PROFESSIONAL BED BUG EXTERMINATION
Bed bugs can appear in just about any home, no matter how clean it is kept or how hard someone works to ensure bugs don’t make it inside the house. When they do appear, they can be hard to spot and even harder to get rid of. If you’re worried about bed bugs in your home, read below to learn more about what they are, how you can spot them, and what you can to do get rid of them as fast as possible! Armed with the right information, you won’t have to suffer from bed bugs in your home.
Another sign is dark brown specs on the mattress, bedding, or elsewhere in the home or your hotel room. These are tiny specs of blood left behind after the bed bugs have fed. It may also be possible to spot dark or rusty spots, which are the excrement of bed bugs. Some homeowners can also smell a musty smell from bed bugs in their bedroom or hotel room. If any of these signs are noticed, remove the bedding from the mattress and look for bed bugs.
Bed bugs do not spread disease, but the itching from their bites can lead to infections if the bites are not kept clean. Additionally, some people are allergic to bed bugs, and the reaction can be severe in a few cases. Bed bugs also have a huge impact on the mental health of those living in the home. In many cases, it can be incredibly stressful to deal with infestation and removal.
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In some cases, bed bugs can also have a huge financial impact on your household or business, as it can be expensive in certain cases to eliminate bed bugs or replace anything that is infested with them. The financial impact can vary from minimal to extensive depending on how bad the infestation is. When bed bugs do get into a home or business, it’s necessary to take care of the problem swiftly to keep it from getting worse. This may mean getting professional help to ensure all bed bugs are eliminated from the premises.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are tiny creatures that feed on the blood of humans or animals. They tend to stick around beds and other fabric items in homes, thus their name. Adult bed bugs can grow up to 1/4 of an inch. Bed bugs can move quickly between walls, floors, and other small areas. You might not notice them until you see them in your bed! Bed bug eggs are as tiny as a speck of dust, so they are nearly impossible to detect, and baby bed bugs, called nymphs, will grow rapidly once they hatch from the eggs.
Once the nymph hatches, it grows to adult size within about a month. Bed bugs shed their skin as they grow. In order to effectively shed their skin, bed bugs need to feed on humans or pets before they can shed their excess skin. Bed bugs tend to be about the size of an apple seed when they’re fully grown and are round and flat unless they recently have fed. Bed bugs are usually reddish brown and have oval flat bodies. Female bed bugs can produce 5 eggs a day. With those types of numbers, bed bugs can produce three or more generations of offspring bed bugs in a single year; they do spread rapidly once they appear in a home.
Bed bugs can be carried into a home on someone’s clothes, or in and on their luggage. It doesn’t take much for an infestation to begin. Bed bugs usually start out living in the tiny crevices of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards. They prefer to be somewhere hidden, but with easy access to their food source. If they are in a bed, they will bite those who are sleeping in the bed, causing small red welts. Marks can appear on any part of the body but can be typically seen on your ankles. As they settle into an area, they can spread to other parts of the room, then to other rooms inside the home or building.
What Attracts Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide and warmth. They also look for a place that’s easy for them to stay hidden but provides access to their food. This means they’re generally attracted to clothing, bedding, and other places that are in close proximity to humans and pets. They prefer the dark but will come out when the lights are on if needed to feed and bite their victims. According to recent studies, bed bugs may also be attracted to certain blood types like mosquitos are. Bed bugs get accustomed to enjoying certain types of blood and blood types. If a bed bug initially feeds on A positive blood as a nymph, as the bed bug matures, that individual bed bug will continue to prefer an A positive blood type victim.
Though a professional bed bug exterminator is always recommended for bed bug infestations, there are some treatment options that homeowners can do on their own. Covering the mattress and box spring will help to kill any bed bugs found there, but they can be found in other places as well.
All bedding, for instance, will need to be thoroughly cleaned. The bedding should be washed and dried on the highest setting. The area around the bed should also be vacuumed frequently, with anything vacuumed up being placed in a plastic bag in an outdoor trash can and disposed of immediately.
Homeowners should also repair any cracks or other damage in their walls, flooring, and other parts of the room to ensure bed bugs can’t hide there. Getting rid of any clutter under the bed is an effective step. If clothing is stored under the bed, it will need to be washed and dried on the hottest setting, then stored elsewhere until the bed bug problem is gone.
Checking all packages, bags, clothing and all personal items entering the home should be inspected thoroughly as well before bed bugs get comfortable and used to their new environment and victim.
Professionals will use chemicals designed to kill bed bugs to treat any area inside the home or infected area that may have bed bugs. Depending on what needs to be done and how bad the infestation is, exterminators can use various methods. Exterminators can use a concentrated insecticide, a bed bug aerosol spray, a duster to create a long-lasting barrier, and specific treatments to kill the live bed bugs on contact. After the initial treatment, the exterminator will then come back after a week or two and inspect the home again for follow up treatments and to see if there are still bed bugs. If so, they will repeat the treatments and inspections until all the bed bugs are eliminated. Multiple bed bug treatments are typical and not unusual to get rid of bed bugs for good.
It’s not necessary to toss your mattress and box spring, but many people do end up getting rid of them and buying new ones. The issue is, the new mattress will simply become the new home for the bed bugs if they aren’t completely eradicated from the infected environment. To handle the box spring and mattress, purchase a tightly woven and zippered cover to go over it. This keeps the bed bugs from entering or escaping, protecting the mattress and those who sleep on it. Since bed bugs can go up to a year without feeding, it’s necessary to keep the cover on for at least a year to ensure the bed bugs are all killed.
Cost to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
While the biggest question is likely how to get rid of bed bugs, many homeowners also worry about the cost. After all, repeat treatments over seven to eight weeks can sound like it will be incredibly expensive. Fortunately, bed bug treatments are likely not as expensive as you would expect. In most cases, homeowners will find that bed bug treatments are more affordable than they realized.
Treatments can, however, get far more expensive for larger homes or rooms. Bigger infestations, or in cases where it takes much longer than normal to eliminate all of the bed bugs in the home can also become more expensive than typical treatment protocols. It is typical to spend between $200 to $500 per room for each bed bug treatment. It’s important to discuss the cost with your exterminator to understand exactly what the cost may be and what variables might be applicable in that specific situation. Financing options might be available with specific exterminators to help alleviate any financial concerns.
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If you’ve noticed any signs of bed bugs in your home or you’re worried about bed bugs infesting the home before you realize it, talk to an exterminator immediately. They can thoroughly inspect your home to determine if bed bugs are present. If bed bugs are present, they will know how to kill bed bugs quickly and efficiently!
A combination of owner prevention actions and the expertise of a professional exterminator can get rid of bed bugs and keep them from coming back for good. While having bed bugs are a pain to deal with, they are not impossible to get rid of. Choose only the most effective and affordable pest control methods you are comfortable utilizing can help to keep you, your loved ones and your home bed bug free for years to come.
How Long Does It Take to Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
It can be difficult to get rid of bed bugs because of how quickly they can spread. Professional treatments are often the most effective, but even then, the professional isn’t able to and should not only spray once and consider your bed bug issue gone. Instead, it’s necessary to go through multiple treatments and inspections to make sure all bed bugs are removed from the home.
An ongoing bed bug offensive pest control program is necessary. If any bed bugs are left behind, they will just restart their infestation on your home and family. Additionally, it is necessary to treat the whole home or building when bed bugs are found, as it’s necessary to kill all of them. Bed bugs are elusive, and it is necessary to kill the bed bugs hiding in unexpected places.
Unfortunately, even knowing how to kill bed bugs isn’t going to get rid of them instantly. Homeowners who have bed bugs will want to start working on eliminating them at the first signs, though it will take a while for them to be completely removed from the home. Even with professional treatments, it can take at least seven to eight weeks for all of the bed bugs to be completely removed.
During the treatment period, precautions will need to be taken to minimize the potential spread, and inspections will need to be done to ensure the treatments are working properly. Adjustments may need to be made if the treatments are not working as quickly or as thoroughly as expected. Working with a reputable and professional exterminator with a proven track record in getting rid of bed bugs is recommended.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
Alternative do it yourself methods to help get rid of pests inside your home.
How to stay bed bug free
- Mattress Safe Encasement: bed encasement to be put over your mattress, bedbug certified.
- Active Guard Liners: fitted sheets that go over your mattress and are an effective way to prevent and kill active bed bugs.
- Sprays: spray around and under the bed and along the bed frames.
- Insecticide Dust: place dust inside of exposed cracks on the floor in the bedroom or any other places that insects may be present.
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