Question
QUESTION: i  installed a used but very clean window ac in a tenants apt. she is a travel night nurse and came home at 11am that day i installed and went to sleep- when she awoke she had  cluster bites and the same thing happened the next night- the exterminator could not find anything except a few spider webs in the room- he did treat the room-she did not sleep in the room again but she took her pillow to a friends house a week later and woke up with bites on her scalp- she could find nothing on the pillow and threw it out- i have set sticky traps but not sure what to do if nothing sticks- she did take a trip 5 days before this happened but we see no evidence of bed bugs in the apt- is it to early to see evidence or could something of come out of the ac? any help?? i am in atlanta ga

ANSWER: Lynn,

There are very few insects or mites that actually bite people. See http://www.livingwithbugs.com/unknown_bug_bites.html for a list of insects/mites that bite and some things that mimic bug bites. Usually when no obvious culprit is found the cause is not bites but an allergy or environmental irritant that looks like a bite. Bed bug bites are usually very "angry", red, and swollen like a bad mosquito bite (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bed_bug.html for details). My guess is she is reacting to something in the environment. To investigate I would start by asking "what has changed recently", about the time this started.

Jack DeAngelis



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: went by today and there was noting on the sticky traps- turned on window ac to see if this would bring out any pests tonight- my tenant wants all her money back and for me to buy her furniture and to pay damages - i may try to sleep there and see if anything bites me- the only change on my part was the window ac- i pulled ac out to examine and saw nothing-the change on her part that i know about is a trip to 3 cities,and new hair extensions.if its something she brought in then i do not feel she is being very fair- she did stay at a hotel last week after getting bites 2 nights in a row and she did not get bite again till she took her pillow to a friends house and her scalp was bit- she threw the pillow away but saw nothing on the pillow- just do not know how to proceed unless it is bed bugs and its to early to see them- the first incident was close to 2 weeks ago- how long would it take to see evidence of bed bugs and would they be in her pillow even if we cant see? could the ac of introduced something into the apt? it is very clean but used- could bugs hide in there and come out when she is asleep

Answer
As I said, I doubt very much that insects or mites are involved here. Bed bugs are usually very easy to diagnosis once bites have started (see page cited above), and these don't sound like bed bug bites. If she is convinced that something is biting her, she should be able to produce the culprit.

Jack DeAngelis