Author: Michael Potter Updated: April 17, 2020
Bedbug bites can be a year-round nightmare. In this article you will learn how to distinguish bedbug bites from mosquito and flea bites and why a person does not feel anything at the time of the bite.
Let’s answer the popular question: “Is it true that even two people sleeping in the same bed can have completely different reactions to these bites?” We will also tell you how to relieve yourself of itching after a bite and prevent new ones from appearing. Forewarned - forearmed! Let's start!
Contents:
- The most important facts about bed bug bites
- Bedbug bites symptoms and differences
- What places do bedbugs like to bite?
- How do bedbugs bite?
- Allergy to bedbug bites
- How to treat bedbug bites?
The most important facts about bed bug bites
Do bedbug bites itch?
During a bite - no. You don't feel anything. You don't feel pain when you bite because the bedbugs inject a temporary analgesic under your skin to help keep you from feeling pain.
How long do bedbugs bite?
From 3 to 10 minutes - this is how long one full feeding lasts. It starts with the appearance of medium to large spots (swollen or flat) on any part of the human body (the most common places include the face, neck, arms and hands). Also, with the appearance of spots, itching and redness appear.
Bites from house bugs are often confused with bites from other insects. Sometimes they are mistaken for infectious rashes on the human body or even for injuries. And the true reason is determined in the very last place. There are cases when dermatologists confused bedbug bites on the body with chicken pox or an allergic reaction. Although for experienced entomologists, recognizing bites after bedbugs is not particularly difficult, since they have a distinct, specific appearance. It will not be superfluous to know the characteristics of bites for ordinary residents of apartments or private houses. The faster you recognize the presence of parasites in the room, the more effective the fight against these insects will be.
Parasites cannot tolerate strong odors. They confuse the insects. The bug cannot detect a person, and being in such a room becomes unbearable.
Do bedbugs bite through clothes?
To understand whether a house bug can bite your clothes, you just need to know how its oral system works. The parasite makes a puncture in human skin with its proboscis, which is only 0.7 mm long.
Its small size prevents it from reaching the human epidermis through clothing. In addition, the fabric has a denser structure than human skin, and the lack of elasticity of the proboscis prevents insects from piercing the material.
While wearing clothes, the insect tries to crawl under it or run away in search of shelter.
What do bedbug bites look like on adults?
Externally, bedbug bites on the skin resemble mosquito bites, but they are more painful and have clear edges.
If an adult is bitten by a bug, then a small, round, red swelling with a pronounced bump in the middle will appear on his body.
Multiplicity and grouping are the distinctive features that characterize bedbug bites on human skin. This is due to the fact that while feeding, each individual makes not one, but five or seven bites on the human body, sucking blood from each puncture. If the bites are located on the same line, then you can confidently conclude that you have been bitten by bedbugs. This arrangement is typical only for these parasites. As a rule, the distance between each subsequent bite made by one individual is from three to four centimeters. When studying what bedbug bites look like on the human body, remember that insects do not feed in an organized manner, but collectively. In other words, a large number of bites may appear on a person’s body in the morning, located close to each other. But in each group specific tracks will be clearly visible.
Before going to bed, apply a few drops of lavender, chamomile, lemon balm or St. John's wort essential oil to your body. You can add two or three drops to the cream.
It is worth noting that experts identify several dozen types of bed bugs. But individuals of each species bite people in almost the same way. All bedbug bites on the human body look the same, and the differences between them can only be seen with a microscope.
How many times does an insect usually bite?
During one feeding procedure, a bug can penetrate the skin 1–10 times. However, a single bite is very rare . Typically, parasites move in a straight line, leaving behind a string of identical defects. Damage in such a “path” is located at a short distance from each other. An adult requires large volumes of blood to be completely saturated, which is why one bite cannot do it all.
But nymph larvae are quite capable of biting through the skin only once. They don't need a lot of food yet, so they eat from one damage. Older larvae are more voracious and can make 2-3 bites in one feeding.
Only one larva can live on one bed, and its parents are always present nearby. So if you have a single damage, then it is most likely the mark of a mosquito or other insect, but not a bedbug.
What do bedbug bites look like in children?
Children are a special risk group. In apartments or private houses where house bugs live, small children will be the first to be attacked. This is due to the fact that babies have more delicate and thin skin, to which blood vessels are located very close. At the same time, body odor in children is not as pronounced as in adults. It does not cover the smell of blood, which attracts bedbugs.
Externally, bedbug bites in children look similar to the bites of adults. But, if for men this situation is not a problem and a bug bite can become almost unnoticeable by the morning, then for children the situation is different. Children's skin is very sensitive, and a domestic bug bite will leave a mark for a long time. Moreover, the areola of redness near the bite itself will be bright red and large. And if you also take into account that the place where the bugs bit is itchy, then small children will definitely aggravate the situation. Therefore, adults should use a special anti-bedbug ointment or other medications at the first suspicion.
Troublemakers in the house
Bedbug, its common diseases, ways of spreading and whether it is dangerous for humans. In addition to the possibility of transmitting infections, bedbugs that have settled in your apartment can cause a lot of psychological problems. Who likes to go to bed every day, risking being bitten during the night?
Doctors note the occurrence of panic attacks in adults and the development of various phobias in children, provoked by pest bites. The person becomes aggressive, nervous, and concentration decreases. The harm bedbugs cause to children is significant; they reduce their academic performance and cannot sleep properly. In houses with bedbugs there is a constantly tense psychological situation.
Living in such stress leads to the development of persistent depression in all family members. It has been noticed that after settling in the bed of spouses, bedbugs bite only women with more delicate skin. The lady becomes irritable, which causes dissatisfaction with her husband and misunderstanding on his part. Thus, a bedbug can cause the breakup of a married couple.
Bedbug bites symptoms and differences
In most cases, bedbugs attack at night. And only in the morning a person notices inflamed areas on the body.
If you have bed bugs, bed bugs, symptoms and other features should be carefully studied. To do this, we highlight important key points that allow a person to determine that a mark on the skin is the result of a bedbug bite:
- severe itching and burning;
- pronounced tubercle;
- there is a red areola around the tubercle;
- number of bites from three to five in one area;
- bites are located in a straight line;
If you find similar features in bites, inspect the bed. Drops of blood or black spots may remain on the laundry.
Bed bugs that have drunk enough blood can be easily crushed by hand while sleeping. Their remains are visible on the bed.
Bedbug bites differ from flea or mosquito bites in their multiplicity. They are also more red and very painful. Unlike ticks, bedbugs, on the contrary, leave soft and small punctures. In this case, during a bite, the bug plunges into the skin almost with its head. They also differ from allergies. An experienced dermatologist will notice with the naked eye a small puncture from a bite on the red bump.
Effective treatments
If you find bite marks, the first step is to wash the affected areas with warm water and antibacterial soap.
This will help prevent the development of dangerous symptoms such as itching and bloating. Then you can use available tools, which are found in almost every apartment:
- soda solution. They need to wash the bitten area. Another option is to apply baking soda to the affected area for 10-15 minutes;
- green or black tea. If you find bed bugs bitten in the photo, apply the tea leaves to the affected areas;
- chamomile, dill or plantain. From these funds you can make an infusion for washing wounds;
- ice. It is recommended to apply to affected areas on the body.
Each of these remedies can help treat bite marks at home for a short time and prevent the development of serious symptoms. To consolidate the results of treatment, it is recommended to use ointments and balms such as Fenistil, Belogent, Iricar, Kuterid and Cikaderma. They will help heal the skin, regardless of what kind of bedbug bites you find in the photo.
If allergic reactions occur on the legs, arms and other parts of the body, it is necessary to use antihistamines such as Erolin, Lomilan, Suprastin, Cloridol and Diazolin. Before taking them, it is important to consult with a doctor, who will accurately recognize which areas of the body are itching and whether this is a sign of another allergy in the body. It is not recommended to self-medicate using pictures and instructions on the Internet, otherwise there is a risk of aggravating the development of the disease.
What places do bedbugs like to bite?
The bug mainly bites at night and in those places where the skin is thinnest and the blood vessels are located close to the surface. Parasites are primarily attracted to exposed areas of skin, and only then do they get under clothing and continue to suck blood. Most often, vinegar for bedbugs can be found:
- on the back and shoulders,
- on the legs and arms,
- on the neck and back of the head.
Quite rarely, marks appear on a person’s face or stomach.
I had bedbugs in my apartment that were discovered after the first bites. Before going to bed, I lit an aromatic lamp with the scent of lavender, put a few drops of oil on the night lamp and put lavender sprigs under the bed. The insects stopped biting.
Do bed bloodsuckers hunt during the day?
Bedbugs are nocturnal parasites . They obtain food for themselves exclusively at night. During the daytime, they scatter around their hiding places - hiding in furniture, behind baseboards, in cracks and crevices in the floor or walls and other secluded corners of the house.
Only a very strong and prolonged hunger can force a parasite to carry out a daytime attack on a victim (for example, the residents of an apartment left their home for a long time and left, and returned after some time). But such cases are rare.
How do bedbugs bite?
The parasite's mouthparts resemble a proboscis. With its help, the insect pierces the human skin and sucks out blood. Blood is the food for these insects. The process is quite simple. The parasite chooses a suitable place for it and bites through the human skin. After this, he sucks some blood from the resulting hole and moves further along the body. At a distance of three or five centimeters, it again bites through the skin and drinks blood.
At one time, an insect can make five or seven bites and only then get enough.
But do not forget that only one bug makes 2-3 bites per night! How many of these live in your bed?!
According to scientists, up to several thousand bedbugs can live in one bed. But this is not the limit: there is a real case when 150 thousand bedbugs were found in a single room, most of which lived in the bed! Therefore, if at least a tenth of this army of thousands is hungry, in the morning your body may be covered with multiple red itchy bites.
Bedbugs are not afraid of light and can bite even during the day.
Despite the fact that bedbugs only come out to feed at night (usually from 3 to 8 o’clock), in exceptional cases this can also happen during the day. This happens if the bedbugs are very hungry (so you understand what “very” means: bedbugs can live UP TO A YEAR without food!). What is force majeure for a bedbug? This is the absence of people nearby snoring peacefully at night. At risk: laundries, public transport, airports, offices and any other non-residential premises.
The following follows from this fact: bedbugs will not be afraid even of bright daylight or artificial light if they want to get their portion of blood. And they will want to!
Bedbugs bite all year round
Unlike other biting insects that have certain peaks of activity, bed bugs will live in your warm bed winter and summer unless you get rid of them.
Do bedbugs bite dogs?
Yes, they bite. Sometimes the most severe suffering from bedbug bites falls on dogs, and while in the house, bedbugs can feed on their blood for a long time before moving on to you. Why is this happening? It's simple: dogs, like cats, sleep most of the day - up to 18 hours! This allows bedbugs to drink blood without any problems, either at night or during the day.
Can bedbugs bite through clothing?
It's possible. Bed bugs pierce skin and suck blood using their proboscis, but it is not designed to pierce fabric, plastic or paper. If you sleep in pajamas, this may work to your advantage, but not for long - bedbugs run quickly and will still get to open areas of the body.
How dangerous are bedbug bites?
This is the question that most worries people who have been bitten by bedbugs. According to entomologists, up to 27 viruses of various diseases can be found in bedbugs, but it has been proven that they cannot transmit diseases through a bite.
This fact cannot but rejoice. Unlike the reactions of the nervous system to bites.
Scientists confirm that frequent bites may cause sleep disturbances, including insomnia, stress and irritability. It is believed that bedbug bites can cause constant crying in newborn babies. Also, in particularly severe cases, with significant blood loss, infants may develop anemia, and if the skin is particularly sensitive, any person may experience an allergic reaction.
Attention! Despite the fact that bedbugs are nocturnal insects, they are less afraid of light than of being hungry. They will come even if you turn on powerful spotlights in the room.
How long do the bites last?
Bedbugs need fresh portions of blood every 3-4 days, but if they have already managed to actively reproduce, then the bites will not have time to heal, because more and more new ones will be added to them. Since bites may not make themselves known immediately, you are unlikely to be able to pinpoint exactly what day you were bitten. As experts state, it can take up to 3-4 days for symptoms to appear, and in some cases up to 14.
Redness, itching, and swelling of the skin usually disappear within a few days. In more severe cases, for example, when a person has been bitten by hundreds of bedbugs, it will take longer - up to 3 weeks. If the bites do not go away, or you notice an increasing deterioration in your health, immediately consult a doctor - you may have an allergy, which should be treated under the supervision of a specialist.
Peculiarities of bedbug reproduction
Bed bugs reproduce through traumatic insemination. This is how entomologists marked this process. The male injects seminal fluid into the female, which penetrates into her through the integument of the body. In order for fertilization to occur, he must pierce her abdominal region.
The female is capable of laying 1-12 eggs per day. Over her entire life, the number of eggs can be 250-500. In a favorable warm environment, bedbugs breed all year round.
Bed bugs have very good survivability. Even with a long absence of food, insects are able to plunge into a specific state comparable to suspended animation. However, they can remain viable for more than a year.
But under unfavorable conditions, these parasites prefer to migrate, moving through ventilation ducts, external walls and, thus, penetrating into other rooms with an environment favorable for their residence. Proven remedies will help you get rid of it, which we suggest you read about here.
Allergy to bedbug bites
The saliva of young individuals is considered the most dangerous. The allergen, penetrating inside, quickly spreads throughout the body. An allergic reaction can be local or general, worsening the condition of the entire body.
Allergy to bedbugs differs from other reactions in the following manifestations:
- In case of allergies, the bite mark exceeds 1 centimeter in diameter.
- A rash appears.
- Bite marks last for more than a week.
- Severe itching appears.
In addition to visual signs, other symptoms indicate the appearance of an allergy:
- Nasal congestion or severe runny nose.
- Dizziness, severe headache.
- Weakness.
- Labored breathing.
In rare cases, anaphylactic shock or Quincke's edema may occur.
Who is most often attacked?
Bed bugs are quite selective parasites in terms of food. They are prone to strict selection of their “victims”. For example, if there are two people in bed, then only one of them will most likely find bite marks on their body.
Given a choice, parasites will most likely choose the person whose skin is the most delicate and thin. The thinner the layer of epidermis, the more clearly the smell of blood is felt (and it is much easier to bite through such skin).
Children and young women suffer most often from parasite attacks.
Men have rougher skin and are often covered with copious amounts of hair, and bed bugs do not like this at all. So their likelihood of being bitten is very low, but not zero.
Researchers studying the activities of bedbugs conducted an experiment. They decided to check which blood type these parasites prefer to use as food most often. The study found that for these insects there was no significant difference between the groups, although they were slightly more likely to select patients from the first group.
Those who prefer to wear maximally revealing clothes at home are also at risk. This makes it easier for bloodsuckers to reach delicate areas of the skin and bite through them. Of primary importance for parasites is only the amount of food and easy access to it.
How to treat bedbug bites?
As a rule, bedbug bites go away on their own after a few days. Men tolerate them especially easily. As for children, in this case certain actions should be taken. For example, you can use a special ointment for bedbug bites.
Medicines or pharmaceutical products to treat bites
If you don’t want to use traditional recipes, you can buy medicine for bedbugs:
Star
The most accessible and harmless remedy. If you lubricate the bite site with balm several times a day, the inflammation and itching will go away within a few days.
Price: 83 rub.
Bepanten gel
Suitable for people of all ages. The drug relieves itching, swelling and inflammation.
Price: 673 rub.
Psilo balm
Works like Bepanten gel.
Price: 239 rub.
Comparative table of remedies for bedbug bites
| Product | Type of impact | Price |
| Star | Relieves itching and symptoms of bites | 83 RUR |
| Bepanten gel | Heals damaged skin | 673 RUR |
| Psilo balm | Heals damaged skin | 239 RUR |
| If you have a severe allergy, be sure to go to the doctor | comprehensive approach, competent treatment | Depends on honey. insurance |
Treatment of a severe allergic reaction
The question of what to apply to bedbug bites when a severe allergic reaction occurs deserves special attention. If you are allergic to bedbug bites, treatment should be prescribed by a doctor. The specialist will prescribe antihistamines. This may be a cream, ointment or tablets. Most of the prescribed drugs are hormonal drugs. Therefore, it is important to correctly determine the dosage and course of treatment. Self-medication in this case is unacceptable.
Folk or home remedies for treating bites
If you don’t know how to treat bedbug bites, pay attention to traditional medicine. There are several home remedies that can help you cope with bites and alleviate their consequences:
- Redness and itching will become less severe if you rinse the bite area under cold running water.
- A bath with the addition of a decoction of St. John's wort, calendula and chamomile will help relieve the inflammatory process.
- Use alcohol to disinfect the affected skin area.
- You can lubricate the bite site with aloe juice or apply pieces of ice to it.
- Laundry or tar soap, as well as soda, are good for bites.
Remember! Bed bugs get used to the unpleasant smell. The use of aromatic oils is a prevention of bites.
Are bites dangerous?
When an adult bites, the reaction to its saliva will be stronger than to bites from young animals . The person will exhibit all the symptoms of an allergy. About seven out of ten people will have a mild reaction, and in rare cases the sting can cause anaphylactic shock.
It all depends on the person's personal reaction, but serious allergic reactions are dangerous. In addition to anaphylactic shock, bedbug bites can cause:
- skin damage leading to non-healing ulcers;
- severe swelling in the bite area;
- difficulty breathing (bronchospasms);
- sometimes nausea and even fainting.
The most dangerous are psychological disorders caused by bites . This is the fear of falling asleep, irritability, and the inability to fully rest. As a result, performance and general well-being deteriorate, nervousness develops, and character deteriorates.
Wounds at the puncture site may not heal for a long time and remain painful. If they begin to fester, this means that an infection got there when scratching. In this case, a visit to the hospital cannot be avoided.
Consequences of bites for the body as a whole
It is impossible to predict the consequences. Each organism is individual, as is the reaction to a bite. It is worth noting that children of bedbugs cause the same harm to humans as adults. If bedbugs have left bites on the body, they must be disinfected. Otherwise, an infection may develop on the wound, which will lead to a severe deterioration in the general condition.
After bedbugs leave bites on a person’s body, itching and burning appear, causing irritability, insomnia and even depression. You must immediately relieve the itching and begin exterminating insects.
Do they show interest in pets?
The main source of food for bed parasites is humans . If a person is absent from the house for a long time, but pets remain in it, then bedbugs may well feast on their blood. But this will only happen if people have been absent for a long period of time, and insects are tormented by severe hunger. In this case, cats or dogs may be attacked.
Under normal conditions, these parasites do not associate with domestic animals, since their bodies are covered with thick and dense hair, through which it is very difficult for the insect to reach the skin.
Bedbug bites in children
Above we described in detail what a bedbug bite looks like on the body of an adult. Parasites leave a similar mark on the bodies of young children. It is worth noting that insects bite small children more often than adults. This is due to the physiological characteristics of the child. Babies have more delicate skin and blood vessels are located closer to the skin.
Danger for children
The danger of bites for children is the high risk of an allergic reaction. The parasite's saliva contains a dangerous poison, which, when bitten, penetrates the child's skin and instantly spreads throughout the body. If the baby has a tendency to allergic reactions, then the consequences of the bite can be quite severe.
Another danger is the desire of children to scratch the bite. As a result, a wound forms on the baby’s body, on which other infectious diseases can develop.
Symptoms
After a domestic bug bite, redness appears on the child’s body, which is very itchy. In the middle of the red spot you can see a small bump. The number of bites ranges from three to five pieces. They are located in a straight line. Children become whiny, nervous and constantly scratch the bite sites.
How dangerous is a bloodsucker attack for a person?
Of course, bed bug bites do not pose a serious danger to humans. However, the physical discomfort they cause can lead to unpleasant consequences. For example, constant itching that gives no rest can deprive you of sleep and prevent you from relaxing, so a nervous breakdown due to constantly itching bites is quite common.
Some people (especially women) who are afraid of insects, upon noticing such “neighbors” in bed, can reach the point of panic and even hysteria.
Possible consequences
People with rougher skin tolerate bedbug bites much more easily. The small wounds left on their body only itch slightly, so the defects resolve quite quickly and painlessly. But people with sensitive and delicate skin constantly scratch the damage , leading small wounds to the appearance of complications and abscesses.
There is a small percentage of people who are so susceptible to the bites of these parasites that they develop an allergic reaction to any damage caused by the bed bug. For such patients, encountering parasites poses a serious danger (they are at risk of developing edema and suffocation). An advanced allergy can result in anaphylactic shock.
How to protect yourself from bedbug bites?
There are many myths on the Internet about what remedies help protect against bedbug bites. Here are the two most common myths:
- Repellent sprays will protect you from bites. Not true. Repellents can help against the bites of mosquitoes, ticks, and some other insects, but the bugs didn’t care what you sprayed on yourself.
- Insecticidal "bedbug bombs" can kill insects and thereby prevent their bites. Not true: unfortunately, they also don’t work, because the smoke from the insecticide cannot get into those hidden places where bedbugs are buried. Moreover: having felt such a chemical attack, the bedbugs will hide even deeper into their crevices - and then it will become even more difficult to get rid of them!
To protect yourself from their bites, you need to use only products tested and approved by scientists. And don’t forget: you need to get rid of not only adults, but also larvae and even potential adult biter eggs.
But not everything is so simple: you cannot destroy bedbugs with any one method. Along with thorough cleaning, you need to comprehensively use other methods, for example, an electronic bedbug repeller .
Here are 3 main steps:
- use bedbug detectors to identify the presence of bedbugs in the house and even their routes.
- “dress” your mattress in a special mattress protector to cure an old mattress or protect a newly purchased one from bedbugs.
- purchase an effective anti-bedbug spray to treat infested areas in the house.
Remember: up to 150 thousand bedbugs can live in your bed! So don’t delay and start the fight right now!
How to kill parasites
In the fight against bedbugs, various means are used: insectoacaricidal preparations, traditional methods. Chemicals are more effective because they help destroy parasite larvae.
It is necessary to carry out the treatment again after 1-2 weeks to prevent re-infection of the apartment (at this time the surviving larvae leave the protective shell).
To combat bedbugs, insecticides are used:
- organophosphorus;
- substances from the pyrethroid group.
Chemicals are used to get rid of bedbugs.
Examples of modern means: “Get”, “Executioner”, “Malathion”, “Dichlorvos”, “Xulat”, “Karbofos”, etc.
Concentrated liquid does the job best. It is used as a spray. The substance is sprayed using a spray bottle. During the processing process, suspended particles settle on all surfaces and fall into hidden crevices. Such products last a long time, but they do not treat woven materials (mattresses, sofas).
Aerosols can be used. In terms of efficiency, they are in second place after concentrates. The principle of using aerosols and sprays is the same. In both cases, the insecticide enters the parasites through the respiratory tract.
Other preparations (gels, powders, baits), which are good at fighting cockroaches, fleas and other insects, do not provide the required result when needed. This is due to the fact that these parasites do not react to food, they are attracted only by blood, so it is useless to use bait: the likelihood of the substance coming into contact with the bug is low.
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How much does it cost to exterminate bedbugs in Moscow: Prices
| Scope of work | Gel treatment* (cockroaches only) | Cold fog | Cold Fog + Barrier | Hot fog | Hot Fog + Barrier | Complex (cold fog+horizontal fog+barrier) |
| 1 room apartment | 3600 rub. | from 2100 rub. | from 2300 rub. | from 2600 rub. | from 3600 rub. | from 4100 rub. |
| 2 room apartment | 4200 rub. | from 2300 rub. | from 2800 rub. | from 3300 rub. | from 4300 rub. | from 5100 rub. |
| 3 room apartment | 5100 rub. | from 2500 rub. | from 3300 rub. | from 3700 rub. | from 4200 rub. | from 5600 rub. |
| 4 room apartment | 5700 rub. | from 2700 rub. | from 3700 rub. | from 4000 rub. | from 4500 rub. | from 6100 rub. |
| 5 room apartment | Negotiable | from 3100 rub. | from 4000 rub. | from 4900 rub. | from 5000 rub. | from 6600 rub. |
| MOP (kitchen, bath, corridor) | 2400 rub. | from 1800 rub. | from 2300 rub. | from 2800 rub. | from 3200 rub. | from 4500 rub. |
| Add. Barrier | from 400 rub. | from 400 rub. | from 400 rub. | from 400 rub. | from 400 rub. | |
| Add. sleeping area | 400 rub. | |||||
| Move the furniture | from 500 rub. | from 500 rub. | from 500 rub. | from 500 rub. | from 500 rub. |
Prevention
There is no 100% effective protection against bedbug bites; if parasites have already appeared, they will need to be destroyed. The best way to do this is to hire a professional pest control company. Since bedbugs are highly mobile, you need to understand that removing them from an apartment may not give lasting results - they will return from neighbors, come through the ventilation system, etc. For this reason, it is better to carry out disinfestation together.
Before the complete extermination of insects is completed, wet clean the floors, move the sleeping areas away from the walls, change the bed linen and wash it in hot water. Pillows and mattress will need to be carefully checked and ironed with steam. Make the new bed so that it does not touch the floor; if possible, place small containers filled with water under each leg of the bed. Bedbugs don’t like the smell of tobacco – you can take this into account.
In hotels (especially cheap ones) and trains, bedbugs are not uncommon. Always carefully inspect the room where you plan to spend the night; if alarm bells appear, take the items you traveled in to the dry cleaner or wash them at high temperatures.
Symptoms
Indeed, bedbug bites are similar in symptoms to many insect bites (especially mosquitoes), but there are still differences. Before we move on to describing these symptoms, let's look at the structure of the proboscis and the way the bedbug feeds. Because without this, you and I will not understand many of the features of the life and nutrition of these parasites.
An adult Cimex lectularius has two tubules inside its proboscis. When it pierces a person’s skin with its proboscis, it first injects an anesthetic substance (a natural secretion) into the blood from one tubule. This substance anesthetizes the site where the blood is sucked and prevents it from clotting. A kind of natural local anesthesia.
For this reason, many people for a long time cannot even suspect that some parasites have appeared in their house and every night they dine on their blood, citing food allergies, for example (they ate something wrong in the evening). Then it remains a matter of little things.
Simply use the second tubule to absorb the required amount of blood into your body. But it is not enough for him to make one puncture on the skin. He must make 3 - 5 punctures to get enough. That's what nature came up with.
Let's move on to the symptoms on human skin:
- redness on the skin in the form of a track;
- itching on the skin (and the itching may not appear immediately);
- numerous wounds or tumors at the bite sites;
- closed and puffed up transparent skin at the site of bite wounds, with whitish contents inside.
What do bedbug bites look like in a person who is not allergic to insect bites (normal appearance), look at the photo.
Moreover, the symptoms and obvious signs of bites may vary, depending on the characteristics of the victim’s body.
If you are not allergic to insect bites, then there will be redness on the skin without any swelling, pustules or thickening. Itching will appear closer to the morning, because the bug begins to feed, as mentioned above, closer to 3 a.m. and after a few hours the substance that anesthetized the bites will stop working.
The number of bites a person gets depends on the number of bedbugs in the house. If you brought these parasites from work or from walking your dog in the park, then most likely there will not be many bites. Because the reproduction process of these insects has not yet begun and any changes on the skin will not be very noticeable.
But if you come to visit your friend and he has an old bed or some other furniture, then it is quite possible that it is stuffed with a whole swarm of bedbugs, which are already reproducing quite actively and have been annoying the owner of the house for a long time.
Numerous wounds and tumors at the site of bedbug bites may indicate the presence of allergies in a person. The skin in places will swell, the area of wounds and redness will increase, pus will ooze from the wounds, because with severe itching, a person with uncut nails and unwashed fingers will introduce an infection that will worsen his health.
Skin irritations from numerous bug bites can spread to a completely healthy person (who does not have allergies).
Closed and puffed up transparent skin at the site of bedbug bites indicates that these are no longer fresh wounds from the bites of these insects. The protective function of the skin will cover open wounds with a thin film to prevent the entry of a new infection, and the whitish content underneath is the accumulation of many dead blood leukocytes that died fighting the infection that got into the open wounds.
Many websites about bedbugs say that they are carriers of dangerous infectious diseases, such as:
- smallpox;
- tuberculosis;
- typhus;
- anthrax;
- brucellosis;
- hepatitis B;
- plague;
- malaria, etc.
But there are no scientifically proven facts about specific people getting these diseases from Cimex lectularius bites.
Also, the myth that bed bugs bite only women and children due to the fact that they have thin and delicate skin is not true.
The bug bites through exactly those places where the layer of skin is the thinnest; both women and men have such places. After all, if you look at bedbug bites on a person (see photo above), you can see that the bedbug left bites on the arms, legs, face, neck, stomach, and soft places on the back (near the kidneys). That is, in those places where there is no thick layer of skin on the body. But there are no bites on the feet or palms.
One bug bite or even several will not have any strong consequences on the human body, even if he is allergic to insect bites. The situation changes in a completely different direction when bedbug bites on a child or adult reach tens or hundreds of times the number of punctures on the skin.
From external symptoms on the skin, let's move on to the exact signs of bedbugs in the house.
