If It's Not a Bed Bug It Might Be a............................

Because we see bed bug infestations early on we see a wide variety of bugs that might resemble the bed bug but aren't. This past summer we ran into one of these scenarios, which turned out to be a new one for us, too!

A customer had bites that her doctor thought were bed bug bites, she had not seen any bugs but she works with the homeless population and it was very possible she had brought them home. 

She called us in to do a home inspection to verify that she had bed bugs before treatment. Bed bug mitigation is expensive. She also wanted to know what rooms to treat if treatment was needed.

Dusty Boot inspected her home but did not alert. 

After discussing, at length her situation she informed us that she had recently brought a stray cat into her house. The cat was in need of medical attention. The veterinarian thought cat mites were a possibility. As It turned, out she did not have bed bugs but cat mites. 

Here is an except from the customer's email after our inspection:

Hi Sunny!

 

 

I took the cat back to the veterinarian for the scheduled booster dose of mite medicine yesterday.  I have had no more bites since you were here (yay!).

 

The very next day after I saw you I was visiting a new client of mine and she told me she has bedbugs and had thrown out her bed. 

I thought, "You gotta be kidding me!" ...after everything I had just gone thru. What are the chances?

I have been super careful and taking better precautions. 

 

The veterinarian wrote down the name of the mite he thought the cat and I were affected by... thought you'd like to know.

 

cheyletiella mites on humans

 

 

Take care

Cheyletiella is a genus of mites which live on the surface of the skin of cats, dogs and humans. Symptoms in animals range from no manifestations to extreme itching, scales on skin, and loss of hair. Manifestations in humans are – numerous red bumps on the trunk, arms, and buttocks; which are very itchy. Symptoms usually fade in 3 weeks.

The adult Cheyletiella mite is 0.385 millimeters long, has 8 legs with combs, and palpi which terminate in hooks. They do not burrow into the skin, but dwell in the keratin. Their 21-day life cycle is on 1 host.  

The red text was copied from this site.

Cat mite bites look very similar to bed bug bites.

Cat mites though much, much smaller do look similar to bed bugs.

We had a happy ending, the veterinarian treated the cat for cat mites, problem solved. No bed bugs, no bed bug treatment! We wish more house calls ended like this one!

Accurate K-9 Pest Detection takes no referral fees from any pest company. The only money we receive is from our customers. We do not make more money if our dog finds bugs, which is not true for all bed bug scent dogs.

Here is an addition except from customer's email:

Thank you Sunny and Brad for coming to my home. You guys are special to work with folks like me living in a nightmare and feeling so vulnerable, emotional and confused 

about learning they may have a problem.  I have some peace of mind now and have been educated about how to be more vigilant and hopefully prevent any problem in the future. Once again, thanks so much for coming and accommodating me so soon!

I'd be happy to reference for you anytime.