Bed bugs are small insects that bite and the worst thing is that they are attracted to some things that you don’t have control over. These could be the chemicals your body is emitting or some stuff in your household that you just can’t live without. What attracts bed bugs seem to be a mystery for many homeowners suffering from an infestation. No matter how you clean your property, the pest would continuously come back after some time.
The only thing that you can do here is to minimize these things to lessen the bites and discourage future infestations. Check each one out:
1. Body temperature
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Bed bugs are tiny heat detectors and one thing that you might not know is that your body is the warmest presence in your sleeping area. Your body is at an average of 96F, unlike water pipes or furniture that is at a maximum of 60F when cooled down. The human body has a sustainable heat source that attracts the bugs.
Even if you turn the air conditioner up, you’ll only feel cold but the body won’t stop producing the heat. This would also result in the bugs to be more persistent in seeking a warm surface to survive.
2. Breath
Aside from body heat, what attracts bed bugs is carbon dioxide. And what being has a continuous supply of this? We humans. Our breath has a concentrated amount of carbon dioxide that will be a signal to the pest that there’s a present food source. This becomes worse during the night when you’re sleeping. The bugs have the freedom to crawl and suck blood.
What you can do here is to sleep with a ceiling fan directly on top of your bed. This will diffuse the carbon dioxide you’re producing and reduce the attracting effect it causes to the pest.
3. Skin
The bugs are impatient bloodsuckers. Unlike fleas, they would seek a softer skin to suck blood from instead of burrowing their small beaks on the thick skin on the soles of the foot or palms. This is one of the key attractants to humans and obviously, you can’t avoid them from crawling.
But there’s a trick you can do. You can cover the skin spots that the bugs love by applying essential oils with strong scents. You can utilize lavender oil, for example, to ward off the crawling bugs and to ease the itching of the already present bites.
4. Sheets
Beds are the most notorious hiding place for bugs. This is because of the sheets and mattresses that have seams where the pest can harbor and crawl out when it’s time to eat. There are also tiny spaces on the box spring of the bed where you won’t notice the critters while they reproduce and bite you. There’s even a theory that black sheets are the most vulnerable to an infestation as it resembles the darkness the bugs tend to seek for harborage. So what attracts bed bugs? Your cozy cot.
On the other hand, the researchers found that sheets with the color yellow, white, and green are less likely to be infested because it’s too revealing. However, this doesn’t exempt any fabric.
5. Hair
Hair is indirectly an attractant. Bed bugs loathe it as too much hair on legs or arm means harder time crawling and sucking blood. But here’s the thing. When the bugs find it hard to eat, the pest would climb higher or lower to locate a better spot to suck. Therefore, the hair on your skin attracts bugs to spread the bites to some other parts of the body.
Too much hair is also the reason why bed bugs usually don’t bother your doggo or cats. Again, what you can do is to utilize essential oils to send the bugs away.
6. Clothes
Bed bugs are hitchhikers. One of the possible reasons why a person is suffering from an infestation is due to bugs that clung to clothes during a vacation or visit in someone else’s house. When it’s stored in a closet for long, the clothes serve as an alternative to mattresses.
The bugs aren’t inclined to dig deep into your worn clothes if you’re asleep. But this will result in the pest looking for other unexposed skin to bite. Unlucky you if your face is the only available part with bare skin. You can make use of some essential oils, I guess. What attracts bed bugs is just uncontrollable at times.
7. Certain blood type
The blood type aspect has been established on mosquitoes but there are some scientific suggestions that it’s also the same thing with bed bugs. Those with Blood Type O are more prone to bed bug bites, thus the need to practice higher caution compared to other people with different blood types.
But keep in mind that those with Blood Type O aren’t the sacrificial lambs to save other people in the household against bites. These bugs don’t have mercy when it comes to feeding time and they will suck juice to whoever that comes close to their harborage.
8. Dark spaces
The tiny cracks and crevices on the pieces of furniture on your house are one thing that attracts bed bugs. This is due to the nocturnal nature of the pest that made them seek dark and hidden crevices. But this doesn’t mean that you have to lit up every inch of your house. Like what I said, you can’t do anything about some attractants.
What you can do is to treat pieces of furniture before bringing it to the house. This will reduce the risk of the pest harboring inside the tiny cracks.
What attracts bed bugs are commonly found in the sleeping area or the host that provides the food. Sometimes, you can’t control some of it but you can always maximize some tips to reduce the bites and make your nights worthwhile. The key here is early detection and prevention of the pest so you no longer have to deal with the dreadful itch.
