If you’re dealing with a bed bug infestation, there is a chance of finding bed bugs living in your hair. Since bed bugs prefer a cooler environment, human hair isn’t exactly a safe place for them. Even with severe infestations, bed bugs typically avoid human hair for a handful of reasons.
If you think you’re carrying bed bugs in your hair, this page will give you everything you need to know to get rid of bed bugs from human hair.
Can Bed Bugs Live In Human Hair
It is possible to find bed bugs living in human hair. The only reason you would find them in your hair is that they are in transit, meaning they are just using your hair as a method of getting somewhere they would rather prefer.
Bed bugs aren’t capable of moving around in your hair. It would be frustrating for them to stick around. Although they could feed on your scalp, it would be more like a snack for their journey. In most cases, finding bed bugs living in your hair is just a coincidence and happened by accident.
Can Bed Bugs Lay Eggs in Your Hair
Bed bugs lay eggs in a cool environment. The human body naturally produces heat, so it isn’t a good hiding spot for them. Even if bed bugs feed on your scalp, they are unlikely to stick around after they hitch a ride, let alone lay their eggs.
Human hair does not provide an ideal condition for bed bug eggs to thrive. Additionally, their eggs are sticky but not sticky enough to attach to your hair.
Will Bed Bugs Feed On Your Scalp?
Bed bugs prefer bare skin for feeding time. It’s easier to draw human blood when there isn’t hair in the way. If they’ve been starved for long enough, bed bugs tend to stop being picky about how they get their next meal.
Signs Of Bed Bugs In Hair
If you suspect you’ve found bed bugs in your hair, you can do a few simple checks to verify your concerns. First, understand there are lots of other tiny insects that can bite. To properly identify bed bug bites, you should see if your bite marks resemble bites from bed bugs, mosquitos, or lice.
If there are little black flakes falling from your hair, it could be bed bug poop. To check, you can do a smear test, where you drag the black flakes along a piece of white paper. Because bed bugs feed on human blood, they will have blood filled excrement, and the black flake will smear red on the paper.
Why A Bed Bug Would Be In A Person’s Hair
The only reason a bed bug might be living in your hair is that he’s either feeding or just hitching a ride. He’s going to leave the first chance he gets.
Once they are done feeding, they usually crawl back to their hiding spots as fast as possible to avoid being detected. Bed bugs prefer cool and dark areas and, as a result, they won’t live in your hair where temperatures are higher.
Unlike head lice, it is unlikely for bed bugs to crawl through human hair. If you find bed bugs in your hair, then chances are that they were briefly crossing on top of it.
The fact that bed bugs cannot live in your hair does not mean that they cannot bite you on the scalp, neck, or cheeks. However, their legs and bodies are not designed to crawl through human hair.
If You Found Bed bugs In Your Hair
Don’t panic if you found bed bugs in your hair, there are lots of steps you can take to get rid of them right away. The fastest solution is to take a hot shower. The hot water will force them to seek an exit. Using regular shampoo is enough to wash them out, but you can use a medicated shampoo like you would for head lice.
The presence of bed bugs in your hair is a sign that your home is attacked by bed bugs. If you found one bed bud, there are likely more. You should call a reputable bed bug exterminator professional to inspect your home, quote you on the cost of bed bug extermination, and use the necessary technique to eliminate them, such as heat treatment.
Bed Bugs Aren’t Built to Live In Your Hair
Unlike lice and ticks, bed bugs lack the anatomy that allows them to cling to hair, feathers, or fur. A study conducted at Sheffield University found out that bed bugs prefer to avoid hair, including the ones in your arms and legs.
The reason they don’t like hair is that it slows down the insect as they search for open skin to feed. Secondly, hair can easily alert the host that there is a foreign object in the body. Finer hair in the body has more nerves attached to them and even the slightest movement can be detected.
In Summary
Bed bugs prefer to stay out of human hair. It doesn’t make for a good hiding play for them to feed or even to lay eggs. Bed bugs typically feed on bare skin where it’s easiest to feast on human blood. Removing bed bugs from human hair is easiest done with a hot shower and some shampoo.