Bed Bug FAQs
What are some signs of bed bug infestation?
While most bed bugs are large enough to see, adults being up to ¼ inch in length, the following are some additional signs of infestation:
- Waking up with rows of red welts
- Blood stains and dark spots on bedding
- Cast skins the bed bugs shed as they molt
- Strong coriander-like odor is a sign of HEAVY infestation
What should I know about bed bugs?
The Bed bug has piercing sucking combined mouthparts that fold up under it’s body when not being used. They measure approximately ¼ inch in length, and 1/8 inch across. They seek warm-blooded animals and humans, which is food, moisture, and a protein source to make eggs. Bedbugs are attracted to body heat and the carbon dioxide in expired air, which is how they find their host. Bed bugs live in aggregations in response to a pheromone that is picked up by both males and females. They occupy areas as close as possible to their hosts and establish themselves in cracks, crevices and seams commonly found in headboards, mattresses, and bed frames.
They prefer dark, rough, dry surfaces, with wood and paper surfaces preferred to stone or iron surfaces. Bed bugs will be found to seek harborage or live away from a bed when iron bed frames are used. Wooden bed frames and headboards serve as excellent harborages.
After a female is fertilized it can’t lay eggs until the female has a blood meal. Females with blood can lay 5 eggs per day, which she glues to surfaces with her own cement, and up to 200 eggs per lifetime. Eggs can hatch in 6 to 10 days if conditions are warm (78 degrees Fahrenheit median), and longer if temperatures are cool. Humidity does not affect incubation. There are 5 stages from egg to adulthood that take approximately 48 days to complete their Gradual Metamorphosis. At each stage the pre-adult (nymph) bed bug must feed in order to grow to the next stage. If no host is available, it may take up to 156 days to become adults. A nymph can complete feeding in 3 minutes but an adult can take up to 15 minutes to become fully blood engorged, with females having a higher capacity than the males.
Adult Bed bugs live for 6 to 7 months, and up to 1½ year. They can live for several hundred days without feeding-up to one year in some studies.
Why are bed bugs so common today? Weren’t they eradicated?
After years of dormancy, bed bugs have made a comeback in the recent years. The reason for the bedbug’s re-emergence is thought to be the result of two factors: reduced reliance and manufacture of residual pesticides, and increased international travel.
Bed bugs were a major and common pest up until World War II when the development of new pesticides such as DDT reduced their presence in the United States to the point of near eradication. However, since the 1990’s government abolishment of persistent pesticides resulted in more targeted and environmentally sensitive methods in the control of common insect pests such as ants and cockroaches. While the earlier pesticides and their treatment methods could cause harm to our food chain and environment, they did succeed at keeping bed bugs as a nuisance pest found mostly in developing or third world countries.
Increased international travel for both business and leisure, combined with relaxed quarantine efforts by most foreign governments have also contributed to the increase in bed bug activity. Add to that American’s tendency to travel with pets and the trend away from hard plastic luggage to ballistic fiber luggage and you have given bed bugs a pressurized cargo hold to survive in and luggage to hide in. Certainly, South Florida, which sees millions of international travelers on an annual basis, is an area prone to high bed bug activity.
What can I do to prevent a bed bug infestation?
The dispersal of bed bugs is passive in that they rely on their hosts for distribution. They are very successful “hitchhikers” by traveling via luggage, furniture, clothing, bedding and baggage.
Prevention must be directed towards the establishment of careful inspections of all mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis in efforts to detect introductions at an early stage. Efforts should also be made to seal areas that are attractive to bed bug harborage, such as cracks in baseboards and wooden bed frames. Bed Bug mattress encasements are a recent development that must be made part of any preventative program.
Education through the use of fact sheets and regular training, which we can offered to the housekeeping and engineering staff of any hotel, motel or cruise ship, are extremely important if bed bug activity is to be caught early on and eliminated.
What can I do to eliminate bed bugs?
Our bed bug procedures are very thorough and are based on entomological knowledge of the life cycle of these insects. It includes the following steps:
- Headboards, curtain rods, picture frames, mirrors, electric and telephone outlet plates, and other items are removed from walls.
- Wall mounted lights are removed.
- Bed frames are disassembled.
- Drawers are removed from nightstands and dressers.
- Linens, bedding, pillows, sofa coverings, cushions and similar items are isolated and placed in large plastic bags.
- Carpets and padding are pulled away from walls.
- After removing all necessary items, appropriate pesticide applications are made, and any visible eggs, bed bugs and cast skins are removed via vacuum.
- Follow up inspections are performed at seven and fourteen day intervals and are timed in conjunction with hatching eggs. If further activity is found, another seven days may be needed to eliminate any bed bug activity.
We guarantee our results for one year in each room serviced. If bed bugs reappear in any treated room within one year of our treatment, re-treatment will be performed at no charge providing all recommendations are followed.
What do I need to do if I get bitten by bed bugs?
The bite of the bug is painless, and typically does not cause itching, unless one is allergic or sensitive. When feeding, they inject saliva which may produce an allergic reaction that often causes slightly delayed swelling, itching, and burning which may persist for a week or more.
Bedbugs are not known to transmit or carry any disease pathogen due to their ability to shed mouthparts, stomach lining and digestive system after feeding (in which they molt). Although bed bugs have been found naturally infected by at least 27 human pathogens, no biological transmission has ever been proven.
