Have you ever awakened from a night of sleeping and found a bite mark on your arm, leg, or torso? It can be a strange thing and is quick to get someone thinking. What was your first thought when you found the red, raised mark on your skin? Did you immediately assume it was a spider? Did you check your body for more bites to see if the culprit bit you more than once? Maybe you checked your pets to see if they brought fleas inside. One thing that could have bitten you is bed bugs. The question is, how can you tell if you are being bitten by bed bugs or some other pest? We have your answer today and some things you should know to keep these invasive blood-feeders out of your home.
Why Bed Bugs Bite?
Different pests eat different things. Some eat regular food, others eat paper and fabrics. Bed bugs feed on blood. To get a regular blood meal these pests use their elongated beaks to bite sleeping humans or animals. When not feeding, bed bugs stay out of sight, hiding around homes in hard-to-reach areas where they won’t be easily seen. This is part of the reason bed bugs are so difficult to identify.
Identifying A Bed Bug Bite
Although it might seem impossible to identify what pest caused the bite mark on your skin, there are many subtle signs that will help you find your culprit. Spiders leave two distinct fang marks. Fleas bite several times in one area in sporadic patterns, often around the ankles. Bed bugs are a bit different. These pests feed multiple times moving backward between each draw of blood. This results in a stretch of bites that appear in a straight line or zig-zag pattern. Depending on your tolerance to these pests, these bites may appear red and raised, red and not raised, or not red or raised at all.
More Ways To Identify Bed Bugs
Because bed bugs are so good at hiding, it is important that you know some other ways to identify these pests around your home. Here are just a few helpful signs we recommend you check for in your living areas.
- Bloodstains on bed linens and around areas you sleep
- Reddish black fecal droppings around beds, along baseboards, near outlets, and surrounding hard-to-reach areas around your home
- Small cream-colored eggs inside cracks and crevices around your home
- A musty odor in the air
How To Avoid A Bed Bug Infestation
Bed bugs get into homes by sneaking rides on items people carry. To reduce your chances of bringing these pests home with you, we recommend taking some precautions when out and about. This involves inspecting rooms you will be sleeping in before settling down, washing clothing on high heat immediately after getting home from vacation, not setting items down in public for more than 20 minutes, and teaching your family and friends about bed bugs so they can identify and handle these pests on their own.
What To Do About Bed Bugs Inside Your Home?
Bed bugs are some of the most difficult pests to prevent and even more difficult to eliminate. If you are having trouble with these blood-feeding insects around your living areas, please do not hesitate to get our team involved. At American Pest Solutions, we invest the time, energy, and resources into making sure we have the absolute best bed bug control possible.
Call our team today to talk to one of our representatives about your options and find your Western Massachusetts home’s best answer to sleep-wrecking pests.