It does not matter if you are dealing with a bed bug infestation or a flea infestation, because you want to get them out of your home. However, before you drive yourself crazy, it is important to know exactly what you are dealing with. Treatments may be necessary in both cases, but the treatments will differ in several ways. Below you are going to learn more information about the difference between bed bugs and fleas.Bed Bug Exterminator Boston – Lady B’s Bed Bug Pros
How Fleas and Bed Bugs Are Different
Both of these parasites will require a warm-blooded host to provide them nutrition. However, fleas usually prefer feeding on cats and dogs as opposed to humans, but this does not mean that they will not feed on humans.
- People usually bring bed bugs into the home, whereas fleas are usually brought into the home by your loveable pets.
- A single flea can produce anywhere from 150 to 300 eggs every week. On the other hand, a single bud bug will only lay 200 eggs in a whole lifetime.
- Bed bugs are not capable of jumping or flying, but a flea can jump almost 200 times their body length.
There have never been many documented cases in which a bed bug has passed on any type of disease, but fleas can pass on typhus, plague, and cat-scratch fever.
Physical Differences
If you somehow happen to capture one of the pests that are biting you, then you can tell them apart by looking at their bodies. A bed bug will have a flat shaped body and be reddish-brown in color. They usually range anywhere from 1.5 to 5 millimeters long. Fleas are also reddish-brown in color, but have a more oval shaped body. Fleas are also a little bit smaller, since they range anywhere from 1.5 to 3.3 millimeters long.
Both of the parasites are nocturnal in some sense, but bed bugs are more likely found around your sleeping areas. However, fleas will more than likely be found around your pets sleeping area.
Checking the Bites
If you are experiencing bites, then there is a good chance that you are already dealing with an infestation. If you have children and pets in the home, then you are going to want to check them for bites, as well. However, if you can actually determine what type of bite you are dealing with, then you will be one step ahead of the problem.
Fleabites almost resemble the same appearance as mosquito bites. They are often randomly placed on the body. The bite mark will appear as a dot with a dark red center. Bed bug bites often appear in a row or line. The bite marks will appear a bit more raised and almost resembling the appearance of a welt.
A bed bug bite can sometimes take days before it even shows up, but a fleabite can show up less than 1 hour after you have been bitten. The fleabite will begin to itch instantly, whereas the bed bug bite will gradually begin to itch.
Conclusion
Once you have determined the type of infestation that you are dealing with you can contact a professional like bed bug exterminators Boston and let them know you need some help.
