bed bugs
What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are brownish red wingless insects with an oval shaped body.
An adult bedbug is approx ΒΌ inch long and as flat as a piece of paper
prior to feeding. After a blood meal they turn dark red and become bloated.
Female bedbugs will lay clusters of 10-50 eggs at a time and up to 400
eggs in a year. Under optimum conditions, these eggs will hatch in approx
10 days. Bedbugs feed on human blood and usually feed in the middle
of the night. Bedbugs can survive for up to 1 year without feeding.
How do bedbugs get into my home?
Bedbugs are commonly brought into homes on used furniture. They can
be brought in on belongings, that were moved from a location that had
an infestation. Examples can be a hotel, hostel, or a previous residence
that had them. Bedbugs can easily migrate within an apartment or hotel from one unit to another.
Where do bedbugs hide?
Bedbugs will hide in a multitude of places including: creases and seams
in the mattress and box spring, cracks of the bed frame and head board,
inside upholstered furniture, under carpets, behind baseboards, inside
bedroom furniture such as night tables and dressers, in the fold of
curtains, behind pictures, inside electronic etc.
What should you do if you discover bedbugs in your home?
The first thing you should do is call a pest management professional.
The worst thing to do is spray a can of household insecticide on the
insects. This will cause the insects to migrate and spread to other
areas of the home making the treatment more difficult. If you discover
these insects in your home use a vacuum to suck them up and immediately
dispose of the bag to a garbage outside of your home. Remove all linens
from your bed and wash immediately in hot water. And then place all
affected laundry in a dryer using high heat. This will kill any insects
and there eggs.
For information on what needs done prior to pest removal, see bed bug preparation.