Bed bugs

Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects, quite common in both private, apartment buildings and in public places of rest. They feed on the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals, become the cause of mental disorders with prolonged proximity to humans. In view of this, it is very important to immediately begin the fight against parasites as soon as the first signs of their presence are noticed. Why this should be done and what effective means to take, you will learn from this article.

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What are bed bugs?

These parasites have a very flattened body and, depending on the degree of blood saturation, a length of 3 to 8.4 mm.

Important! In total, about 50,000 species of bugs are known, but only a few thousand species are found in our latitudes.

Appearance

In appearance, they can only be confused with cockroaches. The color of the bugs can be from dark brown to yellow. In front of the head, the bugs have a proboscis, with which they pierce the skin and feed on blood. A photo of bed bugs will fully give an idea of ​​how the bugs look.

Important! Bed bugs prefer to bite more delicate human skin, therefore they prefer children and women.

Activities

Due to their body shape, they easily climb walls and move through the air, creating the effect of flight. In fact, they lack wings, and they cannot fly.

Important! Among the parasites, females and males are found. The latter are smaller. Shelled larvae also lead a parasitic lifestyle.

Individuals are more active at night.

Habitat

In the afternoon, bed bugs hide in dark secluded corners, where they are difficult to detect. These can be places under the wallpaper, among books, in electronics, in sockets. For bugs, any conditions for life are favorable. At night they go on a “hunt”, which for the most part falls for a time from 3 to 8 in the morning. Very hungry bugs can attack a person in artificial light.

Important! According to household observations, which science does not refute, bed bugs prefer to drink the blood of non-smokers.

Bed bugs and their larvae are able to migrate from one room to another. If the street is warm, then they move along the external walls of houses, in the cold migration paths run through ventilation ducts.

Interesting fact! In one minute, an adult overcomes a distance of 1.25 m. The larva advances by 25 cm during this time.

Life span

Their average life expectancy is one year. At low temperatures or in the absence of food, bugs can fall into a state similar to suspended animation and stay in it for up to a year and a half. When a person appears nearby, they leave this state and return to their normal lives.

Important! If you find a bunch of discarded skins of larvae, bedbug eggs or excrement, then you have found a place of their special accumulation.

Diet

Adults feed every 5-10 days, and larvae almost every day. All of them prefer human blood, but do not disdain to attack domestic warm-blooded animals. In rural areas, there are often situations when they move into a house from poultry houses or cowsheds.

Important! In one “meal”, which lasts 10-15 minutes, the bedbug sucks out 7 ml of blood, which, in fact, exceeds twice the weight of the parasite itself.

The bug react very poorly to sudden changes in temperature. For example, at a temperature of -15 ° C they can live only 1 day. When the temperature rises above 49 C, the bugs die.

Breeding

Bed bugs breed by traumatic insemination. Females lay eggs that are about 1 mm long and resemble a grain of rice. Neither females nor males show any concern for offspring.

Important! Females are able to lay up to 5 eggs per day. Throughout their life, the number of eggs reaches 250-500 pieces. Under favorable conditions, the egg turns into a mature individual in 30-40 days. According to theoretical estimates of scientists, one female can produce offspring of more than 1 billion individuals.

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What are the bugs dangerous?

The biggest harm that bed bugs bring to people is their bites, which bring to life significant discomfort in the form of depriving normal sleep and rest. Also, bites can cause allergies. The fact that bedbugs are able to tolerate any disease remains an unproven statement.

The bedbug does not drink blood in only one place. He moves on the skin, leaving behind a path from bites.

Important! In one night, the number of bites on human skin can reach more than 500.

However, most people find parasites only along the paths on the bed, which are formed when they are crushed during sleep. In the infected room there is sometimes a specific smell emitted by the females, which is somewhat reminiscent of the smell of cognac or fermented berries.

Important! The proven fact is that 70% of people do not notice bedbug bites at all. Therefore, it is difficult for such people to detect and destroy them at all.

Bed bugs have an enviable sense of smell. Thanks to him, they find clothes that people use every day, and hide in it. As a rule, parasites like synthetic fabrics.

Important! There were times when it was believed that bedbugs could heal a person from many ailments. Such an erroneous opinion took place until the 18th century.

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The interaction of linen bugs with other insects in the house

Bed bugs by themselves do not harm any other types of insects. They are not interested in either their larvae, or adults, or competition and rivalry for food. But with respect to them, other insect pests and parasites behave differently:

• Despite different habitats, cockroaches are considered enemies of bedbugs. Their nymphs are often able to find and penetrate into bedbug colonies and eat their eggs.
• Domestic ants are also not averse to feasting on bedbug eggs. Also for the latter is a deadly poison secreted by ants. Therefore, the rooms where the bugs ants are present are trying to bypass.
• Flycatchers are able to actively catch and eat bugs. But due to the rarity of their living in an apartment, these insects cannot be considered biological weapons against bedbugs.

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Ways to combat bed bugs:

1. The most effective of all methods will be the simultaneous heating of the entire infected room for 20 hours to a temperature of more than +50 C. In order to destroy egg clutches, it is necessary to warm up to +100 C for 1 hour.
2. To neutralize clothes, soft toys, bedding, shoes and other household items from bedbugs, you can use a clothes dryer. Set it to a temperature of at least average. To be sure - the heat will be just right. Dry things for 10-20 minutes.
3. A vacuum cleaner will help physically remove parasites from the room. Vacuum the crevices, skirting boards, carpet thoroughly.
4. In hard-to-reach places, help can come steam cleaner. Under the influence of high temperature steam, the bugs die.
5. To disinfect things in the hot season, you can collect them all in a cloth bag and place them in a machine. Park the vehicle in the sun, close all windows and doors tightly, and leave for 1 day.
6. Washing at a water temperature of more than 49 C will also save clothes and fabric things from bed bugs.
7. In frosty weather, you can take all infected things out and leave for several days.

Important! If bed bugs appeared at your neighbors, then you should immediately contact the sanitary-epidemiological service.

Popular remedies for bedbugs

Among the commercial remedies for bed bugs, in addition to the advertised “Reid” and “Raptor” there are the following:

• Neopin, Riapan powders;
• liquids “Primadid”, “Lacterin”, “Fox”, “Actellic”;
• Aerosols “Karbozol”, “Prima-U”, “Perfos-P”.

Important! Carefully read the instructions for all similar drugs. They can be toxic, therefore all safety rules for their use should be observed.

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How to get rid of bed bugs at home?

• For the destruction of parasites from folk methods, it is very effective to place bugs of freshly picked common tansy flowers or branches of marsh rosemary in all corners and places of possible stay.
• In combination with chemical preparations for bedbugs, dried wormwood can be placed in the cupboard, corners, on the baseboard. It can be bought at any pharmacy.
• Having found the habitat of bugs, you can treat it with turpentine, transformer oil, kerosene or vinegar.

Important! To achieve a truly effective result, you should contact the appropriate service that will help you get rid of parasites of this type. Engaged in their independent destruction, you can simply drag out the process, strengthen their immunity to various poisons, allow the bugs to multiply further, thereby turning their home into an unsuitable place for living.

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How to prevent the appearance of parasites in your home:

• Before you bring various household items to your home, you should carefully check them. This applies especially to furniture mattresses, items of clothing bought in second-hand stores.
• If you are in hotels, then it is worth looking at the seams of mattresses to detect feces of bedbugs. And it’s better to put your luggage on a chair or table, and not on the floor.
• The attics of private houses should be checked periodically for insects, especially if this useful area is used for storing rubbish.

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Stock footage

If unexpected neighbors appeared in your house, then do not delay with their destruction. You certainly won’t get any benefit from them, and you should not share your housing and body with them.