Small biting insects, bed bugs can lead us the hard life. These tiny creatures feed on human blood and thus leave the marks of their passage, which result in blistering and itching. It is well known that bed bugs typically nest in mattresses, bed sheets and box springs, but what we do not know is that these little critters have favorite colors. Let's do a check in.
Bed bugs are tiny insects that are between 4 and 7 millimeters long. Being almost the same size and shape as an apple seed, these creatures are visible to the naked eye and have an oval and flattened shape. Adult bedbugs are brown in color and may appear red when filled with blood. These little insects move at the same speed as an ant, they can neither jump nor fly. They have a lifespan of 5 to 6 months, but can survive up to a year by being dormant.
Bed bugs breed quickly and lay eggs. The latter are whitish in color and hatch after 10 or 14 days.
These creatures primarily feed on blood. They rarely attack domestic animals and usually bite only one person in the room. The bedbugs are more active in the evening and are always installed in the bedrooms.
If they are not discovered and exterminated in time, the bugs multiply and infest the space where they have nested. An infestation of bed bugs can impact the quality of life and can also have an impact on health.
How to detect an infestation of bed bugs?
Different signs may indicate the presence of these creatures in your home. Bed bugs feeding on blood leave traces of stitches almost identical to those of mosquitoes. These latter itch and generally appear on the body parts discovered during sleep.
It is also common to find black spots on bedding and mattresses. These are excrements of bed bugs. In some cases, these creatures, themselves, or their eggs can be found on the bed.
Where are bed bugs hidden?
Bed bugs generally hide near their food sources. They can therefore be found on mattresses and box springs. On the other hand, when the infestation is important, they colonize the entire bedroom and can settle on sofas, tapestry, chairs, bags, clothes, headboards and bedding.
Bed bugs generally prefer narrow, dark spaces away from light and also have favorite colors! Although this may seem odd, but this information has been proven by a scientific study.
Bed bugs prefer precise colors:
Scientists from the University of Florida and Union College, Lincoln, conducted a study in the Journal of Medical Entomology to determine whether insects, bed bugs, Preference for their refuges.
The study was based on a series of laboratory tests. The researchers placed bedbugs in petri dishes, where they previously constituted kinds of small refuges, for insects, of different colors. Obviously the bugs went to its shelters, but their choice of color was very distinct. These small insects preferred black and red refuges rather than white, green and yellow refuges.
According to the researchers, this color predilection can be explained by the fact that these dark colors make very good refuges where they can hide from predators. The preference for red is due to the fact that the bugs are themselves red. They are therefore headed for the red refuges, believing that it is a gathering of bed bugs.
Bed bugs leak white, green and yellow colors as these light colors resemble strongly lit spaces.
The researchers pointed out that this discovery could help control and trap these parasites. "We are thinking about how to improve bedbug traps using surveillance tools that act as a refuge and are of a specific color that attracts these insects. "Says Corraine McNeill, assistant professor of biology at the University of Lincoln in Nebraska.
Although the results of this study are very promising, further tests and research are needed.