Why Do Bed Bugs Bite Some People and Not Others

A bed bug needs a regular and constant blood supply for survival. But, have you noticed how you are covered in bed bug bites yet you don’t see even a single one on your partner? If this is the case, you are probably asking the age-old question “why do bed bugs bite some people and not others?”

Usually, bed bugs bite everyone yet 50% of the population doesn’t have any reaction to these bites. This means that they don’t get any spots even after they are bitten.

Bed bugs can have a specific preference of blood type while some may only be present on the side or part of the bed. These bugs might be present in another bed and not yours. A different bed bug type might also bite you or ward them off without realizing what they are doing.

Do Bed Bugs Choose Who They Bite?

In reality, there are plenty of reasons why a bed bug chooses to bite a person but ignores someone else. There are various myths as well as to why these bugs bite humans but show total disinterest to others, and this has now become an accepted truth.

It only means that the bites on other people never swell up. You might have been bitten already but your body doesn’t show any reaction. It explains why you don’t suffer from any bites if you are sleeping in a bed you are sharing with another person.

The bed bug population present in the mattress and box spring will likely end up feeding on you as much as your bed partner. They feed similarly and acquire the same quantity of blood. Again, the sole difference here is that the bites you have don’t manifest any swelling.

You might feel some relief by now since you know for certain that bed bugs are not necessarily targeting specific individuals living in the same house. Take note that these bugs are not that choosy as to who they will bite. This means that you can have the assurance that these bugs are feeding on all the people inside your house even if you are the only person that seems to be getting their bites.

Why Other People Develop Obvious Bite Marks than Others?

Bites from bed bugs can also cause an allergic reaction in some people with allergy or sensitivity to them. These bites tend to leave behind itchy and reddish bumps on the skin when your immune response considers the saliva of bed bugs as a form of threat.

Some people don’t have any of these reactions. Even when bed bugs are feeding on their blood, they would never leave behind these bumps as evidence.

Some studies have revealed that bed bug sensitivity can also be a result of exposure in the past as is the case with most types of allergens. The first bites sometimes don’t cause any reaction but the following ones do.

These delayed symptoms are the reasons why it tends to be more difficult to determine where, when, and if bed bugs have been encountered in the first place. The delay is also one of the common reasons why even if bed bugs infest a certain place, their presence usually goes unreported for a long time.

It can be possible that a guest that accuses a hotel of a bed bug issue might have already been bitten days before at another establishment. Issues related to tracing these bugs to their main source as the result of delayed reactions may also take place in some places like movie theatres, waiting rooms, buses, and trains.

Are Bed Bugs Attracted to a Specific Blood Type?

You might also get fewer or more bites than the other person sharing the same bed with you due to your blood type. Bed bugs prefer some blood types and they stick to this wherever it is accessible and available.

This particular preference of bed bugs is dependent on whatever they have grown up with. Once a bed bug grows up feeing on type A blood, it will continue feeding on A blood type even in the future. This same rule applies to other types of blood.

To set things clear, there is no specific type of blood that bed bugs may prefer compared to others. This has something to do more with their taste. Bed bugs feed and thrive on any type of blood.

It pretty much explains why bugs bite you consistently but leave your partner alone or vice versa.

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