Things that bite and consume your blood make you itch. If you are like most people, just thinking about them biting you makes you itch. However, the following information on how these biting pests find you and turn you into a blood meal and how you can stop them from doing so is worth the extra itchiness.
CO2
Ever wonder why some people are bitten a lot by mosquitoes and others, well, not so much? Female mosquitoes locate hosts by the amount of CO2, or carbon dioxide, people exhale. The more you are breathing rapidly from running around, or the younger you are (younger people have more respirations per minute than older people), the more CO2 you exhale. To deter mosquitoes and other biting pests that locate you by the CO2 you exhale, wear an oxygen mask or a gas mask. You might be surprised at how well this tricks these pests into thinking you are just another inanimate object.
Body Temperature
In the world of bugs, body temperature is everything. If your body temperature is very low, bugs that sense decay come to dine on your flesh. If your body temperature is high, bugs that want your blood will find you. Such is the case with bed bugs, which have easy access to a blood meal because of where they choose to "bed down." However, if your body temperature is too cool for their liking, bed bugs will not bite, or not bite as much. It may be tricky to lower your body temperature unless you sleep with a refrigerated medical blanket on. Still, it is interesting to note that they do not like relatively cooler blood.
Fresh Wounds
Nothing draws pests faster than the smell of fresh blood. Wounds like scratches and cuts give off a smell that excites these parasites. The bugs are drawn by the smell but are less likely to drink the running blood than to pierce your skin to go after the vessel that is running. Smearing an antibacterial ointment over the wound and covering it with a bandage will prevent a surge in bites surrounding the wound.
The Ultimate Elimination
The best option all around is to just have pest control services come out and spray for bloodsucking pests. Yards and home exteriors are sprayed for mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and chiggers, while home interiors are sprayed for fleas, lice, and bed bugs. When the pest control specialist has sprayed for every biting insect imaginable, you can rest easy, even without a refrigeration blanket or oxygen mask.
After struggling for quite some time with pests inside of our home, I knew it had to stop. I was tired of going to bed everyday without knowing if the issue would be getting resolved, so I started investigating the matter. I realized that we had ants and spiders, so I spoked with a pest control professional about helping out. They were absolutely incredible to work with, and within a few weeks, the mess was sorted out. On this website, I began focusing on how to make things right, since you really never know which kinds of pests will impact your home.