Do you think you’ve spotted a bed bug in your home? If so, it’s best to get in touch with a trusted pest management company as soon as you can. The earlier you treat a bed bug infestation, the sooner you can rest easy.
As the pest management company works to mitigate the local bed bug population in your home it’s a good idea to educate yourself on some of the facts about these creatures. If you can dispel the myths you’ll be more confident in the bed bug remediation process and decrease any anxiety you may have about bed bugs in general.
Myth #1 - You Can’t See Bed Bugs With the Naked Eye
Although bed bugs are small, around the size of an apple seed, they are just as easy to spot as an ant and have a similar brown or red coloring. It’s actually the eggs that are more difficult to identify since they are so tiny. However, bed bugs, nymphs and eggs are all visible to the naked eye if you know where to look and what to look for.
Myth #2 - Bed Bugs Indicate Unsanitary Conditions
Bed bugs do not discriminate based on your neighborhood, cleaning habits or thread count. Hotels, apartments and homes at all price points are equally subject to the threat of bed bugs – even 5 star hotels! Nor are bed bugs attracted to dirty or messy conditions (although piles and clutter give them more places to hide), they are only interested in the blood of humans and other animals.
Myth #3 - Bed Bugs Spread Disease
Bed bugs do not transmit any kind of disease. While they certainly bite, their bites do not indicate the spread of disease or pose a real threat to your health. While bed bug bites do cause itching for many people, any redness, raised bumps or welts are not tied to medical illness, rather just an allergic reaction of the skin.
Myth #4 - Bed Bugs Are Only Found in Beds
Unfortunately, bed bugs are not only found in beds. While they are commonly found in beds, bedding, headboards and bedframes they’re also likely to have infiltrated the other furniture and fixtures within an infested bedroom. This might include your dresser, nightstand, closet, light fixtures, flooring, picture frames and other areas to hide in with easy access to the bed.
Myth #5 – Bed Bugs Are Only Active At Night
Bed bugs are often most active at night because that is when the majority of people are asleep. However, people with bed bugs that work the overnight shift entice bed bugs to come out during the day. It is merely the presence of heat and carbon dioxide (your breathing) that notifies bed bugs that it’s time to feed, not the time of day.
There are many bed bug myths floating around which makes it easy to get overwhelmed by false information. We hope to have debunked a few bed bug myths and improved your general awareness and knowledge of bed bugs. Please let us know if you have additional inquiries about detecting the presence of bed bugs along with bed bug removal services.