Bedbugs are insects that feed on live animals and human bodies. They can be found anywhere, whether a home or a hotel. Bed bugs cannot fly, but they can move anywhere undetected due to their tiny size. They also get transported from other places to your home due to their flat bodies which hardly would require any space to fit themselves in.
Female bedbugs are known to lay hundreds of eggs during their lifetime. Each of these eggs is the size of a small dust particle and cannot be seen easily with a naked eye. Owing to their small size, it is very much necessary to correctly detect whether your house is infested with bedbugs or not. Based on the level of infestation, the further treatments to get rid of bedbugs can be decided.
Signs That You Have Bed Bugs :
Before you can get rid of bed bugs, you will need to determine first if you have a bed bug infestation on your hands. The problem with these tiny insects is that they are hard to spot. However, there is tell-tale signs that can help you identify whether bed bugs are living in your mattress.
Rusty or red stains
If you see red or rusty-colored stains on your mattress or bedding, it’s most likely dried blood from these bugs.
Egg shells
Egg shells are not that easy to spot because they tend to be small and are lighter in color, but keep an eye out for tiny specks of white or ivory on your bed, carpet, or even your furniture as these are egg shells of bed bugs.
Black dots
If you spot tiny dark stains or black dots on your bed or mattress, these may be fecal matter, as well as the skin of younger bugs when they shed.
Living bed bugs
Although these insects are tiny, they can grow bigger and more visible after they have fed. If you spot them on your furniture or your bed, you will need to take steps to kill bed bugs immediately.
When Bedbugs Bite :
Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed from three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.
Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.
People who don't realize they have a bedbug infestation may attribute the itching and welts to other causes, such as mosquitoes. To confirm bedbug bites, you must find and identify the bugs themselves.
