Bed fleas are a rather unpleasant surprise, especially for people who live in apartments and do not have pets. What are these creatures, and how dangerous are they for people? In fact, such a biological species as bed fleas does not exist in nature; biting insects got this name due to the fact that sometimes sofas and beds are chosen for their further existence. Despite the fact that there are many varieties of fleas in nature, they look almost the same, and their lifestyle is not much different.
The structure of insects
Bed fleas look like ordinary small insects. The structure of bloodsuckers is quite complex, but it is very problematic to determine parts of the body with the naked eye. The bed flea is a dark brown, almost black insect with a rounded and oblong body, slightly flattened on the sides. It is impossible to crush the parasite with your fingers because of the chitinous shell in the form of a shell that performs a protective function.
No matter how strange it may seem, but bed fleas feel that they are invulnerable, which is why they lack self-preservation instincts. The length of an adult individual does not exceed three millimeters, wingsthese blood-sucking insects are absent, but on the body there are three rather powerful pairs of legs.
The hind legs are the longest and best developed, because they allow insects to jump, and this, as you know, is their only way to move. If you look at a flea through a microscope, you can see that it has small antennae, peculiar antennas for searching for the next victim, which hide in special holes when the insect is resting.
The structure of the mouth apparatus is extremely difficult to see even through a microscope, it is only known that it resembles a hose or a small trunk with which a flea bites and sucks the blood of its victims. The eggs of blood-sucking insects look like rice grains with a diameter of about 0.5 mm, and the larvae look like translucent worms. As for the pupae of bloodsuckers, they can be mistaken for ordinary specks.
What fleas parasitize humans?
Any insect that feeds on the blood of warm-blooded animals can bite a person. However, most often people are bitten by fleas that parasitize on pets: cats and dogs. In nature, one type of blood-sucking insect is still distinguished, for which a person acts as a potential "owner". These bloodsuckers also attack four-legged friends, but prefer to feed on human blood. The thing is that these parasites have mouthparts that perfectly pierce our skin.
So, what types of bloodsuckers are potentially dangerous to humans?
- First, it's dog fleas. It is this kindconsidered the record for attacking people. This is due to the fact that our faithful four-legged friends most often bring fleas to the house on their fur.
- Secondly, a person can be bitten by cat bloodsuckers. Cats spend most of their time outdoors, where they find these parasites. Fleas brought by a cat into the house, in the absence of a pet, are forced to look for a new source of food, and a person becomes it.
- Thirdly, even rat bloodsuckers annoy people. These are one of the most dangerous types of fleas for humans. It is mainly the inhabitants of the province who suffer from the bites of these parasites.
- Fourthly, rabbit fleas are considered one of the most common blood-sucking insects, although they bite a person in very rare cases.
How do bloodsuckers get into bed?
Carpets, animal bedding, baseboards and dark corners are the main habitats and laying eggs of blood-sucking insects. Why are there fleas in bedding? The owners on their clothes can bring parasites into the house, in addition, these bloodsuckers are capable of independent movement over quite considerable distances, they move exclusively by jumping.
Blood-sucking insects can be in the house for the following reasons:
- If the apartment is located on the ground floor, then rodents living in the basements can bring fleas.
- There are pets in your neighborhood.
- The hosts themselves brought parasites, especially when it comes to those who often have to visit basements or non-residential premises.
Bed fleas,photos of which are presented in this material, jump on the bed solely in order to refresh themselves. Finding small insects is quite difficult, but if you cover the bed with light-colored linen, you will certainly notice the presence of bloodsuckers.
Signs of fleas
Despite the fact that blood-sucking insects are small in size, sooner or later you will notice them on light-colored bedding. It is pointless to try to catch them, because they react remarkably to movements, possessing, in addition to everything else, an amazing jumping ability. When the hand approaches, bed fleas begin to jump and instantly disappear from the space perceived by the eye.
If you prefer dark underwear, then the presence of insects in the house will be indicated by signs such as:
- Bite on legs and arms.
- The restless behavior of pets. When fleas appear, four-legged friends begin to itch and often try to bite an invisible bloodsucker in the wool.
- Black dots on bedding. These are the waste products of parasites. Outwardly, they look like traces of flies.
- Maggots found in the corners of the room or in the trash.
How to recognize flea bites?
Not in all cases it is possible to determine which insect attacked a person. It is important to learn to recognize the symptoms of bloodsucker bites in order to take appropriate action. Fleas mainly bite a person in areas with the thinnest skin: popliteal and axillaryhollows, waist and legs. However, there are exceptions.
Bed flea bites are accompanied by severe itching, slight swelling and redness. Due to the too small wound, it is not possible to determine the place of skin bite. If an insect attacked a person alone, a characteristic chain of bites will appear, the distance between which is no more than 2 cm, but if there were many of them, the wounds can be localized throughout the body.
Why are flea bites dangerous?
Pain and severe itching are nothing compared to the dangerous infectious diseases that bloodsuckers can carry. It turns out that it was fleas in the Middle Ages that were the carriers of the plague, which claimed many human lives.
Thanks to the efforts of doctors today, the plague has been defeated, but from a bite of fleas, people can become infected with typhus, pseudotuberculosis, rabbit fever (tularemia), anthrax, brucellosis or rubella naturalists.
Also, a flea bite can cause a severe allergic reaction. In such cases, itching is not localized only on the affected area of the body, but spreads throughout the body.
What to do if bitten by a flea?
If you find flea bites on your body, in no case do not comb the affected areas of the body, but immediately wash them with running water and antiseptic soap. It is recommended to treat the bite site with a soothing calamine lotion, if this is not available, use alternative methods of treatment.
You can treat the affected area of the body with water andapple cider vinegar. Mix the necessary ingredients in a 1:2 ratio and refrigerate. Soak a thin cloth in chilled liquid and apply to the bitten area.
Well relieves itching paste-like mass prepared from sodium bicarbonate and water. The resulting slurry is applied to the bite site for 15 minutes. You can also prepare a liquid from 250 ml of water and lemon peel. Itchy places are treated with this mixture.
Bed fleas: how to get rid of at home?
The fight against parasites must begin with the treatment of pets suffering from their bites the most. You can rid a dog or cat of fleas with the help of special antibacterial shampoos, soaps or sprays. To prevent re-infection, pets should periodically dig drops along the withers and put on a flea collar.
After processing the animals, you need to start cleaning the apartment. Fleas do not tolerate the smell of tansy and wormwood, so you can lay out bunches of grass in the corners of the room. The room in which the blood-sucking insects are wound up requires wet cleaning, and it should be carried out using ammonia, vinegar and soapy water.
If folk methods do not help and the question of how to get rid of bed fleas is still unresolved, the room will need to be treated with special sprays, aerosols or solutions. Drugs to fightvarious insects are now sold in many stores. The main thing is to read the instructions before use and strictly follow the recommendations, observing safety precautions. The Effective Ultra bed flea remedy has proven itself well, although other drugs also cope with this task: Chlorpyrimax, Bolfo, Tetrix and Sinuzan.
In the future, to protect your home from flea penetration, be sure to purchase special collars for all pets, and put dry wormwood or tansy under sofas and beds for animals. Such an environment will not allow parasites to settle in your apartment.
