Bed bug are a very common household pest that are known for being difficult to eradicate without professional help. They feed on the blood of animals and humans, and in the right circumstances they can cause an infestation lasting months.
Popular places for bed bugs to thrive are:
- Multi-family housing units
- Shelters
- Hotels
- Cruise ships
- Any form of public transport (buses, trains, planes, etc.)
They are known as “hitchhikers” because of their tendency to travel from one person or place to another while continually laying eggs.
What Do Bed Bugs Look Like?
There are 3 main stages of a bed bugs life cycle, which are:
- Egg
- Nymph
- Adult
Bed bug eggs are small and whitish-yellow, making them tough to spot without searching for them. Nymphs (adolescent bed begs) are similar in color to eggs if they have not recently fed and go through 5 molting phases before graduating to adulthood. Once they reach full maturity, the insects have an oval-shaped body with a reddish-brown color due to feeding off of blood. The average size of an adult bed bug is 5 to 7 millimeters, making them roughly the same size and color of an apple seed.
How Do You Get Bed Bugs?
As stated before, bed bugs are hitchhikers and will travel via tiny cracks and crevices. They are fast and small, making them hard to get ahead of unless you are actively searching for them.
The most likely ways of bringing these pests into your home is via traveling or living in multi-family housing, such as apartments. While not able to jump or fly, they can hide in very small spaces and can easily blend into furniture. It is recommended to search your clothing, suitcase, and other belongings when coming back from a trip before you enter your vehicle or home. This way, if there are any visible bed bugs you can eradicate them easily.
Doing so involves placing your clothes in plastic bags, and once you bring them home run them through a dryer cycle on high heat for at least 25-30 minutes. Heat is one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs and ensure there are no lingering eggs. After the heat cycle, you can perform your standard washing routine.
What Signs Should I Look Out For?
The first signs of bed bugs are most likely small itchy bites on your skin, often on the arms and shoulders. Bites tend to be in clusters rather than spread out, but there is always the possibility of the bites leaving no marks at all.
In this case, you may also notice:
- Blood spots on your sheets or mattress (from bites)
- Tiny pale (whitish-yellow) eggs
- Bed bug exoskeletons
- Live bed bugs (look in folds of mattress, box spring, furniture, baseboards, and around electrical outlets)
Remember, they can hide in any space small enough to fit the thickness of a credit card.
Avoid moving furniture during this process. Instead, inspect it thoroughly and vacuum any crevices. Keeping furniture in its original position helps prevent inadvertently spreading the infestation to areas that may not yet be affected.
Call A Professional
The most important thing to remember is that bed bugs can happen to anyone. They are just as likely to appear in a pristine house as a messy one. Never hesitate to call a professional to take care of bed bugs. They are notoriously hard to eradicate without professional equipment and knowledge.
Contacting someone like us here at Arizona Specialty Services ensures that your home will be treated thoroughly and correctly. Our goal is to help make your house a home again and give you the priceless gift of peace of mind!
