Bed bugs are oval, small, brown insects that survive on the animals’ and humans’ blood. The adult bed bugs have a flat body size, like apple seeds. Once they feed the blood, their bodies swell and are a red color. Bed bugs can’t fly, but they can move quickly over the floors, ceilings, and walls. Hundreds of eggs can be laid by female bed bugs. The size of each egg is about the size of a speck of dust over a lifetime. Immature bed bugs are known as nymphs. They require a blood meal before each shedding, and they shed their skins five times before reaching maturity. Under favorable conditions, the bed bugs can develop fully in as little as a mouth. They produce three or more generations every year. However, they are a nuisance and are not thought to transmit the diseases.
Causes of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs may enter your home through clothing, used beds, luggage, couches, and other items. Their flattened bodies make them fit into the tiny spaces possible. They can fit in about the width of a credit card. Bed bugs do not have nests like ants and bees. But they live in groups in hiding places. Their initial hiding places are bed frames, box springs, mattresses, and headboards. From these places, they have easy access to people to bite at night. Over time they may separate through the bedroom and move into any crevice and protected location. Bed bugs may also spread to the nearby rooms and apartments. Bed bugs live in the blood so having them in your home is not a sign of the dirt around. You can also find them in immaculate homes and the hotel rooms as in filthy ones.
When Bed Bugs Bite
Bed bugs are primarily active at night and bite people while sleeping. They pierce the skin and withdraw the blood through an elongated beak. The bed bugs feed for three to ten minutes to become engorged, and then they crawl away unnoticed. Most of the bed bug bites are painless the first time. Later their taste turns into itchy welts, like the flea bites mainly around the ankles. Bed bug bites can be on any exposed skin area while sleeping. Also, the bit has no red spot in the center, like flea bites. People who don’t realize they have a bed bug infestation may have itching and welts to other causes such as mosquitoes. To confirm the bed bug bites, you need to find and identify the bugs yourselves.
Signs of Infestation
If you wake up with itchy areas, you didn’t have when you went to sleep. You may have the bed bugs, mainly if you got a used bed and other used furniture around the time the bites have started. Let’s have a look at the other signs that you have bed bugs.
- You can see the blood stains on your pillowcases and the sheets.
- You can find dark and rusty spots of bed bug excrement on the bedclothes, walls, sheets, and mattresses.
- You can find egg shells, shed skins, and bed fecal bug spots in the areas where the bed bugs hide.
- You can also find an offensive and musty odor from the bug’s scent glands.
If you ever suspect an infestation, you should remove all bedding and check it carefully for the signs of the bed bugs and their excrement. Remove the dust, cover the bottom of the box springs and examine the seams in the wood framing. You should also peel back the fabric stapled to the wooded frame. Also, check around the bed area, including telephones, radios, inside the books, the edge of the carpet, and even in electrical outlets. You should also check your closet because bed bugs can attach to the clothing. If you are unsure about the signs, call the bed bugs exterminator, who will know what to look for. If you find signs of infestation, begin the steps to get rid of the bed bugs and prevent their return.
Bed Bugs Treatment
There are several treatments to get rid of bed bugs overnight. The bed bugs treatment begins with cleaning up the places where the bed bugs live. Let’s have a look at the following ways.
- Clean the curtains, linens, bedding, and clothing in hot water and dry them on the highest dryer. Do not place shoes, stuffed animals, and other items nearby you that can’t be washed in the dryer and run on high for thirty minutes.
- Always use a stiff brush to scrub the mattress. It will help to remove the bed bugs and their eggs before vacuuming.
- Frequently vacuum your bed and the surrounding area. After cleaning, immediately place the vacuum cleaner bag in a plastic bag and not forget to put the garbage outdoors.
- Encase your mattress and the box springs with a tightly woven zippered cover. It will keep bed bugs from entering and escaping. You should be aware that the bed bugs can live up to one year without feeding. So always keep the cover on your mattress at least for a year to ensure all the bed bugs in the mattress are dead.
- You should repair the cracks in the plaster and glue down peeling wallpaper to get rid of the places where the bed bugs can hide.
- Do not forget to get rid of the clutter around the bed.
If the case of the infested mattress, it’s good to get rid of it and buy a new one. But always take care to free the rest of your home of bed bugs; otherwise, they will infest your new mattress.
Bed Bug Extermination
Chemical treatments can help eliminate bed bugs while cleaning up the infested areas. Using the products that can be used safely in bedrooms is essential. Do not treat the mattresses and bedding unless the label specifically says you can use them on bedding. Generally, it is safest and most effective to hire an experienced pest control company EJS Pest Control for bed bug extermination.
Conclusion
Here in this blog, we learn about the causes of bed bugs and how to get rid of bed bugs overnight. This information will benefit you, and you can sleep peacefully without worrying about bed bugs.
