Do you wake up with bed bugs bites but your husband does not?
Do you feel you are the only target of insects, and other people in the group just don’t get bit as much?
This can be the same with many people. Especially if you are a couple with bed bugs in your home. You might find yourself taking tons of bed bug bites during the night while your husband seems untouched as if he wasn’t even there.
According to the little research done, we.have some knowledge on where do bed bugs enter our homes in the first place. We know that bed bugs use odor as a way to identify and select their targets. In a household, there are many obstacles that they need to avoid to get straight to their food.
Using their odor and heat sensors they are able to navigate towards humans to feed on our blood.
The question is.
What makes them bite a specific person more than the other. Do bed bugs really enjoy biting a specific blood group more than the other. Or is it just a myth?
Why Bed Bugs Do Not Bite Everyone
There could be a few logical reasons why bed bugs make you their primary target, and leave everyone else in the family.
Your Skin Reacts Vigorously to Bed Bug Bites:
Bed bugs can bite everybody. They are known to survive on any blood group type. Which means they don’t have preference for any blood group. However, not everybody reacts the same to bed bug bites.
People who have more sensitive skin. Which can show up as more swollen or itchy as a result of a bed bug bite. Others might even feel a reaction. This does not mean that the person that is not getting a skin reaction is not being bit.
If you are not sure if the bytes are from bed bugs. Try to find bed bugs during the day so you can be sure if the bites are coming from bed bugs.
Skin types and it’s sensitivity can vary widely among individuals. This also applies to skin care products. Not every skincare product works for every skin type. Some products such as AHA and BHA chemical peels are only used after patch testing just to figure out how the skin is going to react to a new product.
Do Bed Bugs have a Preference of Blood Type
No, bed bugs do not have any preference for a specific blood type. They can survive on any blood group they get their hands on to survive. In some cases, if a bed bug has been accustomed to a specific blood group.
It might prefer biting the person with the same blood group. This could also be one of the reasons why you might be getting a bit more than any of your family members. The type of your blood plays an important role in your body odor. This combined with emitted carbon dioxide and the warmth of your body can draw bed bugs to you for dinner.
Your Partner Might Be Wearing A Repellent
Another reason why your partner might not be getting as many bed bug bites could be a bed bug repellant. Bed bugs are not only repelled with chemical treatments, but they can also be deferred with the scent of essential oils that can be found in daily life products.
If your partner has accidentally used any of these products recently, it could be unknowingly repelling the bed bugs off their body. These essential oils can be found in products such as:
- Shampoo and Conditioners
- Body Washes
- Perfumes.
Do Bed Bugs Prefer A Specific Color
This is among many other myths associated with bed bugs that have not yet been backed up by any scientific research. According to the little research done, bed bugs prefer red and black colors over lighter colors. The likeness of dark colors has been associated with the color of their harborage. The darker the color the safer it would be .
The accuracy of this has still to be tested, since these color preferences are when bed bugs are looking for harborages not for when they are looking for prey.
Moreover, bed bugs only bite on exposed skin. So no matter what color clothes you’re wearing, the first target of bed bugs would be your bare skin.
How to Stop Bed Bugs From Biting You
Bed bug bites can be really annoying. Depending on where you are bit, they can look odd and make your skin look unhealthy. It is possible to make some measures against bed bug bites that can help you get a full night sleep without the fear of waking up to bed bug bites.
Here are a few things you can try to stop bed bugs bites:
Use Mattress Covers and Encasements
Bed bugs love to hide in mattresses and in crevices of your bed structure. If you are sure your mattress is infested with bed bugs you can trap these bed bugs by getting a mattress encasement. This would trap the bed bugs inside your mattress and would not let them even if they starve to death.
This is a really well-known precaution that is recommended by professional exterminators usually after a successful extermination. Just to make sure any bed bugs left behind do not get the chance of spreading once again from your mattress.
However, you can still use mattress encasements as a protective mechanism before doing a proper treatment for bed bugs.
Wrap Yourself in Sheets and Comforters
Another simple trick is to make use of any existing sheet or comforter you may have in your room. If the temperature allows, try to wrap your exposed body parts with the comforter or in a sheet.
Bed bugs cannot bite through clothes or sheets of plastics. Which means any portion of your skin that is covered in sheets would be completely protected from bed bugs.
Regularly Wash Bed Sheets in Hot Water
If you believe the number of bed bugs are multiplying at a pace you can’t cope with them. And you would just like to buy yourself enough time so you can arrange a DIY or professional treatment for bed bugs.
You can save yourself from bed bugs bites by washing your pillowcases and bed sheets regularly in hot water. Remember, bed bugs are not naturally built to sustain high temperatures, and heat treatment is a very popular bed bug treatment option.
So washing your bed sheets is a surefire way to temporarily lessen the impact of bed bugs.
Use a Vacuum
Vacuuming is a cheap fix for bed bugs. Atleast, a quick and temporary one. Bed bugs are tiny and lightweight insects, which is why they are not easy to find. They can be easily swept away by a vacuum .
Vacuuming daily on your mattress and box spring can take away a good majority of visible bed bugs that might be wandering around the area. Vacuuming would still not eradicate all bed bugs. But it would definitely give you the relief you’re looking for.
Vacuuming a Mattress: Bed bugs usually hide in the seams, folds and crevices of the mattresses.
Vacuuming Bed Frames: Bed bugs also like to hide in the cracks and baseboards of bed frames. They prefer hiding in places that are easy to access while you are asleep. Regular vacuuming in these areas can reduce bed bug bites by a lot.
Vacuuming is Not a Permanent Fix:
Bed bugs are not an easy insect to eradicate. They can hide in places that are hard to locate, and they reproduce in large numbers. Which means at every given time there are bed bugs at every given cycle of life i.e. eggs, nymphs and adults.
Vacuuming your mattress would not be efficient by eliminating bed bug eggs. Also, it would not work for bed bugs that are in the hiding.
Use Bed Bug Repellants:
Bed bugs are just like any other insects. They use their sense of smell to find their prey. It acts as a guidance mechanism to avoid any unwanted obstacles. Their sense of smell is equivalent to our vision for us.
You can use natural repellents to keep bed bugs away. Just Like you do with mosquitos. Here are a few options that work great to keep bed bugs away.
PepperMint Leaves and Oil: Most people keep looking for ways to get rid of bed bugs naturally. PepperMint leaves are easy to find in any household. It’s scent is supposedly not liked by bed bugs. PepperMint Leaves can be used as crushed until they release their oils. You can put these crushed leaves on exposed parts of your skin during your sleep.
Rubbing Alcohol: Rubbing alchonol is one of the most ancient home remedies to get rid of bed bugs. Although alcohol can kill bed bugs, it is not an efficient way to get rid of them. You can apply alcohol directly on bed bugs to get rid of them.
But spraying or rubbing alcohol directly on bed bugs could be a hard task. What you can try instead, is rubbing a cloth soaked in alcohol and rubbing it on your mattress box or on the legs of your bed.
Spraying alcohol in your household is not the most likeable way to repelling bed bugs. Because alcohol is highly flammable and in the event of fire can negatively affect the whole situation.