Bed bugs are said to have originated around the same time as human beings thousands of years ago. The insects are about the size of an apple seed and are brown in color when fully grown. Nymphs appear transparent when they haven’t fed and bright red when engorged with blood. Speaking of blood, bed bugs solely survive on human blood and the blood of warm-blooded mammals when humans are not present in their environment. Since humans are the primary food source of bed bugs, these insects prefer to live with their host so as not to be separated from human blood. Because bed bugs cannot fly and are so tiny with no natural defense against predators, these insects are completely interior-dwelling parasites and do not live outdoors. Therefore, the insects have evolved to travel or ‘hitchhike’ to reach homes and apartments where the bugs will then set up shop near where a person spends a lot of time in one spot–usually the bed.
In fact, many bed bug infestations occur within a few feet of their food source (humans), like near a bed or other close furniture. And because of their small size, they can hide in crevices as tiny as nail indentations in your wall. As a result, these pests can be very difficult to get rid of. Successfully getting rid of bed bugs relies on early detection, proper preparedness, and correct treatment methods. One such method is bed bug heat treatment, which may be appropriate in cases where a home, apartment, or hotel room is heavily infested. Bed bug heat treatment — much less whole-house heat treatment — is typically only used as a last resort when other more appropriate methods may be more suitable. While a professional will determine the best way to get rid of bed bugs once a problem has been diagnosed, it can be helpful to better understand what bed bug heat treatment may entail, if it is an option that your bed bug professional recommends. Please visit this link Kill bed bugs with heat and know more about Bed Bug Heat Treatment Specialists Pest Control.
Facts You Need to Know About Bed Bugs: Before you decide on a treatment option for bed bugs, exterminators say you need to learn some basic facts about these pests. Bed bugs are small, flat, and oval-shaped insects before they feed. After feeding, bed bugs often appear red and bloated. You may find these critters on mattresses and on other objects near the bed, such as the bedside table, other furniture, in electrical switch plates, and even behind the baseboards. Bed bugs are parasitic and feed off your blood while you sleep, and this can create itchy bites, make you lose sleep, and cause you to feel uncomfortable in your own home or your workplace.
How Often Do Bed Bugs Bite? Bed bugs will feed as soon as they feel that it is safe to do so. This typically occurs at night when a host is asleep. The pincher that the bugs use secretes a toxin that acts as a numbing agent so as not to cause the host to awaken. Once a bug has fed, it returns to its hiding spot within the bed and the blood fertilizes any eggs. Bed bugs can bite often or, sometimes between intervals spanning 3-7 days. Blood is more of a necessity to feed eggs and produce nymphs to keep the colony growing.
Does Anything Attract Them: Bed bugs are attracted to human blood and people in general. The bugs have antennae that seek out carbon dioxide (exhalation) and body warmth, which is what alerts them to start moving in the direction of where these two attractants are coming from. Bed bugs like to hide, in fact, they spend their entire life hiding in the shadows so as not to be noticed and then destroyed. Large amounts of clutter and fabric are the primary harbourages that the bugs will seek out. Fabric is easy for the insects to latch onto and clutter helps them to stay hidden. The bed is the primary hiding spot for these insects since the box spring, mattress, headboard, and underneath the bed are dark and provides quick and easy access to a host when the person is sleeping through the night.
How Do Bed Bugs Travel? These insects travel by latching onto clothes, shoes, luggage, handbags, backpacks, and virtually anything that will take them back to your property where they work on infesting it. A common way to bring the insects home is by purchasing or retrieving used furniture or used property where the bugs were never exterminated from the items. You can pick up these bugs in nearly any public place: offices, transit stations, vehicles, movie theaters, restaurants, shopping malls, and practically anywhere that sees large amounts of people crossing through. Visiting a friend or family member who has infestations is also a good way of taking home a hitchhiker or two.
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