Bed bugs are such insects that may not catch a person’s eyes for a long time, but parasitize on it. These pretty tricky pests pick up habitats that are located in the most secluded corners of the apartment. In the afternoon, as a rule, bed bugs have a rest, breed, and also digest food. At night, the parasites move closer to the person, after which they quietly begin to suck blood from him. How to detect bugs? This is not always easy to do; you need to know exactly what signs may indicate the presence of these parasites.
General description of bedbugs
Before answering the question of how to detect bugs in your room, you need to understand in more detail what exactly these insects are. The bed bug, which is also often called furniture, has the following characteristics:
- The body of the parasites is flattened, presented in the form of a match head or apple seed.
- The shade of bugs can be different, ranging from dirty yellow to dark brown. Body color will depend on the age of the bug. At the initial stage of development, these insects are almost transparent. However, the older the parasite becomes, the darker its color becomes.
- The size of the body, as its shade, will depend on the age of the parasite, and ranges from 1.5 mm to 9 mm. Thus, the older the insect, the larger it will be.
- The bug has a pair of eyes, a special proboscis with which it pierces the victim’s skin, six legs. Also, the bug has antennae, with the help of which it is oriented in space.
- Bedbugs eat exclusively the blood of mammals. When the bugs are saturated enough, their body is inflated and becomes reddish in color. The speed of its movement will depend on the degree of saturation of the insect. As a rule, hungry parasites move quite quickly, so it is almost impossible to catch them. Fed bugs become almost motionless.
- Insects have no way to jump and fly. If the parasite fell from the ceiling or wall, then this means that it simply could not hold its paws on the surface on which it was crawling.
- Bedbugs are also inherently disorganized. Although, they form the so-called nests where they gather. However, this concept can only be called conditional. These insects can hide in groups in a certain place, but finding and destroying only one nest will not affect the existence of other parasites. Therefore, sometimes it is not possible to detect bedbugs at once.
This characteristic allows parasites to be elusive for a long time. The size, shape, and color of the bugs significantly impede the mechanical action exerted by humans. In order to detect bugs and destroy them, you often have to resort to a variety of ways to combat this parasite.
Where do parasites come from?
Some people believe that the appearance of these insects in the apartment is associated to some extent with the pollution of the room. However, the opinion that bugs are found only among unscrupulous hosts is erroneous, since the main reason for living in this type of insect is to have a person there, so the situation does not play any role here. Arguing on the topic of how to detect bed bugs, it should be noted that in a dirty room it will be much easier for this insect to hide after itself traces from a person, and that's all.
From neighbors
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that quite often bedbugs run into the apartment from neighboring rooms. Very often this is observed when neighbors start etching these insects in their apartment. They, in turn, begin to flee through the existing cracks in the walls, baseboards and doors. Another possible reason for the resettlement of bugs is the long absence of residents in the room, because parasites need food for life.
Public places
When answering the question of how to detect bed bugs, it should also be mentioned that they can live in public places, for example, in clothing markets, in shops, in hotel rooms, in dressing rooms. In this case, a person can become an insect carrier on his clothes, because parasites move very quickly, especially if they have already found a new victim for themselves.
Thus, absolutely any person or piece of furniture can bring new residents into the room. No one is safe from such a nuisance. Providing information on how to fight and how to detect bed bugs, it should be noted that at the beginning of life these insects are very difficult to notice. This is due to the fact that young parasites are pale and small in size.
How to detect bugs in the apartment?
Even those who have no cause for concern are sometimes interested in this issue. Speaking about how to detect bugs in an apartment, it should be noted that the following factors will help in this:
- Bad smell. The odor from the presence of parasites can be compared with the unpleasant smell of the missing raspberries. However, such a stench will be noticeable only if there are already a large number of insects in the room.
- Blood stains on sheets. When considering how to fight and how to detect bed bugs, you should first of all pay attention to the marks left by the parasites on the bed. If a person tosses and turns in a dream, then he can accidentally crush several insects under him.
- Dark spots formed on the wallpaper. Such spots are traces of bugs. Outwardly, they are barely noticeable dark dots. But if a large number of bugs accumulate in one place, then these spots become larger. In this case, it is likely that under the wallpaper the bugs have a nest.
- When considering how to detect bedbugs at home, you should also pay attention to the bites of these parasites. As mentioned earlier, insects eat at night. Bed bugs prefer to bite a person for those parts of the body that are open during sleep.
Before you start the fight, you need to know exactly how to detect bugs in the apartment yourself. Basically, these insects organize their nests closer to humans, since it is the main source of their nutrition. First of all, you need to carefully clean the apartment. Thanks to this, you can not only notice insects, but also check if there are any things at home that can contribute to the reproduction of parasites.
Also, considering how to detect bugs and how to deal with them, it should be noted that they settle in those places where a relatively stable air temperature is constantly observed, as well as where there is little light. More attention should be paid to those places where a person sleeps, for example, a sofa, mattress, bed. When answering the question of how to detect bedbugs at home, one should also not neglect other household items, whether it be paintings, toys, switches, carpets, sockets and electrical appliances.
Before you start the fight against insects, you need to know exactly where these parasites can hide. To do this, you will have to examine all the hidden corners in the apartment.
In the mattress
How to detect bedbugs in bed, or rather in a mattress? This will be very problematic, since they mainly settle in folds or seams, and sometimes even in the depths of the filler. To detect these parasites on the mattress, you need to free it from bedding, carefully examine the surface, check if there are yellow spots on it. If there are no such external signs, and the mattress is the only unexplored place, then it will have to be opened and examined from the inside. If the mattress is old, it will still be better to get rid of it.
In the pillows
Bed bugs rarely settle in pillows. This is due to the fact that the pillow is much more likely than other bedding to be affected by the person, as he can turn it over several times during the night, and bed bugs love peace. Unevenly distributed fillers in pillows are also inconvenient for these parasites, be it feather, fluff or synthetic material. It is quite difficult for insects to cling to such fillers, but if there is a suspicion that the bugs have settled in the pillow, you need to carefully examine all the seams on it, folds, as well as slots for locks.
In new furniture
How to detect bugs in a sofa or other furniture that was recently acquired? These parasites can also be felt during sleep. The appearance of parasites on new pieces of furniture suggests that they have moved from old furniture or clothing to new. Also, the distributors of bugs can be pets, or rather, their fur. You need to explore the most hidden corners in new furniture. For example, if it will be a sofa, then you need to look at its armrests, seats, backrest, joints, as well as internal drawers.
In car
Less common parasites can be found in the car. The reasons for appearing at this place are all the same: the transfer of insects in a bag, clothes or in other objects that are transported in a car. Most often, bugs in cars are found in taxis. People who have these parasites at home can take them by themselves to any other place, including the car. To find them in the car, you need to free the interior of unnecessary things, carefully consider the rugs, chairs, as well as the luggage compartment.
In clothes
If bedbugs wound up in clothes, then this is fraught with the mass distribution of these insects. It is worth paying attention to the fact that clothing for these parasites is not the best refuge. However, as a temporary shelter, wardrobe items are ideal for bedbugs. They can move on clothes from a case, a sofa, a bed. In summer, it is worth paying attention to the fact that all fur clothes should be excluded from suspicion, since bedbugs do not like to hide in it. Even for temporary shelter, parasites will not live in fur. To find them in clothes, it is necessary to carefully examine hard-to-reach places on products: locks, seams, lining.
What do bites look like?
Before finding these parasites in their apartment, many often find bites of these insects on their bodies. As noted above, bed bugs feed exclusively on human blood. For security reasons, they hunt only at night.
They prefer to bite insects in mostly smooth areas of the skin, so they bypass the hairy surfaces. It is for this reason that parasites do not bite pets.
Many often confuse the traces of bug bites with an allergic reaction. After a bite, a red spot appears on the body, which often swells, along with this also a burning sensation and itching. In this case, many begin to take various antihistamines, but, as a rule, no result is observed in this case. Then you need to pay attention to how the spots are located on the body relative to each other. The fact is that bedbugs leave bites after themselves in the form of a track, that is, spots are located one after another. This is due to the fact that having bitten once, the parasite moves further, after which it makes the next bite.
Parasites bite absolutely everyone, but statistics show that among the victims there are more children and women. This is due to the fact that the skin of these people is thinner and more tender, making the bug easier to pierce the skin.
Conclusion
In order to never encounter these parasites, you need to be more careful when acquiring new furniture, as often insects are found in armchairs and sofas in the store’s warehouse. It is also necessary to carefully inspect your new items, especially if they were purchased in the market.