How To Kill And Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Information on bed bugs and their appearance, how they look, where they live and hide, the signs of bites from bed bugs, and the best way to eliminate bed bugs to avoid the spread of an infestation.

What Are Bed Bugs?

Key Facts

• The average lifespan of the ranges from 12-18 months.
• Bed bugs can endure for months without eating a host.
• Female bed bugs can egg anywhere from 1 to 12 pieces per day and, can lay as many as 1,500 eggs during their life.
• Eggs of bed bugs hatch in less than two weeks. It takes 3 to 10 weeks for them to mature, dependent on the temperature and availability of the host.
• Bed bugs aren’t known to be carriers of diseases, but their bites could trigger allergic reactions in a few people.

Where do Bed Bugs Live and Hide?

If their hiding places are destroyed, they’ll hide in dark areas. They are attracted to cracks or crevices in wallpaper, wood, and fabrics.

Although they typically stay close to home, they can travel to different locations. The first sign of bed bugs can be seen on the edges, in tufts, and folds of mattresses, and later, they will move into the cracks and crevices of the bed.

If large infestations occur, they can be found everywhere within the house, including furniture cracks in any wooden structure surrounding the house and electrical boxes. 

They can also be present in draperies, curtain pleats, loose wallpaper, and cracks in wall and ceiling plaster.

Bed Bugs Feeding Habits

Bed bug bites usually happen in the evening, they are generally out fully two hours before sunrise. Of course, they’ll feed later in the day if they cannot feed with blood and are hungry.

They are attracted by warm body temperature and the CO2 released at night. They feed for five minutes per session using two tubes. 

One injects the host with anesthetics and anticoagulants while the second one draws the blood. Although they could go for a long time without eating, they prefer eating every five to ten days.

How to Check and Detect Bed Bugs?

Step-1. Bed Bug bites are most of the time the first sign that you might have bed bugs in your hotel room or home. It is possible to notice flat welts or raised red bumps, which usually accompany severe itching. 

And you will probably get bitten every night. The bites tend to be located at the back of your body, legs, and arms. Their bites may also be distinguished from mosquito bites due to the distinct rows or patterns.

There are also signs of bed bugs, tiny bloodstains on your bedding sheets caused by crushed insects, or dark spots left by their droppings on your mattresses.

Step-2. If you are suspicious of an infestation in your home, you must thoroughly check your mattress first. 

It is recommended to conduct this using a bright flashlight to find bed bugs and their dark droppings within your mattress’s seams, tufts on your mattress, and inside your box spring.

Step-3. When bed bugs stay away from lights and seek to hide in the dark, they leave behind a trail of debris that is visible at any time. 

The debris can create brown, red, or black streaks or spots. It is often found in mattresses and bedding.

Step-4. The bed bugs shed exoskeletons in their molting phase that accumulates in their hideouts. If the infestation is severe enough, the evidence of the bed bug’s spent carcasses or skins will be easily identifiable. The room could also have an unpleasant almond-like scent.

Step-5. The trapping of bed bugs using double-sided sticky tape can also be efficient. Please put it on the edges of boxes, springs, mattresses, and beds on the floor. 

Within a week, you’ll discover bed bugs stuck on the tape if there is an infestation of bed bugs.

Step-6. If you prefer, you could also decide to purchase the Bed Bug Beacon to keep an eye on and capture bed bugs in your home. 

The beacon functions by emitting the smallest amount of carbon dioxide over two weeks or more to draw them to the system, where they become trapped and are unable to escape.

How Are Bed Bugs Spread and How Did They Infest My Home?

They are brought into the home via furniture, luggage, and boxes transported from the home to the hotels or home. 

Used furniture, particularly mattresses and bed frames, has the highest chance of attracting them, so they must be thoroughly examined prior to bringing them back to your home.

Because they can live for a long time without out-feeding, they may sit in what seems to be a tidy, empty house. 

Also, it is possible to relocate between adjoining apartments if you’ve been in an area where they have been spotted.

Bed Bug Infestation Tips on how to prevent an infestation.

Can Pets Spread Bed Bugs?

The answer is no. While insects feed on pets, they do not reside with their hosts. Although it is an option for animals to carry bugs from one area to another, this could be accidental and not since the pet has turned into the host. 

Remember that several kinds of bed bugs could reside in your home. The pets you have brought in aren’t the ones that caused this, and it’s simply what they do.

Suppose you do not go to an infested area, like a hotel or home that is infested; your pet can’t bring bugs to your home, even if they do spend time outdoors. 

Most of the time, bed bugs are likely to be found in things that are not living, such as pets’ carriers and blankets, and other pet products brought into the zone – not your pet.

Are Bed Bugs Harmful? Do They Spread Disease?

Although they have been rarely found to carry various diseases, such as the plague and hepatitis B, they cannot transmit the diseases to hosts. 

Affected places can be prone to itchy rashes and become extremely itchy. In some people, scratching at the area could cause infections. 

Currently, there is no medical evidence that suggests bed bug infestations pose an imminent health risk.

How Do You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

The elimination requires determination and perseverance. 

Although expert exterminators are highly effective, however, they can be costly and could require treatment on multiple occasions to eliminate infestations.

It is, however, possible to eliminate them by yourself. A few of the ways you can take care of yourself include:

• Vacuum mattresses, beds, carpets, bed frames, and furniture upholstered to eliminate them including their eggs. 

Be aware of cracks, crevices, and other open spaces. Brush the mattress with a stiff brush to remove eggs and bed bugs. 

When you’ve finished vacuuming, please take the vacuum bag into an airtight plastic bag and place it inside the outdoor trash bin.

• Cleanse thoroughly sheets, bedding curtains, carpets, or other fabrics where they could be likely to be hiding. 

Use the suggested repellent on any possible spots of infestation. If you suspect you have bedbugs on your clothes and bedding, remove them and clean them with the hot tub (minimum 120 degrees Fahrenheit) for a minimum of 20 minutes. 

In addition to bed bugs, the steamer can be utilized to disinfect and clean toys and footwear, stuffed animals, luggage, and other things that aren’t easily cleaned using hot water.

• If you spot bed bugs in your mattress, you should seal it up with an anti-allergenic, waterproof mattress cover that is zippered and marked “allergen rated” or “for dust mites.” 

• You should keep the cover for at least a year to ensure that they are kept off your mattress and ultimately kill them.

• For prevention, it’s essential to fix and seal any crevices or cracks between bed frames, baseboards, and furniture. 

• Additionally, you should remove or fix any peeling or falling off wallpaper to get rid of their harborage locations.

• If you suspect that the problem is serious, remove any objects that are not cleaned, and take away any clutter. 

Wrap them in plastic bags to stop the spread of bugs as they move to the nearby dumpster.

It is difficult to eliminate them and their eggs within the first stage of treatment; it might be necessary to repeat the process every week to eliminate the pests. 

If you’re still unable to handle it on your own, get an experienced licensed pest control professional. Make sure they have proven experience in eliminating them.

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