[Animals] Bed Bugs, Ticks, and Worms: A Traveler's Guide to Pests

[FNX Magokiler]

Although bed bugs have been making headlines lately (also due to a plague threat in Spain), these little bloodsuckers are more disgusting than dangerous. In fact, "the deadliest animal in the world is the mosquito," says Molly Keck, an entomologist specializing in pest control at Texas A&M AgriLife (United States). Creepy crawlies (insects, arachnids, worms, and more) are everywhere.

Bugs can carry pathogens such as bacteria, nematodes, protozoa and viruses that transmit diseases that are difficult to diagnose to humans. Many of these diseases (for example, dengue or Lyme disease) may begin with vague symptoms such as headache, fatigue, or fever, and there is not always a telltale bite mark.

When a traveler falls ill, they understandably want to return home immediately for medical care, says William Spangler, an emergency physician and global medical director at insurer AIG Travel: "It's probably best to seek treatment locally, where professionals are aware of the endemic illness." and they know how to treat it."

Before a trip, he considers visiting a travel medicine clinic, which can tailor medications and vaccines to your destination. And he reads on to tell you about all the bugs you really want to avoid.

(Related: Insects are disappearing at an alarming speed, but we can save them)

The culprit: bed bugs
Including Cimex lectularius (common bedbug) and Cimex hemipterus (tropical bedbug).

Where are they
Furniture, rugs and suitcases from all over the world.

 

 

How they can hurt you and what to do
"You don't have to travel to get bed bugs," says Keck: "You can get them at school, sitting in a waiting room, or from a friend who visits you."

Although bed bugs can carry viruses, they rarely transmit pathogens to humans. Their bites are painless; Eczema or zigzags of itchy hives are an allergic reaction that can appear up to nine days later. "In reality, bites can only be treated with antihistamines, and the relief will be limited," says Spangler.

The good news? Bed bugs can't fly. When they're not sucking your blood, they prefer to hide in dark places, like the folds of mattresses.

"To avoid bringing bed bugs home, place suitcases in the hotel bathtub where they can't climb," says Keck. "Then inspect the bed by lifting the sheets and mattress topper, looking at the elastic areas, and checking everything around the bed." If you see reddish-brown bed bugs the size of an apple seed, their pale yellow eggs, or blood stains, Keck says to "ask for another room that doesn't touch the one you're in," meaning neither the one next door nor the one next to you. above, nor the one below.

Bed bugs prefer cloth luggage to plastic or metal, and it is easier to detect them in light colors if you inspect them with a cell phone flashlight. Be glad if it's cold when you get home: storing your suitcase outside for 80 hours below freezing kills pests. Washing clothes in hot water and tumble drying on high heat for half an hour also helps.

The culprit: mosquitoes
Among them, Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever and Zika; Culex, which causes West Nile fever; and Anopheles, which spread malaria.

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/viaje-y-aventuras/2023/10/picaduras-chinches-garrapatas-gusanos-bichos-guia-viajar