Bed bugs and lice are blood-sucking little monsters that love to infest anywhere they can find food. Although they are not capable of transmitting diseases, they are still capable of frustrating their hosts by causing psychological problems.
People frequently confuse them for one another, and many have incorrectly concluded that they are the same insects. However, despite their many similarities, they are not the same insects.
understanding Lice And Bed Bugs
Lice are blood-sucking insects that feed on the blood of humans. They take up residence on the scalp of human hair, where they feed and spend their entire lives, from birth to death. They are reddish-brown in color, slender, without wings, and weightless, and humans are the only known hosts of these parasites. There are three types of lice, but hair lice are the most common.
Bed bugs are tiny, reddish-brown, oval-shaped insects that survive by feeding on blood. Humans are their primary hosts, but they may also feed on the blood of other animals if there are no humans present. They do not have wings, and their bites do not spread diseases, but they do not live on their hosts’ bodies. Instead, they live very close to their hosts in a tight, dark, hidden place where they can easily get food and return without being discovered.
Differences Between Bed Bugs And Lice
Their bite location
Bed bugs are nocturnal critters that emerge to feed when their victims are sleeping. When they feed, they do not bother to look for concealed areas; instead, they bite the exposed areas of the victim and then return to their hiding places.
On the other hand, Lice live and do everything else (such as lay eggs and defecate) on the scalp of human hair, so it’s natural to expect them to feed exclusively from the scalp. Because bed bugs prefer to go to places that will not stress them so that they can feed and return as quickly as possible, they avoid human hair.
Additionally, you will notice bed bug bites in the morning, with itching and irritation beginning hours after waking up from sleep, whereas lice can bite any day.
Their shape and texture
Although lice and bed bugs are tiny, they are both visible to the naked eye. If you come across either of them, look at them, lice are slender and slim in shape, whereas bed bugs are shaped like an egg. Also, lice are smaller than bed bugs, and bed bugs’ backs are harder than their backs due to their harder exoskeletons.
They both spread differently
Hair lice are more difficult to spread than bed bugs because bed bugs can latch on to furniture or clothing materials and easily be transported to a new location when humans travel. They can also crawl into the house through any small opening.
On the other hand, Lice will require physical contact, and not just physical contact, but head-to-head contact, and both heads will have to touch long enough for the lice to safely crawl from one head to another due to their inability to fly or jump.
Lice Infestation VS Bed Bugs
Victims of lice infestation will experience a sensation on their heads as if something is crawling on them, which can cause irritability and can lead to insomnia. Victims of bed bug infestation will not experience such movements because bed bugs avoid hair and only attach themselves to their hosts’ bodies when they are resting, preferably sleeping.
When bed bug infestation victims wake up in the morning, they will discover small red or neon patches on their bed due to the bugs they killed while sleeping because they rolled over while those bugs were feeding. However, lice infestation sufferers will not notice such things.
Because bed bugs communicate by producing pheromones, which we can detect with our nostrils when numerous bed bugs are trying to communicate at once, victims of bed bug infestations will notice a musty odor.
When a person smells a musty odor emanating from their bedding materials and is certain that their cleanliness is not in question, it is most likely an indication of a bed bug infestation. Because lice do not communicate in this manner, victims of lice infestations are unlikely to notice this.
Victims of lice infestations may have severe itching on their heads that can start at any time of day and linger for hours. However, victims of bed bug infestations will not experience such symptoms because bed bugs are nocturnal insects with short-lasting itching from their bites.
Conclusion
Bed bugs and lice are two tiny pests that disturb the lives of their hosts with the same motive in mind. This article aims to equip you with the knowledge that will aid you in telling them apart.