What Attracts Bedbugs?

Many kids remember their parents saying, "Don't let the bedbugs bite," but no one thought to take it literally. However, bed bug infestations can create major problems in many areas. Bedbugs not only suck blood, but they can carry disease and make conditions unsanitary for people to live in, making them pests.

What Are Bed Bugs?

• Bed bugs, whose scientific name is Cimex lectularius, are small insects that nourish themselves by sucking blood and although they can't fly or jump, they can climb. These small insects have a reputation as being one of the hardest pests to get rid of once they've infested an area. Bedbugs will come out and bite a sleeping person, leaving them in the morning with a rash of annoying and sometimes even painful bumps.

Heat & Carbon Dioxide

• The two most common lures for bedbugs remain heat and carbon dioxide. This is what makes people so attractive to these invasive pests: because a sleeping person will exhale carbon dioxide, give off a lot of body heat, and a sleeping person generally remains still. This makes people the ideal type of target that a large group of bedbugs will look for, and help explain why people must deal with these infestations.

Misconceptions

• Many misconceptions exist about bedbugs. The most common are that only dirty people and filthy areas acquire bedbugs. Hygiene really has nothing to do with it. Carbon dioxide, heat, and some studies show possibly human sweat attract bedbugs, but the overall cleanliness of a person or an area has very little to do with it.

Dealing with Bedbugs

• Generally speaking, an exterminator needs to be hired in order to get rid of bedbugs once a major infestation takes place. The best that people can do to try and avoid them is to be wary of used furniture, especially beds and sofas, to keep an area cool especially in hot, humid climates. At the first sign of a bed bug infestation, it's a good idea to call an exterminator before they spread.