Bedbugs are insects that have high vitality. They are able to go without food for months, falling into suspended animation, and also often “travel” to find new sources of food for themselves. Interestingly, bedbug bites are often mistaken for other skin lesions. Most often, they are mistaken for mosquito or flea bites, and sometimes for allergic dermatitis. Photos of bites, as well as their description, will help to correctly interpret skin lesions. The bedbug is a parasite that many have only seen in photographs. However, recently there has been a widespread spread of bedbugs, and parasites are found not only in old barracks, but also in recently occupied new buildings. The reason for the spread of bedbugs is the ability of these insects to adapt well to various conditions. And also the fact that many people who have not encountered these parasites before do not know how to understand that bedbugs have appeared in the house. And periodically appearing bites are mistaken for skin diseases.
What do the bites look like?
A specialist entomologist can easily recognize bedbug bites and distinguish them from the bites of other blood-sucking insects. But those people who have not encountered these domestic parasites before often mistake bedbug bites for other skin lesions. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt anyone to see what bedbug bites look like so that they can take timely action if necessary. Naturally, it is better to see bites in a photo rather than on your own body. So, a bug bite usually looks like mosquito bites that everyone is familiar with. However, it is more painful and has clearer boundaries. As you can see in the photo of the bites, the damage looks like a swelling with a dense lump at the site of the skin puncture. The main differences between bedbug bites and the consequences of “close contact” with other blood-sucking insects are: • Location in groups; • Plurality. The fact is that domestic bugs multiply extremely quickly, so insects live in large numbers in an infested room. Domestic bedbugs do not have a clearly organized structure, but they live in large groups (clusters of bedbugs are usually called nests). As you can see in the photo, bedbug bites are located in groups, so-called “paths”. The fact is that the insect, in order to get enough, makes a series of bites, moving along the body of the victim. It is these “paths” of bites that are one of the main signs of the presence of bedbugs in the house.
Individual reactions
Essentially, bite marks are the body's immune response to the presence of foreign substances in the body. Such a foreign substance is the secretion (saliva) of a domestic bug, which the insect injects at the time of the bite. Advice! By piercing the skin, the bug injects a special secretion into the wound. This secretion contains anesthetic substances that allow the bug to drink its blood unnoticed by the victim. And also, substances that thin the blood, making it easier for the bug to feed. • If the reaction to the secretion of bedbugs is weak, a small red spot remains at the site of the bite. Insensitive people often do not notice bites, and for a long time do not realize the presence of bedbugs in the premises. • A moderate reaction to bites is typical for most people. They develop a small swelling at the site of the wound with a thickening in the center. • If the reaction is severe, large lumps form at the site of the bites. In the most severe cases, general symptoms may develop - the formation of edema, the appearance of a rash, etc. How strong the reaction to a bug bite can be can be seen in the photos posted on thematic sites. Advice! Most often, men are less sensitive to bedbug bites than children and women.
Symptoms of bed bug bites
Bedbugs are active at night, when a person goes to bed. This is why it is almost impossible to spot insects during the day. As a rule, you notice the bite left in the morning. The affected area becomes red and swollen, itches very much and a wound often appears in the center. You should be alert to the following, more serious symptoms of bedbug bites on humans:
- Spread of redness over a large area of skin;
- Severe itching;
- The appearance of edema;
- Labored breathing;
- Swelling of the neck or face.
At first, small wounds are attributed to the appearance of mosquitoes, but with a massive attack of pests, all doubts quickly dissipate. The bites left by bedbugs are located quite close together and often look like a stripe. This phenomenon can be explained simply - the insect tries to get more satiation and moves a short distance to bite a person again and drink blood. At night you will not feel pain, since the insects have perfectly adapted to a secretive life and inject pain-relieving enzymes during the bite process.
Bedbugs prefer to choose areas of the skin where blood vessels and capillaries are located as close as possible. The attack on a person lasts for ten minutes, and then the insect digests food for about a week.
Up to one hundred bites can appear on the body in one night. Bedbugs call on their fellows to join the feast and, using a characteristic smell, report that the place is safe and there is a large amount of food. That is why in houses with a large number of pests there is a specific aroma that is very difficult to remove.
Symptoms of bedbug bites in children and adults appear quickly and disappear after three days if there are no complications. As a rule, marks often remain in the area of the legs or arms.
How to treat?
For moderate and mild reactions to bedbug bites, special treatment is not necessary. The main thing is to prevent scratching. Therefore, if severe itching is felt at the site of the bites, you can use various means to reduce its intensity. From pharmaceutical products you can use: • Fenistil gel; • “Psilo-balm”; • Balm “Golden Star”. You can also use folk remedies to relieve itching: • Cold can be applied to the bite sites; • Treat the skin with tincture of St. John's wort or propolis; • Wash the bite areas with a soda solution. Advice! Severe allergic reactions require antihistamines, and in severe cases, emergency medical attention may be required.
How to protect yourself from bedbugs
Folk remedies that repel bedbugs
All of the above drugs are used to relieve itching and associated sensations caused by bedbug bites. The first thing you need to do to prevent bed bugs from biting at night is to disinfest the room. Specialized services deal with the destruction of bedbugs. To get rid of blood-sucking insects on your own, use insecticidal preparations and folk remedies. The following recipes will help protect you from pests during this period:
- Ledum. The ointment is prepared in the following way. Young shoots of the plant are dried for half a month, after which they are crushed. 2 tbsp. l. dry product pour 5 tbsp. l. sunflower oil and leave to infuse for 12 hours. After this time, the mixture can be applied to the body.
- Perfume or cologne. To prevent bedbugs from biting, it is enough to smear the surface of the body with ordinary cologne, perfume or eau de toilette. Such a pleasant aroma for humans will serve as a high-quality repellent for parasites.
- Tansy and wormwood. No less effective in the fight against domestic bugs are herbs such as tansy and wormwood. Dried grass is placed in gauze bags, after which they are laid out around the perimeter of the bed. This method will force the parasites to leave the territory they inhabit.
To prevent parasite attacks, some people even use kerosene, vinegar and turpentine as a preventive measure. However, the pungent specific smell of these substances can harm not only bedbugs, but also the inhabitants of the home themselves. And besides, the use of these methods will only help to reduce the activity of bloodsuckers, but it will not be possible to get rid of them completely in this way.
What to do if you find bedbug bites?
If you see swellings on your skin or someone in your household that hurt and itch, you should suspect that the room is infested with bedbugs. To make sure of this, you need to: • Inspect the bed linen. You will notice small droplets of blood on the sheets, as well as strange dark-colored specks. These specks are insect excrement; you can see how it looks on linen in the photo. • Inspect the mattress. In the seams of a mattress or the folds of sofas you can see empty chitinous shells (they are shed by larvae) and a large amount of excrement. It is often possible to find a nest of insects in the bed. As can be seen in the photo, in such a cluster you can see adult insects, larvae of different ages, eggs, empty chitinous shells and excrement. • Since bedbugs come out of their hiding places mainly at night, you can do this simple test: get up at 3-4 am and turn on the lights sharply, throwing back the blanket. On the sheet you can see parasites scattering in different directions. • If the premises are heavily infested, bedbugs can be found not only in the bedroom furniture, but throughout the apartment. These parasites often live in crevices around baseboards, door frames and under window sills. Accumulations of bedbugs can be found on the back walls of furniture and in its cracks and grooves (for example, in the grooves of drawers).
How to deal with bedbugs?
Once you are sure that bedbugs have settled in the house, you will need to take measures to completely exterminate them. As you can see in the photo, the bug has a flat body protected by a chitinous shell. Therefore, this insect is difficult to crush. In addition, bedbugs run quickly and immediately hide in shelters. Therefore, the mechanical method of controlling bedbugs is ineffective. However, it can be used as an auxiliary one. For example, if you find a bedbug nest, you can remove it with a vacuum cleaner. A fairly effective method is the temperature method of killing bedbugs. If possible, contaminated items can be treated using a steam generator or taken out into the cold. But since total treatment of an apartment cannot be carried out using this method, it is used as an auxiliary one. The most reliable way to exterminate bedbugs is to use modern insecticides. The treatment can be carried out independently, using products approved for household use. In case of severe infection, it is better to contact a professional.
What to do to prevent bedbugs from biting?
Of course, the most effective way to avoid bedbug bites is to kill the insects. To do this you need:
- do general cleaning (vacuum carpets, upholstered furniture, wipe dust, wash textiles and bed linen, steam bedding);
- make cosmetic repairs as necessary (glue up wallpaper that has come off the walls, seal gaps and cracks in the floor, walls, door and window frames, seal joints);
- use an insecticidal preparation (treat the bed frame, sofas and armchairs, the space behind baseboards, shelves and carpets, bedside tables and cabinets).
You can try to protect your sleeping area from bedbugs, for example, by placing plastic containers of water under the legs of the bed or by wrapping the legs with double-sided tape. But this method cannot be called effective; hungry parasites will find an opportunity to get to the food source in one way or another.
Another rather unusual way is to sleep in the light. Parasites are active in the dark, so most likely they will not crawl out of their hiding places into a brightly lit space. But this method has two main disadvantages.
- Firstly, for a person, sleeping with the light on is unusual and not recommended. Problems with falling asleep, shallow sleep, and as a result, insufficient rest, decreased activity and performance are very likely.
- Secondly, hunger will most likely be stronger than discomfort and after a few days, when hungry, the insects will still go out hunting.
conclusions
So, having familiarized yourself with the photos and descriptions of bedbug bites in advance, you will be able to promptly detect the appearance of parasites in the house.
After all, the sooner disinfestation was carried out after the infection, the easier it will be to completely get rid of parasites in the house. You can buy all the necessary products to combat insects and pests on our website . For any questions, you can always call us at 8 (800) 775-81-02 and consult on the product you are interested in . We are always happy to assist in resolving issues related to the fight against insects and rodents .
Treating bites
If you are prone to allergic reactions, it is important to immediately take an antihistamine. There are effective ointments that provide a healing and disinfecting effect. Of course, you should simultaneously treat the apartment with insecticides. If you do not kill bedbugs indoors, then you will regularly succumb to pest attacks and there will be no result from treatment. If you feel unwell and symptoms worsen, do not hesitate, but immediately seek medical help.
Among the safe folk remedies, there are ways to significantly reduce the burning and itching from marks left by bedbugs. You can regularly take activated carbon and at the same time make lotions from concentrated soda. Read the affected area of the epithelium with alcohol and St. John's wort. Keep in mind that it is strictly forbidden to scratch the bite areas, so monitor the behavior of children. Wounds often appear on the damaged area, which can become infected.
Bedbugs are extremely active creatures that will always look for the most favorable shelter. There is no complete guarantee that insects will not appear again from ventilation holes or will not come running from neighbors.
Are you planning a trip and going to spend the night in a hotel? Preliminarily inspect the entire room and bed for the presence of bedbugs. It will be easy to spot insects if you look carefully.
The best way to be 100% protected from bedbugs is to use the help of professional pest control teams. Modern products provide long-lasting results and are as safe as possible for adults and small children. Don’t put yourself and your loved ones at risk, get rid of bedbugs quickly!
