Bed bugs: they don't exist, this is what's itching you
By the Morfeo sleep team, mattress manufacturers in Yecla (Murcia) · Updated in September 2026
Quick answer
"Bed bugs" do not exist as a species. What bites in a Spanish bed is, almost always, a bed bug. Head lice live attached to hair and die in one or two days off the scalp, so they do not colonize a mattress. Body lice do live in clothing, but they are extremely rare in Spain and are linked to prolonged lack of hygiene and changes of clothes. And dust mites, which are the ones that really live in your mattress, do not bite: what you experience with them is an allergy. Here is how to tell them apart in two minutes.
In this guide
Why bed bugs do not exist
"Bed bug" is a common name, not a species. When someone searches for it, they usually have one of these three things in front of them, and none of them is a louse that lives in a bed.
Bed bug
This one does live in the bed: in the seams, box spring, and headboard. It bites at night and can survive for months without eating. It is the usual cause.
Head lice
It lives in the hair, not in the mattress. Off the scalp, it dies in one or two days because it needs constant heat and food.
Dust mite
There are millions of them living in the mattress, but they do not bite anyone. What they cause is an allergy: congestion, sneezing, and itching upon waking up.
Who really bites in a bed
| Pest | Size | Where it lives | What the bite is like | Is it in the mattress? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bed bug | 4–5 mm, like a raisin | Mattress seams, box spring, headboard, bed skirts | In the early morning, in a row or in a group of three, in uncovered areas | Yes |
| Head lice | 2–3 mm | Only on the scalp | Constant itching on the nape of the neck and behind the ears, at any time | No |
| Body lice | 2–4 mm | In the seams of worn clothing | Itching on the torso and waist, with intense scratching | No |
| Dust mite | 0.3 mm, invisible | Mattress, pillow, textiles | Does not bite. Causes congestion, sneezing, and irritated eyes upon waking | Yes |
| Flea | 2–3 mm, jumps | Pets, rugs, floors | Several bites together on ankles and calves | Rarely |
| Mosquito | 5–6 mm, flies | Comes from outside | One large, isolated welt, with a preceding buzz | No |
The piece of information that helps most to decide is where the bites are. Ankles and calves point to fleas. The nape of the neck and behind the ears, with itching and no welt, to head lice. Arms, shoulders, and back, in the early morning and in a row, to bed bugs. And if there are no bites but you wake up stuffed up, nothing is biting you: it is an allergy to dust mites.
What you have
Choose what you have seen and where it bites you. The answer appears below.
1. Have you found anything?
2. Where does it bite or bother you?
Black dots in the seams and bites in the areas that are left uncovered: it is the typical picture of an infestation. A supermarket spray does not solve it, because it does not reach the seams or kill the eggs. You need a complete protocol and almost always a pest control company.
Nits confirm lice, but head lice do not bite the arms or legs: they do not reach there. Treat the head with a pediculicide product and, at the same time, check the mattress seams with the cloth test, because body bites point to something else.
With nothing visible, look at where the bites are. On ankles and calves, and with a pet at home, they are fleas. On arms and shoulders, in the early morning and in a row of two or three, check the mattress piping: bed bugs hide there and only come out at night.
The black dots in the seams are bed bug excrement, not lice: lice do not live there. Treat the bed infestation on its own, and the scalp itching on its own. They are not solved with the same thing.
Nits attached to the hair and itching on the nape of the neck and behind the ears: that is it, and it is treated on the head, not on the mattress. Bedding only needs a wash at 60 °C. There is no need to fumigate the room or throw away the mattress.
Stuffy nose upon waking, sneezing, or itchy eyes, without any bite marks on the skin. That is not a biting bug, it is an allergy to dust mites. What reduces them the most is removing their food and washing the sheets at 60 °C.
If it is head lice: what to do with the bed
Much less than you imagine. A louse outside the head survives one or two days, and nits separated from the hair do not hatch because they lack the constant heat of the scalp. There is no need to fumigate, throw anything away, or clean the whole house.
- Wash sheets, pillowcases, and towels from the last two days at 60 °C.
- Whatever cannot be washed, put in the dryer for fifteen minutes on hot: dry heat kills them just the same.
- If you don't have a dryer, put those clothes in a sealed bag for two weeks and forget about them.
- Vacuum the mattress and the sofa once. That is enough: no product is needed.
- Combs, hair ties, and headbands, in hot water for ten minutes.
Let's be precise
With head lice, a mattress protector does nothing and we are not going to sell it to you for this. The louse is not in the mattress. The same with bed bugs: our protectors are in fitted sheet format, with elastic around the perimeter, and they do not enclose the mattress, so they are not useful against an active infestation.
Where a protector does change things is with dust mites: there the washable barrier is one of the most recommended measures, along with lowering the humidity in the house and vacuuming slowly.
If there are no bites: it is dust mites
It is the most frequent case of all those who come looking for "bed bugs". There is no bug biting: there is an allergic reaction to the proteins left by dust mites, which live in the mattress and the pillow feeding on skin cells.
The temperature that matters
It is the measure that reduces the population the most. Below 55 °C dust mites survive washing.
Humidity below half
Dust mites do not drink: they take water from the air. With a dry house they do not reproduce.
Bites
If you have marks on your skin, they are not dust mites. Go back to the table above and look for another cause.
Sweat and skin cells that feed the dust mites stay in the mattress, and the mattress does not go in the washing machine. A fitted sheet protector does (Morfeo's, at 30 °C maximum), every two or three weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Do bed bugs exist?
Not as a species. What lives in a bed and bites is the bed bug. Head lice live in the hair and die in one or two days off the scalp, and body lice live in the seams of worn clothing, not in the mattress.
Can head lice live in the mattress?
No. They need the heat and blood of the scalp constantly and survive one or two days separated from it. The nits that fall on the mattress do not hatch either, because they do not have that stable temperature.
How do I distinguish a bed bug bite from a mosquito bite?
A bed bug bite usually appears in the early morning, in a row or in a group of two or three, in uncovered areas, and itches more on the second day. A mosquito bite is a single, large welt that appears immediately.
Do dust mites bite?
No. They do not bite or pierce the skin. What they cause is an allergic reaction to their remains: congestion upon waking, sneezing, itchy eyes, and sometimes worsening asthma. If there are bite marks, the cause is something else.
Do I have to throw away the mattress if there are lice at home?
No. With head lice the mattress is not affected: just wash the bedding at 60 °C and vacuum it once. Throwing away the mattress only makes sense with a bed bug infestation that is not resolved or with mold.
At what temperature is bedding washed to kill lice and dust mites?
At 60 °C. It is the temperature that works in both cases. Whatever does not allow that wash, fifteen minutes in the dryer on hot, and if there is no dryer, two weeks in a sealed bag.
Is a mattress protector useful against lice?
No, because lice are not in the mattress. Against bed bugs neither, if it is in fitted sheet format like ours: it covers the top and sides, but it does not enclose the mattress. Where it does help is with dust mites, because it puts a fabric between you and the mattress that can be washed.
If the problem is dust mites, start with the barrier
Fitted sheet format, with elastic around the perimeter, and in the washing machine at 30 °C every two or three weeks.
