Can you get mosquito bites in the winter or should I be concerned about bedbugs?

• BedbugParanoiaFilter: I found a mosquito-looking bite on my torso. Can you get mosquito bites in the winter or should I be concerned about bedbugs? It's whitish in the centre with a spreading red area around it, which is exactly how my mosquito bites tend to look (I am slightly allergic). It does not itch, however, like my mosquito bites usually do. I've inspected myself thoroughly and can find no other bites. I do live in Vancouver, Canada where bedbugs have been a problem. I also ride public transit all the time which is supposed to be where a lot of people pick them up. Could this be bedbugs? How can I check my apartment for bedbugs? I am really panicky about the thought because I can't afford to pay an exterminator and replace my stuff, and I don't even have anywhere else to stay. Anonymous because I'm embarrassed about my paranoia. Thanks.

• Answer:

  Don't freak out just yet. Even if you do have bedbugs you won't need to replace everything. If you really want to be sure you'll have to show your bite to a doctor who knows how to determine what kind of insect it is. You could try to catch a bug, by placing double sided tape around your bed legs and maybe one will crawl up and get stuck. You could also have someone come in and inspect. I don't know what the tenant laws are up in Canada, but I would imagine they're not that dissimilar from those in the U.S. Most cities do have "warrant of habitability" laws on the books, which means that landlords are required to provide you with vermin free living quarters. Bedbugs are considered vermin. If it comes to it, your landlord should pay for the exterminator. Having dealt with bedbugs before in an apartment situation, please note, that your neighbors could also have the bugs, so check with them. If they do your whole building should exterminate at the same time. If you don't, then the bugs can just travel from apartment to apartment infesting and reinfesting your space. If you do have bedbugs, don't get rid of your mattress just yet. You don't want to get a whole new mattress just to have it get reinfested. Instead buy some allergy covers for you mattress and box springs. They're designed to keep out dust mites, which are much smaller than bedbugs so they'll keep the bedbugs from nesting in your mattress. There's lot of other stuff you can do on your own. Check out the http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bedbugger/.