Bedbugs are more than a simple annoyance. The tiny little creatures love to feed on humans. They cause red bumps and itchy sore spots on the body, leading to rashes or more if we aren’t careful. The bedbugs crawl all over and bite us as we are blissfully unaware of their presence in our sleep. What’s more, getting rid of these pesky creatures seems to be really hard. They have a strong determination to not leave us in peace.
Do you know that there are quite a few mysterious and lesser-known facts about bedbugs? Getting to know your enemy is a great way to win a fight, isn’t it? And when the bedbugs are the enemy, we’ve got to know as much as we can about them.
Mysterious and Crazy Facts about Bedbugs
Bedbugs Can Survive Without Food For Long Durations
Yeah, they can, and we are talking about ‘long durations’ like a year or even up to a year and a half. Bedbugs go into a nice slumber (seems more like a coma, doesn’t it?) and not wake up for months altogether.
Then one day, you decide to sleep on the mattress, and the heat from your body and the carbon dioxide you release wakes them up. They find the food ready for them and feast on your blood with glee, fill their tummies, and go back to hide again.
During this stage, they digest the food, mate, and lay eggs to increase their population. Just because you haven’t found a bedbug for a while doesn’t mean it’s not enjoying the beauty sleep hidden in the layers of your mattress.
Bedbugs are Smart and Methodical
These teeny creatures are highly disciplined. For one, they have super survival instincts. You’ll rarely find a bedbug out in the daylight. They hide in creaks, crevices, gaps, and corners where light cannot reach, let alone our vision. You shouldn’t be surprised if you accidentally find one crawling away after taking apart a picture frame or removing a switchplate.
Secondly, bedbugs more or less have a fixed feeding pattern. They feed on their human prey for 5-10 minutes, take a break, and come back again from another round of feeding. That’s how it’s easy to identify a bedbug infestation by looking at the bite patterns on your body. The marks are either in clusters or in rows, mostly on the exposed parts of your body.
We Have Mutated Bedbugs That are Resistant to Common Pesticides
Sounds like a Sci-fi movie with growing crawlies, doesn’t it? But that’s the truth. With people using insecticides and pesticides to get rid of bedbugs, these creatures have developed a resistance to it and mutated themselves to become stronger.
There’s no guarantee that the can of insecticide you have at home will effectively kill these creatures. Moreover, the bedbugs can survive even in extreme temperatures. You need to go for definite methods. And the best way to keep away the bedbugs is through effective pest extermination by a known or trusted service provider. The companies use special techniques to kill these pesky creatures once and for all.
Bedbugs and Anesthesia for Painless Feasting
Most of us don’t even know when this creepy little thing has sucked our blood. That’s because the saliva of a bedbug doubles up as an anesthetic.
It increases the blood flow to the bite so that the bedbug can happily consume your blood in less time, and you wouldn’t even know until the next morning. Almost makes us feel relieved that the bedbugs haven’t grown larger, right?
Bedbugs are Not Limited to Beds
This is flash news for many of us. Though they live in beds, they sure aren’t averse to exploring the environment around them. Also, bedbugs don’t essentially have a special love for hotel beds. You can find them even at home, hostels, colleges, schools, buses, trains, cars, movie theaters, and just about any place where it is convenient to hide and feast on unsuspecting humans.
Moreover, bedbugs are not an urban phenomenon. You can find them across the country and they use humans and clothes as their means of transportation. One of them would have gotten into your clothes and ridden all the way to another place. Terrifying but true.
Don’t be surprised if you find bedbug infestation in common areas too. It means that the entire place has been their lair for a while and that you need to call the pest controller without further delay.
Conclusion
Remember that having a clean area doesn’t necessarily mean that no bedbugs are hiding in your house or office. Though tidying up will make it hard for them to hide, you might still find a couple or more biting into your skin at night. Don’t hesitate to call the pest controller when you notice bedbug bites. Your safety should be your priority.