Bedbugs in the bed for half a year were destroying their health: in Mykolaiv a married couple did not immediately understand what was happening
Not allergies and not nerves: bed "neighbors" could be the cause of rashes
Mykolaiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported March 26, 2026 about a case that shows how long bed parasites can masquerade as other health problems. A resident of Mykolaiv went to the parasitology laboratory complaining of itching, rashes and constant discomfort. Together with her husband she underwent examinations by various doctors for over half a year with no result. Only after the woman brought two unknown insects for examination did specialists identify them as bedbugs.
According to the center, bedbugs are small blood-sucking insects about 4–7 mm in size that are most active at night and during the day hide in mattress seams, furniture, cracks, under wallpaper and other hard-to-reach places. They cannot fly but move quickly, so they often manage to spread throughout a home before the owners notice them.
The center explains that the appearance of such parasites is usually accompanied by a number of characteristic signs: dark spots, small blood traces and a specific odor may remain on bedding. The bites themselves are often mistaken for mosquito bites, but they frequently appear in clusters or distinctive lines and do not go away quickly. For this reason people sometimes spend months treating “allergy” or “dermatitis” without suspecting that the source of the problem is hiding right in the apartment.
Specialists emphasize: bedbugs do more than cause itching. Such proximity can provoke allergic reactions, sleep disturbances, chronic stress and significant psychological discomfort. They most often get into homes in suitcases after trips, with used furniture or clothing, and can also move in from neighbors through ventilation or cracks in the walls.
To reduce the risk of bedbugs appearing, residents are advised to:
- carefully check sleeping areas;
- do not bring used items into the home without inspection;
- inspect belongings immediately after traveling;
- wash bedding at high temperatures.
If unknown arthropods appear in an apartment, the center advises first to determine their species in the laboratory and only then choose a method of control. Correct identification of the parasite prevents wasting months on incorrect treatments and ineffective household methods. For this purpose you can contact the parasitological laboratory at the address: Mykolaiv, 8 Pozdovzhna St., 11-A.
Previously we wrote:
- “Cockroaches everywhere”: Mykolaiv residents are shocked by unsanitary conditions at the Mykolaiv Regional Children’s Hospital
- Rats attack Mykolaiv: people face threats of leptospirosis, tularemia and relapsing fever
- “Cockroaches are falling from the ceiling en masse,” – residents of the Korabelnyi district complain about the management company
- In “Misto dlia Liudei” they responded to a complaint from residents of an apartment building where rats had appeared
- “Rats and cockroaches run through the stairwell,” – residents of an apartment building in the Korabelnyi district complain
