Blood loving bed bugs prefer special favorite colors

House bugs love red and loathe green
Bedbugs are extremely unpleasant for humans. The bloodsuckers like to nest in the bedroom. Because people are there regularly. A new study showed that bugs prefer certain colors of bedding. So it could be good health care to avoid some colors and use other colors. The study was presented "Journal of Medical Entomology".

Parasites nest near their host
The so-called "bed bugs" (also called "house bugs") are nocturnal, flightless parasites that feed mainly on the blood of humans. Therefore, they live where their host regularly stays for a long time: in the bedroom. The most popular place is the bed, in addition to serve but, for example. also protruding wallpaper corners, baseboards or light switches ideal hiding places. But do colors play a role as well? This question asked scientists from the US and came in search of possible favorite colors of bed bugs to interesting results.

Bedbugs love certain colors. Picture: smuay - fotolia

For their study, the researchers had made small tent-like cardboard hideouts for the animals and designed them in different colors. The colorful constructs were evenly distributed in petri dishes and then placed in the middle of the bowl then each a bug. The researchers gave the parasite ten minutes to choose one of the colorful hostels. It turns out that the insects are preferably looking for red and black protection. Green and yellow hiding places were less in demand, according to scientists from the University of Florida and Union College in Lincoln.

Bugs are looking for the proximity of their conspecifics
They then varied the experimental setup, comparing, for example, the behavior of female and male animals or that of hungry versus lush bedbugs. The researchers realized that the color preferences differed, depending on the starting point and, for example, Individuals preferred other colors than those who were part of a group.

"We first thought that bedbugs might prefer red, because blood is red and that's what they feed on," Dr. Corraine McNeill according to a press release from the Entomological Society of America. "But after the end of the study, we think they prefer red, because bedbugs themselves appear red. They seek these hiding places to be close to other bugs, as they are known to live in larger clusters, "co-author McNeill continues. The fact that yellow and green hiding places are rather avoided, is probably due to the similarity to brightly lit areas.

Knowing your favorite colors can be used for new traps
"I've always joked with people, 'Make sure they get yellow sheets!'" McNeil continues. "But to be honest, I think that would stretch the results a little bit." However, if odorants (pheromones) or carbon dioxide were combined, the results could well help to create better traps. Because both are attractants for bugs. (No)