When you first notice a bug bite on your body many things come to your mind. The first thing that you must do is to identify the source of the bug bite to ensure that you treat it properly and can remove your home of any bugs that caused the bite. Flea bites and bed bug bites are the most common bites to occur within your home, but you must know how to distinguish the two types of bites. The differences between flea bites and bed bug bites might be slight, but they are evident.
What Are Flea Bites?
Fleas often come into your home from pet carriers like both dogs and cats. They are small and will try to suck blood out of your skin with their jaws that can penetrate flesh with ease. Flea bites can cause allergies in some individuals and are especially harmful to young children. If the flea bite wounds are not treated properly it can lead to infection that only worsens. Common characteristics of flea bites include being small in dimension, itchiness, redness and mostly found on legs and ankles.
What Are Bed Bug Bites?
Bed bug bites look very similar to both flea bites and mosquito bites. This makes it difficult to differentiate them from others. In many cases, bed bug bites are commonly mistaken for allergies or rashes. However, beg bug bites often have unique patterns and will most likely bite only in the dark. Bed bugs are bigger than fleas, so they are easier to see. However, they normally only bite in the dark to avoid being visible. These types of bites are red, itch and often have a linear pattern.
What Makes Them Different?
The main difference that you can see is redness. Flea bites and bed bug bites both look like swollen dots, but bed bug bites are redder in appearance. This can be a huge clue when you are trying to differentiate the two. However, once you itch flea bites they can also become red.
Another difference that you should be on the lookout for is a linear pattern. Flea bites often appear in clusters, but bed bug bites have distinguishable linear patterns that you can easily spot. Once you have determined the type of bite you can then get the best available treatment and find out the most effective way to remove that bug type form your home.
