How Do You Get Bed Bugs?
Bugs seem to come and go as they please into homes, but how do you get bed bugs? They aren’t really on much of a mission other than getting their next meal. So why you? And why your bed of all places? The truth is, most of the time its just bad luck.
Bed bugs belong to the Hemiptera species of insects and are known as blood–sucking bugs. These nocturnal bugs get attracted towards humans through their body heat, body odor and even their exhaled air. They have a piercing mouth that they use to bite their victim usually an hour before dawn. They aren’t known for transmitting diseases, but bed bug bites can cause rashes and irritation and sometimes result in severe skin allergies.
Bed bugs are creepy, problematic pests which sneak into your house and can pose health risks for you and your family. They are hard to find because of their tiny size. This helps them hide under sheets, bedding, bed frames, carpets, furniture and mattresses, the seam of the mattresses and furniture cracks being their favorite.
Where do bed bugs come from?
Bed bugs infestation is a serious problem faced by people in residences like hotels and domestic households. Their small size and ability to hide allow them to spread and be easily be transported through luggage, used furniture, used clothes, etc. Bed bugs have the ability to move between rooms, apartments and multi-unit buildings. If you are in an infested place or near infested items, bed bugs can latch onto you unknowingly until they’ve made it into your home.
How do bed bugs look like?
Bed bugs are small pests with oval-shaped bodies and are flat. Bed bugs originally are wingless. Adults however do have wing pads but they aren’t developed into fully functional wings. Bed bugs usually are described to have the size and shape of an apple seed.
Newly hatched bed bug nymphs are white or tan in color whereas adult bed bugs are brown in color. Nymphs gradually develop the darker color as they keep on feeding blood, which is required for them to grow. Adult bed bugs also get a reddish brown color after feeding.
The common misconception is that bed bugs aren’t visible to the naked eye because of their small size, but that’s not the reality. A normal, fully grown bed bug is almost 4-5 mm in size and can clearly be seen in the cracks and crevices they used to hide. Nymphs however, are difficult to locate because of their tiny size and color. They’re approximately the size of the head of a pin and translucent white in color.
Do bed bugs fly?
No, bed bugs are not capable to fly. Bed bugs don’t have wings, although the adult bed bugs have wing pads. If you see a pest flying in the air, you can rest assured that it is not a bug.
Do Bed Bugs Jump?
No, bed bugs can’t jump from one place to other at longer distance like the cricket. Bed bugs don’t jump or fly but these limitations don’t restrict them to one place and they make their way out from one host to other. Bed bugs move around by crawling.
How do bed bugs get around?
Since the bed bug cannot jump, and the bed bug cannot fly, it must crawl onto a transportation source (human, animal, or item) in order to get from one place too another. They are the ultimate hitchhiker species. The crawling speed of bed bugs is 3–4 feet per minute which is quite fast considering their size.
Bed bugs transfer from one place to other by sticking to humans and their belongings just like purses, luggage, bags or any such thing which they usually keep close to their beds or sleeping areas.
Once bed bugs enter a new place, they rapidly reproduce only needing one mature female bed bug. If transported to a bed bug free place, she will lay 5 eggs daily and she alone can cause bed bug infestation by continuous mating.
You can become a source of bringing bed bugs to your pest–free home if you visited a friend’s place, or hotel or motel facing the bed bugs infestation. These problematic insects will stick to your clothes, bags, suitcases or shoes and make an unwanted entry to your beloved home. If you are living in an area facing bed bugs infestation, then be careful sleeping over at your friend’s place, because you can easily bring them home with you.
Where do bed bugs hide?
Bed bugs, as the name refers are found around and under the beddings, bed sheets, mattresses, box springs and on clothes. Not only this, but bed bugs can also be found on furniture as they provide them ideal hiding places. Bed bugs usually hide behind cervices, cracks, folded areas of beds, behind picture frames, wallpapers and even in the switchboard frame. Practically bed bugs can hide in any place which is dark and provide them shelter. This can be cupboard, furniture cracks, under carpets, in bus, car or any secluded place at home. The small and flat body of bed bugs help them in hiding.
Can you see bed bugs during the day?
Bed bugs feed at night and only really come out in the nighttime, however, its difficult to look for them in then because they will scurry and disappear at the site of artificial light.
It’s better to look for bed bug infestations in your home in broad day light. Open up all the windows to let the sunlight in, also switch on all the lights of the room. These will assist you in locating bed bugs. If there is serious bed bugs infestation then you will easily notice them within crevices of the mattresses and bed frames.
Sunlight will also aid you in locating other signs indicating towards bed bug infestations, like black dots on sheets, these are bed bugs eggs. Brown spots basically are the dung of the bed bugs, you can also find blood stains on sheets, and these would be leftover food (your blood) of bed bugs.
Tracing bed bugs in daylight will be extremely easy as compared to locating them during night time.
How to get rid of bed bugs?
Bed bugs are defiant and stubborn insects and it’s not easy to get rid of them quickly, it will take days with follow-on checks to avoid bed bug infestations in the future. Start your bed bug removal process with cleaning. This should include:
- Clean and wash all your bedding, sheets, clothes, curtains and covers in hot water and then dry them on the highest settings.
- Things like stuffed toys and shoes which can’t be washed should be placed in dryer for about 30 minutes.
- Hardly scrub the crevices of the mattresses and then vacuum them.
- Vacuum the surrounding area of the bed as well and immediately dispose of the vacuum bag after tightly sealing it in a plastic bag. Never use the same vacuum bag again on any other area.
- Fill up all the cracks in your walls and furniture to destroy the possible hideouts of bed bugs.
After cleaning the infected area you can try home remedies if there is no serious infestation. These include putting petroleum jelly on the legs of bed as bed bugs won’t be able to climb slippery surface and moving furniture away from walls. But these aren’t lasting measures.
For complete bed bugs extermination you require chemical treatment, these include special bed bug removal sprays and pesticides which are sprayed directly on the hideouts of these nasty pests. Always follow the instructions written on these pesticides before using them
If you are facing a severe bed bugs invasion then it’s better to contact professional bed bugs extermination service providers. They are trained to completely remove all of these blood-sucking creatures from your home, leaving you pest-free.
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