AboutEd Saugstad Expertise Will accept most questions in general entomology, including those related to medical entomology, taxonomy, ecology, arthropod surveillance, and pest management.
Experience 21 years in the U.S. Army as a medical entomologist; duties varied from surveillance of pest populations (including mosquitoes, cockroaches, ticks, and stored products pests) to conducting research on mosquito-virus ecological relationships and mosquito faunal studies. Ten years as a civilian analyst for the Department of Defense, primarily on distribution of vector-borne diseases worldwide. Limited experience on surveillance of agricultural insects in North Dakota and Indiana.
Organizations Entomological Society of America, Society for Vector Ecology, National Speleological Society.
Publications American Journal of Public Health, Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology, Journal of Economic Entomology, Mosquito News, and Mosquito Systematics.
Education/Credentials B.S. in entomology from North Dakota State University in 1963, M.S. in entomology from Purdue University in 1967.
Expert: Ed Saugstad Date: 7/4/2008 Subject: bugs in couch
Question Help!! All of a sudden for the past week, in the evenings, only on 1 couch I sit on, we have small elongated (1/8"), seems to have a "head segment" teeny antennae, maybe 6 legs, very slow moving, but seems to appear suddenly (maybe crawling thru fabric?) Squishes easily (yuck!)We haven't done anything different, I did spray all over upholstry with bug spray, but tonight they were back, also I thin they bite, altough I have caught any doing it, I have fresh welts every evening. HELLLLLPPPP!! Thanks
Answer Dear Wilma - Unfortunately, your description is not sufficient for even an educated guess at what you might be seeing, but it does not sound like anything that you need to worry about. What really would help is a photo, if you could get a clear close-up that you could attach to a follow-up question. If this is not feasible, please tell me your state of residence, and I should be able to refer you to a more local source for assistance. Also, it is extremely difficult to diagnose what is causing 'bites' without actually catching a culprit in the act. Not only do most bug bites look pretty much alike, there are several other causes of skin eruptions/irritation that easily can be mistaken for bites. See http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ent/ent58/ent58.pdf for a good article on this subject.
Waiting to hear back,
Saugy
