Did you ever wake up feeling like you haven’t slept at all? It happens to everyone once in a while. All it takes to have a bad night of sleep is exercising before bed, eating a large meal too late in the evening, or being bitten by parasitic bugs. What parasitic bugs might be biting me at night, you ask? Bed bugs for one. These small sleep-wrecking insects regularly invade homes here in Raleigh and contribute to insomnia. If you suspect your home might have bed bugs, here are some ways to know for sure, and one simple way to get bed bugs out.
Why Bed Bugs Invade Homes
Bed bugs in Raleigh are arguably the most co-dependent home-invading pests there are. Unable to live long periods out in the wild, these invasive pests require the safety and temperature-controlled environments of human-made structures to survive. Bed bugs also require a host to feed on and prefer the blood of humans over that of animals. All of this is to say that bed bugs invade homes to be comfortable and closer to people. If you keep your thermostat at a reasonable temperature and sleep indoors, bed bugs will want to invade your living areas.
Signs Of Bed Bug Activity You Should Know
Have you ever seen a live bed bug? Most people have not. One common misconception about bed bugs is that they are too small to see. This isn’t entirely true. Although a bed bug’s small size helps them stay out of sight, it is their adept hiding ability that makes them so difficult to spot. Thankfully, bed bugs leave signs around the homes they infest. Here are a few you can use to know if your home is infested.
Rusty red bloodstains on bed coverings
Blackish-red dots and smears of fecal matter on the sides of mattresses/boxsprings, along baseboards, up headboards, around outlets, and near other areas where bed bugs hide
Shed skins near cracks and crevices around your home
Bites on your skin that run in a straight line or zig-zag pattern
Small cream-colored eggs inside cracks and crevices around your home.
Some Practical Ways To Avoid A Bed Bug Infestation
Bed bugs are little hitchhikers that use items people carry to sneak their way into homes. To reduce your chances of bringing home these sleep-wrecking pests, here are six things you should be doing.
Thoroughly inspect hotel rooms for signs of bed bugs before settling in.
Store used clothing inside airtight bags while away from home and wash them when you get back on high heat.
Avoid leaving personal belongings in one place for more than 20 minutes when out in public.
Check used furniture for signs of bed bugs before bringing it home with you.
Teach your kids how to inspect their backpacks for bed bugs before coming home from school each day.
Tell your family and friends about bed bugs.
How Professional Bed Bug Control Works
When bed bugs infest a home, they do not just stay around beds. They spread out, getting into walls and crawling under baseboards, hiding in places that are hard to reach with conventional treatments. For this reason, the experts at Pest & Termite Consultants use heat treatments to eliminate bed bugs. This method heats a home's interior temperature to a level that is harmless to furniture and personal belongings but lethal to bed bugs.
Call us today to find out more about our pest control services and schedule a time for one of our friendly K-9 bed bug inspectors to come out and check your home.