Few feelings are worse than settling in for a nice night’s sleep only to discover you are not alone. When pests, whether bed bugs, fleas, or strange worms, appear unexpectedly in your bed, the surprise might be so distressing that you can not sleep. But what exactly causes bed worms? Contact Brooks Pest Control to learn more.
What are bed worms?
Bed worms, also called mattress worms, are a type of pest comprising a collection of parasites and their larvae that may infest your bedding or mattress.
Unlike adult fleas and bed bugs, their larvae do not yet have a hard exoskeleton, giving them a worm-like build. Some bed worms are essentially parasite worms that will live their entire lives as worms. Roundworms, pinworms, and hookworms are common worms that may appear in your house.
Most bed worms are insect larvae, not parasitic worms, because they flourish and lay their eggs in loose dirt outside. Bed bugs, carpet beetles, fleas, and moths are more likely to infest your house, where hosts and other food supplies reside.
Are bed worms harmful?
Bed worms do not spread illness on their own. Worms in a bed, on the other hand, should make anyone uneasy. Most bed worm species face the biggest dangers from sleep loss and physical pain.
When parasitic larvae, such as bed bugs and flea larvae, grow sufficiently to bite hosts in bed, the real issue begins. If you notice little worm-like larvae in your bed, contact a pest control specialist immediately to treat them before they become blood-sucking, disease-carrying parasites.
Roundworms, pinworms, and hookworms can cause skin itching and discomfort, but they seldom infect adult humans. Children are more likely than adults to get a parasite infection. Because parasitic worms cannot survive outside a host body for long, you are much more likely to find rolled-up, dead worms in your bed than active worms.
Carpet beetles and clothing moth larvae are less toxic to humans but more damaging to your possessions. Carpet beetle larvae have been known to destroy carpets, textiles, books, and other natural fibers in houses. Clothes moth larvae are especially attracted to bed linens and garments.
How do bed worms get in your bed?
Bed worms can enter your bed by one of two routes: eggs put in or on the bed by a mature parasite or worms transferred to the bed by a human or animal previously exposed to the worms or their eggs.
