Parasites come in all shapes and sizes. They can feed on many different plants, animals and insects. Parasites can use other species to find food, shelter, water or some other necessity. We as humans are not immune to parasites. One of the few parasites that feed off of us are bed bugs. These insects use us for food. But, why do bed bugs bite in a line? Often, bedbugs will bite three times. Between each time they bite, they will travel a little further across a persons body. This puts their bites in a line.
Bedbugs are blood feeders. They will find a patch of skin, inject their mouth parts, and then feed off of our blood. Once they’ve engorged themselves, they will find a place to sit and consume what they’ve eaten. These parasites will use the energy from each meal to move through their life cycles. This may be a molt, or part of the reproductive process. These insects reproduce fairly quickly.
HOW DO BED BUGS BITE?
Bedbugs use stealth to get their meal. They will usually hide in the seams of the bed, and then come out at night when they are least likely to be detected. They’ll find a suitable patch of skin, and proceed to bite their victim. They have sucking mouth parts, that they will inject into a person. As they do this, they inject a small amount of saliva that works as an anesthetic and anticoagulant. This keeps them from being noticed. Contact a Tulsa Exterminator for help.
Because bedbugs feed at night, they often go unnoticed until the infestation is very large. Bedbugs are a distant relative of bat bugs. Bat bugs are parasites of the bat. It is believed that when we lived in caves, bat bugs made their way down the walls and fed upon the humans sleeping on the floor. Those bugs were the ones to become bedbugs. Bat bugs do still exist, but they prefer bats, and bedbugs prefer humans.
ARE BED BUG BITES DANGEROUS?
There have been many tests and studies to find out if bedbugs are dangerous. Scientist have not found any diseases that have been spread by bedbugs. The reason for this is because of the way that they draw blood from us. Their mouth parts are made in such a way that they can only draw blood out. Other insects, such as the tick, have mouth parts that allow a small amount of blood to go back into the bloodstream as they feed. This allows for disease to transfer back into the person they’re biting.
As much as bedbugs are not a disease carrying insect, they still have negative side effects. Bedbugs can be psychologically damaging to many people. There is a stigma associated with bedbugs infestation. The fact that these insects prey upon us in our most vulnerable state of sleep weighs heavy on many people. The simple fear of insects and being bitten is difficult enough. It’s important to understand that these insects do not carry or spread disease to us, and infestations can be eliminated. Contact your Tulsa pest control company for more help.
LIFECYCLE
Bedbugs entire life cycle is dependent upon their food supply. Bedbugs begin as an egg. Once these eggs hatch, they release a nymph. A nymph is a smaller version of the adult bedbug. These names will need to feed in order to grow. A blood meal is needed to go through each stage of their life cycle. As the insect grows, it will need to molt or shed its skin. This is because the exoskeleton can only grow to a certain point. Once that point is reached, it must shed that skin and start with a new exoskeleton.
The nymph will molt five times before it reaches sexual maturity. That means it will need to feed five times as well. Once it achieve sexual maturity, it will mate. After mating, the female will take a blood meal, and then lay eggs. Then the process starts again. These insects do not care for their young, and do not discriminate against mates. A good Oklahoma Pest Control company has more information.
HOW DO THEY TRAVEL?
Bedbugs can crawl quite quickly. They can move up to 3 feet a minute. While this is not extremely fast to us, it is fast for their size. These insects do not fly nor do they have wings. When they are fully engorged with food, they are much slower. During the day they are very dormant. They were usually find a spot on a mattress scene or a bed frame to rest. They will use this dormancy to survive long periods without food. A bedbug can survive up to a year without a meal.
Bedbugs can also hitch a ride. When an infestation gets to a certain size, often some of them will attempt to leave and find a new place to set up camp. They will attach to the pant leg of a person or a book bag or some other article of clothing. Once they find a new suitable place, they will drop off and begin anew. This is how infestations move from place to place. One of the biggest places this happens is in hotels and dorm rooms.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BED BUGS
Bedbugs can be very difficult to remove. But extermination is possible. Bedbugs have shown an ability to become immune to certain pesticides. Because of this, most over-the-counter pesticides found in hardware stores are ineffective. It’s important that if you believe that you have a bedbug problem, that you contact an Oklahoma exterminator. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are very effective at removing bed bug infestations. Call us today for a free estimate. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Broken Arrow, Coweta, Claremore, Sapulpa, Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Pratville, Berryhill and more. We’re here to help!