{"id":368,"date":"2022-07-07T17:32:37","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T17:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/?p=368"},"modified":"2022-07-07T17:59:15","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T17:59:15","slug":"do-bed-bugs-smell-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/do-bed-bugs-smell-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Bed Bugs Smell Blood? How Are They Attracted to Humans?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Bed bugs are a nightmare when they are in your home, or even in the home of a friend, neighbor, or visitor. How do they infest everything? How do they find you? <strong><em>Do Bed Bugs Smell Blood?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Bed bugs are drawn to the carbon dioxide humans exhale while sleeping.&nbsp;<\/li><li>They eat blood and crawl all over the bed to find carbon dioxide. They then bite.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Bed bugs can be strange little creatures. Because they are so fast, it can be difficult to spot them.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing how to identify and distinguish bed bugs from other pests in your home will save you time and money and help prevent stress and worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So why do bed bugs feed on blood, why are they so successful, and what solutions exist to help eliminate them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And what is the true impact of these little vampires?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do Bed Bugs Smell Blood?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to bed bugs, no one ever wants to think of having these pests in their home or body! After all, these are some of the most annoying pests in the world and are very hard to eliminate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The one thing that most people want to know is whether or not bed bugs can smell blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It appears these little Dracula-wannabes can smell your presence  from more than twenty feet away. But bed bugs seem to be attracted to your body primarily because of the carbon dioxide you exhale, as opposed to your blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:30px\"><em>It appears these little Dracula-wannabes can smell your presence from more than twenty feet away. But bed bugs seem to be attracted to your body primarily because of the carbon dioxide you exhale, as opposed to your blood.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once they have a good idea of where you are, they will get closer to your body to smell you. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3255965\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Recent studies<\/a> have shown that these pests can detect the carbon dioxide you exhale and other chemicals released from your skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In medieval times, when people would travel to inns with bed bug problems, they would send a pig into the room first so the bed bugs would feed and be satiated. So you could always try that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Science Says About Bed Bugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some scientists believe that bed bugs can detect a person&#8217;s blood through smell or even pheromones. Another side of the argument is that these bugs don&#8217;t need to be close to their food source to feed; therefore, they do not require a higher sense of smell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can only test the blood under laboratory conditions to determine if bed bugs can smell blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, such tests have never been done on humans, so the jury remains out on this subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would certainly make sense that bed bugs would be sensitive to blood in their environment. After all, they feast on blood. But they do not appear to have a more enhanced sense of smell than humans have when it comes to blood detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"font-size:30px\"><em>Bed bugs can detect the carbon dioxide you exhale and other chemicals released from your skin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to Do if You Have Bed Bugs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you believe you might be dealing with bed bugs, it is wise to call an exterminator immediately to prevent further infestation and discomfort. The longer these bugs stay in your home or on your body, the more severe their infestation will become. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the harder it will be for an exterminator to get rid of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If bed bugs come into your home, you must inspect your home and make sure that you get rid of any bed bugs present. Sometimes, it is best to treat and exterminate <em>the entire home<\/em> to prevent further infestation. You probably want to throw away all mattresses, bedding, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:30px\"><em>If bed bugs come into your home, you must inspect your home and make sure that you get rid of any bed bugs present.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A pest control professional who has a lot of experience may be necessary, and as mentioned above, you probably want to get rid of your bedding and maybe mattresses (see below). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that doesn&#8217;t mean you have to throw out the rest of your furniture. You can spray insecticides on furniture, take it apart and spray orange oil or Murphy&#8217;s oils. Both have insecticidal properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mattresses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on the cost of the mattress and the level of infestation, it may be easiest to just get rid of your mattress. But it&#8217;s possible you can treat your mattress and save it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:30px\"><em>Depending on the cost of the mattress and the level of infestation, it may be easiest to just get rid of your mattress. But it&#8217;s possible you can treat your mattress and save it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Special preparations are available for mattresses. Low-vapor steam treatments are non-chemical methods to get rid of bed bugs. These can be used for furniture and mattresses. You can also use encasements to protect the mattress box spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is possible to starve them, but it can take several months.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hire a Professional<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Look for someone with experience in dealing with bed bugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They can tell you exactly how to get rid of this pest from your home, which is the first step in eliminating their threat. If you seldom have time for a lengthy process, then you should call an exterminator so that they can deal with the situation quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear whether bed bugs smell our blood or that they are attracted to our carbon dioxide. But regardless, they are certainly attracted to us, and once they have set up shop in our homes, they are <em>really<\/em> hard to get rid of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Best to not invite them in at all! If that&#8217;s too late, call a professional for help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bed bugs are a nightmare when they are in your home, or even in the home of a friend, neighbor, or visitor. How do they infest everything? How do they find you? Do Bed Bugs Smell Blood? Bed bugs are drawn to the carbon dioxide humans exhale while sleeping.&nbsp; They eat blood and crawl all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":447,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions\/447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pestqueen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}