The truth about bed bugs

Bed bugs: The thought of sharing your bed with any type of bug is unpleasant to say the least but, bed bugs are one of the worst types of bug to share your bed with. To understand why, you need to know what bed bugs do. The faint-hearted should probably stop reading right about now.

Despite the fairly innocuous sounding name, bed bugs are parasitic pests that feed on human blood whilst their hosts are sleeping. That is not some sort of horror story designed to scare you. Rather that is what bed bugs do, they feed and breed and you are their breakfast, lunch, tea and dessert.

You may be wondering if you should be at all concerned about bed bugs, especially if you have never seen one. You might even think that they are some sort of tropical problem, perhaps. Think again. The number of reported bed bug infestations seems to rise every year all over the world. The global travel industry has helped bed bugs spread to every continent on Earth. These diminutive pests are every bit as resilient as cockroaches and arguably present a far greater health hazard.

Bed bugs are nocturnal and naturally reclusive so it is unlikely that you will ever actually see them even if they are sharing your bed. That is why it is important to understand what bed bugs do when the lights go off and they slowly start crawling out of their hiding places.

For many people one of the first signs of a bed bug infestation is intense itching during the night as they crawl across your body looking for suitable feeding spots. Another potential sign of infestation is bite marks on your arms and legs. Such bites can easily become infected, which is where the real health hazard comes in. If you have any such bites and they look infected or become painful in any way it is strongly advised that you visit a doctor or dermatologist straight away. A third common sign that you may have a problem with bed bugs are inexplicable stains on your sheets, usually reddish brown or black from excess blood the bed bugs have not been able to digest and their faeces.

Whether you have experienced any of the warning signs above or not, if you think you might have a problem with bed bugs it is advisable to do a full inspection of your bedroom, particularly in, on and around the bed. Check along the seams of your mattress, headboard and footboard. Check behind tags and labels on the mattress and check joints and cracks on the bedframe itself. Don’t forget to also check furniture near to the bed such as your bedside tables for example.

As this article hopefully demonstrates, knowing what bed bugs do is about more than just knowing they suck your blood. It is about knowing the tell-tale signs of an infestation as described above and their likely hiding places. The sooner you confront the problem the quicker you can eliminate these pests from your bed and your life.