It is essential to know how to check for bed bugs. Reactions to bed bug bites vary, and you may mistake one for a mosquito bite. Unless you make a thorough check, you may think you are free of these bloodsucking pests while they continue to infest a room.
What Are Bed Bugs, And Where Do They Come From?
The common bed bugs are tiny, wingless parasites that like to feed on the blood of humans. Their name is derived from the bug’s referred habitat of beds and they like to burrow into mattresses and come out to attack their victims while they sleep. Their bites while do not spread disease can cause itching and swelling.
Bed bugs are gifted hitchhikers and can hitch a ride back into people’s homes when an individual stays in an infested room. They mostly hitched on the person’s clothing and luggage, jumping off unseen to burrow into bedding and mattresses at the earliest opportunity. At night, as soon as someone lies down to rest, they detect their prey from the body heat and exhaled carbon dioxide of their victims and begin to feed. They also sometimes enter homes via second-hand clothing and used furniture that one may pick up at flea sales.
Why Check For Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs live on blood. A single female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime, so that a new generation of bugs can feed on hapless humans while they sleep. They carry about two dozen known pathogens (although there is no conclusive data that they can transmit disease).
For those who suffer from multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities, however, a bed bug bite can be much more than a nuisance. The bed bug bites can cause intense itching, severe rash and allergic reactions. Some people are also badly affected psychologically with an inability to sleep.
How To Check and Detect Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are tiny (an adult bug is about a quarter-inch long) about the size of an apple seed. They are usually oval-shaped and amber-colored, although they may appear dark red after they have fed. To check for bed bugs, inspect the mattress (both sides) especially around the seams as well as behind the headboard. (Remember, where one bug is visible, there are probably many more that have burrowed out of sight.)
A good indicator of the presence of bed bugs is the occurrence of reddish-brown stains on your mattress or bedding. These may be either the bugs’ droppings or the result of the bugs being crushed after feeding, spilling the blood they have consumed. And needless to say, if you wake up continuously each morning with itchy red welts (especially if they appear in rows), you probably have a serious infestation.
How To Protect Yourself While Traveling
It is very important to know how to check for bed bugs when we are traveling away from home. Whether one is staying in a cabin, a dormitory, a cheap motel, or a luxury suite, one should always make a careful check before sleeping in that bed. Contrary to popular beliefs, poor sanitation is not always the cause of a bed bug infestation. They have been known to show up in the most expensive hotels and in luxury resorts. Here are some step-by-step methods to protect yourself:
- First, leave your suitcases by the door when entering a new hotel room. If by any chance the room turns out to have bed bugs, it’s best to keep your luggage as far from the bed as possible.
- Next, check the seams of the mattress as well as the headboard, paying particular attention to any tiny cracks and crevices: this is where the bugs like to hide out when they’re not feeding. Carefully inspect the bedsheets. Look for any reddish-brown stains or any physical signs of the bed bugs.
- If any of the telltale signs do appear, do not take the hotel manager or proprietor’s word that there have been no bed bug infestations in the establishment. It may be a brand new problem, brought about by the last guest who stayed in that particular room. Ask for a change of room or find new lodgings elsewhere.
What If I Find Bed Bugs In My House?
 |
Don’t panic! A bed bug infestation is highly treatable. You may opt to employ the service of a bed bug exterminator who has the experience and equipments to treat and exterminate an infestation.
If you choose not to bring a professional in, there are ways to fight the bugs on your own. Consider a variety of removal methods such as setting bed bug traps, using a high-powered vacuum, heat treatment with a bed bug steamer, applying non-toxic bed bug powder or spray, diatomaceous earth, or encasing the bed with a bed bug proof mattress encasement to get rid of bed bugs. Most people find that a combination of the above methods is best for ending a bed bug infestation once and for all.
