Bed Bugs Bites

Bed bugs can be anywhere. It is possible that your bed contains hundreds to thousands of bed bugs that crawl and creep over your body when you are asleep.

Bed bugs suck the blood of their host, which, of course, are humans, and sometimes animal pets like dogs, cats, birds and wild creatures like bats.

A long time ago, a bed bugs's most prevalent host were wild birds - they hid in bird's nests. But just like the human species, bed bugs adapted to environmental changes, and learned to crawl into people’s homes, particularly beds, furniture and room surfaces.

Bed bugs take their sumptuous meals by using their elongated beaks to pierce through the skin of the host. After that, they start the feast and harshly suck on blood until they have filled their bellies, so to speak.

Diseases from bed bugs

There is not too much to worry about on this subject. Doctors and medical practitioners assure us, that bed bug bites are not that harmful in the way that mosquito bites are. The threat from moisquitos is that they can sometimes transfer to their victims, a number of serious ailments like malaria, dysentery, elephantiasis or h-fever.

In comparison, bites of bed bugs do not pose much health risk. Bed bugs are annoying, but they do not pass on viruses or bacteria to those they feast on - their hosts or victims.

Understanding how bed bugs bite.

As described earlier, bed bugs use their beaks to pierce our skins to get to our abundant supply of blood. When the do this, they also inject a little bit of their saliva into the skin.

While the salivia does not contain diseases or pathogens, it cause allergic reactions. Some people’s systems will react harshly to such bites.

That is why most bed bug bites swell up after 10 minutes to 24 hours. Just like mosquito bites, they appear reddish and they can itch or be painful.

The itch from bed bug bites can be so persistent and annoying that it can be very hard not to scratch. But do resist the itching, as you can open up little wounds by your scratching that can become infected.

Avoiding a bed bug's bite.

Of course, the best and most effective way to prevent or avoid a bed bug's bite is to make sure the insects will not appear during the hours you are asleep. And how can that be done?

Ensuring that your bed or your room as a whole is not infested or overrun by bed bugs. To prevent bed bugs from attacking, maintain a high level of cleanliness. Regularly clean the room and be thorough in cleaning crevices and cracks on floors and walls.

This will not kill all the bugs that maybe present, but can keep their levels low while your are planning out your strtegy to irradicate them.

If you like traveling, make sure the places you are staying in are not infested with bed bugs. Otherwise, bed bugs can get into your baggage, and voila, when you unpack your things at home, bed bugs will be spread into your room.

There are also insect-repellant products in the market. Those products are applied to your skin like lotion. Once the repellant is on, bed bugs will be reluctant to get near you. They will find your skin a danger zone and will find you unappealing as a food source.

This option is particularly useful, while traveling, if you must sleep in rooms filled with these pests.

Bites from bed bugs are hard to avoid, if you are not living alone in your room... you have thousands of bed bugs families in your bed. Prevention is better than cure.

Vacuuming and cleaning are ways to help keep your bed from being a breeding grounds for bed bugs.

In the market, you can also find dozens of lotions or skin products that serve as repellant to bed bugs.

Being bitten by bed bugs is nomally not serious, unless you are very sensitive. In such cases, seek medical advise. Otherwise, the bites normally fade out and heal by themselves over a little time.