Like dust mites, bedbugs are parasites that make their home in our sheets. According to a study conducted in 2016 in the United States by researchers from the University of Florida and Union College, certain colours visibly encourage the proliferation of parasites.
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According to the NHS, bedbugs can be dark yellow, red or brown. Adults are around 5mm long.
Signs of bedbugs include: bites—often on areas exposed while sleeping, like the face, neck and arms, spots of blood on your bedding—from the bites or from squashing a bedbug, small brown spots on bedding or furniture (bedbug poo).
Bedbugs don't like light
Scientists have shown that bedbugs dislike light above all else and generally seek refuge in darker, red or black places.
The parasites particularly prefer the colour red because their fellow bugs are of that very colour.
How to avoid bed bugs
The bite of these 5-millimetre-long fleas is particularly unpleasant, causing red spots and itching.
To avoid this, you should regularly air and wash your sheets and choose light-coloured sheets such as white, yellow or green.
And if you're unlucky enough to have been bitten by bedbugs, the NHS suggests putting something cool on your bites, keep the affected area clean and avoid scratching them. Bedbug bites should go away in a week's time. See a pharmacist or a GP if the bites are particularly painful or the redness around the bites is spreading.
