Bed Bug Info
Bed Bug Information
Safe & Effective | Guaranteed | Eco-Friendly
Safe & EffectiveGuaranteed Eco-Friendly
All About Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are small, wingless insects that feed on warm-blooded mammals. Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown, oval-shaped, flattened insects. They measure approximately four to five mm in length and can easily be seen with the naked eye.
Bed bug nymphs are much smaller and are often translucent and more difficult to see without the aid of a microscope.
What Is Their Life Cycle and Behavior?
Female bed bugs lay three to four eggs per day and will lay up to 250 eggs in a lifetime. Eggs normally hatch in eleven days and the new nymphs actively seek out their first “blood meal” at this time.
Nymphs will molt five times before reaching the adult stage. The nymphs require a blood meal before each molt, but once they reach the adult stage, they can survive for months without a meal.
How Do Bed Bugs Feed?
Bed bugs feed on human blood. They are nocturnal and prefer to feed in the pre-dawn hours (2:00 AM to 4:00 AM). During the day, they stay relatively motionless, hiding in cracks and crevices. They are most often found hiding in the places close to a host which can be the bed frame, headboard, pillow, etc.
At night, bed bugs come out of hiding and are attracted to their human host by the carbon dioxide and heat that is exhaled by a sleeping person. When they begin to feed, bed bugs inject anti-coagulants (to keep the blood flowing) and anesthetics, which prevent the host from feeling the bite and waking up. The insects will feed for three to five minutes and then retreat back to their hiding places.
How Do Bed Bugs Find You?
Bed bugs find their hosts by following the carbon dioxide trail of sleeping warm-blooded animals. They inject anti-coagulants to keep the blood flowing, and anesthetics, so you will not feel their bite and wake up. Bed bugs will feed for about three to five minutes if left undisturbed. After their meal, they will retreat to a nearby crack or crevice to digest their food.
Why Are Bed Bugs Commonly Found In Headboards?
Bed bugs are not fantastic climbers and cannot climb up on smooth surfaces. This is why wood (headboards and nightstands) is appealing to bed bugs. They can grip on its rougher surface sufficiently to climb up and down, and it often has many cracks and crevices for them to hide in. Bed bugs are commonly found in hotel rooms in cracks and crevices on the backsides of headboards. Another common spot is on the underside of wooden nightstands.
What Do Bed Bug Bites Look Like?
Bed bug bites vary, they are often mistaken at first for mosquito bites or a rash. The bites most often appear in groups of two or three, or sometimes in a straight row. There may be a delay of a few days from the time a person is bitten until the bites are visible or begin to irritate. Some people are very sensitive to bed bug bites and some people do not react at all.
Who Is At Risk?
Everyone is at risk. Travelers most commonly pick up bed bugs in their luggage at hotels. However, luggage is also vulnerable to bed bugs in aircraft and train cargo holds as well as taxi trunks.
Parents of kids in boarding school, college, or the military. Bed bugs have been found infesting college dormitories and military barracks. Make sure kids returning home don’t bring bed bugs back with them.
People living in multi-unit dwellings (condominiums, townhomes, apartments, dormitories), bed bugs from one infested unit can travel between walls to infest neighbors.
People who buy used furniture and household items. These items from bed bug-infested residences may create a pathway into your home.
People who frequently have numerous overnight guests and visitors. Many bed bug infestations have been brought into homes by friends and relatives. If you are being bitten by bed bugs and you move from your bedroom to your couch they will follow! Bed bugs like to live within 12 to 15 feet of the “meals” (us), but they can travel up to 100 feet inside a building to get a meal.
According to the National Pest Management Association, there has been a resurgence of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) in the United States over the last two years. The Environmental Protection Agency held a Bed Bug Summit in April of 2009 in response to both public and industry concerns about the increase in bed bug infestations. Reports about bed bugs have been aired in every major news outlet and in newspapers across the country saying "Bed bugs are back".
Bed bugs are small, wingless insects that feed on people (or animals in a pinch). Bed bugs get their name because they like to hide in bedding and mattresses, but bed bugs can live on the nightstand, your headboard, luggage, clothing, carpets, and just about any place where humans are regularly present. They are nocturnal and very hardy. They have the ability to live for up to a year without a meal. They travel by hitchhiking on you or on your clothes, luggage, and furniture until they find a new source of food.
Bed bugs are becoming immune to pesticides!
Share On: