Bed bugs are gross, and getting rid of them can be a hassle if you don’t use the right natural bed bug remedies. Dealing with bed bug bites is unpleasant, and it can be embarrassing to admit to people that you’re treating your home or place of business for bed bugs (albeit much better than doing nothing). But can an encounter with bed bugs really have an effect on your long-term mental health? The science says yes.

If you suspect that bed bugs might be in your home, apartment, dorm room, or place of business, you may be tempted to ignore the problem. After all, it’s much easier to go about your life pretending that parasitic insects aren’t hiding in your furniture, carpet, and walls. And you might be able to get away with this denial strategy for a little while—until they start to bite.

Studies have shown that bed bug infections can leave people with anxiety, depression, and paranoia--a cornucopia of emotional traumas--all caused by a tiny blood-sucking insect that’s no bigger than an apple seed.

Here at the Bedbug Store, we don’t want this “bed bug madness” to interrupt your life. That’s why we’ve created the top bed bug bite remedies on the market. Formulated with 100% natural ingredients and designed to speed relief from your sore, red, irritated bed bug bites, these treatments will help you tackle bed bugs better if you’re not jumping out of your skin with irritation. Keep reading to learn more!

What Happens When Bed Bugs Bite?

As small as they are, adult bed bugs can cause severe damage when it comes time to eat. Unfortunately, human blood happens to be their favorite meal.

Bed bugs have unique mouths, often referred to as “beaks.” Divided into two sections, one part of the bed bug’s mouth secretes anesthetic saliva into the human host. In contrast, the other part draws blood into the bed bug’s belly. It’s that saliva that causes most of the problems for the host. While it initially anesthetizes the area, making it unlikely that the human host will notice that it’s being bitten, the saliva eventually causes irritation, turning into itchy redness, swollen spots, and, in some cases, massive welts that are almost impossible to hide.
 

"Bed Bug Madness" Is A Real Thing

But leaving you with unsightly, painful bite marks isn’t the only abuse that bed bugs will heap upon your life and body. There’s also the mental and emotional toll.

Stéphane Perron, a doctor and researcher at the University of Montreal, has published several studies and research papers on the psychological impact of bed bug infestations. In one study, Perron found that people living in bed bug-infested apartments “were far more likely to report anxiety and sleep disturbances than those without.”

Another study conducted by medical entomologist Jerome Goddard at Mississippi State University found that 81 percent of people sharing their experiences on bed bug-related forums described symptoms that perfectly mirrored PTSD, like hyper-vigilance, paranoia, obsessive thoughts, and depression.

Yet another study found that 29 percent of people who had been bitten by bed bugs self-reported suffering from insomnia, emotional distress, and anxiety.

“The bed bug is a stressor like many other stressors,” Perron told The Atlantic. For vulnerable people, it may result in a pathological fear of bed bugs or even delusions of parasitosis,” in which a person falsely believes they are infested with bugs.