Determining the presence of foreign insects in your apartment is not difficult. After all, it is common for any living organism to leave behind, if not traces, then the products of their vital activity. The symptoms and signs of bedbugs in an apartment are quite characteristic, so identifying third-party objects will not be difficult. But it is important not only to determine the presence of third-party parasites, but also to calculate the specific type. After all, various types of parasites can live in the house, including bed bugs, which will be discussed.
Bites
The most obvious sign of bed bugs is bites. Bedbugs are blood-sucking pests; they feed on the blood of animals and humans. They are nocturnal and go out hunting at night. Bite marks can appear on any part of the body, but areas with the least thick skin are preferred for parasites - in the elbows, on the neck, buttocks, and arms. A characteristic sign indicating that a person was bitten by a bug and not a mosquito is a trail of bites. A bug requires up to 7 ml of blood to saturate; it feeds on capillary blood, that is, after one puncture of the skin, it may not have enough food, which means it makes the next bite.
Bedbug bites themselves may not bother a person. The itching that appears at the site of the bite is irritating. Some people have very severe allergic reactions. The bite marks themselves are red spots with a dot in the middle. They may swell. If there are a lot of bedbugs in an apartment or house, then they can make up to 400 bites per night.
Bedbugs bite everyone, but most often their victims are children and women. This is due to the fact that they have thinner skin. But if bedbugs appear in the house, then bite marks will be on all family members. They also bite domestic animals, but much less often, because the skin of dogs and cats is much denser than human skin. In addition, it is believed that bed bugs feed exclusively on human blood, and animals have their own ectoparasites.
If characteristic marks appear on the skin, it is worth observing them. The bites themselves are not dangerous; they pass quickly enough. But these insects are carriers of dangerous diseases, so they can infect the victim. They can be especially dangerous for children and elderly or weakened people. If bites are detected, it is necessary not only to clean the home of pests, but also to pay attention to the health status of the residents.
Effective methods of determination
Both purchased and homemade products will help you determine whether there are bedbugs at home. The first category includes special traps, but they are criticized by users who consider them too complex, inconvenient and at the same time expensive.
Trap
The second option is to use improvised means. This could be, for example, double-sided tape that is used to cover the perimeter of the bed, a compartment for storing bed linen, the legs of beds and sofas, or the inside of cabinets. If there are parasites, then the next morning they can be seen stuck to the tape.
There are other ways - many use ordinary plastic dishes:
Glass for finding bedbugs
8 plastic glasses (4 large and 4 smaller diameters) will help you make sure that there are bedbugs at home. The glasses are laid out in twos, inserting the small one inside the large one. A little vegetable oil is poured into the bottom of large glasses, the surface of which is sprinkled with talcum powder. You can pour water into the small ones, but this is not necessary.
Then the 4 resulting structures of 2 glasses are placed under the legs of the bed. The calculation is simple - at night, bedbugs, trying to climb up or down from the bed using their legs, will not be able to overcome the obstacle and will remain in the glass.
Plastic plate
Plastic plates will also help to establish the presence of blood-sucking insects in the room, as well as to recognize their variety. Talcum powder or powdered sugar is poured onto the bottom of the plates (it is better to take deep ones), and the edges are greased with rich cream or vegetable oil. After this, the plates are placed under the legs of the bed.
This method, like the previous one, will not help get rid of bedbugs, but will only make sure of their presence.
Early rise
Oddly enough, a regular alarm clock will help you check whether there are bedbugs in your apartment. You need to start it at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, and then be conscious and get up at the signal. As you know, from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., parasites are most active. So, when you wake up and turn on the light, you can probably see bloodsuckers on the bed, arriving for food.
It should be taken into account that both adult bedbugs and nymphs do not need daily blood intake. If the rise does not produce results on the first night, it is better to repeat it the next night. But if not a single parasite appears within 2-3 nights, this can be considered confirmation that there are no bedbugs in the house.
Traces on the bed
Bed bugs are not the fastest creatures. They cannot leave the “crime scene” immediately. In a dream, a person tosses and turns, which means he crushes parasites with his weight. Traces of crushed bedbugs and blood stains remain on the bed linen. Not only adults, but also larvae suck blood. It is the larvae that are easier to crush, since they have a thinner and softer chitinous shell.
In addition, spots on the bed appear not only after crushing pests. When they bite, they do not inject a blood-clotting substance into the wound, so after the bite, droplets of blood ooze from the puncture for some time.
Black spots on things and surfaces
The waste product of bed bugs is excrement, or feces. They are digested human blood and look like small black specks. You can find them on beds, beds, various things and other surfaces in areas infested with parasites.
Usually, the waste products of blood-sucking pests are located near their nest. Since bed bugs prefer to settle closer to a person’s sleeping place, most often you can find their traces on the sheet.
Other places you can find bed bug marks on your bed:
- mattress (inside, in folds, under the mattress cover);
- headboard;
- furniture frame.
The sofa and bed are the most common places to find bed bug nests. This type of insect chooses them in 90% of cases. But sometimes they choose other places. For example, sometimes you can find traces of bedbugs on wallpaper, in a closet with clothes, in a chest of drawers with bed linen and towels, and even in the housings of electrical appliances.
Waste products
Bedbugs leave quite a lot of marks. They shed particles of chitin and leave excrement in their habitats. They look like tiny dark brown balls. There are always a lot of them, so they can be detected easily, without the use of specialized equipment. Bedbugs hide and leave behind their waste products:
- in cracks and cracks in walls and floors;
- under the bed, sofa or closet;
- inside furniture;
- under the upholstery of upholstered furniture;
- under the wallpaper.
In addition to feces, translucent chitinous pieces can be seen. These are parts of the shell that the larva sheds when turning into an adult. Chitin particles can be found in any part of the room.
Egg clutches and shells
A female bedbug lays up to 5 eggs per day. During her entire life, she can lay up to 500 eggs. They can be found in bed bug nesting areas. They look like an elongated oval, painted transparent white and up to 1 mm long. After the larvae hatch, all that remains of the eggs is an empty shell with a hole on one side.
If conditions are favorable (and in a person’s home they are), the larvae emerge from the eggs in 6-17 days. Nymphs hatched from eggs reach sexual maturity in 4–5 weeks. Therefore, you can get rid of bedbugs using professional pest control only if you order a double treatment with an interval of 1.5-2 weeks.
Smell
Another sign of bedbugs in the house is a characteristic smell. It is caused by the release of a special secretion that pests need for orientation. With his help they find each other. With the gradual appearance and spread of parasites, home owners may not notice this smell. But once you leave for a couple of days and return, the smell will seem very strong and even suffocating. Guests at home will also tell you about the specific aroma.
Some people think that bedbugs smell like cognac (or cognac smells like bedbugs). They have a strong nutty smell. It's more like the smell of rotten nuts. Sometimes the aroma can resemble the smell of rotten raspberries. The smell is persistent and spreads throughout the entire room. In places where eggs are laid and where adults gather, the smell is much more intense. It’s not just the adults that emit the aroma. Eggs, larvae, and excrement also smell.
Who can bedbugs be confused with?
There are many different insects in the world that are very similar to bed bugs. But of all these insects, not all strive to live in an apartment and feed on human blood. Bedbugs that live in an apartment can be confused with any small insect if a person does not understand small insects. The main types of insects that bed bugs can be confused with include:
- Cockroaches. Cockroaches do not feed on human blood, although they can crawl into bed. Cockroaches are so fast that they can go everywhere. Adult cockroaches are large in size, reaching up to 30-40 mm. People often confuse cockroach eggs with bedbug eggs. They also have significant differences, both in size and color. But the main feature by which these two species can be distinguished is the presence of wings on the abdomen of a cockroach, while bedbugs do not have them.
- Fleas and ticks. Fleas are very small in size, so it is impossible to confuse them with an adult bedbug. But confusing a flea with a bedbug egg is much more realistic. The main difference between fleas and bedbug eggs is color, since the first species is characterized by a brown color. Ticks are larger in size than fleas, but their main difference from bedbugs is their body shape and their attachment to the skin for a long period. If the bug feeds on blood only at night, then the tick sticks for a long time and until it drinks its fill, it will not come off. During this period, a person can detect a tick on the body and remove it.
Fleas can cause no less trouble and inconvenience than bedbugs, however, they cannot be confused
- Ants. It is difficult to confuse a bedbug with an ant, but an ignorant person can do it. The ant has a small abdomen and causes unpleasant pain when biting.
Now it will not be difficult for you to identify the presence of bedbugs in the apartment, and if the assumptions are confirmed, then it is time to take appropriate measures to exterminate the blood-sucking parasites.
See also: Everything you didn’t know about bedbugs and methods of getting rid of them (video)
Source
How to detect bedbugs
The first sign of bedbugs is bites. At first, people may think they have been bitten by mosquitoes. Yes, the bite marks are similar in appearance. But mosquitoes are solitary, and traces of skin punctures by bedbugs form a path. If you find such a path, then you need to immediately inspect the home. First, there must be blood stains on the bed linen. Secondly, you can easily find the bedbugs themselves if you move furniture away from the walls, look under paintings, baseboards, and into the joints of wallpaper.
When the first signs or even suspicions appear, it is necessary to carefully inspect the house. Even if you don’t notice them at first glance, it’s worth spending more time and attention on your search. Bedbugs hide in the following places:
- upholstered furniture: folds of upholstery, internal cavities, filler;
- cabinet furniture - at joints, on the back walls;
- books - under the spine, between the pages;
- paintings, decorative items - on the back walls, facing the walls;
- beds - under or inside the mattress;
- under baseboards - floor or ceiling;
- under the wallpaper and in the joints.
Usually there is a main nest of parasites in the home. It contains everything - adults, larvae, and eggs. There are also feces and discarded chitinous shells. The main task in the fight against bedbugs is to find such a breeding ground. If the population is very large, there may be several nests. If you don’t find them all, the bedbugs will quickly spread throughout the apartment or house again.
Where can parasites hide?
For their daytime habitats, bedbugs most often choose the bed or sofa itself, including all corners and joints, the bottom and the side adjacent to the wall. Other secluded places often inhabited by bedbugs include bedside tables, curtains, the backs of pictures, baseboards, radiators - anywhere where darkness can remain at any time of the day, and human intervention is minimal. This also includes bedding, soft toys, old peeling wallpaper, and carpets. If the presence of bedbugs is confirmed, you will have to check such places for the presence of their nest.
Why do bedbugs appear?
Signs of bedbugs do not indicate unsanitary conditions. Parasites also appear where cleanliness and order are maintained. Pests can be carried on clothes or luggage; their eggs can be carried on their fur by pets. Very often bedbugs come from neighbors.
The fight against bedbugs must be comprehensive. When the first signs appear, you need to look for and destroy their breeding grounds and treat the home. If you find them in a small population, they will be easier to deal with. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to all the signs of bedbugs – even the most minimal ones. And even if it seems to you that there cannot be bedbugs in your apartment or house.
Reasons for the appearance of bedbugs indoors
Bedbugs leave bites on people's bodies that are very itchy and heal slowly. Some people believe that blood-sucking parasites only appear in rooms where unsanitary conditions reign, but this is not so. People's lifestyles don't matter. Insects also appear in clean, well-renovated apartments. In well-maintained rooms there are fewer hiding places, so bloodsuckers can be detected faster and appropriate measures taken urgently.
For a prosperous existence and reproduction, bedbugs need secret places and human presence. They don't eat plants. Their only prey is human blood.
The main reason for the appearance of these insects in the house is penetration from the external environment. There are several ways of their migration indoors:
- from neighbors;
- from the basement or attic;
- with animals.
The owners of the premises and guests can become carriers. People often bring bedbugs home from a business trip or after staying in a cheap hotel. Bedbugs can hide in travel bags and suitcases. Buying used furniture is also not safe. Bedbugs love to hide in the folds of upholstery and other parts of sofas and armchairs. Before bringing furniture into the house, it is better to treat it with an antiseptic or steam mop.
Bedbugs hide in parts of the sofa.
Bedbugs often move into the apartment from neighboring rooms. And there may be several reasons for this:
- repair work at neighbors' place;
- departure of hosts;
- heating off;
- carrying out disinfection.
When it becomes uncomfortable for blood-sucking insects to live in a neighboring apartment, they begin to look for a new room, climbing through ventilation hatches, through window slits, sockets and cable ducts. There are many ways of entry, making it almost impossible to protect your home.
You can bring bedbugs into your apartment after going outdoors. These insects love to hide in tree bark and other secluded places. It is not always possible to notice them immediately. Sometimes people begin to feel discomfort and discover traces of parasites in the house only after 1-2 weeks.
Pets are also carriers. Their skin is thick, so bedbugs do not live on dogs and cats all the time, but hide in their fur.
Do bedbugs carry diseases?
As with all blood-sucking insects, there is a theoretical possibility of transmission of the hepatitis B virus - however, scientists note that more research is needed to determine whether the virus transmitted by the insects is contagious.
Scientists from Canada have discovered that bedbugs can carry enterococci, as well as MRSA, which is resistant to all available antibiotics. However, researchers are not sure whether bedbugs transmit bacteria to patients or vice versa.
There is currently no evidence that bedbugs carry any diseases. However, their presence can cause anxiety and fear in people. They can disrupt sleep and even lead to insomnia.
