What Causes Bed Bugs? A Quick Look At Some Myths And Facts

Bed bugs are making a slow resurgence as pests, infesting dormitories, hotels and even making their way into homes all around the world. With that, may people want to know what causes bed bugs in the hopes of preventing home infestations?

 

Some Myths On What Causes Bed Bugs

Here are some common misconceptions about the causes of bed bugs, and why these misconceptions are really not true.

Bed bugs usually infest poor and urban homes – Many people believe that these bugs only infest people living in poor, crowded and urban areas. This is far from the truth, though. It does not matter how much you make or how big your house is – these bugs can infest any home, from the smallest shanty to the biggest mansion.

Bed bugs love to live in dirty places – Another popular belief is that bed bugs tend to reside in filthy areas. Unfortunately, there is no association between filth and bed bugs. These insects feed on animal and human blood. As long as there are humans or animals to feed on, they can happily reside even in very clean homes.

You can only get bed bugs from cheap and dingy accommodations – Because bed bugs are literally nondiscriminatory insects – they can be found anywhere. In fact, there are high-end hotels or very affluent homes with rooms infested with bed bugs. They can be found in public areas such as waiting rooms, lounges and offices. That said, you can get bed bugs from anywhere at all. They can hitch a ride on your clothes or bags and find their way back home.

How Bed Bugs Really Reach Your Home

Bed bugs travel from one place to another by hitchhiking, so they normally infest places where people come and go regularly. These places include dormitories, apartments, shelters, motels and hotels and military barracks. These places have a lot of people coming and going, which means that there is a higher chance that someone carrying bed bugs might come and stay in the place.

What causes of bed bugs to reach your home is “hitchhiking”. They rarely stay on their human hosts after feeding, so they tend to hide in clothing, luggage, furniture, and other items. They stay there and go back home with you. Once inside your home, bed bugs crawl away into new hiding places such as behind baseboards, under your mattress, inside furniture seams, and under wallpaper, multiplying as they go. It is just a matter of time before they find their way to your bed. While bed bugs do not love dirt, they certainly delight in clutter. As they are reclusive creatures, they love to hide. Thus, more clutter in your home means more hiding places for them.

So, to cap off things, what causes bed bugs? Bed bugs can easily reach your home by “hitchhiking” its way there. Thus, it pays to be extra careful about the things that you bring home, especially from traveling or from second-hand stores.

For more info about bed bugs, contact with a professional Pest Control Hobart company.