Bed worms are basically larvae of some top pest insects that have been known to infest the home especially the bedding of the bedroom and will make the bed an uncomfortable place for homeowners.
In this article, we have taken out time to describe the bed worms, list out some of the top most ferocious bed worms and also provide you with tips to get rid of these bed worms.
Read down below to find out more!
What Do Bed Worms Look Like?
There is no single species of insect that can infest your mattress or bedding; rather, the term “bed worms” refers to a collection of insects and the larvae they produce.
Larvae of the bed bug and flea look like worms because they haven’t yet formed an exoskeleton like an adult insect.
Some mattress worms aren’t even insects; they’re parasites that live their entire lives as worms.
Some common bed worms that might appear in your home include:
- Bed bugs
- Fleas
- Carpet beetles
- Clothes moths
- Pinworms
- Hookworms
- Roundworms
Read also:Â Do Bleach Kill Bed Bugs?
How Did I Get Bed Worms In My Home?
Bed worms can enter your home in one of two ways: either a mature parasite laid eggs in or on your bed, or a human or animal who had contact with the worms or their eggs brought them in.
Below are some examples of these bed worms and what attracts them:
- Fleas and Bed Bugs:
Since their human hosts spend so much time in bed, fleas and bed bugs are naturally drawn there.
Fleas can detect a human’s body heat, movement, and vibrations created by breathing, whereas bed bugs use the carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit to identify a sleeping host.
- Carpet Beetles:
Although carpet beetles pose no direct threat to people, they are attracted to materials made from animals.
Books, grains, spices, and pet food are all examples of plant products that they might eat.
Carpet beetles may find your home inviting if you sleep on a mattress or pillows containing silk, cotton, or wool.
- Cloth Moths:
Clothes moths, which can also fly, are drawn to fabrics made from animals.
It is possible for these moths, which can be found all over the world, to marry in your home and then lay their eggs in, on, or near your mattress so that their larvae will have immediate access to fibres.
The larvae of these pests are easy to identify because they construct a tiny cocoon-like tunnel around their body shortly after hatching.
Read also: Can Fleas Live In Your Bed? Shocking Facts You Should Know
How To Get Rid of Bed Worms in Bedroom?
- Identify their Point of Origin:
The first thing you should do while trying to get rid of Martress worms (or avoid them) is to locate their point of origin. Who or what are they, and how did they enter your bed?
Is there any mess or open food containers lying about your house? Do you currently sleep with a pet or small child?
Did you just buy a new rug or couch that might be harbouring the pests?
The best way to deal with a pest infestation is to find out where it began, in this case, bed worms, so that you can eliminate the problem at its source and stop it from happening again.
- Treat Your Family Members:
Bed worms in bedroom could be a sign that your kids have pinworms or that one of your pets has a parasitic worm infestation. Don’t try to get rid of the bed bugs unless you know for sure that nobody in your family will reintroduce them.
Before dealing with the unpleasantness of bed pests, go to your healthcare professional and veterinarian to make sure everyone is healthy.
- Give Your Beddings Proper Washing and Steaming:
Bedding (and any fabric in the area, including clothing) can be washed in hot water to get rid of pests. Repeat the washing process as necessary.
The heat and water used to wash your bed sheets will destroy any insects, fleas, or larvae that may have found their way into your bed.
Most insects, including their eggs and larvae, can be killed by heat, so using a hot steam cleaner on your mattress is an effective way to get rid of them.
Most home steam cleaners spray a mist of steam at temperatures up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, well over the 115 degrees Fahrenheit that is lethal to bed bugs and fleas.
To avoid the return of riskier mould and mildew after a steam cleaning session, it’s important to make sure your mattress can dry completely and rapidly.
- Seal Your Mattress:
Mattress protectors with zippers can stop new bed worms in bedroom from entering and kill any that are already there.
By isolating your mattress fibres from the outside world (and your body), you may starve off any inhabitants, and prevent any newcomers from laying eggs in the nooks and crannies they favour.
- Apply Chemicals To Your Beddings:
Mattress worms can be eliminated, the pests’ reproductive cycle interrupted, and the mattress’s attractiveness reduced by using commercially available chemical pesticides and repellents.
These chemicals have the potential to be very useful, but they also pose health risks if breathed in for extended periods of time (such as while sleeping) and sometimes have a pungent odour.
A natural, non-toxic alternative is to make a spray with essential oils like peppermint, lavender, or tea tree oil, as their potent aromas are offensive and repellent to many common household pests.
Read also:Â Small White Worms In House | Identification and Riddance
Conclusion
Diseases are not transmitted directly by mattress worms. However, anyone sleeping in a bed with worms should feel uneasy. Lack of sleep and physical discomfort are the major dangers for most bed worm species.
When parasitic larvae, like bed bugs and flea larvae, reach the stage where they can begin biting their hosts in bed, real problems can arise.
Contact us @pestclue immediately if you find small worm-like larvae in your bed; they can develop into bloodsucking, disease-carrying parasites if left untreated.
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