Bed Bugs
The odds are you've found yourself reading this because you want to get rid of bed bugs NOW. We manufacture bed bug insecticide sprays that are powerful weapons in the war against bed bugs, and we offer personalized support to our customers for their specific situations.
Identifying an Infestation
If you think you have a bed bug problem, there are some tell tale signs of their presence.
-Bites: Most people beging to suspect there's a problem when they awake to numerous red, itchy bug bites on their bodies. However, there are a number of bugs that will bite people throughout the night including: fleas, ticks, spiders, mosquito's and mites. Additionally some bites acquired from the outdoors may not present themselves until the next day. If you suspect that you're being eaten by bed bugs in your sleep, look for some of the other signs of the pest.
-Seeing is Believing: Mature bed bugs are often visibly noticable, growing to the size of 4mm-5mm(roughly the size of a grain of rice), and taking on a reddish brown hue from feeding on blood. Flipping couch coushins, or mattresses can often expose them.
-Droppings: After the bed bugs feed, they will begin to deficate, and while always black/brown in color, the feces will either be in the form of mounds, or small stains, dependent on the whether the surface material is porous, or non-porous.
-Odor: Oddly enough, bed bug infestations can smell like rotten rasperries. If this acrid scent is present, along with the bites, then it is more than likely you have an infestation in it's advanced stages on your hands.
-Skins: Much like reptiles, the young insects will shed their skin as they grow leaving empty husks of themselves around as evidence of their presence.
Dont Panic! If you've encountered the signs, you can get rid of bed bugs, with a combination of pest control products and knowledge. Read on for the solution to your problems.
The Bed Bug Lifecycle
Bed Bugs, from the Cimicidae family of insects, typically live about 10 months. The adult females lay 1-5 eggs a day, then the bed bug eggs hatch time approximately 10 days later, however incubation times can be slightly extended in cooler temperatures. There are five nymphal stages the hatchlings progress through, each stage requiring at least one blood meal before the nymphs molt and then grow larger into the next stage until they reach adulthood.. The development time through those stages usually takes approximately one to two months but it can be extended when their access to blood is limited. Cool temperatures can also prolong the progress of those developmental stages. With such variables such as availability of food and temperatures it would be inaccurate to provide exact time frames of their stages of development or lifespans, in fact there is ongoing research and varying reports on their potential lifespans under a variety of unusual conditions, but there are typical growth patterns and time frames as we have described them here.
Where do Bed Bugs Come From?
Bed bugs can come from anywhere, but some of the more common places to pick up an infestation is from public and transient places such as motels, hotels, and lost and found storage. They have also been shown to have exceptional infrared perception, being able to detect a heat source and traverse relatively long distances every day. This makes the pest incredibly difficult to control once inside.
Eliminating Bed Bugs
Once you've established a bed bug problem, it's important to come up with a plan of attack to effectively eradicate them, or you may make the problem worse.
Step One: Identify Infestation - The first step in fixing your problem, is to identify the area's of infestation, whether it's a bed, couch, etc. If the infestation has spread and seems out of control, it may be necessary to contact a pest control specialist from the onset.
Step Two: Identify Logical Hiding Spots - Like every living organism, they have a strong survival instinct. If you spray the targetted area, without establishing a barrier, they are going to flee and SPREAD, leaving you worse off then when you started. You should look for electrical outlets, gaps in the floorboards, or any other small nooks and crannies they may use to escape.
Step Three: Establish a Barrier - Once you've assesed potential areas the insects may escape to, it's important to fill these gaps, spraying or dusting the crevices, electrical outlets, alongside the floorboards, doorways, etc. to form an effective barrier around the infested area. Doktor Doom has several great products for doing this, such as the sleep tight residual barrier and Diatomaceous Earth, which is food grade and pet safe. If you're having a hard time dusting certain area's try using the Pest Pistol to apply a more even powder coat over the difficult to access area's.
Step Four: Apply Pest Control Product - After creating your barrier, it's time to kill the bed bugs! Using an effective contact spray or a fogger you will effectively get rid of your bed bug problem. If you use the fogger, make sure to read these instructions.
Step Five: Reapply The Solution - Understanding the bed bug life cycle, is important. If we spray the product only once, some of the pests and their eggs may survive. Reapplying the insecticide again 1-2 days later will increase the effectiveness of the solution.
If the infestation persists, contact a professional pest control expert for further assistance.