Everything You Think You Know About Bed Bugs Is Wrong
Though bed bugs are within the news lots in recent years, there is a surprising quantity of misinformation floating around about these blood-sucking ectoparasites. how much does one realize bed bugs?
1. IF YOU WAKE UP WITH BUG BITES, YOU MUST HAVE BED BUGS.
With such lot news concerning bed bug infestations, you would possibly immediately assume bed bugs are the culprit if you rouse with mysterious bites on your skin.
Don’t panic! First of all, quite few different arthropods may well be the reason behind your bite marks, as well as fleas, mites, or maybe bat bugs. Also, several medical conditions cause symptoms that look the same as bug bites.
If the marks persist however you do not find signs of an infestation, it would be worth a visit to your doctor.
2. I’M THE ONLY ONE IN MY HOUSE WITH BUG BITES, SO THEY CAN’T BE FROM BED BUGS.
If you are the only one in your house wakening with bites, that does not exclude bed bugs because the cause. people react to bed bug bites otherwise, even as they are doing with mosquito bites or different insect bites.
It’s extremely a matter of however your body reacts to the bed bug saliva when you are bitten. 2 people can sleep on an equivalent bed bug infested mattress, and one will wake up with none signs of being bitten whereas the opposite is roofed in bite marks.
3. BED BUGS ARE SO TINY, YOU CAN’T SEE THEM WITH THE EYE.
It’s true that bed bugs are pretty little insects; however they don’t seem to be microscopic.
If you recognize wherever to seem for them, you’ll be able to definitely see them while not the aid of a magnifier. The bed bug nymph is roughly the size of a poppy seed, and grows larger from there. Bed bug adults measure slightly larger than 1/8th of an in., or concerning the size of an apple seed or a lentil. The eggs, that are simply the size of a pinhead, are going to be harder to check while not magnification.
4. BED BUGS LIVE IN DIRTY HOUSES. IF I KEEP MY HOME CLEAN, I CAN’T GET BED BUGS.
Bed bugs do not care however neat and tidy your home is, nor do they care if you are the best housekeeper on the block.
As long as you have got blood pumping through your veins to provide them with a meal, bed bugs can mirthfully take up residence in your home.
A similar rule holds true for hotels and resorts. Whether or not or not a edifice might need bed bugs has nothing to try to to with however clean or dirty the establishment is.
Even a five-star resort will host bed bugs. One thing to stay in mind, however, is that clutter will build it way more difficult to get eliminate bed bugs once they are in your home, because they will have legion places to hide.
5. BED BUGS ONLY BITE WHEN IT’S DARK.
It’s true that bed bugs choose to do their dirty work beneath cowl of darkness, however light will not stop a hungry bed bug from biting you.
In desperation, some people try going away all their lights on all night, hoping the bed bugs can keep hidden like cockroaches. All which will do is because you to additional sleep deprived.
6. BED BUGS LIVE IN MATTRESSES ? THAT’S WHY THEY’RE CALLED BED BUGS!
Yes, indeed, bed bugs do hide within the seams and crevices of your mattress. Since these nocturnal insects feed on your blood, it’s to their advantage to measure near the place wherever you pay the night.
But that does not mean bed bugs solely sleep in mattresses. Bed bugs inhabit carpets and couches, dressers and closets, and even places you’d never assume to appear, like image frames and switch plate covers. Also, bed bugs are not restricted to living in people’s homes. Bed bugs are turning up in movie theaters, on commuter trains, and alternative places wherever people congregate, too. Bed bugs?they’re not only for beds any longer.
7. YOU CAN FEEL IT WHEN A BED BUG BITES YOU.
We’re not talking regarding massive bugs here. Bed bugs are pretty little, and their mouths are even smaller.
Bed bug saliva contains a substance that is a light anesthetic, therefore once one bites you, it really will you the favor of numbing your skin first.
It?s totally unlikely that you’d ever feel a bed bug bite once it happens.
8. BED BUGS JUMP FROM THE FLOOR TO THE BED.
Bed bugs are not equipped for jumping.
Bed bugs do not have legs adapted for jumping, like fleas or grasshoppers. Bed bugs do not have wings, either, so that they cannot fly.
They are whole reliant on crawl for locomotion, therefore moving from the ground to the bed needs them to climb up the leg of a bed, or to scale any belongings or furniture you have placed close to the bed.
This may work to your advantage if you are battling bed bugs, as you’ll be able to produce barriers to stay bed bugs from climb onto your bed.
Use double-sided tape on the bed legs, or place them in trays of water. Of course, if your bed spread touches the ground, the bed bugs will still climb into your bed, and bed bugs are glorious to crawl up the wall to the ceiling, and so drop onto the bed.
9. BED BUGS TRANSMIT DISEASES TO PEOPLE.
So far, scientists have found no proof that bed bugs area unit capable of transmittal diseases to human hosts.
For this reason, they are considered a nuisance pest rather than a health threat. once bed bug infestations began to rise within the U.S., many health departments and agencies were slow to reply to complaints regarding bed bugs, because they weren’t thought of a public health issue and resources weren’t allotted for combating them.
However although they do not transmit diseases, bed bugs still cause a health risk.
Some people expertise severe allergic reactions to bed bug bites and other people who are bitten will suffer from secondary infections of the bite sites.
The emotional stress of managing a persistent bed bug infestation may also have a negative impact on your health.
10. BED BUGS CAN SURVIVE A YEAR WITHOUT A MEAL.
Technically, this is often true.
Under the right conditions, bed bugs are glorious to survive as long as a year whiles not a meal.
Bed bugs, like all insects, area unit cold-blooded, therefore once temperatures drop, their body temperatures also decrease.
If it gets cold enough, the bed bug’s metabolism can slow down, and they will stop feeding quickly.
It’s unlikely that it might ever get cold enough in your home to trigger such long amount of inactivity, though, therefore for practical purposes, this statement is fake.
At normal temperature, the bed bug may go as long as 2-3 months
Read More:?The Top 10 Myths About Bed Bug Treatment
