Is your home infested with bed bugs? These small, brownish and flattened insects are some of the common insects that infest homes in Singapore. With approximately 3/16 an inch length, bedbugs are blood feeders that live close to areas where people normally sleep, rest, or sit for long periods. They can get into luggage, clothing and furniture, and spread very quickly. If no action is taken early enough, the whole house might become infested and you might also have allergic reactions or other illnesses since the pest bites the human skin when feeding. Unfortunately, there’s so much misinformation about bed bugs out there, most of which is just myths. It’s important to separate the truth from the myths to deal with the problem effectively.
Common myths about bedbug
1. bedbugs are only found in dirty and cluttered homes
Anyone, any home (whether of the poor or wealthy) can have the infestation . These insects can and in fact do infest upscale residences where the housekeeping is deemed to be excellent. They know no class or level of cleanliness. Unsanitary conditions will not cause your home to become infested but too much clutter and filth will provide more places for the insects to hide and breed. Additionally, it will make it more difficult to perform a thorough inspection & treatment. And eliminating the clutter will help minimize the places where bed bugs can hide but won’t getting rid of infestation.
2. Bed bugs only live in mattresses
the reason for their name! It’s true that bed bugs can hide in the seams & crevices of mattresses and beds. Because these small insects feed on human blood, it is to their huge advantage to live near the places where you rest or spend the night. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the pests only live in our mattresses or beds. bedbugs are known to inhabit carpets, sofas, dressers, closets, and even picture frames or switch plate covers (places that you’d never think of). And they’re not limited to infesting people’s homes! bedbugs are today turning up in restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and on places where many people congregate such as on commuter trains.
3. Future bed bug infestations can be prevented by encasing mattresses & spring boxes
Several companies make mattress encasements or covers in Singapore, which homeowners can use to deal with bed bugs. However, these encasements simply create a barrier to the pests outside of the mattress. If there are bed bugs already in your home, those living in your mattresses will be trapped, rendered unable to bite and eventually die. But bed bugs in other areas of your home can still access you and your bed , although they won’t live permanently inside your mattress. Using mattress covers in homes that don’t have bed bugs yet can keep the insects out of a mattress, in the event they get into the home. However, this won’t keep the bugs away from biting you. In simple words, encasements are useful tools but aren’t sufficient to either prevent or treat infestations.
4. You can’t see bed bugs with your naked eye
they are so tiny! As already mentioned bedbugs are small insects, although not microscopic. You can see them clearly without using a magnifier if you look in the areas where they commonly reside. The size of insect nymph is about that of a poppy seed, growing larger from there. A bed bug adult measures slightly more than 1/8th of an inch, the same as a lentil or apple seed. The only thing that may be hard to see with your naked eyes is probably the eggs, which are roughly a pinhead size.
5. Bed bugs transmit diseases when they bite someone
While a bedbugs is known to carry a range of pathogenic viruses & bacteria on its body and in the digestive system, there’s no evidence showing that they transmit pathogens through biting. There are currently no reported cases of human diseases transmitted via the insects. It’s, however, important to note that bed bug bites may lead to sleeplessness, anxiety and even secondary infections. Also, if they crawl over open wounds, there is a chance of pathogens being introduced into the person’s body.
Understanding what is true and misconception is important to effectively handle a bug infestation. It will enable you to locate infested areas and treat them properly.