Bed Bug Bites Pictures, Symptoms: What Do Bed Bug Bites …

Waking up with a fresh set of itchy bug bites can bring on its own set of worries. What, exactly, was biting you in the middle of the night? Was it a spider? Mosquito? Orpossibly the worst case scenariocould it have been bed bugs?

Although bed bugs might not be the first thing we think of when we wake up with a bite, the critters do get their food source from our bloodand will leave a little red bump in their wake after getting their fill.

But the trouble with identifying a bed bug biteas is true for a lot of insects, including mosquitoesis that it can be hard to identify the source of the bite, as everyone reacts differently to being bitten based on what their bodys immune response is. Everybodys going to respond differently, says Timothy Gibb, PhD, a clinical professor of entomology at Purdue University. Same things true with a mosquito bite. Some people are going to swell up and its going to itch. That same mosquito could bite someone else and its hardly noticeable.

In fact, Gibb says some people may have no response when being bitten by a bed bug at all, based solely on how their immune system handles the bite. Thats why it can be difficult to determine whether your bite is the result of a bed bug just by looking at it.

But there are a few things that can tip you off to the fact that bed bugs are the culprit of your bites. Heres what to know, including bed bug bites pictures to help you visualize the symptoms.

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The key bed bug bite symptom to look for is a red, raised bump, says Gibb, similar in appearance to what you would get when bitten by a spider or a mosquito. But what sets bed bugs apart from other insects is that oftentimes, their bites will present in a line on one part or side of your body. This is the result of whats called probing.

Bed bug bites show up in a line, most often in a cluster of 3 to 4 bites.

They probe the skin in several different places, I think probably to find best access to draw blood, says Gibb. In fact, if you have screens on your windowsthereby keeping out other insects that might bitebut are still waking up with a line of 3 or 4 bites on your arm, its safe to suspect that bed bugs might be to blame, says Edwin Rajotte, PhD, a professor of entomology at Penn State University.

Another way to determine if your bites are a result from bed bugs is to look for the insects themselves. They naturally like to hide in on your mattress, especially in the corners, near the head end, and in the cord that goes around it. They also like to camp out behind the headboard, behind any pictures on the wall, and in any electrical sockets.

Adult bed bugs are about the the size of an apple seed and are very flat from top to bottomalmost as thin as a piece of paperwith a brownish color, says Rajotte. Baby bed bugs are also brownish in color, but pinhead-sized. Another key identifier? Look for black spots on your sheets, mattress, and mattress cover, which could be bed bug feces.

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Bed bug bites will most commonly occur on the arms, neck, or trunk of the body, says Gibb, although theyll bite anywhere they can find exposed skin. Andas their name suggestsbed bugs will bite you at night while youre sound asleep.

Weve found its most active when people are most sound asleep, and thats usually from about 2:00 to 4:00 in the morning, says Gibb. Thats natural for a parasite like that to do that because its going to protect it. People wont see it, they wont feel it. It makes their survivorship much more probable.

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Although some people will say a bed bug bite hurts somewhatthough not as intensely as the sting of a bee, for examplemost complaints are due to the itching the bites cause, says Gibb. And that itching is due to the chemicals the bed bug inserts into your body during the bite, adds Rajotte.

Theyve become what I consider the perfect parasite, because their mouthparts are kind of interesting, says Gibb. They will inject an anesthetic prior to biting, so people wont feel it. And then they inject an anticoagulant that allows the blood to run easier for them to suck that up. So while that system works great for the bugs, those left-over chemicals will usually lead to some uncomfortable itching on your end.

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Although the duration and intensity of a bed bug bite will hugely vary from person to person, you typically wont feel the effects of a bed bug bitelike itching and those raised red bumpsuntil mid-morning after a bite due to the anesthetic the bug injects, says Gibb. So they certainly dont feel it when the bite is occurring, but shortly after, probably within a day, for sure, he adds.

From there, a bed bug bite will stay with you for typically at least 24 hours, though they could last three to five days after the initial bite, says Gibb. At that point, the bite will then start to slowly dissipate.

If youve received a bed bug bite (and the itching that comes along with it), chances are, youre going to want to speed up the treatment process. But unfortunately, the best way to do that is also the hardest way to do it: not scratching the bite, says Gibb, which will just further irritate the area.

If youre having trouble keeping your fingers away from the bite, you can also try using an antihistaminethink Benadryl or Allegra, which are meant to curb allergy symptomsto help mute that itchy feeling.

And if bed bugs are the cause of your bites, realize theres no urgent need to panic. Yes, they might cost you a pretty penny and can be a pain to get rid of, but bed bugs cant do any serious damage to your body. They dont kill people, says Gibb. A parasite would have a hard time surviving if it killed its host, and these do not.

In fact, they dont even transmit anything dangerous to you. Theyve never been shown to transmit any diseases, says Rajotte. Unlike mosquitoes and ticks and things, which can transmit some pretty bad diseases, bed bugs do not. And so while theyre annoying and all that, theyre not going to harm your children or anything like that. Theyre just annoying and you need to get rid of them.

Ready to banish them from your home? Heres our expert-approved, step-by-step guide to getting rid of bed bugs for good.

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Bed Bug Bites Pictures, Symptoms: What Do Bed Bug Bites ...