When I was younger, I thought the bedtime chant was a made up epithet. Now that I am older and, hopefully, wiser, I know that bed bugs are quite real and out to make a meal of me. So I started looking at the warning signs and bed bug bite symptoms. Here is what I found and you should know.

The bite of a bed bug is much like a mosquito bite. The indication that you have been bitten is a red welt at the bite location. Usually, the bites will occur in a vertical line of three. This is called the “breakfast, lunch and dinner” formation. These welts may or may not itch.

The effects of bed bug bite symptoms differ from individual to individual. Some will have the itching and some people will not even react to them at all. The difference is really the lag time between the actual bite and the onset of bed bug symptoms. This “lag time” can be up to nine days. The more bites you sustain, the shorter the time for symptoms to show up.

The fact is that if your bite marks DO itch and you scratch them, the risk of infection is greater. If you have ever scratched a mosquito bite until it was an open sore, that is the same idea. It is believed that bed bugs do not carry infectious diseases or any dangerous viral or bacterial maladies, but it is not certain.

Bed bug bite symptoms are so innocuous that even doctors are known to misdiagnose them as skin disorders like scabies or a simple rash. For this reason, it is thought that bed bug bites are more common than originally believed.

As you can see, bed bug bite symptoms are quite innocuous and can easily be either dismissed as mosquito bites or missed altogether. If you find that you are sustaining the bites at night while sleeping, you haven’t been sleeping alone! Here are some things to look for if you think you have bed bug bite symptoms.

• If your bites have the linear “breakfast, lunch, dinner” formation, get to a doctor right away.
• Bed bugs do not inhabit beds only. The little creatures actually seek out fresh food sources and will take up residence in anything that you spend time on. Beds, couches, reclining chairs are all prime spots for these little nasties to lie in wait for you.
• Check your bedding or other areas that could hold bed bugs for small dark fecal stains. Bed bugs feast on your blood. They also eliminate waste and it looks like little spots of blood, too. If you have these dark spots on the mattress or on furniture, you will need to hire an experienced exterminator to get rid of them.

So watch your skin for red welts that may or may not itch and check your mattress for the dark fecal spots. Bed bug bite symptoms may be small and hard to recognize, but if left unchecked, the little buggers (no pun intended) will grow and the problem will get worse over time.