Bed bugs travel have shown that they are quite the world travellers. These tiny parasites can hitch rides in luggage, clothing, or even on a person to stealthily move from one location to another. It’s just one way the pesky bugs spread from one bed to the next.
Has a late night tossing and turning ever left you with itchy skin and suspicious red bumps? If you’ve spotted the tell tale signs of bed bug bites but can’t find the culprits on your mattress, you may wonder – could those pesky parasites be hiding in my hair instead? From hotels to hostels, more travellers ask themselves a troubling question: do bed bugs travel in human locks? Keep reading to get the facts on these sneaky bloodsuckers and hair.
While creepy-crawlies nesting in your mane sounds like a horror film plot, research shows bed bugs likely see hair as an impractical move. At just 5mm long with no gripping claws, these bugs prefer tight nooks in mattresses, box springs, and furniture to hold onto during travels instead of loose strands that easily shake free.
The Surprising Truth About These Pests and Traveling
As travel becomes more common, many people wonder: can bed bugs hide in human hair? While hair may seem like an ideal hiding spot for these sneaky bloodsuckers, the reality is more complex. Let’s take a deep dive into bed bugs and hair to separate fact from fiction.
Do Bed Bugs Travel in Hair?
It’s natural to assume that bed bugs would love burrowing into thick locks for easy transportation. However, most experts agree this is unlikely for a few key reasons:
Bed bugs prefer stable hiding places with plenty of nooks and crannies like mattress seams, box springs, and furniture cracks. Hair strands are simply too fine and unstable to anchor them securely.
At just 5mm in size, bed bugs would struggle to hold on tightly to hair without constantly slipping off during activities like walking, showering, or brushing. Their small legs also lack grasping ability. They are constantly grooming, styling, and otherwise disturbing hair. This routine motion keeps hair continually shifting and makes it difficult for bed bugs to maintain a solid grip without falling out.
While not impossible, most researchers argue that bed bugs traveling via hair would be an exceptional case rather than standard behavior. Their biology, physiology, and preferences lean toward more substantial refuges.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread to New Locations?
If hair seems an unlikely mode of transport, how then do bed bugs proliferate? Their main dissemination pathways include:
- Luggage, clothing, shoes: Any personal items that have contacted an infested mattress, bedding, or upholstered furniture offer perfect hitchhiking opportunities. Bed bugs can nestle undetected in seams or folds.
- Active wandering: Given the time and ability to traverse short distances, bed bugs may wander from one room or building to another through small crevices, utility holes, baseboards, and wall voids.
- Unintentional human transport: Densely packed public transit like planes, trains, buses, and movie theaters provide a buffet of new “hosts” for bed bugs to feast upon while covertly catching a ride. Luggage stored in overhead bins is a prime target.
Compared to these proven methods, crawling into hair seems an inefficient way to travel long distances for most bed bugs. Their life cycle favors more secure hideouts conducive to blood feeding, mating, and egg-laying.
Tips for Preventing Bed Bugs from Coming Home in Your Hair
While rare, it’s still advisable to inspect hair thoroughly before leaving locations like hotels that may harbor bed bugs. A few sensible precautions include:
- Inspect belongings: Carefully examine all clothes, shoes, bags, and personal items for any tiny stowaways before packing up.
- Comb hair with a fine-tooth comb: Starting at the scalp, work your way down hair shafts section by section, parting carefully to detect any bugs.
- Consider hot washing: Throw all worn clothes and fabrics into a hot dryer cycle or washing machine to kill any potential hitchhikers.
- Seal dirty items away: Place worn shoes, clothes, and linens into airtight bags until washed at home to avoid spread.
- Be vigilant upon return: Check hair and bags the moment you arrive back from travel before bringing items inside your home.
Routine grooming, proper bagging of items, and a quick hair check provide prudent defences against the unlikely scenario of bed bugs gaining passage in your locks. Their true travel suitcases remain belongings with more cozy hidey-holes.
What to Do If You Suspect Bed Bugs May Have Travelled In Your Hair
Even if rare, it’s always better safe than sorry to examine hair after suspicious travel. If concerned, these steps can offer reassurance:
- Take down styles: Remove hair accessories, ties, pins, etc to separate the hair.
- Inspect sections: Part hair from root to tip into segments using both hands to physically separate strands.
- Wash with extreme heat: A hot shower may unstick potential hitchhikers that the comb missed.
- Perform lice check: Slide the extra-fine tooth side of a lice comb slowly through each subsection looking for bugs, spots, or nits.
- Contact pest expert if unsure: An inspection by a professional may ease worries, especially if traveling to or from known infested locations.
While hitchhiking via hair seems improbable, a five-minute inspection can certainly bring welcome peace of mind after questionable accommodations. Spotting issues early is always the best defence against bed bug spread.
Conclusion
Bed bugs are certainly unwanted guests, it’s important to remember that they are resilient little hitchhikers, and preventing their travel is not easy. By thoroughly inspecting second hand furniture and belongings before bringing them inside, carefully wrapping luggage in sealed plastic bags, and contacting professional exterminators for infestations, we can all do our part to discourage these bugs from turning any bed into their next five-star resort. With patience and persistent safety measures, hopefully, someday we’ll send all bed bugs packing for good.
