Not long Ago, a woman posted a story concerning her bed bug experiences to the popular website called Reddit. This woman’s story has gone viral, and many people have responded with both sympathy and skepticism. The Reddit post describes how bed bugs have broken up her family. The woman’s story also includes her father, whom she claims is literally immune to bed bug bites. It is this part of the story that Redditors have a hard time believing, but recent research suggests that some people are, indeed, largely immune to bed bug bites.
The woman (who is only known by her Reddit username, cupsandmugs555) described how she used to visit her out of town father a few times per year since she was a child. Her visits were literally painful, as she always returned home with fresh bed bug bites. Most people would have a bed bug infestation eradicated by a professional, but this woman’s dad did not mind sharing his home with thousands of bed bugs, as he is, apparently, immune. Sadly, her father refused to have the bed bugs eradicated, which means that the woman cut down a bit on her visits. The last time she visited her father, she brought bed bugs back to her home. The resulting infestation took a year to clear up, and now she is determined to keep bed bugs out of her home for good, but she also does not want to stop seeing her dad. Of course, it would be nice if this woman’s dad had the bed bugs within his home eradicated for his daughter’s sake, but given his immunity, he does not feel that calling a pest control professional is necessary. As for the dad’s claim about his immunity to bed bugs, he is probably telling the truth, as some people do not seem to react to bed bug bites. The dad is likely still bitten by bed bugs, but he does not notice the bites and no visible wound or welt results from bites to his skin.
Back in 2010, researchers conducted a study that revealed that some people are immune to bed bugs. While researchers seem confident that an immunity to bed bugs is possible, the percentage of the population that is immune to bed bugs is currently unknown, but estimates range from less than 20 percent to more than 80 percent.
Do you believe that you are immune to bed bugs?