Bed bugs are one of more annoying and problematic insect pests for humans partially because bed bug removal is difficult and partially because they literally bite people. Bed bugs, as their names suggest, frequently live near beds which offer shelter and a food source (assuming humans sleep in that bed) for these tiny bugs.
Bed bugs were declared a pest in the U.S dating back to the 1940s. Since then, Americans a spent a lot of money and effort to control these pests. But nothing has completely eradicated them. Bed bugs have been expanded and continue to pose a serious threat to homeowners, hotels, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Physical and biological facts about bed bugs
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are considered pests by most people. These annoying insects are parasites; meaning they are related to human because it provides food for them: blood.
Bed bugs feed frequently on blood, especially human blood, similar to fleas. But they have a different look than fleas and their scientific classifications are different, therefore, bed bugs need to be well studied and this article contains a huge amount of useful information that may help you better know these parasitic insects.
- Bed bugs are 0.16 to 0.2 inches (4 to 5 millimeters) long and 0.06 to 0.12 inches (1.5 to 3 millimeters) wide, which means they are truly tiny creatures that are hard to detect.
- Bed bugs are reddish brown small insects that look almost red directly after ingesting human blood.
- Bed bugs have flat oval-shaped bodies with an oval abdomen which is segmented into 5 parts. Usually, the female’s abdomen is bigger than the male’s as it is used it for laying eggs.
- Bed bugs have a straight pair of antennae used as sensors to danger or to vibrations.
Bed bugs are tiny insects that don’t carry a lot of physical or biological specifications. But as tiny as they are, they have a very typical and complex behavior that needs to be identified.
Behavioral characteristics of bed bugs
As cited above, Cimex lectularius has a typical behavior despite the fact that they are so small.
Feeding
Bed bugs feed on blood which is why they infest the human body. These insects are parasites and humans serve as their primary host. And the fact that they infest beds is because it has the perfect conditions as a shelter and as the availability of food source: which is the human when he falls asleep. So, bed bugs bite you while you are sleeping and suck all the blood they want and then come back to their shelter which is under your bed.
Bed bugs are nocturnal, they only feed at night and they are not active when exposed to daylight, they like quiet and dark places.
Bed bugs can also infest pets. When there is no availability of human blood, bed bugs bite pets and suck their warm blood.
The most special feeding behavior of bed bugs is that they can survive up to a whole year without feeding on any source, which is a very rare characteristic.
Reproduction
When bed bugs infest an area, they start by mating in order to form a huge colony to guarantee the survival of the species. Mating in bed bugs takes place through traumatic insemination in which the male injects its sperm into the female’s abdomen and when inseminated, it takes the female a day to lay down 1 or 2 eggs.
Bed bug eggs are so sticky in a way that it sticks to flat vertical surfaces without falling down, which helps the colony to survive and expand.
Bed bug nymphs are uncolored and very small: they are 0.06 to 0.08 inch (1.5 to 2 millimeters) long and 0.03 to 0.05 inch (0.7 to 1.25 millimeters) wide.
Like many insects, bed bugs use several ways to communicate with each other. They are smart creatures that need communication to organize their colonies and guarantee their survival, for that purpose, bed bugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate.
A pheromone is a chemical substance secreted by the glands in the bottom of bed bugs’ abdomens. It is used to mark trails that lead to food sources or to call for mates during mating season or to mark trails to other nests or even to warn other colonies of potential danger.
Kairomone is a semi-chemical substance similar to urine, secreted by bed bugs to warn others from areas treated with pesticides.
Relationship with humans
The relationship between bed bugs and humans can either be a relation of commensalism or of parasitism. Commensalism means one of the two parts benefits from the other without affecting it. In our case: bed bugs suck the blood of the human without affecting it, in better words, without causing harmful bites or transmitting diseases.
Otherwise, there is parasitism which means benefiting the other at his expense. It’s the case where the bites of bed bugs become highly allergic and cause harmful itching and identifiable swelling.
Regardless, bed bugs are considered a dangerous pest in the US and they should be exterminated when they infect a property because they can be responsible for huge material and health damage in the infected area.
Bed bugs: a serious threat to human health
Do bed bugs present any danger or threat to human health?
Well, medicine has proven that in spite of their ability to carry pathogens, they are unlikely to transmit them to humans; they are here just to suck blood and live in peace. In fact, it’s true that bed bugs don’t transmit dangerous diseases, but their bites can cause extreme allergic behavior and drive the victim crazy.
Bed bug bites cause itchiness swelling and redness of the bitten spot. Some pharmaceuticals could be prescribed to the bitten individual such as antihistamines and corticosteroids.
Bed bugs also cause psychological discomfort such as anxiety, and sleeplessness. People dealing with bed bug infesations can undergo serious psychological stress.
How do bed bugs get into your house?
Bed bugs, like any other pest, are not stupid insects to come from the front door and wait for you to smash them, they get into your house by many ways, and when they find the perfect location, they start building a suitable nest for a huge colony, and that huge colony may be under your bed.
- Bed bugs just sneak into your home through your yard like many other bugs. Rather, bed bugs often gain entry to your house through unchecked transported luggage or through your clothing. For example, if you have a guest and his luggage is infested, then surely your house will be infested as bed bugs crawl from one place to another, quickly, to hide. This makes them become undetectable.
- Hotels and motels are the most common places that suffer from bed bug infestations, as the turnover of travelers are continuous, infestations may occur at any time, and you could be easily infested when checking in.
- Bed bugs, also, love wood furniture, and once you buy used wood furniture, you should, carefully, check if it contains any minimal infestation, then you can put it in your house.
While it’s hard to detect bed bugs when entering your house, it’s not impossible to detect signs and evidence of bed bugs. We’ll share some of the signs of bed bugs in the next section, but you can learn more about bed bug evidence here.
Signs of having bed bugs in your property
It is true that bed bugs are so hard to detect because of their tiny bodies and their special defensive behavior (they only move at night and in quiet and dark places) but there are some signs set by our experts to help us find and identify bed bugs:
- The first sign is bed bug bites: they are most similar to mosquito bites but they come in a row and more than 3 or 4 bites could be found in the same area. Bed bug bites could cause itchiness, swelling, and sometimes allergy.
- Blood stains on your pillowcase can present the main sign of a serious bed bug infestation. If you are not suffering from any disease that will cause bleeding on your pillowcase, then it is surely, a bed bug that was on your pillow.
- Start checking under your mattress, and look for rusty fecal spots, they are usually accompanied by shed skin and laid eggs. Some bed bugs can also be identified. If not under your mattress, inspect it near your bed.
- A strong unpleasant odor could be smelled around the bed. When bed bugs are reunited, they spread an offensive odor that is easily identifiable.
- Check cracks and holes in the wall as bed bugs like to live in walls and in wood cracks which provides for them a cool moisturized harborage.
- Bed bugs don’t fly and don’t jump, they just crawl from one place to another very quickly, so don’t take them for ants or fleas.
Tips to prevent bed bugs
Bed bugs are a major source of nuisance, and as a homeowner, knowing that this insect has become a dangerous pest in the US; you should start planning how to avoid this pest and prevent being infested.
- Regularly inspect your house to guarantee that early infestations get exterminated. Inspect, carefully, all corners, wood furniture, beds, mattresses… every month.
- Beware of bed bugs in hotels, inspect your hotel room before opening your suitcase and lying on the bed, you could bring bed bugs home if you don’t take care.
- Vacuum your house every week, to keep every spot well aerated and kill any possible bed bug.
- Use a multi-layer cover for your mattress, it shall reduce the distribution of bed bugs.
- Some electronic devices could be used to repel bed bugs and to block them from staying on your property. These devices send ultrasonic waves that affect the neurological system of the bed bug and drive it out. The best product on market is Hoont Indoor Powerful Plug-in Spider and Bed Bug Pest Repeller with Night Light available on Amazon for only $20.
Getting rid of bed bugs
If, unfortunately, the pest infested your property and your prevention plan didn’t work, don’t lose hope; these insects are not immortal, and exterminating them is not that easy, but it is doable and efficient.
The treatment of bed bugs is various, many ways are available, and you can choose the most suitable for your case. Here are some of the best ways to treat and exterminate bed bugs forever:
Steaming
Steaming is a simple general way of housecleaning but when it comes to bed bugs, you need to precisely identify the harborage and steam it at a low temperature in order to freeze the bugs and kill them.
Heat treatment
Mostly like freezing, but it just gets done with high temperatures. In both cases, bed bugs can’t resist the extremely rough temperature and will quickly die. Heat treatment is expensive and needs special equipment which is better done by a professional.
Pesticides
When it comes to pests, pesticide sprays are always a solution, but is it effective with bed bugs? Well, some poisonous insecticides can be effective and exterminate bed bugs if precisely sprayed.
Encasement
Many people choose not to kill bugs but to use encasements in order to cage bugs inside the bed encasement until they die. Encasements are tissue covers for the infected mattress which don’t allow bed bugs to come out and bite you while you are asleep.
Bed bug interceptors
This method is a modern way to get rid of bed bugs. It is something like a plastic plate that catches bugs in your wood furniture and blocks its movement. The best product for this purpose in the market is Climbup Insect Interceptor Bed Bug Trap for only $13 on Amazon.
Additional Bed Bug Removal Resources:
- Bed Bug Infestations in an Urban Environment by CDC.gov
- Bed Bug Prevention Strategies – NeverPest.com
- Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius) and Clinical Consequences of Their Bites – Journal of American Medicine
- What You Never Knew about Bed Bug Bites – NeverPest.com
- Biology of the Bed Bugs (Cimicidae) – Annual Review of Entomology
- Do Bed Bugs Spread Fast? – NeverPest.com
It’s interesting how you said that bed bugs inhabit human bodies by feeding on our blood. My mom told me that she woke up with some red marks on her arms and legs. I will recommend her to contact a bed bug removal company so that they can get rid of any potential infestations.
Fumigations are not fun. They’re expensive and they’re a major inconvenience for your family (since you have to vacate the premises for a few days), and they require you to remove pets, plant life, and medicines from your home. But they’re a little bit like having a cavity filled: you might not enjoy it, but you absolutely need to have it done.
Joe, that’s a perfect analogy for fumigation!
The C02 thing you are talking about is ONLY good if that is the night they are feeding. So if you have a small infestation, and they fed already. You might not trap any at all. Might take 3 to 5 days. And if they laid any eggs, that takes awhile.
And yes, you need to do other things to kill them off, as if they can’t get to you they will go to your living room, etc. Also they have been known to climb up the wall and drop from the ceiling to get a meal.
The DE (diamatecious earth) is the best way to go. We had to get an exterminator in at my Mom’s. My grandmother’s room was ground zero. We think that they originated from a nursing home my Dad was in. And my grandmother’s room was right next to where my Mom would leave my Dad’s clothes to be washed. My grandmother never said a word she tried to get rid of them herself. then they started to go into my Mother’s room. She tried the same. Finally they told us, but after my nephew (who lives with me) too some items from her house. So now we had to check out all. The exterminator didn’t find any in our house (used the C02 method in my nephew’s room). They came back a number of times and sprayed my Mom’s house (after we emptied out everything (washed down with alcholol and bagged in plastic, clothes were washed and dried).
In the interim, my nephew found the skin of one (they molt) and a live one. Plus he had some bites on his neck. We steamed everything, sprayed with Steri-Fab let dry and put DE all over my the bed frames, moldings, etc. My nephew also put double sided tape along the wall by his bed and around his bed – hoping they would get stuck. Never had an issue. So we must have killed
After the exterminator finished off their process at my Mom’s we mentioned the steri-fab and DE. they said great products and will kill the bed bugs eventually. Great to use if a small infestation or as a preventative. Said to put down in my Mom’s house in about a week or two (let what they last applied do its work), as they spotted no more.
Bed-bug free in both houses for over 3 years now.
We also purchased Zapp-bug. It is a tent-like container with a heater attached. You can put in a suit case in it, etc. (from when you return on vaction to make sure you aren’t brining any guests).
Thanks for sharing information regarding bed bugs. I really found this very helpful. All the above tips are very helpful for controlling bed begs.
Rohit, I’m glad you found our bed bug removal guide helpful.
I found it scary that you said that bed bugs are considered parasites for humans because they use people as hosts. I have a friend that told me that that he thought he had bed bugs because he was feeling itchy all day. I’m going to encourage him to look for pest control.
Ron, glad you found this info helpful. I hope your friend figures out what is making him itch and let’s hope it’s not bed bugs! If he does have bed bugs, though, please stop back by NeverPest and let us know how the process of finding a bed bug professional to take care of the problem goes.
I never took into account the fact that bed bugs feed frequently on blood, especially human blood, similar to fleas. I’ve heard that some bugs can transmit human viruses that can harm your health. Thanks for the tip to regularly inspect your house to spot early infestations.
Derek, glad to hear that you learned more about bed bugs, and, yes, it is good to keep an eye out for signs of bedbugs.
It’s really scary that bed bugs can not only infect people, but animals as well. I have a very old mattress, so I’ve been worried that it might have bed bugs. Thanks for all the great information on bed bugs and how to get rid of the creepy critters.
I learned more about bed bugs here than I ever thought I would. It’s gross to think that they can carry pathogens that can hurt us. We need to have my son’s room cleaned out then because he’s woken up with red dots on his body recently!
Ridley, glad our bed bug removal guide was helpful for you. Please do get your son’s room cleaned out and have a pest control professional come to conduct an inspection. Many people do not realize the harm that bedbugs can cause. Many people do not realize that bed bugs can cause bad allergies for some people.
I didn’t know that bed bugs are nocturnal and only feet at night. That makes sense why you get bites only when you’re sleeping. I have a feeling that I might have some bed bugs in my bed because I keep waking up with spots on my legs, so I think it might be a good idea to call an extermination service so that I can get rid of them as soon as possible.
Kate, you should definitely have a professional come out and perform an inspection. One of the quickest and most accurate methods I have seen is when companies have a canine trained at detecting bedbugs, although this is not necessary. Best of luck to you and please let us know what you find out!