Bedbugs are a relatively common pest across Australia. Bedbugs can be difficult to remove because their eggs are difficult to see, have a significant incubation period and can quickly infest new sites. A combination of multiple non-chemical and chemical treatments is typically needed to control a bedbug
The bites look like red, small areas of skin that are swollen. They can be in a row or line and are often very itchy.
Increasing numbers of bed bug infestations have been reported in Australia, often in accommodation venues such as backpackers' hostels and motels. Bed bugs can be transported long distances in the seams of clothing, luggage, bedding and furniture. Adult bugs are able to survive more than a year without a blood meal.
Instead, the most frequent causes of a bed bug infestation are due mostly to accidental and random reasons. They are usually brought into the home by hitching a ride on infested items, including furniture, suitcases, clothing, purses, and backpacks.
A bed bug treatment using heat kills bed bugs immediately, but there is no residual. A chemical bed bug treatment can take a few weeks, but it leaves a residual which provides continued protection from bed bug re-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.
Bed bug bites will turn into small, sometimes itchy, red welts on your skin. Now, many insects can bite you during the night, but one common indicator that a bed bug has bitten you is if there are a series of three or four welts in a row. Different people will also react differently to bed bug bites.
They are visible to the naked eye. Adult bed bugs are usually brown in colour. When filled with blood, their colour ranges from red to dark brown. They are oval in shape and about the size of a flattened apple seed, 4 to 7 mm in length.
Bed bugs are mainly nocturnal, resting during the day and completing most of their feeding at night. Warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide (which humans breathe out) attracts these insects. Bed bugs will feed every five to ten days but may survive for several months without a blood feed.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body? Bed bugs do not typically hide on the body. They prefer to feed, then move back to their hiding place until they are hungry again. In some cases, they may hide in your clothes or the soles of your shoes.
Bed bugs are nocturnal, which means they are active mainly at night. They normally bite people who are sleeping or sitting still for long periods of time. However, bed bugs will not bite every night. They only come out when they need to eat, and it could be several nights or several weeks before they need another meal.
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.
The best way to confirm whether or not you have bed bugs is to find one. If you can't do that, you have to look for signs they leave behind — extra skin, eggs and feces. So yes, in between biting you and driving you crazy, these little jerks still have time to reproduce and poop in your bed.
Get a mattress and box spring cover
An effective way to keep bedbugs that are hiding inside your bed from biting you is to invest in a good-quality covering for your mattress and box spring. The best option is to use a cover with a good seal that zips around your mattress and box spring.
So, are bed bugs contagious? 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.
Yes, if you jump into the shower while a bed bug is feeding on you, then the bed bug will likely get washed down the drain. Bed bugs do not attach themselves to your skin like ticks, which allows them to be easily removed by a shower.
Lemon (Or Any Citrus)
Like many other animals, bed bugs hate the smell of citrus plants. Citrus, particularly oranges and lemons, will smell gross to them. As a result, most bed bugs will not want to stick around this aroma for too long. There are several ways to make this work for you if you want to repel insects.
Although vinegar can kill bed bugs upon contact, it is not advisable to be used as a single treatment for an entire infestation. You can kill bed bugs with it one at a time but it is not capable of repeling the pests out of your property.
Who is at risk? Any home is at risk of a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs are not a sign of a dirty home or poor personal hygiene. Bed bugs are hitchhikers - they travel to new places by hiding in furniture, suitcases, or other objects that get moved around.
Body heat and the carbon dioxide you exhale draw them in. Bed bugs are attracted to body heat and carbon dioxide from warm-blooded animals. When humans sleep, we are inactive, and the carbon dioxide we exhale surrounds our heads.