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Tuesday, 31 May 2011

The Truth Behind “Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite”

by Ade Pranata

Do you know who was the person who said this? Wherever it came from, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” holds a grain of truth to it. It begins with the villain, the bed bugs. Bed bugs are bloodsucking insects that live in warm areas of your furniture like the bed, couch, draperies and carpets.

They are tiny parasites and feeds on a blood meal like a flea. But the bed bugs prefer human blood. The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is actually a wrong notion of the insect. This is because bed bugs do not bite. They pierce the skin with an elongated beak and uses it like a straw to draw blood from the prey. Think of it as a mosquito, without the dangers of transmitting diseases.

The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is proven to be a bad warning because people rarely feel the bed bug as it feeds. When bed bugs feed, they release a chemical like a mild anesthesia that numbs the skin. That is why people are surprised to see itchy, swelling welts on their body the next day.
However, it is a good idea to follow the warning in the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” The bites may seem harmless but the can be embarrassing to look and you may lose sleep over it. When you don’t let the bed bugs bite, you are saving your skin from irritation and possible infections from other insect bites.

But here is the question: How do you don’t let the bed bugs bite when you can’t even see or feel them? One way is to check your mattress or furniture with a magnifying glass. The best time to do this is at night since bed bugs are nocturnal and hides during the day. Bed bugs look like flat, rounded brownish insects that could be mistake for fleas.

The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” must surely be given as a gentle warning. But actually telling someone, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, has a sweet and comical tone to it considering that the facts about it are not all true.

One of the reasons for the childish appeal of the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is how it rhythms with another quaint greeting, “Sleep tight.” When joined together, the saying “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” becomes a sweet closing phrase to any conversation.

However, the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is not the most accurate warning as we have proved above. Bed bugs don’t bite they suck blood. We can’t control bed bugs so “not letting” them is almost an impossibility. That is unless you wear a steel armor to sleep. This saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, is being unraveled and exposed for what it really is – only a childish rhyme.

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, if used to warn people of the parasite, is a shallow. The saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” has no real structure but only to state the existence of bed bugs. It is apparent that this saying’s real substance is in the strong conviction for people to put it to heart, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”.

The real way to live this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, is by looking for them and killing all the bed bugs that reside in your furniture. When the infestation has gone out of control, one must take this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”. To heart by contacting the professionals and have them exterminate all the bed bugs inside your home.

Even hotels use this saying, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, to proudly boast of their establishment’s cleanliness and bug-free environment. Though there are instances that hotels may do a discrete extermination from time to time. There is no same in being fastidious about the cleanliness of a surrounding. But remember that even if a mattress or couch is clean. What we don’t see can really hurt us.

As the saying goes “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”, it means we should not take it too literally and just take it in the context of a quaint advice to always be aware of the little critters sleeping beside you at night and feeding from your blood.

Sleep tight, everyone. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

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