Bed bugs usually come from other infested areas such as a friend or relative but can hitch a ride to your home from your luggage. If you are a traveler then be sure to vacuum your luggage before you store it back at home. Also, be sure to wash and dry your clothing and take it straight to the laundry.
It is a great idea to run through the dryer a full cycle and as possible before washing them. This will kill the bugs.
If you have bed bugs it does not mean you are dirty and even the cleanest places can have these tiny pests.
Bed bugs come from many places so it is a great idea to identify where your problem may have come from and be proactive in the future about potentially transporting them to your own home.
Bed bugs are sneaky little critters that feast on your blood while you’re asleep. Go ahead and inspect yourself – if you notice little red spots around your body, the chances are that you’ve been bitten by one. Or you’ve got chickenpox. It’s not ideal to find yourself in either situation, but while something like chickenpox comes around once in a lifetime, bed bugs, on the other hand, can make your life hell if they aren’t eliminated from your home.
Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs aren’t modern pests; they’ve been around throughout history. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, bed bugs were fairly common pests throughout the pre and post 20th century until around 1945 or the end of World War II. However, bed bug infestations have declined across the globe. This has been partly due to increased public awareness about bed bugs. While nowadays, bed bug infestations are rare, it can be quite annoying when they do happen.
While bed bugs do not carry disease, they can still be a pest for a whole host of reasons. For instance, people who have bed bugs in their house may get allergic reactions or a secondary infection if bitten by a bed bug. Bed bugs can also make it extremely difficult for a person to get a good night’s sleep. The loss of sleep can leave a person feeling overwhelmed, annoyed, and unable to function properly during the day due to the lack of rest.
It’s safe to say that a bed bug infestation can have a physical and psychological impact on a person if the infestation is left unsolved. This is why it’s crucial to take steps to deal with a bed bug infestation as soon as you notice these creatures in your home.
If you’ve ever asked yourself the question, “where do bed bugs come from?”, this guide is going to tell you all you need to know about bed bugs, where they come from, and how you can keep them from destroying your peace of mind.
The scientific name of the common bed bug is Cimex Lectularius. It’s an insect that feeds mostly on human blood but has also been known to feed on the blood of rodents, bats, birds, and even house cats and dogs, although humans are considered to be the major host for bed bugs. This is one of the reasons why bed bugs are mostly found hiding in bedroom mattresses and sofas.
In cases of extreme infestation, the bed bugs can also spread to the walls, pictures, electrical outlets, and the basement or attic of a home. The favorite mode of travel for the bed bug is usually by hitchhiking on the clothes of people or used furniture that comes from the infested area.
One of the main reasons why bed bugs are considered to be the most annoying of insects is because of their small size, which makes it easy for them to hide, sometimes even in plain sight. Bed bugs are oval-shaped, reddish-brown little critters that look very similar to a small apple seed. The average size of a bed bug is just ¼ to 3/8 of an inch.
When looking at bed bugs from the side, they appear to be flat, which would make them impossible to spot if they moved around on their sides. Luckily, since bed bugs are usually on the mattresses or floor, they can be spotted with a little effort and 20/20 vision.
The small size of the bed bugs also means that they can easily hide in narrow spaces between furniture and in gaps in the walls. The newly hatched bed bugs are even harder to spot since they are almost transparent, having not sucked a human’s blood yet. Being the size of a pinhead, these baby bed bugs are often found in clusters of 10 to 50. While baby bugs are tiny as compared to the adult bed bug, they tend to grow at a rapid rate once they start to feed on human blood.
The bite of bed bugs does not cause any disease, nor do they transmit any disease. While their bite is painless and unnoticeable while you’re sleeping, the area where they bite can itch profusely. The area of the bite can also start to bleed if scratched too much, which can result in further discomfort. What makes bed bugs so difficult to notice is that they usually crawl out of their shelter and feed while a person is asleep.
Their bite is also painless, which means that the person does not know that they have been bitten until the morning when the area of the bite begins to swell into a small lump and starts to itch. The itching can continue for days after the bug bite, which is another reason why bed bugs are so annoying.
It is crucial for those who are bitten to resist the urge to scratch the bite area since that can cause a secondary infection. As a rule of thumb, those who have been bitten by a bed bug should wash the bite area with soap and water to reduce the chances of an infection.
There is only one way to prevent a bed bug infestation in your home, and that’s by being extremely cautious when bringing used furniture or articles of clothing into your home. Since bed bugs prefer to hitchhike from one place to another, one of the most common ways that bed bugs end up spreading is by clinging on to the clothing if one visits a home where bed bugs already reside. The bed bugs then hitch a ride unbeknownst to the person to their new home and begin to multiply there as well.
You should thoroughly inspect anything you bring into your home, especially the clothes you’re wearing if you’ve visited someplace that already has a bug infestation. Basically, any place that receives a high amount of foot traffic increases the chances of the bed bugs spreading from one home to the next.
One of the most common ways that people get bed bugs is while traveling. We know that bed bugs spread by riding on a person’s clothing or used furniture without the person’s knowledge. However, that’s not the only way they can spread. Bed bugs have also been known to hitch a ride on people’s luggage while they’re on vacation.
Since bed bugs require a human being or animal to be inactive in order to feed, bed bugs are also commonly found in theaters, where people tend to sit for hours while they’re enjoying their favorite movie. Schools, motels libraries, daycare centers, and public transportation are some other examples of places where you could get bed bugs from.
The little critters can also make their way onto trains and the subway, where they sit in wait for the next person to come along. Bed bugs tend to hitchhike unnoticed in this way, which makes them extremely dangerous since they’re able to spread more effectively without ever being detected.
More often than not, bed bugs are found in places of a home that allows them to feed on an inactive host. This is why the bedroom and the living room of homes are two of the most common places where bed bugs tend to hide in wait for their next meal.
Contrary to popular belief, it does not have to be night time for bed bugs to come out and feed on their hosts. The tiny critters are opportunistic feeders, which means that they can feed on a host even during the daytime.
It is important to always keep a look out for these tiny critters whenever you visit a public space. Contacting a professional pest control service can help get rid of the problem before the bed bugs have a chance to spread.
Like mosquitoes, bed bugs, too, can only survive by feeding on blood. This has led many people to believe that bed bugs are critters that live in filthy places. This is not entirely true since bed bugs can be found even in the cleanest of houses. This is mainly because bed bugs don’t feed on dirt – they feed on blood.
Some things that you can do to avoid bringing bed bugs into your home is by thoroughly inspecting any luggage or furniture you bring into your home after a vacation or garage sale. You’d also want to wash your clothes if you’ve been to a public area where you suspect bed bugs might have been.
Also, public places aren’t the only places where bed bugs dwell. Sometimes, the little critters can be found in your friend’s, neighbor’s, or relative’s house, too. This is why you should be extra careful when you’re moving from place to place, even if you’re just going to your neighbor’s next door.
To get the bed bugs out of clothing, many people often make the mistake of just washing their clothes. It has been found that washing the clothes may not entirely get rid of the bed bugs hiding between the seams and the stitching of the clothes.
A better way to ensure that there aren’t any unwelcome guests hiding in your trousers (or shirt) is by placing your clothes in the dryer for at least 20 minutes. After putting them through the dryer, you can wash your clothes with warm water and soap to make sure that you’ve gotten rid of any of these annoying critters.
It is common for people who are bitten to be completely oblivious to the bite until it starts to swell and itch. Bed bugs can be hard to detect because the bitemark they leave is similar to that of the common mosquito, which is why people often don’t know that they have a bed bug infestation in their home until it’s too late. You should contact a pest control service to get rid of the little bloodsuckers.
As mentioned before in this article, bed bugs feed on the blood of humans. A typical bed bug can feed for anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes before crawling back to its shelter, which is usually under a mattress, pillow, a crack in the wall, or space between furniture. They tend to bite anywhere on the body, but especially on the arms, legs, hands, and face, as these are the areas that are exposed while a person is sleeping.
It is important to understand that nobody is off-limits when it comes to bed bugs. If you start to notice small red spots on your toddler, there’s a good chance that your child’s being bitten by bed bugs. The first thing you have to do is inspect your child’s clothing thoroughly.
You should also inspect the crib, mattresses, sheets, stroller, booster seat, car seat, stuffed toys, and any other thing your toddler comes in contact with. To avoid any secondary infection on the area that’s been bitten, wash the area with soap and water and use anti-itch cream to avoid any discomfort or irritation.
As mentioned before, bed bugs can be hard to spot because of their sneaky ways and small size. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to safeguard your home against these annoying little bloodsuckers. If you’re moving into a new house, don’t forget to ask the landlord or property manager about any previous infestations.
You can also look for tell-tale signs of a bed bug infestation, such as bed bug droppings that can look like small dark spots at the corner of the wall or on wooden furniture. You can also inspect the corners of mattresses and the bed where the bugs usually lay their eggs.
The tiny, white, and oval-shaped eggs are a bit bigger than a needle hole but are always present in clusters, which makes them easy to spot. While you can find over-the-counter solutions, the best way to completely eradicate bed bugs from your home is by hiring a professional pest control service.
