Don’t let the bed bugs bite
Bed Bugs:
Information and Resources
Remember
that saying? You probably didn’t even believe there was such a
thing as a bed bug. As a child my mother would always say,
“don’t let the bed bugs bite” but until the last few years I had
never actually seen a bed bug. Now they are everywhere, homes,
apartments, hotels, dormitories even cruise ships. The United
States is witnessing the largest outbreak of bed bugs since WWII.
Bed bugs are small, brownish, flattened insects about 3/16 of
an inch long. They are blood feeders that like the warmth of
sleeping humans. The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is the species most
adapted to living with humans. Bed bugs have been around since
ancient times but mostly eradicated,
in the U.S., over the last 50
years.
Bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can get in your luggage,
clothing or furniture and move from place to place quite
quickly. Once introduced into a building it is not long before
the entire facility can be affected.
Their feeding time is at night when you are sleeping. They
feed by piercing the skin through an elongated beak through
which they draw blood. Feeding time can take anywhere from 3 to
10 minutes. After they feed they crawl off and return to the
actual place where they reside.
They do not live on the body
like lice.
The good news: Varment Guard has been successfully
controlling bed bugs in homes, apartments, hotels and
dormitories since this problem reemerged a few years ago.
If you think you have a problem, let our trained
representative inspect your home or property. We can identify
the problem, offer a solution and restore your peace of mind, in
no time at all
Contact Us Today.
Bed Bugs Facts
We live in a time when bed bug infestations of residences,
hotels, resorts and other venues are on the rise, worldwide.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation “out there”
about bed bugs, so let’s take a look at this pest and separate
the truths from the myths:
- Bed bugs are an indication of
poor sanitation and housekeeping habits. Truth or Myth?
Myth. Bed bugs can and do infest upscale residences
in which the housekeeping is immaculate. Bed bugs do not
discriminate by class or cleanliness. The only issue related to
filth and clutter in a setting is that, once introduced, bed
bugs will have more places in which to hide and a thorough
inspection and treatment will be more difficult to perform.
- If a homeowner or renter has a
bed bug problem, the best thing to do is keep quiet about
it.
Myth. Keeping quiet and being in
denial about a bed bug infestation will only allow the
problem to become worse. Eventually bed bugs will spread to
neighboring residences or will be introduced to other
locations where infested items are taken.
- Bed bugs can transmit diseases
to the people they bite.
Myth. Although bed
bugs have been found to carry a variety of pathogenic viruses
and bacteria on their bodies and in their digestive system, no
evidence of bed bugs being able to transmit pathogens via their
bite and feeding has been demonstrated. However, if bed bugs
happen to crawl over- / get crushed on- an open wound, then
there is a possibility that a pathogen can be introduced to the
person in question.
- Bed bugs feed on people
exclusively.
Myth. When humans are not present, bed bugs have been
found to accept birds, rodents, dogs, cats and other
warm-blooded animals as secondary hosts.
- Bed bugs are active and bite
only at night.
Myth. Although bed bugs primarily
are nocturnal, they are opportunistic as well. If a host is
available only during daytime hours, then feeding will occur
while the host is present. For example, a person who works third
shift is not exempt from bed bug bites!
- The increasing problem with bed
bugs in the U.S. can be blamed entirely on visitors and
immigrants from other countries.
Myth. Although bed
bugs do hitchhike into the United States on visitors and
immigrants from other countries, the rise in infestation is an
internal problem as well.
- Bed bugs are impossible to
eliminate in a residence.
Myth. Bed bugs are
difficult to control, but success can be achieved through a
combination of 1) education, 2) cooperation, 3) thoroughness, 4)
wise treatment choices and 5) perseverance.
- It is possible to reliably treat
a residence preventatively for bed bugs.
Myth.
Although treatment of frame wall voids with residual insecticide
dusts (e.g., diatomaceous earth) will help prevent future
infestation of those sites by bed bugs, most insecticide
residues fail to retain the level of toxicity, over a period of
weeks and months post-application, that is necessary to kill
newly-introduced bed bugs.
Hopefully, the information discussed here
will prove useful to our readers in the years to come. In
the meantime, sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!
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