Bed bugs are tiny insects that often cause a lot of psychological distress. There was a time, just a few decades ago, when these blood-sucking insects were nearly wiped out as a pest. However, in recent years, bed bugs are back. Even in the biggest cities, they infest bedrooms, homes, living rooms, and businesses of all kinds. Although bed bugs feed on blood, they are not known to transmit disease. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop those who find themselves in the middle of a bed bug infestation from freaking out.
Ehrlich Pest Control has been at the forefront of finding new and more effective methods for getting rid of bed bugs entirely. This includes treatments like entotherm heat treatments and other methods. Ehrlich bed bug control specialists have plenty of experience with bed bugs, making them a good resource for deciphering what bed bug myths are real and which are just imagination.
If you have a bed bug infestation at your home or business, contact your local Ehrlich Pest Control office. In this article, we look at the most common bed bug myths we hear.
1. Bed bugs are too small to see with the naked eye
You hear this a lot and there is a very small kernel of truth at its core. The kernel is that bed bugs are indeed small. In their early stages, bed bugs look like grains of pepper and eggs are nearly translucent, but the adult bed bugs are about the same size and shape as an apple seed. If you can see an apple seed with the naked eye, you can spot a bed bug.
The real truth is that bed bugs are great at hiding; so it’s this trait that makes them so hard to find.
2. Bed bugs = messy house
Your house may or may not actually be messy, but bed bugs are not the kind of pest who look for a specific level of filth in order to set up shop. Bed bugs do not want dirt or clutter. Bed bugs do not search for messy houses like cockroaches or some rodents. Bed bugs just want a place where they can hide and get easy access to a blood meal. If you have a bed bug infestation, this does not mean you have an unsanitary home or business. It just means you need to contact professionals to get rid of the pests as soon as possible.
3. Bed bugs can only be found in the bedroom
Their name is “bed” bugs, so you probably assume you’ll only find a cluster of bed bugs in the sheets. Yes, bed bugs prefer to be in a bed, but it’s because they prefer to come out a night to feed when their intended victim is quiet and sedentary. However, bed bugs will use any place they can hide to hang out.
What this means is a living room or some other room can easily become infested with bed bugs. People sitting on a sofa or easy chair can make a decent blood meal, too. In fact, just spend a little time on YouTube and you’ll see videos of bed bugs in movie theater seats or on subway cars. They aren’t very picky. You won’t see them looking for high thread counts or turn down service.
4. Bed bugs only feed at night
If you check out number 3, you can see where this is going. Bed bugs want to feed undisturbed. People who are up and mobile during the day do not make a good meal. Bed bugs prefer to feast all night long, crawling along the skin to find the right place in which to pierce flesh and dive into a blood vessel. This is why they prefer to feast on sleeping victims instead of someone that is wide awake.
However, just because you work the night shift, don’t think you’re home is safe from bed bugs. The insects are more than willing to adjust their feeding habits if their meal source happens to sleep during the day.
5. Bed bugs transmit disease
Because bed bugs feed on blood, there’s a common belief they can transmit disease just like mosquitoes and ticks can. This partially stems from the belief mosquitoes and ticks can inject blood from other victims into new victims. But that’s not how it works. In fact, a mosquito can get the malaria parasite in their system from feeding on someone who has the virus, but the virus lives in the mosquito’s saliva. When the mosquito injects the anti-coagulant to feed on the blood, the saliva itself transmits the disease.
Bed bugs tend to have a very confined area in which they feed. They don’t have wings, so they don’t fly all over the neighborhood feasting on other people and risking catching a virus or disease. Thus, bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases like other blood-sucking insects. The biggest problem they inflict upon people is psychological in nature. Being feasted upon at night is something that disturbs most people and can cause loss of sleep.
All that being said, scratching bed bug bites does increase the possibility of putting bacteria from dirty fingernails into the wound, but the risk is minimal.
Ehrlich Pest Control gets rid of bed bugs
If you find bed bugs bites or see the other signs of bed bugs, then you should not risk waiting before contacting your local Ehrlich Pest Control office. Only trained professionals know all of the places to look for bed bugs and offer solutions to get rid of bed bugs, larvae and eggs. If you contact us, we will discuss treatment and prevention options to keep your life bed bug free.