Bug bites after stay in Captiva
 

Oy! Just got back from a stay in Tween Waters Inn and now we're getting bites all over the place and we're back home. Something stowed away in our bags/clothes I guess! Anyone have insight, could no see ums or some other bug get in your bags and infest your home, or is this most likely bed bugs? Agh!

You've got a few possibilities and I don't believe No Seeums are part of it.

You could possibly gotten into chiggers (are the bites real itchy?) they get under the skin and continue to add bites.

Another is that you could have been in a room where a dog (with fleas) had stayed.

And I hope you don't have bedbugs.

With the 2nd and third you'd most likely need an exterminator or some pest bombs.

With the first - it's hard to say they're not easy to get rid of.

Good luck - and let us know what they(??) were.

Is it possible this is a case of sea lice? Dont get alarmed. I got them once in Jamaica. Did you perchance swim through the water and felt some stinging? Are the bites on areas where you would have your swim suit? Sea lice are a microscopic jellyfish larvae (is this right?) and can make you miserable for a few days. Are the bites concentrated in spots such as under your arm?

If I were you I would head to my family Dr. as soon as possible. I don't think it is serious, but all the "ifs" would bother me. My concern would be what did you bring home with you if anything? After that is determined I would call an exterminator. Agh, is right.

http://www.fau.edu/safe/sea-lice.html

If you have sea lice, you need to get some benadryle. If you can get into a chlorinated pool, you can get instant relief but when you get out you'll need to use a topical treatment (calomine or hydrocortisone?) and also take benadryle.

Do you think this might be what you have, Angelia?

Look on the bright side. If it's sea lice, you dont need to fumigate. They live in the sea.

I can honestly tell you, that after spending most of the night on the beach at Captiva a few years back, my legs were literally COVERED with over 70-80 very nasty itchy chigger bites. It took weeks to get over that. Never again. I ALWAYs have insect repellent when I am there and out at night.

You are likely dealing with either delayed reaction to bites you got while there or some type of crawling bug (not flying bug - it could not have made the trip home alive).

Fleas, bedbugs and chiggers are big enough to easily see. As disgusting as it is to think about, all need blood to survive. I would wash all clothing again in hot water and stow away for 1-2 weeks anything not washable (like suitcases)in big plastic bags.

Some people have different reactions to different bugs. While visiting someone in Florida many years ago I slept on a sofa bed infested with fleas. I have never been so miserable in my life. However, others in family had slept on same bed and were uneffected. Allergist explained that while the bugs would bite everyone, only those sensitive/allergic to the bites would react.

If this persists, agree, see MD. However, specific source of bites is often difficult to determine by looking at bite as once you start scratching, they all look similar. Chigger bites, however, tend to be bigger and get nasty and oozy. Flea bites are red, raised and can look like big mosquito bites. Sea lice are the larva of something in the sea (I forget what exactly). No chance they came home with you.

While it may seem unlikely, it is possible there is something in your house unrelated to your trip that is attacking you. We have indoor cats and once had a massive invasion of fleas - have no idea how they got into our house. If you don't have pets, you can buy those aeresol bug bombs to fog the room.

If bitten by sea lice, you will not have a reaction immediately but rather a few days later. Also, not everyone feels them when they are bitten in the sea, although I did when it happened to me. Oddly, that was about ten years ago and despite the fact that I go into the Gulf quite a bit (I live on the Gulf coast) I've not encountered them since.

I was bitten badly by bugs once in the Keys but I was camping outdoors. The bites went away in a day.

I agree, it's probably sea lice. A friend of mine just returned from the beach. Bites kept appearing on her and the doctor said it was from sea lice.

I'm going to doc next week to see. Our apt building sent over an exterminator but he says he won't even check for bedbugs unless we arrange a longer visit for another fee. Agh! Husband thinks it was some sort of chigger but I'm convinced it's bed bugs since I was still getting some bites yesterday on my feet, about 5 days since we left Captiva. If I do find out it was bed bugs I'll have to tell Tween Waters to fumigate the room we were in!

And you know what, we were just walking through the surf right before sunset and I kept sticking my feet in the water, but we didn't go swimming in the sea or wade out in it. No pets here either...

Two things make me curious. First, that you are still "getting bites". Bedbug bite reactions may not be apparent for a week after exposure - so you could be getting what appear to be new bites but are actually old ones.

The other is the fact that you are getting bites on your feet. That makes me wonder about fleas - since they can live in carpet and actually jump out onto your feet/ankles.

Chigger bites usually are apparent earlier. And chiggers are bigger bugs - I think you would know it if that is what it was.

All clinically fascinating to me - but probably just itchy to you.

I'm now getting bites on my hands and it's been almost a week since we got back from Captiva. Don't have a carpet or pets so I don't think it's fleas (I wish!). An exterminator for our apt building came by and said he couldn't check for bedbugs unless we make a second, pricier :( appointment but he took one look at my legs and said it looks like bed bugs. I guess the right thing to do would be to call Tween Waters Inn and suggest that they fumigate the room we were in before many more visitors get infested, if that's what it is!

Yes, you should call Tween Wates, if not to confirm your fears but also to allay your fears. Perhaps they will tell you that they fumigate monthly, or something similar, that will lead you elsewhere to find the cause of your discomfort. There is no telling what bit you, or what is still biting you. But if you don't do anything about it -- such as exterminate, fumigate, call Tween Waters -- then you will just be coming up with plausible reasons for your dilemma with no solution. If you had fumigated when this happened, and the bites continued, then you could have isolated the problem better.

Definitely call Tween Waters and let us know what they say.

By this point, you're still being bit, I would suggest you visit your doctor as he'd have a better idea as to what has been biting you.

Please do post when you determine what the cause of these bites is. One question; is it your husband or boyfriend that traveled with you? What I am tryiing to ask is, was someone in the same bed with you there, or at home, and are they getting bites too?

You must realize by now that we're all concerned about you. Did you drive or fly back to your home? If you drove, is it possible that you stopped in a motel along the way? Also is you DH also suffering from the bites?

Thanks to all for your replies. My husband has also gotten lots of bites but he's not sensitive to them and they don't itch him like they do me. We flew home so we are sure it came from Captiva (sounds like a horror movie, IT CAME FROM CAPPPTIVVA!). So, I'll call Tween Waters and let them know and make a doc appt asap. I'll let you all know what happens!

... the latest hum from Captiva is of quite satiated bugs! They are raving about a new place for a late night bite! Organic dishes, repellent free.