Bed bug season is here. How to identify risks and avoid infestation.
Don't let the bed bugs bite.
The tiny, blood-sucking insects are preparing for some feasts as summer—when they're most active— and peak travel season approaches.
Here's what you need to know about these annoying little life-ruining hitchhikers and how to keep them far, far away from your bed.
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are reddish-brown to brown, flat, oval-shaped insects that are normally 5 millimeters long when fully grown, according to Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Services (OSU CFAES).
Young bed bugs—known as nymphs—are initially colorless before growing to resemble adults.
These critters are nocturnal blood feeders who prefer to feed on humans. They use sharp peaks to pierce the skin of a sleeping human and fill up on blood, which takes around 10 to 15 minutes. Once they're full, they crawl away back to a hiding place to digest.
Where do bed bugs live?
Bed bugs like to live on wood, fabric and paper surfaces in dark locations.
They normally start out by living in cracks, along seams, or on the tags of mattresses but they could live anywhere they fit, like in door frames, floor cracks, electrical outlets, carpeting, framed pictures, wall hangings and other furniture, according to OSU CFAES.
They normally like to live close to their chosen target, but they can travel between rooms in a building.
Bed bugs aren't purely domestic creatures, either. They can infest trains, busses, planes, movie theaters, office buildings and hotels. If there are people to feed on and somewhere for them to hide, they could live there.
How to know if you have bed bugs
While a series of small, red, itchy bug bites might be one of your first clues you have bed bugs, most public health organizations don't consider bites on their own to be evidence of the creepy crawlies.
Around 30% of people don't have any reaction to bed bug bites, and bites that do appear could be from days or weeks prior, according to Pest Control Technology.
Instead, the most surefire evidence of the critters is what they leave behind. Crushed bugs leave bloodstains, and living bugs leave dark or rusty stains from their feces.
You may also encounter eggshells and discarded exoskeletons near their hiding spaces, more signs you have unwelcome visitors.
Additionally, severe infestations can produce an "offensive, sweet, musty odor" similar to coriander or cilantro, according to OSU CFAES.
How to prevent bed bugs
Bed bugs often get inside on clothing and luggage. OSU CFAES recommends inspecting any clothes or luggage you bring into your home for signs of the bugs.
When you're staying at a hotel, unpack as little as possible and keep items out of wardrobes and off of fabric surfaces. If you find signs of bugs during your stay, ask to be moved to another room that isn't adjacent to your old one.
When you get back from travel, wash your clothes on high heat.
If you buy secondhand furniture, beds or bedding, make sure you inspect them thoroughly before bringing them inside. Any furniture or items you pick up off the street have an increased risk of bed bug infestation, so you may want to leave those on the curb.
Basically, if you can't verify an item does not have bed bugs or has never been infested, you may want to use caution when taking them home, according to OSU CFAES.
For homeowners, exterior cracks and crevices should be caulked to prevent them from getting into your home. Also, try to keep out bats or rodents who can bring bed bugs in with them.
Frequent vacuuming and washing of bedding and clothes on high heat can also prevent bed bugs or kill them before the infestation can spread. If you suck some up in a vacuum, make sure the bag is sealed and you dispose of it away from any buildings.
What to do if you have bed bugs
The simplest solution is to call a pest management company; they'll use insecticides, heat treatments and traps to kill the bugs. It could take multiple visits over the course of weeks to fully exterminate them.
If you want to try to battle the bed bug menace yourself, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a guide for DIY bed bug control.
Are bed bugs dangerous?
While they're considered to be public health pests by multiple federal agencies, bed bugs do not transmit any diseases to humans. The amount of blood they suck out is also not likely to cause any harm.
Their physical effects are mostly just obnoxious: itchy, swollen bug bites that could become infected if scratched enough.
The psychological toll of bed bugs, including insomnia, anxiety and stress, could be severe, according to OSU CFAES.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bed bug season is here. Here's how to keep them out of your home.
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