Bed bugs live in furniture, and hidden cracks, while lice live on your body. Arguably this makes lice worse because it's more disgusting that they live on your scalp. But this makes them much easier to kill than bed bugs. Also, bed bugs cause spots, but lice don't.
Several shampoo treatments are available for lice, but bed bug infestations are usually much harder for homeowners to control.
They're often found in places like the seams of your mattress or cracks in your bed frame. Bedbugs aren't adapted to live in your hair, but it's possible a bedbug could end up in your hair after biting your scalp. Finding bugs in your hair is much more likely a sign of head lice.
Generally, bed bugs prefer a less warm climate, so they won't keep living on your head. However, because of all of the prime spots to draw blood, bed bugs can commonly be found along the scalp around the hair. You won't feel them crawling around because they don't have the same claws as lice or ticks.
What's the Difference Between Bed Bugs and Lice? While both bed bugs and lice are parasitic insects, they're entirely different in their behavior, appearance, and how they spread. Lice are approximately the size of a sesame seed and live on your body rather than near it.
Do I have bed bug eggs in my hair? Bed bug eggs are rarely found in hair as the parent bugs do not spend much time there. Unlike fleas and ticks, bed bugs are not equipped with the body parts that would allow them to attach to hair or the scalp. Bugs found in these locations would more likely be fleas or lice.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.
Showering using soap and water is sufficient to remove bed bugs from your person. Wash your work clothes and dry them completely in a clothes dryer. Once dry, run the clothes on high heat for an additional 30 minutes to make certain that any bed bugs transferred from the washing machine are dead.
Technically, yes — bed bugs can enter your ears and other parts of your body. However, it is very uncommon and unlikely. Bed bugs feed on warm blood, which they extract directly from skin. They do not need to travel inside the body when their food source is accessible from the outside.
Technically, bed bugs can live through a cycle in the washing machine. The truth is that while washing your clothes or linens will kill most of the bed bugs, the heat of drying your items is what will ultimately exterminate any and all remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat.
Washing your hair with regular shampoo should be sufficient to remove any bed bug excrement or exoskeletons. You can blow dry your hair if it makes you feel better, but doing so is not necessary, because there are not likely to be any remaining insects in your hair to kill with heat.
Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home. Similarly, avoid taking your bedding from the location of the infestation to other rooms of your home.
It can be difficult to eliminate bed bugs, but it's not impossible. Don't throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing stuff out is expensive, may spread the bed bugs to other people's homes and could cause more stress.
Myth: Bed bugs live in dirty places. Reality: Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt and grime; they are attracted to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. However, clutter offers more hiding spots.
Bed bugs are not known to spread disease. Bed bugs can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can sometimes increase the chance of a secondary skin infection.
Bed Bug Feeding
The bugs can bite several times in a night to become full but only feed about once every one or two weeks. People that have only small numbers of the bugs in their homes may not experience new bites every night.
Bites are commonly found on the parts of the body that are more likely to be exposed to bed bugs during sleep - the hands, neck, face, shoulders, legs and arms. While not always the case, bed bug bites are often grouped together in a small area and at times may occur in a line or a zigzag pattern.
One bed bug in a home is not always a sign that a significant infestation is present. If you found the one-bed bug, killed it and can't find any more after a thorough search, wait for a few days… bed bugs don't take time off; if there are more, they will try and fed every day if possible. Be Vigilant!
There are many smells that bed bugs don't like. If you're spraying your luggage, clothing, or bedding, use a scent that you like. Lavender, peppermint, or lemon can do the trick.
Place a source of heat in the room. Since body heat attracts bed bugs, it would be a nice trick to lure them out with a device set at the same temperature. Release some carbon dioxide near their hiding spots. Bed bugs find this gas irresistible, as it signifies that a person is sleeping nearby.
Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed. Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would. Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger.
Bed bugs as a pest
Bed bugs are common all over the world and have been found in Australia in small numbers. Recently they have become widespread with infestations increasing substantially in Victoria, and most parts of the world, over the last ten years.
They can come from other infested areas or from used furniture. They can hitch a ride in luggage, purses, backpacks, or other items placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. They can travel between rooms in multi-unit buildings, such as apartment complexes and hotels.
In general, you shouldn't have to throw out any items in the midst of or after a bed bug infestation. With proper treatment, all items should be able to be salvaged. Instead of throwing out clothing and bedding, it's recommended to wash them in a hot water washing machine. High heat will kill bed bugs and their eggs.