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I went to change the sheets today and spotted some lumps under the mattress cover (it's a memory foam mattress). I felt them and they were solid. Waywardson isn't here and I need his help to get the mattress cover off and see what's going on, so I sprinkled some Borax on top of the bed, right where they were, and 'banged' it in using one of those back scratcher thingys. Then, I learned Borax doesn't kill them. BUT, they obviously don't like it because they moved. They are probably on the underside of the mattress now.

When Waywardson gets home, he's bringing a product for treating bedbugs and a hypo-allergenic mattress cover and we're going all-out-war on these things. Wish us luck!

Ummm.... how big WERE these moving lumps?

Wishing you luck in killing whatever they may be.

They were small- and I think they must move slowly because I didn't SEE them moving, I just went back and felt where they HAD been and they were gone.

If it were me, I'd be...

Good luck to you. **shudder**

It's creepy for sure, but I think dust mites are equally creepy, you just can't see them. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20276

Sweet dreams, nik!

I have a plan: take off mattress cover and vacuum anything we can see, steam my bed using my shark steamy thingy, spray, treat mattress cover in dryer (heat kills them), spray the headboard and the carpet, replace the mattress cover, and cover with the hypo-allergenic cover Waywardson is bringing home. Anything left will starve because they can't get out of the second cover, so I'll repeat the treatment every couple of weeks for a couple of months and, hopefully, that'll do it! Should take care of any dust mites, too!

I think I read somewhere to put tin pie plates with diatomaceous earth in them under your bed posts too and that will keep them for migrating in or out. Think the earth will also work on your mattress, but I would research again. You can buy the stuff fairly cheap at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I think it is just ground silica and dries out their exoskeletons. It is very dusty. Wear gloves and a mask when using. Works great on fleas, ants, etc.

Those things are a b*tch to get rid of. Never had them and don't want them. Good luck with what ever method you decide to use!

I edit because I think much faster than I type.

[This message edited by jadedheart at 5:50 PM, April 5th (Saturday)]

If you think I'm going to follow that link, you are five kinds of crazy.

Well, probably, nik! It doesn't have a pic, just describes them and how they live. If I had wanted to throw a pic at you, I would have just put it in this thread, but I'm not going to do that to you because *I* hate it when I click on a link and it's a big, nasty, unexpected spider!

Ummm if you don't got any unexplained bites I'm guessing this is NOT bed bugs. They are nasty and can really be tenacious. It seems odd that you would not have seen/suspected something prior to a routine linen change.

I had unexplained hives a while back and, since I'm allergic to everything, it wouldn't surprise me to find that I'm allergic to them. It happened a couple of times- I had itchy spots when I woke up, scratched them, and they turned into hives.

This AM, I had a single itchy spot on the inside of my arm- still itchy, BTW. From what I've seen, so far, that's probably what it is. We'll know more after Waywardson gets home and we pull that mattress cover off. I'll keep y'all posted!

ETA: It's full-coverage mattress cover, but it's soft (not plastic) and I think they are biting me through the cover and the sheets. SOMETHING is in there because I saw the 'lumps' they made in the cover and I felt them- and they moved.

[This message edited by ThoughtIKnewYa at 8:49 PM, April 5th (Saturday)]

You'll have to check all of the crevices in the bed/mattress to find them. I did a lot of reading when I thought I had them. I may have been bitten by them but they were not in my apartment, thank goodness. I think I got bit on the plane!

It's a memory foam mattress, so it's different layers on top of each other- lots of crevices.

If I find them, I'll take some pics for y'all! I'll warn nik before I post them, though!

[This message edited by ThoughtIKnewYa at 9:30 PM, April 5th (Saturday)]

Please do! I have enough nightmare fodder as it is.

Ugh.

I started waking up with tiny bites all over my arms. FWH wasn't getting bitten at all. Just me. I assumed it was a spider of some kind..then one night I happened to get up to use the bathroom, and by the light of the moon I saw something on my sheets. I turned on the lights..it was this tiny bug. I captured it, without smashing it..and on a whim, I googled bedbugs.

OMG.

OMG!

Yes..bedbugs.

It took a few weeks to get rid of them. I swept, steam cleaned the carpet, used the plastic cover on the mattress,etc. But what really seemed to finally get rid of them(I was still being bitten during the clean up process) was Bedbug Bully. It's a spray...I found it on the internet. It's a bit pricey..but it did the trick. We had tried the Raid for Bedbugs, and a few other sprays..they did nothing but stink up the house.

Once we used the spray, the bites stopped. I really wish I had found it sooner..or figured out WTH it was...those little blood suckers are nasty..and the itch is unbelievable.

It also helped that we knew where they came from. My mother had recently moved, and had given me a loveseat. We checked the loveseat and yup..gross.

Lesson learned...no more old furniture.

Okay. No pics.

We took ALL of the steps I outlined above even though we saw absolutely nothing when we unzipped the cover. The mattress was propped against the wall and I saw something on the bottom of it and pointed it out to Waywardson. He went after after it and it started to run- it was the tiniest spider ever! I'm still confused as to what those lumps were.

Make a CO2 trap (watch everything ever made by JnSavedBytheBell on youtube) and use it to monitor the situation. They can hide really well and be hard to see, if you have any suspicion you want to catch them early! The traps are cheap and can be made with stuff you have at home.

My xSO had them and we did battle for a good month plus, but defeated the bastards. He still monitors as he lives in an apartment building and knows very well that if he had them others do too. I second the diatomaceous earth around the bedposts. He also put tape on the walls a few feet up so they cant climb on the ceiling and drop on you (I know right?) and keeps the bed in the traps. They can live for up to a year with no food so breaking the cycle is key. Steaming is good, running anything fabric through the dryer for 30 min on high.

He caught a female and it laid eggs in the jar he had her in and 4 babies hatched. It was disgusting and cool all at the time time. And man those babies are tiny!

Good luck, I hope you turn out clear.

am I the only one reading this thread and itching all over now?

😵😳

it was the tiniest spider ever! I'm still confused as to what those lumps were.

Charlotte's kids in their spider sac? *shudder*

H travels so much and I am always afraid of him bringing these home. I check the hotel mattresses when I am with him, but I'd be willing to bet he doesn't do it when I'm not around....