These 4 Facts About Bedbugs Will Automatically Make Your Skin Start Itching

The small, oval-shaped nocturnal insects feed on human blood, and they hide in dark cracks and crevices during the day so they can come out to feed at night. They’re most likely to be found in furniture, bed frames, mattresses, and wooden floorboards—and there’s a good chance you let them inside without even realizing it. “People typically get bedbugs by bringing them home,” says Timothy Wu, M.D. “They can crawl into luggage, clothing, and purses, and can be found in hotels, motels, cruise ships, buses, trains, shelters, and nursing homes.” Human odor plays a part, too: A recent study in Scientific Records found that bedbugs are twice as likely to cling to dirty laundry than clean clothes.

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