How To Tell Bed Bug Bites

How To Tell Bed Bug Bites

In this article you’ll learn how to tell bed bug bites from other kinds of insect bites or rashes. Rubbing alcohol is excellent for help with bed bug bites and other insect bites too.

Bed bug bites can be difficult to spot. The time of day and the presence of bed clothing can make it nearly impossible to spot them at first.

If the unpleasant experience of waking up with irregular red bite marks on your skin has ever happened to you, then you know that it can be hard to deal with. Even if you have never seen a bed bug in your life, you might still find yourself wondering whether those are bed bug bites. What are bed bugs? Are bed bugs common in your area? How do I know for sure if these red bite marks on my skin are from bed bugs and not some other insect?

How To Tell Bed Bug Bites

How to Tell If You Have Bed Bugs

If you are experiencing bites or skin irritation, you should look for signs of bed bug activity. A good way to do this is to inspect your sheets and mattress for black spots, which can be excrement, shed skins or blood from a bed bug bite. To determine if these spots are indeed bed bug excrement or blood, put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and dab it on the stain. If it turns red, then it is probably blood from a bed bug bite; however, if it turns blue-black then it is probably excrement. Another sign of bed bugs is fecal smears on sheets or mattresses. You may also see tiny brownish stains on your sheets that look like scabs or dirt. These are the droppings of the nymphs (or baby bed bugs) who leave their feces behind when they move around on the surface of your bedding. Another sign of bed bugs is their shed skins, which look like tiny pieces of shell casing but are actually the cast-off exoskeletons of adult female bed bugs who have molted while feeding on you (or another host).

In addition to inspecting your sheets and mattress for signs

While bed bugs are not known to be dangerous, they are a nuisance and can cause serious health problems. It is important to know how to tell if you have these bugs in order to get rid of them and keep them out of your home.

The most common way to tell if you have bed bugs is by looking for small red bites on your body as well as stains on your sheets or mattress. The bites are usually clustered together in groups of 3 or 4, but can appear anywhere on the body. They may be itchy or cause bumps that look like welts when they are fresh but they will dry up and turn into red marks within a few hours of being bitten by a bed bug. These marks often resemble those left behind after being bit by mosquitoes or ticks, but unlike these insects’ bites, which typically take several days before swelling up and turning into a rash, bed bug bites tend to develop very quickly after being bitten by a single member of this species (or multiple members).

If someone has been sleeping in an infested bed for some time without getting bitten, then it’s very likely that they’ve been infected with this pest without even knowing it

How To Tell Bed Bug Bites

Bedbugs are small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color.

 

Bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Female bedbugs may lay hundreds of eggs, each of which is about the size of a speck of dust, over a lifetime.

Immature bedbugs, called nymphs, shed their skins five times before reaching maturity and require a meal of blood before each shedding. Under favorable conditions the bugs can develop fully in as little as a month and produce three or more generations per year.

Although they are a nuisance, they are not thought to transmit diseases.

Where Bed Bugs Hide

Bedbugs may enter your home undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches, and other items. Their flattened bodies make it possible for them to fit into tiny spaces, about the width of a credit card. Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but tend to live in groups in hiding places. Their initial hiding places are typically in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards where they have easy access to people to bite in the night.

Over time, however, they may scatter through the bedroom, moving into any crevice or protected location. They may also spread to nearby rooms or apartments.

Because bedbugs live solely on blood, having them in your home is not a sign of dirtiness. You are as likely to find them in immaculate homes and hotel rooms as in filthy ones.

When Bedbugs Bite

Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed from three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.

Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.

People who don’t realize they have a bedbug infestation may attribute the itching and welts to other causes, such as mosquitoes. To confirm bedbug bites, you must find and identify the bugs themselves.

List Of How To Tell Bed Bug Bites