Overall, you can get bed bugs from hugging another person, but the chances of this happening aren't great. You are much more likely to get bed bugs from an encounter with an infested item rather than directly from a person who has bed bugs.
The risk of catching bugs via reckless hugging is extremely low, experts insist.
No. They don't live on people and can't be directly transmitted from one person to another. However, as quick as they are to catch a ride on clothing, bedding and furniture, they are easy to transport.
The answer is a resounding yes. If you spend time in close quarters with someone who has bed bugs, there's a good chance they will find their way into your house too. And unfortunately for all of us, bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can travel on clothing, furniture, and even in the crevices of our cars.
You'll want to quarantine your suspicious clothes and suitcases. Discard any items that are not valuable or heirlooms. Place any contaminated items in a plastic bag. Use a laundromat that has industrial washers and dryers with high heat settings to kill any bugs that might be in your clothing.
Bed bugs can spread from room to room in a matter of seconds by hitching a ride on the clothing of a person who moves from room to room. Or they can spread in a matter of hours by crawling unassisted from one room to another.
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.
You may have them for a while, but may not notice them until weeks, or even months later. Bed bug eggs take anywhere from six to 12 days to hatch, and the adult life span can be anywhere from six months to a year. That's why it's important to know these early signs of an infestation.
Wash everything on a high temperature or sanitary cycle for at least 30 minutes. Placing everything in the dryer on the hottest setting for 30 minutes will also kill bed bugs and larvae. Immediately after you're finished putting clothing in the washer, tie up and throw out the empty garbage bag in an outdoor trash bin.
Technically, you can get a bed bug on you from hugging another person. Bed bugs can cling to a person's clothes and then latch onto yours when you hug them. But your chances of getting bed bugs via person-to-person contact are pretty low because these insects do not live on people like lice.
On high heat, wash and dry your clothes
If you have bite marks on your skin after sleeping in a hotel, you've probably encountered bed bugs. But it's not too late to act. You can still avoid bringing them into your home.
Examine pillows and bed sheets for fecal marks and bloodstains. Remove bed sheets and check around the edges and seams of your mattress for bed bugs, shell casings, and eggs. Remove the mattress and use your flashlight to search the crevices, corners, nooks, and crannies around your bedframe and headboard.
You may not notice bites right away, as it can take up to 2 weeks for marks to develop. Unlike flea bites, which are mainly around your ankles, you'll find bedbug bites on areas of skin that are exposed while you're sleeping, often your face, neck, or hands.
DIY treatments include high heat, bleach, alcohol, and diatomaceous earth. Rubbing alcohol, salt, baking soda, and boric acid are not effective. Certain essential oils repel bed bugs but won't kill them. Diatomaceous earth is an effective passive method of bed bug treatment.
Those individuals who are not sensitive to bed bug bites may not know they have an infestation. Because bed bugs are nocturnally active, it's hard to see other signs of their presence—unless you're accustomed to waking up at 3 A.M. and taking a census.
They are survival experts, so bed bugs can stick to clothes for several months. Even without food, they can survive for long periods, waiting to find a new source. While they're much more likely to look for a place near a food source, they're fully capable of waiting extended periods for their next opportunity.
Because bed bug bites affect everyone differently, some people may have no reaction and will not develop bite marks or any other visible signs of being bitten. Other people may be allergic to the bed bugs and can react adversely to the bites.
hand furniture, electronics, clothing and other items can harbor bed bugs. Don't bring in furniture and mattresses from the street. It is more and more likely that these items will be infested with bed bugs. You can wash clothing and stuffed animals and then dry them on 'high' for 30 minutes.
“If you were dating someone and you were sleeping with them in their bed and they had bedbugs, then you would catch them,” he says. “But you'd have to be someplace where the bedbugs were and then you'd have to bring them back, like if you had an overnight bag with you.
Bed bugs want to secure a space where they can prevent any unwanted surprises. Plus, they usually harbor where there is fabric so they can easily latch onto it. These preferences make your shoes the number one hideout of bed bugs.
How can bed bugs get into my home? 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.
Bed bugs have to drink human blood, to survive. So, when your head hits the pillow at night, they come out to feast. In the morning (or several days later, depending on how your body reacts) you wake up with itchy bite marks.