One of the easiest ways to prevent the spread of bed bugs is to keep a close eye on your furnishings and bedding. Infested furniture can also be brought into your home if you purchase second-hand items. Be sure to check every piece thoroughly before bringing it home. Never leave infested items on the curb, and if you have to discard an item, make sure you mark it clearly as infested. Bed bugs can live for years in an unprotected area of your home, so keep a close eye on it and keep your property clean.

Adult bed bugs

Adult bed bugs have a whitish appearance and resemble tiny insects. Once they have fed on blood, they change color and become rusty red. They prefer areas that are unoccupied and are free of dust and debris. They are “hitchhikers,” meaning they can live in a variety of locations, including libraries, health care facilities, airplanes, and cars. The adult females of this species must periodically feed in order to lay eggs.

Immatures

The size of bed bugs depends on their life cycle. The immature stage is about two to five millimeters long, while fully grown adults are about a quarter of an inch long and about the size of an apple seed. Adults have flat oval bodies with six legs, two antennae, and no wings. Their nymph stage is about one eighth of an inch long, and is translucent. It molts to become a darker brown, like a bed bug.

Excreta

The excreta of bedbugs contains as many as 40 different microorganisms, including those that can cause diseases. These microbes can be acquired directly from the bedbugs, in their habitats, or by transferring them from one location to another. However, the majority of studies have failed to demonstrate that bedbugs are disease vectors. These studies primarily used outdated tools to identify microorganisms. The results also do not reflect the emergence of newer strains of pathogens.

Bite pattern

There is a difference between the bite pattern of bedbugs and those of fleabites. While fleabites usually attack the leg or ankle areas of the body, bedbugs prefer to bite anywhere on the body. While fleas can cause secondary skin infections, they rarely bite the face or upper body. The biting pattern of bedbugs is much more recognizable and easier to identify. Read on to learn more about bedbug bite patterns.

Lifespan

What is the Lifespan of Bedbugs? As parasites, bedbugs want to survive as long as possible. Many people wonder how long the bugs can live without feeding. While adult bedbugs have a lifespan of one year, females need to feed more often, as they lay eggs. Female bedbugs lay around 500 eggs during their lifetime, which will hatch within two weeks. Lifespan of bedbugs varies according to their host.

Symptoms

You may have already noticed the obvious Bedbugs symptoms. Itchy, red bites, and skin stains on your bedsheets are signs of infestation. Bedbugs can be found living in the seams, edges, and crevices of your mattress and can also be hiding in books, carpet edges, and electrical outlets. The eggshells of bedbugs are pale yellow, but as they mature they turn a darker red color. Adult bedbugs are usually clustered together in groups.

Prevention

One way to prevent bed bugs in your home is to clean regularly. During the summer, bedbugs are especially prevalent in carpets, mattresses, and furniture. You should thoroughly clean these items, as well as any electronics, to prevent bedbugs from living in these items. Electronics like stereo receivers, televisions, computers, and game systems have vents where these bugs can live. Another way to prevent bedbugs in your home is to clean your bedding, including sheets, pillowcases, and comforters.

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