Bedbugs don't always feed every single night. In fact, they can go several weeks without eating. That might sound like a good thing, but it can make it more difficult to notice that there are bedbugs in your home. In fact, it may take a few weeks to realize that the bites are part of a larger pattern.
Although bed bugs can live for over a year without feeding, they typically seek blood every five to ten days. The only way to know for sure what bit you is to find a bug and get it identified. Bed bugs live off only blood—like mosquitoes do. They probably prefer to feed on people.
Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.
Bed Bug Feeding
The bugs can bite several times in a night to become full but only feed about once every one or two weeks. People that have only small numbers of the bugs in their homes may not experience new bites every night.
Often a single bed bug will produce more than one bite during the night so it is not always a one to one relationship where each bite represents a different bed bug.
Bed bug bites
Each cluster usually contains 3 to 5 bites that appear in a zigzag pattern. You'll seldom see bed bugs, so many people mistakenly believe that mosquitoes, fleas, or spiders bit them. Sometimes people mistake bed bug bites for a common skin condition such as an itchy rash, hives, or chickenpox.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body? Bed bugs do not typically hide on the body. They prefer to feed, then move back to their hiding place until they are hungry again. In some cases, they may hide in your clothes or the soles of your shoes.
Because bed bug bites affect everyone differently, some people may have no reaction and will not develop bite marks or any other visible signs of being bitten. Other people may be allergic to the bed bugs and can react adversely to the bites.
Besides bedbugs, numerous insects bite at night. These night biters can be mites, fleas, mosquitoes, lice, spiders, and ticks.
Looking for Signs of Bed Bugs
Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed. Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would.
Bites are commonly found on the parts of the body that are more likely to be exposed to bed bugs during sleep - the hands, neck, face, shoulders, legs and arms. While not always the case, bed bug bites are often grouped together in a small area and at times may occur in a line or a zigzag pattern.
Bedbug bites tend to look similar to other insect bites. The bites are very itchy, and smaller than a quarter-inch across. In white skin, the bites usually appear red. On dark skin, they can look faint-pink or purplish, and turn deep brown the longer they remain on the skin.
The first sign of bedbugs may be red, itchy bites on the skin, usually on the arms or shoulders. Bedbugs tend to leave straight rows of bites, unlike some other insects that leave bites here and there.
Bed bugs are most active between midnight and 3 am. They are rarely active during daylight hours, and only come out when attracted by the warmth and carbon dioxide released from a body at rest.
You may have them for a while, but may not notice them until weeks, or even months later. Bed bug eggs take anywhere from six to 12 days to hatch, and the adult life span can be anywhere from six months to a year. That's why it's important to know these early signs of an infestation.
Scabies mites: When microscopic scabies mites burrow into human skin, they cause rashes and itchiness. A scabies rash looks like a cluster of bed bug bites, which makes it easy to confuse mite bites with bed bug bites. Unlike bed bugs, you won't be able to see scabies mites on your skin or in the bed.
Household products or environmental irritants could cause hives or rashes. If no pests can be found and the irritation doesn't seem to match any of the most common bug bite pictures, you may be experiencing a skin reaction to a household product or environmental irritant. Consider the location of the rash.
Signs of Infestation
Blood stains on your sheets or pillowcases. Dark or rusty spots of bedbug excrement on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls. Bedbug fecal spots, egg shells, or shed skins in areas where bedbugs hide. An offensive, musty odor from the bugs' scent glands.
Bed bugs are drawn to the CO2 released from humans breathing, so typically bite exposed areas on the arms, face and neck. And yet, they can burrow through clothing, so bites can also appear on the rest of the body. Some people report they get bitten under the elastic waistband of their PJ bottoms or underwear.
They can come from other infested areas or from used furniture. They can hitch a ride in luggage, purses, backpacks, or other items placed on soft or upholstered surfaces. They can travel between rooms in multi-unit buildings, such as apartment complexes and hotels.
Generally it takes at least seven weeks for a bed bug to grow from an egg to an adult, so there should be no new adults from eggs during that period. Therefore, if many adult bugs are present one can reasonably assume that the infestation has been there for more than seven weeks.
Technically, bed bugs can live through a cycle in the washing machine. The truth is that while washing your clothes or linens will kill most of the bed bugs, the heat of drying your items is what will ultimately exterminate any and all remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat.
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.