Monday 15 February 2016

Bed Bugs - Little Pesky Buggers

Comfortable living in a healthy style is what we believe in the 21st century. To maintain a healthy and hygienic home, the first thing to be taken care of is the infestation of pests. There are varieties of pests which are found hiding in our homes unnoticed. These pests not only make our homes infected but at times, they cause many serious diseases.
One of such pests is ‘BED BUGS’. Although bed bug bites are not dangerous, this doesn’t mean they should be treated offhandedly. Bed bugs are flat & oval shaped, basically found in beddings, mattress or sofas. They fulfill their nutritional requirements through human blood.
Bed bugs are rapid breeders and they grow into colony very fast. They commute through human bodies or hidden in beddings. If you have ever found blood spots on your sheets, it is time for you to know about ‘bed bug bites’.

Bed bug bites:Bed bug bites’ are not poisonous; it does not transmit any disease. Bed bug bite leaves you scratchy, but at times, you may not experience any discomfort from them.
Appearance:
Bed bugs bites usually occur:
  • A red clutter or a zigzag line on skin.
  • It can be a rash or a red swollen pimple.
  • One can also get blisters or hives around the bitten area.
They can appear anywhere in your body.The most likely area where bed bug bites are the exposed body parts like neck, face, arms or legs.
Symptoms:
It is not necessary that you may get an infection from a bug bite; it is possible that you may not even get to know that you were bitten the previous night. Bed bug bites occur as a red rash on the skin and normally is not infectious.
It is very rare that it may cause any harm but for people highly allergic it is possible that it could swell vividly and can take the shape of blisters.
Risks:
The only risk from bed bug bites is the secondary infection. Keep the bite clean & do not scratch the bite excessively. This secondary infection can cause body pain and fever. Children & elderly people are prone to secondary infection.
Treatment:
A good antiseptic cream or an anti-itch cream is good enough to get you rid of the scratching bites. If you still don’t find it better use ice packs on the infected part take a painkiller to soothe the pain from scratching.
Prevention:
Bed bugs are the easiest to wipe out. You can either hire a pest control professional help or just use few home tricks to sweep them away. Below are the tips to get them out of your home:
  • If there are bed bugs in your bed the first step you need to take is isolate the bed immediately, as bed bugs can very easily spread to your home very quickly.
  • Expose your mattresses to sunlight at least once in a week. Sunlight helps in eradicating them.
  • Take care while buying second-hand furniture, it can bring bugs to your home.
  • Keep your mattresses & sofa seats in zipped covers.
  • While coming back from vacations make sure you don’t bring along the bugs from the hotel where you stayed.
  • Put some kerosene oil into the joints of your furniture, the smell of kerosene oil is bed bug repellent.
Bed bugs are a common problem & bed bug bites are easily treatable. But bed bugs may be huge nuisances when they grow up to form colonies, so be careful and search your home right now for their existence.