Bedbugs Could Be Attracted To The Colour Of Your Sheets
Do you own black or red bed sheets? This research may prompt a change in your chosen colour scheme.
According to a new study, bedbugs may have favourite colours – and are repulsed by others.
The insects are attracted to red and black, but dislike green, yellow and white, according to the findings.
A study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology found that bedbugs become more discerning over their colour preferences as they age.
That, according to author Corraine McNeill, an entomologist at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, is because they are virtually colour blind when young.
But as they become older they become drawn to black sheets – because they are naturally attracted to darkness.
This is why they don’t like the brighter colours of white, green and yellow.
McNeill told Newsweek that they like red because they probably think it means they can see other bedbugs, who have a reddish exoskeleton.
She added that it’s not worth throwing out your sheets – as it’s unlikely to make much of a difference – but did say that the findings could change how bedbug traps are made.
At the moment most are white, which “is exactly the opposite of what you’d want,” she said.
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