Bed bugs (Cimex lectulariu) have coexisted with humans for a very long time. They drink human blood as food. When DDT was developed, it devastated bed bugs and they almost disappeared, at least in the United States. However, since DDT was deemed unsafe for humans, bed bugs have had a resurgence.
These small bugs are only 1/5th of an inch as adults. The eggs and nymphs are smaller. The bed bug is flat, in an oval shape, and can slide through very small cracks and crevices. A female adult lays between 200 to 500 eggs during her lifetime. These eggs, usually 2-5 a day, are laid on rough surfaces near the feeding area. The bed bug covers the eggs with a sticky substance to keep them where they are laid. At room temperature, the eggs take 10-15 days to hatch. The nymphs go through five molts on their way to becoming adults. Before they can molt, the nymphs must take a blood meal.
There Are Many Myths About Bed Bugs.
Myth: Bed Bugs Only Infest Dirty Homes
Truth: Bed bugs can come into any house. They usually get a ride into the house with clothes, luggage, used furniture, and other objects.
Myth: Bed Bugs Only Happen In and Around Beds
Truth: Bed bugs prefer sleeping areas but can infest furniture, luggage, and clothes. If you spend time on it, the bed bugs will infest it.
Myth: Bed Bugs Spread Disease
Truth: Bed bugs have not been documented to spread diseases to humans. However, they can seriously impact a person’s life. People may be afraid to or unable to go to sleep at night because of the pain of the bites. They may scratch the bites and get a secondary infection. Finally, if enough bed bugs bite over a prolonged time, the person could get anemia.
Myth: Bed Bugs Are Too Small To Be Seen
Truth: Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed.
Here are signs that bed bugs are present:
Dark patches of feces
Blood spots when a bed bug drips blood
Shed skins
Foul, rotting, bloody meaty, or buggy smell
Myth: You Can Get Rid Of Bed Bugs By Yourself
Truth: It is almost impossible to get rid of bed bugs by yourself. While there are pesticides registered for controlling bed bugs available to consumers, they are not very effective. Getting rid of bed bugs requires special equipment and products that are not sold to consumers.
If you have bed bugs, or think you do, give Pest & Termite Consultants a call. We will send out a trained technician for a free consultation. The technician will inspect your home to find any bed bug hotspots. If necessary, we use an independent K9 team specially trained to alert at the smell of bed bugs. This makes sure we don’t miss any areas the bed bugs are active.
Once we have pinpointed the problem areas, we will use thermal treatments. This allows us to get the house’s temperature up to 140-degree F for about four hours. Bed bugs can’t survive that sort of temperature treatment. The heat penetrates walls, floors, furniture, baseboards, and outlets to kill every bed bug in your house.
After the heat treatment, we warranty your house for 9 months. If you find a bedbug in any room in your house in that 9 months, we will come to retreat your house at our expense. We have a 99.99% success rate in removing bed bugs from Raleigh homes the first time with this heat treatment. Call Pest & Termite Consultants at (919) 870-8003 today and get rid of bed bugs.