Bed bugs vs tick, these are small household pests, this makes it difficult to identify them easily. In a case of bed bugs vs tick infestation, you don’t need to freak out rather try and spot the kind of pest infesting your home to ensure proper elimination technique.
This particular article will help you out with facts about bed bugs vs ticks, how to identify, differentiate and prevent these pests in your home or surrounding.
Read also:Â Mosquito vs Bed Bug Bites; Which is More Deadly?
Facts About Bed Bugs
Classification: Bed bugs belong to the class of Insecta.
Appearance: This pest has 6 legs. Bedbugs are tiny with a deep red look and oval in shape.
Reproduction: This pest has rapidly reproduction rate.
Mode of Feeding: Bed bugs mainly feed on people while they are at rest or sleeping usually at night, and although the bite is not severe, most people won’t feel bitten until after they’re awake. Bed bugs feed for 2 to 9 minutes and move over to the next spot, they can feed on their host several times in one night, although they can live without feeding for 9 to 12 months.
Habitat: When searching for bed bugs, they are easily found indoors most typically found in the bed between the bed and the bed case. They can live in any type of furniture, rugs, fabrics, and beds.
Bed bug infestations are much more common now because of increased travel and hotel stays. Although you’re most likely to encounter bed bugs in a hotel (any hotel, not just the cheap ones), you can be exposed to bed bugs in office buildings, restaurants, airports, and though used furniture or clothing.
Facts About Ticks
Classification: Ticks belong to the class Arachnida,
Appearance: This pest has eight legs. This makes it easy to tell the difference between bed bugs vs ticks, bed bugs have 6 legs. However, they are flat, oval shape and blood-sucking behavior, ticks are completely different from bed bugs.
Habitat: Ticks will be easily found outside in the grass or other ground places.
Mode of feeding: When ticks bite unlike bed bugs bite which doesn’t have any severe harm to humans, ticks transmit some severe illnesses to humans including Lyme disease.
This pest can stick to a particular bite spot for days after their previous bite, unlike bed bugs, which feed for a short time and then move to another spot. Ticks mainly feed on animals but will feed on humans in the absence of an animal.
Difference Between Bed Bugs vs. Tick
In our earlier discussion, we highlighted a few features that will help differentiate between bed bugs vs ticks. The differences between a bed bug and a tick are few, they are:
- Their legs, bed bugs have 6 legs while ticks have 8 legs
- Other qualities like feeding habits, bed bugs feed for a shorter time and can stay a year without feeding while a tick feeds for days. A bed bug feeds mainly on humans while ticks feed mainly on animals.
- A bed bug bite has no severe effect on humans but tick bite has the ability to transmit illnesses that cause severe outcomes if not treated.
- Bed bugs are usually found indoors while ticks are found in grasses or other ground places.
How to Identify Bed Bugs vs. Ticks
Appearance: Most ticks and bed bugs have no wings, they are oval and flat in shape. As we mentioned earlier, it can be very difficult to identify these pests at a glance. Bed bugs have 6 legs, while a tick has 8 legs. However, these pests are little, so it may not be easier to easily identify their legs, therefore it is not the best way to identify them.
The best way to identify a bed bug and a tick are when they must-have bitten or fed on their host. Ticks are usually filled with blood which makes them reddish-brown, making them easier to spot. While bed bugs appear darker after feeding.
Movement: Both the bed bugs and ticks can’t jump either can they fly, so both pests move on people, pets, and objects.
Bed Bugs vs Ticks Infestation: The difference in bed bugs and tick infestation is their time in breeding habits. However, few species of ticks reproduce indoors or in surrounding with larger numbers of insects indoors which are likely not going to pose a treat to the tick. Furthermore, bed bugs breed very often in the living room and bedroom areas.
Picture of Bed Bugs vs Ticks
How Are Bed Bugs vs Ticks Transferred?
Bed bugs and ticks get on people and pets while walking in the field, grasses or other tick habitats. However, bed bugs often get on to loads at infested houses, hotels or hide in any furniture, fabric, pillow, and bed.
How to Identify Bed Bug Bites vs. Tick Bites
How to Identify a tick bite vs. a bed bug bite by a glance is somewhat hard. However, these bites affect each person in a different way, the appearance or spot of bite on the skin is not the best way to identify these pest bites.
The reliable way to differentiate these bites depends on the outcome after when the ticks get on the body of their host and chomped, while bed bugs will take a blood bite and then return to their initial spot. Moreover, the side effects of these pests’ bites can be severe in most cases and should not be observed or toyed with.
Research so far shows no scientific proven illness being transmitted by these pest bites to humans, though most people with a high-level allergic response to insects’ bite may react to it. However, ticks carry various kinds of diseases that weaken the immune system, they are diseases like Lyme disease, and ehrlichiosis spotted fever.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs vs. Tick Infestation
As the house proprietor, it is expected of you to react as soon as the first sign of a bed bug or tick infestation is dictated. They are various techniques to prevent and control these pests’ infestation, it may possibly help reduce the pests, but hiring any pest control expert is advised so as to combat the infestation. Below are DIY methods of preventing bed bugs vs tick infestation.
Observe and Think of a Suitable Technique
You don’t need to panic rather be confident in your approach. However, Integrated pest management (IPM) techniques will help reduce the number of bed bugs vs ticks and save you the money for pesticides and hiring a professional.
Discover and Destroy Their Habitat
A jumbled home gives more places to bed bugs to stow away and makes finding and treating them harder. On the off chance that bed bugs are in your bedding, utilizing uncommon bed bug covers (encasements) on your sleeping cushion and box springs makes it harder for bed bugs to get to you while you rest. Leave the encasements on for a year.
Make certain to purchase an item that has been tried for bed bugs and is sufficiently able to keep going for the entire year without tearing.
Cleaning Technique
This lessens the number of bed bugs. Bed bugs and their eggs can stow away in clothing compartments/hampers Remember to clean them when you do the clothing.
Freezing Technique
While freezing can kill bed bugs, temperatures must stay exceptionally low for quite a while. Home coolers may not be sufficiently cold to slaughter bed bugs; consistently utilize a thermometer to precisely check the temperature.
Putting things outside in frigid temperatures could execute bed bugs, however, there are numerous components that can influence the achievement of this technique.
Using Heat Technique
Raising the indoor temperature with the indoor regulator or space warmers won’t carry out the responsibility. Exceptional hardware and extremely high temperatures are vital for effective warmth treatment.
Dark plastic packs in the sun may work to execute bed bugs in gear or little things if the substance becomes blistering enough. Bed bugs kick the bucket when their internal heat levels arrive at 45°C. To murder bed bugs with heat, the room or holder must be significantly more sizzling to guarantee continued warmth arrives at the bugs regardless of where they are stowing away
Avoid Getting or Giving Infested Clothing, Fabrics and Furniture
Bed bugs are acceptable drifters. On the off chance that you toss out bedding or furniture that has bed bugs in it, you should slice or somehow or another wreck it with the goal that nobody else takes it and gets bed bugs.
Try to Lessen the Number of Pests
Exhaustive vacuuming can dispose of a portion of your bed bugs. Cautiously vacuum mats, floors, upholstered furniture, bed outlines, under beds, around bed legs, and all splits and cleft around the room. Change the pack after each utilization so the bed bugs can’t getaway. Spot the pre-owned sack in a firmly fixed plastic pack and in an outside trash canister.
Visit any Pest Control Expert or Organization Near you
Hiring an accomplished, mindful pest control proficient can build your opportunity of achievement in disposing of bed bugs.
On the off chance that you procure a specialist, be certain it’s an organization with a decent notoriety and solicitation that it utilizes an IPM approach. Contact your state pesticide organization for direction about hiring proficient pest control organizations.
We hope this review will help you with everything you need to know on bed bugs vs. ticks. Feel free to contact us for further help.
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