Linen bugs - why they are dangerous and how to get rid of them

Linen bugs are also called sofa bugs, bed bugs, house bugs, the essence is the same - they are the same insect that parasitizes humans.
You can even say that bedbugs are real night bloodsuckers, the proximity of which causes a person significant discomfort.

Feedback from our readers:

“My military husband arrived at his next home and was faced with such an unpleasant problem as blood-sucking bedbugs. We are also okay, but our youngest suffered the most from them!!! All over with bites, itching, it all became inflamed. In general, the spectacle was not for the faint of heart. I fought and fought with them... So I had to move out! It was simply unbearable!”

Elena, Barnaul

For these pests, it makes no difference what quality of housing you have and the sanitary condition of your home as a whole; they adapt to any conditions, as long as food is nearby, that is, you!

On a note:

According to statistics, every tenth person faces a similar problem and knows what bed bugs look like, but for those who have never met these pests, it is initially difficult to figure out who is who.

In general, bed bugs have a number of distinctive characteristics. This applies to both the appearance of insects and their lifestyle. This is exactly what we’ll talk to you about next.

What do linen bugs look like?

It is noteworthy that the external features of the bug are so bright that, knowing them, it is easy to understand what kind of insect pest has settled next to you.

The segment lines are clearly visible on the belly. It seems that the bedbug's body is entwined with these stripes. What you can see for yourself by looking at detailed photos of bed bugs

The length of the insect is about 4-8 mm. Once full, the parasite’s body becomes voluminous and not as flat as in a hungry state. At the same time, the bloodsucker's abdomen increases almost 2 times.

The characteristic color palette of the linen bug: from light brown (in the larvae) to almost brown. This is one of the hallmarks of parasites. Bedbug larvae are golden in color and almost transparent. Therefore, even a small drop of blood becomes immediately noticeable in their body.

This is interesting:

Due to the fact that the bug larva does not go through all stages of transformation, as happens in other insects, it was called Nymph. Having passed the larval stage, the larvae are born from the egg as fully formed insects and differ from adults only in size and color.

You can tell by the size and color of the pest whether it is hungry or not. Well-fed bedbugs become much larger and change color to a darker one. Blood-sucking bedbugs are classified as hemipterans. Their head is triangular in shape. On the lower part of the head there is an elongated proboscis, which is pressed tightly against the lower region of the cephalothorax when the insect is not eating.

The feeding process is as follows: there are two channels in the proboscis, with the help of one the parasite sucks out blood, and through the other it injects saliva, which thins the blood and anesthetizes the bite site.

The larvae do not have the ability to produce a special secretion, which makes the process of their feeding very noticeable. Therefore, if you feel a bug bite in a dream, then most likely it is a Nymph. In a hungry state, the bug’s body is flat, looks like a coin and is almost invulnerable. This allows parasites to crawl into even the narrowest cracks.

Also, the flat body allows the bug not to be crushed by a person who, tossing and turning in his sleep, can accidentally crush the pest with his body. The same cannot be said about well-fed insects, which themselves often become victims of their own night attacks.

Appearance

Linen bugs grow to sizes of only 6 mm. A well-fed insect looks different from a hungry one. Body color, shape, behavior changes. Detailed description of bedbugs:

• Hungry. Flattened oval body. Dense chitinous cover that is difficult to crush even with effort. It is impossible to get rid of it mechanically. The color is dirty brown. There are small straight whiskers on the head. No wings, can't fly. Actively crawling, impossible to catch. Although some eyewitnesses argue whether bedbugs crawl or jump.
• Well-fed. Bedbugs feed on blood. As blood enters, the chitinous cover expands and becomes transparent. The body is rounded, due to this it increases in size. The color changes over time as the blood clots. Initially red, then turns brown. A well-fed insect is clumsy and slow. It's easy to get rid of - crush it by pressing on the shell.
• In the stage of suspended animation. Under unfavorable conditions—lack of food—metabolic processes slow down and the stage of suspended animation begins. The insect stops moving and gradually turns into a living mummy. Without movement, the body is transparent gray.

On a note!

You need to get rid of bedbugs in the suspended animation stage immediately upon detection, since when they smell blood, they instantly come to life and return to a normal lifestyle.

You can clearly see what bed bugs look like in the photo below. Females are several millimeters larger than males.

Linen bugs

On a note:

Pay attention to the presence of small brown spots on the bed linen - this is a clear signal that there are bedbugs in the house.

It is worth noting that these parasites are quite mobile in nature. In a minute, this type of insect runs more than a meter. The main habitat in the apartment is the bedroom. When checking an apartment for the presence of these pests, you should look first of all: under the carpet, behind the baseboard, behind the cornices, behind the pictures, sockets and switches, in the folds of upholstered furniture

It’s also useful to read: how to find out if there are bedbugs at home

It should be noted that bedbugs reproduce and grow under favorable conditions at incredible speed. The entire process from egg to adult bedbug will take 4-6 weeks. The bedbug egg is very small, about the size of a grain of rice, approximately 1 mm in length. The female lays eggs in secluded places. After about a week, a larva emerges from the egg. She is completely similar to an adult, only smaller in size. Its only difference from an adult insect is that it does not have the ability to reproduce. Below see photos of bedbug eggs, as well as photos of larvae

Folk methods of struggle

A proven and effective remedy is a mixture of kerosene, turpentine and water. Add 20 ml of kerosene and 15 ml of turpentine to a glass of boiled water.

An ancient way to get rid of bedbugs is tobacco infusion. It's easy to prepare and works quickly. The tobacco is boiled for two hours and infused for two days. The resulting infusion is sprayed onto the home.

Valerian tincture acts in the same way as tobacco tincture.

We poison bedbugs

In winter, the sofa or bed is taken outside for a couple of hours, the room is well ventilated. Bed linen is washed at 90 degrees and ironed. Pillows and blankets must be frozen or dry cleaned.

An effective method is to place wormwood branches in the apartment. All insects are afraid of its smell. Tansy has the same effect.

Using a corrugated cardboard trap. Bedbugs love to hide in such material. The trimmings should be scattered around the house, especially in the bedroom. After a day or two, the cardboard is collected and burned. A new one is thrown into place. This method cannot destroy all bedbugs, but it can be used as an additional method.

How bedbugs reproduce

Like all other parasites, bed bugs quickly increase their population. The female is literally fertilized by the male by force. The male introduces his seed with a special organ, piercing the abdomen of the female. Entomologists called this method of reproduction traumatic insemination.

The female, in turn, taking the seed, is capable of laying a clutch of 3-5 eggs in one day. Over the course of her life, she lays approximately 400-500 eggs.

This is interesting: The seed that the male injects into the female can be absorbed, due to which the female receives additional nutrients when times of hunger come for her.

The female is fertilized only once. She uses this secret throughout her life. The seminal fluid is stored in a special organ and is used as needed.

Important : just one lonely, fertilized female, accidentally entering a house, can be the leader of an entire population.

This is interesting:

As for males, performing their reproductive function, they are not at all picky in choosing a partner. Studies have shown that almost the entire population of parasites had a damaged abdomen, which is evidence that males during the mating process attack not only females, but also males. In addition, the male, wanting to mate, can attack larvae and even cockroaches.

Of course, bedbugs, like all living creatures, need favorable conditions to reproduce. And above all, this is regular nutrition.

During one feeding, the bug makes several bites at a short distance from each other. This nature of the bites is direct evidence that it was a bed bug that was eating, and not a mosquito or some other insect. In the photo below, see how the bug bites

Contacting a sanitary and epidemiological station is beneficial

Decades of experience allows our SES specialists to reliably and quickly remove bedbugs from the premises. The advantages of disinfestation from our company include:

• Anonymity of clients.
• Treatment lasts no more than 60 – 70 minutes.
• We use certified safe drugs and European equipment.
• Within the city limits, the visit of the master is free.
• We work around the clock.

Order the services of an exterminator. We arrive quickly and work efficiently.

Write. Call.

The proximity of bed bugs to other parasitic insects

The relationship between bed bugs and other parasitic insects, if there are any in the home, is very difficult.

• Cockroaches and bedbugs. The former harm them by eating bedbug eggs. And this despite the fact that the habitats of these parasitic insects are completely different.
• Living next to ants is also not easy for bed bugs. The fact is that bedbugs do not tolerate ant poison. It is fatal to them. The ants themselves are very peaceful in nature.
• Flycatchers and bedbugs don't get along very well either. Flycatchers are centipedes that rarely, but still sometimes settle in apartments. Flycatchers are capable of catching and eating bedbugs. Of course, they will not be able to completely exterminate parasites, but they are quite capable of slowing down the growth of the population.

Useful to read: extermination of bedbugs in an apartment

As for the bedbugs themselves, we can say that these are absolutely peaceful insects in relation to their fellow parasites. The proximity of bed bugs to moths, fleas and flies can be described as cohabitation.

This is interesting:

An interesting fact is that cats are quite welcoming to bedbugs. The same cannot be said about a cat’s proximity to cockroaches, which it actively hunts. Cats probably just don't like the smell of blood-sucking bugs.

Methods of infection

In most cases, people themselves bring bloodsuckers into their homes. To prevent this, it is necessary to carefully inspect things when traveling to other countries or staying on trains, cheap hotels, or places with unfavorable sanitary conditions. It should be remembered that such pests are able to withstand long journeys.

In apartment buildings, bedbugs can often move through the ventilation from other apartments

Bedbugs also enter an apartment or house through ventilation holes, windows and doors. If your neighbors have these pests, you must definitely protect your home from them by placing anti-linen bug products in the hoods and near the entrance openings.

Details of the life of bedbugs

Bedbugs in the house have a peculiar home in the form of a colony nest, in which there is absolutely no structure. In such a dwelling, adults, eggs, larvae, chitinous shells of bedbugs remaining after their molting and insect feces are closely located. If we talk about specific living conditions, bedbugs prefer secluded places where there is an optimal temperature for them and a constant source of food.

Linen bugs feed at certain intervals. Adults eat once a week, and Nymphs require daily meals. Receiving regular nutrition, the larva grows and becomes an adult.

The process of maturation of the larva goes through five stages, at each of which the Nymph molts, that is, sheds its chitinous cover, which you can see further in the photo. It is worth noting that regular food intake ensures its active development. If it suddenly happens that the Nymph’s main source of nutrition disappears or the temperature becomes less comfortable, the insect will enter a state of suspended animation, in which all life processes in the body will slow down. This state can last up to two years. If they smell a person, they immediately come out of their hibernation and begin to lead a full-fledged lifestyle.

Bed bugs are parasites that are predominantly nocturnal. Their peak activity occurs from approximately three o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock in the morning. During this period, a person has the most sound sleep. If you find bedbugs in the house, immediately begin to destroy them, because time is your main assistant in the fight against bedbugs, since parasites multiply very quickly!

Distribution routes

Pests do not form nests as such. However, they prefer to live in the same places. A cluster of insects has characteristic signs: the place looks extremely dirty and intimidating. In the so-called nest, adults scurry about interspersed, the larvae are adjacent to the eggs from which the nymphs are about to emerge, their own excrement and the chitin that remains after the “molting”. But where do bed bugs come from that cause such discomfort to humans? There are four main reasons for their appearance in an apartment.

1. Tourist trip. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the topic of bedbugs was never discussed at entomological conferences, but with the development of tourism, the parasites were finally talked about. In fact, the development of a tourist destination led to people taking insects to different parts of the globe. When staying at a “bedbug” hotel, know that you can also bring a “present” from your trip in your own suitcase.
2. Migration from neighbors. If your neighbor has bedbugs, then they will most likely appear in your apartment sooner or later. This usually happens as follows. The neighbor gets tired of living side by side with annoying pests, he unsuccessfully poisons them, but does not achieve total elimination. Bedbugs quickly migrate in search of a more liberal climate. For example, to your place - where no one uses any chemicals yet. During the cold season, parasites move through ventilation shafts. In warm weather - along the external walls of the house. Therefore, mosquito nets on windows are one of the ways to protect against blood-sucking parasites.
3. "Hello" from the guests. Bed bugs can live in clothing, and they can also use it to move from one place to another. You can carry insects in your own jacket pocket on your way back from a party. The reason for the appearance of insects in the house can be a guest who brought them in a fur coat, jacket or back pocket of trousers.
4. Proximity to a farm or poultry house. Blood-sucking parasites often move into the houses and apartments of people living near farms. Farms with goats, sheep, rabbits and chickens are their habitat. But arthropods prefer human blood to animal blood, so they happily “move” when they smell “upright food.”

Information about bed bugs was first discovered in a source dating back to 400 BC. Later, these parasites were mentioned alternately by Aristotle and Pliny. The latter assured that the pest’s bite could neutralize snake venom.

Effect of insecticide on bedbugs

Recently, the market has offered a fairly wide selection of various drugs for killing bedbugs. But due to the very frequent use of insecticides, pests have simply become resistant to many of them. Therefore, the fight against bedbugs can drag on for many months or even years.

Resistance to various poisons is developed primarily due to a special protein that neutralizes the poison at the start of exposure.

In normal environments, mutations are not detected in these insects. This is due to the fact that in everyday life they rarely encounter poisons. But when destroyed by insecticides, some can develop immunity and thus, mutants appear that survive in any conditions.

Consequently, the parasite gives birth to new offspring with already developed immunity to a certain drug. After a certain period of time, scientists come to the conclusion that the fight against bedbugs with a specific type of drug is no longer effective. The person himself is to blame for this mutation. The less insect baiting is carried out, the less mutation occurs.

Fortunately, today you can find many drugs to which there is no resistance. In particular, a very effective remedy for bedbugs today is Gegtor. It contains hydrophilic silicon dioxide, which literally sucks the liquid out of bedbugs.

Read in detail here: Hector against bedbugs

Thus, exterminating bed bugs on your own becomes effective.

Feedback from our readers:

“Everything we tried to fight these parasites, we thought it would last forever!!! And then the salesperson in the store advised me to take GEKTOR against bed bugs. Oh miracle!!! We didn't believe it ourselves! Peace and grace! Nobody bites, this stench has disappeared from the apartment! In general, life has improved. Let’s sleep peacefully now!”

Andrey, Tula

The modern medicine for bedbugs, Hector, is a fairly effective remedy for bedbugs that allows you to carry out extermination work with maximum effect and minimal consequences.

It is worth noting that one treatment of an apartment will not give a 100% guarantee that all bedbugs will disappear, even if the best product was used. This is explained by the fact that during treatment with poison, you may not notice some bedbug eggs, or the bedbug simply found a secluded place and went through hard times. And then he got out and began to restore the population with even greater diligence.

Therefore, many insecticidal preparations are recommended to be used twice at weekly intervals. The second treatment is intended to destroy the remaining individuals. This sequence of actions ensures the full effect of the treatment.

Today on the market there are many effective means for killing bedbugs that will help you deal with the problem quickly and without unnecessary hassle!

Cost of the procedure

The price of bedbug treatment depends on the size of the population and the structure. The average is:

Treatment for bedbugs