Bedbug Bites Pictures

Bedbugs have made a resurgence in the past few decade.  An insect that was once though to have been eradicated was brought back into the United States and Europe through furniture shipments.  It is believed that the re-infestation of the United States started in New York City.  Due to the close proximity of the apartments and hotels rooms in the city and the large amount of travelers to the city makes it nearly impossible to tell when or where it began.  It is currently believed that they started off in the hotels, then spread throughout the city. From there, they spread across the country.

Bedbugs are a tiny, primarily nocturnal insect that feeds on a hosts blood.  They got their name from their favorite hiding place, in beds.  They tend to hide either in order underneath mattresses during the day, then come out to feed at night, when most of us are sound asleep.  The insect is difficult to remove from homes once they are infested, and many people have been forced to pay thousands of dollars in both exterminator bills and new furniture as a result.

These bedbug bites pictures can help you to determine if you have been bitten by the insect.

	The bedbug bite is a reaction to the insects saliva.  When a bedbug bites a person, it is to drink blood, which is the primary food source for the insect.  The bite typically appears as a raised red bump or welt.  The saliva of the bedbug is designed to keep the blood from coagulating while the insect is feeding.
	Bedbug bites are often confused with mosquito bites, especially in the early stages of an infestation.  They share many of the same physical characteristics, and may even itch like a mosquito bite.  The distinguishing factor is when the infestation become more extreme, and the person is waking up to multiple new bites on a daily basis.
	The size, shape, and color of the welt caused by a bedbug bite depends entirely on the person's reaction to the saliva.  While some people may have large, raised-up, bright red bumps, others may have a very tiny flesh colored bump that goes away in just a few days.
	A large number of bedbugs bites come from people who stay in hotels.  Due to the massive number of travelers who reside there on a regular basis, infestations in hotels are very common.  Since bedbugs are difficult to get rid of, most hotels do not have the time or money to properly treat every room in their building.  All it takes is one infected room to spread bedbugs throughout the entire hotel, and more hotels will not notice an infestation until it is out of control.
	The healing time for bedbug bites can range anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the person.  The major complication is that while bites are healing, the person will also be getting new bites on almost a nightly basis.
	Bedbugs were once believed to have been eliminated from many developed countries through the use DDT, a synthetic pesticide that was later blamed for severe environmental damage.  DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, which left the door open for the reintroduction of bedbugs.  Since DDT is still banned (and rightly so) other methods of eliminating bedbug infestations have been developed.  Several pesticides can be used, and high heat steam cleaning is also very effective at eliminating bedbugs from the home.

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