Everyone loves laying in a warm bed, and that includes bed bugs. These insects are notorious for ruining your sleep, wreaking havoc on your arms and legs, and staying in your Raleigh, NC home no matter how many times you wash your sheets.
Whether you’re already dealing with bed bugs or worried about catching them, here’s how these nasty critters end up in your Raleigh household.
Bed Bug Identification Tips For Raleigh Homeowners
Usually, Raleigh homeowners don’t know they have a bed bug infestation because they see bugs crawling around the bedroom. Rather, homeowners wake up with small, itchy welts that last a week. Since these pests are quiet and often undetectable, what do bed bugs actually look like?
Bed bugs only grow to about 5mm long, or about ⅕ of an inch. These pests are light brown or reddish-brown in color and often grow darker once they’ve ingested blood. That’s why bed bugs like your home: overnight, these nocturnal critters drink blood from exposed skin on your body.
Bed bugs have a small head and larger, apple seed-shaped body, as well as six legs and two short antennae. If you see them in your bed or around your furniture, it will most likely be at dusk.
How Did Bed Bugs Get In My Home?
Bed bugs are slow, tiny creatures. They don’t jump, they don’t have wings, and they don’t move fast. So, how do they get into so many Raleigh homes?
These pests are hitchhikers, moving from place to place on other people. A bed bug will latch onto an article of clothing or a book bag and stay there until you get home. Only then does it crawl out and start crowding around the couch or bed.
Bed bugs are usually picked up in high traffic areas, such as schools, airports, bus stops, subway stations, and libraries. Additionally, they might already be hiding in someone’s used furniture and appliances, or even in grocery bags or shipping boxes. Bed bugs are bound to happen in cities like Raleigh.
Thankfully, bed bugs don’t cause that many problems. The biggest they cause is insomnia and distress, as many people get upset at the thought of these invisible bugs crawling around in their bed. Otherwise, bed bugs can sometimes cause anemia and second-hand infections if they are a problem for long enough.
Once they get in the house, they’re pretty impossible to remove. These pests can fit in the tiniest of spaces, they blend in easily with their surroundings, and they only come out when you’re asleep. Having bed bugs can cause lots of psychological stress, as homeowners hate falling asleep in a bed with biting bugs.
Bed Bug Prevention Tips
Since bed bugs are so hard to remove, your best bet is to prevent them from getting in entirely. You can do this in a couple of ways:
Frequent vacuuming. When they aren’t hiding in closets or cracks, bed bugs might camp out in the carpeting undetected, so vacuuming the house helps limit sheltered hiding spots.
Reduce home clutter. Bed bugs like cool, dark spaces, so clutter is the perfect place for them to hang out during the day.
Check your bags when you get home. If you bring your personal belongings to high traffic places, bed bugs might latch onto these bags, especially if you’re traveling with suitcases.
Buy a bed encasement to wash. That way, bed bugs can’t make their way into your bedsheets, making them easy to remove before they’re everywhere.
Unfortunately, bed bugs are some of the most common pests. If you find yourself waking up with scratchy bumps every morning, don’t deal with the problem yourself – it isn’t going to work. Rather, contact Raleigh’s best bug busters at Pest & Termite Consultants, and we’ll eradicate your bed bugs for good.