Bed bug infestations are an annoyance for certain.  Unlike other insect species that you can justify their existence in the insect world, bed bugs have relatively few predators.  It stands without reason that the predators that they do have are ones that you do not want lurking around your home say New York City pest control experts.  Bed bugs feed solely on the blood of warm blooded mammals.  Humans are their favored target, but cats, dogs, birds, or small rodents will suffice if no other food source is readily available to a hungry bed bug.  Existing in homes, hotels, movie theaters, retail stores, office building, and hospitals, there does not seem to be a real reason for their existence, other than to be one of the worst types of nuisance pests in worldwide history.

A new study out of the United Kingdom could be a clue as to why some people are bitten by bed bugs more than others.  Sheffield University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences researchers conducted a bed bug study in which 29 volunteers were tested to see how bed bugs reacted to clean shaven skin versus hairy skin.  What was discovered is that bed bugs had a difficult time navigating through hairy areas and were quicker to locate a place to nibble on the clean shaven locals.  According to the study…”He found that more layers of both longer visible hairs and finer, “vellus” hairs near the surface appeared to work as a deterrent to the insects, with the finer hairs also acting as an early warning system.”  Prof Siva-Jothy said “Our findings show that more body hairs mean better detection of parasites – the hairs have nerves attached to them and provide us with the ability to detect displacement.”

You may read the article here.

The researchers do not believe that men, being hairy then women, have a lesser chance of being bitten by bed bugs than women do however.  They do believe that bed bugs have adapted to search for hairless areas on humans, such as the ankle and wrist areas, so they can obtain an easier blood meal. Interesting indeed!