Bed Bug Facts and Treatments

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Bed Bug Facts and Treatments

If you want to take care of your bed bug problem once and for all it is essential that you have a thorough grasp as to what bed bugs are and how to destroy them. This article will give you some important information so that you are properly armed and ready to deal with your bed bug problem.

There was a time not that long ago, in the early 1950s, that bed bugs were thought to have been massacred. This was primarily due to the powerful, but later to be discovered, harmful insecticide known as DDT. After the ban of DDT in the early 1970s, bed bugs and other detestable insects made a comeback. Bed bugs are not just a major problem in the United States, but in all areas of the world. Due to international travels, bed bugs are ending up in areas where they have never been before.

What are the physical characteristics of a bed bug? They are a pale shade of brown but the tone darkens and becomes red as these loathsome insects feast on your blood. Mature bed bugs can reach .25 in. in length. Bed bugs do not have wings and are flat and smooth. Female bed bugs can produce over five hundred eggs throughout the course of their lifetime. After their young hatch, they too can produce eggs when they reach the ripe age of twenty one days. That is a whole lot of reproducing going on. A typical life expectancy for a bed bug is ten months but they can and do live longer. Bed bugs do not need the constant nourishment of your blood; they can go without blood for approximately one year.

How can you tell if the mattress you are about to sleep on is infested with bed bugs? While you inspect the mattress you will notice brown or red stains: brown from their feces and red from your blood. You may also be able to smell something sweet in the area where there is an infestation. There are actually dogs specifically trained for the detection of bed bugs. In New York City, these dogs are in high demand.

You first want to look in the seams of your mattress. This is a favored hiding place for bed bugs. They can also be found in your box springs and bed frames. Bed bugs prefer a wooden bed frame as opposed to a metal bed frame. The wooden slats of the bed frame will have to be removed to reach and remove all of the bed bugs. Bed bugs conceal themselves in other areas but the majority of them hide in mattresses or near vicinity of a bed. Other areas bed bugs conceal themselves are in dresser drawers, cracks in walls and floors, by outlet coverings, throws, stuffed animals, sofas, especially if someone normally sleeps on one, chairs, computer desks, in books and magazines, and your pet’s bed. Bed bugs not only drink human blood, but the blood from your favorite furry friend too.

How do you get rid of these hideous creatures? You could spend hundreds to even thousands on repeat extermination visits, but why do that if there are products available for far less. Choose a product containing an all natural substance referred to as diatomaceous earth and other products containing sodium lauryl sulfate. The diatomaceous earth destroys bed bugs as they travel through it, cutting their exoskeleton and leaving them to dehydrate. Diatomaceous earth is deadly to bed bugs and other offensive insects but is entirely safe to use around your home, even around young children and pets. Make sure you buy a product containing food grade diatomaceous earth; other varieties are not as safe.

By: Bradley Skierkowski