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What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are insects of the Order Hemiptera and Family Cimicidae, which has over 90 species around the world and 15 in North America. Bed bugs and their relatives are wingless, blood-feeding parasites of animals. The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a pest of humans this species has recently become a problem in the United States and countries all over the world.
Bed bugs have three basic life stages; egg, nymph, and adult. They begin as a very small but visible egg, hatch to become a first instar nymph or juvenile, which is 1 millimeter long or about the size of a poppy seed. There are five juvenile stages, which feed on blood, molt and grow over time. The adult is about the size of an apple seed.
Bed bugs tend to gather together in hidden and undisturbed places where a person sleeps, or sits for an extended period of time, creating clusters of live bed bugs, shed skins, dark-colored fecal spots, and eggs. In heavily infested locations bed bugs can be found anywhere in the room. As bed bugs grow they shed their amber-colored, transparent skins, leaving behind what look like hollow bed bugs.
A fecal spot, the result of bed bug digestion, may look like a brownish-black bump on a hard surface, or a dark stain (like a magic marker dot) on fabric. Eggs are cemented to fabric, wood, paper, and most other surfaces as the female hides or wanders in search of a host.
What is the risk of having bed bugs and getting bitten?
Bed bugs must bite to feed on blood. They have pointed mouth parts, like mosquitoes, and feed for just a few minutes at a time. They must feed to grow and although they primarily feed at night, bed bugs will bite during the day if necessary. Bed bugs have never been shown to transmit disease to humans. The most common symptom of bed bug bites are itchy welts on the skin of most but not all sufferers. Reactions vary widely from person to person and bites alone cannot be used to confirm bed bugs. Bites may develop secondary infections through scratching.
How to avoid picking up bed bugs at work or in public places:
Employees will be at risk for picking up bed bugs from an infested room or home. However, there are steps that can be taken to reduce these risks and workers must be prepared to follow these steps to protect themselves.
Follow these recommendations to reduce the risk:
• Know what spaces have bed bugs – work, hotels, used furniture stores, items at garage sales, apartments, hospitals, movie theaters.
• Do not bring bags or personal belongings inside the infested area, carry as little as possible with you and keep your personal items in a sealed plastic bag if possible.
• Carefully shake out or change your clothes before returning to your car or home. It is recommended that you leave personal items that are suspect of bed bugs outside your home or in the garage. Placing personal items in a black plastic bag and sealing it helps contain bed bugs, and if stored in heat for a day, above 122 degrees, it will kill bed bugs – which happens easily in the summer heat.
• Separate any clothing that may be at risk and store it in black plastic bags. Washing and drying affected items on HOT setting kills bed bugs.
• Be vigilant about what to look for. Bed bugs are visible, but the youngest ones are very small. Inspect your own living and work space on a regular basis. Look for the bed bugs in cracks and crevices and at home inspect yoru mattress, box spring and head board for bed bugs, blood smears, black spots ( fecal material).
How can we get rid of them?
A strategy that is effective every time with Lady Bug Eco-Heat treatments is HEAT. Pesticides alone, will not eliminate bed bugs.
By applying heat evenly throughout a structure we are able to kill bed bugs wherever they are hiding. Heat will kill all of the growth stages of the bed bug including the eggs. This is an important fact given that not all current pesticide control methodologies kill bed bug eggs. This means that oftentimes a Heat Treatment can eradicate the entire bed bug population in a single treatment.
Lady Bug Eco-Friendly Pest Control provides service Valley Wide including Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Cave Creek, Care Free,Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, San Tan, Sun City, Peoria, Buckeye, Avondale, Good Year, Glendale, Surprise, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Anthem, Ahwatukee, and El Mirage.
Contact Lady Bug Pest Control Specialists for a Free Home Inspection for Termites, Eco-Friendly Pest Control, Home Seal Service, Bed Bug Eco-Heat, and Rodent Control. We perform Complete Home Inspections. Lady Bug also will do a free inspection if you already are under contract with another company and take over your existing termite warranty policy. Please feel free to contact Lady Bug Pest Control Specialists to answer any of your pest control questions or for a FREE Inspection. 480-833-1111.
