Fact #4: Bed bugs are smart. They know to stay out of view during the daytime, hiding in mattress crevices, box springs, baseboards, behind electrical switchplates, in picture frames, and even behind wallpaper. But at nighttime, the carbon dioxide we exhale often tempts them out of their hiding spots.
Despite the overall consensus that the earth's ecosystem could survive without bed bugs, some scientists insist that bed bugs are a food source for spiders, a very necessary element for making the planet habitable.
Bed bugs are known to travel many yards to reach their human host. Bed bugs are attracted to CO2 pro- duced by the host exhalations, and they are also at- tracted to body heat. However, bed bugs are only able to detect these host cues over short distances (about 3 feet away for CO2 and even less for heat).
If bed bugs have one weakness, it's that they're intolerant of extremely high or low temperatures. Washing clothes and bedding at the highest possible setting followed by drying for at least 30 minutes at high heat should do the trick.
Bed bugs can also smell carbon dioxide when you exhale. When you are sleeping soundly and breathing deeply, you are sending out another signal to these insects that it's safe to come out and eat.
Although bed bugs are nocturnal and prefer to bite their host when they are asleep, they are not limited to biting their host at night. They've been known to bite people while awake during the day as long as the opportunity presents itself.
It's best to keep the infestation localized to as few rooms as possible. This will also make remediation easier. 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.
Heat is known to be a very effective bed bug killer and it can be used in many different ways to treat infestations. For instance, heat in the form of steam can be used to treat bed bugs in carpets, behind base boards and on upholstered furniture.
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 pathogens through their bites. Bed bug bites can be itchy and stressful. Do not squish a bed bug as it will release the blood and any pathogens it may be carrying.
Once the blood-feeding is complete, bed bugs may usually retreat to their hiding spots to digest the blood. Bed bugs lack the body shape and legs that are required to clamber, and they naturally prefer to live around their host, not on their skin or other parts.
Can Bed Bugs Go in Your Private Parts? No, bed bugs will not purposely go toward your private parts. Though these creatures are attracted to exposed skin, they will not naturally burrow under your clothes and hang around your genitals.
How Long Do They Live? The life span of a bed bug most commonly ranges from four to six months. However, some bed bugs may live up to a year under cool conditions and with no food.
You may be thinking, can you get bed bugs from not washing your sheets? No—bed bugs have absolutely nothing to do with cleanliness levels. However, washing your sheets regularly gives you the opportunity to look for and remove any possible bed bug infestations.
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.
Don't count on bed bugs to go away on their own. In theory, they can. In practice, they don't unless several highly specific circumstances occur. Your best bet is professional bed bugs treatment.
There are no specific blood types which bed bugs are attracted to, but there are instances where the pests will sometimes feed on one person in a bed and not the other.
Bed bugs are a public health pest. While bed bugs have not been shown to transmit disease, they do cause a variety of negative physical health, mental health and economic consequences. Some of these effects include: Allergic reactions to their bites, which can be severe.
Shortlist of bed bug predators are:
Pharaoh Ants. American Cockroaches. Thanatus Flavidus Spiders. House Centipedes.
Bed bugs are easy to kill using heat. Their thermal death point is reported to be 114-115° F. Putting infested clothing in a hot dryer is an excellent way of killing bed bugs and their eggs. Heat can also be used to kill bed bugs and their eggs in furniture and carpeting.
Steam vapour may be used on all soft and hard surfaces especially on seams and in little crevices. Washing in water above 60ºC (to ensure every bug stage will be killed) and drying infested linen in a dryer is an effective method of killing 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.
Often a single bed bug will produce more than one bite during the night so it is not always a one to one relationship where each bite represents a different bed bug.
A bed bug can bite every night and even up to several times in one night, however, they only feed around one or two weeks. If the bed bug Infestation isn't large, then people may not have to experience bed bug bites every night.