Bed Bug Identification & Prevention
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are nocturnal insects that live primarily indoors, feeding on their sleeping hosts' blood. They require the blood of people, animals, or birds to survive, and blood is their sole source of nutrition. The bed bug is a pest that has always been associated with people because our blood is their preferred food source.
Bed bugs are hitchhiking pests that live successfully in almost any indoor environment where people are present, including our homes, hotels, motels, airports, libraries, hospitals, schools, and shopping centers.
Bed bugs are about the same size and shape as an apple seed. They are wingless, have six legs, and short antennae. After feeding, their body swells with blood and becomes more capsule-like in shape. Their specialized mouthparts allow them to bite through the skin of their host and feed on their blood. An anesthetic in their saliva enables bed bugs to feed without waking their sleeping hosts.
Are bed bugs dangerous?
While bed bugs aren't responsible for transmitting a significant amount of diseases through their bites, they are responsible for affecting people's physical health and mental well-being.
Living with bed bugs is stressful; when dealing with an infestation, you can feel helpless and have many nights of restless sleep, and not be able to relax in your own home. Partnering with a professional as soon as you notice bed bugs is essential to taking back your home from them.
In order to feed, bed bugs bite through our skin, those allergic to their saliva will develop a red itchy rash. Scratching the bed bug bites can lead to your skin becoming irritated, and a secondary infection can occur.
Why do I have a bed bug problem?
These avid hitchhikers find their way into homes and other buildings in many ways and inside a variety of things. Bed bugs will climb onto our clothing or personal belongings, entering into our homes with us. They also hitchhike their way inside on used furniture that they are hiding in. In office buildings or apartment buildings, bed bugs can crawl from unit to unit through walls or floors.
Visits from family or friends can introduce bed bugs into our homes. If visitors have come into contact with bed bugs while traveling or unknowingly have an infestation in their home, they could spread bed bugs.
Where will I find bed bugs?
Bed bugs want to live near their food source, which is why they are so closely associated with sleeping areas and places like living rooms where people spend much of their day. Young bed bugs need to feed at least five times before they develop into adults. In ideal conditions; this usually takes about two months.
Some of a bed bug's favorite hiding spots in our homes include the seams of mattresses and upholstered furniture, under areas of clutter, in the cracks of wooden furniture and walls, behind electrical outlets, and near pet bedding.
Bed bugs are good at hiding, so it is helpful to know what signs bed bugs leave around to alert you of their presence in your home. Some signs include the following:
- Piles of shed skins near areas where they are hiding, such as under mattresses, on floors, and under rugs.
- Dark streaks of excrement or drops of blood on sheets, mattresses, pillows, linens, and walls.
- You or your family members waking up with red itchy insect bites on their arms, legs, neck, or other areas of exposed skin.
- Noticing a musty or sweet odor has developed in some areas of your home.
How do I get rid of bed bugs?
The secret to quickly ridding your home of biting bed bugs is to partner with a professional. Professional services are the most effective and stress-free way to get rid of these pests and prevent a re-infestation. We will solve your property's bed bug problems through our customized and affordable bed bug control services.
One of our professionals will come to your Idaho Falls property and perform an inspection looking for blood spots, excrement streaks, live bed bugs, and bed bug casing. To treat, we use heat, and if necessary, a liquid treatment after. Our six-month warranty ensures that your home will be free of bed bugs and that you can sleep soundly at night!
How can I prevent bed bugs in the future?
The best way to prevent bed bugs and other pests from infesting your property is to put in place a year-round pest control program. In conjunction with professional home pest control and commercial pest control services, the following tips can help you avoid problems with bed bugs in your Idaho Falls home.
- Eliminate clutter from your home bed bugs like to hide under, especially piles of dirty laundry.
- Regularly wash your bedding, and if you own pets, their bedding.
- Use bed bug proof covers on mattresses and box springs to keep bed bugs from hiding in the seams.
- If you live in a multi-unit building, keep bed bugs out of your unit by installing door sweeps, sealing spaces around baseboards, and caulking cracks in walls.
- Frequently vacuum to pick up any stray bed bugs that make it into your home.
- Before bringing secondhand furniture into your house, check it over for bed bugs.
- When traveling, always inspect where you will be spending the night for signs of bed bugs before bringing your belongings inside.
Reach out to Falls Pest Services today to learn more about our Idaho Falls pest control services!
