Bed Bugs & Bed Bug Emergency Treatments

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A Little Bit About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are back!

That’s right, back in the 1940s and 1950s the widespread use of DDT almost completely eliminated bed bugs from the United States. In the past couple of decades, though, bed bugs have started to be commonplace in homes around the US. They can be found in our coastal homes, apartments, hotels, motels, health care facilities, dormitories, shelters, schools, and even cars and buses. Bed bugs are hitchhikers. The may even be found in public spaces like movie theaters, laundromats, dry cleaners, furniture rental outlets, thrift stores, retail shops, and office buildings. So now what?

Below is a little bit of information to help you prevent bed bugs, identify bed bugs, and get rid of bed bugs if you have them in your home or business.

How To Prevent Bed Bugs

Bed bugs can be difficult to get rid of, so your best bet is to be as vigilant as possible in preventing them entering your home. Be cautious when you buy used furniture, especially beds and couches. Craigslist is an easy way to spread bed bugs from one home to another quickly. If you are buying second hand, thoroughly inspect and examine the item before bringing it into your home. If possible, take it to the laundromat and run items through the dryer before putting them in your living room.

Definitely avoid curbside items.

It is more difficult to avoid problems with bed bugs in apartments, hotels, and other similar places where there are repeated opportunities for the bugs to be introduced. If you are worried about maintaining a bed bug free apartment or property, the best way to control and prevent an infestion is through preventative inspection by tenants, housekeeping staff, or pest control firms. Finding an infestation in its initial stages is the most effective way to maintain control.

Bed Bugs While Traveling

When you are traveling, always check your bed for signs of bed bugs (a common practice in the past). Examine the bed sheets and the upper and lower seams of the mattress and box spring, especially along the head of the bed. For a thorough examination you could remove and inspect behind the headboard, which is a common hiding place for the bugs in hotel rooms. Obviously use caution. Headboards are heavy and there is no reason to get hurt or cause damage. If you do find bed bugs you can request another room, preferably in another area of the building. You may also want to keep luggage off the floor and onto luggage stands or tabletops.

If you experience itchy welts suggestive of bed bug bites while traveling, be sure to pack all clothing in disposable plastic bags and put it directly into the washer and dryer when getting home. It can be difficult to spot bed bugs inside a suitcase, so play it safe and treat or discard potentially infested luggage.

Since bed bugs are on the rise, it is important to be familiar with bed bugs in order to easily identify them and prevent bed bug infestations. Speaking of identifying them, let’s review some easy bed bug identification.

Identifying Bed Bugs & Bed Bug Eggs

Generally, bed bugs are small, flattened insects. They are a brownish color. Bed bugs feed solely on the blood of animals. Adult bed bugs are a little less than a 1/4 inch longand reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. They can be mistaken for ticks or cockroaches. Immature bed bugs (nymphs) resemble adult bed bugs, but are smaller and lighter in color.

Bed bugs do not fly, but can move quickly over floors, walls, ceilings, and other surfaces.

Bed Bug Eggs & Nymphs

Female bed bugs lay their eggs in secluded areas, depositing 1, 2, or more eggs per day and hundreds during a lifetime. The eggs are tiny, whitish, and hard to see on most surfaces without magnification. Individual eggs are about the size of a speck of dust. When first laid, the eggs are sticky. They can adhere to most surfaces. Newly hatched nymphs are straw-colored and no bigger than a pinhead. As they grow, they molt (shed their skin) five times before reaching maturity. A blood meal is needed between each successive molt. In a climate like we have here in North Carolina, the bugs can complete their development in as little as 30 days and can produce three or more generations per year. In other words, it’s best to find an infestation as early as possible.

Bed bugs are extrememly resilient insects. Nymphs can survive months without feeding and the adults can survive for more than a year without food. Therefore, infestations are unlikely to diminish by leaving premises unoccupied.

The common bed bug is known as Cimex lectularius. It is the the species most adapted to living with humans and has done so since ancient times. Bed bugs are mentioned in medieval European texts and in classical Greek writings back to the time of Aristotle. Other bed bug species prefer to feed on wild hosts, especially bats and birds. Although Cimex lectularius prefers to feed on humans, it will also bite other warm-blooded animals, including dogs, cats, birds and rodents.

Identifying Bedbug Bites & Concerns

Bed bugs usually bite people at night while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin with an elongated beak through which they withdraw blood. Engorgement takes about three to 10 minutes, yet the person seldom knows they are being bitten. Bed bugs normally do not reside on people like head or body lice. Immediately after feeding they crawl off and reside elsewhere to digest their meal. Symptoms after being bitten vary with the individual. Many develop an itchy red welt or localized swelling within a day or so of the bite. Others have little or no reaction, and in some people the reaction is delayed. Unlike flea bites that occur mainly around the ankles, bed bugs feed on any skin exposed while sleeping (face, neck, shoulders, back, arms, legs, etc.). The welts and itching are often wrongly attributed to other causes, such as mosquitoes. For these reasons, infestations may go a long time unnoticed, and can become quite large before being detected. The likelihood of bed bugs increases if the affected individual has been traveling, or had acquired used beds or furnishings before symptoms started to appear. Bed bugs also are suspect if you wake up with itchy bites you did not have when you went to sleep. Conversely, it is important to recognize that not all bites or bite-like reactions are due to bed bugs. Confirmation requires finding and identifying the bugs themselves, which often requires the help of a professional. (Other possible sources of irritation are discussed in University of Kentucky entomology fact sheet ENT-58; Invisible Itches: Insect and Non-Insect Causes).

A common concern with bed bugs is whether they transmit diseases. Although bed bugs can harbor pathogens in and on their bodies, transmission to humans is considered unlikely. Their medical significance is chiefly limited to the itching and inflammation from their bites. Antihistamines and corticosteroids may be prescribed to reduce allergic reactions, and antiseptic or antibiotic ointments to prevent infection. Though not known to carry diseases, bed bugs can severely reduce quality of life by causing discomfort, sleeplessness, anxiety, and embarrassment.

Conventional insect repellents, like those used to deter ticks and mosquitoes, do not appear to be effective against bed bugs. Attempting to avoid being bitten by applying insect repellent at bedtime is not recommended. Sleeping with the lights on is not likely to deter hungry bed bugs either.

How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are challenging pests to control and eliminate. They can hide in a wide variety of places. Treatments have to be thorough and eliminating infestations is not always going to happen on the first round of treatment. If you have bed bugs, you should call and hire a professional company to take care of your infestation.

An experienced pest control company know where and how to look for bed bugs. Here at Cape Fear Termite & Pest Control bed bugs are one of our specialities.

You will play an important role in the treatment of your home. It is crucial that a professional have clear access to your rooms, so excess clutter will have to be removed. Anything out of order can impede inspection and treatment. Bed bugs can spread throughout a building, so it will likely be necessary to inspect adjoining rooms and apartments.

Call us or contact us below for more information on bed bugs; prevention, identification, and treatment. We will be more than happy to walk you through our process and get right over to give you an estimate.

Thanks for reading! We will be excited to hear from you soon.