I have bedbugs at home! How did I know? I have been having sleepless nights because of insect bites. Whenever I wake up in the morning, I see red, raised bite marks on my back. And these itch and burn. I decided to go see a doctor for treatment.
My doctor said that the bite marks were caused by bedbugs. He even educated me a bit more about bedbug bites. I found out that bedbug bites are very much like mosquito bites except that these form a linear pattern. Through my doctors questions, we were able to establish that I get bitten whenever I slept on my bed. Therefore, my doctor told me to start getting rid of the bedbugs.
To treat the itching and make the bite marks disappear faster, my doctor prescribed topical corticosteroids. But he advised me to refrain from scratching because this will cause scarring.
When I reached home, I started doing some research about bedbugs. How will I know if these live in my mattress? According to what I read, cracks and holes in the mattress are the entry points of bedbugs. My mattress did have holes and cracks.
I also saw brown and red spots on the mattress. According to what I read, the red spots are from blood of crushed bedbugs while the brown spots are their feces. Yikes, I am sleeping on a mattress with bedbug poop!
I am now a lot sure that I will see bedbugs living in my mattress. There were adult and nymphs. Adult bedbugs were around 4-5 mm in length. They are reddish-brown, wingless, with flat, oval bodies. Nymphs are immature forms of bedbugs. These are translucent and lighter than adults. Nymphs are like apple seeds in size.
After checking the mattress, I also looked at the bed frame, walls, floors, drawers, closet, and linens. Good thing that my bedbugs can only be found in the mattress!
To kill the bedbugs in my mattress, I bought a vinyl mattress cover. This will seal my mattress and act as a barrier between the bedbugs and me. These insects will no longer be able to reach me for their food. And after 6 months, bedbugs will die of hunger.
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