Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are reddish- brown small oval shaped flightless insects with six legs that are between 1 to 6 millimeters long. These insects feed primarily on human blood, but they have been known to survive on the blood of bats, birds, cats, dogs and rodents. Bed bugs are attracted to human odors, warmth transmitted by warm blooded animals, and carbon dioxide exhaled by their hosts. These insects spread easily and have shown resistant to pesticides.

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What does a bed bug bite look like?

Unfortunately, identifying a bed bug bite from the bite alone is impossible even from a medical professional. For a bite to be confirmed as a bed bug bite, a bed bug must be found in the sleeping area of the person who has been bitten. The reason being is that some people that are bitten show no signs while others experience allergic reactions. These bites can mimic mosquito bites, allergic reactions from changes in laundry detergent, allergic reactions from new medications, etc. This is why we highly recommend not signing up to have your home treated for bed bugs unless bed bugs have been positively identified by a pest control professional. Bed bugs treatments can be very expensive and if the “bite” ends up being an allergic reaction to a new detergent, that money was just put down the drain.

Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard To Treat? 

1. Bed bugs can go incredibly long times in between feedings. They have been known to survive in abandoned houses for up to a year and there are some reports that if living conditions are optimal, they can survive up to 18 months.

2. One single female bed bug can product thousands of bugs within a three-month span.

3. If a customer does not know how the bed bugs initially made their way into the home, there is a highly likelihood reinfestation will occur.

4. Most pest control treatments using chemicals need a direct treatment to the bed bug to eliminate them, these insects prefer tight hidden locations, and it takes an expert to identify all harborage areas. The more clutter in a home the less likely a treatment will be effective. Other treatments such as heat treatments and fumigations have pros and cons for each of them.

Are Bed Bugs Dangerous?

Bed bugs are considered a public health issue by the Environmental Protection Agency. They have not been shown to transmit disease, but they do cause a variety of negative physical, mental, and economic consequences.  These bugs are also known to cause allergic reactions in those people they bite and in rare cases can cause anaphylaxis (severe, whole-body reaction). (EPA website).

Bed bugs are considered "domesticated" insects. This means that they can only be found where humans are present since humans are the blood meal they typically feed on. If you are having a bed bug problem, it is most likely due to them being accidentally brought into your living space by someone. Be on the lookout when traveling or using public transportation, bed bugs are known to hitch rides with unsuspecting people and will quickly infest wherever their final destination ends up being.

We highly recommend leaving treating bed bugs to the professionals. Customers will often tell us that they spent hundreds of dollars in do-it-yourself products only to end up having to pay a professional in the end to eliminate these insects. That being said, professionals have a tough time with these troublesome insects. They breed quickly, are incredibly hard to kill, and can easily be reintroduced to your home if proper precautions are not taken. Hire a professional and heed their advice to get rid of these pesky bugs as quickly as possible.

There are many methods to avoiding and preventing bed bugs. Here are some recommendations: 1.) Inspect bedding prior to sleeping on it, if it's not your regular bed. (Hotels, friend's homes, Air BnB's, etc.) Same goes for luggage after returning from a trip or even taking public transportation around town. 2.) Inspect items purchased from secondhand stores, it is not uncommon for items that are infested with bed bugs to be donated to stores like these. Same goes for picking up furniture from the side of the road. 3.) Do not let people come into your home if you suspect they have bed bugs. 4.) Reduce clutter inside your home, clutter is a major issue in getting rid of bed bugs once they have infested. 5.) Invest in a bed bug mattress cover, it will not prevent you from getting bed bugs, but it will stop the bed bugs from nestling into your mattress and destroying it with their feces and blood meals. Replacing your mattress will be one less expense if you were to become infested.

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