Are dogs a likely source for bed bugs?

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Wondering if Parker is a likely culprit to bring in bed bugs to the house?(Other than him being a giant bed bug himself) Anyone know about this stuff?

UPDATE: Bug guy came for a second time today...we have been sleeping on the sofa bed for over a week because I knew he had to come back which to me meant they weren't all dead! I was working when he came today so my landlord/cousin came to meet the guy instead and according to her, he said he didn't see any signs of anymore bugs, and sprayed a LITTLE more...I asked for them to spray near my wooden desk since they like wood and it isn't far from the bedroom (I don't think he did spray by the desk which makes me kind of mad!) and then my cousin says that the guy said we might see a couple stragglers as they die and come out of hiding...

I come home thinking we were going to sleep in the real bed tonight, so I washed the new sheets and got everything on the bed and as I am doing this, I see 2 bugs crawling up the wall! I kill them and look around and find 3 more! SHOOT ME! I changed my mind about the bed...still out on the sofa bed...I read that bedbugs cause mental problems and insomnia...I can UNDERSTAND why...I feel like I have those mental problems myself now because of them! I want to move!

As you can see...Parker has no issues with the sofa bed...my back on the other hand feels otherwise!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I just recently saw a program on TV, it was called "Infested", a family had bed bugs all over the house.  I don't mean to scare you or anything but the people had them in their couch too.  I fell asleep before the end of the program so I can't tell you how the got rid of them :(    I would check every inch of the house.  Be careful if they spray with chemicals, make sure Parker is not anywhere around or take him out of the house.  I also heard that they can freeze them which I guess is better than using chemicals I guess.  Good luck Katie.

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Yah one of my neighbors said she saw that and according to that show, there's no way to kill them unless your apartment and all your belongings are heated up to a certain temperature (which clearly I am not on a tv show and I can't get my apartment turned into a sauna???) But that woman isn't the best educated person...says things like "I goes to Walmarts" so maybe she just didn't listen to the whole program properly. The government website says the only thing to really get rid of them is hiring a professional with professional pesticides...not DIY stuff...so I dunno.

Parker will be going to the dog sitter's house for a few hours today. The bug people said once everything dries after 2 hours, it will be safe to come back in because I told them we had a dog and didn't want him near the chemicals.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

OMD Katie, you are in for a lot of work.

The one good thing is the stigma of bed bugs is no longer there the problem is getting rid of them.

My brother refuses to sleep in a hotel bed, instead he sleeps in his sleeping bag and then puts it in a big trash bag,  never takes it into his house afterward, heads to the local laundromat and washes it there. He only takes in what he needs and leaves everything in the bathtub of the hotel room where they are not likely to be. He traveled a lot for a job and he just gets skeezed out about it, thankfully he has a new, stay at home job.

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Yah shoot me...I don't NEED anymore work! These bugs need to fry! Your brother may have a point! Though we haven't traveled anywhere in a hotel for almost a year now so that isn't the cause of these suckers....

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

'm itching right now!

1)I'm sorry you are going through this

2)I hope they can take care of it today!!

3) I think you did well with what you did

4)I have a wood sleigh bed!

5)THEY HAVE NESTS??? WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE???

6)Please post the updates for us!

7) Parker looks like he doesn't mind if there's anything in the bed with him!!

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

The bug guy comes at two so hopefully they can deal with it, kill the suckers and find the "source"...We are going to caulk the molding cracks we have in our wall so that nothing can come through them just in case that's where they're coming from! That photo is of Parker sleeping on the tiny sofa bed, since I wont even go into the bedroom now! Last night we vacuumed the floor again and then I steam cleaned the carpet to hopefully kill and suck up any "eggs" in the carpet! Our new bed doesn't come until tuesday so we will be in the living room for a few more days!

[Lorraine Bromley]

Bed Bugs aren't the only thing that dogs and pets can bring to bed with them. In our local paper there was an article last week in the Doctors column about his patient who kept coming back with a yeast infection. It would be clear on antibiotics and then back again. He finally asked about the animals in the bed and walla! The cat had a urinary tract infection! 

My friend had bed bugs on a trip south and was bitten horribly while there. Apparently they had laid eggs and about 8 to 10 weeks later they started maturing and she went through agony again while they tried to hatch.   

Having said all that Neely is on the couches and our bed everyday.

[Chelsea and Bailey]

OMD that SUCKS! Im sorry that happened to you guys! When Bailey got lice this year I about freaked, and it was only contained to her and not transferrable to humans! What that woman said about heating the house is true I believe. From what I have heard they move FAST, if they started in the room just think of all the places you move in a day and where they can be tracked... every nook and cranny, including all the furniture in the house. I dont mean to scare you! But I would ask them what they can do for the house in general, I know there is something they do but you must evacuate for a day or something.  The reason they are such a big problem in apartments is because they crawl out from under the doors and to other units by someones shoes or just by travel alone, so they def know how to get places.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I fear bedbugs in the worst way as my dh stays in a hotel room in NYC 3 or 4 nights - every week.  They do hitch a ride in luggage or on clothes, pets - I'm not sure of.  I know it would be expensive but I'd be searching for a pest control company that specializes in b.b.  I've heard of librarys having them in their reading chairs - yuk!  So check your chairs and sofa too.  I've read of people having to spend thousands to get rid of them, I'd call your insurance co. and see if you have any help there.   Course if it makes you feel any better - I once stayed in NYC with dh in what I now, not so lovingly call the Rat Hotel.  Where I woke up to find a mouse crawling on my hand!!!!!  Then found dead ones (8) on those sticky traps.  I bout DIED.  Now we stay down the street from there but as I watch tourists and business people go in and out of the Rat Hotel, all I can do is think - they have no clue!

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

That's HORRIFYING!!!! I hope you didn't have to pay for ANYTHING at that hotel! Was it a hotel you'd expect that from????

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

So bug guy came and somehow I don't feel any better! he heated up the electrical sockets. He sprayed the carpets and shelves and end tables and mattress and sofa just incase...found 5 live ones crawling around in the bedroom as well....UGH! He comes back again next week to check  up and do "phase 2"...I don't even wanna go in the bedroom still!

The photo is what my living room looks like since I had to clear off everything in the bedroom so it could be sprayed! UGHH!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Oh you poor girl! Next week??? I hope what he is doing is working! I think I'd sleep on the kitchen table!!! Good luck to you!