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Bed Bug Basics The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a parasite that prefers to feed on humans. If people aren't available, the insect will feed on other warm-blooded animals including dogs, cats, birds, and other pets. Because bed bugs require these blood meals to grow and reproduce, they live close to areas where people typically sleep, rest, or sit for long periods. They are found in temperate climates throughout the world, and have adapted well to living in the homes of people.
The Bed Bug Life Cycle After mating, females lay from one to twelve eggs per day. The eggs are milky white,
oval shaped and are about the size of two grains of salt. They
are difficult to see without magnification. The eggs are deposited on rough surfaces or in cracks and crevices.
They are coated with a sticky substance so that they adhere to the surface. Eggs hatch in 6 to 17 days into almost transparent nymphs. They begin feeding at the
first opportunity. They pass through five molting stages before they reach maturity, and must feed once during each
of these stages. The color of bedbugs ranges from nearly white (just after moulting) or a light tan to a deep brown or burnt orange
as an adult. The host's blood may appear as a dark red or black mass within the bug's body. Adult bed bugs are
about 1/4" long. Developmental time (egg
to adult) is affected by temperature and takes about 21 days at 86° to 120 days at 65° F. The nymphal period
is greatly prolonged when food is scarce. Although bed bugs can live for a year or as much as 18 months without feeding,
they typically seek a blood meal every five to ten days. However, nymphs and adults can live for over six months without
food. Bed bugs become reproductively active only at maturity. Three or more generations can occur each year. The adult's
lifespan may be from 12-18 months. Usually
all stages of development are present in an infestation.
Bed Bug Habits Bed bugs thrive in places with high human occupancy. Places such as motels, hotels, apartment
complexes, dormitories, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities are all potential nesting places.
Other places where bed bugs sometimes appear include movie theaters, laundries/dry cleaners, furniture rental outlets and
office buildings. Bed bugs tend to congregate in certain areas,
but it is common to find a single bug or some eggs scattered here and there. They are nocturnal by nature, feeding at night while their hosts sleep, then retreating to a sheltered
crevice by morning. Bed bugs will feed during the day when hungry. During the early stages of a bed bug problem, the pests tend to congregate mostly in beds and other
sleeping areas, close to where they feed. During the day, bed bugs
remain in the dark, hidden in mattresses, pillows, cracks and crevices of box springs, or furniture that is near the
bed, such as nightstands or dressers. They can hide in the backs of headboards or joints of wooden bed frames, or among items
stored under beds. Other common places to find bed bugs include: along and under the edge of wall-to-wall carpeting
(especially behind beds and furniture); cracks in wood molding; ceiling-wall junctures; behind wall-mounted picture frames,
mirrors, switch plates and outlets; amongst clothing and clutter stored in closets; under loosened wallpaper; and inside clocks,
phones, televisions and smoke detectors. Bed
bugs have an affinity for wood, paper and fabric more so than metal or plastic. Bed bugs have a limited home range, and do not generally travel too far from their host. But when hiding places
and hosts are few, they do travel easily, are agile and elusive. Bedbugs do not fly or jump. They crawl and are capable of
traveling as far as 100 ft. to feed if need be. Bed bugs are fast in their movements, and about equal to the speed of ants.
Infestations
Bed bugs have made a worldwide comeback since 1980 thanks to globalization,
international travel, and immigration. People and goods are traveling more widely and in greater numbers than ever before.
Bedbug populations in the United States have increased by 500 percent in the last few years alone. Infestations can happen rapidly. There are basically three ways that infestations occur: 1) by people
bringing bed bugs into their homes after having traveled; 2) by people bringing the bugs into the home on used furniture or
secondhand items; 3) by the bed bugs traveling between units in a multi-unit dwelling (such as apartment buildings and condominiums). People can often acquire bed bugs at hotels, motels, or dormitories and bring
them back to their homes in their luggage or souvenirs. Bed bugs can be carried from place to place by people on clothing
they are currently wearing, although this is not the usual means of transmission. Because
the adults can live for twelve to eighteen months without a meal, they are efficient hitchhikers and make the
perfect stowaways in shipping crates and manufactured goods. People can also bring bed bugs into their homes by bringing in used furniture or other seconhand items. Used
furniture, particularly bed frames, mattresses, and upholstered furniture are at the greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and
their eggs. One must carefully scrutinize and consider the history of any used furniture, particularly "street"
items. A third way for an infestation
to occur is for the bugs to travel between adjoining apartments through voids in walls and holes through which wires and pipes
pass. Because bed bugs can readily survive for many months without feeding, they may already be present in apparently
"vacant" and "clean" apartments. The
numerical size of a bedbug infestation is to some degree variable, as it is a function of the elapsed time from the initial
infestation. A single female bedbug brought into a home that lays eggs on day 1 can be responsible for between 150 and
360 bedbugs by month's end. If 40 bedbugs are placed in a room, their population can grow to 6,000 in 6 months time.
With this type of geometric population explosion, it is not hard to understand why early detection is so important.
Bed Bug Bites The most common way that people discover they have bed bugs is when they wake up with bites. Bed bugs are generally active at dawn,
with a peak feeding period about an hour before sunrise. They are attracted by the body heat and exhaled carbon dioxide
of their hosts. Bed
bugs tend to bite all over the body, especially on the areas that are more exposed while we sleep, such as the face, neck,
arms, and hands. The bug first pierces the skin with two hollow tubes. With one tube, it injects saliva which contains
anticoagulants and anesthetics. It withdraws the blood of its host with the second tube. The bug will feed for
five to ten minutes, then drop off its host and crawl to its sheltered crevice where it will remain for several days while
digesting its meal. The bites cannot usually be felt until minutes or hours later, if at all. All people are not equally sensitive
to bed bug bites. Some people show no symptoms, while others can break out in rashes from the bites. Only about a third
of people actually react to bed bug bites. When a reaction does occur, the results can be mild (a simple red spot) to severe
(rash or even hives). Many of those who do have reactions mistake them for other problems, such as flea or mosquito bites,
sensitivity to detergents or soaps and other skin irritants such as poison ivy. Because not everyone reacts to bites in the same way, and
because the bugs feed about every five days, one can easily see why people in the same household may have different opinions
about whether bed bugs are present at all. The presence of bed bugs may be undetected for months because the hosts show no or mild reaction
to the bites, and the bites occur intermittently. In the meantime, the bed bugs may be multiplying, creating
an infestation that could be both expensive and difficult to treat.
How Our Bed Bug Detection Dog Can Be Your Best Friend All the experts agree on the importance of detecting bed bugs early on,
before populations become entrenched. The National Pest Management Association spokesperson, Mr. Mannes, says, "The
first thing is finding them, that's the most difficult thing. When bed bugs are found, that area of a room can then
be targeted and the problem can be much more efficiently addressed." If you suspect that you may have a bed bug problem, fast accurate detection
is key to preventing and stopping further problems. To date, there is no reliable method for early detection except trained
bed bug detection dogs. The difference between a dog inspector and a trained human inspector is huge. A trained
bed bug detection dog can detect bed bugs in all stages (eggs, nymphs, and adults), even inside walls, with a 97% accuracy
rate. A human inspector is only 30% accurate, and is not able to detect any bugs that may be hiding in conduits behind
walls. Our dog Bingo is trained to tell the difference between live bed bugs, dead ones, cast skins, eggs and even bed bug
fecal matter. Let us put this invaluable service
to work for you. Call today to arrange an appointment! |
