In some individuals, psychological sequelae resulting from bed bug biting events include nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance (to keep the bugs away), insomnia, anxiety, avoidance behaviors, and personal dysfunction. These symptoms are suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Many bites over time can cause significant blood loss and potential anemia. Allergies to their droppings and remains can cause asthmatic attacks in susceptible people. Allergies to the bite, caused by bed bug saliva, can trigger hives, rashes, itching and burning.
It's not introduced by the bite, but rather when the bite comes in contact with the bed bug fecal matter. This can cause Chagas disease, sometimes called American trypanosomiasis. Chagas is a disease that causes heart damage as well as damage to the central nervous system and can be very serious.
Do bed bugs spread disease? 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.
Bedbugs aren't known to spread disease, but they can cause an allergic reaction or a severe skin reaction in some people.
People who have chronic, large clusters of bedbug bites can develop anemia, which can cause fatigue.
Leaving bed bugs untreated will exacerbate the problem, as infestations do not die out on their own. With a single bed bug laying as many as 200 eggs in a lifetime, an untreated infestation can grow rapidly. The larger the infestation, the more susceptible you are to bed bug bites.
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.
A bed bug problem can damage you and your family's immune systems in several ways. Your immune system replenishes itself when you sleep. If bed bugs are keeping you up all night, you're more susceptible to illness. Other issues such as infection, allergic reactions, and stress can weaken your immune system in no time.
Among the popular and most effective DIY home treatments for bed bugs is rubbing alcohol. You can dilute it and place it a spray bottle and simply spray the infested areas. The alcohol will kill bed bugs almost immediately. It also evaporates quickly, leaves no traces or bad smells.
Over time, bites get worse. When adult bed bugs bite, they inject more anticoagulant. And, over the course of several exposures to this anticoagulant, the allergic reaction increases. Bites that start out as tiny dots that can become painful, itchy, swollen welts.
Some of these effects include: Allergic reactions to their bites, which can be severe. Effects ranging from no reaction to a small bite mark to, in rare cases, anaphylaxis (severe, whole-body reaction). Secondary infections of the skin from the bite reaction, such as impetigo , ecthyma , and lymphangitis .
Bed bug bites can cause itchiness. Initially, a victim may detect a slight burning sensation. The burning area then develops red bumps, known as papules or wheals (rash). In extreme cases, bites may swell dramatically or turn into blister-like skin inflammations.
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.
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.
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.
While bed bugs can crawl into your ears, they are unlikely to lay eggs inside your body. Bed bugs usually lay eggs in the seams of a mattress or the cracks of a headboard. Therefore, there's no need to worry about bed bugs laying eggs in your ear.
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.
Bed bugs can live for as long as 4.5 months or more in an empty house before completely dying off. The two primary factors that determine how quickly or slowly the bed bugs could die off are the existence of a blood meal host, and the temperature of the house.
Since bed bugs can go a significant amount of time without eating it is strongly recommend that if you decide to vacate your home that you do so for an extended period of time. This will ensure that all of the bugs will die due to the lack of food source and the treatments provided by the exterminator.
Peppermint
One of the most researched solutions for keeping bed bugs away is peppermint. This plant can provide a smell which bed bugs and other pests hate. The scent will drive any pest which will keep your home pest-free and fresh at the same time.
Bed bug attacks may produce a variety of negative emotional and psychological effects. In some individuals, psychological sequelae resulting from bed bug biting events include nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance (to keep the bugs away), insomnia, anxiety, avoidance behaviors, and personal dysfunction.
If you've already gone inside your home, use a steamer to clean the carpets, drapes, linens, and mattress. Wrap your mattress in a bed bug proof cover. Place bedbug interceptors on the feet of your bed for a few nights just to be sure you killed everything.