Bed Bugs and Pets: What To Know
Whether you’ve dealt with bed bugs in the past or simply hope to avoid them in the future, your options for keeping your own clothing, home, and belongings are well established. But does the same hold true for pets?
The last thing any pet owner wants to have to deal with is scrubbing bed bugs out of the fur of your furry friend - not to mention having to deal with bed bugs that have jumped off and made a home in your linens.
Let’s take a look at the relationship between bed bugs and pets, and how to make sure your furry friends aren’t bringing home unwanted invaders when they come in after a long day outdoors.
Do Bed Bugs Affect Household Pets?
The answer, it turns out is a bit mixed. On the surface, the short answer is no - bed bugs are not widely known to feed on pets. Unlike fleas or ticks, bed bugs have not fully evolved to quickly move through fur or hair on a dog or cat, and generally bed bugs prefer to feed on human blood over the blood of pets.
However, bed bugs are also notorious hitchhikers, and have been known to hitch rides on pets in search of a more suitable human host. That means your pets can still stand in as an easy transport option for bed bugs looking to make their way to your bed, carpets, or elsewhere in your house.
But just because bed bugs prefer to feed on humans doesn’t mean they won’t feed on pets as well. If facing a lack of other hosts or general overcrowding by other bed bugs, some will indeed feed on pets themselves.
Can Pets Spread Bed Bugs To Humans?
According to the American Veterinary Medicine Association, pets can serve as an easy transport option for bed bugs looking to establish a colony somewhere with easy food access. That means pets can in fact spread bed bugs to their human hosts - making it even more important to keep your pets bed bug free.
If you suspect your pet may be bringing bed bugs into your home, be sure to check their fur thoroughly for signs of bed bug hitchhikers. Also, closely inspect the seams of their favorite sleeping areas, including pet beds, pillows, and chew toys that may be harboring hidden bed bugs.
If you do notice bed bugs around your pets, it’s key to remove them as quickly as possible, and possibly to quarantine your pets from your other living areas to prevent the spread until you dog or cat is completely clear.
How Do You Remove Bed Bugs From Pets?
Bed bugs spread quickly, and multiply at a very fast rate. A single female can lay up to 5 eggs a day, each of which only take about a week to hatch. That means if your pets are carrying bed bugs - or if bed bugs are hiding around their bedding - it’s imperative to remove and eliminate the bed bugs long before they can get a foothold in your home.
While it may be tempting to settle for one of those “bug bombs” from the store, it will almost never fully get the job done.
The first thing you should do when facing a bed bug infestation around your pets is to contact an experienced bed bug professional, who can identify the size and scope of the issue before recommending the best choice of action moving forward.
Often, early steps will include thoroughly washing your pets, washing and drying any bedding or affected linens with high heat, and keeping family members as far from pets as possible until the infestation is completely removed - eggs and all.
Tips For Keeping Pets Bed Bug Free
Keeping your pets completely free from bed bugs is about as difficult as keeping them completely free from ticks or fleas. Thorough, regular checks of their fur and sleeping areas can offer early signs of infestations, while regular visits to the veterinarian can identify key factors that may be attracting bed bugs as well as safe strategies to shield your pets from bites and hitchhikers.
In most cases, simply keeping your pets away from areas known or suspected of containing bed bugs is really the best way of preventing the spread of bed bugs through your cat or dog. Prime areas where pets could pick up bed bugs include hotel rooms, kennels, and other homes where an infestation may be present.
For many pet owners, an experience bed bug remediation specialist can help identify these key locations to avoid and help develop strategies to make sure your pets do not pick up bed bugs as they go about their business.
Don’t Let Furry Friends Bring Bed Bugs Home
Anyone who knows the frustration caused by a bed bug infestation knowns it’s a problem much better avoided from the very beginning. But for those with pets, the risk of bringing bed bugs back to your space is just that much higher - meaning it takes a bit more careful planning to ensure your home stays bed bug free.
Whether you’re dealing with a bed bug issue around your pets currently or are simply trying to keep your pets away from bed bugs in the future, an experienced bed bug removal specialist can be a serious benefit to the effort. If you’re looking to take proactive action against bed bugs, get in touch and get your home protected - your pet may just thank you.
