Possibly the most dreaded pest infestation ever are bed bugs. This parasitic bug is worldwide, but it particularly enjoys causing mayhem in the UK’s big cities. But take caution—bed bugs may be found anyplace that people reside.
Bed bugs are drawn to human blood, which allows them to infiltrate our houses and live with us! A professional pest control firm is the ideal choice to handle a bed bug infestation because of the insect’s inherent and enigmatic hiding qualities.
Do you presently have an infestation of bed bugs? Maybe you need to identify the species of the little insects you’ve found crawling all over your bed? Do you need assistance knowing where to start treating bed bugs?
At Malum Southern Pest Control, our integrated pest control team has years of expertise eliminating this challenging bug. We’ll address each of these queries and provide you a general understanding of bed bugs in this tutorial.
The Conduct of Bed Bugs Expounded
The tiny, evasive bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is about the size of a rice grain and has a reddish-brown coloration. The insects have ridges all over their shell, two large black eyes, six legs, no wings, and a tiny beak-like device at the end of their mouth that allows them to pierce skin and draw blood meals.
These pests don’t dwell outside; rather, they live their whole lives inside of residences, places of commerce, and other locations where humans often gather. The bed bug is a cunning pest that will do whatever to avoid being seen and identified.
Since they may emerge at night to feed on human blood while their host is sleeping, bed bugs, which are mostly nocturnal, like dark places where people sleep. But, bed bugs are adaptable and will imitate the sleeping habits of their hosts; thus, if someone works shifts and naps all day, that’s when a bed bug will feed!
The insects will make their home in concealed areas close to places where people sleep, including in wall crevices next to beds, behind nightstands, beneath mattresses, and under bed frames.
This bug requires human blood to survive and procreate. A female bed bug will lay eggs in the hiding place after mating and when she is engorged with blood; the eggs will develop into nymphs in about ten days. Before they reach maturity, nymphs undergo five moults, or skin sheds, each of which requires a blood meal.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that bed bugs have a maximum lifespan of 1-2 years and that they may survive for up to 16 months without food.
How Do Bed Bugs Move Around?
Thus, how can bed bugs first enter our houses? The majority of the time, people are unaware that they are introducing bed bugs into their secure area. These insects attach themselves to shoes, socks, shirts, purses, and other personal items using their legs and beak. Their bodies are sticky and clinging.
Additionally, they are brought home by guests from hotel rooms, where the bugs may lurk in the luggage rack and infiltrate your belongings.
Purchasing used furniture is another popular destination since there’s never a concern about the bugs becoming revealed. Always carefully check the inside compartments of any secondhand furniture you acquire or buy for indications of pests.
Additionally, keep in mind that if you invite somebody over, they could be bringing other people!
What Leads to an Infestation of Bed Bugs?
These parasites will begin to look for body warmth and carbon dioxide emissions from breathing after travelling about your house, which is now the bugs’ new home as well, in an attempt to locate your sleeping area.
The male and female bugs travel in pairs practically all the time. After they find a place to sleep, they eat and then look for a dark, secluded region on the bed or nearby to make their nest, which gives them easy access to their host.
The insects will mate, and the females will start to swiftly and consistently deposit eggs. Due of their extreme secrecy, bed bugs usually take days, weeks, or even months for humans to become aware of this cycle.
Typically, people become aware of a bed bug issue when they discover live bugs while changing sheets or cleaning the area, or when they see dark blood stains or rusty streaks (faecal matter) on their bedding linens. They could also discover the bugs crawling on or close to them when they wake up in the middle of the night.
The infestation becomes stronger the longer the insects are allowed to remain unchecked and evade notice.
Get in touch with Malum right now if your greatest dread has come true and you’ve found some unwelcome guests wandering about your house!
How Big Can Bed Bug Encounters Get?
In the event that you have many family members, the colony may get so large that the bugs may start to spread out to feed on other members of your home.
At this point, the infestation spreads to many rooms. Furthermore, bed bugs will spread to adjacent furniture in the vicinity of the sleeping area. They may also establish an infestation behind electrical outlets, walls, and ceilings, as well as behind upholstered surfaces, picture frames, and even curtains.
Within six months to a year, your whole house may be invaded if you ignore the warning signals.
Methods for Eliminating Bed Bugs
In essence, eliminating bed bugs need for thorough and potent treatments that focus on the afflicted regions’ resilience. However, dealing with an infestation requires a lot of labour.
Malum can help you prepare your house for expert bed bug treatment and walk you through the procedure.
Ready Work
Due to their tiny size and excellent ability to conceal themselves, bed bugs need extensive preparation work on the whole house.
Although it could be simple to claim that the insects are limited to the infected room, you cannot be certain that they haven’t strayed into other parts of your house because of their migratory lifestyle. Since bed bugs may pass through walls, it is not unusual for whole apartment buildings to get infected.
We advise starting with your soft furniture and clothing. Because bed bugs and their eggs can only be instantaneously killed by very high temperatures, all linen and materials inside the house should be cleaned on high heat settings.
To keep bed bugs out of your laundry, store your cleaned clothes in a plastic bag that seals shut. Since kids’ soft toys have been known to harbour bed bugs, take careful to thoroughly clean them as well.
We advise you to check every odd object in your messy house for insects. After that, you should keep these things outside of your house until the pests have been removed. Make sure you remove the hoover bag and dispose of it outdoors when you routinely hoover the floors.
It’s crucial to wait to host visitors until your house is bug-free. After using any everyday clothing, wash it right away and replace the seals.
Handling and Safeguarding Your Mattress
This takes a lot of effort since your bedroom can be the bed bug colony’s headquarters. You should first wash all of the linen and strip the bed.
The mattress and box spring need to be covered with encasements, which we can offer. The live insects will be trapped within these encasements, keeping their beaks from penetrating the material to feast on you while you sleep. All bed bugs enclosed within will have starved to death after at least 16 months.
Mattresses and box springs may be taken care of this way, but at Malum, we also treat the bed frame to get rid of bed bugs, as well as any footboards or headboards that can harbour the insects. Though you may never be certain, it is hoped that the colony is entirely within the box spring.
In order to catch any insects that could attempt to climb into your bed, you should move your bed at least three feet away from the wall and install interceptors on the bed legs. We can demonstrate to you how to use them properly.
Frequently Used Treatments
Since bed bugs are very difficult to remove and regularly develop to resist over-the-counter medications, it is not suggested to treat them using DIY techniques and supplies.
Malum employs an array of diverse treatment methods to eradicate bed bugs, depending upon the extent of the infestation.
Heat treatment for bed bugs is one of our most successful techniques, and it’s often combined with potent pesticides.
In addition to treating bed bugs, we also teach staff members and people on pest awareness to assist them become more knowledgeable about best practises and what to watch out for.
Why do bites from bed bugs hurt?
Because they inject a poison into their host while feeding, bed bugs cause itching when they bite. The purpose of this numbing poison is to keep the victim unconscious while the insects feed on blood.
Does bed bug infestation require treating electronics?
These insects usually infest mattresses or the box springs of beds, but they have also been known to hide in gadgets such as alarm clocks, radios, and even TVs. If so, these goods may be preserved for a few days to a week by treating them with poison strips and keeping them locked in airtight containers.
Do bed bugs reappear after being treated?
Usually, the insects may be completely eliminated in a few weeks with a conventional, professional treatment. However, if treatments fail and bed bugs are brought back into the house, they may resurface. Because they can make sure that no location has been overlooked, a professional pest control company is the one to call in this situation.
Why Speak with Malum?
To stop further infestations of bed bugs in houses, every single insect must be eliminated.
Malum takes great satisfaction in offering the finest complete pest control strategy. We approach every problem creatively in order to provide you with the best possible short- and long-term solution. Our expertise allows us to provide a professional service that is assured.
