What are Facts About Bat Bug Bites?

The bugs may bite you and your family if they have moved into your living area. The bat bugs cannot fly but can cling onto the bats when they leave their roost.

The bat bug spreads by hopping on the back of a bat, and then setting up its new habitat once it leaves the animal. Continue reading to learn more!

 

How Do I Describe the Bat Bug?

Bed bugs and bat bugs are closely related. Both pests belong to the Cimicidae family, which includes 22 different types of insects.

The Cimicidae family includes 12 species of bat-related Cimicidae, while the rest prefer to feed upon birds or mammals.

Bat bugs are parasitic insects that feed on bat blood. The name is used to describe members of the family Cimicidae, such as Cimex lexularius and Afrocimex constricus are examples of Cimicidae.

Bed bugs and bat bugs have a close relationship, but they look so similar that they’re often confused.

 

Read also: How to Get Rid of Bat Bugs

 

What Do Bat Bugs Look Like?

The oval-shaped brown body of a bat bug is similar to that of a bed bug. They are both about three-eighths an inch long.

Bed bugs and bat bugs are almost identical. Both are small brown oval bugs. The bugs have non-functional, stubby wings and mouthparts that look like beaks.When fully grown, they are between 1/4 and 3/8 inch in length. The upper thorax of bat bugs has longer fringe hairs than bed bugs. However, they are only distinguishable under a magnifying glass.

Like bed bugs, bat bugs feed on blood. However, they prefer to bite birds or bats instead of humans. They will still bite humans even if no bats are available.The bat bug can survive without blood for up to one year, but this stunts the development of the bat bug at the beginning of its life cycle. Female bat bugs also need blood to produce eggs.

The eggs are laid by female bat bugs on surfaces that are rough or in cracks near their home. The eggs hatch in one to two weeks and the nymphs are born.

The nymphs need a blood meal in order to moult. The bat bugs reach adulthood in about six weeks depending on whether blood meals are available.

 

What Makes Up the Habitat of the Bat Bug?

The world is full of bat bugs. In the United States, the Eastern bat bug is the most common. ( Cimex adjunctus). These bat bugs are found in the eastern and midwestern states.

Bat bugs tend to gather in areas where bats roost. They can be found in the cracks and crevices of any building or space where bats are present.

They do not live exclusively on bats. They feed on animals and then retreat into their own space.

 

Read also: Bat Bug vs. Bed Bug: Identification, Similarities, and Differences

 

How Do I Describe A Bat Bug Infestation?

In the midwest US, bat bugs are common. They have also been found in Scotland. They are often found in buildings and houses that are home to bats.

Bats that carry the insects on their skin are most likely to introduce infestations in human homes. Bat bugs tend to stay near the bats’ roosting places (attics and chimneys).

If the bats are removed or displaced, the bugs will explore the remainder of the building. They can also move into areas that are more common for bedbugs such as mattresses or bed frames.

 

How Do I Describe Bat Bug Bites?

Bat bug bites can be painful, but they leave a reddening mark on the skin. Bat bug bites may cause redness, swelling, or itching. However, bat bugs do not transmit disease.

It’s still upsetting to discover these parasites in the home. This is especially true because they are often mistaken for their more difficult-to-control relatives – bed bugs.

They are not harmful to humans or animals. It is not known that they can transmit disease. The bites of these insects can cause irritation and itchy raised patches, similar to those caused by other insect bites.

Many people have an allergy to an element found in their saliva. They react to this when exposed.

 

How Do I Treat Bat Bug Bites?

If you’re bitten by a bat bug, you can manage the bites with home care:

• Wash the area gently with soap and warm water.
• To soothe irritation, apply a cool compress to the bite.
• Use an anti-itch cream that you can buy over the counter to relieve the pain caused by the bite.
• If topical creams do not help, you can try an antihistamine over the counter.

 

How Do I Get Rid of Bat Bug Bites In My House?

• • • • • • • • Use an insecticide treatment such as bomb treatment to eliminate any insects in your home. Follow the instructions carefully to ensure the safety of your family and pets.
              • Use insecticides as a spot treatment for cracks and crevices that may have bugs hiding.
              • Professional pest control services can treat your home and eliminate the bugs. They might suggest a series of follow-up treatments to ensure that all pests have been eliminated.
              • Frequent cleaning.
              • Vacuuming.
              • Dusting.
              • Laundering clothing and linens.

 

Read also: What are Little Black Bugs in House?

 

Conclusion

To get rid of bat insects, you must eliminate the bats as well as control the bug infestation. You risk an infestation if you eliminate only the bugs.

It is illegal to kill certain bat species because they are part of the ecosystem and therefore protected.

When they leave the bat roost, they feed on warm-blooded mammals, such as people. The feeding is annoying but not dangerous. It has not been proven that bat bugs transmit any disease.

Speak to a professional pest control service or local wildlife management agency about how to get bats out of your building and keep them out. Thank you for reading!

 

FAQs

What Do Bat Bugs Eat?

Bat bugs are primarily fed on mammal blood. Ideally, bat blood. The pests travel on bats’ skins and then populate the roosting areas. These ectoparasites are left behind by overwintering bats.

Bat bugs that are blood-starved then move into houses, settling in living rooms and bedrooms. Pests can live for over a whole year without eating, so they often hide in carpeting or furniture.

Bat bugs also feed on dogs and cats, in addition to bats. These pests can even latch onto mice and rats as a way of entering kitchens or basements.

 

What Attracts Bat Bugs To My Home?

Bats bring bat bugs into buildings. Bats can roost behind walls, in an attic or chimney. Bat bugs can thrive around bats when this occurs.

They usually stay near the bats, and do not bother humans. If bats leave the roost and go to find food, then bugs will follow. The bugs can then migrate through a building, and come into contact with humans.

 

What is the Major Difference Between a Bat Bug and a Bed Bug?

Bat bugs have longer and more hairs in the thorax region (think neck). After feeding, the abdomens turn red and grow in size.

They go from being flat to becoming fat within minutes. It is usually only a professional who can tell bed bugs from bat bugs.

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