Bedbugs are small insect pests that feed by sucking blood and are difficult to control since they are attracted to things one does not have control over. These insects are quite confusing since dirt does not attract them, unlike most pests. Have you wondered why bed bugs are not leaving your home? Despite what various myths say about bedbugs, they are not attracted to specific kinds of people, cleaning products, human wastes, human food, or even certain candle scents.
Also, note that you can also find them in outdoor surroundings. Bed bugs are warm-blooded; hence they are attracted to any warm-blooded animal. To understand what attracts these bedbugs to your home, one needs to learn about what they feed, and their preferred conditions for survival. This guide highlights some of the things that attract bedbugs.
Body Temperature
Bed bugs will inhabit somewhere where there is enough food. These pests are warm-blooded; hence they are attracted to warm conditions. The human body produces heat, even if the surrounding areas are cold through metabolism. The bod’s temperature can rise even to about ninety degrees. Especially when you are asleep, the body is continually producing heat, raising your body temperature in comparison to other objects in the room. Bed bugs need warm conditions to survive, thus making them attracted to you.
Carbon dioxide released during breathing
Suitable habitat for any pest means that there is the availability of food. Bed bugs are attracted to high carbon dioxide concentration. High carbon dioxide concentration alerts bed bugs that there is available food nearby. Human beings, when breathing in and out, exhale air rich in carbon dioxide and water vapor. Especially while asleep, due to minimal body movement, this carbon dioxide forms a cloud around you. Bed bugs tend to follow this trail and crawl up to an individual for food.
The body’s skin
Bed bugs feed on you by sucking blood through bites on your skin. These pests are impatient and tend to look for softer skin to suck blood. Unlike other pests, bed bugs tend to avoid more hardened skin areas such as heels and palms and seek other softer skin areas. Understand that also, the skin’s temperature attracts bed bugs to you. Covering some areas of your body will not keep away bed bugs since you won’t prevent them from crawling over.
Bedding
Bed bugs use sheets as their habitat where they easily hide and crawl out when it’s time to look for a meal. These pests also use the sides of the bed as hiding places. Popular myths say that black sheets are more likely to harbor pests due to their darkness. Scientists, on the other hand, say that using bright sheets discourages bed bugs, but this does not mean that it will ultimately keep them away. Bed bugs want a place where there is food and bedding provide them with the best habitat.
Particular Blood Types
Although scientists prove that this factor on blood types works only for mosquito infestation, bed bugs are also attracted to specific blood types. People with blood group O are more susceptible to bed bug bites than people with people having other blood groups. Scientific studies show that people with different blood groups produce different scents drifting bed bugs away. However, note that having blood group O does not mean you will not attract bed bugs. These pests bite anyone close to their habitat.
Dark Spaces in Rooms
Bed bugs are nocturnal, feed more during the night, and hence seek dark spaces for inhabitants. These pests use these spaces as hiding places during the day and come out during the night when human beings are least active, most probably asleep. Some of these dark spaces include cracks or crevices on walls and furniture. You will mainly find these pests around your sleeping since that provides them with easily accessible food.
Clothing
Bed bugs are attracted to fabrics and other clothing since they can easily spread from one area to another. These insects are hitchhikers, meaning they will crawl and stick to any clothing they find. Especially if clothes are kept in a heap providing a safe hiding place, bed bugs will use this as their habitat. If you visit an area with high bed bug infestation, they are likely to hitch onto your clothing. These insects will later peek through and reach your skin, from where they can easily suck blood.
Various Chemicals
The use of cleaning chemicals at home nor hormones excreted by human beings or animals attract bed bugs. Scientist’s research shows that bed bugs are attracted to the chemicals they secrete. This chemical is known as histamine. Humans produce this chemical only during immune responses for conditions such as allergic reactions. Note that a single histamine secretion cannot attract these pests. However, if continuously secreted, histamine can build up in the skin or feces of bed bugs. This concentration of histamine attracts other bed bugs by alerting them of a habitable location. This effect of chemical histamine results in increased numbers of bed bugs through the snowball effect.
Scent and Surroundings
Bed bugs are not just attracted to humans or animals. They follow their scent. The carbon dioxide human exhales, give these pests a lead of where to find their hosts. Scientists prove that dirty surroundings and the smell associated with such areas do not attract bed bugs. Nevertheless, note that these dirty environments might serve as hiding places for these pests.
Dealing with bed bug infestation requires one to know what attracts them. One of the most popular myths is that bed bugs are a sign of poverty. Scientists prove this myth false since an individual does not have control of most things that attract bed bugs to them or their homes. If one doesn’t have control, it means that they can infest your home regardless of your social status. Based on various behavioral studies on these insect pests, scientists state that most of the factors attracting insects revolve around the easy access to food and safe habitats.