I avoid furniture on the street. I refuse to enter libraries. But in fact, it might not be a joke. Research is starting to show that bed bug infections can leave people with anxiety, depression, and paranoia. You should be worried. I would consider it a normal reaction to a stressor.
Perron has published a number of papers on the psychological ramifications of bed bugs. In one study, he and his team looked at apartments that had been reported to the Montreal Public Health Department for unsafe conditions. Some of those units were infested with bedbugs, but not all of them.
Perron and his team gave the tenants of these buildings a series of questionnaires that assessed all sorts of health impacts, including psychological ones. When they compared the psychological results between those two samples—a method that helps to control for factors that impact mental health like socioeconomic status—they found that tenants with bed bugs were far more likely to report anxiety and sleep disturbances than those without. Another study by medical entomologist Jerome Goddard at Mississippi State University examined posts on bed bug related websites like Bedbugger.
When they compared those posts against a checklist of PTSD symptoms they found that 81 percent of people writing these forum posts were describing psychological and emotional effects often associated with the disorder, things like hyper-vigilance, paranoia, obsessive thoughts, and depression.
The comparison they did here isn't diagnostic. In another study, researchers sent out questionnaires to seven different cities. The most likely way that bed bugs get into clothes is in your luggage. Instead, put your luggage as far from the bed as possible, preferably in the bathroom where bed bugs are unlikely to hang out. Then, perform a thorough inspection of your hotel room , especially the bed area, but also nearby furniture and decor, looking for signs of bed bug activity like molted skins and black specks of waste.
Wherever you may pick up bed bugs, it is possible for them to continue living in clothes at your house. That, of course, makes it easier for them to establish colonies and more difficult for you to get rid of them. Just having a bed bug on you will not make you itch, unless you notice it and have a psychological reaction. Below is my list of essential products.
The protector prevents bed bug transportation by using SureSeal technology, and by using an extremely fine zipper that not even bed bug nymphs can impregnate. In my experience, the best and most effective bed bug traps are usually the ones that are designed to work in the simplest of ways.
You also get a very generous 8 interceptors per pack. ZapBugg Bed Bug Heater — Specially designed to kill all stages in the bed bug life cycle, including eggs, without the need to purchase expensive pest control heat treatment solutions.
Simply place infested items into the ZappBug heater and it will automatically reach the all-important bed bug killing temperature, so you can be sure the items will come out free from all life stages of bed bug once the process is complete. Large and small versions are also available. The bite of a bed bug can most certainly make you itch.
Their bites affect everyone differently though. The only reason that one bed bug would bite multiple times is if:. What do bed bug bites look like? Unhelpfully, they can look and feel different for different people.
Some people develop large, painful welts, whereas others only develop small red bumps. Many other insects and parasites can cause similar looking bites.
Examples include the following:. So, how can you tell if bed bugs are your problem? The bugs themselves are sneaky and hide in tiny cracks and crevices. Instead, look for fecal spotting bed bug poop. This will appear as flat black dots, resembling ink spots from a marker. Bed bugs defecate in the same place that they eat, so the most likely place for them is in and around your mattress.
However, remember that bed bugs can live anywhere. We definitely had bed bugs. I killed hundreds of them. The last one I saw was a 2nd stage nymph on our livingroom couch a week ago. The reason why you may not find them is that they are simply hiding from the light. They only come out to feed when their host — you — is asleep. It means that they are only active at night.
Also, you may never notice them in your home if the infestation is still in its early stages. With the naked eye, you can easily find bed bugs, nymphs, and even their eggs. If they have already built their colony, you will most likely find them in different life stages in one or more location in your home.
Adult bed bugs are easier to see since they have a darker colour, especially when full; while nymphs are harder to find. They are smaller and have a lighter colour.
When you look at them closely, the body is pale and translucent. As the nymphs go through more stages of their lifecycle, they will eventually turn brown. The hardest to spot are eggs, as they are about 1mm long and white to clear in colour. What makes them harder to find is that they are often laid in the most secluded, smallest cracks and crevices. Bed bugs are almost weightless. Just like an ant or insect crawling on your skin, you can roughly assume how it will feel.
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