Linen bugs, which are also called bed bugs, apartment bugs, and house bugs, are parasitic insects from the blood-sucking order. The most unpleasant thing about their presence in a residential area is that bed bugs feed on people’s blood, like a mosquito, leaving behind itchy blisters.
The common belief that bedbugs are the lot of residents of old wooden buildings or asocial individuals is deeply mistaken. The parasite does not care about the surroundings or the degree of grooming of the victim, the main thing is that it simply exists. The blood sucked by bedbugs is all that is needed for them to reproduce.
External description of the bedbug
The bedbug tribe drinks blood, and this fact has a direct bearing on what bedbugs look like. With the arrival of saturation, the individual changes both in size and color intensity.
In a state of hunger, the bedbug has a flat body, which makes it practically impossible to grab onto it or crush it. This is a kind of protection of the parasite, what can you do, nature has taken care of the survival of those who are not too pleasant to humans. But a well-fed pest becomes swollen like a balloon and is capable of bursting under the weight of the human body. Bloody spots on bed linen are one of the signs of the presence of an insect in the apartment.
The size of linen bugs can reach 9 mm in length and 4 mm in width. A hungry parasite has a flat, round body shape, while a well-fed one is bloated and elongated, like a cockroach. Evolving, bedbugs lost their wings, and they also do not have the ability to jump.
Useful materials
Read other articles about bedbugs:
- Find out the main reasons for the appearance of bloodsuckers in the apartment, namely bed parasites.
- What do house bugs look like and how to get rid of them using various methods?
- Find out why they are dangerous for humans? How to recognize their bites, especially in children, and how to properly treat the damaged areas?
- To effectively combat these insects, find out what species there are, how they reproduce and feed, where you can find their nests and can they live in clothes?
- Read more about folk remedies, in particular vinegar and temperature effects.
- Effective preventive measures.
- Study several review articles about modern means of control, in particular against bed bugs. Check out the list of products that are safe for people and pets, and also find out how to properly prepare your apartment before treatment.
- If you cannot cope with parasites on your own, we recommend turning to professionals. They have effective destruction technologies and will be able to help you in the shortest possible time.
Below is a list of drugs that have proven themselves (can be used independently):
- Powders and dusts: Clean House, Karbofos.
- Chalk Mashenka.
- Sprays: Tetrix, Get, Tsifoks, Forsyth, Fufanon, Cucaracha, Executioner.
- Aerosols: Raid, Raptor, Combat.
Biological cycle of the bed bug
The lifespan of a linen parasite consists of stages: from the formation of an egg to an adult sexually mature individual. In each larval stage (there are five of them), the bug sheds its transparent skin and acquires a darker chitinous cover.
To transition from one stage of development to another, an insect needs blood. The female, having had enough, begins laying eggs every day. How long bedbugs live depends on the conditions and amount of food, on average it is 10-12 months:
- Eggs – 6-17 days.
- Larvae – five stages, 5-7 days each.
- Adult – up to 1 year.
Without blood, laundry pests can live quite a long time - up to several months, falling into a state of suspended animation, when all life processes slow down. As soon as residents (a food source) appear in the house, the insect becomes active. At this time, due to severe hunger, the parasite is especially aggressive.
In addition to food, environmental temperature and resistance (resistance to insecticides) also influence the biological cycle.
Reproduction
The young female enters the mating process upon completion of the last molt. The entire family of parasites is included in the reproduction process itself. Males inject seminal fluid by puncturing the abdomen anywhere. They are not particularly picky in choosing a partner. It may be a male, a nymph of different ages, a female, or another insect.
When seminal fluid is injected into the male's body, the portion of sperm doubles. Such an insect is called a mega-male. When seminal fluid enters the body of a sexually mature female, fertilization of eggs is ensured throughout life.
The females begin laying eggs. Do this daily, 3-5 pieces. Attached to any surface using a special secret. Bed bugs lay eggs in the seams and folds of laundry.
On a note!
The adult lives for about 8 months under favorable conditions; in the stage of suspended animation without food, the bug can live for about a year. Over the entire life period, one female reproduces 300-500 larvae. Getting rid of it at the initial stage of infestation of an apartment is problematic.
The difference between bedbugs and other insects in the house
A bedbug cannot be confused with a cockroach; it does not have wings, like adult specimens, and is smaller in size, and is distinguished from cockroach larvae by its uniform color.
It is almost impossible to visually detect the presence of a parasite in an apartment during the day without targeted searches; the bug is a nocturnal predator.
The pest does not have a tendency to build nests in laundry, like ants, for example. Their place of residence is determined by proximity to a person’s sleeping area - bed, sofa, baseboards, etc.
Specific bites that are detected after waking up speak in favor of a bedbug colony. They are not like lice, which bite around the clock (the bug only does this at night) and are located in open areas, while lice prefer hairy areas.
An important feature of the bug is the peculiar smell of something sour. The larger the colony of insects, the more pronounced it is. This is the “aroma” of the pheromones released.
Ways of occurrence of bedbugs and habitats in the house
Without wings, the parasite cannot cover significant distances, this is obvious. But the flat structure of the body allows the small pest to literally seep through the smallest cracks. In multi-apartment buildings, bedbug specimens calmly move along ventilation shaft corridors, electrical wiring ducts, through sockets, panel joints, etc. | Read about finding bedbug nests...
These are the ways the insect spreads, but this is where bed bugs come from in a single apartment:
In a suitcase from travel/business trips. Staying overnight in contaminated hotels is especially at risk for lovers of the hot tropics. Even one randomly found female is capable of reproducing an entire colony in record time (one clutch contains 5-50 eggs daily!).
With used furniture. Those who want to save money on buying new interior items run the great risk of bringing bloodthirsty guests into the house in addition to a used chair, sofa or bed. Such savings can later turn into even greater expenses. Fighting bed bugs on your own is not always successful, and the services of professional exterminators are not cheap.
On clothes. It is enough to visit an infected apartment or stay overnight and receive a new guest in your own home in the folds of folded/hung clothes.
At night, linen bloodsuckers go out to “hunt”. And during the day they hide in secluded corners near the residents’ sleeping places:
- In the folds of upholstered furniture.
- In wallpaper joints.
- Under the mattresses.
- In bedside drawers.
- In cracks and baseboards.
- Under the paintings.
- On bookshelves.
- In curtains, sockets, etc.
A high level of adaptability allows the parasite to settle even in household appliances, especially those with wooden parts.
Signs of infection
Symptoms of the appearance of bedbugs begin to appear from the first days. However, the person does not pay much attention.
Specific smell
Linen bugs have scent glands. They are activated when the insect is in danger, notifying other relatives about the location of a food source during the mating process. The smell of bedbugs is reminiscent of rotten raspberries, nutmeg, and cheap cognac. It is impossible to get rid of it, it gets worse every day.
Clear evidence
Bites appear on the body. Outwardly they resemble mosquitoes. Red blisters with baked blood in the center. However, bed bug bites have a characteristic arrangement - 2-5 punctures. A kind of track remains on the body. Several bites merge into one huge spot.
Bedbugs bite on the lower and upper limbs, neck, shoulders, and back. Photos of bed bug bites can be seen below. Bites are accompanied by severe itching. In most cases, symptoms go away on their own within a week. Alcohol tinctures, laundry soap, baking soda, and ointments from bedbug bites help get rid of them.
Symptoms of bedbugs
On a note!
Sensitive skin develops a strong allergic reaction, to eliminate which antihistamines and topical ointment are taken.
Traces on the bed
Bloody spots remain. When bedbugs bite, they inject a special substance that prevents the blood from clotting. After the meal, the blood continues to ooze and stains the linen. A well-fed bedbug can be easily killed by turning the body or moving the hand. Small dead specimens and blood stains from the bursting body remain on the bed. Black dots are excrement; skins after molting can also be found.
If at least one sign is present, it is necessary to examine the bed and the entire bedroom. Linen bugs form nests:
- in bed;
- mattress;
- on the bed frame;
- from the back of the furniture,
- in carpets, interior items.
Control of blood-sucking pests
It is unrealistic to leave your home in the hope that the insects will die from exhaustion. You will have to be absent for at least six months, and this is not a guarantee of their destruction. A more reliable way to get rid of bed bugs, other than insecticides, has not yet been invented. Folk remedies can only be auxiliary or preventive.
The best thing you can do if you find a parasite in your home is to seek the services of a bedbug exterminator. Modern technologies (cold fog, hot fog) will not leave a single chance for bloodthirsty insects. Powerful chemicals will completely exterminate the population of laundry pests without the risk of them becoming addicted to the poison.
