Exterminating bugs once they have invaded a home is a difficult task, the reason being that, they reproduce at a very fast rate and feeding is easy because they depend on human and animal blood to survive for as long as they need.
They get into houses by attaching their tiny sizes to luggage, old furniture, pets roaming outside, clothing and mattresses.
Fleas and bed bugs are very similar in appearance and behavior with few features to tell them apart. These similarities make it next to impossible for people to identify them and exterminate. In order to effectively control and get rid of these parasites, you can identify the following features with the naked eye.
Features that Differentiate Fleas from Bed Bugs
MOVEMENT
FLEAS: Fleas move by jumping over long distances with their strong legs.
BED BUGS: They are incredibly slow and cannot fly or jump either. They move about with just a crawl.
HOSTS
FLEAS: These insects prefer to attach and feed on dogs or cats and will only feed on human when the animals are not available.
BED BUGS: they feed on human blood mostly and also will only deviate when no human is around.
APPEARANCE
FLEAS: They have narrow and long bodies that look flattened from the top; they also appear to be reddish brown in color.
BED BUGS: they are large, reddish brown, flat and oval-shaped.
TREATMENT
When looking at fleas and bed bugs these parasites practically live on their hosts and one of the ways to get rid of them is by cleaning wherever you suspect an infestation, it could be the pets, hair or mattresses. It might not remove them entirely, but it will reduce them considerably especially when insecticides are used.
Note that you cannot depend on the bite marks they leave on their hosts to pinpoint which insect it is because every person and animal reacts differently to the bite, they will not look alike.