Before you get ready to fight the troublesome pests, you should have a thorough understanding of their characteristics, nature, and habits. For this, you need to stop believing in the lies that everyone tells you about bed bugs and find out the truth behind them.
Most of the time, the circulation of wrong information through word-of-mouth originates from some kind of misconception that should be resolved as soon as possible to reveal the facts. In this post, we’re going to uncover those truths by busting some of the commonest myths about bed bugs. It’ll not only help ease your fears about the blood-sucking insects but also eliminate them easily.
Let’s get on with it then!
Myth 1: Bed bugs can inhabit your bodies
Although bed bugs are parasites that feed on your blood, they don’t live on your skin or hair, as some people may say. Your body temperature isn’t suitable for them. Instead, they hide under mattresses or box springs, seams of chairs, between cushions, curtain folds, or inside old, electrical appliances. When you lie still or are asleep, they come out of their hiding places to feed on your blood. The parasites that may inhabit your skin or hair are lice, ticks or fleas. Bed bugs don’t fall in that category.
Myth 2: Bed bugs carry disease-causing germs
These pesky little creatures are indeed disgusting to look at, but they don’t transmit disease-causing pathogens. However, as they grow so fast, bed bug infestations may lead to depression and anxiety, sometimes causing feelings of paranoia. These mental disturbances are generally mistaken for the bed bugs transmitting some kind of disease.
Myth 3: Bed bugs don’t bite during the day
There’s no reason to think of this statement as true. It’s not the hours of the day but your activity that determines the bed bugs’ feeding habits. If you work during the night and sleep throughout the day, the bed bugs will find an opportune time to suck your blood.
Myth 4: Throwing out the mattress can get rid of bed bugs
No! That’s not the way to remove them, because bed bugs don’t live only in the seams and tugs of mattresses. In case you’re wondering how to get rid of a bed bug infestation, professionals suggest that heat treatment is the only way to eliminate them. The temperature of your home should be increased to 140F, as bed bugs cannot survive such high temperatures, and kept there for 4-6 hours to ensure complete removal.
Myth 5: Bed bugs like to live in dirty rooms
Not necessarily! The pests don’t discriminate between dirty or clean rooms and choose to live wherever they please. But the bugs can indeed be difficult to locate, identify and eliminate in a cluttered room, as there are several places for them to hide. Generally, bed bugs prefer to live in places inhabited by a lot of people. More people amount to more blood.
Myth 6: Bed bugs die in the cold
This is another myth that needs to be busted immediately. According to some people, bed bugs can be killed by exposing them to cold temperatures, but this is untrue. Bed bugs can tolerate the cold pretty well if it doesn’t fall below -16 degrees Celsius (3.2F). As mentioned earlier, they, however, die quickly when exposed to the high temperatures of 120-140F.
Myth 7: Bed bug bites are painful
The truth is, you may not even feel anything when the bug bites you. This is because the bed bugs’ saliva has an anesthetic, which renders their bites almost painless. You may get an itchy spot in the morning, but you won’t feel any pain. However, some people develop allergic reactions over time and that may be painful to some extent.
Myth 8: Insect repellants can kill bed bugs
As most insect repellants work on mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects, some people believe that those can be used to eliminate bed bugs. But it is not true. DEET has been proved to be somewhat effective in repelling them for as long as 9 hours, but it can’t kill them. Moreover, when they come back, they will be hungrier than ever.
A lot of other misconceptions about bed bugs exist like they can fly, live on your furry companions, suck blood through the clothing, latch on to you and travel with you, and the funniest of them all, they can survive a year without feeding. All these are misinformed ideas that originate from the fears and anxiety surrounding these pests. Learn the truth to reduce those fears and face your enemies with courage.
