Bed Bug Facts

Bed bugs are small insects that live off of human blood. They are usually active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs are flat and a rusty-red color. The have oval bodies, are wingless and average the size of an apple seed. They usually are big enough to be spotted and generally hide in mattresses, box springs, bedding, cracks in furniture, floors, or walls. When bed bugs are feeding, they expand and are brighter red from gorging themselves with blood. They can survive for several months to over a year without eating. They crawl to get around and move about the same speed as an ant.

Detecting if you have bed bugs

• Adults are the size of an apple seed.
• Itchy skin flares up on your body
• Small blood spots in bedding from squashed insects
• Tiny dark spots on your sheets or other bedding are their fecal droppings
• Dried remains of shed bed bug skins

Be aware that other insects, such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitos, can leave bites that look like bed bug bites. Bites alone cannot prove you have a bed bug infestation. The only way to be sure you have a bed bug infestation is to find and positively identify a live bed bug.

Conduct a thorough Search

• If you think you have bed bugs, get a professional to conduct a thorough search of your home.
• Bed bugs are difficult to find. They hide in, under, and around beds.
• They hide around, below and behind furniture. They congregate in small cracks or corners of the furniture too. The y have been found on floors, walls, ceilings or buried in carpeting close to where they feed at night.

The Professional Will Search For

• Newly hatched bugs looking for insects the size of a poppy seed, pale yellow, transparent, and difficult to see.
• Once they have ingested blood, they enlarge and become red or brown in color which makes them easier to see.
• Their eggs are white and the size of two grains of salt. When laid, they are attached to surfaces making them difficult to remove.

Bed bug bites

• A bite is painless and some people have no reaction to the bites at all.
• Most people experience itchiness, red spots, or welts that look like mosquito or flea bites. An itchy bump may appear but the bite mark may not be visible.
• These bites usually disappear after a few days.
• Some people have severe allergic reactions.

Remember: Bites are only a clue that you may have bed bugs, but you can’t tell from bites alone that you have a bed bug problem.

Other Facts

• Bed bugs usually feed at night while you are asleep.
• If you wake up in the middle of the night and find a bug on your bed, completely seal a live sample in a clean zip-style sandwich bag and have the bug identified by a Professional.

Bed bugs don’t spread diseases

• Bed bug bites are not known to spread diseases.
• Try not to scratch bites, whereas it increases the risk of skin infections.
• If you have a serious reaction to a bite, see your doctor.

Remember call a professional whereas these are very hard to eradicate. A professional will also investigate and recommend remediation and post tasks for you to perform after treatment and eradication.