Are Bed Bugs Taking Over Your Home?
Never thought you would have a bed bug problem? Bed bug infestations can appear to be stressful and overwhelming when you do not know how to handle them. There are many common ways to identify bed bugs and helpful tips and tricks on how to handle a potential bed bug infestation.
What is a Bed Bug Infestation?
When identifying a bed bug, you should know that they are a small, brown, and oval insect that resembles the shape of an apple seed. Adult bed bugs are typically a quarter of an inch and with their six legs and naturally flat body, they are able to burrow themselves into smaller crevices than average insects we encounter each day.
Known as the hitchhikers of the insect world, bed bugs latch onto anyone and everyone, no matter who they are. As long as there is a source of food, bed bugs can infest any house or building regardless of its cleanliness. A bed bug infestation starts with a female bed bug, who is able to lay eggs in your home or building.
How to Identify a Bed Bug Infestation:
Now that you know some of the characteristics of bed bugs, here are some ways you can identify a bed bug infestation:
Check Your Mattress:
Remove fitted sheets on the bed and check the seams of the mattress with a flashlight. Look for the brown, seed-like insect along the edges and four corners of the bed. Bed bugs hide in other places in your home, including headboards, bed frames, box springs, outlets, luggage seams, couch seams, and beneath furniture, to name a few. Bed bug eggs are small and white and stick to the surface near a feeding location.
You should also look for red stains on bed sheets that appear when bed bugs are crushed when feeding on a human. Shells can be found when nymphs (“teenage” bed bugs) shed their exoskeletons, leaving behind a yellowish casing.
Check For Physical Signs:
Bed bugs feed on blood to survive. This is why bed bugs hang out and around your room to wait for you to fall asleep. Once you are sleeping, bed bugs will feed on your blood because your body is not moving as much when you are sleeping. Bed bugs typically leave more than one bite mark, because they are walking across your skin when they are feeding, so typically, bed bug bite marks are in a line. These bites are pretty much harmless and itching is common with these bites.
What to Do If You Think You Have Bed Bugs:
Once you have determined if you think you have bed bugs or not, you should immediately contact a professional bed bug exterminator. Because bed bugs are so pesky, common home remedies such as using baking soda, talcum powder, rubbing alcohol, and tea tree oil do not work on getting rid of bed bugs.
A female bed bug can lay 3 eggs a day and more than 300 eggs in her lifetime. Baby bed bugs hatch after 10 days and will live for about 10 months. Infestations develop slowly and can go a long time without being noticed.
Common pest control companies do not use the same methods used by bed bug exterminators and can damage your property. The use of chemicals used by these companies may be harmful to the elderly, children, and pets.
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