Scientists reveal the colour bed sheets that bed bugs hate and the ones to avoid

08 November 2023 , 15:39

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The colour of your bed sheets could contribute to the outcome of bed bugs dwelling in your bedroom (Image: Getty Images)

Thousands of Brits have been looking for ways to deal with bed bugs following an increase in reported cases, as pest control companies have been "inundated" with alarming calls in recent months.

The infestation was originally detected in Paris, France, and caused swarms of the insects to take over hospitals, schools and cinemas. But now, there are fears that the infestation has already spread to the UK, with videos surfacing of bedbugs on London transport. Rentokil recently released data which revealed there has been a 65% increase in infestations from 2022 to 2023. It has also been reported that the number of people using Google to search for information has spiked almost fourfold.

Other than calling out pest control, there are precautions you can take at home to avoid attracting the pests such as choosing your bed sheets wisely. It comes after a previous study found that the insects seem to have a strong preference for certain colours. According to research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, bed bugs love black and red however, dislike yellow and green.

Bed bugs love the colour red, according to experts (Getty Images)

Dr Corraine McNeill and their team wanted to see whether colours affected where bed bugs might reside. They decided to put bed bugs in dishes with a variety of colour shelters made out of card. As part of the findings, the insects seemed to choose red and black shelters the most. The study, published in 2016, further found that the bugs appeared to hate yellow and green shelters. This could have been because bright colours could prompt them to brightly lit areas that are viewed as less safe to be in. Previous studies discovered that mosquitoes and sandflies also weren't attracted to these two colours.

Dr McNeill added: "We originally thought the bed bugs might prefer red because blood is red and that's what they feed on," Dr McNeill commented. "However, after doing the study, the main reason we think they preferred red colours is because bed bugs themselves appear red, so they go to these harborages because they want to be with other bed bugs." He continued: "I always joke with people, 'Make sure you get yellow sheets!' But to be very honest, I think that would be stretching the results a little too much. I don't know how far I would go to say don't get a red suitcase or red sheets, but the research hasn't been done yet, so we can't really rule that out completely."

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