As many of you know bedbugs are infesting homes nationwide. Well, if you didn’t know, here’s your warning. Bedbugs are a nearly microscopic nocturnal pest that will easily go undetected if you are not allergic to their bites. Prior to discussing prevention and elimination techniques, I’m going to give you a quick tidbit of background information.
Bedbug Fact vs. Fiction:
1)- When a bedbug bites you they inject an anesthetic to numb the area, resulting in a relatively painless bite (or meal if you see it from the bedbug’s eyes).
FACT: Sorry folks, but this is definitely true. Bedbugs release a numbing agent that allows them to feast without their host feeling a thing.
2)- Characteristic of their name, bedbugs are only found in your bed/mattress.
FICTION: Bedbugs often reside in mattresses and are more commonly found in box springs. They retreat to dark, protected areas during the daylight and are drawn to human hosts at night.
Bedbugs can also be found under carpets, in your electric outlets, in cracks and crevices around your home, and on other furniture, including plastic chairs.
3)- Bedbugs are transported by their human host, similar to head lice.
FICTION: Bedbugs do not travel on their preferred host. However, they may hitch a ride from them. That’s right, bedbugs will frequently broaden their horizons by attaching to an article of clothing, material, or piece of furniture that is being taken or carried out of the room or house.
4)- Bedbugs should be called “modern day vampires”; they suck your blood and feed at night.
FACT: Well whether they should be called modern day vampires may not be fact but it is true that they suck your blood and feed at night. Bedbugs are nocturnal meaning that they prefer to leave their dark little corners at night and attract to their hosts.
These blood-sucking parasites are attracted primarily to the carbon dioxide and warmth that the human body gives off. Prior to feeding on their host these pests are flat, oval-shaped and brown. After feeding, these insects will fill up, expanding a few times their original size and changing to a dark red color.
5)- This blood-sucking parasite is one of the easier pests to detect and eliminate.
FICTION: They are, in fact, one of the most difficult home-dwelling pests for residents and professionals to detect and eliminate. Full grown bedbugs will reach approximately 5mm in length and often hide during the day. Their prime feeding time is during early morning hours, when most humans are in their deepest stages of sleep. Bedbugs have 7 stages in their lifecycle from egg to adult. Due to their various life stages and microscopic size, they are most efficiently detected by human or k-9 inspection. Inspection is only one of the first, yet essential, steps to a successful elimination program. Elimination can be very difficult for residents and licensed professionals because without thorough inspection one will never know if any of the little guys hitched a ride into the next room.
6)- Small specks of blood and fecal stains found on your sheets are a clear sign of bedbugs.
FACT: RED FLAG!!! These guys WILL leave behind left-overs from their meal. You got it! The barely visible black specks are the blood and fecal stains left behind by your nighttime pest. Go! Go check your sheets!
7)- Bedbug bites are small, red bumps. You’ll know them if you see them.
FICTION: Not all individuals will have the same reaction to the bite of this pesky parasite. In fact some people will have no reaction at all. Hence, another reason why the presence of a bedbug infestation may be overlooked or mistaken.
If you are having an allergic reaction to the bite you may notice varied degrees of size and redness. Some bites may have a small red dot in the center or even appear in clusters.
8)- I can eliminate my bed bug problem with home remedies, over the counter spray, or plastic mattress covers.
FICTION: As aforementioned, bedbugs are one of the most difficult pests to detect and control. Using a home remedy or over the counter product may not target all of the pests and therefore send them into hiding.
Without a thorough inspection by a trained professional it is unlikely that all infected areas will be properly treated, down to every last bug. Licensed professionals can provide a checklist of preventive measures for the resident to help ensure that the professionally administered treatment will be effective.
Placing a bedbug protective mattress cover on your mattress AFTER treatment will help prevent re-infestation. DO NOT place this mattress cover on your bed if you think that you have an infestation. You will simply be giving the best a protected enclosed area to dwell and thrive; I don’t think you want that.
9)- These pesky little blood-suckers reproduce at rapid rates, infesting your home like cockroaches.
FACT: Yes, that’s right! These bed-dwelling insects are capable of reproducing at greater rates than the dreaded cockroach. I bet you haven’t heard that one before. A female cockroach will generally produce about 2 to 3 hundred eggs in her lifetime.
A bedbug, on the other hand, is capable of laying several hundred eggs, averaging 5-10 per day. An egg will develop into a full adult within approximately one month. And you guessed it, one month later those ten are laying ten of their own.
The spread of bedbugs is not a joke. The rapid rate of reproduction increases the possibility of infestation, especially in the absence of early detection. So move aside roaches, we have a new epidemic in town!
10)- Pesticides alone are the most effective elimination techniques.
FICTION: Surprise! The true solution to your bedbug problem is here in your neighborhood and that is EXPERIENCE. There are many methods of Bed Bug Control but none of them will be effective if not administered correctly.
If I were you I would give Positive Pest Management a call at 1(800)294-3130 or visit them at https://www.positivepest.net for more information ad/or an inspection.
Believe me, I know bedbugs can be a royal pain. I hope I was able to provide you all with some useful information. So if you suspect that bedbugs are haunting your home at night, be bedbug smart. Call Positive Pest!
