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There’s been a lot of news recently about bedbug infestations. WebMD answers your questions about bedbugs, from where they come from to how to get rid of them.

Sept. 24, 2010 -- Bedbugs are like vampires. They suck your blood , and they are all the rage right now.

Unfortunately, the nasty little critters aren’t fictional creatures out of the Dracula or Twilight sagas. They are all too real. And they're not afraid of garlic.

Missy Henriksen, a spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), answers questions from the WebMD audience about how to spot bedbugs, how to get rid of them (no, you don’t need tiny wooden stakes), and how to prevent them from invading your space in the first place.

Bedbug Basics

What exactly are bedbugs and how do you know if you have them?

Bedbugs are bloodsuckers that feed mostly on humans. It’s a myth that they are too small to see. In fact, says Henriksen, they look like apple seeds or lentils. The first sign that you have a problem? You’ll wake up to find itchy welts on your skin , frequently in groups of three -- one each to indicate your guest’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You might also spot pepper flake-like particles that Henriksen delicately calls bedbug dirt.?

Where are these things prevalent?

Bedbugs are most commonly found in and around your bed: your mattress, where the box spring and mattress connect, and in the dust ruffle that circles the bottom of your bed. But they can also be found in the walls, in picture frames, and other pieces of furniture.

Are bedbugs attracted to the fibers or the material used to make mattresses?

No. These night feeders are attracted to carbon dioxide, which we expel with every breath.?

Cleanliness Questions

Are bedbugs attracted to dirty people?

No. Bedbugs, says Henriksen, are equal opportunity biters -- they’ll go after you whether you are dirty or clean.?

Can a person prevent them by keeping a clean place?

Again, no. “You’ll find them in budget motels as well as five-star resorts,” Henriksen says. But you can make it easier to get rid of them if you reduce clutter. That way, they have fewer places to hide when the pest pros show up.?

If caught early, could one take steps to prevent them from multiplying? [Such as] vacuuming, throwing away items they may have laid their eggs in, and putting all your personal items (such as books, pics) in a freezer?

No. Although you may be able to spot and kill a bed bug or two, that doesn’t get at the root problem, which is the infestation itself. Henriksen says that professionals consider bedbugs the single most difficult pest to eliminate. “It’s not a do-it-yourself pest.”?

Associated Diseases

Are there any diseases associated with bedbugs or are they just an annoyance?

The good news is that bedbugs do not transmit diseases. However, Henriksen says, they can keep you from getting a good night’s sleep , which, over time, is bad for your health. Anxiety is not an uncommon consequence of sharing your bed with loads of bugs.?

Do bedbugs cause any disease apart from anemia ?

Again, bedbugs do not spread disease, and there is little evidence that they can cause anemia, a blood disorder in which you don’t have enough red blood cells to carry the oxygen required by your body. A 2009 case study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal discussed one possible case in a 60-year-old man who had been bitten hundreds of times. The authors were able to find only one other case in the medical literature, and that was dated 1962.?

Protection and Prevention

Does getting a plastic cover for your mattress help?

A plastic cover will keep bedbugs out of your mattress (or trap them inside if they are already there), Henriksen says. However, bedbugs hide in all sorts of places, and there’s no piece of plastic that can cover everything.?

I know that ants and moths tend to dislike cinnamon and orange oil. Do bedbugs have any aversions?

No, Henriksen says. The anti-pest industry is always testing new products, but they haven’t come up with anything yet.?

Many times, it is impossible to avoid them (e.g. in travel or when you accompany a patient in the hospital). I would like to know how one can protect oneself at an entirely new place.

Be vigilant, Henriksen says. If you are in a hotel, check the bed before you go to sleep. And when you return home, wash everything in hot water. Bedbugs can’t survive temperatures above 113 degrees Fahrenheit. As for hospitals, you’re right. They are not necessarily bedbug-free zones. Henriksen says that 12% of NPMA pros treated hospitals last year.?

If our home is now free of the bedbugs, how could they get into our bed in the first place? Do they come with us or things we brought from outside?

Your coworker, the person sitting next to you at the movies, that secondhand sofa you just bought -- all might be carrying bedbugs. They’re real hitchhikers. "But we don’t want anybody to be paranoid,” Henriksen says.

Elimination

Once the apartment is fumigated and everything is washed, sealed in plastic bags, what else can I do to prevent them from coming back? How do I make sure that any eggs that were not killed by the exterminator that hatch are killed before they can reproduce and re-infect?

Other than being cautious about what you bring into the house, there’s not much that you can do. Henriksen says that most pest professionals will schedule more than one treatment in order to be as thorough as possible, so hopefully those eggs you are worried about won’t hatch.?

What is the best way to rid yourself of these nasty little creatures?

Call a pro.?

How to get rid of them in the quickest possible time and the easiest way possible?

Getting rid of bedbugs is neither quick nor easy. The better question is, what is the most thorough way to get rid of them. Again, Henriksen recommends working with a professional. Expect to do a tremendous amount of laundry and sealing things in bags prior to treatment.?

In a tropical country like the Philippines, they're almost everywhere! How can we get rid of them? We live in a city, in a condo.

Henriksen says that climate is less of a factor than crowding. Bedbug infestations are more common in big cities, especially in densely populated neighborhoods.?

Why don't they come up with something to slather on your body or dust on the sheets that will kill them and neutralize their eggs? Like a fake body, heated, with a sticky skin... something like a huge fly paper covered, mechanical, moving, warm bedbug catcher.

Unfortunately, there’s no effective repellant for bedbugs. Even if there were, it wouldn’t get rid of them. As for dusting, Henriksen says you will want to be careful what you dust your sheets with. After all, you have to sleep on them.

WebMD Health News 
by Matt McMillen 
Reviewed By Laura Martin

Last Modified: 2010/9/24 下午 04:50:30

c 2010 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

【24drs.com】Sept. 24, 2010 – 臭蟲就像吸血鬼，吸你的血，是現在最熱門的話題。不幸的是，這令人討厭的小生物不是德古拉或暮光之城這些小說內的虛幻角色，而是活生生的在我們的週遭，而且，牠們不怕大蒜。
　　
　　美國害蟲管理協會(NPMA)發言人Missy Henriksen回答來自WebMD讀者有關於臭蟲的問題，包括如何除掉牠們(不！你不需要小木樁)，首重如何避免牠們侵犯住處。
　　
　　【臭蟲的基本知識】
　　臭蟲實際上是怎樣，如何確認是否有臭蟲？
　　臭蟲多數靠吸人類的血維生，一般誤認為牠小到看不見，Henriksen表示，事實上，牠們的大小類似蘋果種子或小扁豆。發現有臭蟲時的第一個徵兆是醒來時發現皮膚上有一些會癢的傷痕，通常會有三處—也就是住在你身上的不速之客的三餐位置，你也會發現類似剝落的胡椒般的微粒，也就是Henriksen所稱的臭蟲土。
　　
　　盛行於何處？ 
　　臭蟲多數在你的床邊、床墊、床墊與彈簧墊接合處、床罩週邊的床裙等位置發現，但是你也可以在牆壁、畫框、其他傢俱處發現。
　　
　　臭蟲是被製造墊子的材質或纖維所吸引的嗎？ 
　　不是，這些夜間出沒的小昆蟲是被二氧化碳所吸引，也就是我們每次呼吸所吐出的氣體。
　　
　　【清潔方面的問題】
　　骯髒的人才會吸引臭蟲嗎？ 
　　Henriksen表示，不是，臭蟲是伺機型叮咬者—不論你是骯髒或乾淨都會發生。
　　
　　可以藉由保持環境清潔來避免牠們嗎？ 
　　Henriksen表示，答案依舊不是，你在便宜的汽車旅館和五星級渡假村都會發現牠們，但是，如果減少混亂，倒是可以比較簡單的除掉牠們，也就是讓牠們可以藏匿的地方減少。
　　
　　如果及早發現，可以有方式來避免牠們繁殖嗎？例如用吸塵器吸、丟掉可能被牠們生蛋的物品、將你的所有個人物品(例如書籍和相片)放在電冰箱？
　　不是。儘管你可以找到並除掉幾隻臭蟲，並無法治本，依舊會蔓延。Henriksen表示，專家認為臭蟲是最難消滅的害蟲，憑一己之力無法達成。
　　
　　【相關的疾病】
　　有任何疾病和臭蟲有關嗎？或者牠們本身就是大麻煩？
　　好消息是，臭蟲不會傳播疾病，不過，Henriksen表示，牠們會害你無法一夜好眠，而這對你的健康不好。如果你的床上有許多臭蟲，往往會害你產生焦慮。
　　
　　臭蟲除了貧血之外還會引起任何疾病嗎？ 
　　再次強調，臭蟲不會傳播疾病，也少有證據指稱牠們會引起貧血(沒有足夠的紅血球來攜帶身體所需之氧氣的一種血液疾病)。發表於加拿大醫學協會期刊(Canadian Medical Association Journal)的一篇2009年案例報告，討論一個被叮咬數百下的60歲男性案例，作者們僅在1962年的文獻找到另一個案例記載。
　　
　　【保護與預防】
　　床墊上加塑膠罩會有幫助嗎？ 
　　Henriksen表示，塑膠罩可以讓臭蟲不會進入床墊(或者可捕捉已經在內的臭蟲)，不過，臭蟲藏匿在各個地方，沒有可以罩住每個東西的塑膠罩。
　　
　　我知道螞蟻和蠹蟲不喜歡肉桂和柑橘油，臭蟲討厭的東西是什麼？ 
　　Henriksen表示，沒有，除蟲業界還在試驗新產品，但是，尚無所獲。　
　　
　　大多是無可避免(例如旅行或在醫院陪伴病患時)嗎？我想知道如何在一個陌生的環境中保護自己。
　　Henriksen表示，保持警覺。如果你住飯店，上床睡覺前檢查床鋪。當你返家時，用熱水洗每件衣物。華氏113度即可令臭蟲無法存活。至於醫院，沒錯，未必就沒有臭蟲，Henriksen表示，有12%的NPMA在去年為醫院進行除蟲。
　　
　　如果我家現在沒有臭蟲，牠們是怎樣進到我的床？是我們身上或物品從外面帶回來的嗎？
　　你的同事，電影院中坐你旁邊的人，你剛買的二手沙發—都可能藏有臭蟲。Henriksen表示，牠們真的很會搭便車，不過，我也不希望大家因此有被害妄想症。
　　
　　【消除】
　　一旦公寓有加以殺蟲、清洗所有東西、用塑膠袋封緘，還有其他可用來防止牠們再度出現的方法嗎？我如何確定有沒有逃過一劫的蟲卵、且在牠們再度孵出引起危害前殺掉牠們？
　　除了注意帶入屋內的東西之外，別無他法。Henriksen表示，多數除害蟲專家會排定一次以上的消毒，以便盡可能徹底消毒，希望讓這些令你擔心的蟲卵沒有孵化的機會。
　　
　　我可以用來除掉這些小害蟲的最佳方法？
　　找專家。
　　
　　如何在最短時間以最簡單的方式除掉牠們？ 
　　除蟲不在於快或簡單，而是要以最徹底的方式除掉牠們。Henriksen依舊建議找專家。在開始除蟲之前，盡可能清洗衣物且用袋子封妥。
　　
　　在菲律賓等熱帶國家，臭蟲無所不在！我們該如何除掉牠們？我們住在城市內的公寓中。
　　Henriksen表示，氣候的因素還比不上人口擁擠。臭蟲多數發生在大城市，特別是人口密集區。
　　
　　為什麼沒有一種方法可以用在身上或床單上來殺掉這些臭蟲和蟲卵？或者用一個包有粘性皮膚的假人、加熱...就像一個包有巨大的捕蠅紙、可用機械移動的溫暖的捕臭蟲器。
　　不幸的是，這無法有效擊退臭蟲，即便有這產品，它是無法除掉牠們的。至於撣除，Henriksen表示，你在撣床單時得要小心，畢竟，你還得睡在床單上。