Among the blood-sucking creatures, bugs should be especially distinguished - small insects that love to settle in our apartments and exist at the expense of humans. In our article, we will tell you in detail how bedbugs are dangerous for humans, and we will dwell separately on the methods of dealing with these pests.
Insect description
The bed bug is an insect of the order Hemiptera. For most, the term "coleoptera" means nothing, so it would be better to describe how it looks visually. In accessible words, this is a very small (from 3 to 8 mm) bug (although “bug” and “bug” are, of course, completely different things), the body of which is very flattened horizontally. His abdomen is segmented, the insect itself, most often, has a brown color. Before discussing why bedbugs are dangerous, consider the style of their behavior, the features and habits of these insects.
Insect resistance to mechanical damage
Bedbugs are very nimble insects. They run excellently, and when trying to catch them, they show miracles of resourcefulness. Even clampedbetween the fingers, they slip out of the trap with amazing agility. Especially difficult to catch hungry critters. If the insect is relatively light and flat, then it has been eating for a long time, and its level of mobility is maximum. A darker bug with a swollen belly fed recently, and its resourcefulness is an order of magnitude less.
When you try to crush a hungry representative, you will most likely fail. The constitution of the body structure of bedbugs can withstand significant deformations, and even if they receive critical damage, they quickly regenerate. It will be possible to crush only a bug that has eaten relatively recently. In this case, its abdomen bursts, from where a small amount of caked and undigested blood flows out. The bug will remain alive in this case and will make an attempt to escape.
Inflict a mortal injury on an insect, only by dismembering its body in two or flattening it so that it leaves a "herbarium", that is, with a hammer. But since sleeping in a bed is problematic with a hammer and anvil, bedbugs are fought with other methods, which we will discuss a little later.
Features, reproduction
Since the insect is very small, it will be problematic to see its structure even with a magnifying glass. But with a significant increase, it can be seen that a proboscis grows from the anterior part of the head segment of the bug, with which it pierces human skin and with the help of which it sucks blood. At its base are piercing jaws, consisting of a pair of sharp bristles. The jaws are "equipped" with a pairchannels, one of which, wider, serves to receive blood, and the second to supply anesthetic saliva into the hole made by the bug in the skin of the victim. Read below about the dangers of bedbug bites.
Their paws are small, but relatively strong, allowing them to develop excellent speed. Males are usually much smaller than females. Their mating occurs according to the traumatic principle. In fact, to inject sperm into the female's abdomen, the male literally pierces her body with his penis. At a time, the female can lay up to 5 eggs, after which she is again ready for fertilization. At first, a nymph hatches from an egg - also a rather mobile blood-sucking creature, after another molt it turns into an imago - an adult. The period of development of an insect from an egg to an adult is about 40 days. The average lifespan of an adult fluctuates around a year.
A distinctive feature of these insects is their ability to hibernate, which is somewhat akin to suspended animation. Under unfavorable conditions (low temperature, lack of food), they can "fall asleep" for a period of more than one year to wake up when the bug's senses detect an increase in temperature or the proximity of a warm-blooded mammal. What makes bedbugs dangerous is that of all animals, they prefer to feast on human blood to a greater extent. Human skin is not protected by wool, and therefore the most accessible. But in rare cases, bedbugs can also attack domestic animals, as well as rodents that settle in human dwellings.
Stylelife, behavior
As such, bedbugs do not equip "lairs" or nests. They lead a twilight lifestyle and go out to "hunt" in the dark, preferring to attack their victims during sleep. When the light is on, they quickly scatter, hiding in hard-to-reach cracks, folds or radio equipment. There they wait out the daylight hours. During the day, only the hungriest representatives come out to hunt, forced to crawl outside.
Where do bedbugs come from
Those who are interested in whether bedbugs are dangerous for humans should keep in mind that they themselves can bring bedbugs into their homes. Any pest and parasite is dangerous in its own way, this is out of the question. Therefore, you should avoid appearing in suspicious places in which these insects can breed. It is necessary to avoid visiting dubious apartments and other dwellings in which untidy and unclean people live, and also not to contact animals (cats and dogs) living on the street. It is enough for one fertilized female to climb into the folds of your clothes, and a brood of bedbugs in your home will already be provided. And then more.
Often, bedbugs themselves can travel long distances from one dwelling to another. All blood-sucking insects are extremely sensitive to warm-blooded mammals and smell "fresh blood" at a great distance. They travel on both mice and rats. So sometimes, no matter how you defend yourself, an attack can take you by surprise, despite all the precautions.
Harm caused by bedbugs
Finally, we got to the most important question, how dangerous are bedbugs for a person in an apartment or in any other dwelling? Listed in order:
- Bug bites cause a lot of inconvenience. They itch a lot, and in some people they can cause an allergic reaction.
- Bedbugs are carriers of dangerous infections such as brucellosis, tularemia, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and even anthrax. What does peddler mean? This means that his body has a strong immunity to a portable disease, but for those who are bitten by an insect, these diseases pose an immediate danger. These diseases are not transmitted through a bite. The danger is precisely the excrement of insects. If they get on a fresh wound, expect trouble.
- The very realization that you have blood-sucking creatures living in your house can plunge some people into real depression and cause emotional distress.
That is why you should not turn a blind eye to the problem, but immediately begin to resolve it, that is, to take measures to destroy parasites and prevent their appearance in the home in the future.
How to recognize the presence of bedbugs in the apartment and how to distinguish bedbug bites from mosquito bites?
Why are bed bugs dangerous in an apartment? First of all, with their bites. But how to distinguish between these bites? Are they any different from regular mosquito bites? Undoubtedly yes. A mosquito bite is a single "pimple on the body." While the bug in the process of feeding piercesskin not in one place, but in several in turn. Therefore, after bedbug bites, several “pimples” appear at once in one place, which itch almost the same as from mosquito bites. In addition, it is not uncommon for the skin to become inflamed around each affected area and extensive redness occurs throughout the body at the bite sites. And if there are several such foci throughout the body, then you should think about it and check your home for bedbugs.
Methods of struggle
After we found out how dangerous bed bugs are for humans, we should get together and fight these unbearable parasites. To combat bedbugs, there are a lot of developed tools for domestic use. In most cases, they are in the form of sprays, deadly to insects and safe for humans. They can process all hidden cracks where insects “crowd” at night, all seams, the back and bottom of upholstered furniture. Also help in the fight against parasites can:
- Heat treatment of bed linen. Insects die at high temperatures. A temperature of +60 degrees is deadly for bedbugs, and therefore it is best to soak the laundry in hot water before washing or wash at a high temperature of water heating. Frost can kill them only Siberian. What is dangerous about bedbugs is that if it is -20 degrees Celsius outside, then the parasites will die. But if it is less, they will fall into their favorite suspended animation, and after thawing at home, they will again take up their own.
- An excellent tool for removing bedbugs is a vacuum cleaner. Shake the contents of the container into a fire or a tin of kerosene and set it on fire. The hateful pests will be roasted alive.
- Enhance the effect of sprays with repellent scents. Bedbugs do not tolerate the smell of vinegar, garlic and valerian. True, if there is a cat or a cat at home, it is better not to use valerian tincture. You will scare away the bedbugs, but at the same time you will drive the poor pet crazy.
All things should be processed. And in the closet, and on the hanger, in the items of a personal wardrobe, especially cunning representatives can lurk. To ensure that not a single pest remains in the house, spray and spray a repellent composition should be everywhere.
Why are bed bugs dangerous? Also the fact that sprays do not work on their eggs. Therefore, after some time, sanitation should be carried out again in order to destroy the brood that emerged from the eggs, remaining in the seams of mattresses, upholstered furniture, etc. Only then can we say with full confidence that you got rid of all the bedbugs in the house.
In extreme cases, if the dwelling is too large or if the bugs have multiplied to a particularly dangerous scale, you can call a special pest control service.
Prevention methods
To prevent bed bugs in the house, a major cleaning should be carried out monthly. Treat all cracks with a repellent solution. Do not be lazy to carefully iron things after washing, especially the seams of bed linen. And, of course, avoid visiting the questionable dwellings mentioned above, hotels, homeless shelters, etc. And then everything will be fine with your bed and housing!
