Reading time: 8 min
The distribution area of insects is large. They are everywhere - in public transport, at neighbors' houses, in the hairdresser's, in the hair of dogs, cats, parrots.
The presence of bloodsuckers does not depend on the cleanliness of the owners, since their diet consists of the blood of people and animals.
Fleas
Fleas, numbering 2,500 varieties, are collectively called bed fleas or household fleas based on their habitat.
The photo shows that fleas are small brown-black insects with an elongated body covered with a hard chitinous covering, reaching a length of up to 4 mm.
Due to its small size and agility, it is difficult to catch the insect. A flea that has bitten one hairy part of the body quickly jumps to another area.
A flea bite appears as a red spot with bleeding in the center. When scratching, there is a high risk of suppuration at the bite sites, allergies to saliva, up to anaphylactic shock.
When pierced, fleas infect:
- helminths;
- encephalitis;
- salmonellosis;
- listeriosis;
- plague;
- fungal infections.
Insects bite into a complex piercing-sucking mouthparts, penetrating a blood vessel and sucking up blood.
In search of a suitable puncture site, insects make test bites, which is why there is an accumulation of red spots in one place.
The presence of fleas in the bed is determined by the presence of black spots (waste) on the sheets and small blood spots in the form of a comma.
Lice
An adult linen louse has a small head and a narrow, elongated body, reaching a length of 3 mm.
A light gray translucent insect with three pairs of legs located closer to the head, it acquires a brown or brown color after being saturated with blood.
The lifespan of a louse is limited to 35 days. During this period, the female lays up to four hundred nits. The larvae look similar, but are smaller in size (from 0.5 mm).
Insects are brought into the house after close contact with people in whose clothes lice live. More often, such situations arise when spending the night in hostels, tents, or traveling in public transport during rush hour.
Distinctive signs of bed lice bites:
- punctures are painless due to the injection of insect saliva with an anesthetic substance;
- a red papule with clearly defined edges appears at the site of the bite;
- swollen spots similar to mosquito spots, but with a red dot in the center.
Linen lice bite on any parts of the body, but more often on those that are in close contact with bedding - sides, lower back, arms, shoulders, stomach.
- dry itchy spots on different parts of the body, causing pain when scratched;
- scars on the skin, even where there were no bites;
- cyanosis at puncture sites;
- ulcers, boils;
- pyoderma;
- pigmentation, thickening of the skin.
Lice can cause allergies, trench fever, and typhus.
Unlike jumping fleas, bed lice move slowly. Insects can survive without food for a week.
The clearly visible puncture site is explained by the fact that during a bite the lice completely immerse the head under the skin.
For more information about body lice, watch the video below:
Bedbugs
Common habitats of bedbugs:
- behind objects hanging on the walls (paintings, clocks, carpets;
- in and under the mattress;
- under baseboards;
- in upholstery of upholstered furniture;
- between the wall and sockets;
- in the spines of books, in home appliances.
Among family members, the one whose vessels are located closer to the surface and whose skin is thinner is chosen as an object for nutrition. An adult insect only needs to eat once a week, while a growing insect needs to eat every day.
Symptoms identifying bedbug bites:
- swollen red spots with a protruding puncture site;
- multiple bites of one insect with an interval of 2–4 cm (path);
- interrupted sleep, irritability;
- hives.
The anesthetic in the saliva is present only in adult bedbugs; in young insects the anesthetic substance is absent.
Bedbugs do not pose an epidemiological threat to people, since there have been no cases of infection with any diseases after bites.
The peculiarity of bedbugs is the presence of a gland that secretes a secretion with the smell of cognac or fermented raspberries.
How to distinguish bed bugs from other insects in the video below:
Ticks
Bed or dust mites can only be seen under a microscope.
The small arachnid has a triangular head, a flat body covered with a chitinous shell. The insect is attached to the surface by suction cups located at the ends of four pairs of legs.
The tick is not a blood-sucking tick and does not bite; its diet consists of keratinized particles of the epidermis remaining on sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases.
Insects settle and create colonies in feather pillows, woolen blankets, carpets and even household dust.
People who are sensitive to the excrement of microscopic mites experience complications:
- rhinitis, sinusitis;
- dermatitis;
- bronchial asthma;
- hearing impairment;
- cough, sneezing without other signs of viral respiratory diseases;
- conjunctivitis.
Ticks settle in prosperous families, where everything is in order with hygiene. But the number of insects increases sharply in homes with unsanitary conditions.
You can learn more about bed mites from the video below:
Ways to fight
A vacuum cleaner will not help either, since thanks to its flat body, insects crawl into the far corners under the baseboards, where no nozzle can reach.
Creation extreme temperatures
Steamers are used to treat beds, upholstered furniture, curtains, and carpets. At temperatures of 180°C and above, adult bedbugs and their larvae die.
To get rid of body lice, just wash your clothes in hot water, iron the seams.
Application insecticides
Common products are Karbofos, Dichlorvos, Raptor. When using them, it is necessary to apply safety precautions and strictly follow the instructions for use.
It is difficult to get rid of multiplied bedbugs on your own. More often called special service, whose employees carry out 2 treatments with an interval of 2 weeks.
Fleas are destroyed primarily on the fur of pets using special drops and shampoos.
Bedding, carpeting and all places where larvae may be located are treated twice with aerosols and insecticidal solutions.
Within the framework of the Federal program, when submitting an application until October 12.(inclusive) every resident of the Russian Federation and the CIS can receive one package of Toximin FOR FREE!
- general cleaning with dust removal in hard to reach places, washing floors using vinegar, chlorine-containing products, ammonia;
- weekly change of bed linen, washing, ironing;
- ventilation of rooms;
- laying out dried flowers of tansy, wormwood, and mint at the doorstep;
- replacement feather pillows anti-allergenic;
- sealing cracks around double-glazed windows, doors, and baseboards;
- installing fine mesh in the ventilation hole;
- Dry cleaning or washing in hot water items purchased secondhand or at a thrift store.
Quite often, upon waking up, a person realizes that he was bitten by some kind of insect during the night. As a rule, a person is tormented by guesses and the first desire that appears in him is to punish the culprit for the appearance of bite sites. The most dangerous insects are considered bed bugs. Mosquitoes, although considered very annoying insects, do not cause such panic fear and disgust as bedbugs. If it turns out that the bite sites do not belong to bedbugs, then the person breathes a sigh of relief, since it is much easier to fight such insects (not bedbugs). What kind of insects can bite a person at night?
Important to know! Fleas leave behind chaotically located bite sites, compared to bedbugs, whose bite sites are located in the form of a path.
Interesting fact! In European countries, during the Middle Ages, people washed themselves quite rarely, as this was considered a manifestation of holiness, and lice were considered “pearls of God.” In those days, people, like monkeys, often looked for lice from each other.
Important to know! Although it is believed that the presence of lice (pediculosis) is the first sign of unsanitary conditions, lice can also appear in people who take care of themselves. This especially affects preschool and school age, since they are most actively in contact with each other. Pediculosis is a contagious disease!
Linen lice are distinguished by their small size and the fact that they leave bite marks on open areas of the body. This type of lice is quite dangerous because you can get typhus from them.
- Hang things outside when the temperature is below minus 10 degrees.
- Items should only be washed in hot water.
- After washing, items must be ironed with a hot iron.
As a rule, females need blood to reproduce. They bite a person's open areas bodies, and sometimes reach the skin through thin underwear. The bite sites are characterized by redness and swelling, as well as severe itching. As a rule, children cannot withstand such consequences and begin to scratch the wounds, sometimes until they bleed, which can lead to infection. Bite sites may be located randomly.
Cockroach bites are a fairly rare but real phenomenon. Cases have been recorded of cockroaches gnawing the skin near the lips, nails, and eyelashes of infants. This behavior of Prussians is typical for conditions when the colony is too numerous and they lack moisture and food. These are rather exceptions, since much more often small specimens end up in a person’s ears, after which it is quite difficult to get them out of the ear, especially on their own. Often people turn to their doctor with this very request.
Interesting to know
Some species can be identified by just one specific bite, but it’s still better to look at the bloodsucker in person.
In truth, our lovers of waste and crumbs, cockroaches, can also crawl into bed, but this is rare. With a lack of moisture, red-haired and mustachioed animals can gnaw the epithelium in the lip area on a person.
Bedbugs and their way of life
These are the largest bloodsuckers in our beds. Below you can see the bedbugs. This is roughly the picture they will imagine if they suddenly turn on the light at night and look into their bed.
Bedbugs also locate their nests closer to humans. Below in the photo is a cluster of eggs and adults right in the sofa.
Review
We are a clean family and have never encountered bedbugs. And then in the morning, like a bolt from the blue, bites began to be discovered. And this is in winter!!! One night we woke up on purpose and found a bug right in our bed. Horrible, such a creature! Nasty, greasy and smelly! You may not believe it, but I even moved in with my mother for a while while my husband dealt with this. He called some specialists and processed it. Now I still check it every day.
Lilia, Ekaterinburg
Any bug, be it a larva or an adult, must drink blood at least once. Small ones need it for development, big ones need it to increase their numbers. The only thing they can feed on is human blood. They pierce the skin with their trunk and make their way to the blood vessel. Sometimes in the morning you can find bloody marks on the sheets. This is a sign that a person, tossing and turning in his sleep, crushed a bug with his body.
This is interesting
Bedbugs are characterized by nocturnal activity. During the day, you won’t see them casually walking around the apartment; they carefully hide behind carpets, under mattress upholstery, in cabinet furniture, behind paintings, baseboards, etc. Their hunt for humans begins late at night, at about two or three o'clock.
If you completely disassemble a bed or sofa, you can find nests that have no structure. These are disgusting aggregations of eggs, larvae and adults.
What are the consequences of a bug bite
Like most bites, bug bites are simply reddish spots on the skin with a mark from the inserted proboscis. Most often, the bug leaves a peculiar series of such bites (3-7 pieces each). If you spot such a path on your body, you know that bedbugs are biting you!
If there is a large infection or a person is sensitive to its bites, an allergy may develop. This puts children at risk of developing anemia. The rashes from the bites are too profuse, and in some cases they can fester. This causes a lot of discomfort.
Bed bugs are clear carriers of many infectious diseases through their bites, but there are no recorded cases of transmission of hepatitis and HIV infection.
How to defeat bedbugs
There are only two ways for a person to get rid of bedbugs:
Those who want to save money can try to withdraw them on our own, however, do not forget that this does not save your time and effort. And if you contact companies, it is important not to run into scammers, carefully study the documents and first read reviews about it.
If you notice bed bugs in your sofa, keep in mind that they can be frozen out. But you will need a temperature below -20 degrees. You will take out the furniture and freeze it outside. But, unfortunately, the method is not always effective, since bedbugs often hide in other places in the room.
Just like frost, you can kill insects with heat. This requires a temperature of plus 50 and above. This can be achieved using industrial heat fans, observing safety measures.
How to fight fleas
This is interesting
Fleas and their hosts, rats, caused the spread of plague in the Middle Ages, as a result of which almost a third of Europe died out.
Their bites are incredibly similar to bedbug bites and can also be in the form of a chain. It is not difficult to notice fleas on light-colored underwear, but catching them is not so easy. They jump quickly, and not every person can react.
They should be destroyed in two steps: first from the spreading animal, then throughout the premises.
To poison fleas indoors, you need to use the same means as for bedbugs, but a veterinarian will recommend a remedy for your pet.
Lice
Lice in your bed are rare. They spend their entire lives in the hairy part of the head. They are quite clumsy and slow, so any fall from their hair can be fatal for them. They constantly need blood, and once they fall down, it is no longer possible for them to climb to a food source.
As we have already said, they spend their entire lives on the head or pubic area of a person. There are also types of linen, but they are not so common now. They mainly affect homeless people and tramps who do not change or wash their clothes for a long time.
Lice bites are not as painful as those of fleas or bedbugs. But they can also cause a lot of discomfort with their itching.
Review
Elena, Arzamas
Can a cockroach bite at night?
It is unlikely that a cockroach will attack a person. For him, it is much more interesting how many crumbs and leftovers of other food are in the kitchen. Only in some cases, when their population has increased incredibly or there is not enough water, they can crawl into bed and gnaw the surface of the skin of the lips or near the nose. By the way, in dormitories such cases occur more often. For some reason, cockroaches are especially attracted to children. Apparently because the skin is more delicate. 
As you can see, these insects do not suck our blood and their bites are not at all like flea or bedbug bites.
Be that as it may, the bite site of any of the above-mentioned insects should be treated. To reduce your itching risk of contracting a disease:
- Wash the bite area with soap
- Treat with alcohol, propolis or calendula tincture
- Apply gel like Fenistil.
But only if after a bite a person experiences an undesirable reaction (headache, fever, strange rashes), you should not hesitate and consult a doctor. Allergies to bites can be different for everyone. And even if the symptoms are not too severe now, things may become more serious in the future.
Dust mites enter the house with a person. You can bring it on your clothes after traveling on public transport or going to the hairdresser. During walks, dust mites can cling to your pet's fur.
Signs of presence
To determine the presence, special medical tests are performed. It is possible to fully recover from allergies only if all insects in the house are destroyed using quality product from dust mites.
Tick waste products can provoke the development of the following pathologies:
- Bronchial asthma.
- Sore throat.
- Scabies.
- Allergic rash.
- Dry cough.
- Atopic dermatitis.
- Headache frequent.
These insects can also carry infectious diseases, even such as plague, typhus, tularemia.
Preventing dust mites
Fleas in the apartment
- on dogs;
- cats;
- birds;
- rodents.
Description of the insect
An adult reaches 0.5 mm in length. The insect's mouthparts have a piercing-sucking structure and the body is flattened on the sides. It is almost impossible to kill an individual with cotton.
Fleas are localized in small crevices and cracks, behind baseboards and wallpaper, under carpets, floors, near pet beds and trash cans.
These insects are characterized by high fertility, so they can significantly increase their population in a minimum period of time. Their bites are painful and unpleasant.
Removing all pests from your home is quite simple. The main thing is to prevent them from being “populated” again. If you have pets in the house, it is advisable to wear special anti-flea collars on them.
Lice
When a person prone to allergies is bitten, a rash appears on the body. It can develop into purulent formations - ulcers, boils and even pyoderma. These insects can carry typhus and relapsing fever, so it is very important to know how to remove lice.
So, how to get rid of lice?
- All bed linen must be washed in washing machine at a temperature of 90 °C. Ideal option- boiling.
- Dry laundry must be ironed. Use steam when doing this.
- You must take your mattress, pillow and blanket to the dry cleaner.
- Items that cannot be washed are recommended to be treated with special chemicals.
- Upholstered furniture and carpets also need to be treated with insecticides.
bed bug
- under the mattress;
- in the crevices of furniture;
- behind the carpet.
The insect has a flat body 4-8 mm long. The size of the bug may increase depending on the filling of the feeding tract. At the same time, females larger size than males.
The surface of the body has characteristic serrations, which allow the individual to move quickly even along the ceiling. There is a small proboscis on the head, which the insect uses to pierce human skin. There are 2 canals in the jaw:
- to release enzymes along with saliva;
- swallowing blood.
Hungry bugs climb to the ceiling and from there fall onto a sleeping person. These insects feed only on human blood. In exceptional situations, they can “feast” on the blood of pets: dogs, cats, rodents, birds. Such food can only support their vital functions. In this case, the larvae do not develop, and adults do not reproduce.
For normal life, a bug only needs to drink blood once every ten days. He drinks about seven milliliters of blood. Trying to find a suitable area of skin with a blood vessel, the bug makes a series of bites. They become inflamed and itchy.
Bedbugs are not carriers of various diseases. But they are dangerous for people prone to allergies. Such bites can cause the development of Quincke's edema.
The metabolic process of bedbugs may stop during the period of lack of food. If the hunger strike lasts about a month, the insect enters a state of suspended animation. If necessary, it can last up to two years. Moreover, if eggs have been formed in the female’s body, she can extract nutrients from them.
As soon as the bug smells human body, his vitality They return and he immediately attacks. After the first intake of blood into the body, it returns to its previous life.
Bed bugs reproduce at an incredible speed and lay eggs in the most secluded corners of the apartment and even in household appliances.
Method of dealing with bedbugs
You should be concerned about preventative measures that will prevent bedbugs from entering your home. But if the individual has already penetrated, then for it to be created unfavorable conditions. In this case, the bug will not be able to actively reproduce and will quickly leave this home. So:
- It is necessary to carry out regularly wet cleaning floor, adding to water essential oils, ammonia, vinegar, etc.
- In places where insects may live, you can lay out bunches of plants: tansy, mint, wormwood.
Mosquitoes enter the house through open doors and windows. After the bites of these annoying insects, itchy pimples remain on the body. They often flow into allergic edema, to which children are especially prone. Mosquitoes can also transmit infectious diseases through their bite. Therefore, you need to choose the right means to combat Today in stores you can find special fumigators, aroma sticks, stickers, aerosols and creams that repel these insects.
Only females feed on blood.
Often in large quantities mosquitoes live in wetlands. They often live in basements and storage rooms where it is cool and damp. From there they enter the apartments.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches are known to many who have at least once lived in a hostel. Unwashed dishes, lack of hygiene, uncleaned food debris - these are the main reasons for the reproduction and habitat of these harmful insects.
But sometimes cockroaches appear in houses where cleanliness is maintained. They enter the house through:
- basements;
- ventilation holes;
- attics;
- cracks in baseboards;
- from nearby catering establishments;
- from landfills.
These unpleasant insects can easily be brought back from a business trip.
As soon as a cockroach settles in the house, it chooses cozy place- kitchen. It's warm, humid, and there's plenty of food. Most often in this room insects hide behind the baseboards and gas stove, in the cracks of the hood, in furniture.
They can also be found in living rooms. They often hide under mattresses, in closets, behind pictures and baseboards, under carpets and in household appliances.
Cockroaches are unpleasant to people not only because of their specific smell and unaesthetic appearance. They are also carriers of dangerous diseases, because they come into contact with waste and already lost food. These insects can cause the development of tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis, polio, and gastroenteritis.
Insects that seem harmless at first glance can bite painfully. Children often suffer from them.
Cockroach bites, their excrement, and dead particles of shells can cause serious allergic reaction.
- "Raptor";
- "Dichlorvos";
- "Dohloks";
- crayons;
- trap containers;
- ointments;
- creams.
Can also help in the fight against cockroaches folk remedies based on boric acid:
- 200 g of borax powder is mixed with starch, vanillin and powdered sugar. This mixture is diluted to a dough-like state with water.
- Boric acid is mixed with pre-cooked yolk. This mixture is rolled into balls of small diameter and placed in places where insects often appear. Also boric acid You can treat the sink and toilet. Drinking water from these containers will result in the death of insects.
How to determine which insect suddenly began to bite you at night? Who leaves itchy red spots on your body that itch so unbearably?
There are only four types of such blood-sucking creatures: bedbugs, fleas, mosquitoes, head lice or body lice. You have to quickly and accurately determine which insects bite you in bed. And only after that take specific measures or, as it is fashionable to say now, look for individual approach to the problem.
How to determine which insects bite in bed?
“Once I found myself in a terrible situation. I was sent on a business trip to one of the cities Central Russia, in summer. It was quite hot, I slept with open window. In the morning, when I got up, I couldn’t believe my eyes - one hand was covered in bites. It turns out that there was either a lake or a swamp nearby. And mosquitoes bit me. For some reason they didn't itch. Of course, the first thing I did was inspect the linen – I couldn’t find any stains or insects. I had to wear long sleeves to work. Believe it or not, we counted over 400 bites. It's good that they were mosquitoes and not bedbugs. But then it itched terribly.” Elena, Yaroslavl.
If you are very lucky, it will be mosquitoes. The worst option is bedbugs, although all the others are not very good.
Even if the problem arose in the fall or winter, the appearance of mosquitoes in the apartment is quite possible - after ventilation grilles they may well fly into the apartment from the basement. How do we check? We carefully examine the upper part of the walls and ceiling - mosquitoes prefer to sit there. Small insects are especially unpleasant; they are difficult to detect, and they bite no less.
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- What do bed bugs look like in the photo?
Another sign is that all the bites are located on those parts of the body that were not covered at night. Here you must decide for yourself which hand or foot you have on top of the blanket. Compare and draw conclusions. If the suspicions are still strong enough, turn on the fumigator at night and treat the ventilation grilles with an insecticide.
If you are bitten by insects in bed at night and it is definitely not mosquitoes, we inspect the bed linen. If there are characteristic smeared blood spots, you can rest assured that you have bedbugs. If the linen is colored, replace it with white. You will have to get up at night a couple of nights in a row and check the beds for insects.
Bed bugs are nocturnal, and the easiest time to spot them is around 2-3 in the morning - this is when they go out hunting. Against a white background, the dark brown shells of bedbugs are clearly visible. They do not move as fast as cockroaches and you can catch them quickly enough. Please note - catch, but not take out. This is a separate story, and we will return to it a little later.
- What do bed bug bites look like on the human body?
Bedbugs leave marks on the human body in the form of a chain of bites located next to each other. You can even find them under pajamas or a nightgown - the bug can get under the blanket and under clothes.
Rating of the most effective means against bed bugs -
House fleas
The next contender is fleas. Here we can highlight following features bites:
- There are many bites and they are scattered.
- Very severe itching.
The presence of animals in the house is not at all necessary for fleas to appear. They can be accidentally brought in on the soles of shoes. They are most active in the morning; it is at this time that fleas attack humans.
It should be noted that their bites are quite painful and you have to sleep very soundly in order not to notice them. Moreover, if you find red spots on your ankles or legs, then this is definitely and without a doubt – fleas. It is almost impossible to catch insects; they move very quickly and have the ability to jump to a height of up to one meter.
- What do flea bites look like on the human body and how can they be dangerous?
Fleas have a strong chitinous shell that can be crushed only with some effort. Therefore, you will not find dead insects in the bed.
When purchasing, you should make sure that the bottle contains the inscription “from fleas.” You can also use insecticidal chalk in the area front door. This simple measure will help prevent fleas from entering the apartment from the entrance.
Lice feed on human blood every three to four hours. To do this, they crawl onto the skin from the hair or clothing where they live. If the infection is severe, scratches may form, which can lead to peeing. In such cases, we are talking about the fact that insects end up in bed with a person.
- What do linen lice and their bites look like on the human body?
It is necessary to carefully examine the head, and if there are bites on the body, then the clothing, especially the stitches. These should not be neglected simple actions, based on the principle “this simply cannot happen.” Maybe even very much so, regardless of you and your desire.
You need to start fighting lice immediately. If a dress louse can be removed quickly, then you will have to suffer with a head louse - in addition to washing your hair with special products, you need to regularly comb out the nits with fine combs.
Insects in furniture
If you find blood-sucking insects in your bed, you will have to check the furniture as well. We will look for bedbugs and cockroaches. We were not mistaken, we are talking about cockroaches. There are known cases when insects ate dry crusts from a person’s lips at night. It's unpleasant, but it's a well-known fact.
Cockroaches live not only in kitchen furniture, but also in closets, sofas, chests of drawers. Especially where there are a lot of old magazines or newspapers.
- Can cockroaches bite humans and what do their bites look like?
To avoid poisoning yourself, your household and animals, you can use gels containing bait and potent poison. Globol gel and Maxforce gel are considered the most universal in this regard.
Globol gel
German contact action drug with high efficiency. Designed specifically to combat cockroaches. The active substance is chlorpyrifos. Available in a tube, weight – 75 grams. One package is enough to process approximately 60 square meters.
The principle of operation is to infect insects on contact. A cockroach, when it gets on the gel, becomes a carrier of the toxic substance. At the same time, it does not die immediately, and manages to infect several individuals before this time.
The price of the drug is from 140 rubles.