What are bed bugs? Will they hurt me?

Question

Well I saw that thing on the yahoo home page and I was wondering what ARE bed bugs and will they hurt me?

Answer 1

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/

Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs and their relatives have evolved as nest parasites. Certain kinds inhabit bird nests and bat roosts and await the return of their hosts; others have adapted well to living in the ‘nests’ (homes) of people.

Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in length. From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom.

Their color ranges from nearly white (just after molting) or a light tan to a deep brown or burnt orange. The host’s blood may appear as a dark red or black mass within the bug’s body. Because they never develop wings, bed bugs cannot fly. When disturbed, bed bugs actively seek shelter in dark cracks and crevices. Cast skins of bed bugs are sometimes discovered. Although such a finding confirms that bed bugs had been present previously, it does not confirm that any continue to infest the residence. Thus, inspect carefully for live crawling bed bugs. Because many other kinds of small brown bugs may be discovered, it is critical to ensure that the bugs are correctly identified.

Bed bugs seek out people and animals, generally at night while these hosts are asleep, and painlessly sip a few drops of blood. While feeding, they inject a tiny amount of their saliva into the skin. Repeated exposures to bed bug bites during a period of several weeks or more causes people to become sensitized to the saliva of these bugs; additional bites may then result in mild to intense allergic responses. The skin lesion produced by the bite of a bed bug resembles those caused by many other kinds of blood feeding insects, such as mosquitoes and fleas. The offending insect, therefore, can rarely be identified by the appearance of the bites. A physician should be consulted to rule out other causes for the lesions and to offer treatment, as needed. The affected person should resist the urge to scratch the bites, as this may intensify the irritation and itching, and may lead to secondary infection. Physicians often treat patients with antihistamines and corticosteroids to reduce allergic reactions and inflammation. Despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious agents.

ETC..

Answer 2

if you saw it you probably should have read it and saved yourself the time of posting this question.

bedbugs "attack" you while you are sleeping. they bite you while you sleep and signs they are getting you are red bumps, itching, and discomfort. and just like anyother bug bite they can hurt. they are hard to combat and usually the best way to get rid of them is to get at least a new bed if not a whole new bed room set. and even if you replace everything still get an exterminator for your entire house. bed bugs also generally feed on one host so you may be getting bit but your partner may not.

Answer 3

Sassy has it to a tee. the other people are also right but are not referring to the bed bugs you are asking about. The little beggars they are talking about are indeed microscopic and thank god for that, as they are ugly as sin.

Answer 4

They will suck your blood while you sleep causing marks on your body. Fortunately, I think a lot of it is sensationalism... I've never seen a bedbug in my life, although they really do exist. A common misconception is that they are microscopic, but an adult bedbug can grow to a length of about 4mm.

Answer 5

tiny tiny mites which feed off your dead skin which has fallen off.
They won't hurt you but it does pay to keep your bed linen clean.
Your body is also covered with these tiny mites. When I first heard this the first thing I did was have a hot shower.... then I heard that the warmth helps them breed...

Yuck!

Answer 6

Yes, they are real but they will not hurt you because they are microscopic. They feed off of dust particles.

Answer 7

They are nasty little bugger.