Some people are confused. Dust mites do not live off blood, they eat dead skin our dead skin cells. Bed bugs, on the other hand, do live off blood. If you find yourself waking up with small red bites or see little streaks of blood on the sheets then there is a good chance you have a bed bug problem.
What are bed bugs? It’s a question that many people have been asking as the tiny pests have had a resurgence in recent years. After disappearing as a problem in the early 20th century, in the last decade or so, bed bugs have become a serious problem again in North America and other parts of the world. Infestations have cropped everywhere from poor communities to five-star hotels.
So what exactly are these bugs? They are a small, brownish, oval and flattened insect from the family Cimicidae. They can’t fly but their tiny, flat bodies allow them to access even the most seemingly secure places through the slightest of cracks or holes. They multiply fairly rapidly, with females laying several eggs every day and several hundred in a lifetime.
They feed off the blood of mammals and do most of their feeding at night, therefore they tend to congregate in areas where the feeding is best. In the case of humans, that usually means mattresses and box springs, which has given them their common name, bed bugs. When asking what are bed bugs, that’s the simple answer. Obviously, for people who have endured infestations, the bigger answer is that bed bugs are a royal nuisance.
What are bedbugs carrying? Unlike some insects, bed bugs are not known to carry any infectious diseases, so infestations are not considered dangerous, though they can be extremely annoying. The biggest problem with bed bugs is their bites, the result of their tapping into their favorite food source. Like most insect bites, they can be itchy and uncomfortable, though they aren’t immediately harmful.
The only real danger is not from the bites themselves but from scratching them, which can lead to infection or can aggravate the body’s natural allergic reaction and make it worse. For this reason, the real question to ask is not what are bed bugs, but rather what can be done to stop their spread and prevent uncomfortable side effects.
Once you have identified a bed bug infestation, you will need to take steps to clean and secure the room involved. This includes taking apart the bed, cleaning all surfaces with a portable steam cleaner as steam kills the bugs, then vacuuming thoroughly. There are some insecticides designed to target bed bugs, but it is generally not a good idea to use products like these on beds and bedding.
Instead, once you have thoroughly cleaned your mattress, box spring, and pillows, you can encase each of them in specially designed bed bug mattress covers. These covers are made from a very dense fabric that will not allow bed bugs to get through. Simply slip them on, zip them up, and you won’t have to ask what are bed bugs anymore as they will be a thing of the past!
Bed bugs can be a very real concern and can crop up in even the cleanest of environments. Now that you know what are bed bugs, if you suspect you have a problem, take the necessary measures to rid the room of all signs of them and use allergy covers to protect your bed. With these steps, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing you’re not sharing your bed with any unwanted guests.
Sleep Tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.