Bed Bugs Do Bite

Don't let the bed bugs bite? It might be hard to prevent that -- assuming they inhabit your cozy lair in the first place.

I have always believed that bed bugs were not visible to the naked eye. In fact, that's a myth. In truth, the small creatures are reddish brown, flattened, oval and wingless. They are approximately 4 to 5 mm in length. One article compares them to the size of apple seeds. They're gross little creatures, really. They are most active near dawn, with a peak feeding period about an hour before sunrise. What do they feed upon? You. And your blood. They are attracted by the presence of carbon dioxide and pierce the skin of their host with two hollow tubes. After feeding for about five minutes, they return to their hiding place.

In a strange turn of events, bedbugs mate via a process termed "traumatic insemination." Ouch. More details on that process can be found here. It's too traumatic to type out here.

Bed bugs can provide you with a nice raised, red bump on your skin, and those bites can be accompanied by severe itching. Some people even experience insomnia, anxiety or stress at the prospect of bed bugs -- some develop skin infections and scarring from scratching.

Yet, on the bright side, most studies have concluded that bed bugs are unlikely to pass diseases from one person to another. Apparently, the bed bug is making a come back in urban housing across the nation.

Who can stop this blood sucking menace? (Other than DDT.)

This video might give you the heebie jeebies: