Bed bugs are types of parasitic insects because they feed exclusively on blood. The term usually refers to species that prefer human hosts. But all of them as well as bat bugs and bird bugs will bite you! That is when they cannot find other prey, such as bats roosting in a cave or birds nesting in attics.
They can live for over a year without sustenance. Adults may survive up to two months without feeding and nymphs until nine months without eating.
These bugs hide during the day and come out at night when their host is asleep. They are most active climbing onto their sleeping hosts or hiding within clothing or other dark spots close to the bed. They generally do not nest within homes like ants or bees.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are kinds of insects that feed on your blood and animals. They are typically active at night, leaving neat little bites in a zig-zag pattern! The issue with their bites is that they cause extreme discomfort. It leads to many sleepless nights for those with bites. However, their reputation is not to transmit any diseases.
The bites can lead to skin rashes, allergic reactions, infections, and psychological effects. You can identify a bed bug by looking for the bite marks on your skin. Also, see small blood spots or smears on sheets that look like rust spots. They typically leave behind dark red stains after their meal is over.
Check everything carefully when you have bed bugs in your home. Do not assume that one hatch will also become where you can see the rest of them. Adult female bed bugs lay about six eggs per day. It will become easier to spot infestations early. They can travel through walls and even floors with ease as necessary.
Signs & Symptoms
Watch out for signs and symptoms that bed bugs can give.
When to See a Doctor?
Seeing symptoms means that you can consult a doctor. Some of them include small welts on your skin that are in rows or zigzag lines, itchy red bumps on the skin, blood smears or spots on your sheets or linens.
Bed bugs are an increasing problem in many homes. It might become an infestation when you see bite marks on your skin. Getting rid of them requires professional help. But there are ways to treat the symptoms.
It is very important to see a dermatologist when you have any of the following symptoms:
- many bites
- painful or ooze pus-like fluid out skin blisters
- dotting with tiny pimples in groups near where the bites are
- an allergic reaction showing red skin and swollen
Allergic reaction: Experiencing a severe allergic reaction is a signal that your dermatologist may give you an injection of epinephrine (adrenaline) for immediate relief!
Infection: Treat infection with antibiotics and antiseptic medications such as those available without a prescription at most stores or gas stations. The doctor can prescribe to use on BugBite® bites only after consulting first.
Some people find great success using over-the-counter alternatives like hydrocortisone cream! It has been known to not just relieve itchiness. But also help heal wounds more quickly than traditional medicine does! Itching is often from allergies.
How to get rid of bed bugs?
Getting rid of bed bugs can take time and patience. You must get everything out in the open before you start your search for them. This means inspecting everything carefully. First-time efforts may not lead to eradicating the problem. But it should keep them at bay for a while.
Consider the following steps to get rid of bed bugs.
• Clear everything away from your bed
• Vacuum everything within about 4 feet. This is especially around the edges of the mattresses and box springs. Use a crevice option when available on your vacuum cleaner. The goal here is to see when there are any signs that you have an infestation by removing eggs or other evidence.
• Strip everything away that you can do so safely. This means removing:
- sheets
- blankets
- comforters
- pillowcases
- mattress pads
- cloths used for pillows
- other similar things
Place everything in black garbage bags lined with another trash bag made of strong material like plastic or fabric will work best!
• Wash everything in hot water
Where do they hide?
Bed bugs love dark spaces! It is where they can hide. Examples are under your mattress, wall or floor cracks and crevices, behind wallpaper seams, behind baseboards, and hung pictures on walls with nails. They might even hide within the furniture you have inside your home. Places like drawers, couches, or cabinets are where you can see them.
These bugs are nocturnal pests that bite you and feed on blood during the night. As residents sleep, these insects leave their hiding spots to find a host for them. They consume more than just water or food from human hosts. Believe they also need protein.
They cause home infestations when an individual living space has been taken over. Watch how they can increase rapidly under certain circumstances! Examples are poor cleaning practices such as not vacuuming. This is due to the lack of awareness about how best to handle this issue at hand.
What causes bed bug infestation?
It is hard to say for sure. But some factors can contribute to this problem. These include:
• International travel, especially by plane as one is more likely to have been exposed during the journey.
• Moving from one home to another leaves everything unpacked and ready for those bugs to crawl in. They do so through any small available spaces they can find around your belongings.
• Living in a place where these bugs naturally occur increases your likelihood of encountering them without an infestation occurring at all. They are still likely to spread out of your home when you come across them.
• Using second-hand items like used mattresses or furniture might have hidden bugs inside. These travel with you to your next place of residency like the most prevalent college dormitories. Getting rid of them is hard due to students moving everything around regularly.
Some people get bed bugs from pets. When an infestation occurs in a pet’s living space, it can bring everything into your home. This includes any bed bugs the pet might have.
How do they spread?
These insects do everything they can to get inside your home and lay eggs in beds, furniture, and other areas! Bed bugs travel on human hosts or their belongings to move around the neighborhood or across cities. They hide in luggage, folded clothing, boxes, purses, and used furniture items like mattresses and couches when not traveling on a host.
The eggs are small and white just like a speck of dust when new. As time goes by, they grow into adults that look like an apple seed without its outer shell. It is when you see them crawling around your bedding in search of blood. They need it before laying more eggs in hidden spaces about your room and home in general.
These bugs also love the warm weather you experience indoors. They will go into a dormant stage in winter until the warm months return.
How to Prevent Bed Bug Infestation?
Stop bed bugs from infesting your life! Make sure you do everything related to this matter properly. It takes time and patience to create a strategy that will work for you. But do not worry. You have everything covered here.
You need to get ready even before the bugs take over your space! This means getting rid of everything in your home that might have them inside or on it already.
Wash everything in hot water! Put clothing into the dryer for three hours on high heat when you cannot wash it. This should kill everything alive inside! Try to clean up before bringing it back into use again. Your bed needs special attention while cleaning since the bed bugs love laying eggs there! Clean everything with rubbing alcohol or Lysol.
Avoid taking used furniture into your home. It is the hardest thing to clean properly. Bugs hide inside everything these days including electrical appliances, boxes, and books you might bring along with it. Any of these new things can have bugs before you get them. They will appear everywhere in your room very soon after bringing everything in.
Some Facts about Bed Bugs
It takes a while for bed bugs to show up after being exposed to them. This means you will not see anything at first even when they are already there. They can become seen easily before this time comes around though.
Inspect your room for any signs of live bugs or eggs on furniture, walls, and windows. Look for blood stains on sheets and mattresses from adults that they have also fed recently.
Bugs do not cause any harm whatsoever. Their bites might hurt a bit. But the real damage comes from their potential to spread diseases like Lyme disease and Q fever throughout homes without any infestation occurring at all. Bites pass these to you.
There are more than one species of pests called bed bugs. They are very close to one another in everything they do. But some of them might have allergies you cannot recover from. That is when one or the other type bites you.
You need awareness of everything about these creatures already before acting against them on your own. Let this guide enlighten you about them!
