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The insects, making a comeback around the globe, cannot fly and are really not interested in hanging out on your body--but they do occasionally bite during the day
May 27, 2011 | 14
Adult bedbugs are about the size of an apple seed, visible to the naked eye. The adults are reddish-brown, whereas juvenile bedbugs are smaller and lighter in color....[More]
Bedbugs, pictured here swollen with blood after a meal, consume only blood. They prefer human blood, but will also bite dogs, cats, rodents and other warm-blooded animals.
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The most obvious sign of a bedbug infestation is itchy bites on the skin, often at the extremities, but you can also look for bedbug excrement on light-colored sheets....[More]
Bedbugs are primarily active at night, and sense humans by the heat and carbon dioxide we emit. The insects therefore like to hide close to their meals, climbing into the sheets with them.
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Bedbugs do not live exclusively in mattresses, as their name would imply. Instead, they can be found on any surface in a home, even in electrical sockets or tucked behind plastic molding along a wall (pictured)....[More]
Humans have a range of reactions to bedbug bites. About 50 percent of people don't react at all, estimates Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh....[More]
Contrary to popular belief, bedbugs can climb and cling to slick surfaces such as metal and glass. In homes they can sometimes be found hidden around recessed screws or along metal railings.
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Bedbugs typically avoid hiding in human clothes because it of the proximity to bodily heat. Instead they will travel on backpacks, luggage, even shoes.
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14 Comments
Add CommentCan't we use the same method that we use to get rid of Japanese Beetles...a plastic bag that is really slick inside, to keep them from crawling out, with a bait?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf they track us by CO2 and heat- that might be tricky... you'd probably need to sleep elsewhere until they were all caught as well because they'd probably prefer the real thing to anything fake we could create.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this... this article has made me feel itchy.
FLASH.....This report just in from medieval England
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLocal well respected surgeon and blood-letter says "Still, there have been no reported cases that the 'rat fleas' actually transmit human disease."
Dogs are highly effective in scent tracking for any number of things when properly trained for the task, bedbugs are no exception.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/truecallingk9
Frank, the BedBugChaser here, you may want to Google "Alarming combo: Bedbugs with 'superbug' germ found" this story is scary, isn't it? Also, Avtron just finished our latest and greatest weapon in the war on BedBugs, go to http://www.avtronloadbank.com/lb_whatsnew.htm#Heater to see the what the future holds for the BedBug.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would think an article titled Top 10 Myths is an article about Top 10 commonly held, but untrue beliefs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut I guess MythBusters and this article should convince me otherwise:
FTA: Myth 3: Bedbugs can typically live a year without a meal
Scientists debate this point, but evidence suggests that at normal room temperature, about 23 degrees Celsius, bedbugs can only survive two to three months without a blood meal. But because they are cold-blooded, their metabolism will slow down in chillier climates, and the insects may live up to a year without feeding.
MYTH CONFIRMED!
Myth 8: Bedbugs transmit disease
Bedbug bites can lead to anxiety, sleeplessness and even secondary infections, but there have been no reported cases of bedbugs transmitting disease to humans. They do, however, harbor human pathogens: At least 27 viruses, bacteria, protozoa and more have been found in bedbugs, although these microbes do not reproduce or multiply within the insects. Canadian researchers announced (pdf) in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that bedbugs isolated from three individuals in a Vancouver hospital carried methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA. Still, there have been no reported cases that the bugs actually transmit human disease.
Wow. I think this is MYTH CONFIRMED, and almost literally nit-picking to insist otherwise, so I hope a biologist/MD can wander by and help me understand why SA is saying this is MYTH BUSTED.
Myth 11: **This should be myth number 1** Bedbugs are expensive and difficult to eliminate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is something everyone needs to know! Don't listen to anyone telling you about an expensive or lengthy or difficult procedure to eliminate these horrible little pests. They infested my house last year and we were able to completely eliminate them using a few simple steps.
1: Vacuum everything, frequently. Dispose of your bag immediately.
2: After vacuuming, liberally dust all corners and areas and essentially everywhere they may be hiding with silica dioxide dust.
--To find this simply look for silica gel kitty litter crystals. It can be found at most major pet supply chain stores.
You will need to crush it down to a fine powder before you spread it. I recommend using gloves and a mask, the powder will cause your skin and lungs to dry out very quickly.
3. Repeat as necessary every few weeks. It only took us once, now we just do it every once and a while to prevent re-infestation.
It worked for me, good luck to everyone else.
A) You just made assertions about something said in some articles about bed bugs without including the qualifier typically used. That would be the word "MAY". As in, "In some instances bed bugs MAY live for up to a year without a blood meal". That qualifer is used to let us know they aren't making a set in stone pronouncement. I strongly suggest you read very carefully before you construct these straw men to tear down.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecondly, finding human pathogens in human blood in a parasite isn't evidence they transmit those diseases. It's evidence they fed off individuals who have them. There are a good many factors that come into play when one is talking about infection vectors. Is enough of the pathogen entering the body to cause infection? Believe it or not the numbers of pathogens matter. For example there is HIV in the saliva of infected individuals, but there is so little of it as to be non-infectious. It's highly unlikely bed bugs can spread diseases. Keep in mind that while they are just now making a combeback in the the states, they've been present in the third world pretty much all along. That would be the same third world with much higher incidences of blood borne pathogens and no recorded instances of bed bugs being the vector... Maybe you could take your fear mongering ways elsewhere?
Myth 1. Bed bugs can fly.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, it is false, but the reason is not that the bed bug is wingless: The adult bed bug actually has wings. The front wings have evolved into pad-like structures, very similar to birds like the ostrich and emu that have short, stubby wings that render them flightless. In addition, bed bugs do not have hind wings like other winged insects. Immature insects (like bed bug nymphs) never have wings because wings are an adult structure. Some of my pictures were used in this story, but Megan wouldn't correct her written section to reflect the real reason for bed bugs not being able to fly, so I had to post this comment.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to bed...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suggest to use the baby powder containing talc or talcum powder. Apply once a week for about a month and they should be gone. Easy and cheap and environmentally friendly... I saw method written in a local news article and used it on my infested apartment and it worked! Cheers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRe: The suggestions about spreading dangerous pulminary irritants as a preventative measure. Silica powders and talcum powders are serious pulminary irritants and are a deadly threat to small animals and small children or infants as well as asthmatic individuals. Risking fatality to get rid of a minor pest is moronic at best. Just vacuum daily and wash the bedding and upholstery regularly and you should be fine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for the great article, will use it for my school research in,<a href="http://www.bedbugbitetreatments.com/">Bed bug</a>
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease don't advise people to crush up crystallized kitty litter into a powder and spread it through their home.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat you want to treat bedbugs is diatomaceous earth. Crystalline silicon dioxide WILL cause lung silicosis if inhaled in sufficient amounts. Diatomaceous earth does not contain crystalline silicon dioxide and is safe for use as a powdered indoor insect killer. It will kill many other bugs as well.