Parasitic in nature and small enough so it’s annoying to look for, both bed bugs and lice are two types of insects that are often mistaken for one another. Both feed on blood and look pretty alike. So what is it exactly that differentiates them?
As a professional lice removal service in Orlando, FL, Lice Troopers is here to provide you with the gist of this pesky pest problem.
Lice and Bed Bugs
For the layman, their habits and size might cause a lot of confusion about the bugs’ identity. But on closer inspection, bed bugs and lice are completely distinctive.
Here’s how:
Size
Yes, both are small. But bed bugs are actually bigger in comparison to lice, coming in at about a quarter of an inch, which is much bigger than the eighth of an inch that lice are.
Color
Lice are black-grey, sometimes whitish and light, translucent in comparison to the brownish-red which bed bugs are identified by.
Shape
Lice are oblong, almost in the shape of a small grain of rice, bed bugs are oval and flat.
Location
Of course, this is quite obvious. Bed bugs mostly inhibit small hiding places such as the seam of a mattress, the edges of a furniture piece or even pillows, etc. They also don’t like to hide in a person’s hair so it’s not likely that you’ll find them in your mane. Lice, on the other hand, exclusively remain on their host, hiding in their hair until they are removed forcibly.
Focusing on Damage
Bed bugs, when compared to lice, actually cause more damage to the body than a lice outbreak. Lice are more of a cosmetic inconvenience and are much easier to remove, especially if you use a natural lice treatment.
However, with a bed bug infestation, after the first few days of feedings, you start seeing a rash on the area where you were bitten. They’re also quite sneaky since their bites go unnoticed at first. Mostly feeding at night, you don’t really realize you might have a bed bug problem until you start seeing fecal stains and block flecks on your bedsheets and mattresses.
Handling a Bug Infestation
For either bug though, there is only one solution; finding an effective treatment as soon as possible. Though a local pest removal service might come in handy for a bed bug problem, in the case of a lice outbreak, you can come to us.
As
lice specialist Orlando, we can rid your hair of lice in a single sitting! Just
book an appointment and let us do the rest!
