Bed Bug Identification & Prevention

 

 

Bed Bug Removal

Your skin likely crawls just reading about bed bugs. These pests are growing in numbers around the United States. More and more home and business owners in New York & Parts Of New Jersey are expressing concern about bed bugs, worrying that visitors may unknowingly introduce them onto their properties.

Bed bugs are challenging pests to deal with, primarily because they breed rapidly, and will set up shop quickly in your building, most of the time before you even realize it. When you need a reliable bed bug exterminator, call Hello Pest Control.

 

What Are Bed Bugs?

Small, flats insects that hide during the day, bed bugs are every home or business owner’s worst nightmare. Adult bed bugs grow to about 1/4 of an inch in length. They are brownish-red, have six legs, and lack wings.

Before feeding, their body has an apple seed shape; after feeding, they expand to a capsule-like shape. To feed, they use a proboscis, which is an elongated mouthpart. When not feeding, they keep their proboscis tucked under their body.

 

bed bug on human skin

These pests feed on the blood of warm-blooded mammals, with human blood being their favorite source of food. If we are available, they will typically ignore our pets. Blood is their sole source of nutrition and is required to complete their reproductive process.

Bed bugs leave behind several tell-tale signs of infestation, such as black or brown stains or even bloodstains. They may also cause a sweet, musty odor to develop in a heavily infested area of your home or business. Bed bugs usually get into your house on clothes, luggage, bags, and other personal belongings.

Are Bed Bugs Dangerous?

Bed bugs are considered nuisance pests. Even though bed bugs can harbor bacteria, the spread of disease by these pests is currently not a concern. But, bed bugs do pose a variety of other problems for people, as described below.

Bed bugs living in our homes may cause damage to things like walls, floors, bedding, upholstered furniture, and mattresses, staining them with blood or streaks of black excrement.

An infestation can arrive without notice and go on for months before you figure out what’s going on. If you have an infestation, you might find red, itchy welts covering your body when you wake up in the morning. These pests feed on you as you sleep, using your blood as fuel to breed. Excessive itching of the bite sites, especially by children, may lead to secondary infections.

Just one fertile female bed bug in a reproduction-friendly environment can produce up to five eggs per day and a total of 500 over her lifespan. Just a couple of bed bugs are enough to cause a serious infestation unless you engage in rigorous efforts to control their populations. At the first sign of a bed bug infestation, it is essential to seek professional help and get rid of bed bugs.

 

Why Do I Have a Bed Bug Problem?

Bed bugs travel by hitchhiking on your clothes and personal belongings. Any items kept close to sleeping areas are potential targets. Luggage, bags, purses, or clothing that you place on the ground in any public place or near other people’s belongings are also potential targets.

Bed bugs can’t jump, but they can crawl quite rapidly. Bed bugs have become problematic because they hitchhike with ease across the city, country, and world on people and their belongings.

Where Will I Find Bed Bugs?

 

Bed bugs are considered indoor pests and have trouble surviving outdoors. Living inside allows these insects to remain active and a threat to our homes and businesses throughout the entire year.

A common myth is that bed bugs only inhabit hotels or places with designated sleeping areas — this is not the case. Bed bugs are found everywhere, including homes, offices, stores, hotels, gyms, restaurants, and more.

After being introduced into your home, bed bugs hide in a variety of places, not just the seams of mattresses and box springs. Upholstered furniture, wood furniture, walls, spaces behind pictures and wall hangings, and gaps behind wood trim are common hideouts for bed bugs. These pests also regularly take cover in keyboards, electronics, and behind electrical outlets.

Another misconception is that bed bugs only like dirty homes; this is another myth. Bed bugs enjoy any area where there are humans to feed on. Having a clean, organized home does not prevent bed bugs from invading; however, clutter does allow bed bugs to hide unnoticed, creating an environment that enables an infestation to develop.

How Do I Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

 The temptation may be there to get rid of a bed bug infestation yourself. However, DIY methods are ill-advised. If you miss just one pregnant female bed bug, you can be re-infested with hundreds of new adults and eggs in just a few short weeks. Bed bugs are sneaky and difficult to find and can cause many health problems.

The first step in getting rid of a bed bug infestation is to assess the situation. Like Hello Pest Control, a pest management company will look for evidence that a bed bug infestation exists. Your entire home will be inspected, including your furniture, beds, rugs, and other linens.

We even have special tools to check cracks and crevices, making it easy for us to spot an infestation even if it’s not visible to the naked eye. The bedroom is usually the first place we will start our inspection. We then continue throughout your home, thoroughly inspecting every room to ensure we locate all their hiding spots.

After our initial assessment, we will conduct a plan of action. We will use tools and scientific methods to treat your bed bug problem in a way that is most fitting for your budget, lifestyle, and safety concerns. The process can take several weeks, but it’s important to be vigilant to prevent a re-infestation.

 

How Can I Prevent Bed Bugs in the Future?

Preventing bed bugs from infiltrating your house is a difficult task. It is important to be aware of your surroundings and put into practice the following prevention tips:

  • Regularly clean your home and vacuum flooring, the seams of upholstered furniture, mattresses, and box springs.
  • Regularly wash and dry all bedding on high heat settings.
  • Wash and dry all outwear you and your family wear regularly.
  • Check all second-hand clothing and furniture for bed bugs before bringing them into your house.
  • Use protective covers on your bed and clean any clutter in your home to reduce hiding spots.
  • Prevent bed bugs from moving between apartment units by installing door sweeps on the bottom of your door. Seal cracks around baseboards and other gaps.
  • Exercise caution when using shared laundry facilities. When doing laundry at a laundry mat, always bring your own baskets and after washing and drying your clothing, immediately place them in your baskets and take them home to fold.
  • After purchasing new or used clothing, quickly wash and dry them on the highest heat setting the fabrics can tolerate.

 

Call Hello Pest Control For A Bed Bug Exterminator

Hello Pest Control will work with you to identify how the bed bugs infested your home and will then take steps to root out the infestation and develop a solution. A bed bug infestation can be hard to spot for the untrained eye. A skilled pest management professional knows exactly where these pests hide and how to eliminate them from your home or business.

At Hello Pest Control, we get right to the root of your bed bug infestation and provide effective treatments using heat and traditional chemical methods. We then engage in ongoing monitoring to make sure the pests don’t return! If you are ready to learn more about our bed bug control solutions, reach out to Hello Pest Control today!

 

We didn’t even think twice about who to contact when we had a problem with termites.

Hello Pest Control always comes through for us.”  Alexander M.

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