What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are small parasitic insects that feed on the blood of humans and animal while they sleep. These little critters are nocturnally active and they can release unpleasant odors when disturbed. Even though bedbugs do not carry diseases, they can cause itchiness and allergic reactions to humans. The damage that bedbugs inflict is largely psychological since getting rid of them is difficult. Besides, who wants bedbugs on their mattress.
What do bedbugs look like?
Most bedbugs are the size of an apple seed or small as a head of a pin. When fed, they are round and reddish otherwise flattened and brown. Looking for bedbugs itself is difficult, but you can look for trails of fecal spots to detect bedbug’s infestation.
Is there a chance that I can bring bedbugs home?
The answer is yes. A good example is traveling far away from home or sleeping at a friend’s house across the street can seem harmless but your designated sleeping area might be bug-infested. We tend to leave dirty laundry around the room and pack our dirty clothes into our luggage for convenience. According to The Scientific Reports, there is twice as many bugs that get attracted to dirty clothes as to clean ones. Bedbugs can easily climb onto your clothes and stow away in your laundry and luggage where it gets the chance to live in your home. It can be the other way around where your guests are visiting and may be carrying bedbugs in their luggage that can hop onto your bed.
Sources:
Shultz, David. Bed bugs love your stinky laundry. Here’s how to keep them away. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/bed-bugs-love-your-stinky-laundry-here-s-how-keep-them-away/
Wong, Kate. Bed Bug Confidential: An Expert Explains How to Defend against the Dreaded Pests. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bed-bug-expert-explains-defend-yourself/
