Pest control found no bed bugs, but I’m still being bitten

You are not imagining it, and you are not being difficult. Bites with no visible cause are hard for everyone, professionals included. An inspection is a snapshot of one visit: a small or early infestation can hide well, and some bites come from something else entirely. What moves things forward is evidence, and you can start collecting it tonight.

Catch one

A real bug in a sealed bag is worth more than any description. It ends the guessing either way.

• Fit interceptors. Cups under each bed leg, the bed pulled slightly away from the wall, bedding tucked in so nothing touches the floor. Anything climbing up to you ends up in a cup. See bed bug interceptors.
• Check the bed with a torch during the night or first thing in the morning: mattress seams and piping, the headboard, joints in the frame.
• Keep what you find. Press clear sticky tape over it and fold the tape, or put it in a small sealed bag or jar. Write the date and where you found it. A photo next to a coin helps, but the bug itself is better.
• Look for signs along seams and the frame: dark spots, pale shed skins, tiny eggs. Our page on droppings and other signs shows what they look like.

Keep a dated log

Each morning, write down the date, where you slept, any new bites and where they are on your body, and anything you found. Photograph the bites. A couple of weeks of this says far more than “I keep getting bitten”, to a pest controller, a landlord or a doctor.

Rule out other biters

Bites on their own rarely name the culprit. Several things leave marks that look alike.

• Fleas. Often bites around the ankles and lower legs, and common in carpeted homes even with no pets, for example after a previous owner’s dog or a visiting cat. Walk the carpet in white socks and look for tiny dark specks that jump.
• Mosquitoes. An open window, a whine at night, bites on skin left outside the covers. See the mosquito guide.
• Mites from birds or rodents. If a nest in the roof or near a window has recently been left empty, mites can wander indoors. A pest controller can check for this.
• Not bites at all. Some skin conditions and reactions to a new detergent or soap look like bites.

Our page something bites me at night goes through these in more detail.

See a doctor or pharmacist if the bites blister, spread, look infected, or you feel unwell. Bring your photos and your log. They do not need to know which bug it is to help you, and they can tell you if the marks are bites at all.

Going back to the company

1. Ask for the inspection in writing: which rooms and furniture were checked, and what was found.
2. Send your sample and your log, and ask them to identify the bug.
3. If you travelled, say where the suitcase was kept when you got home. The bed nearest it is the first place to check. See bringing bed bugs home from a hotel.
4. If they will not come back, get a second opinion from another company and give them the same evidence. In some places a university or government pest service will identify a sample, so it is worth asking locally.

If you rent, send the landlord the same evidence in writing. Our page on documenting pests shows what to include.

While you wait

Keep sleeping in your own bed with the interceptors in place, so anything there has to show itself. Skip foggers and bug bombs: they do not reach seams and cracks and can spread bed bugs to other rooms. And do not throw out furniture until you know what you are dealing with.