Definition
Bedbugs (Latin: Cimex lectularius), also called house bugs, belong to the family of flat bugs. Stings of the bedbug cause typical skin phenomena and symptoms, which are summarized as a clinical picture under the term cimicosis. Bedbugs establish their habitat in the sleeping quarters of warm-blooded animals. Therefore, the human bed is a popular habitat for bedbugs. There it feeds on blood and lives as a classic parasite.
Causes for bedbugs
Many people wonder what they can do to prevent bedbugs. To do this, it is first of all important to know the causes of the infestation with the unwelcome parasites. Bedbugs are often brought home from hotels, hostels, holiday apartments or long-distance trains as silent passengers.
There, when unpacking their suitcases, they enter the bedroom completely unnoticed and spread in the bed at home. In theory, one pregnant female is sufficient to cause extensive bedbug infestation. If, after spending the night in hotels, guesthouses or sleeping compartments on trains, you notice insect bites on your body that are not clearly caused by mosquitoes, you should be careful.
You should not unpack your possibly infested luggage near the bed and follow professional instructions for finding the bedbugs. Buying used furniture, antiques or clothing also carries a certain risk of bedbugs being carried away. For this reason, used items should always be professionally cleaned before they are allowed to move into your own four walls.
It is important to understand that bedbugs have nothing to do with a lack of hygiene. Therefore, you should not be ashamed of an infestation. It is not clear why bedbug infestation has increased massively, especially in recent years, even in large German cities. Researchers suspect that bedbugs are increasingly resistant to pesticides and are therefore more difficult to control. As a result, they can spread further.
How can you spot bedbugs?
Bedbugs are very difficult to detect. They are true kings of the game of hide-and-seek and use every conceivable means to disappear from the human field of vision. Sockets, window cracks, bed drawers and even conduits are just a few examples of typical locations of bedbugs.
The approximately 1-7mm long bloodsuckers are yellow to reddish brown and have a flat, oval body. After sucking blood their body swells up to about 10 mm. The abdomen takes on a dark red to black colour.
The parasites are shady and nocturnal, so they are difficult to find during the day. Bedbugs usually infest humans in the early morning hours and suck blood for up to 20 minutes. During this time they could be visible.
However, bedbugs are usually only noticed by the symptoms they cause. Stings on the skin are of course a sign of bedbugs. However, they are often confused with other insect bites.
Another indication of bedbugs is a kind of “sweetish” smell in the bedroom, which is secreted by the parasite’s glands. Apart from this, small black dots can rarely be found around potential hiding places of bedbugs. These are excrement spots of the bedbugs. In most cases, however, the infestation is only conspicuous by its symptoms.
