We all heard the saying “Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” to wish someone a peaceful night’s sleep. Well, it turns out that getting bitten by bed bugs can be pretty scary and uncomfortable.
Bites from bed bugs might hurt and look bad, but they also pose a significant health risk. If you suspect you’ve got bed bugs in your home, it’s important to take action quickly.
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small, oval, brownish insects that feed on human or animal blood. They can hide in small spaces like cracks in the wall or between your mattress and box spring.
Bed bugs are able to move quickly across floors, walls, and ceilings despite the fact that they cannot fly. Over the course of their lives, female bed bugs can produce hundreds of eggs, each roughly the size of a dust speck.
Where do bed bugs live?
Prior to taking hold or spreading, it is advisable to detect a bed bug infestation as soon as possible. Even though it is inconvenient, controlling a small infestation is far cheaper and more straightforward than controlling the same infestation once it has grown widely.
Bed bugs’ nesting sites include the seams of mattresses, box springs, and other areas close to the bed. However, you can also see them making nests in various places, including lamp fixtures, laptops, under desks, and carpets.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
If you suspect that you have bed bugs, there are several things to look for in the early stages of infestation.
These include:
- Large blood stains on your mattress or sheets. These may be an indication that the bed bug has fed recently and left a drop or two behind.
- Black dots on your mattress. These could be dead bed bugs but can also be signs of other pests such as mice, mites, and even fleas!
- Small blood spots on sheets and comforters. Blood spots usually indicate that an infant has been born where they were found, so look carefully at these areas before assuming this might mean infestation!
What do bed bug bites look like?
The most common places for bed bug bites to appear on your body while you sleep are your face, neck, arms, hands, and feet.
Bed bug bites are usually in a row, with their bites often clustered together. They tend to be small and appear as tiny red spots on the skin. Bed bugs do not bite through the skin, so you won’t have any marks when you remove them.
Because bed bug bites are so small and close together, it’s easy to miss them altogether. If you suspect that a bed bug may have bitten you:
- Look closely at your body—you may notice a small cluster of red bumps or blotches on your skin (these can look like mosquito bites).
- Wash thoroughly with soap and water; this will help prevent any eggs from sticking to your clothing or furniture after they hatch into adults later in the day/night cycle.
How are bed bugs eliminated?
Bed bug treatments start with cleaning up the spaces where they live. The following should be included:
- Wash your beddings and clothes inside the cabinets, drawers, and curtains using hot water.
- Bed bugs can also be eliminated by vacuuming.
- To get rid of hiding spots for bedbugs, patch up plaster cracks and glue down wallpaper that is deteriorating.
- Clean the area around your bed.
The next option is using a bed bug spray which will kill both adults and nymphs as well as eggs in their habitat (the cracks between your mattress).
Here are some quick sprays that can eliminate bed bugs, including their eggs:
Steri-fab. Excellent deodorizer and dries in approximately 15 minutes. Once dried, it has no aftertaste, is colorless, and has no scent. It can be used on various surfaces, including mattresses, furniture, and carpets.
Bedlam. It is a residual aerosol spray that kills bed bugs, lice, ticks, fleas, and other pests instantly upon contact. Because it is water-based and non-irritating, Bedlam may be used to spot-treat mattresses and linens while managing bed bugs.
Can you ever permanently get rid of bed bugs?
You can get rid of bed bugs if you are diligent, but it will take time. Bed bugs do not have a long lifespan and are not exceptionally resilient to pesticides or other chemical treatments. The best way to prevent getting bed bugs in the first place is by keeping your home clean and avoiding clutter (which attracts them).
If you’ve been exposed and see evidence of bites, the best course of action is to treat all areas you’ve been exposed to as soon as possible with an insecticide such as pyrethrin or permethrin spray gel. It should be done daily for at least one week until all visible signs of infestation have cleared up completely.
Bed bugs are a pain, but homeowners can manage the problem.
Bed bugs can be treated with insecticides that kill them and their eggs. These chemicals must be applied to all surfaces where the bugs hide or feed, including mattresses, box springs, and clothes.
To get rid of them, ultimately, you will need to remove all hiding spots from your home’s interior as well as encase any furniture in plastic wrap. You should also consider buying an anticoagulant spray for ridding yourself of blood stains left behind when treating mattresses with insecticides like diatomaceous earth or pyrethrin powder—the latter two products being especially effective; at killing adult bugs without harming humans when applied at directed levels!
Before beginning any treatments, if you believe you have a bed bug infestation, visit an exterminator that works exclusively in this field so they can assess whether any structural damage caused by the bugs is already evident inside walls.
While clearing up contaminated areas will help reduce bed bugs, chemical treatments are typically necessary to get rid of them. Use items that can be used safely in bedrooms since treating your bed and bedroom with pesticides can be detrimental. Do not treat mattresses or bedding if the label does not expressly specify that it can be used on bedding.
Bed bugs are a pain, but they don’t have to be a permanent fixture in your life. If you are experiencing bed bug symptoms, contact us at Hybrid Pest Control to eliminate the infestation immediately!
