Bed bugs could be easily avoided simply by having hairy skin, a new study from British scientists claims. According to the BBC, researchers from Sheffield University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences found that the bloodsuckers are more likely to feed on shaved arms than arms with a good deal of hair.
“Our findings show that more body hairs mean better detection of parasites—the hairs have nerves attached to them and provide us with the ability to detect displacement,” said lead researcher Michael Siva-Jothy.
Researchers released bed bugs on 29 study participants and watched as they found a place to feed, removing them before they bit into skin. The bed bugs tended to avoid layers of long, visible hair as well as thinner surface hair, settling instead for clear patches of skin.
Besides acting as a deterrent, hair also slowed the insects down as it navigated the skin. From his work, Siva-Jothy sees both the implications of evolution and a way to resist bed bugs in the future.
“The results have implications for understanding why we look the way we do, what selected forces might have driven us to look the way we do, and may even provide insight for better understanding of how to reduce biting insects impact on humans,” he told the BBC.
However, developing a thick pelt may also work against you, Siva-Jothy said.
“If you have a heavy coat of long thick hairs it is easier for parasites to hide, even if you can detect them,” he said. “Our proposal is that we retain the fine covering because it aids detection and if we lost all hair, even the relatively invisible fine hair, our detection ability goes right down.”
