Bedbugs are not flies but move fast on flat surfaces, ceilings, and walls of any structure. Female bugs lay uncountable numbers of eggs, and each one is of the size of a pinch of soil. The bedbugs that are still maturing are known as ‘nymphs’, shedding their outer-skins five to six times before stepping into maturity. These pests always require a blood meal before every shedding. Under this favored situation, these bed bugs turn into a full-grown one in a month! But they might be one of the main factors of the nuisance, but never transmits any disease.
Bed Bugs – The Inside Facts
Bed bugs, a pint-sized insect, feed over the blood of humans while hiding in dark corners, especially where the humans sit or sleep. These insects usually tend to crawl out for feeding when the person is sleeping well!
The bed bugs at your house can only be hunted when you look out for these tiny pests. These pests generally hide inside the folds of bed mattresses, spring mattresses, bed rails, sofas, and various other areas. Their movement is restricted to only coming out while feeding on human blood. We all never notice these bed bugs when they feed on our blood, as these are never easily seen. It is later when the marks turn prominent after they have bitten and sucked the blood out. Moreover, these bed bugs before drawing blood, inject some substance preventing the person concerned from sensing the bite. After waking up, you will be able to notice red and tickly wounds.
Cimex lectularius stands as the popularly known bed bug, which feeds on human blood, resulting in scratchy bite marks. The full-grown bed bugs are around 5 mm length-wise while having a flat egg-shaped body. Mainly their bodies are of the size of the seed of the apple seed. After a meal of blood, their bodies enlarge while turning into a red color.
Type of Bed Bugs
There are two significant types of Bed Bugs found mostly in and around Australia.
■ Cimex Lectularius or Common Bed Bug – these are the species best adapting to temperate climate regions. They are the most widely spread distribution of bed bugs globally.
■ Hemipterus or Tropical Bed Bug – these usually confined to the tropical regional sectors. And these bed bug species prefer being at high humidity, and moist temperature.
Both these types of bed bugs are quite prevalent in Australia and its suburbs. Though the bite of bed bugs is noted as less harmful, as it just sucks blood. But once getting stung by one of these bed bug types, you should immediately consult a doctor for further medication. Never keep your bitten or affected portion unattended for long. As, in certain cases, the swelling turns severe.
Where Bed Bugs Hide Themselves?
Via baggage, clothes, used bed mattresses as well as sofas, bed bugs enter your living space and remain unidentified. Their flat and egg-shaped torso makes it feasible for fitting inside cramped-up areas, similar to the size of any visiting card. Bed bugs never stay in places like the ants or honey bees. They dwell in groups in small hide-outs. Their main hide-outs are typically inside the bed mattresses, bedposts and rails. Here they can easily access people for biting during the night-time.
At certain other times, they scatter over the bedrooms, hiding inside any cracks or covered area. They slowly spread inside the rooms as these bed bugs exist mainly over blood.
Bed Bugs Bites and Bite marks
Bed bugs remain busy mainly during the night time and keep on biting people when they are fast asleep. They feed on their blood by stinging on the skin and drawing blood via a protruding beak. These bugs suck blood for 3 to ten minutes to turn hard. Later they crawl out of place unnoticed.
Maximum bedbug bites painlessly at the initial stage. Later these bites turn into scratchy red wounds. These bites are different from any flea- bite marks, mainly happening in and around the ankles of humans. The bed bug bites can be on any area of skin that is exposed when sleeping. These bites do not come with a red spot in the middle, similar to flea bites.
People not realizing of a bed bug infestation attributes to the scratching of the red-colored wounds. Some take it to be a mere mosquito bite. Identify the bugs and then you should confirm the same.
Bed bug infestation – Signs and Symptoms
While waking in the morning, if you find no scratchy portions on your body, which was not present while you were asleep, it is the signal of the presence of bed bugs present in your bed or various other furniture. Multiple bed bugs infestation comprises:
➤ You will find blood spots on your bed sheets or bed pillow slips
➤ Dark-colored stains of the excrement of a bed bug on bedsheets and bed mattresses, bed covers, and house walls
➤ The fecal spots of the bed bug, shells of eggs, or bed bugs shredded skins in places where they hide
➤ The musty and bad odour from the scent glands of bed bugs
Remove all the bedding and other associated stuff for checking the signs of any Bed bugs. Also, after suspecting any infestation, remove all the dust covers over the bottom of the bed to examine the wooden frame seams. Peel out the fabric that is affixed over the wooden frame.
Moreover, check out the surrounding area around the bedpost, complete the books and bookshelves, telephone or radio sets, carpet edges and seams, and also inside the electrical outputs. Keep a check on your wardrobe. This is as the bedbugs cling to the clothes too. Get hold of a certified exterminator who is professional in these areas of evading the same. Taking a stoic decision is a must to clear away all the existence of bed bugs and stay healthy.
Treatments for Bed Bugs inside Living Habitat
✴ Clean up the dwelling places of bedbugs, including the following things:
✴ Use hot water to wash, clean the bed linens, drapes, and clothes. Dry them thoroughly on the high setting of the dryer which you use. Put all your stuffed toys, washable shoes, and other things that you cannot wash inside the dryer and run on ‘high’ for half an hour or so.
✴ With the aid of a hard brush, scrub clean the seams of the mattress for removing the bed bugs and its laid eggs. Do this before you vacuum.
✴ Frequently, vacuum the beds and associated areas. After that, you should place the disposable bag of the vacuum machine and put the same inside a garbage bin outside.
✴ Cover the mattresses as well as the springboards with a well-woven, cover with zips. It keeps the bed bugs from re-entering or else dodging. These Bed bugs survive up to one single year devoid of any food. So you should cover the mattress for approximately one whole year to make sure that all the germs inside the same are dead and gone.
✴ Get the cracks on the wall repaired, also, glue-down the wallpapers that are peeling out badly getting rid of bed bugs’ hide-outs.
✴ Clean the clutters all around the bed and bed rails.
Treatments for Bed Bugs in Public Places
Most often, the chances are high that the infestation of bed bugs develops in office premises, classrooms, or additional non-residential areas, like retail outlets. These places are none but the ‘transfer centers’ for the blood-sucking bed bugs. Chances are there that they most of the time hitch-hike inside your house. Mostly the office management and staff, school students, as well as the workers, are the carriers of the same, catering to the super-fast spread of the bed bugs.
Steps to be followed:
- Declutter public places.
- Be vigilant in common dwelling areas of these bed bugs.
- Store away your things at separate places from others.
- Keep regularly monitoring to stand careful over bed bug infestation.
- Educate all about the nuances of a bed bug.
- Be educated over all the nuances of a bed bug.
- For multiple sightings be more careful as it is a sure indication of frequent bed bug infestations or else multiple re-introductions of the same from outside.
- Never panic and also allow one related to bed bug infestation.
- Believe in vacuuming daily to get hold of any stray bed bugs before them settling in your existing domain or working place.
Ways of Getting Rid of the Bed Bugs
✯ Using means of integrated pest management, all-inclusive both chemical as well as non-chemical methods.
✯ Pre-preparations of controlling the pests.
✯ You are following various do-it-yourself approaches to ensure extermination and security.
✯ Hire a certified exterminator from a pest management professional company.
Controlling Bed Bugs with DIYs
Treatment for bed bugs is complicated, and getting rid of these bed bugs is a time taking procedure. The whole depends on the extent and nature of the bed bug infestation. To be successful, the following means will assist you:
✔ Identifying the issue
✔ Development of a strategy
✔ Control the expansion of bed bug infestation
✔ Preparations for treating these bed bug issues
✔ Killing the bed bugs permanently
✔ Evaluation and prevention of the same
✔ Follow these steps religiously for killing all the bed bugs and their eggs.
Usage of Pesticides for Controlling Bed Bug Infiltration
There are more than three hundred products that are registered falling inside the seven chemical classes of insecticides. Most are presently under registration besides widely acknowledged for controlling bed bugs:
- Pyrethrin and pyrethroids
- desiccants
- biochemicals
- pyrroles
- insect growth regulators
- neonicotinoids
Each chemical kills bed bugs with the aid of varied modes of action. And it helps use pesticides differing in their action mode while reducing the likelihood of the bugs’ resistance power. Read the following paragraphs to get the know-how on the popularly used chemicals for exterminating bed bugs.
Pyrethrin and Pyrethroids:
Pyrethrin along with Pyrethroids are the popular compounds that are used for controlling bed bugs with various additional pests found indoors. Pyrethrin, the botanical insecticides are taken from the Chrysanthemums. And the Pyrethroids are synthetically charged chemical insecticides acting like Pyrethrin. Both the compounds stand lethal over these bed bugs, which helps in flushing the bed bugs out of their hide-outs and killing these horrendous pests. Nonetheless, these pest control treatments cause these insects in moving out to new hide-outs. Thus, it can be counted as a temporary measure.
In recent times, with the ongoing treatments, the bed bugs have turned immune over the Pyrethrin as well as pyrethroids. Most times, you should try using a combined product, with either diverse pyrethroid or other pyrethrin active components. It thus improvises the controlling of the bed bugs. It is also useful in switching to a different class of chemicals for controlling the further growth of the bed bugs.
Desiccants:
Desiccants work sturdily by taking away the waxed outer-layer coating over the bed bugs. Once done, these bed bugs slowly dehydrate and die. Desiccants are an essential protective tool controlling and curbing over the bed bugs and their population. The Bed bugs have never been too resistant with these desiccants as they are to other pesticides. The reason is simple, as the desiccants work all through the physical mode of action while having a long-time effect on the same.
Certain types of desiccants are:
- Boric Acid
- Diatomaceous earth
You should use registered and certified desiccants for controlling bed bugs carrying a label for controlling bed bugs. Desiccants also pose a high risk to humans. So, you should use desiccants in limited quantities on the nooks and the crannies to lessen health-related hazards.
Biochemicals:
Only biochemical pesticide that is under registration for use against bed bugs is the cold-pressed neem oil. The same is pressed out straight from neem tree seeds, which is found in ample in Africa and Southeast Asia. The oil consists of varied means of compounds having insecticidal as well as individual properties of medicines. It is further made to use in manufacturing goods like hair shampoos, dental paste, soap bars, along with a few other cosmetic items. Many trials over its performance have been conducted at high labeled rates showing both the products of controlling adult bed bugs, small nymphs, besides its eggs.
Pyrroles:
The lone pyrrole pesticide named Chlorfenapyr currently comes under authorized registration to be used against bed bugs. The compound is none but a pro-insecticide, which means the entire biological means and ways relies upon its activation in forming an additional chemical. Certain functions get disrupted with the aid of new substances in the cells of the bed bugs cells leading to its death.
Insect growth regulators:
These are none but chemicals mimicking the bed bugs’ juvenile growth hormones. They work into the alteration of the production of chitin. It is the compound used by these pests for making their hard external ‘cover’ or exo-skeleton. It also alters the development of the insect into being an adult. Most growth regulators force the bug in developing at a fast pace, while some others put a stop to their further development.
Neonicotinoids:
The synthetic form of nicotine is Neonicotinoids. Their work is acting on the nervous systems’ nicotinic receptors, which causes the nerves to back-fire continuously till they fail in their try-outs. Bed bugs that are resistant over additional pesticides remain susceptible to these neonicotinoids. This is owing to the particular means that neonicotinoids use in some varied modes of activities.
Extermination of Bed Bugs by Professionals
Trying to get rid of the bed bugs caters to a requirement of various chemical treatments. Clearing up the areas infested with bed bugs stands useful in keeping control over them. Remember that providing any chemical treatment for your bedroom and other living areas using insecticides stands harmful and hazardous. So, it is advisable to make use of products which you can safely use in your living areas. Also, a particular mattress type specifies whether these treatments can be used or not. And, you have to be careful of that too. Thus, always hire the most effective as well as pest control professionals who are exceptional ones, like us. Fast Pest Control is one of the experts in the extermination of these blood-sucking bed bugs with all guarantee.
Final Thought – Bed Bug-Free Life!!
Who does not want to stay safe and healthy? It might be related to physical or mental health benefits, every individual desire to lead a trouble-free lifestyle. And with bed bug menace the entire thought goes for a six! Try being extra vigilant and take the extra initiative in implementing all the ways and means discussed above to keep your heavenly abode and outside place free from these pesky and blood-sucking bed bugs. Along with these home remedies, hire the professional Bed Bug Removal Team to keep your inside and outside area free of bed bugs.