Many people often ask me what bed bug bites
look like, so I've decided to post some pictures below. These
bites can be itchy and irritating and lead to many sleepless nights.
Luckily there are ways to get rid of bed bugs for good.
Are Bed Bugs Dangerous or Contagious?
People who have had the
misfortune of experiencing bed bugs first hand will all agree that
the biggest fear they had was wondering if these horrible insects
were dangerous or if they carried contagious diseases. It is often
assumed that bugs that can infest your home and multiply quickly and
easily may carry some horrible diseases and once they bite you, you
can become infected. You would be surprised to learn that bed bugs
themselves do not carry any sort of contagious disease. They do bite
however and this can sometimes be painful.
The bite of a bed bug itself
is not painful but the after affects of the bite can irritate the
person bitten. Depending on the sensitivity of the person the bitten
area can become irritated and inflamed. Some people who have been
bitten have described the bite as something that resembles a
mosquito bite. When the area becomes swollen you may notice a small
welt. The welt may become itchy and may last anywhere from a few
hours to a few days.
The skin reactions result
from a reaction to the saliva that is injected into the skin during
the bite. The most commonly affected areas are the arms and the
shoulders. The bite may become so irritating that the person cannot
sleep for a few days. A reaction to the bite may not present itself
immediately and can actually be delayed up to about a week to ten
days after the bed bug has bitten. This makes identification of that
that much harder.
If a person already suffers
from allergic reactions to various substances then they may also
find that they will react to a bit from a bed bug. If a person does
have an allergic reaction they can present with some of the
following symptoms. They may develop wheals, or welts. These wheals
will eventually disappear to leave only a tiny red spot. If there
multiple bug bites then a person who had severe allergies may go
into anaphylactic shock and may require a shot from an epi-pen. If
there is an extreme infestation and child has been bitten there is a
chance that the child or infant may then suffer from iron
deficiency.
Other than the reactions
that may be present once a person has been bitten there are other
medical conditions that a person may experience. These may include
such things has anxiety. People who have had experience with bed
bugs have become anxious about getting them again. They then become
stressed and suffer from a lack of sleep because they are always
thinking there may be something in the bed, clothes or furniture.
I Can't Have Bed Bugs, Can I?
Well, unfortunately the answer is yes, you could
have bed bugs. Bed bugs are small crawling, parasitic
creatures that live, as the name suggests, mostly in bedding. They
cause intense itching and often red marks on the affected area. They
are becoming very prevalent in the modern world, even in the
cleanest of establishments. Unfortunately they are also difficult to
eradicate and usually need a trained pest controller to successfully
get rid of bed bugs.
So where do they come from. Well the most common cause of
infestation of bed bugs is from other areas that have them. This is
usually from hotels, motels, college dorms and similar areas. One of
the reasons for the increase in bed bug infestations in the Western
world is due to the rise in travel and the corresponding rise in the
number of hotels. As more exotic travel has increased, bed bugs have
been imported from less controlled areas. The bed bugs, rarely
travel on the person but are usually found on the clothes that have
made contact with the source of contamination. They can be found in
the luggage of the multitude of travelers that move around the globe
each day. No wonder it is so hard to get rid of bed bugs!
Bed bugs do not need dirt as such, to live on – they
do quite well on human detritus! So just because you have them, it
does not mean you own a dirty house or business.
So how do you know you have bed bugs? Well itching and red
marks on the body is a good indication that all is not well. They
also leave behind small dark blood spots on the sheets, which are
known as “faecal pellets”. There is sometimes a distinctive sweet
and sickly smell or you can actually see the bugs or their cast off
skins on the bed.
So how do you get rid of bed bugs? To safely remove them –
and they do seem to be able to get into all the small crevices of
your home or hotel– you need a professional pest controller. Just
washing the sheets will not do. Bed bugs can move from bed to bed by
moving through carpets, other furniture and soft furnishings.
You should contact a local Toronto pest controller as quickly as
possible. They will come in and safely and expertly spray your home
or hotel, quickly getting rid of your bed bugs. Do not delay – they
only multiply.
