A bed bug nymph in
the process of
ingesting a blood
meal.
Bedbugs lurk in
cracks and
crevices and
they've been
living on human
centuries. Though
they aren't known
to transmit
disease or pose
any serious
medical risk, the
stubborn
parasites can leave itchy and unsightly bites.
However, bedbugs don't always leave marks.
The best way to tell if you have a bedbug
infestation is to see the live, apple-seed-size
critters for yourself. Unfortunately, once
bedbugs take up residence in homes and
businesses, they can be difficult to
exterminate without professional help.
Appearance, lifestyle and habits
Bedbugs are flat, round and reddish brown,
around a quarter-inch (7 millimeters) in
length. The ones that typically plague
humans are the common bedbug Cimex
lectularius and the tropical bedbug Cimex
hemipterus.
Life cycle and other details on the
fearsome bedbug.
Credit: Karl Tate, LiveScience Contributor
A few decades ago, bedbugs were somewhat
of a novelty in developed countries. But since
the early 2000s, infestations have become
more common in places like the United
States, Canada, the United Kingdom and
Europe, according to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A
2013 study in the journal Nature Scientific
Reports suggested that bedbugs have evolved
ways to resist insecticides.
The creatures don't have wings and they
can't fly or jump. But their narrow body
shape and ability to live for months without
food make them ready stowaways and
squatters. Bedbugs can easily hide in the
seams and folds of luggage, bags and
clothes. They also take shelter behind
wallpaper and inside bedding, box springs
and furniture. The ones that feed on people
can crawl more than 100 feet (30 meters) in
a night, but typically creep to within 8 feet
(2.4 m) of the spot its human hosts sleep,
according to the CDC.
Bedbugs reproduce by a gruesome strategy
appropriately named "traumatic
insemination," in which the male stabs the
female's abdomen and injects sperm into the
wound. During their life cycle, females can
lay more than 200 eggs, which hatch and go
through five immature "nymph" stages before
reaching their adult form , molting after each
phase. [Infographic: Bedbugs: The Life of a
Mini-Monster ]
And it turns out, the pests may have favorite
colors. Scientists conducted lab tests with
bedbugs and found they sought out shelters,
called harborages, that were red or black,
while avoiding those denizens with shades of
yellow and green. (The researchers say that
changing the color of your sheets may be
taking the finding too far.)
"We originally thought the bedbugs might
prefer red because blood is red and that's
what they feed on," study co-author Corraine
McNeill, an assistant professor of biology at
Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, said in a
statement . "However, after doing the study,
the main reason we think they preferred red
colors is because bedbugs themselves appear
red, so they go to these harborages because
they want to be with other bedbugs, as they
are known to exist in aggregations."
As for steering clear of green and yellow?
Those hues may resemble brightly lit areas,
which bedbugs try to avoid, according to the
researchers, who detailed their study April 25,
2016, in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Bedbug bites
Bedbugs feed on the blood of humans
(though some species have a taste for other
mammals and birds, too) by inserting a
sharp proboscis, or beak, into the victim's
skin. The critters become engorged with
blood in about 10 minutes, which fills them
up for days.
The insects are most active at night, though
they are not exclusively nocturnal. Bedbugs
are attracted to warmth, moisture and
the carbon dioxide released from warm-
blooded animals, according to Purdue
University. On sleeping human hosts, bedbugs
often bite exposed areas of the body, such as
the face, neck, arms and hands.
But looking for bedbug bites might not be the
best way to tell if you have an infestation.
"A lot of people put a lot of import on looking
at the bite and identifying it," Harold Harlan,
an entomologist and a bedbug expert, told
Live Science. "I've raised these things for 41
years and I cannot tell what is a bedbug
bite."
Bedbug bites can look very similar to bites
from other insects like mosquitos and fleas.
People also have widely varying reactions to
bedbug bites. Some people have little visible
reaction to the insects' nibbling — they don't
develop lesions or bumps or pustules at all.
The bites themselves don't usually pose any
major health risk since bedbugs are not
known to spread diseases, but an allergic
reaction to the bites may require medical
attention, CDC officials say. There have also
been some strange cases linked to bedbug
infestations. Researchers reported in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal in
2009 that they treated a 60-year-old man for
anemia caused by blood loss from bedbug
bites. Another study published in 1991 in the
Journal of the Egyptian Society of
Parasitology found that people with asthma
might be more susceptible to allergic
reactions from bedbug bites.
Excessively scratching the itchy, bitten areas
also may increase the chance of a secondary
skin infection. Antiseptic creams or lotions
can be used to ward off infection and
antihistamines can be used to treat the
itching. And an infestation can take a
psychological toll on those affected: People
whose homes have been infested with
bedbugs may have trouble sleeping for fear of
being bitten in the night. There are also
public health, social and economic
consequences; office buildings and schools
often have to close if they are dealing with a
bedbug infestation.
Identifying and treating an infestation
If bites are unreliable markers of an
infestation, how can you tell if you have
bedbugs? Seeing live, moving bugs is the
"gold standard," according to Harlan. If you
can, you should collect some of those
specimens in a closed container and get a
professional to identify them.
You should look for traces of the insects in
the folds of your mattresses, box springs and
other places where they are likely to hide.
You might be able to find their papery skins,
which get cast off after molting and look like
popcorn kernels but are smaller and thinner,
Harlan said. They also leave small, dark-
colored spots from the blood-filled droppings
they deposit on mattresses and furniture. If
you can touch the spot with a water-soaked
towel and it runs a rusty, reddish color,
you're probably looking at a fresh drop of
bedbug feces, Harlan said.
Bedbugs often invade new areas after being
carried there by clothing, luggage, furniture or
bedding. The creatures don't discriminate
between dirty and clean homes, which means
even luxury hotels can be susceptible to
bedbugs. The most at-risk places tend to be
crowded lodgings with high occupant
turnover, such as dormitories, apartment
complexes, hotels and homeless shelters.
Getting rid of clutter may help to reduce the
number of hiding places for bedbugs, but
according to the CDC, the best way to
prevent bedbugs is regular inspection for the
signs of an infestation.
If you suspect an infestation, experts
recommend finding a professional
exterminator who has experience dealing with
bedbugs. Sprayed insecticides are commonly
used to treat infestations, and exterminators
may also use nonchemical methods, such as
devices to heat a room above 122 degrees
Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), a lethal
temperature for bedbugs, according to the
Mayo Clinic. Freezing infested items for a few
days at temperatures below 0 F (-18 C) may
also put bedbugs to permanent rest,
according to the University of Minnesota . But
you may have to throw out heavily infested
mattresses and other items of furniture.
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