Waking up to discover that over the night, red welts have appeared on your arms, legs and even your face can be unsettling, but could very well indicate that you have suffered from bed bug bites.
Bed bugs, unlike their name suggests, aren’t just found in bedrooms but will happily bide their time in various cracks and crevices ready to emerge at night and feed. From hostels, to hotels rooms, passenger airlines or bus seats, and even libraries, you may find yourself in contact with these blood sucking parasites. Like the mosquito, bed bugs are hematophagous (feeds on blood), so once bitten you may be left covered in itchy red bites.
Identifying bed bug bites:
Bed bug bites are often very itchy, and are usually small and flat, but some people may have no reaction at all, yet anyone who is allergic to the bites may react more severely.
Bed bugs typically bite and feed in a line along an area of uncovered skin and usually in a localised manner. If this is not the case and there are several different areas of bites, it often means that you have probably been bitten by several different bed bugs.
They usually bite on body parts that are not covered by bedding, such as the head and face, neck, arms and legs.
How do bed bugs bite?
The bed bug will pierce your skin so it can then suck some blood from your body through an elongated beak. This action can take between 3 – 15 minutes to complete. Typically you will not feel a bed bug biting you because they excrete a tiny amount of anethesia and an anticoagulant into your body as they bite, so the actual bite is somewhat painless. As they feed, they become engorged and change colour as they are filling with blood.
Bed bug bites vs flea bites:
Flea bites are often characterised by a small red spot surrounded by a reddened halo and are usually found on or around the ankles. Itching is also often felt immediately once a flea has bitten, whilst bed bug bites can take longer to irritate.
Bed bug bites vs mosquito bites:
Mosquito bites are usually random and isolated. They are immediately visible and begin to itch straight away and they are often white and risen, before later reducing to a small red bump.
If you think you may have signs of a bed bug infestation then it is advisable to seek the help of a pest control professional. They will know how to treat your problem quickly and efficiently with specialised solutions, such as Rentokil heat pod treatment, that successfully eradicate bed bugs as well as their eggs. To gain additional advice on treating a bed bug bite, we offer a few tips and remedies in our ‘how to treat bed bug bites’ article or seek medical advice from your GP or local Chemist.
