Bed bugs are small parasitic insects that feed on human blood.While they are a public health concern, bed bugs are not known to transmit disease through their bites.
Bed bugs use a small tube-like structure called a proboscis to pierce the skin and drink a person’s blood. The pests are most active when humans are asleep, during the night and early morning.
One way to help prevent exposure and potential infestations by bed bugs is to be able to recognize bed bugs and distinguish them from other pests.Common characteristics of nymphs (young bed bugs) include:
- being less than than 5 mm in length
- whitish-yellow and or clear-colored
- invisible without a microscope or magnifying glass
The nymphs are easier to see if they have just feed when the blood fills their abdomen, giving it a reddish brown color.
Adult bed bugs are typically far easier to spot than nymphs. Identifiable characteristics of most adult bed bugs include:
- an oval-shaped body
- apple seed in size
- a body that is fairly flat unless recently fed and inflated
- reddish-brown to light-brown or tan color of shell, depending on how recently it fed
- a length of 5-7 millimeters (mm)
- three segments, an antenna with four parts, short yellow hairs, and unusable wings
- a musty or stale-sweet scent released by glands on the underbelly
Controlling bed bugs needs the identification and complete removal or destruction of the pest’s eggs.
On average, one female can produce at least 345 eggs over her lifetime. Egg-laying females often increase the volume and frequency of feeding to support their brood.Common characteristics and signs of bed bug eggs include:
- they are often laid in the same places where the female choses to rest
- they resemble tiny barrel-shaped, pearl-colored specks, no bigger than the head of a pin
- they develop a noticeable eye spot after a few days
The key to preventing bed bug bites is to stop the insects entering, feeding, and breeding in human environments.
In the daytime, bed bugs often seek refuge in the cracks and crevices of furniture, flooring, walls, and mattresses.The seams and folds of upholstered furniture can also offer an ideal hiding place. Bed bugs have been known to persist in vacuum canisters or units.The insects tend to pick hiding spots near human sleeping quarters, including bedrooms. Bed bugs found in other rooms are usually a sign of a severe infestation.
Bedbug infestations can be difficult to prevent.It is possible to encase both the mattress and box spring in a protective cover, as some people do for allergy relief. Some pest control firms sell them, as well as a number of retail outlets. Click here for a range of products that can help to protect a bed against infestation.
Once encased, any bedbug trapped inside and prevented from feeding will eventually die. Some people keep their new beds encased, as it prevents the bugs from getting into the crevices in the mattress and makes it easier to keep the surface clean and bug-free.
When traveling, avoid putting luggage on the bed to reduce the risk of bringing bedbugs home in a suitcase. It is also worth vacuuming any luggage after you return home and making sure you get rid of the contents of the vacuum in a tightly sealed bag. Dispose of this bag in a trashcan outside.Separate travel clothes from laundry and immediately wash them in hot water.
Another option is to use bed bug killer. Petsman Bed Bug Killer is a highly effective bed bug control product that kills both adult bed bugs, worm and eggs quickly on contact. Once in contact with the powder bed bugs lose their ability to crawl. It contains 1% of the active ingredient ivermectin, when bed bug touches the powder, it destroys the bed bug’s motor nerves and the bed bug immediately stops moving and cannot suck humans’blood any longer. The active ingredient was originally used to treat parasites in animals and is widely used to kill parasites in cattle, sheep, horses and pigs. It is virtually non-toxic to humans and can be used safely in the living environment. The effect is fast-acting and kills bed bugs in as little as 3 days.
As bed bugs have a range of up to 1.5m around the bed and 95% of them stay in the bed, we only need to use bed bug powder on and around the bed. As a first step we need to clean the bed sheets, pillowcases and duvet. Next, treat the joints between the bed board and the bed frame, the side seams of the mattress, the seams between the mattress and the bed board, as well as the seams between the back side of the bed frame and the wall, the seams inside the cabinet and the skirt around the bed with bed bug powder. Sprinkle bed bug powder evenly over the above areas, don’t use too small an amount, and the next thing you know you can wait for the powder to do its job and eliminate the bed bugs!
