What Do Bed Bugs Look Like

Jan06
2012 Written by

Bed bugs had been the most notorious and annoying parasite or insect in the 19th to the early part of the 20th century. It is believed that during and after the World War II in the United States in the 1940s, the country had totally been declared bed-bug free.

But travelers from other countries and continents where bed bugs may have continued to thrive made their return to the US possible. Usually, baggage and travel possessions serve as traveling ground or traveling spots for bed bugs from one area to another, from one country to another.

You should know what bed bugs look like, to be able to identify them. Bed bugs of course, are insects.

Size matters

Bed bugs are so tiny, that sometimes, one can hardly see them with just the naked eye. But when bed bugs mature, they look like other insects. They can be as long as a fourth of an inch.

Bed bugs look like other wingless insects. Hatchlings or newly hatched bed bugs are about as small as a poppy seed. Looking or viewing bed bugs, from top to bottom, they are usually flattened.

Bed bugs may sometimes look like ants or termites, except that when looked at closely, they have their own physical attributes.

What color are bed bugs?

Bed bugs, like humans, have different colors. It can be funny, but bed bugs look like they also have races! Bed bugs’ colors usually are deep brown.

However, there are bed bugs that look like biting ants—burnt orange, while there are those that have light tan complexion to almost white.

When bed bugs are hungry, they exhibit a different color than that when they are fully fed. Bedbugs with blood in it look like balloons, but what is inside them is not air but blood.

The host or victim’s precious blood may look like a black mass or dark red mass inside the bed bug’s tiny body.

Bed bugs also do excrete. When they do, they produce small amounts of liquid that almost look like blood. Thus, beds or surfaces where bed bugs may have inhabited may be stained with tiny red spots. These spots most of the time have stinky smell, but sometimes, they are not sensed by our olfactory glands.

How can bed bugs be found?

Because they are so, so tiny and are always crawling at very unnoticeable speed, bed bugs can not easily be detected or seen. During daytime, they stay within their protective habitats or hiding places.

Bed bugs look like small creeping objects in crevices and small holes in the floor, the walls or even your bed.

If you are observant enough, bed bugs may look or seem as if they are vampires. They may not have the physical characteristics that may scare you the way Dracula does, but they suck your blood. And they can never survive without it.

How to exterminate bedbugs

Bed bugs, like any other pests, are so persistent. You can hardly control bedbugs in your room without the professional help of pest control operators or providers.

If you have been applying pesticides and harmful pest control substances in areas suspected of having these parasites, chances are greater that you will fail.

It is because most of the pesticides in the market are repellant to insects. It means, when you have used one, bed bugs will not be killed. But they will be repelled or they will avoid getting at or near the surfaces or areas where the pesticide is applied.

Through that, bed bugs start to wander. Thus, the spread of bed bugs is accelerated. They will start transferring from one spot to another. Or worse, from one household to another.

Thus, attempting to control bed bugs on your own may look like attempting to get rid of bed bugs in your home and ushering them into your nearest neighbor. If you have the conscience to allow that to happen, or if your neighbor will not bug or sue you, then go on.

But exterminating bed bugs can entail great responsibility and consideration to others on your part. Professionals know better, so leave the job to them.

Posted in What Do Bed Bugs Look Like

How To Know If You Have Bed Bugs

Jan06
2012 Written by

Bed bugs are everywhere, although they have been nearly exterminated during the 1950′s and 1960′s because of the widespread use of DDT. Bed bugs are coming back and it seems nothing can stop them now, yet, since the banning of DDT.

You may say that you regularly clean your household and there is no way that bed bugs could possibly invade your home. Wrong. Having bed bugs at home does not mean that your home is filthy. Both clean and unclean house can be infested with bed bugs. So, how would you know if you have bed bugs?

Many people do not know if they have bed bugs. They don’t even know what bed bugs look like. Unlike cockroaches that flies and walks shamelessly, bed bugs are ‘shy’ insects. They crawl out from their hiding only when you are asleep at night. Bed bugs will crawl back from its home once you move from your position.

Before you stress yourself in knowing how to kill bed bugs by yourself, try to answer first the basic question of how to know if you have bed bugs. After that, it’s killing time.

–  How to know if you have bed bugs – Fact 1:

Know thy bug.

Would you know if it is a bed bug if you see one? Of course, the answer is no. Few people these days have seen a crawling bed bug unless he is living in a bed bug infested house. Even in hotels and motels, the bed bugs haven, you won’t see one crawling at your bed towards your shoulders. As mentioned earlier, bed bugs are shy. And it won’t go after you to withdraw blood from your skin even if it is hungry if you are moving.

** Description of bed bugs

Bed bugs can be seen by the naked eye. Forget what your grandfather had told you that they are so small that no person can actually see them. The only reason why only a few people can see bed bugs is that bed bugs are nocturnal insects and can rarely be seen walking in daylight. They are as small as appleseeds (which means they can be seen), reddish brown in color, oval shaped, flat and wingless. The distinctive characteristic of bed bugs is its oval-flat shape. Most bugs are rounded at the top.

–  How to know if you have bed bugs – Fact 2:

Know how they behave.

Bed bugs are nocturnals. They feed during the night, and are most active when dawn breaks.

Bed bugs have this offensive, sweet-like, musty scent. You can smell this odor in a room or area that has bed bugs infestation. This is one of the best answers to question how to know if you have bed bugs.

Bed bugs want to be near to their hosts. So, to know if you have bed bugs, check out the area where people usually stays. The bedroom, living room, and sometimes the dining room are the usual hiding places of bed bugs.

–  How to know if you have bed bugs – Fact 3:

Catch them if you can.

** So the first thing to do if you suspected that the place have bed bugs, check the undercover of your mattress and edge lining under your bed. You would know that you have bed bugs if you will see reddish brown stains on these area and some shed insect skins. The reddish brown stain is bed bugs dried excrement.

If a female bed bug had lain eggs, you will see some white nymphs there. There is no need to ask how to know if you have bed bugs if you see excrement stains and shed skins.

** To know if you have bed bugs and you want to catch them, try to wake up in the middle of the night. Try to be still, though it is okay to breathe.

If you have bed bugs infestation you will see one or two bed bugs crawling towards you. Try to move a bit, and you will see that a bed bug will back away. After that, keep still. It will move back to you. Then try to move again without killing it. It will go back to its hiding place. There, you got your bed bug.

Posted in Know If You Have Bed Bugs

Bed Bug Bites

Jan06
2012 Written by

Bed bugs can be everywhere. Most probably, your bed contains hundreds to thousands of bed bugs that crawl and creep into your body when you are asleep.

Bed bugs are like insects equipped with intelligence. They really can get smart. Bed bugs suck the blood of their host, which of course are humans, and sometimes animal pets like fogs, cats, birds and even bats.

Long time ago, bed bugs are most prevalent among birds’ nests. But because just like the human species, bed bugs are evolving and adapting to environmental changes, they have learned to crawl into people’s homes, particularly beds and room surfaces.

Bed bugs take their sumptuous meals by using their elongated beaks to pierce through the skin of the host. After that, they start the feast and harshly suck on blood until they can no longer take more.

What a fortune! While people find it hard to find food, bed bugs find it very easy. And more often, they feast and not run out of supplies.

Diseases from bed bugs

Doctors and medical practitioners assure, however, that bed bugs’ bites are not that harmful. Mosquito bites are far more threatening because they can sometimes transfer a number of serious ailments like malaria, dysentery, elephantiasis or h-fever.

In comparison, bites of bed bugs do not pose much health risk. Bed bugs can be a host to a number of diseases but they seldom pass this on to their hosts or victims.

Good thing that bed bugs are safe biters when it comes to ailments and diseases transferred through that way.

Understanding how bed bugs bite

As described earlier, bed bugs use their beaks to pierce skin and get or suck the abundant supply of blood. By doing so, it is inevitable for them not to transfer or leave their saliva into the pierced skin.

This saliva, thankfully, can never contain diseases or pathogens. But, these saliva can cause allergic reactions. Some people’s systems will react harshly to such bites.

Hence, most bed bugs’ bites swell after 10 minutes to 24 hours. Just like mosquito bites, they swell and appear reddish. They are also accompanied by little discomfort and itchiness.

The itch from bed bugs’ bites can be so persistent and annoying that if you keep on scratching, you will be tempted to make it harder. By that, you will be creating little wounds.

At most, that is what bed bugs’ bites can do.

Avoiding bed bugs’ bites

Of course, the beat and most effective way to prevent or avoid bed bugs’ bites is by making sure the insects will not appear during sleep hours. And how can that be?

By ensuring that your bed or your room as a whole is not infested by bed bugs. To prevent bed bugs from attacking, maintain hygiene and cleanliness. Regularly clean the room and be thorough in cleaning crevices and cracks on floors and walls.

If you like traveling, make sure the place you are staying in is not infested with bed bugs. Otherwise, bed bugs can get into your baggage, and voila, when you unpack your things at home, bed bugs will be spread into your room.

There are also insect-repellant products in the market. There are those products that can be applied to your skin like lotion. Once you have these repellant, bed bugs will be reluctant to get near you. They will find your skin a danger zone and will find you unappealing as a food source. Isn’t that appealing to you?

Bed bugs, wrapping up

Bed bugs’ bites are hard to avoid especially if you are not living alone in your room, or you have thousands of bed bugs families in your bed. Prevention is better than cure.

Might as well be very careful not to make your room and bed breeding grounds for bed bugs. In the market, you can also find dozens of lotions  or skin products that serve as repellant to bed bugs.

Being bitten by bed bugs can never be serious, don’t worry. All you have to do is treat the bitten skin part the way you treat mosquito bites. They normally fade out and heal by themselves over a little time.

Posted in Bed Bug Bites

How Do You Get Rid Of Bed Bugs?

Jan06
2012 Written by

Getting rid of bed bugs can be a tiring and tedious task. Because bed bugs are really annoying, people who live with bed bugs in their homes, desperately find and adopt measures to eliminate bed bugs.

So the question is persistent, just like their subjects—bed bugs. So how do you get rid of bed bugs?

The easy step

The easiest step would also fall to be the most stupid. This means will only require your utmost patience and perseverance.

You will have to look out and capture bed bugs when they come out of their habitats. That would mean, you will have to stay up all night because bed bugs usually come out and hunt food in the wee hours of the night. That is the time they feel their hosts will be more vulnerable.

Bed bugs can be pretty smart. But their smart behaviors are only products of their desire to survive. They come out of night because they can be sensitive to light. Instincts are instilled at them that light means danger.

Surely, during daytime, their exposure would only give them more risks. It is because however tiny they are, they can still be spotted in broad daylight.

So the easiest step would be to look out and capture bed bugs, one by one. After capturing them, squash them so they will not survive. Pretty gross. But hey, bed bugs are so tiny, blood and viscera squirming out of their tiny bodies will tend to be unnoticeable.

The dangerous way

If there is an easy yet stupid way, there is the efficient, yet sure and deadly way to get rid of bed bugs. This is through using insecticides or pesticides.

There are three groups of pesticides available in the market for the sole purpose of exterminating unwanted bed bugs. Look at them closely.

One, pesticides can be in the form of insecticidal dusts. These group of pesticides are characterized by the existence or presence of ground or pulverized glass and silica powder. Hence, they are dust.

The dust attacks bed bugs by destroying their outermost waxy protective coats. These coats are like coating that make up the skin of bed bugs. They serve as helmets.

Insecticidal dusts have chemicals with them. Once the bed bugs’ protective coats are ruined, the chemicals will set in and poison or dry out the bed bugs’ systems.

Second, there are contact insecticides. Contact insecticides are pesticides that should be applied to infested areas or surfaces. You will find that this group is very effective in getting rid of bed bugs.

But they also pose downsides. For one, contact insecticides are repellant in nature. Meaning, they stink so effectively to the insects’ senses, that they can easily sense presence of insecticides.

That characteristic of contact insecticides makes it less effective. Since it is repellant, it is not sure and guaranteed that bed bugs will be gotten rid of. They simply may avoid contact with applied surfaces. Hence, they will try to find another more conducive habitat.

Third and last group will be the insect growth regulators. This group is aimed at getting rid of bed bugs while they still are in early stages.

IGRs will attack or poison young bed bugs, or their eggs. By doing that, it is guaranty that no new generation will spurt out. The only problem and mess the complainant will have to deal with are the adult bed bugs.

Use of IGRs as pesticides can be effective, yet so much time and patience is required. As the saying goes, this measure is ‘slowly but surely.’

The most effective and safest way

If you are smart and practical at the same time, you will resort to seeking professional help as you aim to finally get rid of bed bugs.

Pest control experts and companies are overflowing in your locality, just lie how bed bugs’ population is overflowing in your bed and room.

Pest control experts know what to do to get rid of bed bugs effectively. They are more familiar to the proper chemicals and pesticides. That is why risks of poisoning yourself and your house mates can be ruled out.

Getting rid of bed bugs can be easy, if you only know how to. The safest and most effective way is to contact pest exterminators, and pronto! You can get rid of your unlikely bed mates.

Posted in Get Rid Of Bed Bugs