Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects. Both nymphs and adults feed on humans mostly at night, a time when it is difficult to detect their stealthy habits. Their growth and development is optimal when they feed on humans; however this insect also feeds on other species of mammals and birds found near the home including chickens, mice, rats, and rabbits. Until recently, bed bug infestations were thought to be associated primarily with crowded and dilapidated housing. However, such infestations have undergone resurgence and can be found even in the finest hotel and living accommodations. The reasons for the resurgence are not totally understood but appear to involve increased human travel, ease of movement of infested luggage and items, and changes in the pesticides available to control this pest.

Bed Bug Identification

Adults are oval, wingless, about 1/5 inch long, and rusty red or mahogany. Their bodies are flattened, they have well-developed antennae, their compound eyes are small, and the area behind the head expands forward on either side of the head. The immature appear identical to the adults except for their smaller size. Females lay 200 to 500 tiny, white eggs in batches of 10 to 50 on rough surfaces such as wood or paper. Glue-like material covers the eggs, which hatch in about 10 days. Nymphs and adults generally feed at night and hide in crevices during the day. Common hiding places include seams in mattresses and box springs, cracks in bed frames, under loose wallpaper, behind picture frames, and inside furniture and upholstery. Occasionally people pick up bed bugs in theaters or on buses and trains. They also can bring them into their home on clothing, bedding, luggage, or firewood. These insects can go without feeding for 80 to 140 days. Older stages of nymphs can survive longer without feeding than younger ones, and adults have survived without food for as long as 550 days. A bed bug can take six times its weight in blood, and feeding can take 3 to 10 minutes. Adults live about 10 months, and there can be up to 3 to 4 generations of bed bugs per year in California.

Bed Bug Damage

They feed by piercing the skin with their elongated mouthparts, which consist of two stylets that normally fold under their body when at rest but fully extend during blood-meal feeding. One stylet has a groove that carries saliva into the wound, while the other has a groove through which body fluids from the host are taken in. A single feeding may take up to 10 minutes, and feels like a pin prick, but because feeding usually occurs at night when people are asleep they are not aware they have been bitten until afterwards. However, saliva injected during the feeding can later produce large swellings on the skin that itch and may become irritated and infected when scratched. Swelling may not develop until a day or more after feeding, and some people do not show symptoms. Bed bugs currently are not considered to be disease carriers. In addition to the direct injury to humans, they have stink glands that leave odors. They also leave unsightly fecal spots on bed sheets and around their hiding places. These spots are darkish red in color, roughly round, and can be very small.

Wheeler's Pest Control California Bed Bug Extermination Program

Getting rid of bed bugs is a difficult task that requires removal or treatment of all infested material and follow-up monitoring to ensure the bed bug infestation has been eliminated. Bed bug extermination may require employing several nonchemical methods such as vacuuming, washing bedding and clothing at a high temperature, using steam or heat treatment, and sealing up hiding places. To get rid of bed bugs insecticides will be required to eliminate all bed bug infestations. However, for more serious infestations whole building fumigation may be the only answer.

Beg Bug Detection

You can detect a bed bug infestation by searching for the pests or their fecal spots, cases, and shed skins. Current research reports more than 85% of bed bugs are found in or near the bed, so inspections for infestations should focus on the mattress, bed frame, and headboard areas. It may be easier to detect dark spots of dried bed bug excrement or the bed bug' light-colored shed skins. A foul, rotting, bloody-meat smell might be present in heavily infested areas.

In addition to the bed area, the remaining 15% of infestations usually are in upholstered furniture other than beds, in bedroom cabinets, along baseboards, under wallpaper, and in carpets, wall hangings and similar hiding spots. They prefer fabric or wood surfaces to metal or plastic. For heavy infestations, adjoining rooms, filing areas, and clutter can be out-of-way shelters. It takes patience and perseverance to find low-level infestations of such a persistent, nagging problem.

Bed Bug Prevention

People usually bring bed bugs into their homes, in luggage or on clothes, after visiting an infested dwelling or hotel. If you travel frequently, watch for signs of these insects in your hotel room by checking under sheets and inspecting mattresses, especially if you have been bitten. If you suspect bed bugs, check your luggage before leaving and wash all your clothes as soon as you get home. You also can bring them into your home on bedding or furniture. If you purchase second-hand furniture, especially beds or mattresses, thoroughly inspect the item before bringing it into your home. If you remove infested mattresses or furniture from your home, do not leave it on the curb or porch. Take it immediately to the dump.

It is much easier to control a population when the infestation is small. Keep clutter down, so it is easier to inspect areas of your home giving them fewer hiding places. Insecticides alone won't control bed bug infestations. Their use must be combined with a program of removing and cleaning infested beds, bedding, and other harborage sites then following up with a regular detection program to ensure treatment was effective.