What are Bed Bugs

A bed bug is a kind of small insect or pest which lives in our home and is parasitic in nature. There are two different species of bed bugs that bite humans. One is known as the common bed bug and the other is called the tropical bed bug. The only food on which bed bugs survive is human blood or blood of any other warm-blooded animals like rodents, rabbits, birds etc.

In one single day, a female bed bug may lay about five eggs. During its entire lifespan a female bed bug lays around 500 eggs. The laid eggs are hatched after one or two weeks. An offspring of a bed bug is as tiny as a poppy seed. It requires blood to feed immediately after birth to get nutrition for its growth and development. It undergoes five molting stages before it reaches maturity. At every stage, it needs one feeding in order to pass into the next stage. At normal room temperature, a nymph takes five weeks to transform into an adult.

The size of an adult bed bug is around one-fourth of an inch. It has an oval-shaped body and does not have any wings. The body is thin and flattened. As they are wingless, they cannot fly but they can run very fast. The common colors of bed bugs is rust brown but sometimes it becomes reddish brown after intake of blood. The mouth portion is adapted in such a manner that it can pierce the skin and suck blood. They can detect their feeding site from the warmth of the host's body and from the carbon dioxide released by them. They do not dwell on human body but just come in contact for the purpose of food. They are capable of reproduction only after reaching the adult stage.

As the name suggests, bed bugs live in beds, mattresses, sofas, and in other pieces of home furniture. They mostly invade the sleeping areas of our homes. Bed bugs have a tendency to keep close contact with each other and are found to be highly active during the nights. They come out during the daytime in search of food only if they are very hungry, even though they have the ability to live for a long period of time without any food. When bed bugs are disturbed they find some dark locations like cracks and fissures and enter into them to protect themselves. Their flattened body makes such hiding places very easy for them to get into. The most favored hiding locations of bed bugs are box spring, floor boards, loose wallpaper, frame of the bed and sleeping mattresses.

Detection of bed bugs is a difficult task as they hide themselves in narrow crevices. Spotting of blood on mattresses and furniture is one sign of bed bug infestation. A sickly smell comes out due to heavy infestation which helps to determine the presence of bed bugs.

Pest control would need to be done to get rid of this menace from a house. If our homes are kept untidy and disorganized then the possibility of infestation by bed bugs increases to a great extent. And as we know, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, it is very important to keep the rooms and furniture clean and well-arranged, so as to keep them free from bed bugs.