Bed Bugs Control

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is the best adapted to human environments. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world and has been known since ancient times.

Other species include Cimex hemipterus, found in tropical regions (including Florida), which also infests poultry and bats, and Leptocimex boueti, found in the tropics of West Africa and South America, which infests bats and humans. Cimex pilosellus and C. pipistrella primarily infest bats, while Haematosiphon inodora, a species of North America, primarily infests poultry.

Oeciacus, while not strictly a bed bug, is a closely related genus primarily affecting birds.

You've heard news lately of a bed bug resurgence. So chances are that if you've seen possible signs of bed bugs, you are a little suspicious. The next thing you probably want to know is: what do bed bugs look like?

Bed bugs usually find dark places to hide. If you can't seem to find one and inspect it directly, you'll have to rely more on other signs of bed bugs. But if you do manage to catch hold of something you think is a bed bug, here is what you need to know.

Bed bugs are flat, oval-shaped and very small in size.
Bed bug hatchlings have been compared in size to poppy seeds.
Adults can grow to 1/4 of an inch long.
Bed bugs have 6 slender legs along with medium-long antennae at the top of their head.
Bed bugs do not have any wings.

Here are 5 signs you may have bed bugs in your home.

1. Red stains on bedding or mattress.
It's possible to kill bed bugs while they are feeding or just after when you move around or roll over in bed. The red stains are left on your bedding or mattress when bed bugs are crushed. This is easy to see if you have light colored bedding but is still possible to see even on darker bedding.

2. Bed bug feces on bedding or mattress.
Bed bugs will leave a blackish looking trail of fecal specks on your mattress or bedding. Bed bug feces is pretty much just dried blood. In fact, if you wet it very carefully with a small amount of water, it may turn red again and look like blood.

3. Bed bug exoskeletons (or eggs) in bedding, on mattress or anywhere else.
Exoskeletons are the hard shell of a bed bug. This shell protects the bed bug and provides the structure for its muscles and organs. When the bed bug grows, it does so through a process called molting.

4. An unusual, sweet aroma.
It is said that when you crush bed bugs or have a heavy bed bug infestation, you can smell a sickly sweet aroma.

5. Suspicious bite marks on body.
Bed bugs tend to leave bite marks in a straight line or trail. Often appear in a series of 3 or 4 bites. Bed bug bites often resemble mosquito and flea bites.

Knowing for sure
Like I wrote in the beginning, none of these signs of bed bugs is conclusive on its own. However, put a couple of them together and they point to a high possibility of a bed bug infestation. The best way to prove a bed bug infestation is to catch and trap a bed bug. But sometimes even this can be difficult. If you think you have bed bugs but are having a hard time finding evidence, consider hiring a professional bed bugs exterminator. They could save you a lot of time and money.

It's a myth that dirty conditions cause bed bugs. While dirty conditions can make it harder to both identify bed bug infestations and to eradicate bed bugs, the conditions are not the cause.

There are 3 principle ways bed bugs can come to infest a dwelling.

1. Bed bugs already existed there but weren't previously detected or, if detected, were not eradicated completely.

2. Bed bugs came in through adjacent units in a multi-unit dwelling (condos, apartments, dorms, hotels, hostels).

3. Bed bugs hitched a ride from the outside on people or objects brought into the dwelling.

Bed bugs also travel in bed frames, mattresses, box springs, furniture, and other items. Infested second-hand goods are a serious threat. Bed bugs have even been known to hitch rides on television remote controls. The closer to the bed an item is on a regular basis, the more susceptible it is to being infested and thus being a suitable vehicle to spread bed bugs.

Sometimes you're in a bad situation and don't have many options.

Let's say business travel requires you to stay somewhere that is infested or likely to be infested. Or you're staying at a dorm or apartment that has bed bugs but management is not taking action for any number of reasons. You take every measure to avoid situations like these but sometimes they are unavoidable. When this happens, you take action to control bed bugs in order to protect yourself.

Perform one time actions.

Isolate the bed. Pull the bed away from walls and furniture. Make sure drapes don't touch it. Buy ClimbUp Interceptors to help prevent bed bugs from climbing into the bed.

Encase the mattress and box spring. The mattress and the box spring exepcially can be difficult to treat if they become infested. If they already are infested, isolating the bed isn't going to help you unless you use bed bug encasements. And if the mattress and box spring are not infested, leaving them unprotected is a bad idea.

Launder all the bedding on the highest heat settings. Laundering on the highest heat settings is a well known, proven and accepted method of killing bed bugs on your bedding. Wash everything to start with a clean slate.

Line drawers with bed bug proof bags. Bed bugs don't just hide in beds -- they also hide in other nearby places. Not only do they crawl around rooms and buildings, they can hitchhike on clothing and accessories. You want to keep your clothing isolated then, protected from being infested on one hand and sealed to prevent bed bugs that might be in your clothes from spreading.

Launder all clothes on the highest heat settings. The same things apply here as with the bedding. High heat will kill bed bugs. Not all clothing is suited to high heat washing and drying though. For more sensitive items, consider dry cleaning them. But let the cleaner know about the bed bugs so they can handle the items appropriately without spreading bed bugs.

What to do when you're past prevention and extermination is not an option.

How to protect yourself and your family from bed bugs while traveling and protect your home when you return.

You may have heard the myth that bed bugs are found only in dirty conditions. Not so.

In the news recently a 4-star hotel reported having problems with bed bugs. And as people who have had a bed bug infestation in their home can tell you, bed bugs can infiltrate even the cleanest homes and find places to hide.

The recent bed bug resurgence is thought by experts to be the result of several different factors. But for the purposes of this page, we're going to talk about two:

A general lack of awareness about bed bugs.
An increase in international travel since World War II.
These two things go hand in hand. If you aren't aware of bed bugs as a possible threat, you don't know that you should protect yourself or how to protect yourself. And if you don't protect yourself, you can contribute to the spread of bed bugs through travel.

The fact that you're on this page is a good sign that you are aware.

These tips will help protect you from bed bugs while traveling. They will also help you protect your home from a bed bug infestation while you return.
Before you go.

There are a couple of things you can do before you travel to help protect yourself and your family against bed bugs.

Bed bug prevention is the crucial thing that will save you and your family from living out the nightmare of a bed bug infestation. The key issue at this point is...
How do you get bed bugs?

1. Bed bugs already exist where you live or are staying but weren't detected previously or weren't dealt with properly.
2. Bed bugs came in through adjacent units in a multi-unit dwelling (condo, apartment, dorm).
3. Bed bugs hitched a ride from the outside on people or objects brought into the dwelling.

The first two situations above are bad because by the time you find out---it's too late to be proactive. All you can do is respond. A bed bugs exterminator is the best bet at this point. Keep in mind that in most areas, the property manager has a legal responsibility to hire a pest control professional to handle a bed bug infestation.

The third situation though is a different case. In this situation, you have more control and can be proactive.

Proactive Bed Bug Prevention

The best part about proactive bed bug prevention is that it is mostly a matter of simple knowledge and effort. You don't need any special knowledge or tools. Just keep the following things in mind and apply that knowledge when necessary.

Laundering your bedding with hot water and drying it with high heat will kill bed bugs. But what about the parts of the bed you can't throw in the wash?

Bed bug encasement's are a great way to keep your mattress, box spring and pillows bed bug free. They won't prevent bed bugs. But what they can do is prevent these areas of the bed from being infested. They take away places for bed bugs to hide.

If you have a bed with legs, you can also put the legs in Climbup Interceptors. These little bowls are made in such a way that bed bugs get stuck in them -- they climb into the bowls but can't make it up the legs of the bed.

Climbup Interceptors are actually designed for bed bug detection. But they take away one path bed bugs have to get into your bed. People report having good luck using them for protection purposes.

You also need to keep the bed isolated in other ways. Make sure to pull the bed away from the wall. Move nightstands so that they don't touch any part of the bed or bedding. Don't let bedding touch the floor. And don't put things on the bed (clothes, bags, shoes).

These are not solutions to a bed bug infestation. But they can help protect you, especially from getting bed bug bites.