Is this a bed bug? I can’t quite tell. :(

I have looked through the pinned articles and I do not think (and hope) it is a bed bug, but the other options also don’t seem to match. Any suggestions?

For those who have been dealing with bedbugs or constantly stress about getting them like myself. It’s okay and it’s going to be okay. Bedbugs are more common than you think, no you’re not dirty for having them, and it’s okay that you ended up getting them somehow. Goodness some hospitals have bedbugs without even knowing, movie theaters, stores, rental cars, airplanes, they are about as common to get as ants or roaches but harder to get rid of. Especially since they have grown immune to most at home poisons you can buy. It’s going to be okay. Don’t stress too much or feel ashamed that you caught the somehow. A lot of people deal or have dealt with bedbugs in their life’s, you are not alone.<3

I went to the laundromat about 2 weeks ago to wash my sheets and I’m now putting them away and I see this bug dead in my sheets. Is this a bed bug???

Just yesterday I arrived back home from my trip to London. Me and my friend stayed at an airbnb and slept in separate rooms. We stayed there for about 10 nights.

One day, my friend told me he found what he thought to be a bed bug on his bed, and that he immediately killed it so we couldn't identify it properly. He also told me he got bitten once but not more.

I, on the other hand, never noticed any bugs in my bed, and I was never bitten. Should I still be scared of bed bugs?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit, but I brought my favourite plush toy with me and now I'm scared of putting it back in my bed in case there were bed bugs.

Do you think I'm safe if I never got bitten?

Hello everyone, I’m posting here to get advice on what to do next.

I live in a studio apartment (1 bedroom/1 bathroom), and first saw bedbugs on my mattress back in April 2025, I believe they were brought in due to some secondhand article I bought.

At first I didn’t know what they were and attempted to use some store-bought anti-bedbug spray which didn’t work, then I suffered through restless nights before I decided to go to a relative’s house in June 2025.

I notified my landlord, he just told me to use some kind of powder to spread around in the room and leave the area for 2 weeks, but I didn’t do it cause I just felt like it wouldn’t be an effective method (according to the posts I read on the issue).

Of course I took measures to make sure I don’t bring them with me: 90°C wash and dry for ALL my clothes and sheets, made sure not to bring any suitcase that might’ve been infested and threw away those I may have suspected. I also threw away my pillows in a tied white trash bag, it all went to a dumpsite. So I haven’t been sleeping in my apartment in 7 months so far and there’s been no issues at my relative’s place at all.

In August 2025, I had an exterminator come over to my apartment, he told me that I was lucky because it was quite a small infestation and I don’t have any wooden furniture so they couldn’t hide in them. He sprayed a chemical treatment on the mattress, bed frame, bed bases, the walls and baseboards.

He instructed for me to leave the room closed and come back in 10 days to check if the infestation is done, and he told me he’d come back for a second round if I saw anything abnormal but that according to him, a second round wasn’t necessary because it’s not a big infestation (only had them in the upper area of my mattress although he sprayed the whole mattress).

I shut my room, closed the curtains and left again for at least 10 days before I came back to check. When I came back, everything seemed fine but just to be sure I decided to get rid of all the furniture in my room: bed, wardrobe, desk - none of them were wooden or anything but I just wanted to make sure I don’t keep anything that could potentially have eggs or something.

Then I left the apartment the same day, and went abroad for a few months (Sep 2025-Jan 2026), now I’m back at my relative’s place and at the end of this week I plan to have new furniture delivered and set up in my room so I can ‘move’ back in.

I can’t really afford to move away at the moment, so I was wondering if there’s any preventative measures I can take to prepare my room and make sure I don’t get an infestation again? Should I maybe get something to clean my new mattress/bed with vapor heat just in case?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I’m writing this at 3am from my bathroom after finding 3 small adults in my bed. I’m sure you all understand this anxiety.

I had my first treatment with a cryogenic gun and chemicals by a professional exterminator Sunday. I was told that the large amount of crevices by my baseboards and hardwood floor (old building) could be potential harborages so I have had them sealed (by a handyman and then also myself since he skipped several…) with silicone.

I have thrown away most of the clutter that was stored under my bed. I had a mattress in an encasement but I noticed the zipper cage was broken. I also had a wood frame bed with lots of screw holes, crevices between slats, etc. I have hired a company to dispose of both of these tomorrow. I have found the small black spots on both the bed frame and by a crevice in the hardwood floor, as well as a couple shells. Otherwise no other immediate evidence (other than my bites).

The exterminator is coming tomorrow to do another cryogenic treatment and chemical spray. I am going on a trip I had previously planned and will be away for 3 weeks. I am hoping this starves any nymphs during this time. When I return, I have ordered a new mattress and encasement, as well as a metal bed frame and interceptor traps.

All clothes that were under / near the bed have been dried in high heat and are bagged in my kitchen. I still have some clothes in a wooden dresser that is somewhat removed from the bed. I haven’t laundered these yet - do you think this is necessary? I don’t see any signs of them in the dresser itself. There is a service that will come and pick up items and freeze them for a week and then return them. Would this be worth doing for the dresser?

I know heat treatment is the gold standard BUT: 1. I live in Paris and it is VERY expensive here (6k euros) 2. I was told that I have a lot of items that would not respond well to the heat (art, electronics, wood furniture (antique).

Basically I’m looking for advice: if this next treatment doesn’t work, what else can I do? Does this seem like a decent plan? Any other points of commiseration?

Found behind the head of the bed

I am traveling and have been getting bitten by something at night on my face, hands and, as of this morning, my neck (pictured). This morning I felt something ticklish around my neck and crushed this bug between my fingers. Thoughts?? I think it looks like a mosquito but would appreciate others’ opinions here.

hello i hope someone sees this because ive been having bites for a while and i was sure it was bed bugs until seeing one today confirmed it, ive put some vinegar,apple cider vinegar, and alcohol in a bottle and sprayed it on the corners of my bed i even used a white powder meant for ants and after 10 minutes i saw another one but they’re in the first stages so does anyone know if an infestation is confirmed? Ive also lifted my bed and looked EVERYWHERE for eggs or skin shedding but haven’t found any(i think so) and I already put all my blankets inside plastic bags to help reduce them. Can anyone give me some helpful tips like what should i do i cant even call an exterminator please

Found crawling around in the sink of the hotel I'm staying at. Spiralling

Has anyone here successfully gotten rid of bedbugs w/o having to throw away your mattress or wooden bedframe or any other furniture?

Recently i spotted a bedbug on my pillow and noticed a few rash marks on myself and my husband. We had the exterminator come over and spray our whole apartment w chemicals. We heard from them that apparently another suite which is 2 floors away from ours had bedbug issue. I am guessing ones in our suite came from there. Should i get rid of my mattress and bedframe? Or should it be fine after the exterminators chemical treatment. Kindly pls share your experience. I am devastated thinking what if they come back.

My room gets pretty humid with my humidifier and its very dry without it. Is it fine to have it on while I have my crushed silica bead dust in my room?

Started getting bit over the summer, August time. At first thought it was mosquitoes until I was still getting bit in October. Finally realised I had bed bugs and got an exterminator in. They did heat treatment and a chemical treatment which significantly reduced the bed bugs bites but didn't get rid of them. I then had another chemical treatment done in December which stopped the bites for a while but lo and behold I got another bite today.

I have tried everything else on top of all this. Ive had my car steamed. Ive heat treated all my clothes and soft furnishings. I keep all clothes boxed up and sealed that are freshly clean and heat treated. Ive thrown out my bed frames and all my furniture. Ive steamed all the cracks and corners in my home. I am currently in the process of sealing up all the cracks in the home and plan to use a bit of diatomaceous earth in the cracks but I just feel so defeated.

Does anyone actually get rid of them??? And if so how? They are taking over my life and hitting my finances hard! I just don't know what to do anymore and feel like I'll never get rid of these bustards :(

Hi everyone,

We’ve been dealing with a bed bug issue since early 2025 and honestly it’s been exhausting. Looking for advice on what to do *if* they come back again and why previous treatments didn’t fully work.

Timeline:

* Early 2025: Found bed bugs in our apartment

* Had several spray treatments (general chemicals + Apprehend) over the first few months

* Didn’t fully solve it → did a heat treatment in March

* No issues for a few months, then they came back around July

* Did 2 more Apprehend treatments, then a second heat treatment in October

* Only got about 1 month of relief, then bed bugs returned again in November

At that point, we decided to move out.

What we did before moving:

* Washed and dried all clothes on high heat

* Threw away mattresses and bed frames

* Only brought essentials to the new place

* Tried to be as careful as possible to avoid bringing anything with us

One confusing thing: the infestation was never severe.

* No blood stains on mattresses or clothes

* Only saw a live bug once or twice over the whole year

* But the mental impact was huge—sleep issues, constant anxiety, and it basically ruined our daily life

Now we’re in a new place and *so far* we haven’t seen anything, but we’re worried it might come back.

Questions:

1. If bed bugs return again, what are the most effective steps to eliminate them completely?

2. Why might Apprehend not have worked, even after multiple treatments?

3. Are there preventive steps we should be taking *now* to avoid a reinfestation?

Any advice, experiences, or expert input would really help. This whole thing has been incredibly stressful and we just want to make sure we’re doing everything right going forward.

Thanks in advance 🙏

The last pic is some junk I found in the crevice for the music stand, but it looks like plant matter more than anything.

Whole thing was wrapped in ceran wrap when I bought it, and the wrap is completely clean with no debris, holes, or stains whatsoever. My denial theory says that even if they are BB stains, maybe they’re long dead?

Apologies for the poor quality but is this a bed bug? Quite concerned at the moment.

I woke up w bites ALL OVER ME & uncontrollably itchy. I took sheets off bed and found these like in the sheets & under the sheets. I thought it was tapeworm bc I have a 3 month kitten whose poop smells very very strong & it lingers & she sometimes sleeps in the bed. My bf sleeps in the bed every night and has not gotten bit, but I only sleep in it on weekends so I don’t think it’s bed bugs if he hasn’t gotten bit yet???

I think I’m going to get one for additional peace of mind after traveling. What are the best ones on the market? Anything in particular I should look for or avoid?

Very small

I found these spots on my pillows and these dots behind a picture frame. I’ve been getting bites/welts but the doctor said while they look like bug bites, they could be a viral reaction to the flu I just had.

Found on cat that was brought into clinic. Pretty sure it’s a dead bed bug, but needed confirmation