Where Do Bed Bugs Come From? How To Prevent Them From Getting Inwh
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Bed bugs are small brown insects or pests belonging to the genus Cimex.
Human blood is what they generally feed on. Bed bug leads a lonely life initially but they tend to gather into a mass once established.
Bed bugs can be found all throughout the world, and they move via crawling or are carried in personal belongings. Cimex lectularis and Cimex hemipterus, the two species of the genus Cimex, are responsible for bed bug infestation.
The lifecycle of a bed bug consists of five juvenile nymph phases followed by a mature adult stage. Blood is their only source of nutrition.
Their mouthparts can break through skin, allowing them to inject toxins and anticoagulants into the saliva. These pests can survive without food for up to 70 days.
Adults grow to 0.16-0.2 in (4–5 mm) long.
Female common bed bugs can lay 200–500 eggs in their entire life and around 1-10 eggs per day. Bed bugs lurk or hide near their food source and wait for the right moment to move out and feed.
Bed bugs can come from a lot of places like mattresses, behind curtains, bed frames, coffee tables, bag packs, luggage bags, and a lot more places. The best way of eradication of the bed bug is to contact or call a pest control company, use non-chemical methods, and wash second-hand furniture properly using hot water.
Seeking professional help is extremely important as they will inspect the cause and outbreak more closely. Bedbugs get their name from the fact that they spread only in those places which are crowded and they are most active at night.
If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about where do stink bugs come from or how often do bed bugs feed here on Kidadl?
Where do bed bugs come from in nature?
The ancestor of current bed bugs in the Cimicidae family originally arose roughly 115 million years ago, more than 30 million years before bats. Bats were previously thought to be their primary host. Humans and other animals became their prey when these pests continued to evolve.
Archeologists discovered the oldest bed bug in a petrified form about 3500 years ago. Bed bugs were first referenced circa 400 BC in Ancient Greece.
Bed bugs were initially discovered in Germany in the 11th century and in England in 1583. Until 1670, they were not very widespread in England.
Bed bugs were thought to have been transported to London with the supply of wood in the 18th century. Bed bugs were extremely frequent prior to the mid 20th century. Between 2000 and 2005, the U.S National Pest Management Association of the United States reported a 71% increase in bed bug calls.
In 2013, the city of Chicago was ranked first in the United States for bedbug infestations. As a result, the Chicago City Council established a bed bug pest control law to help curb the spread of these insects.
Where did bed bugs come from originally?
The bed bug is supposed to have originated from the Middle East and later from European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indonesian regions.
Hotel rooms, towels included in hotel room amenities or services, and other places are popular hiding spots for bed bugs. Crimson rashes or even a barely visible bump, red stains on bed linens, musty stench resembling rotting fruit, brown blotches, and apparent shed shells are all signs of bed bugs.
These signs indicate that it is time to investigate and treat the underlying reason.
Bed bug infestations can occur in hotels, regardless of cleanliness. Bed bugs take a ride back to the traveler's home and this is one of the most typical ways people get bed bugs.
Bedbug bites require the use of antihistamines and corticosteroids. Repeated bites can be difficult to avoid and it requires some pest control methods and professional services.
The first and foremost thing to do is to identify and inspect their room where they are staying, then schedule a non-chemical pest control inspection.
Vacuuming mattress and furniture into a disposable bag that is then packed into a plastic bag is one way to prevent further infestation. Washing them in hot water or freezing them at -4 F (-20 C) are all non-chemical control options.
What causes bed bugs and where do they come from?
Bed bugs lurk or hide in filthy, dirty locations, such as cracks and crevices in beds, walls, box springs, clothes, furniture, behind headboards, seams of mattresses, bed frames, and any other things in the vicinity of a bed.
Bed bugs are more likely to be encountered in places with a high turnover of nightly guests such as hospitals, homeless shelters, and hotels.
There are many causes of bed bug infestation. The most common cause, in the first place, is usually travel.
Bed bugs, along with food poisoning and misplaced luggage, are major issues for travelers, as well as, damaged flats, buildings, and houses.
These types of places also provide bed bugs with a lot of hiding places making them a real pain to deal with. The proliferation of bed bugs has been aided by a lack of awareness and a mindset of 'it'll never happen to me'.
Bedbugs are a big source of anxiety in both commercial and residential residences.
After coming home, it's a good idea to wash all of your bedding and clothing at the highest temperature possible to help kill these bugs instantly. Bed bugs were once primarily a hotel problem, but now, they affect a wide range of businesses, universities, colleges, movie theaters, libraries, hospitals, and retail outlets.
The prevalence of secondhand property is another typical source of bed bugs. When an afflicted piece of furniture is brought into a business, bed bugs are frequently introduced.
Similarly, rental furniture can be to fault if the house is rented with bed bugs and then returned without being thoroughly inspected before being rented out again.
Because bed bugs can spread easily and survive for months without a blood meal, merely isolating an affected piece of furniture will not be enough to get rid of them. Bed bug bites are frequently in a line or cluster and they are often accompanied by a rash.
Can bed bugs come from dogs?
If they have nowhere else to go, they will turn to alternative food sources, which include cats, birds, dogs, and other mammalian pets as their host. Many people are perplexed because bed bugs are known to avoid fur which is true and they prefer to live with humans.
Bed bugs can feed on any warm-blooded animal, so they aren't going to starve simply because they don't like fur.
Bed bugs can be carried by dogs. They won't usually stay on the dog's fur indefinitely, but they will use it as a canine taxi service to go around.
Bed bugs can bite a pet for a variety of reasons. Extreme hunger, inability to reach human-occupied places, or a pet that has transported the insect from an infested location or sleeps in all infested room with its owner are all examples.
The issue is that humans are unable to identify or detect bed bugs feeding on their pets since their bites are painless. The bite will itch much later, and the cat or dog will begin scratching incessantly, endangering their health.
To get rid of them, it would be preferable if individuals could call or contact a pest inspection company or a pest control repair service once a year. Professional help is a must.
Do bed bugs come from filth?
Bed bugs are blood-feeding pests that rely exclusively on blood and require a blood meal to carry on. Bed bugs are difficult to spot in their early phases of development, but once they reach adulthood, they are difficult to miss unless the environment they have chosen is crowded enough to conceal them.
These bed bugs aren't attracted to clutter, but it will help them stay undetected for longer. This has led to the misconception that pests are attracted to unclean environments, yet bed bugs are not caused by filth or clutter.
These bugs can reside in the cleanest and most orderly of settings. It is simply more difficult for people to locate their presence. Humans believe that filth causes bed bug infestations, however, this is a myth.
As long as they have access to their food source, they can live in any environment. In pest control, it's critical to understand this.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for where do bed bugs come from, then why not take a look at when do lightning bugs come out or bed bug facts?
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