Diseases and ConditionsInsect Bites and Stings › Don’t let the Bed Bugs Bite!- Understanding Domestic Critters

Every household will share living space with a few bugs and mites. The majority of these critters won’t harm you and aren’t anything to worry about, but there are a few which you might want to prevent setting up home, or know how to get rid of for hygiene and health reasons. Below is a brief guide to a few different kinds of domestic bugs specifying which ones you might want to get rid of, and which ones are good to stay.

Common critters:

Dust Mites: Dust mites are microscopic mites, not visible to the human eye, which feed off organic debris in the home. Unless you have an allergy there’s no reason to get rid of them for the simple fact that organic debris such as skin and dust can never be eradicated, so dust mites will pretty much always be around. As long as you’re not allergic, they won’t bother you.

Spiders: Another common insect found in the home, household spiders are nothing to worry about and you can’t do much to completely prevent the appearance of a spider or two in the house. Most people solve the problem of spiders by simply taking them outside if they don’t like their presence.

Carpet Beetles: Carpet beetles are very common in the home, so it’s likely that they’ll be some living in your carpet or natural fabrics. Unless the infestation gets bad you really don’t need to worry about these critters. Carpet beetles are active so if you find one, or the shell of one, it could be far away from the main infestation. If you start seeing a few, the best thing to do is investigate where the main infestation is and simply clean it up. You shouldn’t need to use pesticides.

Undesirables:

Silver Fish: Silver fish are tiny silvery thin insects that tend to be found in bathrooms because they like damp places. Although they won’t actually do you any harm, they’re unpleasant to look at and are indicative of poor hygiene standards. For this reason alone you’ll want to clear them out and have a good clean!

Cockroaches: Cockroach allergens can be harmful for children as they have been linked to causing asthma. Their allergens are released by their saliva and in their droppings. They’re pretty grim creatures, and if you do spot one in the house make sure you take out all rubbish and give everywhere a good clean so they can’t set up home.

Bed Bugs: Bed bugs are similar to lice, but live in your mattress and feed off human blood. The reason they like your bed is simply because they are mainly nocturnal creatures, and at night time their food (your blood) can be found in bed. Because they work only at night they can be very difficult to detect. Normally you’ll only realise you have bed bugs when you wake up with signs of biting. Common indications of bed bugs are a number of bites in a line along part of your body, where the bug has crawled along and taken bites intermittently. They can also cause skin rashes. The adverse health effects are the main reason you’ll want to get rid of these guys. The first option to try is simply vacuuming your bed before you start anything more serious.

Lice: Lice are parasites which survive on blood and therefore live on people and animals. This means that they’ll have a hard time setting up home in your furniture and carpets. If any of your household catches human lice, most commonly head lice, then you do need to think about washing linen, especially pillows and sheets. When you sleep the lice from your hair can crawl onto your pillow, though is very unlikely. They won’t survive long, but can end up crawling from the pillow onto another person’s scalp, or back on to the original scalp, thereby perpetuating in the infestation, so it’s a good idea to wash linen, clothes and cushion covers to avoid this.

Most bugs in the home aren’t much to worry about and can be avoid by keeping things clean and tidy and sticking to hygiene standards.

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Article By: Polina

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