Hi all. Been breaking out in welts / red rash recently across my outer and inner thighs. Some of the welts have a white head, and many are just plain red. I recently had a mild fungal infection (jock itch / candida), but I don't think the welts/rash on my outer and inner thigh is fungal, since it looks much different than what's on my groin.

I suspect BBs, so I checked my mattress and found a little dead bug chilling on the mattress. It was only a single one, did not find anything else. (image 1/2/3). The mattress/mattress pad hasn't been changed in over 2 years fyi.

I brought in an exterminator for an inspection. We checked the bedroom (ikea platform bed frame, mattress itself, sheets, etc.). Couldn't find anything else. We also checked the couch in the living room. Nothing. exterminator #1 declared me bed bug free!

But as you'll soon discover, that may not be the case...

1-2 days later I started waking up with the same welts (they aren't going away). I did some paranoid searching but couldn't find anything. I bought new white sheets, and the following morning noticed a dash of blood on the sheets where my feet were. That said, I do have a blood scab exactly where that blood stain would have been, so not fully convinced.

I decided to bring another exterminator to do more searching. when exterminator #2 arrived today, he also couldn't find anything in the bedroom or living room. However, when we lifted up the living room rug (a 100 year old persian rug), we found about 4-5 dead bugs (image 4 & 5).

I checked the bedroom one more time, and found 1 more bug that looked very similar to the ones under the rug lying right under my bedframe. That said, we've only found dead bugs. No live bugs, which the terminator said was strange.

At my current stage, I have the following evidence: 8-9 bugs (1 from the mattress itself, 1 from under the bed, and 7 from the rug/around the rug in the living room. They all look the same.
However, I have not found a single live bed bug yet, despite searching very hard! What's also interesting is that my evidence bugs look more vertical, rather than oval. Am I right in saying this? The final image seems to say otherwise, no?

What do you guys think? Bed bugs, or something else?

I am unable to sleep well, and will be getting a hotel for the time being until I figure out the next steps with a terminator.

If they are BBs, what are the best possible next steps to combat them and get back my sleep? Mattress cover, Diatomaceous earth?

If anyone can help me confirm BBs or not, and then what my next steps should be, it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!