What is the difference between Flea and Bed Bug Bites?

Bed bugs are small, flat, maroon-colored insects, and they can reside on mattresses and hide in the smallest places, such as electrical outlets, lampshades, or a tiny crevice of a bed frame or furniture piece. Bed bugs will eat and then run for cover back to their hiding place, and they can also journey from home to home. Bed bugs leave groups of red bites or welts.

Each group usually has three to five bites that are arranged in a zig-zag pattern. Bed bugs typically bite exposed areas of your skin during sleep, such as your face, arms, neck, and legs. Fleas, on the other hand, prefer animals with fur like dogs and cats, and you can find fleas in your yard or other outdoor areas, and fleas also have an affection for mice. Fleas will attack your lower legs, such as the ankles.

If you have a pet, their veterinarian will treat the animals, but it is trickier with humans. Your doctor may likely know fleas caused the bites. Some people who experience flea bites tend to itch right away. Kids ages two to ten years of age are particularly susceptible to intense itchiness of flea bites. Both bites will often cause extreme itchiness and put you at risk for an infection or allergic reaction.

In most people, they will only notice a small bump when they are bitten by a flea. On the other hand, the bump formed when you are bitten by a bed bug is relatively bigger than that of a flea. Although this also depends on our bodies because we react to things differently. Another difference between flea and bed bug bites is the pattern formed when each parasite bites. Bed bugs have been researched to always create a straight bite arrangement. On the contrary, the pattern of the bites of fleas has been described to be irregular or non-linear. The common parts of the body where you can sustain bed bug bites are in the upper parts of the body, though you can also have them everywhere. On the contrary, flea bites are usually noticed in the leg areas. It is rare to see flea bites at the upper parts of the body.

There are different types of insects that may not be considered helpful by a lot of people. Two of these insects are bed bugs and fleas. Bed bugs are known to be reddish-brown in color. They can be found within your sheets, especially if you have not cleaned them for a while. They may bite you while you were sleeping, which can give you an uncomfortable sleep. Fleas, on the other hand, can be found in some animals. There are some flea infestations in pets that can become problematic, especially when fleas carry viruses that may cause worms and so much more in animals. They are both considered parasites.

Flea and bed bugs are known to be two different insects. Since they are both small, some people may confuse one for the other. A flea is reddish-brown, while the bed bug is going to be brown to black in color. Another thing that you will notice is that the flea is going to be more oval-shaped as compared to bed bugs. Their sizes are also going to be a bit different. Between the two, the flea is going to be smaller. They are about 1.5mm to 3mm in length. Bed bugs will have the tendency to look a bit flat, especially when you would look at them more closely.

Some may assume that fleas and bed bugs are the same because of the way that they look. You should realize that they are different from each other. Bed bugs will usually be found in between your sheets. They would need to crawl under your bed so that they can feed on you. Fleas would usually look for a warm-blooded host which can be an animal or a human being.

Take note that fleas usually jump around which can make it harder for them to be removed from the body of the host. The way that they look can also be a bit different. Bed bugs will tend to be rounder and smaller as compared to the flea.