By Sophie L., Microhabitat Enthusiast & Moisture Monitor
Most bugs don’t want to bother you. They just want a cozy Airbnb in your bed, endless snacks, and the right humidity. Unfortunately, your home checks every box.
Let’s take a closer look at the two micro-squatters making themselves comfortable in your furnishings: bed bugs and dust mites. They don’t just survive indoors — they thrive.
🛏 Bed Bugs: The Bloodsuckers with Room Service
Diet: Your blood. They’re vampires with no interest in your crumbs or trash — only you.
Preferred Environment:
- Temperature: 20–30°C (Singapore is practically a bed bug spa)
- Humidity: Moderate to high (they dehydrate easily)
- Hiding Depth: Deep cracks, mattress seams, behind headboards
- Airflow: Low — they prefer stagnant air
- Feeding Cycle: Every 3–7 days, usually at night when you’re sleeping
- Bonus: They can survive months without feeding, just chilling in silence like serial freeloaders
🧊 Dust Mites: The Flesh Eaters You Never See
Diet: Dead skin cells, dandruff, and hair — basically, they eat your leftovers… from your own body.
Preferred Environment:
- Temperature: 20–25°C
- Humidity: Above 50% relative humidity is ideal
- Depth: Within fabric layers — mattresses, upholstery, pillows
- Airflow: Prefer still, warm air — think stale, unventilated rooms
- Feeding Cycle: Constant — they’re slow grazers, not binge eaters
- Bonus: They poop 20+ times a day. Multiply that by 100,000 mites in a mattress. You get the idea.
Why Your Home Is a 5-Star Resort for Them
- Moisture from breathing + sweat = buffet setup
- No sunlight = safe haven
- High humidity = dust mite breeding ground
- Soft furnishings = food & shelter combo
Your mattress is a double-decker food court and dormitory. You shed skin daily, sweat while you sleep, and rarely clean the deeper layers.
What Keeps Them Away? (Spoiler: Not Febreze)
- Lower humidity with dehumidifiers
- Sunlight exposure when possible
- High-heat cleaning — at least 60°C to kill both bugs and eggs
- Deep cleaning of fabric surfaces, not just a vacuum swipe
🧼 SmartClean doesn’t just fluff your sheets — we disrupt bug life cycles.
Book a professional mattress deep clean that evicts the freeloaders.
Sophie L. once raised pet snails but drew the line at invisible bug colonies. Now she helps Singaporeans keep their homes biologically boring.
