Bedbugs are small blood-sucking insects that live in cracks and crevices in and around beds. They crawl out at night and bite exposed skin to feed on blood. Adult bedbugs are oval-shaped, flat and up to 5mm long – similar to an apple seed. Their colour varies between dark yellow, red or brown. Bedbugs aren't dangerous and don't spread any diseases, but some people experience a reaction to their bites and they can be stressful to live with. How to get rid of bedbugs Signs of a bedbug infestation can include: Bedbugs tend to prefer fabric or wood over plastic and metal, and often hide near to where you sleep – for example, under the mattress or along the headboard. But they can be found away from the bed in other furniture, along the edges of carpets and even behind mirrors or inside smoke alarms. Bedbugs can be very difficult to get rid of. Your best chance of successfully treating an infestation is to get professional help. Contact your local council or a pest control firm that's a member of the British Pest Control Association or National Pest Technicians Association.
A technician will carry out an inspection to confirm an infestation. They can then use special treatments such as insecticide, a steamer or rapid freeze system to get rid of the bugs. They may also advise about things you can do to help, such as: Bedbug bites are painless, but some people experience a reaction to them. This can occur from a few minutes after being bitten up to a week or two later. The bites usually fade in a few days. If they're very itchy, you can buy a mild steroid cream (such as hydrocortisone) or antihistamine tablets to relieve the itch. See your GP if you develop signs of a skin infection (pain, redness and swelling). You may need antibiotics. It can be difficult to avoid bedbugs, as they can be transported easily in luggage, clothing and furniture. Once in your home, they can quickly spread from room to room. They don't jump or fly, but can crawl long distances. Bedbugs aren't attracted to dirt, so they're not a sign of an unclean home, but clearing up any clutter will reduce the number of places they can hide.
Page last reviewed: 02/12/2016 Next review due: 02/12/2019What do bedbugs look like? Where are bedbugs found? What about bedbugs in hotels? How are bedbugs spread? What are the symptoms and signs of bedbug bites? What is the treatment for bedbug bites? What are home remedies for bedbug bites? What is the prognosis for bedbug bites? How do I detect a bedbug infestation in my home or in a hotel? How do I get rid of bedbugs in the home? What about prevention of bedbug bites? Take the Bed Bugs Quiz Bed Bugs Slideshow Pictures View Image Collection Bedbug Pictures Bed Bug Bites: Fighting Back Against Bedbugs Bedbugs are found all over the world. Bedbugs were common in the U.S. before World War II and became rare after widespread use of the pesticide DDT began in the 1940s and 1950s. They remained prevalent in other areas of the world and, in recent years, have been increasingly observed again in the U.S. Increases in immigration and travel from the developing world as well as restrictions on the use of stronger pesticides may be factors that have led to the relatively recent increase in bedbug infestations.
While bedbugs are often reported to be found when sanitation conditions are poor or when birds or mammals (particularly bats) are nesting on or near a home, bedbugs can also live and thrive in clean environments. Crowded living quarters also facilitate the spread of bedbugs.Bedbugs can live in any area of the home and can reside in tiny cracks in furniture as well as on textiles and upholstered furniture. They tend to be most common in areas where people sleep and generally concentrate in beds, including mattresses or mattress covers, box springs, and bed frames. They do not infest the sleeping surfaces of beds as commonly as cracks and crevices associated with the bed frame and mattress. Other sites where bedbugs often reside include curtains, edges of carpet, corners inside dressers and other furniture, cracks in wallpaper (particularly near the bed), and inside the spaces of wicker furniture.Since bedbugs can live for months or even longer under favorable conditions without feeding, they can also be found in vacant homes.
Greenberg, L., and J. H. Klotz. "Pest Notes: Bed Bugs." Nat. Agric. Res. Publ. 7454. Harvard School of Public Health Kolb, A., G.R. Needham, K.M. Neyman, and W.A. High. 22.4 July-Aug. 2009: 347-352.University of Kentucky Entomology. Schwartz, Robert A. "Bedbug Bites." . Mar. 19, 2014. Thomas, I., G.G. Kihiczak, and R.A. Schwartz. "Bedbug Bites: A Review." Int J Dermatol 43 (2004): 430.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Parasites - Bed Bugs." "Bed Bugs: Get Them Out and Keep Them Out." IMAGES:1.CDC / Janice Haney Carr2.CDC / Piotr Naskrecki3.iStock4.iStock5.Getty Images / Brand X6.iStock7.iStock8.iStock9.iStock10.MedicineNetBedbugs lurk in cracks and crevices and they've been living on human blood for centuries. Though they aren't known to transmit disease or pose any serious medical risk, the stubborn parasites can leave itchy and unsightly bites. However, bedbugs don't always leave marks. The best way to tell if you have a bedbug infestation is to see the live, apple-seed-size critters for yourself.
Unfortunately, once bedbugs take up residence in homes and businesses, they can be difficult to exterminate without professional help. Bedbugs are flat, round and reddish brown, around a quarter-inch (7 millimeters) in length. The ones that typically plague humans are the common bedbug Cimex lectularius and the tropical bedbug Cimex hemipterus. A few decades ago, bedbugs were somewhat of a novelty in developed countries. But since the early 2000s, infestations have become more common in places like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A 2013 study in the journal Nature Scientific Reports suggested that bedbugs have evolved ways to resist insecticides. The creatures don't have wings and they can't fly or jump. But their narrow body shape and ability to live for months without food make them ready stowaways and squatters. Bedbugs can easily hide in the seams and folds of luggage, bags and clothes.
They also take shelter behind wallpaper and inside bedding, box springs and furniture. The ones that feed on people can crawl more than 100 feet (30 meters) in a night, but typically creep to within 8 feet (2.4 m) of the spot its human hosts sleep, according to the CDC. Bedbugs reproduce by a gruesome strategy appropriately named "traumatic insemination," in which the male stabs the female's abdomen and injects sperm into the wound. During their life cycle, females can lay more than 200 eggs, which hatch and go through five immature "nymph" stages before reaching their adult form, molting after each phase. [Infographic: Bedbugs: The Life of a Mini-Monster] And it turns out, the pests may have favorite colors. Scientists conducted lab tests with bedbugs and found they sought out shelters, called harborages, that were red or black, while avoiding those denizens with shades of yellow and green. (The researchers say that changing the color of your sheets may be taking the finding too far.)
"We originally thought the bedbugs might prefer red because blood is red and that's what they feed on," study co-author Corraine McNeill, an assistant professor of biology at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, said in a statement. "However, after doing the study, the main reason we think they preferred red colors is because bedbugs themselves appear red, so they go to these harborages because they want to be with other bedbugs, as they are known to exist in aggregations." As for steering clear of green and yellow? Those hues may resemble brightly lit areas, which bedbugs try to avoid, according to the researchers, who detailed their study April 25, 2016, in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Bedbugs feed on the blood of humans (though some species have a taste for other mammals and birds, too) by inserting a sharp proboscis, or beak, into the victim's skin. The critters become engorged with blood in about 10 minutes, which fills them up for days. The insects are most active at night, though they are not exclusively nocturnal.
Bedbugs are attracted to warmth, moisture and the carbon dioxide released from warm-blooded animals, according to Purdue University. On sleeping human hosts, bedbugs often bite exposed areas of the body, such as the face, neck, arms and hands. But looking for bedbug bites might not be the best way to tell if you have an infestation. "A lot of people put a lot of import on looking at the bite and identifying it," Harold Harlan, an entomologist and a bedbug expert, told Live Science. "I've raised these things for 41 years and I cannot tell what is a bedbug bite." Bedbug bites can look very similar to bites from other insects like mosquitos and fleas. People also have widely varying reactions to bedbug bites. Some people have little visible reaction to the insects' nibbling — they don't develop lesions or bumps or pustules at all. The bites themselves don't usually pose any major health risk since bedbugs are not known to spread diseases, but an allergic reaction to the bites may require medical attention, CDC officials say.
There have also been some strange cases linked to bedbug infestations. Researchers reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2009 that they treated a 60-year-old man for anemia caused by blood loss from bedbug bites. Another study published in 1991 in the Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology found that people with asthma might be more susceptible to allergic reactions from bedbug bites. Excessively scratching the itchy, bitten areas also may increase the chance of a secondary skin infection. Antiseptic creams or lotions can be used to ward off infection and antihistamines can be used to treat the itching. And an infestation can take a psychological toll on those affected: People whose homes have been infested with bedbugs may have trouble sleeping for fear of being bitten in the night. There are also public health, social and economic consequences; office buildings and schools often have to close if they are dealing with a bedbug infestation. If bites are unreliable markers of an infestation, how can you tell if you have bedbugs?
Seeing live, moving bugs is the "gold standard," according to Harlan. If you can, you should collect some of those specimens in a closed container and get a professional to identify them. You should look for traces of the insects in the folds of your mattresses, box springs and other places where they are likely to hide. You might be able to find their papery skins, which get cast off after molting and look like popcorn kernels but are smaller and thinner, Harlan said. They also leave small, dark-colored spots from the blood-filled droppings they deposit on mattresses and furniture. If you can touch the spot with a water-soaked towel and it runs a rusty, reddish color, you're probably looking at a fresh drop of bedbug feces, Harlan said. Bedbugs often invade new areas after being carried there by clothing, luggage, furniture or bedding. The creatures don't discriminate between dirty and clean homes, which means even luxury hotels can be susceptible to bedbugs. The most at-risk places tend to be crowded lodgings with high occupant turnover, such as dormitories, apartment complexes, hotels and homeless shelters.