This sounds like a scary scenario, one that is enough to make you lose your sleep. After all, you do not want bed bugs anywhere and especially not on your private parts. But can these tiny pests invade your genitals and live there?
Bed bugs do not live on or inside your genitals or any part of your body. Your body temperature is not suitable for bed bugs to live on permanently and they would not have sufficient protection to survive and reproduce. But they will bite any part of your body with bare skin, and that includes your genitals.
Knowing where and how bed bugs feed on blood is important. Otherwise, you may end up thinking of a different sort of infestation for bed bugs and vice versa. And this is exactly what we are going to discuss in this article. Plus, we will look at the possible methods to bed bugs altogether.
Do Bed Bugs Live on Humans?
Bed Bugs do not live on any part of the human body. Their living space is in the vicinity of the host and provides dark and hidden places. The parasites live in cracks and crevices in your beds and even in your mattresses. They use every slit available to hide and reproduce.
So, they are dissimilar to lice and ticks in this way.
Bed bugs leave their hideouts during the night when they sense a host and need to feed. They crawl onto your body and seek suitable areas of your skin to suck blood. After that, they leave you and hide again in their dark cracks.
Even if you do find a Bed Bug on your body this is not its habitat.
Furthermore, bed bugs really do not care for heat or high temperatures too much. Even the heat your body produces is enough to deter these crawlers. And the inside of your body is even hotter. So, they would much rather avoid those places for a home.
More about their hide-outs: Bed Bug Nests [Complete Guide]
Can Bed Bugs Bite Genitals?
Bed bugs can indeed bite your genitals and the nearby region. They are not particularly attracted to that area, nor are they repelled by it. But this part of the body is harder to reach for the bed bugs, so it is uncommon to see bed bug bites down there.
As we mentioned, bed bugs will bite on any parts that have clear, uncovered skin. And if they somehow manage to get near your private parts, they will bite on the bare area on there. Your genital region also has very thin skin, making it simpler for the bugs to draw in blood.
However, your private parts are private for a reason. Bed bugs will not bother to crawl under your pants or bite through the clothing to reach the skin. So, unless you are sleeping naked or have very loose clothing, these bugs will not reach your genitals. Instead, they will settle for the bare skin they can reach easily.
Do Bed Bugs Prefer Hair or Shaved Regions?
Bed bugs tend to prefer clear, shaved regions of your body rather than the parts obscured by hair or clothing. This makes it easier for them to bite on the skin and suck up the blood.
So, you will hardly find bed bugs in your hair. The hairline will make it harder for them to bite the skin. Plus, the skin on the scalp is not as rich in blood vessels as your hands or face. The same goes for pubic hair and armpit hair.
The hair itself makes it also harder for the bed bugs to move around. They do have a flat-shaped body and suitable legs to move forward in hairy regions, but they are faster and more effective on bare skin.
This is why you will commonly find bed bug bites on your neck or arms. Basically, any part of your body that shows bare skin, you can expect the bed bugs to attack there.
How to Avoid Bed Bugs on Genitals?
So, if you are particularly worried about bed bugs biting your private region, you can try out a couple of methods. As long as you are careful, these bugs will not target those parts.
- Wear Underwear or Pants
Most people like to wear some sort of garment when they go to sleep which is usually enough to prevent bug bites. But some people prefer sleeping without clothing.
So, if you have bed bugs in your home, it is best to wear proper clothing until you permanently remove the infestation.
Wearing pants is probably the safest way to go about this. But if you prefer to sleep in your underwear, make sure that it is not loose. Otherwise, these crawlers may sense the body heat and crawl toward your private. - Use a Blanket
This is a good way to keep bed bugs away from all parts of the body. Tightly wrap yourself with a blanket. This still leaves your neck and face open for an attack, but you will limit the area these bugs will spread to. - Get Rid of the Infestation
Of course, the best way to solve any bed bug-related problem is to get rid of their infestation altogether. This can be easier said than done. There are some methods you can try yourself. Check out our article about 139 bed bug remedies with our few top recommendations.
Quick Tip: We highly recommend Ecologic and Ecoraider (detailed explanations and studies in the mentioned article).
Other Pests on Your Pubic Hair
Now, just because bed bugs are not found on your pubic hair does not mean that this reason is totally safe from infestation. In fact, there is a type of lice, called the “pubic lice”, that specifically leaves on your pubic hair.
And there are some ways you can tell the difference between the two.
- Pubic lice are much smaller than adult bed bugs. Lice are more oblong in shape, while bed bugs have flat and oval bodies.
- Lice are invariably white or whitish-yellow. Bedbugs have a reddish-brown or rusty-red color.
- Bed bugs do not live in your private region. On the other hand, pubic lice, true to their name, are found exclusively on pubic hair.
Conclusion
Knowing how bed bugs operate will help you to identify and then plan a way to eradicate them. And hopefully, with the insight in this article, you will be able to keep them away from your genitals effectively in the meantime.
