Last weekend (not this recent one but the one before that), the family and I headed to Nebraska to find a house. It was our normal trip: too fast and full of long hours in the car. We didn’t find a house, but we had some good contenders. Things were looking up.
(Side note: we found a house later in the week. I didn’t get to see it, but my spouse sent me pictures and it looks like it will work!)
We got home late on Sunday, so I didn’t have time to get my laundry started. On Monday when I woke up, I noticed that I had bug bites on my legs. Of course, my first thoughts were: “Sh*t! We have bed bugs!” So I immediately scooped up the bedding and threw it into the wash. I then proceeded to spray my mattress cover down with bleach water and Lysol.
All week I worried and fretted about whether or not we had bed bugs. I kept an eye on the kids and every time the dogs scratched, I watched them intently. As the week wore on, I got more bites on my legs.
Now, the logical side of my brain told me: If these are bed bugs, why are you only getting bit on the legs? Wouldn’t they be going after your entire body? And why aren’t the kids getting bitten? The dogs seem fine, so why are you so special?
The anxious, panic-attack-susceptible side of my brain was like: IT’S BED BUGS! BED BUGS! CALL AN EXTERMINATOR! YOUR HOUSE IS INFESTED! YOU’RE GOING TO GET EATEN ALIVE!
I texted my husband on Friday morning to tell him about the phenomena, at the same time as I was Googling bed bug bites and looking for exterminators, and he told me that a doctor could tell me immediately what was going on. So, in a rush, I headed to Urgent Care.
Long story short, it’s not bed bugs (thank goodness!), but the doctor wasn’t exactly sure what kind of bites they were. He assumed since we were in Nebraska, it was probably mosquito bites. I was fine with that explanation, if not a bit skeptical, but just incredibly happy it wasn’t bed bugs.
This past weekend (the recent one), I went back to Rock Springs for a convention. While there, I showed my mom my bites, and she immediately thought they looked like chigger bites. She then Googled “chigger” and read the information. I had all the symptoms—especially the insane itching that also made my leg where the bites were feel like they were on fire. My bites didn’t look exactly like the pictures, but there were a few that were close.
It made sense. Those dastardly little bugs are abundant in the Midwest, and they live in grassy and wooded areas. We were walking through lawns and by trees when looking at houses, so it’s completely possible that I could have picked up chiggers. Of course, I’m the only one in my family who got them, but what can I do? I’m just glad I figured out what was trying to eat me alive.
Life After the Undead series: each book $4 or both for $6.
The Road to Salvation series: $4 each or all 3 for $10.
