Bed bugs are the last thing you want to see as you doze off to sleep at night.
Here are five facts to help identify and prevent the creatures from taking over your personal space, according to the CDC:
Bed bugs are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, and range in size from 1mm to 7mm.
- Bedbugs don't only live in your bed - they can infest seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, dresser tables, inside cracks or crevices, behind wallpaper, or any other clutter or objects around a bed.
Bed bugs have been shown to be able to travel over 100 feet in a night but tend to live within eight feet of where people sleep.
Bed bugs are not considered to be dangerous. Bite responses can range from an absence of any physical signs of the bite, to a small bite mark, to a serious allergic reaction.
Bed bugs are experts at hiding and traveling - their slim flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and stay there for long periods of time, even without a blood meal.
If you suspect that you have a bed bug infestation, it is best to contact a professional pest control company or your landlord. Additionally, it is important to wash all linens, clothing and other surfaces where the bugs might be hiding.
