Many times, clients mention that they are afraid that they have a bed bug infestation because in the night a sharp painful stick occurred, but no bug was found upon examination.
If this has happened to you, be assured that the painful bite or stick was not a bed bug. A bed bug’s bite is not painful at all.
The explanation for this fact is that a bed bug does have a sharp probiscis that serves as a straw to suck out blood from the host. The important thing to know is that when the probiscis is inserted, a small amount of anesthetic is released that keeps the victim from actually feeling the puncture.
There is a reason for this. Let’s think about it for a while. Nature, in this case, makes sense. It takes around 10 minutes for a bed bug to fill up in a feeding. That means that the host must stay still allowing the bug to feed without interruption. If a bed bug bite was painful the human reaction would be to swipe it away or move quickly breaking off the feeding action. If the bite was painful the bed bug would never be able to feed.
Normally bed bugs feed while a person is sleeping or sitting on furniture for long periods of time allowing a full feed. Once that feeding is accomplished, the bed bug crawls to a crack or crevice or tight place to digest the blood that was taken in. Because of the nature of the feeding process, that digestion may take around 10 days and therefore we find that bed bugs do not feed daily but every 10 days or so.
If a bite is painful, it could be the result of another insect or a small sharp object that the victim has come in contact with. With bed bugs, the bites may be in a pattern of three bites. This pattern is called breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Typically, a bed bug will feed at the first site and move a short distance to feed again and go one more time to finish its feeding needs, but the sites are very close together allowing a full feeding to take place in a short period of time.
Other insects that can bite and cause some pain during the bite process would be spiders, mosquitos, and some blood feeding mites like bird mites and fleas.
If you have concerns and cannot find the insect, medical help may be required.
For pest control operators identifying the insect is key in treatment. We must identify the bug before a proper treatment plan is commenced.
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