Bed bugs should not be taken lightly. These little pests do not only have the power to mess up your sleep but they can also cause serious health concerns. Therefore, you should take all the necessary precautions to ensure that you and your family are not attacked.
In some cases, however, there is nothing that you can do in as far as the control is concerned. For instance, if you are attacked in a hotel or a friend’s house, the only thing that you can do is to manage the itchiness that comes with bed bug bites. So, it’s important to learn the control and the prevention at the same time.
But first, let’s look at the effects that these annoying pests have on your health.
image source: pestworld.org
Effects of Bed Bugs on Human Health
Ordinarily, bed bugs attack you to suck your blood. They are parasites that only get nourishment through this route. This leaves your skin feeling itchy and with reddish bumps. In severe cases, the blood sucking may leave you anemic. Other health concerns that are related to bed bug infestation are:
- Allergies: These do not occur to everyone. Some show mild forms and others, extreme reactions that call for medical intervention.
- Infections: By piercing your skin, bed bugs make way for pathogenic agents to enter your body and to cause systemic infections.
- Sleep Deprivation: Bed bugs are generally nocturnal (night feeders). They’ll attack you at night when you are asleep, thus interfering with your rest. In some cases, they may lead to insomnia (complete lack of sleep).
- Mental Conditions: The annoyance from the pest contributes to mental issues such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis (in dire cases).
Here Comes the Control
According to the pest control expert Merle Jackson from Eugene Oregon’s Pest Control Company Merle’s Pest Control suggests calling a professional company to evaluate the problem. She suggests starting with these more obvious steps first.
At home, there are a number of things that you can do to reduce or totally eliminate the bed bug population. The most effective approaches are:
- Proper Laundry: Considering that bed bugs hide a lot in clothes and bedding materials, it’s wise to wash them. When done, you should heat-dry them to make sure that the bed bug eggs are totally destroyed.
- Vacuuming: For things that you can’t wash like the carpet, upholstered furniture, and bed framework, you should vacuum them. You should also vacuum crevices to ensure that the bugs don’t hide there.
- Get Rid of Clutter: Clutter provides a hiding place for the parasites. You need to take out what you are not using in the bedroom and in other parts of the house. You should keep them in the store after controlling the pests. You should also reduce piles as the bugs are smart enough to hide where you can’t reach with your control measure.
- Heat Treatment: Bed bugs are easily killed by heat. The easiest way to kill them is to take everything in the house outside under the sun. The heat is enough to kill the parasites. For small items, you should put them in black polythene bags. The bags absorb heat fast and will facilitate a swift killing of the bed bugs.
image source: consumerreports.org
In case the home control approaches to do work, just call a bed bug elimination company. The company will send experts over who will apply the right chemical solutions to destroy both the eggs and the adult bed bugs completely.
Treatment for Bites
If it happens that you are attacked, here are the things that you can do to reduce the itchiness:
- Wash the itchy part with soap and water
- Apply baking soda solution
- Use medical solutions like aspirin, anti-itch creams, anti-histamines, and calamine
Inasmuch as bed bugs are a serious threat to your health and peace of mind, they are controllable. You can also treat your skin after an attack as highlighted above. The idea is to understand the pests so that you can fight them better and more effectively.
