I Slept at My Friend’s Old Apartment for a Couple of Days — Then I Noticed These Weird Bumps

There are some discoveries that seem completely harmless at first.

A strange stain on a wall.

A strange smell coming from an old cabinet.

A tiny crack near a window.

And then there are those moments when something catches your attention and refuses to leave your mind.

For me, it happened while I was staying at an old apartment belonging to a friend.

I had only planned to be there for a couple of days.

The apartment was nothing special. It was old, slightly worn, and filled with the kind of furniture people accumulate over the years. The building had clearly seen better days, but it was quiet, inexpensive, and convenient.

I didn’t expect anything unusual.

Then, on my second morning, I noticed the bumps.

At First, I Thought They Were Nothing

The first bump appeared on my arm.

It was small and red.

It didn’t hurt much.

I assumed I’d scratched myself or perhaps been bitten by a mosquito.

That wouldn’t have been surprising. The apartment had old windows, and I had noticed insects around the building.

I ignored it.

Later that afternoon, I noticed another bump.

This time, it was on my leg.

Then I started paying closer attention.

There were several small marks.

They were not all in exactly the same place, but some seemed to appear in clusters.

Suddenly, the apartment didn’t feel quite as comfortable as it had the day before.

The First Suspicion

I asked my friend whether the apartment had ever had an insect problem.

There was a long pause.

Then he said something that immediately made me pay attention.

“Actually, I think the previous tenant had some problems.”

He wasn’t sure what kind.

He said the apartment had been empty for a while before he moved in.

That information changed the way I looked at everything.

The old mattress.

The couch.

The cracks around the baseboards.

The tiny spaces behind furniture.

Places I hadn’t thought twice about suddenly seemed worth inspecting.

Could It Be Bed Bugs?

One possibility that immediately came to mind was bed bugs.

Bed bugs are small insects that feed on blood and can hide in mattresses, bed frames, furniture, cracks, and other narrow spaces.

They are notoriously difficult to detect because they can hide during the day and become active at night.

Their presence isn’t necessarily related to cleanliness.

That is an important misconception.

Bed bugs can be found in very clean homes, hotels, dormitories, apartments, and other places.

They can travel in luggage, clothing, furniture, and other belongings.

An old apartment with secondhand furniture can therefore present an opportunity for an infestation to persist unnoticed.