What Causes Bed Bugs

What Causes Bed Bugs – Useful Facts To Be Aware Of

The sudden emergence and proliferation of bed bugs is causing a lot of people to wonder about what causes bed bugs to come. While most of us are conversant and to a fair extent knowledgeable about what causes lice, or what causes dust mites, this is one insect that most of us are totally unaware of and not without reason.

These pests have been in existence for a long time on this earth. Researchers say that they have been around since Biblical times and along with cockroaches are one of the most tenacious and persistent species you can ever find. However, till about less than a decade back, they had almost been exterminated from most developed countries.

Now in the last seven to eight years, they seem to have made a determined comeback and are causing a lot of hardship as well as frustration to people who are at a loss on how to get rid of them. These pests have been responsible for causing scabies and other skin related issues. Though they are wingless and incapable of spreading any infectious diseases, they have the capacity to leave behind ugly blemishes on the skin if not treated on time and to that extent represent a great source of irritation as well as emotional distress.

Surely, nobody in his right mind would want to wake up every morning to see his face or neck having tiny red punctures as proof that his blood has been sucked during the night. Over time, these punctures lead to small lesions that itch uncontrollably and since these are visible, it can be highly embarrassing to the person. Many have found it difficult to go out and face the world due to these marks becoming blisters and even after healing leaving behind some blemishes.

So what causes bed bugs to come in the first place and how have they made this comeback?

There was a belief earlier that it is the lack of proper sanitation and hygiene which makes it easy for pests to enter a house. While nobody is debating or has any doubts regarding the merits of cleanliness, merely keeping your house may not be enough it seems.

What can explain the preponderance of these pests even in high class hotels and other boarding places having the highest standards of hygiene? Surely there is something more to it and that is to do with the reality that these pests are extremely good at adapting themselves to changing environments and can easily adhere themselves to human belongings without his knowledge. The consequence is that you could be bringing them home after a night over at some friend’s place that was already infected or from a ride you had on a bus or train.

These pests can hitchhike to any place and do so easily due to their small size. The shape of their bodies is oval and flat. This makes it easy for them to quickly snuggle into any crevice or gap and that is how they are able to attach themselves to a person’s clothing, baggage and other items without the person even being aware of it.

But this still does not explain their comeback or what causes bed bugs to come?

Well, for that we need to go back a bit. After World War II, many developed countries embarked on massive projects of slum clearance for building infrastructure, houses and so on. At the same time, they also wanted to increase crop production to ensure there was enough food for everybody. This made them use pesticides like DDT which not only killed pests but also proved to be a nemesis for bed bugs. Within some years of constant DDT usage, these pests were totally eradicated and everybody thought they were gone for good.

That is why the current generation as well as the earlier one is not aware of these pests, having not seen them at all. For many years, this situation existed till people between countries started traveling frequently. Both tourists and locals traveling to other places managed to bring back these pests with them as part of their baggage and consequently introduced them into their houses, oblivious of the implications.

Once these pests got into the house, it was easy for them to thrive. Many of the houses were not well maintained with lot of clutter and wood furniture. This is an ideal setting for these pests. So while on one hand, cleanliness cannot prevent them from entering your house, it can surely prevent them from increasing in numbers and you have a better chance of eliminating them once you become aware of them.

Those people whose houses got infected with these pests thus got bitten by these pests night after night and they did not even know about it till the marks caused by the sucking action of these pests started itching. That is when they started noticing it and began treating it themselves or sought their doctor’s help because they knew about what causes body lice bite marks or what causes dust mites marks and these punctures were unique as well as different.

You would be wondering how is it that people who got bitten night after night did not act immediately and allowed themselves to be thus sucked dry every night. The reason for that is bed bugs typically operate during late hours of the night or towards early morning. At these times, most of us are practically dead to the world and would not be very sensitive to the sucking action of these pests. Moreover, their saliva contains an anesthetic that induces a drowsy effect on the individual and he or she would just not be aware of what is going on at all.

Bed bugs are creatures that love warm blood and that is why they prefer humans. They would be able to survive on this diet of human blood for ever and also quickly start breeding if prompt action is not taken. That is why it is essential to pick up signs of infestation early enough. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness of such insects coupled with the fact that their bites do not cause any great pain or discomfort in the initial days makes many people neglect the tiny punctures on their skin till they really start to bother them. By then, the bed bugs would have even started breeding and considering a female bug can lay many eggs at a time, their numbers increase exponentially and quickly.

Assuming you get to know about the presence of bed bugs in your house, you do not have time to waste. You should immediately steam clean or vacuum your bed linen and even put it out into the sun as bed bugs cannot stand heat. Then you should plug all the crevices in your wood furniture including the ones on your bed box frames. Use a good bed bug spray and cover all areas underneath the mattress as well as within your bed frame as well as on other wood furniture. Ensure you steam clean curtains and other soft furnishing fabric as well.

If these measures do not give you results, consult a good exterminating agency and get the treatment done professionally.

Tags: how to prevent bed bugs when traveling, tiny red punctures, bed bugs in house, hotel <BR/>

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