Most people of this generation have never seen a bed bug. Until recently, they also were very uncommon among pest control professionals. Bed bugs were common in the United States before World War II. But with improvements in hygiene, and especially the widespread use of DDT during the 1940s and '50s, the bugs all but vanished. The pests remained a problem in other regions of the world including Asia, Africa, Central/South America and Europe. In recent years, bed bugs have also made a comeback in the U.S. They are being encountered in homes, apartments, hotels, motels, dormitories, shelters and modes of transport. International travel and immigration have undoubtedly contributed to the resurgence of bed bugs in this country. Changes in modern pest control practice - and less effective bed bug pesticides - are other factors suspected for the recurrence.
Adult bedbugs are reddish brown, flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. They are sometimes mistaken for ticks or cockroaches. A common misconception is that they are not visible to the naked eye, but adults grow to about ¼ inch long and do not move quickly enough to escape the notice of an attentive observer. The immatures (nymphs) resemble the adults, but are smaller and somewhat lighter in color, they become browner and molt as they reach maturity. When it comes to size, they are often compared to appleseeds.
Female bed bugs lay their eggs in secluded areas and can deposit up to five a day and 500 during a lifetime. The eggs are very small, grayish, and hard to see with the naked eye (individual eggs are about the size of a dust spec). Newly hatched nymphs are no bigger than a pinhead. As they grow, they molt (shed their skin) five times before reaching maturity. A blood meal is needed between each successive stage. Under favorable conditions (70 - 90° F), the bugs can complete development in as little as a month, producing three or more generations per year. Cool temperatures or limited access to a blood meal extends the development time. Bed bugs are very resilient. Nymphs can survive months without feeding and the adults for more than a year. Infestations therefore are unlikely to diminish by leaving premises unoccupied.
Bedbug 4 mm length 2.5 mm width (Shown in a film roll plastic container. On the right you can see the sloughed off skin, which this bedbug just recently wore while a nymph)
Bedbugs are generally active only at night, with an optimal attack period about an hour before dawn, though given the opportunity, they may attempt to feed at other times of day. Attracted by warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide, they feed by piercing the skin with an elongated beak through which they withdraw blood (click to see a bebug in action). With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bedbug returns to its hiding place. The bites cannot usually be felt until some minutes or hours later, as a dermatological reaction to the injected agents. Although bedbugs can live for up to 18 months without feeding, they typically seek blood every five to ten days.
Bedbugs are often mistakenly associated with filth. They are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide, not by dirt, and they feed on blood, not waste. In short, the cleanliness of their environments has no effect on bedbugs. Their numbers may be reduced temporarily by vacuuming, but will recover and require vacuuming again.
The most common concern with bed bugs is whether they transmit diseases. Although bed bugs can harbor pathogens in their bodies, transmission to humans is very unlikely. For this reason, they are not considered a serious disease threat. Their medical significance is mainly limited to the itching and inflammation from their bites. Corticosteroids and antihistamines may be prescribed to reduce allergic reactions, and antiseptic or antibiotic ointments to prevent infection. Infestations also may cause anxiety, paranoia, embarrassment, and loss of sleep.
There are several ways that a home can become infested with bedbugs. People can often acquire bedbugs at hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfasts, thanks to increased domestic and international tourism, and bring them back to their homes in their luggage. They also can pick them up by inadvertently bringing infested furniture or used clothing to their household. Finally, bedbugs may travel between units in multi-unit dwellings (such as condominiums and apartment buildings), after being originally brought into the building by one of the above routes. This spread between units is dependent in part on the degree of infestation, on the material used to partition units (concrete is a more effective barrier to the spread of the infestation), and whether or not infested items are dragged through common areas while being disposed of, resulting in the shedding of bedbugs and bedbug eggs while being dragged.
Bedbugs are very flat, allowing them to hide in tiny crevices. A crack wide enough to fit the edge of a credit card can harbor bedbugs [even in the ceiling]. In the daytime, they tend to stay out of the light, hidden in such places as mattress seams, mattress interiors, bed frames, nearby furniture, carpeting, baseboards, or bedroom clutter. Bedbugs can settle in the open weave of linen; this will often appear as a gray spindle a centimeter long and a thread wide, with a dark speck in the middle. Bedbugs can be found on their own, but more often congregate in groups. They are not social insects, however, and do not build or stay in nests. These groups of bedbugs are very often found in beds, usually either the seams of a mattress (usually the seams closest to the sleeper), in the boxspring, or within the structure of the bed itself. Dressers and nightstands should be completely emptied and examined inside and out, then tipped over to inspect the woodwork underneath. Oftentimes, the bugs will be hiding in cracks, corners, and recesses.
Other common places to find bed bugs include: along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting (especially behind beds and furniture); cracks in wood molding; ceiling-wall junctures; behind wall-mounts, picture frames, switch plates and outlets; under loose wallpaper; amongst clothing stored in closets; and inside clocks, phones, televisions and smoke detectors.
Bed bugs can live in almost any crevice or protected location. The most common place to find them is the bed. Bed bugs often hide within seams, tufts, and crevices of the mattress, box spring, bed frame and headboard.
Upholstered chairs and sofas should be checked carefully, including seams, tufts, skirts, and crevices. Sofas can be major bed bug hotspots, especially when used for sleeping.
Bedbugs can be detected often by looking for dark stains on bedding, which are the bedbugs' fecal stains. These stains are most visible on light-colored bedding.
Occasionally an engorged bedbug is inadvertently killed or disgorged by incidental crushing, resulting in a visible smear of blood. Crushing them will produce a unique sickly sweet pheromone scent, which can also be detected in the ambient air in a severe infestation.
Though bedbug bites can occur singly, they often follow a distinctive pattern of a linear group of three bites, sometimes macabrely referred to as "breakfast, lunch and dinner". These patterns of bites are caused when a bedbug is disturbed in feeding by a person moving, and then the bedbug resumes feeding. Bedbug bites also often occur in lines marking the paths of blood vessels running close to the surface of the skin. The effect of these bites on humans varies from person to person, but often cause welts and swelling that are more itchy and longer-lasting than mosquito bites. Some people, however, have little or no reaction to bedbug bites. Those whose bodies do not initially react may subsequently develop symptoms, however, due to an allergic reaction caused by the development of antigen.
A technique for "catching" (detecting) bedbugs is to have a light source accessible from bed and to turn it on at about an hour before dawn, which is usually the time when bedbugs are most active. A flashlight is recommended instead of room lights, as the act of getting out of bed will cause any bedbugs present to scatter. Bedbugs can also sometimes be viewed during the day.
Proper preparation is a mandatory requirement for control to be effective. Dial-A-Bug has a preparation sheet that will detail everything that will need to be done before our technician services your house. If a home is not properly prepared, the likelihood of successful control is not high. Although preparation may be difficult for some people (for example, seniors or handicapped individuals), it is essential for effective treatment, and thus in such cases family members, friends or social or charitable agencies may need to provide assistance.
All furniture and appliances in the area to be treated need to be pulled away from the baseboards, and it is commonly asked that all furniture containing potential hiding crevices, such as bookshelves and desks, be emptied and left open for the exterminator to spray. Items in tightly sealed containers are usually safe from bedbug infestation and need not be emptied.
Everything that can be laundered should be laundered, and laundered in advance of the treatment, then placed in plastic garbage bags or rubbermaid containers. This would include stuffed animals, drapes and so on.
The items should be securely tied into plastic bags, and emptied directly from the bags into the machines. (The bags should then be immediately disposed of.) It is heat, not water that kills any bedbugs residing within the laundered items; so the items should be washed in hot water, regardless of normal washing directions, and should be dried with medium heat (preferably high heat) for 20 minutes or more. (For those who have the ability to measure the temperature of the water in their washing machine, or of the hot air in their dryer, the target heat range is 120°F (49°C).)
For items that require dry cleaning, the dry cleaners should be informed that the items in question are potentially infested, and the items should be bagged.
Steam cleaning of carpets can be helpful; although bedbugs will not be in the middle of the floor, they may be under the carpets at the edges of rooms. Vacuuming is especially important, however. Pesticide is applied at perimeters and is effective, but the more steps are taken to assist removal, the more thorough the elimination will be.
The mechanical removal of bedbugs by vacuuming is a most important part of preparing for control. Vacuuming alone will not solve the problem, but it can substantially reduce bedbugs' numbers and thus help reduce the population as part of preparing for treatment. An attachment should be used on the seams of mattresses, on box springs, on bed legs, within furniture interiors, behind pictures, on curtains, and anywhere there is a possibility of the insects hiding (e.g. inside dresser drawers, dresser cases, under chairs, etc.). Carpets should also be vacuumed throughout the home, preferably with a power-head. Baseboards should also be vacuumed using the crevice tool—not swept—prior to the exterminator's arrival. Vacuum filters and bags should then immediately be removed and discarded outdoors.
There are differing opinions as to whether it is necessary to dispose of mattress, boxsprings, futons, pillows, and other bedding. There is of course often a heavy cost involved in the complete replacement of such bedding. It is clear however, that getting rid of infested bedding does not solve the problem. The decision to replace bedding or not depends on the condition of and often related level of infestation within the items, the comfort level of the owner, whether the owner can afford replacement, and aesthetics. A reasonable rule of thumb is that new bedding does not need to be replaced but if bedding is older and replacement may have been done soon in any case, then of course, replacing it AFTER control is a welcome clean start. Boxsprings are more difficult to treat as there are more places for the insects to hide. The notion that getting rid of bedding helps solve the problem is misguided. Infestation must be handled first and then if new bedding is desired, the old bedding can be disposed of. Spread of infestation in apartment buildings is increased by tenants decided to throw away old bedding. An infested mattress or box spring dragged in a hallway to an elevator will cause bedbugs to fall off or even run off the item, and these may then find their way into other units. As noted here, the use of plastic bags to protect bedding after treatment or to enclose bedbugs when the items are being thrown away are invaluable in preventing spread of infestation. It is also suggested to slash or mark up infested items so that others do not take them back into the building.
After the mattress and/or box spring or futon has been treated, placing these inside a cotton, polyvinyl or polyethylene mattress cover is a good idea as a secondary means of defense. Bedbugs like to hide near the victim and are commonly found on seams of mattresses, or within the structure of box springs. The mattress cover serves to reduce this likelihood and in the case of box springs, it seals any remaining insects inside the bag. The mattress cover also protects the mattress from the mess of staining caused when bedbugs aggregate on seams. The cover is a good idea either until the infestation has been totally eliminated or in the case of good quality cotton cover, useful as a permanent protection for the mattress—and also to enable easier control if infestation recurs.
Those who end up disposing of suspect items should enclose them in plastic mattress bags, or large garbage bags, to prevent shedding bugs and eggs on their way to the disposal site. Care should also be taken to label throwaway items with a warning about the suspected bedbug infestation, as furniture is often reclaimed by dumpster divers.
New items should not be purchased until after the infestation has been thoroughly eliminated. Also, many retailers offer disposal of old mattresses. This can pose obvious problems if new and old mattresses are carried together on the same truck without the proper precautions taken.
Successful treatment of a bedbug infestation is often highly dependent on how thorough the pest control professional is. Although the assessment and judgment of the pest control professional should be respected, most treatments cover such areas within homes as closets, curtains, outside and inside furniture crevices (dresser and desk drawers, night tables, etc.), as well as the interior of electrical outlets and behind pictures hangings on walls. If the choice was made to retain bedding, professionals will often either treat or steam-clean bedframes and the undersurface of solid beds.
Dial-a-Bug Pest Control is on the cutting edge of Bedbug treatment. Our practical knowledge and hands on intensive approach is unmatched in the Pest Control Industry.
