Bedbugs are small, brown, wingless parasites that feed off blood. Even though they cannot fly, they are not easily seen, as they are less than a quarter-of-an-inch (half a centimeter) long and often hide during the day. While bedbugs prefer to bite humans, they will also feed from mammals if necessary.
Bedbugs get their name from the fact they often live in unsanitary mattresses and bedding, but they can be found in other places such as carpets and cracks in walls. Although they are often found in dirty accommodation where poor sanitation is a problem, bedbugs have been known to travel in a person's clothing or luggage to other locations.
One sign of bedbugs is finding spots of blood in or around beds. Bedbugs typically leave tiny, itchy bites in orderly rows on a body. Some may notice that rooms that have many bedbugs have a sweet smell.
Bedbugs are mainly prevented by good sanitation and frequent cleaning, such as regular housecleaning and washing of bedding. As bedbugs are found worldwide, travelers abroad should also be watchful for signs of infestation. Travelers in rustic or less-developed areas can reduce their chances of being bitten by staying in reputable, well-maintained accommodations that appear clean. Travelers can also reduce chances of an infestation at home by washing all clothing and luggage upon returning home.
Bedbugs can leave itchy bites that typically heal over a few days. The itch common to the bites can usually be solved with a variety of common bug-bite remedies. A doctor should be consulted in more serious cases.
Bedbug infestations can be difficult to eliminate, as the pests can hide in a number of places. Mattresses and carpets suspected to contain bedbugs can be thoroughly vacuumed to remove the pests, with mattresses then being covered and left in a sunny place for as long as possible. Bedding and clothing can be washed thoroughly in hot water. However, professional pest control should also be considered, especially in larger or repetitive cases.
Bed bug bite symptoms don’t appear immediately, usually after a week victims notice small bumps.
Watch your skin for red welts. These red welts may not cause any itching initially to some people. During the initial stages they are small and hard to recognize. The most common sign of bed bug bites is that they will occur in a regular line of three. This pattern is referred to as “breakfast, lunch and dinner” by infectious disease experts. They cause an itching and burning sensation after a few days.
It’s not surprising that bed bug bite symptoms differ from individual to individual. Only allergic people show symptoms due to hypersensitive reactions, whereas some barely feel an itch. Nearly 60 percent of all exposed are unaware of bed bug bite symptoms.
Your skin reacts differently in different parts of the body. The skin of the face, hands and feet react the most when bitten by bed bugs. These are quite innocuous and are often misdiagnose as skin disorders such as scabies, rashes or mosquito bites.
With exposure to harsh conditions, itching increases. These harsh conditions can be a warm bath, exercising, chlorinated water of swimming pool, etc. Polluted environments also make us more reactive to bites. Those people whose skin develops blisters within a few minutes after a bite should visit a doctor immediately. To confirm bed bug bites, look for the following:
Red bumps in a “breakfast, lunch and dinner” pattern a regular line of three.
Little red bumps, similar to mosquito bites but longer, and often accompanied by itchiness and swelling in that area. This swelling can be up to 20cm in diameter. This bump eventually grows into blisters like lesions.
Redness
Swelling
Check for dark fecal spots on bed sheets. This is due to the gland secretion by the bed bugs. This confirms the infestation of bed bugs in your house.
Rashes are periodical. This is because of the feeding habit of bed bugs. These bugs usually feed once a month or every few weeks.
There may be swollen pus type formation.
Above mentioned symptoms eventually lead to anxiety, insomnia and stress.
Some victims have even gone into anaphylactic shock due to the allergen content of the saliva.
It can also lead to damaged local tissue.
The time span between the time someone has been bitten and the time symptoms appear is usually about 9 days. Bed bugs take advantage of your rest and are most active during night while you sleep tightly.
Bed bugs are fond of biting the face, hands and feet. The bite remains normally for three to four days and then slowly fades away if it is not severe. Even old bites can flare up from time to time. This is due to stress, the environment and many other factors.
Do not make your bite susceptible to secondary infections by scratching it. This can easily expose your wound to microbes which infect it and can also lead to infection in other parts of the body.
Though bed bug bite symptoms are difficult to recognize, when they are detected they must not be left untreated.
Typically, no treatment is required for bed bug bites. If itching is severe, steroid creams or oral antihistamines may be used for symptom relief. Secondary bacterial infections that develop over heavily scratched areas may require the use of antibiotics.
You can look to see if you can identify the fecal stains, egg cases, and exuviae (shed skins) in crevices and cracks on or near beds. You should also look at other areas such as under wallpaper, behind picture frames, in couches and other furniture, in bedsprings and under mattresses, and even in articles of clothing. While fecal stains and skin casts suggest that bed bugs have been present, these do not confirm that the infestation is still active. Observing the bed bugs themselves is definitive confirmation that an area is infested. You may require professional assistance from a pest-control company in determining whether your home contains bed bugs.
Getting rid of bed bugs is not an easy process, and most cases of bed bug infestation will require treatment by a pest-control expert. Bed bugs can survive for up to a year without feeding, so they may persist even in unoccupied rooms.
A variety of low-odor sprays, dusts, and aerosol insecticides can be used to eradicate bed bugs. These must be applied to all areas where the bugs are observed as well as spaces where they may crawl or hide. The pest-control company can help you determine if the mattress can be disinfected or must be discarded. Since beds cannot readily be treated with insecticides, it's often necessary to discard infested mattresses and beds.
The pest-control expert may recommend certain forms of deep-cleaning such as scrubbing infested surfaces with a stiff brush to remove eggs, dismantling bed frames and furniture, filling cracks in floors, walls, and moldings, encasing mattresses within special bags, or using a powerful vacuum on cracks and crevices.