Do Bed Bugs Feel Pain?
WouterIf you have been bitten by a bedbug, you may wonder if the bites hurt. The fact is, bedbug bites are usually not painful. You are not likely to experience severe pain from them, and they usually only leave red, itchy marks on the skin. However, allergic reactions can make the bites more painful, which is why you should consider taking an antihistamine.
While bedbug bites are painful for some people, they are not painful for the bugs themselves. The anesthetic that they release through their saliva allows them to feed without causing pain to the host. Because the mouthparts of bed bugs are so small, you do not experience immediate pain from their bites. However, you will feel pain when your skin reacts to the bite. This happens because most people are only mildly allergic to bed bug saliva, and when the immune system perceives the saliva as a potentially dangerous substance, it releases histamine, which triggers redness and swelling.
While bed bugs can live anywhere, they spend most of their day in hiding, and only come out to feed at night. You can easily detect bed bugs by noticing specks of blood near the seams of your bedding, and even on upholstered furniture. Bedbugs also leave behind shell-like remains of their former selves, which are often visible on upholstered furniture and bedding.
