Bed Bug Removal

Bed Bug removal can be a very stressful job for a homeowner or a business owner. Have a exterminator remove the bed bugs for full control. Bed Bugs can become a very unhealthy place for your home or business. Below is some more information regarding bed bugs and removal.

Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects in the family Cimicidae. Both nymphs and adults feed on sleeping or sedentary humans, mostly at night, a time when this pest’s stealthy habits are difficult to observe.

Bed bugs are found worldwide in association with human habitations. The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is a widely distributed species most frequently found in the northern temperate climates of North America, Europe, and Central Asia. It occurs more sporadically in southern temperate regions. In tropical regions C. hemipterus, the tropical bed bug, is the dominant species. The most common species found in California is C. lectularius.

The growth and development of C. lectularius is optimal when it feeds on humans; however, this insect also feeds on other species of mammals and on birds found near the home including chickens, mice, rats, and rabbits. Bat bugs and swallow bugs, close relatives of bed bugs, may also be found in and around human dwellings and may sometimes bite humans, although their preferred hosts are bats and birds, respectively.

Until recently, bed bug infestations were thought to be associated primarily with crowded and dilapidated housing. However, bed bugs have undergone a resurgence in pest status and can now be found even in the finest hotel and living accommodations. The reasons for this resurgence aren’t totally understood but appear to involve increased global travel and commerce, ease of movement of infested items, widespread insecticide resistance, and changes in pesticides available to control this pest.

IDENTIFICATION AND LIFE CYCLE

Adult bed bugs 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 (the pronotum) expands forward on either side of the head, bearing many small hairs. The immatures, called nymphs, appear identical to the adults except for their smaller size (1/20 –1/5 inch), thinner outer skeleton (cuticle), and lighter yellowish-white color.

Bed bugs are readily distinguished from another common blood-sucking species, conenose bugs (also known as kissing bugs), by their smaller size, more rounded shape, and lack of wings as adults. Conenose bugs may be up to 3/4 inch long.

Bed bugs can be distinguished from their close relatives bat bugs and swallow bugs by comparing the length of the hairs on the pronotum to the diameter of the eye; this requires a hand lens or microscope. These hairs are shorter than the diameter of the eye on a bed bug and longer than the diameter of the eye on bat bugs and swallow bugs. This distinction is sometimes important to make, since managing these bed bug relatives involves managing their vertebrate hosts (i.e., bats and swallows) nesting in, on, or near homes.

Female bed bugs lay 200 to 500 tiny (1/20 inch) white eggs during their lifetimes, usually two to five eggs per day, on rough surfaces such as wood or paper near their hosts’ sleeping places, resting places, or both. Gluelike material covers the eggs, which hatch in about 10 to 15 days at room temperature. After hatching occurs, the eggshells frequently remain stuck in place.

DAMAGE

Bed bugs feed on humans, usually at night when they are resting. This insect feeds by piercing the skin with its elongated mouth part, which consists of four styles that normally fold under its body when at rest but fully extend during blood feeding. Two maxillary styles form canals, a small salivary canal that carries saliva into the wound and a relatively large food canal through which body fluids from the host are taken in.

A bed bug can take up to six times its weight in blood during one feeding event, which takes between 3 and 10 minutes. Usually people aren’t aware they have been bitten until afterward; bites occur while people sleep, and bed bugs are known to inject a natural anesthetic while feeding. However, saliva injected during the feeding can later produce allergic dermal reactions such as large itchy swellings on the skin. These may become irritated and infected when scratched. Swelling may not develop until a day or more after feeding, and some people show no symptoms at all. Bed bugs have never been shown to transmit human disease.

MANAGEMENT

Confirmed bed bug infestations should be managed by trained professionals. Managing a bed bug infestation is a difficult task that requires removing or treating all infested material and follow-up monitoring to ensure the infestation has been eliminated. Management will require employing several non chemical methods such as vacuuming, washing bedding at a high temperature, using steam or heat treatment, and sealing up hiding places.

Insecticides may be required to eliminate serious infestations. Several active ingredients are federally registered for bed bugs for over-the-counter use, but few have been demonstrated as effective. Pest management professionals (PMPs) have access to a wide range of effective registered products; however, insecticide resistance among bed bug populations is increasingly common. The best approach is to combine chemical and non chemical tactics with increased sanitation and habitat modification practices. Prevention and monitoring of bed bug infestations are paramount and should be ongoing.

If you’re dealing with a mice or rat infestation, don’t wait to act. Contact Pest Control Pros  today for effective bed bug removal services. Our team of experts will work with you to eliminate the infestation and provide preventative measures to ensure that these pests don’t return. Don’t let mice and rats take over your property – call us today!