have crossed out his name. A Banner editor took these voters to task in a scathing editorial: "Colored men would do well to note the fact that Sykes, one of the representatives-elect on the Republican ticket, fell behind over one hundred votes. Sykes has been for many years a gauger under governmental appointment, bears an excellent character, is a fluent speaker, and gentlemanly in his bearing, but the few white Republicans scratched him. They could never get into power except by Negro votes, but cannot condescend to vote for the colored man. Will the colored race ever open their eyes to the hypocrisy practiced upon them?"
During the 42nd legislative session, Sykes introduced five important bills. His effort to repeal Chapter 130 of the Acts of 1875 was the first of four attempts by black legislators to overturn a Jim Crow law allowing discrimination by hotels, railroads, and theaters. The bill failed, was briefly revived, and failed a second time, even though it received a simple (although not constitutional) majority. Sykes and his fellow black legislators (Boyd, Cassels, and Norris) promptly presented a formal complaint, calling Chapter 130 "A palpable violation of the spirit, genius and letter of our system of free government." Sykes's next bill, recommending that the state build a penitentiary in West Tennessee, was amended to the point of becoming unrecognizable. In the end he voted against it himself. When this patchwork bill passed its third reading by a vote of 41-20, Sykes himself pleaded (unsuccessfully) for the vote to be reconsidered. His third bill, admitting black students into the School for the Blind in Nashville and the School for the Deaf and Dumb in Knoxville, to be housed in segregated facilities, passed 59-1, even though the Civil Rights Act of 1875, still in force, made such segregation illegal. Despite their opposition to segregation in transportation and public facilities, black leaders rarely challenged the traditional segregation of educational or medical institutions, evidently preferring separate (and often inferior) facilities to none at all – all four African Americans voted in favor of this bill. Sykes's two other bills, to ban discrimination against blacks in jury selection and to admit black students to the University of Tennessee, were tabled in committee and never came to a vote.
In 1878 T. A. Sykes and S. W. Keeble were two of four African American magistrates listed in the Nashville city directory, Sykes serving the Tenth District, and Keeble, along with R. L. Knowles, in the First; William A. Hadley also served as a magistrate, for the Thirteenth District.
State and local politics and temperance activities
Sykes did not pursue a second term in the General Assembly, although he continued to play a leading role in Nashville political and social life. In the 1882 city directory, Thomas Sykes (c), living at 730 Church, was working as a porter. He attended the 1884 Tennessee Convention, at which, as the New York Globe wrote on March 15, "Most of the prominent colored men of the State were present," including his fellow legislators Thomas F. Cassels (elected chairman of the convention), Samuel A. McElwee (elected secretary), and Isham F. Norris. The group issued a number of resolutions on various issues, including jury selection, lynching, and persistent prejudice against blacks.
An 1885 news article described Sykes as "one of the most highly educated and refined colored men we know," as well as "a very conservative and practical man." He delivered a speech in Franklin urging his fellow African Americans to "aspire to and attain higher ends and accomplishments . . . [to] educate themselves and their children, procure homes and beautify them and make them comfortable, accumulate property, cultivate good manners and most kindly feelings with the white race, . . . to be law-abiding and virtuous, and thus raise themselves to the place of higher respectability and citizenship."
Another news article from the same year reported on a lecture, "The Progress of the Negro Race," which Sykes had delivered to a mixed audience in Murfreesboro. The speech, over-flowing with statistics, was described as "elegant" and characterized by "simplicity and hard, common-sense truths." The report went on:
He showed that the negroes had made rapid progress during his twenty years of existence as a freeman both politically, educationally, and in the acquisition of wealth and property, as the statistics, as quoted by him, will prove. He states that there are in attendance at the public schools in the South 883,282 colored children, of these, 62,343 attend the public schools of Tennessee. That 1,000,000 negroes have learned to read and write since the war. That there are in the Methodist and Baptist Churches, alone, of the United States, 2,000,000 Negro members. As a proof of their financial growth, he stated the negroes in this country own 500,000 acres of land. . . . that they are indebted to no party for the immunities which they as citizens enjoy. For these rights they have paid dearly with their blood, and it is to their interest to so vote that these rights be eternally preserved, let it be for Republican or Democrat.
Sykes was quite prominent in the Temperance movement, serving on the State Temperance Executive Committee and receiving frequent invitations to speak to both black and white audiences on the subject. He joined J. C. Napier, Henry Harding, and S. R. Harding in an 1883 meeting of the Committee on Resolutions called to pursue the hiring of black teachers in the city schools. He was a guest at an 1885 banquet for educator, attorney, and future Virginia Congressman John Mercer Langston, and he was described as one of "the elite of colored society," invited to events all over the city. His name frequently appeared in the paper as an "eloquent" guest speaker at events throughout the state, often in the cause of temperance, and he and his wife Viola, née Hoyt, a teacher at the McKee School, could be found on the social pages with great frequency. In 1886 they hosted the Honorable John Mercer Langston at a banquet in their Church Street home. Viola H. Sykes had her own listing in the Nashville City Directory that year.
The Tennessee Industrial School
By 1887 he had been named Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Colored Department of the new Tennessee Industrial School in Nashville, having been described as "the leading spirit" in the movement to establish a school of this type in Nashville. The school, conceived by Judge John C. Ferris in the wake of the 1873 cholera epidemic that orphaned scores of children, was built with the help of railroad tycoon Col. Edmund W. ("King") Cole and others. Some of the leading African American residents of Nashville supported the school: Samuel A. McElwee, J. C. Napier, Dr. R. H. Boyd, Dr. Evans Tyree, Preston Taylor, and others. Originally called the Randall Cole Industrial School in honor of Cole's son, who had died in a railroad accident, it was soon renamed the Tennessee Industrial School, established "for the benefit of orphan, helpless and wayward children." The school opened on April 22, 1887, with 14 white and three black children, aged 8-19, and it filled rapidly. Most of the children (boys only, at first, but girls were admitted later) were orphans or the children of single parents. As Tyree says, "The children of the white and colored races who were committed to the institution were to be kept entirely separate and apart from each other in every way, and they were not to be associated together on any pretense whatever. . . . The problems arising from the segregation of the races pointed out the impracticability, and the department for colored children was soon discontinued." Sykes's contribution to the 1888 Biennial Report to the Board was unexpectedly affectionate:
As you know, gentlemen, the boys who are brought to this department are, with a very few exceptions, taken from among the less fortunate of the race, children who, from their earliest childhood, have had no moral training, have never known the meaning of the word home. The street has ever been the dearest spot on earth to them. One would naturally suppose that children who had come up under such influences as these would be vicious & hard to controll [sic]. But not so. These boys are from the first obedient, very tractable, respectful to their superiors, & as easily influenced for good as they were for bad. They seldom quarrel with each other, and rarely ever do we find it necessary to punish one for fighting. They love school, learn remarkably fast, and there is nothing they like so well as being read to. . . . The children go to bed early & get up early; eat as much wholesome food as they need; study, work, & have sufficient time in which to play. They are, therefore, robust & healthy. A remarkable fact is that we have never had a serious case of sickness among our boys. The children have learned to cook, wash, iron, & sew, also to farm and garden. They do all their own work, and do it cheerfully and well.
Later years
After the last black legislators ended their terms in 1888, lawmakers began to produce a series of laws intended to eradicate as many as possible of the gains made by African Americans during and after Reconstruction. The final City Directory entries for Thomas Sykes appear in 1890 and 1893. According to the first, he and his wife Viola H., a teacher, were living at 1901 Church Street. This is the first record of a spouse since first wife Martha's name appeared in the 1870 census. It is not known whether Sykes married Viola in North Carolina or Tennessee – no Tennessee marriage records have been located. He was working at the Customs House, although his occupation was not specified. Viola was listed as a teacher at the Meigs School (1888-89) and the Granny White Pike School (1890-91). An 1887 news note in the Cleveland (Ohio) Gazette said, "Mrs. Sykes is a teacher in the high school at Nashville. She is an accomplished lady, a fine singer, and will take a part in the farewell concert to 'Old Mt. Zion' the 18th and 19th."
Sykes's career after 1890 may be viewed as an unsettling illustration of the effects of the Jim Crow laws on the lives of Southern blacks. The 46th General Assembly, in the first all-white session in eight years, passed four disfranchising laws that effectively silenced black political voices in Tennessee. In 1890 a political pundit, writing in the Nashville Daily American, made a joke of the fact that former State Representative Thomas A. Sykes, ten years after his election to the Tennessee General Assembly, had been demoted to elevator operator in the same Federal Customs House where he had once held a privileged federal position. A January 1891 article in the Freeman said he was "in the North appealing to the people for aid in establishing an industrial school in Tennessee. Perhaps, having seen the widespread need for homes and training for black youth, and disappointed by their second-class status at the Tennessee Industrial School, he wanted to open a facility exclusively for African American children.
A few months later (April 24, 1891), Davidson County Court records show that Sykes had filed a petition for divorce from Viola. The case was intensely hostile and very public. He sued her for adultery; she countersued, accusing him of abuse. The court agreed with her:
Upon the pleadings and the proof introduced on the hearing ... it appeared to the Court that defendant [Thomas] has failed to prove the allegations of his cross-bill, and the same is dismissed. And it is further appearing to the Court that the allegations in complainant's bill are true, and that the defendant has been guilty of such cruelty and such indignities towards the Complainant as to render it improper and unsafe for her to longer cohabit with him, and to remain under his dominion and control. It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court that the bonds of matrimony subsisting between Complainant and Defendant be dissolved and that Complt. be restored to her maiden name Viola E. Hoyt.
An 1891 enumeration of male voters in Tennessee lists "Sykes, T. A.," Davidson County Ninth Ward, age 52, colored. The 1893 City Directory showed Thomas Sykes to be living alone in a Nashville boarding house. In September 1899 a Freeman article described the two-year-old Orphanage Industrial School and Old Folk Home of Tennessee and listed its managers, who included the most important African American businessmen, attorneys, publishers and educators in Nashville: J. C. Napier, S. A. McElwee, Dr. H. F. Noel, Dr. R. H. Boyd, Dr. Evans Tyree, Dr. Preston Taylor, and many others. The name of Thomas Sykes did not appear.
Since the name of Thomas Sykes cannot be found in Nashville death records, there is some possibility that he may have moved back to North Carolina during the late 1890s. A 1918 article in the Charlotte Observer referring to a Knights of Pythias convention in Wilmington lists a "T. A. Sykes" among those attending from Charlotte. KBL 11/06/2012


text:
Bed Bug Images
Bed bug images: photos of bed bugs and evidence of their presence: eggs, fecal stains, and shed skins (cast skins)
You can click many of the bed bug photos below and you will be taken to the flickr page. Click "all sizes" and then "large" to get the best view.
If you think you are suffering from bed bug bites, or if you have seen a strange bug or other signs, these bed bug images below will help you determine if you have them. (Remember also that other problems can look like bed bug bites, so be sure and rule those out. See this FAQ if you need help detecting bed bugs.)
Obviously, you might find the bugs themselves! They can look vastly different based on life stage (there are 5 nymph stages and one adult stage) and whether they've fed recently or not. For reference, see the following bed bug life cycle image:
This bed bug life cycle photo from Stephen L. Doggett, posted with his permission, also shows the difference between the just-fed adult (top, elongated), and the not-just-fed adult next to it on the right:
Here are some amazing photos of bedbugs feeding, including adults and nymphs (from L. Sorkin and R. Mercurio.)
Unfed first instar nymph (approx. 1 mm or 1/32″ long; taken by Sorkin and Mercurio, American Museum of Natural History):
After the bed bug bites someone and feeds for the first time, it turns red. This is the same first instar once it has fully fed (it will be larger now; taken by Sorkin and Mercurio, American Museum of Natural History):
To get an idea of the size, this is a 1st instar nymph feeding on Lou Sorkin's finger. You can see them, but they are small:
Nymph photo from OfAlltheBeds:
More advanced instars and adults are reddish brown or brown.
Bassommeijer's photo of an Argentinian adult bed bug in a book:
Waiting in Manhattan's photo of an adult bed bug:
Several people have mistaken booklice for bed bug nymphs. Click here to see a comparison.
Other signs of bed bugs:
Shed skins: bed bugs shed their skin each time they grow. So you might find shed skins (also known as cast skins) from a 1st instar nymph or a 5th instar nymph and the size will vary a great deal.
This FAQ has close images of bed bug shed skins from Lou Sorkin: What do bed bug shed skins look like?
This FAQ has images comparing bed bug cast skins to those of German cockroach, dermestid beetle larvae, and a carpet beetle, as well as comparing bed bug cast skins from nymphs of various stages: What do bed bug cast skins look like?
This forum post has links to images of bed bug fecal stains on a whole range of surfaces: Bed Bug Fecal Stains Photo Gallery.
This is a cast skin (from Wikipedia).
This is a cast skin sitting on S's arm when she tested her sensitivity to one. Note, it looks a lot like an actual bed bug.
Click here to see a photo of bed bugs on a mattress (from reader lincolnland).
Click here to see a series of detailed photos by Lou Sorkin of bed bugs harboring in and on a box spring, bed frame, and headboard.
The following bed bug images can be enlarged for better viewing. Click on any of them, and you will be taken to the flickr page. Then click "all sizes" and then "large" to get the best view.
You might find blood stains on bed sheets or clothing you wear to bed. They can be as small as pinpricks or think streaks, or larger spotches (where a bug was squished or where a lot of blood was lost). Blood stains are not definitive signs since they can happen without bed bugs present.
If you think you have fecal stains, which are indicative of bed bugs, you can test these using a new product called Bed Bug Blue. Read this FAQ for more on Bed Bug Blue. Or view or purchase this product on Bed Bug Supply.
This is an example, Lou Sorkin's photo of a blood stain:
Originally uploaded by louento.pix
Remember, blood stains are not confirming of bed bugs.
Lou Sorkin's photo of a chair with nymphs, eggs, and fecal spots:
close up of lounge chair staples
Originally uploaded by louento.pix
Click the photo to get all sizes of the photo, and then select "large" for the best view.
Those are large furniture staples on a lounge chair. The eggs are 1/32 inch long.
Tape with bed bugs, bed bug eggs, and fecal spots, removed from a mattress (credit: Lou Sorkin):
Originally uploaded by louento.pix.
Photos of fecal stains on a hotel headboard and hotel mattress here.
See Lou's image of bed bug eggs on a colorful background here.
Lou Sorkin's image of "3 shed skins of 5th instar bed bug nymphs", used under a Creative Commons license. As you can see, bed bug shed skins (exuviae, also sometimes called "cast skins") look very much like bed bugs.
Bed bugs with fecal stains (credit: Lou Sorkin):
Originally uploaded by louento.pix.
Click on photo, then "All sizes," then "Large" for the full glory of the bugs, eggs (full and hatched) and feces.
See also Lou's series of photos of 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar nymph bed bugs, showing the relative size of the bugs, their waste and exuviae (cast skins).
Click here to see bed bug images on a popcorn ceiling, underneath wooden furniture, on a wooden screw, under a sofa, and a nest behind wooden trim (all courtesy of reader Angie). Thanks Angie!
Click here for all entries on Bedbugger tagged "photos of bed bugs" (including bugs, nymphs, eggs, feces, etc.) Note: you have to click each individual title to see the photos.
All Rights Reserved by the photographers.
Thanks to Lou Sorkin & Randy Mercurio of the AMNH, S., Bassommeijer, and Waiting in Manhattan, for allowing us access to these bed bug images which I am sure will help so many to find and identify the presence of these nasty pests in their homes.
Comments for this page are now closed. Please post a message on our Bedbugger Forums if you have questions or need support. If you have suggestions or want to share your bed bug images, please contact me.
Disclosure: shopping via our links and banners for Bed Bug Supply above helps support the site at no additional cost to you. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more.
Last updated 1/2019.
- 1 November 24, 2007 at 7:41 am
Your website is a godsend! We are currently going through a bedbug infestation. All this time we thought it was fleas. It's been about two months that this has been going on. We might have picked up the pest in school. You cannot imagine what kind of psychological and physical dilemma this has brought us. Right now we are all covered in nasty red inflammations from the bites.
There was one time I noticed something on my right wrist – a very minute, red crawling creature. I didn't know that was a bedbug which was already fat from feeding. I squashed it, but I'm afraid that didn't get rid of the greater problem. I hope and I pray that we get this resolved ASAP!
- 3 November 29, 2007 at 1:05 am
This is the second time i am trying to clear the bugs from my room. I've change my mattress and pillows when it striked for the first time, used insecticide, brushed off my bed and tried to use hot wax on the bed. waited for few weeks and sprayed insecticide before i bought a new mattress and pillows. After few months it strike again and it has been a dilemma for me since.
I change my bed sheet and pillow cases more often, check on the mattress and pillow before going to bed every nite. Started to iron my pillow and mattress. I think by ironing it helps alot but it needs lot of time and patient.
- 4 November 29, 2007 at 11:23 am
Self-treating is often insufficient, or worse, darling.
You should get professional pest control treatments and, if you live in a multi-unit building, inform the landlord so that your neighbors can also be inspected and treated if necessary.
In many or most jurisdictions the landlord is responsible for pest control services.
- 6 March 20, 2008 at 2:20 am
does anyone know what the jurisdiction regarding landlord responsibility for pests covers in new york? i discovered bedbugs in my newly leased apartment about a month ago. the landlord (or management agency, rather) sent a pest control person to spray, but threatened that they would only pay once and now the bugs are back (despite thorough cleaning, new mattress purchase, etc.)
- 7 March 20, 2008 at 7:56 am
we moved from east 10th last year, threw all furniture out, clothes cleaned for thousands. We now live on east 29th street with all new furniture and beds and the bug have reappeared. we are holding a sample in a bottle for inspection. what is our right as a tenant? is this a lease breaker. freaking out with bugs in my bed
- 9 March 20, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Does anyone know what responsibility a hotel has for letting their guests know they have a problem with bedbugs? We are currently staying at the Westgate Lake Resorts in Orlando on Turkey Lake Drive. This morning I noticed little bugs and even small blood stains on the bed.
I called to ask for a manager and the lady asked what this was in regards to, and I said a "Health Concern" as she was handing the phone to a manager, I heard her say another case of Bedbugs.
YUK!~ I am completely grossed out!
Should report this to someone?
- 11 March 21, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hey Deb,
As far as the hotel's responsibility is concerned, treatment is all they can do. I've stayed in numerous resorts and hotels throughout the country and all they can do is treat the areas affected.
Besides, bed bugs don't spread diseases. Mosquito bites are more dangerous, lol. There was pesticide that was used that would kill them off called DDT and that's been banned from the states (caused cancer).
ANYWAYS, when affected areas are treated properly by a licensed PCO (Pest Control Operator) which I'm sure they have, no real serious concern is present.
Also, I searched and found no repeat cases involving Westgate Resorts. In fact, they have numerous reviews by various websites on their superb level in cleanliness of rooms. So there is no real case.
So as long as they treat properly, you are okay!
- 13 March 23, 2008 at 1:05 pm
It wasn't much research because I am currently a timeshare owner and have experienced various properties throughout via the exchange program. Timeshare properties such as Westgate have extensive programs when it comes to cleanliness and maintenance of rooms. That is why I am able to comment securely based on my experiences. As a long term timeshare owner, I don't find it right to bad-mouth a specific property for a one time incident.
I'm sure there have been other instances, but lets be real, things happen even in the best places!
If I heard the comment, of course I would question! Now if the place I'm staying at make every effort to accomodate me, that is more than enough compensation for me or anybody.
You don't seem very convinced 'nobugsonme'. Either that, or we both have too much time on our hands to be back and forth on an online comment screen…
- 16 April 3, 2008 at 12:48 pm
When flying on Virgin Air in coach (the first time), we had bites on us by the time we landed! Now, WHENEVER I fly, I have a pump spray bottle of DEET which I use liberally on the seat, then put my heavy leather coat on the seat, THEN sit. I don't get bitten when I fly anymore!
I don't know if it was bedbugs or what, but they were definitely tiny biting bugs!
Here in L.A., the Housing Department or Department of Health will take calls if your apartment has any health and safety issues. Most apartments need to be sprayed or bombed for roaches and carpet beetles, but letting the manager know about bedbugs or any other pests will help the fumigators to select the right potion for your building!
Thanks for the photos, and this site. It's a major problem everywhere!
- 18 April 4, 2008 at 1:23 pm
thank you with you help, also can anyone tell me if the blood spots are eggs?
- 19 April 4, 2008 at 9:34 pm
OK we just got rid of bed bugs. they are irritating!!! I had bites everywhere!!!! and it itched!
- 21 April 5, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Just so you guys know, it is possible to feel bed bugs as they bite. I experiene this for about 95% of bites I get… I cannot sleep while they are biting me, as it is an annoying boring/ pain and incredible itching right after… If I am asleep I don't feel anything, but if I am awake I feel it right away… And yes, I do know it is bed bugs biting me, I have caught a few and identified them. I got sprayed on April 3rd, but I think I found either a dead one or a cast skin, I'm not sure, so I am afraid they are still mobile/ alive, some of them…. Will this nightmare never end????!!!!! I even got a few large swellings from two of the bites, some sort of reaction… (before the spraying) but I'm okay. Had to throw out most of my furniture, even my bed… replaced it, but I am afraid they may have gotten into the new one, it wasn't sealed well, and cat's claws make holes in plastic when they knead… tried to pad the mattress so this wouldn't happen, but not successful. Sigh… cannot afford a new bed, trying to keep this one… will get sprayed again around the 17th… Hopefully I will finally be rid of them!!! They are a nightmare!!! Can't have friends over, gotta worry about them getting into my clothes, getting bites and itching all the time, lost most of my furniture, can't go to work if they get into my clothes (If I do not have money for laundry…. being poor sucks!)…. GGGGRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
By the way, I have discovered that Vaseline is VERY good for relieving the itching. It takes a few minutes, but after that you will itch much less often. Also, the redness is not as harsh. It's also very good for eczema, better than cortisone I find.
On the plus side, once I FINALLY get rid of these BASTARDS, I can get some new furniture, get my carpet proffessionally cleaned, etc…. I deeply hope I get rid of them this time so I can get on with my life, including my social life…. sigh. Wish me luck!!! I wish you all good luck as well.
- 23 August 11, 2008 at 8:38 pm
duplicate comment deleted.
(burnthebugs, follow the link above, I replied there.)
- 24 August 27, 2008 at 12:30 pm
My family and i are traveling and I thought it was all the cats at my mothers house, but then when we stayed at a motel the next day my 3 year old son woke up with about 6 red bumps on his back. They kind of look like small mosquito bites. I know ring worms are a possibility, with the cats and everything, but I have had a breakout with them and that's not what they look like or feel like.
Then when we were cleaning up this morning I threw the top blanket on the bed and what did I find a brown recluse spider….I killed the spider and left in on the table in between the beds. The housekeepers never came by to clean this morning and now I am kind of confused on what to do. We did search for bed bugs too, because as I mentioned we looked through the beds to see if we could find anything.
I know its a brown recluse spider because i looked it up on the internet, however that is not what the bites look like. Both of my boys have bites on them, they are 3 years old and 1 year old. Me and my husband however do not have any bites.
What should I do?
- 25 August 31, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I disagree. This is definitely not evidence of a problem. Bed Bugs are a hitchhiking bug. They do not just show up because cleanliness is lacking. They can show up because they were on somebody's clothing. A hotels reputation for cleanliness should not be in jeopardy because of bed bugs for this reason.
- 26 September 5, 2008 at 3:27 am
Have just spent a night in Southern France and awoke around 1am having felt a strange itching sensation and something crawling in my back!
- 27 September 5, 2008 at 3:39 am
Southern France continued!
I switched on the light and discovered over 20 bugs of varying sizes under the pillows, in the sheets and behind the bed. I could only confirm that they were in fact "bed bugs" after returning home and investigating on-line. The hotel owner even had the cheek to suggest I may have brought them with me in my luggage!
The skin reaction to the bites took over 24hrs to develop and now I can count over 40 "welts" on my shoulders and back. I've been using "hydrocortisone" for 4 days now, but with minimal effect. Any suggestions? When will they subside?
I'm also very afraid that I may have brought them home with me, although, on arrival, I washed all clothing at a high temperature and checked my small suitcase thoroughly. I've noticed more bites/welts and discomfort over the past 3 days since my return, but am hoping they were there already and have only become more noticable and are not as a result of any bugs brought back!!
Apologies for my ramblings….just hope this problem is short-lived!
- 28 September 5, 2008 at 11:29 pm
It's a PITA, but you need to circle each bite before you go to bed. That's the only way you'll know if you are recieving new bites. Good luck. We did get rid of our bedbugs (after months of hell) – but I suggest dealing with it soon before they take over. (Now, I'm worried we're dealing with a NEW outbreak. I'm going to die if it is. Just jump off a building. I cannot deal with this again. Cannot.)
- 29 September 6, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I'm doing a thourough sweep of my apartment after my sister's discovery of an infestation at her house. So far, the most horrifying looking thing had been the inside of a forgotten slipper under the couch, which had tiny white things along the inside seams. Just now (as I continue to flip over and vacuum furniture), I found some kind of dessicated insect in a spider web under my bedroom bookshelf. It was in the company of a couple of dead ants and gnats and is a bit dusty so it's hard to see articulated legs or anything. It does look plausibly similar to the photo of the hungry adult, in that it's long & narrow. Could a spiderweb trap a bedbug??
I checked seams, moulding, screws light fixtures…& have not seen anything alarming in, under, or around our beds or the couch (excepting the slipper). I took down & apart the large mirror over the couch which had a little spot on it's backing that smeared like charcoal. Nothing inside.
Is this the part where I just clean more & keep looking, or are any of these signs obviously alarming? Photos are confusing, and though it's revolting, I'd appreciate a description of the tactile qualities (smeary? sticky? Hard? Stuck on serfaces or easily dislodged?) of poop/eggs etc. that would distinguish it from other household or insect debris (ie spider, termite, mite).
- 31 September 8, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Note that a 1978 National Cancer Institute report concluded that after two years of testing on several different strains of cancer-prone mice and rats—that DDT was not carcinogenic.
- 33 September 11, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I just found out about the bedbug, I'm renting this house for 3 months now. The estimator shown me that there was the bug painted over the wall, proved that the bug were here before I moved in. I want to sued the landlord because I will have to buy a new bed, new mattress and new couch. The estimator were here 3 times already but still bugs!!! They're schedule to come back for spray again but I don't feel like living here anymore and I won't take a risk bringing this furniture with me to the new place (even my clothes).
Since I have proved that the bugs were here, you think I would win, any comment?
- 34 September 14, 2008 at 7:36 pm
We've found the bugs in one room and lived with the whole house upside down for a month while being professionally treated. Then I found the bugs in the same room again. Now there are no mattresses left to check. Is there another way to look for the buggers? I need to know it is bug free before purchasing mattresses again.
- 35 September 14, 2008 at 9:18 pm
i've owned a rooming house for over 8 years never had a problem. This year I think we have bed bugs. We are only open 3 months out of the year, will the bed bugs die if the room are empty and closed up for 9 months or should I have them treated before I close up and winterize the house.
- 37 September 22, 2008 at 11:50 am
i am actually looking for a spsific kind of bug that happened to "attack" me in my truck. i don't know what it was, but it scared the bajeevers out of me. if you can respond, i can send pictures. thanks!
- 39 October 8, 2008 at 11:49 am
This is my first time on this website…but have been dealing with bed bugs for over a year, even after relocating specifically to get away from them which to no surprised they followed. After so long with having to deal with these little demons i pretty much got it down to where i only see like one a week. Now that they are sorta been managed im going in for the kill and fumigating the place to get rid of them once and for all. I'm not expert but i can give a little advice to those who seek it like i was when they first showed. Your matress, you should clean it thoroughly and do the best you can, then go to walmart or any store that sells a plastic casing that wraps around the bed with a zipper to lock in the stragglers. you can get a new mattress if you want but they're just going to reinfest it again. Buy the plastic casing, you wont regret it. If the base of your is wood, I say get rid of it and get a metal frame. Use double sided tape or petrolium jelly on the legs of your bed frame. You can also put the legs in glass jars with soapy water. IMPORTAN!!—-> keep your bed from touching the wall. I've done all this and i sleep like a baby every night cause of it. I still check my bed everynight though cause i dont trust them lol, but it seemed to do the trick. Now that your done with your sleeping situation take care of your house. Clean clean clean. I can't say that enough, take one day and clean every single crack and crevis. Your not going to get rid of all the bugs doing this, but its good to do it. Now…get some sort of plaster and cover up everysingle crack and crevis u can find. You may also want to use moth balls and place them around the house. you can definately do some damage to them with that. DO NOT clutter your home. This can be a good time for you to finally get rid of all the crap you've been hording all these years lol. I also suggest you do some research on them to see what else you can possibly do. You dont have to live with bed bugs….they're not paying rent. Be patient, research and keep your house clean and maybe one day you can get rid of them for GOOD. I know i will.
- 41 October 26, 2008 at 8:03 pm
omg……thousands of dollars and we thought we were rid of them. Two days ago i got bit again. i searched for them and found them in the cloth blinds behind my bed. here we go again. they can b anywhere!
- 44 November 6, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hello everyone, And wow! after experiencing both myself as well as my fiancee bedbugs for the first time, I am completely exhausted in every direction we go to eradicate the problem. We live in a small urban area in PA called Berwick. My fiancee applied for and was granted section 8. She then moved into her apartment. It wasn't but maybe a month before we had noticed the problem. Our Landlord, I'm not sure is being either helpful or doesn't understand the severity of this situation. When he was first informed of the problem, he became very upset with my fiancee stating " What have you done!!!" We were uncomfortably shocked.. Terminex, the pest control "PROFESSIONALS" have been to her apartment 5 times carrying around a little steam machine.
My fiancee had to show him around the apartment and what to spray and not spray. I'm confused I don't think that he knows what he's dealing with because, 4-5-6 months later the problem is still there. Later we had found out the upstairs tenants as well as the other 3 apartments are INFESTED!!! therefore relieving us from the burden of being accuses bedbug-bringers. We have to deal with a broken real estate company, Landlord, and Section 8 and she has paid rent all those months and they still require rent. We contacted Legal services just today to find out that there are legal issues etc. but said they don't have the time to "Coach" us through our problem. I read much useful information on this site and am much thankful for all the knowledge each of you have taught me about these little demons. But I am at the point were we my fiancee and myself are emotionally, Physically, and financially exhausted. If it wasn't for the building being an apartment complex I would treat it myself. Any Legal tips, advice, or direction through this depressing time would be greatly appreciated. And to everyone else out there going through this terrible crisis, remember never to give up.
- 46 November 13, 2008 at 12:19 am
WE ALL can agree that bedbugs could do the world better without even exisiting. Since halfway through the summer, my house that seemed to be impossible to have anything like this, did. the main source was my older brother who most likely brought them on him and in his clothes after coming back from jersey city and we live in jersey from work. he deal with apartments with problems in the bed. lately this guy has been really dirty, slobby room and showering hasnt been his thing why idk. But in the summer he stated he was getting bit and iwas getting bit, but it was bugbites not bedbugs. after a few weeks his mattress showed a huge amount of the black spots and totally ripped everything off the bed and his clothes off the ground. vaccumed it and washed everything with soap and a sponge. Once that happened, he bunked in my CLEAN room next door and i slept in the guest which i usually did adjacent to both. halfway into october of him bunking up and putting plastic on his bed, he brought a couple over in my bed, which then shot complete anger and depression ontop of my other problems. abandoned this room for a bit, and saw one major black spot and that was it. until finally i saw a few of these bugs took care of them and that was that. been a while since then and they still are in here somehow. been washing he sheets everytime i found one and vaccumed them away. now the bigger problem. the beg. of this montht hte guest room had a small baby and 1 -2 right on top. PARANOIA! now my brother starts sleeping in his bed again, plastic covered mattress and sheets back on, must re-abandon my room after sleeping on it a few weeks ago every night with no MAJOR problem, though i found bugs a few days ago. the guest room brings me huge paranoia but where else do i have to go? parents room seems to be the only good place left? i meen i gotta get rid of these. They are now in my couches, in my room and one in the guest room whcih i brought in for a party and threw the first one out because big ones crept all out the corner. just 1- mins ago isaw a mini one and vaccumed every corner of the new couch form the guestrm and floor in my room (thin air like always). if it were me, id clean it all out, throw away everything and buy new stuff. these thigns ruined my life and mind and BODY, rooms, and prob. my clothes who knows. any househole major thigns i can do to drvie them out in an instant and go vaccum,alcohol, and splatting crazy or anything to kill them off inside? u guys seem to feel my pain, im 16 and the cleanest in my house and every1 keeps assuring me they die off like in a snap, um they dont. they can hide out and live for months and months with no saviour. they dont know CRAP and try to school me when ive looked into helpful sites like this.
- 47 November 14, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I just heard that someone down the hall from me in my apartment complex has bedbugs! He's a new tenant, I think he moved here September, and we've already had all kinds of trouble with him (smoking inside, being generally creepy)! It's a heritage building so there are cracks in the walls and where plumbing and heating pipes pass through, but there were no problems before now.
I'm so worried now that they're in my suite! My neighbor who's beside the guy who brought them in is going to have an inspection, and I guess I'm next. This is an expensive building to live in, so I thought I would be safer than if I was in a welfare block!
Is there anything I can do to prevent them from getting in, or is it likely I already have them? My boyfriend's an entomologist (this isn't really his thing though) but I have to wait until tomorrow for him to come over. I'll check out the site and maybe look for them since I don't know what to look for, but I'm so grossed out. If they just treat that guy's apartment, will they end up spreading to mine?
The hallway has carpet but my suite doesn't; if he drags his stuff down the hall could I get them from the carpet?
Thanks for having this website. Sorry if I'm all over the place… I really just heard a minute ago and it's freaking me out a bit.
- 48 December 1, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I am SO sick of bedbugs, but they are indeed easy to get rid of and can be introduced at any time by visitors, overseas trips, etc. It also makes it bad when a resident doesn't tell anyone they have them out of embarrassment. However tenants should bear the entire cost and responsibility of exterminating those little things. As a landlord, try exterminating an entire building of 300+ units and getting cooperation from tenants to take responsibility is very difficult. In my hometown, an entire building of derelict freeloading tenants near our university expect the government to cut the cost and not take any responsibility?
The best landlords can do is to adopt policies re: move-ins/outs, i.e. requiring an extermination certificate for new move-ins, and requiring wrapping of mattresses and other furniture for move-outs, no second hand furniture, etc.
- 49 December 10, 2008 at 10:15 am
will some one please give me some advice it is driving me insane ,i have been getting bit now for about 2 months. to begin with it was just the odd one and then it became 10 and then even more i went to the doctors because had no idea what it was and they said it looked like bed bug bites . so that was it straight away i cleared my whole room of clutter and cleaned every where using bleach .but after reading some of the stuff on here i rang pest control any way and they couldnt fingd any evidence but because the doctor said it looked like bed bug bites he sprayed every where any way.I didnt get bit for 2 weeks then that was it about 10 bites and also my daughter in another room had bites to. at this stage i just wanted to run away it is horrible to go through this . i checked our beds for any evidence of them and found some orangy rusty coloured spots around the bed and on my pillow case. Can the spots of blood be this colour ? i also rand the pso and he had another look and again found nothing and said that the rusty spots were nothing so he said he didnt think we had then and to go back to the doctors. and of course the doctor said again they were bites.. ( aaaaaahhhhh )now i just wanna cry!!! i told the so and he said to observe the situation and get back to him! i was then bit about a week later and then my daughter was bit a week after that. i will just say though i have been going to bed with everything tucked in so they would be finding it hard to bite me lol but i then found a klittle red like bug and kpt it for the pso on tape and he said it wasnt a bed bug so i am still no niether to finding the truth could he be wrong ? is it bed bugs ? what else could it be ? and i found more rusty coloured spots HELP ME PLEASE !!!!!
- 50 December 22, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Not that I'm recommending it or anything, but you can go to Paris Pharmacy and buy a bottle of DDT for about $1.50; or used to be able to. They poured that stuff over millions in WWII and I haven't seen too many old people with 5 eyes and 2 heads.
- 52 December 22, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I used to find this type of thing annoying. But now I'm kinda touched by the innocence, you know?
- 54 December 23, 2008 at 2:20 am
hi i just wanted to ask what are the precaution if you get bite from the bed bugs
- 56 December 27, 2008 at 9:34 pm
i gat them darnd bed bugz from my cheatin whore of a cousin .howd i gat rida em?
- 57 December 27, 2008 at 9:35 pm
there every where hellllllllllllllllllp
- 59 January 3, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Hi there. Need some advice!
I just moved to France and have been in my apartment for 3 months. My apartment is old but in really good shape. I cleaned for days before I settled in. The one thing is that the matress was already there. It looked so new, really great mattress!
About 5-6weeks ago, I was bitten by something, just once, it was an itchy bite, almost like a mosquito. I didn't really worry about it.
I think maybe once or twice more, I've been a little itchy in bed. But never had any marks or anything. Lastnight though, I kept feeling things on my legs. I had to keep moving. I checked for bites but I don't have any but I do feel itchy from time to time (maybe I'm paranoid).
That's what brought me here to this website. I cleaned my whole room (I sleep in a mezzaine, old wooden beams etc, plenty of hiding places). I checked the seams of the mattres and found a dead bed bug, also found small bits of skin at below the front of the bed. I checked everywhere, and I can't find anymore.
So I have a few questions, if anyone could help me out I would be so grateful.
1. Wouldn't I be bitten a lot, like every night? Is a five/six week gap normal for bed bugs?
2. Could the bed bug I found have been there from ages ago?
3. And if I do have bed bugs, will I ever see them? (Tonight, I'm keeping a torch beside me!)
- 61 January 4, 2009 at 12:41 am
Okay this is my first ever dealing with bedbugs and I must say it's grossing me out completely. Where on earth do they come from? How do they manifest and how on earth do we get rid of them all? Thankfully or rather unfortunately I am having a severe allergic reaction to the bites from these little suckers and that is how we became aware of the fact that there were bugs or something in our bed. Please help us get rid of this pesty pests before it's too late. thank you.
- 62 January 4, 2009 at 4:04 am
Sorry for your bed bug troubles.
They are insects which spread easily. You may have picked them up somewhere (transportation, hotel, job, school, hospital, day care?) or they may have walked over to you from neighbors if you are in an attached home (apartment or row house, for example). Someone may have visited and brought them in, also.
You need an experienced professional to help you get rid of them. Our FAQs explain the basics (there's one on choosing a Pest Control Operator, and another on whether landlords are responsible for treatment).
After you read the FAQs, please come to the forums with any additional questions or for support. You will get through this.
- 63 January 4, 2009 at 5:40 pm
just got a bedbug problem it's really hard to track down how it started since I have been living in the apartment for a little over 2 years with no issues with bedbugs now starting about 4 weeks ago I have been waking up with bite marks maybe 2 or 3 they itch like crazy…
My job requires me that I have to be up around 1Am or so I get up and check the bed but I never see anything.. however this morning my mother got out of bed and saw one running away and managed to kill it leaving a stain.. as you know she is freaking out about it.. i checked my bed but I don't see any signs of them..
she has been spraying bug spray on the beds which I told her not to do because I need to sleep on them.. to prevent from getting so many bites on my legs I will sleep in long johns so they tend to bite on my neck or my wrists.
it's just horrible right now dealing with these things!
- 65 January 6, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I moved into an apartment a few months ago on a Saturday and Saturday night had to leave the apartment because we were bitten by bedbugs. Good news is that they cannot accuse me of bringing them in, as they were EVERYWHERE. Bad news is that I lost all of my things. The apartment complex and their pest control person (Home Paramount) assure me that my things are okay to move to the new apartment, minus the mattresses. I talked to two additional pest control guys and they said that I shouldn't take ANYTHING. My tv's, children's toys, etc. are all gone. The apartment complex refuses to pay and we are now in a lawsuit, but I am in a new apartment and trying to rebuild my life slowly. I am a single mom with 3 kids and can't afford to have this happen again. The apartment complex surprisingly enough will not give me a disclaimer if I transfer them to the new apartment, so it would be up to me to pay for treatments. Basically when I go to court, their guy will say that the stuff is fine and mine will say that it isn't. What do you suggest about the electronics, etc.? My things were in the apartment for about a month before they moved it all to a storage facility. Thanks for your input, and I would appreciate any information that you can give to me to help me in my search to regain my sanity and the lives of my kids.
- 66 January 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm
my husband hunts in south texas.They sleep in travel trailers that are broken in to by people crossing the border and he looks like he has been bitten by bed bugs. He thinks that just because they spray that the bugs are gone and he hasn't brought them home.I hope we don't get them.tell me what to do.
He also brought home seed ticks.we are battleing them to
maddening in texas
- 68 January 9, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I have never seen a bed bug up until recently. I purchased new beds for my children and about a month after I had the new(what I thought was new) matteress my daughter saw a bug while changing her sheets. As I looked around the mattres I saw more. I had called the company where I purchased the mattres from and explained the situation to them and thats when I found out that it was a reconditioned mattress. They did switch it out for me, but then I got it again on my sons mattress and when I told them that I was having the same problem again he wanted to see the bugs (which I put in a ziploc bag). I took the squished bugs and the cast skins to him and he said that I was full of s**t in my face and told me to get out of the store. So basically now Im stuck with bed bugs for the first time ever. I put a mattress cover over both of the beds but I am scared that they are going to bite my children. They haven't bitten them yet. I don't know what to do. Please help if any advice. I recommened to ANYONE who is buying new mattresses to make sure that they are not reconditioned. I never again will make that mistake. But then again I will not be shopping at CAROLINA FURNITURE in HUDSON, FLORIDA again.
- 70 January 15, 2009 at 5:33 pm
The management of my building informed me they needed to have an exterminator come in and do some precautionary bedbug treatment, because one of my neighbors has them. They wouldn't tell me who, but I think it's above , because I heard all this furniture moving right before the exterminator came to treat my apartment.
He used a powder and put it in all the outlets of the apartment. (Except the bathroom and kitchen for some reason.) He said that my neighbor no longer has them.
After he left, I started researching bed bugs and I'm freaking out! I keep reading if your neighbor has them then you will. And, they can not get rid of in one treatment, in which the exterminator claimed he did. (I'm assuming it was one treatment, because he did all of our apartments at the same time.)
What do I do? Are the outlets the only way they can enter from above? How about the heaters? Every night I've been putting basil and lavender oil around my front door. Do I call my own exterminator in? Should I buy some treatment and put it around the apartment? I read the reviews for the DE and people said it was ineffective? What's the best bed bug killer? My boyfriend thinks I've gone crazy. HELP!!!
- 72 January 16, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hi. We were at a hotel about 3 or 4 weeks ago (not a dive, a decent place from a chain), and after bringing the kids to the dr. for a rash and calling the hotel, we learned we have bed-bugs. The hotel management had already discovered the problem from another complaint, and said their insurance co. will contact us. How much will they likely do? We just forked out $900 to Terminex who will come in 2 days. I missed 2 days of work this week because the school nurse said to keep the kids home until the problem is resolved. Terminex said to bag up all our clothes and bedding and wash and dry on hot at the laundry mat. Will fumigating and washing clothes be enough? Should we buy new mattresses? How much should we expect the insurance company to help? What can we do about coats and delicate items we can't wash on hot? If we leave them in the garage (below freezing in NH this week) will that kill the bugs? I haven't seen any, but my kids and I have itchy spots and the hotel confirmed that our room had bugs at the time of our stay. Also, is it really safe to sleep at home a few hours after its fumigated? My little one has asthma. We want to do whatever it takes to get rid of this problem once and for all. Thanks for any help/advice.
- 73 January 16, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Sorry you are going through this Becky. Good news is that you caught it earlier than many and the hotel is offering some help in the costs. Go to the FAQ's section on this site for it has detailed answers to many if not all of your questions thus far. (laundry, treatment options, fumigation vs traditional treatment questions etc..)
As for the little one, one of my twins has asthma and he held up fine through many treatments. At the time, my twins were not even a year old. I would ask the PCO (exterminator) and maybe the pediatrician for concerns you have there. Reading up on the FAQ's and getting very familiar with them is key. If there are questions that you have after that, then go to the forums where there are some professionals as well as fellow sufferers that may be able to help.
- 74 January 17, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I'm just learning about what the bed bug can do. They are horrible. They totally have taking over.
- 76 January 24, 2009 at 4:23 pm
While traveling last December, I noticed people bringing their own pillows on to the plane. This could result in wide-spread occurences of bed bugs on airplanes.
- 77 January 25, 2009 at 2:33 am
social interloper,
That is indeed distressing. Not a good idea.
- 78 January 29, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Hi, I woke up the other night with little red bumps on my chest and upper arms, and torso they itch horribly and seem to have spread. However, my husband who sleeps almost on top of me every night has nothing on him! Are bedbugs "selective" feeders, or is it something else? I hope it's not bedbugs because they sound almost impossible to get rid of!
- 79 January 29, 2009 at 11:17 pm
itchynwitchy – We've had bed bugs for at least a month but just confirmed 100% last week. For the past month I've been getting all the bites and my hubby has shown no signs at all. A PCO we spoke with told us that some people have no reactions to the bites so your hubby might be getting bitten and just not showing it. This is the part that finally freaked my hubby out and now he's having trouble sleeping too. 🙁
- 80 January 31, 2009 at 3:18 am
I was bite by bed bug few days ago from my friend's appartment. I never know this stuff before. It was very itching, half my body was bite. I saw my doctor and take pill and use cream, now its not itching, but the affect area still has some color, i hope my skin will become good again. Does anybody have good suggestion about remove the deep color after treatment?
- 82 February 10, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Does anyone know if landlords are responsible to pay for bed bug extemination in TEXAS my landlord is refusing to pay for the treatment.
- 83 February 10, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I do not know the law in TExas. A local tenants' rights organization may be able to advise you.
Alternatively, go to a public library and ask a reference librarian to help you look up the local laws which apply to pests in rental dwellings.
Please let us know what you find out.
- 84 February 13, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Left for Atlanta, Georgia on Jan 31, 09 @ 12:25pm from Bloomington, IL via airplane. Stayed at a friend's house for two nights. Flew back on Feb 2, 09 @ 9:50pm. Feb 4 I noticed red wheals on my butt (I am a medical skin care therapist) and being from the south, I know what mosquito and flea bites look like, I've had my share. These were located on my butt in a 3 bite pattern. After extended internet research, the bites look identical to the bb bites online! I thought bed bugs were a myth!!!! I told my friend, who had their home inspected to find nothing! Could I have been bitten on airplane or at airport??? (Returning flight was at night) So far, I haven't seen any new bites and it's been 11 days since returning flight. Am I safe?
- 86 February 14, 2009 at 9:28 am
Thanks nobugsonme! You know, my friend had found a bat in his home a week or two prior to my visit,,,could this be a link as well?
- 87 February 15, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Natalie– Yes! Bats can have bat bugs feeding off them where they nest. When the bat is gone, bat bugs bite people. They are very closely related to bed bugs and an untrained eye would mistake them for one another.
Your friends need to make sure their attic is cleared of bats and that no bat bugs are present there.
- 88 February 16, 2009 at 1:51 am
I am having such trouble with these bed bugs!!! I live with my boyfriend and we havn't had this problem until a couple months ago. Now, I am planning to move into my own place. I am worried these bugs will follow me to my new apartment. How can I prevent the bed bugs from following me there? They seem to only bite my arms around my elbows, on my knees, and on my feet. I don't want to carry these with me. They are annoying and gross and I'm tired of explaining to my co-workers that the red spots all over my arms are not scabies. That's irritating and the bed bugs make me want to rip my skin off lol any insight is welcomed. Thank you!
- 90 February 21, 2009 at 7:39 pm
When I was 6 months pregnant bedbugs became a major problem for my family. We became infested because the bugs came from a neighboring apartment that connects to my room and to the rest of the house. Terminex came in and would only steam the effected areas because my landlord refuse to put my husband and I in a motel. Soon after the steaming the bugs returned (they must have laid dormant). We still have the bugs and now our landlord will only allow one more spraying. Since my daughter was born in October they have done the pesticides twice. Health inspectors insist this bug thing is all in our heads since they come during ther day and don't thoroughly inspect the whole apartment, which is pretty good size. The landlord is getting pretty fed up with just us in a 4 family complex. The family in the adjoining apartment have since moved and there is another family that now lives there and they won't allow an inspector to come in. We don't know what to do about this anymore and our lives were stressful to begin with. All together we have spent over $3,000 since June just for cleaning the bedding. Please help!
- 93 February 25, 2009 at 11:39 pm
did you live at 28 east 10th street as i had bed bugs 2 yrs ago and they are back and now i am going to have secong spraying
- 94 February 26, 2009 at 2:39 am
Hi Linda — no. I did not live there. But many thousands of people in New York have bed bugs. Make sure you receive follow up treatments.
PCOs tell us you should be getting attention from the pest control operator in about 2 weeks after the first visit. Not two years later!
Also, your landlord needs to have every apartment that touches yours above, below, all sides inspected by a professional and treated if needed. Unforunately this is not the law in NYC, but it is the only way to make sure they do not come back. There's a good chance someone else in the building has them too.
- 95 February 27, 2009 at 6:04 pm
i went to a friends house in utah stayed for about a week in their guest bed. before i left i had no signs of bedbugs and for my entire stay. 2 days after i got back i started to notice my self itching. so myquestion is how long does it take for symptoms to develop? is it possible that my room was infested while i was away? after they bite you where do they go? other then the bites and itching what effects are there? how do i know if i carried them back to idaho with me?
- 96 March 12, 2009 at 12:05 pm
i saw one on ma couch does that mean ders more and hw do i prevent dem 4 comin
- 98 March 19, 2009 at 9:40 pm
these are nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssttttyyy
- 99 March 19, 2009 at 9:43 pm
today i just saw one on my sisters leg it waz nasty im staying away from her as much as posseble she has a big bite on her leg that she went to the hospital today
- 100 March 19, 2009 at 9:47 pm
o no i just saw bed bugs allover my house and they were biteing me
- 101 March 23, 2009 at 1:47 pm
DDT was banned because the small birds would eat the insects that had been feeding on crops sprayed with DDT, then naturally larger birds would eat the smaller birds.The larger birds would get second hand poisoning and start to become ill and die. Like the Paregrin Falcon.
- 102 March 24, 2009 at 12:08 pm
okay still not sure. but i do have a question. are they able to just travel right through layers of material very quickly. first i wrapped my mattress in plastic, and always put layers of sheets on , and then i just got some of that eggshell foam type stuff. where are they living ? where do i look for them? in the creaseas of the matress ? ( and i have a futon mattres that has a black almost velvet casing
- 104 March 26, 2009 at 8:54 am
All I can say (with the deepest graditude) is thank you for this site. Me and my roommates have been dealing with bedbugs for the past couple of months now, not knowing what they were. Well, now we (or rather I, at the moment) know. Thank you again. MUAH!
- 106 March 30, 2009 at 8:38 am
Well goddamn. I had suspected that we had bedbugs for a while now, but never experienced any, and only ever had what might have been a bedbug bite every once in a while.
Then, as I watch an episode of Dirty Jobs while eating an orange, I feel a sharp pain on the palm of my hand. I look, and there's a tiny bug on it, sitting there. I grab a flashlight and watch it closer, and it leans down and takes another bite of my hand, equally painful. Thanks to your high resolution bedbug identification chart, I was easily able to identify it as the bottom young one.
The good news is that I identified it, the bad news is that it confirmed my worst fears. 🙁
- 108 March 30, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I am about to have a nervous breakdown from bed bugs in my apt. The housing authority only sprays and still with that they come from other apts and I can't afford to move. I have ecemza and I am so upset and nervous all the time. I am a 62 year old woman who lives alone without family to help. I spray, I put everything in plastic bags, I did everything I could. Still these creatures invade and nothing is being done. Can anyone tell me what to do?
- 110 April 7, 2009 at 4:08 pm
all of you changing mattresses and reading to stupid advices on this web site etc are wasting your time!! I found a solution the next day I was bitten. I captured one and experimented and found out that they are unable to climb slippery surfaces. I wrapped up my mattress around with a transparent tape (several levels) and since then haven't been bitten a single time. or if you have a bed frame with legs, clean your mattress and box spring completely and vacuum first and then just wrap the legs of the bed frame only. it takes very little tape and they no longer will be able to climb up on you. Take care, Alex.
- 112 April 8, 2009 at 1:37 am
I'm sure this is somewhere on the page but i have a horrible bug phobia and looking at the pictures doesn't help.. pretty sure they've been in my house (my bed) for a while.. i m talking at least 6 months to a year, except i only get a bite here n there (maybe one per 2 months) or sometimes a bunch in 1 night and then nothing for 2 months. Never had the luck of coming face to face with 1, never looked them up so didn't really know what they looked like but when I saw it that was the 1st thing i thought of, tonight was the 1st time. I came home, sat on my bed and there is was crawling around on my sheet like he owns it. As you can imagine I freaked out but i squished it. Obviously that wasn't the last of them. My question is how do I handle this? do the 'bug bombs' usually work? Someone told me no so i m curious as to how aggressively i should go about getting rid of these nasty creatures. I have friends who's houses i sleep at from time to time but no bites for them so i'm assuming i didn't bring them from their home. I examined my life and can't figure out where they came from, is it possible they came from outdoors?
- 113 April 16, 2009 at 11:54 am
we had a problem last year in our apartment with bed bugs. i had no idea what was biting my then 3 year old daughter every night, and i could not find anything anywhere in the room and assumed it was spiders because the bite marks left such large welts on her. (she has exzema and very sensitive skin) i finally called the health department when we found the bugs hanging out around the ceiling molding. he said that it didn't appear we had an "obvious" problem! 5 bugs in one day! and not a problem. but he did give us some very helpful extermination measures. our management took 3 and a half months from our first complaint to get a professional exterminator in to treat, and the landlord told me to just "hang tight" and wait. (wait while the bugs take over our lives i guess!) anyway, we took all the kids stuffed animals to the laundrymat and dried them on high heat for 45 minutes, washed and dried the bedding on high heat, vaccuumed the carpet like crazy with TWO fresh new bags, and the thing that really helped was spray everything down with rubbing alcohol! we sprayed the ceilings, corners, bedframes, dressers, and saturated the edging of the carpets in dollar store rubbing alcohol. we kept most of the stuffed anmilas out on the balcony tied up in clean trash bags while we treated, repeated the vaccuuming and sheet washing every week (nearly) and sprayed at least once a week, though not as thoroughly as that first time. with 8 weeks of home treatment, our problem was gone! by the time the professionals came 3 months later, the guy took over an hour to thoroughly examine and spray the entire apartment top to bottom and couldn't find ANY evidence at all! he told us to keep up the good work and he would let the landlord know that our unit was (potentially, not legally beacuse they only did one treatment) "clear". we have only seen one or two since, always an adult, and always after we've had the windows opened… the problem is still around the complex very badly. but, what i'm trying to say, is if you're waiting for someone to treat or deciding if you actually have a problem, try spraying ubbing alcohol. it really worked for us when we combined it with the other measures. it apparently dries up the eggs, and i know (from direct testing) that it kills the live ones. good luck everybody!
- 114 April 17, 2009 at 12:17 am
thanks much! i ll try that.
- 115 April 26, 2009 at 1:39 am
The bedbug blues… check it out
- 116 April 26, 2009 at 1:39 am
The bedbug blues… check it out
- 117 April 26, 2009 at 6:06 pm
hello, im not sure if i have bed bug bites or flea bites but on my lower legs i have red bites they are quite large i have never seen one but on my sheet i think i have a blood stain but i cant be sure it could be my make-up or something any help please thank you x
- 118 May 2, 2009 at 9:26 am
I'm wondering if we have bed bugs? Every once in a while one of my kids wakes up with several bites. Then it doesn't happen again for months. Several years ago my son woke up with 10-15 bites on his face and neck but it hasn't happened to him since. More recently my daughter has awoke with bites on her arms and chest but this has only happened twice and in 2-3 month intervals. What else could be biting them? Thanks for you help.
- 120 May 7, 2009 at 12:35 am
Hi, I just discovered bed bugs two nights ago and just made the connection 10 minutes ago as to what they were. I know you've said it's rare, but I awoke in the middle of the night from the biting & found them all over – feels like a mosquito bite. I'm an extremely light sleeper, which might be why I feel them.
They've probably only been in my house for about 2 weeks, give or take. I'll be calling the exterminator first thing tomorrow. My biggest fear is how quickly they might be able to spread. Do you have any insight on that?
Also, I do a lot of traveling and also stay at my boyfriend's house every few days. I absolutely do not want to bring these to him. Any recommendations on how to make sure they don't tag along on clothes, bags, etc.?
- 122 May 7, 2009 at 10:52 am
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my son had some bug bites on his arms, and at first I thought mosquito bites and then I found a bug in his bed.I only found the one and I check everyday, I have looked up bedbugs and seen the pictures but it doesn't look the same.But one of the tenants 2 buildings down from me was infested with them.And my son keeps getting the bites,but they don't itch him and half the time he don't notice untill I start checking.I don't know what to do I am getting pretty parinoid about it.I have been spraying 91% alcohol all over to try to keep them away but is there anything else I can do?Thanks for any help.
- 124 May 10, 2009 at 4:13 pm
i still don't know if i have bed bugs but i have been getting bit for about 2 weeks now. i have since found 2 differant bugs, one on my bed, you could see it's blood through the skin, very tiny about the size of a small gnat. the second i found when cleaning out the room i've been getting bit in,it was on the bottom of the wall round brown the size of a big flea and it looks like it has wings. i have thrown out the bed already but don't want to put the new one in untill i know if i have them or not this room is the only area of the house and i'm the only one getting bit i have looked for all the signs i checked the edges of the floor boards walls ceilings pulled out drawer lifted the edges of the carpet examined the old be can't find anything other than those two bugs so how do i know if it's safe to bring the new bed in?
- 126 May 11, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Hey I Think My Brother got bit by one
- 127 May 14, 2009 at 2:13 am
i was just curious i set up the new bed i only had enough money for one mattress cover at the time so my box spring isn't covered only the mattress is, i plan to buy another one for the box spring next week so any bugs are onit by then when i put it on they will be trapped and eventually die right? and also it's been about 2 nights back in my room with no bites if i do have bed bugs about how long does it take for them to get on the new bed and start biting again? and after how long of them not coming back should i asume they are gone or were never an issue?
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 46 trackbacks }
- Important new page: photos of bed bugs, and signs of bed bugs | bedbugger August 7, 2007
- FAQ: What are bed bugs? Do I have them? What else could be causing this? | bedbugger August 12, 2007
- Good news, Chicagoland: you might have itch mites | bedbugger August 15, 2007
- newyorkshitty.com » Blog Archive » Beware! September 12, 2007
- FAQ: Is this a bed bug? (photos of creatures mistaken for bed bugs) : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com July 4, 2008
- Back to school: news media focuses on bed bugs in college dorms : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com August 22, 2008
- More students at college finding bed bugs in their dorm rooms : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com September 4, 2008
- Bed bugs on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com September 12, 2008
- Don't let the Bed Bugs bite! | Miss Maccy Pants, Super Gizmo Man & the Applets do Europe December 22, 2008
- FAQ: How can I avoid bedbugs while traveling? : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com January 8, 2009
- Wednesday's New York City Council vote on the Bed Bug Advisory Board: it passed! : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com March 12, 2009
- Man on #2 train with bed bugs: bed bug hysteria? Or fact? : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com March 23, 2009
- Bed bugs found at Dover, NH charter school : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com April 3, 2009
- Middle school class trip encounters bed bugs at YMCA of the Rockies : Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com May 3, 2009
- Mary-Louise Parker talks to Letterman about her current bed bug scare August 27, 2009
- Rachael Ray Show not bad, but not quite right on bed bugs October 23, 2009
- If you have bed bugs, here are some dos and don'ts — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com June 15, 2010
- Bed bug disclosure bill passed; journalists still can't ID bed bugs! — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com June 25, 2010
- The Five-Point Guide To: Pests « Mumbai Boss June 30, 2010
- Bed bugs in garage sale furniture: Health Canada warns consumers — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com July 5, 2010
- Bed bug pictures August 18, 2011
- Bugs with pictures August 19, 2011
- Bed bugs evidence in hotels including fecal stains — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com March 4, 2012
- Bugs photos | Firewavedesign April 1, 2012
- Bed bugs reported on Detroit buses by fifty drivers in past year — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com July 10, 2012
- Bed bugs trap and info: suggestions and useful links « Lukeskyrunner August 22, 2012
- Bed bugs on man's body cause courtroom evacuation in Detroit — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com August 23, 2012
- The City that Never Sleeps | wend: to journey September 3, 2012
- How to understand your relationship to money | Penelope Trunk Blog September 27, 2012
- Don't Let Bedbugs Take a Bite Out of Your Next Thrift Store Deal | PFS November 20, 2012
- How to search for bed bugs in a hotel room; bed bug photos and identification — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com November 27, 2012
- Organic Living, Best Organic Pest Control Company, Local Farming, Organic Pesticides | Bed bugs: dos and don'ts — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com | Owens Organics | Organic Bug Spray | Animal Shampoo February 21, 2013
- Suspected bed bug bites trouble British MEP Chris Davies in Strasbourg — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com April 15, 2013
- How to avoid spreading bedbugs to others during travel, in daily life — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com June 6, 2013
- Bed bugs on man's body cause courtroom evacuation in Detroit | Flea Bites, remedies and information on fleas August 5, 2013
- Common Questions About Bed Bugs | FabriClear August 6, 2013
- Misidentifying bed bugs, brought to you by the letters CBS, CBC, and ABC — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com March 23, 2014
- Bed bugs found at Whirlpool factory in Ohio — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com June 15, 2014
- Bed Bugs on the Subway: should the MTA notify the public of sightings? — Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com August 28, 2014
- Craigslist warns of bed bugs in Pawtucket curbside freebies August 10, 2015
- Bed Bug In Bathroom | Smallbathroomdesignideas.net September 10, 2015
- Bedbugs discovered at city hall - Bedbugger.com November 2, 2015
- Bed bug Exterminator Rockville MD | Fast Rockville MD Bed bug Service. | Ex Pest Control January 17, 2016
- Bed bug Exterminator Gaithersburg MD | Gaithersburg MD Bed bug Service | Ex Pest Control January 29, 2016
- Nyc Bed Bug | mesotheliomacare.xyz June 19, 2016
- Swiss Army Soldiers Battle Bed Bugs in Dormitories July 6, 2016

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Plainfield senior Kerri Ruffo crossed the finish line beaming.
NORWICH — Plainfield senior Kerri Ruffo crossed the finish line beaming.
"I was so happy," Ruffo said. "I was happy my sophomore year, but I'm just so happy right now."
Ruffo had just won her second Eastern Connecticut Conference girls cross-country individual championship Thursday at the Norwich Golf Course. But once again, most of the attention was being focused on a runner on the ground, Griswold senior Alyssa Brehler.
Brehler was lying no more than 10 feet from the finish line; a line she wouldn't cross for the second time in three years. Leading the race going into the final 100 yards, Brehler suddenly began to lose her balance, then began to stumble and finally crawled until she passed out.
Brehler was attended to on the scene and then transported to Backus Hospital in Norwich.
"She was pretty hysterical and then she kept apologizing, which she has nothing to apologize about," Griswold coach Mike Flynn said. "I told her that nobody was upset with her."
Flynn added, "At this point, I believe there is something physically wrong. I think this is probably her last race, unfortunately. I will let her and her parents talk about it when things settle, but from my point of view, I don't think it's healthy for her."
Another health scare
It was the third time that Brehler had collapsed near the finish line of a race. The first time was two years ago at the ECC championship when she was leading the race. It happened again last October when Brehler was well ahead nearing the finish line at the Wickham Park Invitational.
It was also a familiar feeling for Ruffo, who won the race in 20 minutes, 13 seconds.
"I kind of feel like my talent is minimized because something happens to her," Ruffo said. "(Thursday) I can say that I won because I was just better (Thursday). That doesn't mean that I'm better than her all-around, it just means that I was better (Thursday)."
According to Ruffo, the two went out hard with the first mile going by in about 5 1/2 minutes. Brehler had the lead by about 100 yards coming up the final hill on the course and even gave a smile to Flynn. The Griswold coach said it was the first year since her sophomore season that he had no worries about Brehler's physical condition.
Turning point
But about 200 meters out, Flynn saw a familiar look. He yelled to the senior to "just jog," but it was already too late.
"I can't make sense of it, it's just an absolute nightmare," Flynn said.
Griswold teammate Meagan Perez, who finished second overall (20:34), said Brehler was really focusing on the race because she had never fared well in it.
Ruffo, meanwhile, said something clicked in the back of her head when she was trailing Brehler late in the race.
"With about 100 yards to go, something in me said, 'Kerri, you want this.' I've been dreaming about this for weeks," Ruffo said.
Ruffo passed Brehler with Perez not far behind.
"It comes to a point where if you can't pace yourself, if you're that tired, then you need to pace yourself better," Ruffo said of Brehler. "I don't know if there's something still wrong with her. She's very talented, one of the most talented I've ever met, but I feel proud of myself."
By the time Perez caught up to her teammate, Brehler was already on the ground.
"Everybody was huddled around her, but she was still trying to crawl to finish (rules do not allow for a runner to be helped across the line). It shows how much she cares for the team," Perez said.
Fitch wins
Griswold was favored to win the team title, but Brehler's inability to finish pushed the Wolverines back to fourth. That opened the door for Fitch.
The Falcons didn't have their eyes set on the team title. They were more concerned about winning the Large Division. Instead, they accomplished both with 97 points, three better than Plainfield's 100-point total.
"I made the mistake of complaining that we didn't run well enough before we knew the results," Fitch coach Shaun Towne said. "Now, I have to apologize to them."
Norwich Free Academy finished third with 113 points.
"Our goal was the ECC Large and we had one loss coming in, so we knew this was make it or break it," NFA coach Kara Kochanski-Vendola said. "We have a lot of freshmen on the team, they're learning how to race and this is a tough course. Fitch had a great day."
It was the third time in four years that the Falcons paced the Large Division schools at the championship meet.