allergies and insects

[Amber]

So I seem to have some mysterious bug living in my apartment. I've never seen any bugs at all other than one lone fruit fly and one teeny white spider here, but for the past month I've been getting bitten by something really nasty that leaves blisters. Today, I was on the computer and got two bites on my foot, but didn't see anything at all, either on my foot or on the carpet.

I thought of bug-bombing the apartment, but I'm allergic to aerosol propellants and have extreme chemical hypersensitivity, so that's probably not the best thing to do. Anyone know of any effective hypo-allergenic way to get rid of an unknown bug?

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I'd call an exterminator, personally. If you're as allergic to stuff as you say you are,best leave handling the bugs to a pro.

[HarmNone]

Do you have pets? What you could be seeing are flea bites. Or, it could be mosquitoes (pesky little nasties!). Either way, if you have severe allergy problems, I'd invest in a professional service to rid you of said nasties, whatever they are.

[Tisket]

If you're not actually seeing any bugs I'd consider visiting a dermatologist to rule out skin irritants.

[Stanley Burrell]

Maybe you are having ragweed and/or grass pollen allergies.

[Landrion]

If youre in the NYC area I heard theyre having a resurging problem with bedbugs. Theyre immensely evasive and leave nasty welts. Definitely go get the bites identified.

[Amber]

Darn, I was hoping y'all would have a simple, easy solution. Guess I'll call an exterminator tomorrow and go from there. Thanks folks!

[Ignot]

Yeah I saw a discovery show on those bed bugs! They are pretty gross. They have some ridiculous way of evading human detection and are quite common. They also had some guy on there who got violently ill for a long long time. They could not figure out what it was until somehow they caught a bed bug in his home.

Hmm. I guess that's not really what you wanted to hear though...

[Sean of the Thread]

I hate bugs when I'm sleeping.. if I wake up and feel one crawling I jump across the room about 100 miles an hour in fear of being bit by a nasty spider.

[Ignot]

Im the same way, but not with spider's....it's roaches that I hate. Not the small ones but the really big ones. And if they fly then look out. My girlfriend knows not to look at me to be the hero in these situations.

[Sean of the Thread]

Palmetto bugs here are HUUUUGE.. and they get into your toothbrushes. (plastic wrap for the win)