It has nothing to do with how well-kept or dirty your home is. In practically every case, getting a bed bug infestation is due to one thing and one thing only: bad luck. However, catching bed bugs is nearly always a result of bad luck. The lottery of poor luck.
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What does the Bible say about bed bugs?
With all of the news about the apparent bedbug epidemic sweeping across America, from the United Nations and the Waldorf Astoria in New York to here in Los Angeles, I was reminded that this isn't a new problem. Actually, bedbug annoyance has been a concern since biblical times. In reality, a story from a pseudepigraphal gnostic source called the Acts of John is one of the more hilarious (though impossible) stories from the early days of Christianity.
We have a narrative in Acts of John about a man named “The Bedbug Miracle” is a story about a group of bedbugs who work together to solve a
We arrived to a solitary inn on the first day, and when we couldn't find a bed for John, we came across a droll matter. We spread the cloaks we were wearing on one of the bedsteads that was lying around without covers, and we prayed that he would lie down and relax there while the rest of us slept on the floor. However, when he lay down, he was bothered by the bugs, and as they became increasingly bothersome to him, he said to them, in front of us all, in the middle of the night: “I say to you, O bugs, behave yourselves and leave your abode for the night, stay quiet in one place, and keep your distance from God's servants.” And as we laughed and talked for a while, John drifted off to sleep, and we, with our low voices, did not disturb him (or, thanks to him we were not disturbed).
But when the day broke, I was the first to rise, followed by Verus and Andronicus, and we observed a large number of bugs standing at the door of the house we had taken, and while we marveled at the sight of them, and all the brethren were roused by them, John continued to sleep. We informed him of what we had witnessed when he was awakened. And he sat up in bed, looking at them, and saying: “Come to your station, since ye have been well-behaved in hearingkening to my reprimand.” And as soon as he stated this and got out of bed, the bugs running from the door dashed up to the bed, climbed up by its legs, and vanished into the joints. And John reiterated it once more: “This creature obeyed a man's word and remained alone and quiet, not trespassing; but we who hear God's voice and commands disobey and are light-minded: and for how long?” (60-61)
As a result, the solution to the bedbug problem is to hire an apostle to order the bugs out of your bed every night before you go to sleep. It's a near-biblical cure to the bedbug plague that's ravaging the United States. (And don't talk to John while he's sleeping!)
Are bed bugs a curse?
Bed bugs elicit the same emotion as cockroaches and ticks: an uncontrollable want to reach for a flamethrower.
Pests aren't the only thing they are. They can be quite distressing psychologically, especially because most individuals are unaware of how infestations begin.
How can bed bugs get into your home in the first place? It's not a curse or karmic punishment. Here's how bed bugs spread and what you can do to prevent them from infesting your house.
Can you pray away bed bugs?
I read an e-mail message from our building's management office in late summer, right after I returned from a week in sweltering New York City, warning of a bedbug epidemic. I was also told that bedbugs had been discovered in one of the apartments on my floor.
As a native New Yorker, I'm used to hearing about bedbugs, so I was able to take in this news with ease. As a Christian Scientist, I understand that God, not material forces, is in charge at all times, and that an infestation, like any other type of disharmony, may be resolved by prayer.
Still, the prospect of our home being plagued with bugs, which would be unpleasant at best, nagged at me like a bug sting! I tried to bear in mind that good, not fear, is prevalent and serves as a true shield, as the Bible states. “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thine exceeding great reward,” God informs Abram in Genesis (15:1).
As I listened to stories that bedbugs had been discovered on buses, movie theaters, retail establishments, moving trucks, and even celebrity apartments, I reminded myself that God is everywhere, and His spiritual cosmos is devoid of any destructive creatures. Only peace and harmony can be found among God's people. During lunch with a friend, I realized that the bedbug issue in New York was on par with terrorism in terms of media attention. It seemed appropriate to claim this for myself and the entire city, that everyone might feel safe, unbullied, and secure because God is in charge of His cosmos.
A yearly church meeting, which usually provides me with inspiration and new insights on how to pray more effectively for myself and others, was about to take place. Two friends who had planned to stay with me were incredibly supportive when I told them they might want to look for other lodging due to the amount of traffic in my building: hazmat-suited movers, liveried exterminators, hunting dogs trained to sniff out bedbugs, and tired tenants expressing their despair, sometimes fury, in the elevators.
My pals were not deterred in the least from coming to stay with me. I was the one who had been so engrossed in the notion that bugs, rather than divine Love, could dominate my domain. While my friends eventually moved on, they continued to remind me that I, too, could think spiritually and steadfastly about the problem.
That's exactly what I did. First, I looked up the word “infest” and discovered that it comes from the Latin words infestare and infestus, which both mean “hostile.” “To spread or swarm in or over in a bothersome manner,” according to one definition. Nothing can “spread or swarm in or over” boundless God or His cherished spiritual offspring, made in His image and likeness, I realized in prayer. They are never the perpetrators of hostilities or the victims of them. We have authority over “every living thing that moves upon the earth,” which is a gift from God (Gen. 1:28).
“If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal mind, the brood of diseases which infest it would be cleansed out,” Mary Baker Eddy writes in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” which I found in a concordance (p. 234). Following up on my research, I came upon a hymn that said, “There shall be no ill come upon thee, nor shall any plague come near thy house” (91:10).
Returning to the Bible and Science and Health, as always, brought me back to correct thinking, to the realization that a spiritual response to any kind of human suffering transcends all, and God's allness trumps matter.
Instead of being overwhelmed by worrisome bulletins and advertisements, this spiritual perspective has brought peace and a desire to help others look at the nuisance in the same way. I haven't found any evidence of bedbugs in my home, and I've discovered a new way to aid my neighbors – by using my prayers to comfort and calm my and their thoughts, as well as to restore peace and order to others. This strategy and its outcome are both positive.
Can bed bugs make you sick?
Humans are not directly harmed by bed bugs. Allergies, blood loss, or infection were the underlying causes in the majority of cases when humans became unwell as a result of bed bug bites. We'll go through this in greater detail in the section below.
However, just because bed bug bites may not cause physical illness in those who are bitten does not imply they cannot have a harmful impact on your health. Multiple adverse effects and associated illnesses have been identified in medical research when dealing with bed bugs. In brief, getting rid of bed bugs will help you avoid current discomfort as well as potential health issues in the future.
What is the main cause of bed bugs?
The most prevalent source of bed bug infections is travel, which is generally acknowledged. Bed bugs will hitchhike on persons, clothing, luggage, or other personal possessions and be mistakenly moved to other properties, often without the traveler's knowledge.
Humans are easily fooled by bed bugs. They may hide in tight, hidden locations that are typically out of sight, such as behind headboards or deep in upholstered furniture, because they are small, wingless insects with flattened bodies. Their flat bodies also assist them avoid being crushed if one of their hosts rolls over on them in the middle of the night.
Although bed bugs prefer to stay concealed, when a host is close, they will emerge from their hiding places to feed. Even yet, bed bugs are cautious in their behavior. The reddish-brown insects wait till the middle of the night to approach a host for a blood meal in order to avoid discovery. When they bite, they inject a small anesthetic into their victim to help them stay undetected while they feed.
It's worth noting that, unlike flies, bed bugs aren't attracted to rotting or organic build-up in unclean locations. They can be found anywhere human blood, their dietary source, is available. As a result, the link of bed bugs with cluttered and filthy environments is a misconception. Here's where you may learn more about this common misunderstanding.
How long does it take for bed bugs to lay eggs?
When you notice an undesirable rodent in your home, your initial instinct is probably not to investigate further. We want to kill most bugs, get rid of them, and forget they were ever in our house in the first place. Unfortunately, bed bugs rarely travel alone, and failing to act on a bed bug sighting could allow the infestation to spread unchecked. Taking the time to check any suspected bed bugs you notice in your house may not sound fun, but it can provide you with crucial information about the scope of your infestation.
Phase 1: Bed bug eggs and the initial infestation
The majority of bed bug infestations start with a few hitchhikers. They could latch on to your luggage in an infested hotel room or sneak in on a houseguest's clothing. If you live in an apartment or a duplex, bed bugs from another unit may infiltrate your home through shared walls.
Regardless of how the bed bugs got there in the first place, they make themselves at home quickly. A female bed bug will hunt for a hidden crack or crevice to lay her eggs in and deposit them with a cement-like sticky substance into the fissure or onto a rough surface. Female bed bugs will lay their eggs in the hiding places of adult bed bugs if there are numerous generations of bed bugs in the infestation.
The eggs of a female bed bug are usually laid in clusters. The pearl-white eggs are small, measuring around 1 mm wide. A little black stain will appear on the egg if it is older than five days. It takes seven to ten days for bed bug eggs to hatch.
Phase 2: The nymph stage and bed bug population growth
When bed bugs hatch, they immediately begin searching for food. Unfortunately, if bed bugs cannot locate a human host, you and your family (including your warm-blooded pets) will become meal for these pests.
Nymphs are the newly hatched bed bugs, and they are transparent or straw-colored. They will turn a reddish brown color after their first meal. Before reaching maturity, bed bugs go through five different nymphal stages. Bed bugs shed their exoskeleton after each nymphal stage as they mature.
Bed bugs eat primarily at night, and you are unlikely to feel bitten. After a bite, proteins in bed bug saliva induce a minor allergic reaction on your skin. A bed bug bite can leave your skin red, swollen, and irritating. Bed bug bite reactions last one to three days on average.
Phase 3: The next generation of adult bed bugs
The freshly hatched bed bugs are old enough to start producing eggs after four to five weeks. When an infestation reaches this stage, it has the potential to develop enormously. This new generation of adult bed bugs can swiftly increase the pest population in your house, as female bed bugs produce three to five eggs per day.
The bodies of adult bed bugs are brown and flat, and they can grow to be about a quarter of an inch long. They have an oval form, and their bodies can grow after feeding. To keep healthy and satisfied, bed bugs only need to feed for three to ten minutes every few days, though they can survive longer periods of time without eating if food is unavailable.
Bed bugs may live for 12 to 18 months, which means a female bed bug can deposit 200 to 500 eggs in that period. Remember that each egg only takes six to eight weeks to hatch and mature into an adult. Each female bed bug can spawn numerous generations of pests in your home during her lifespan.
Adult bed bugs congregate in groups that can be found in small spaces in your home, commonly around the beds. Bed bugs can quickly slide through crevices and spread across a house or multi-family unit because they are so thin. If you discover many clusters of adult bed bugs in your home, it's likely that you've had bed bugs for a long time and multiple generations have reached adulthood.
Where do bed bugs hide on your body?
Unlike lice, ticks, and other pests, bed bugs prefer to feed on exposed skin where access is easy. The neck, face, arms, legs, and other regions of the body with little hair fall into this category.