Fact vs. Myths: Bed Bugs In Washington D.C.
01/20/2022
Bed bugs are small parasitic pests that often resemble an apple seed to the naked eye. They have a wingless, oval-shaped body with a reddish-brown ...
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You can find a lot of articles on the web about bed bugs. They're great and all. But do you really need to know how many body segments they have? You're probably looking for information about these nasty, blood-eating insects because they've invaded your home or business. You don't need bed bug 101. You need to know how to protect yourself--and your reputation--from bed bug infestations. You're asking things like: How do I know if I have bed bugs? How do I protect my home or business from bed bugs? And how do I remove bed bugs? Here are the facts without the fluff.
How to know if you have bed bugs
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Detecting bed bugs is a relatively simple process. Pull down all the covers on your beds and look for tiny seed-like bugs. If they have had a recent blood meal, they will be rounder and more tick-like in body shape.
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Strip the bed down further and examine your sheets. Bed bugs will drip after feeding. For this reason, dark brown blood stains are a strong sign of infestation. These stains will be small. If you see larger stains, it is more likely that whoever sleeps in that bed has a tendency to dig at their mosquito bites.
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Pull up the edges of your sheets and examine the seams and corners of the mattresses and box springs. If you find black areas, this may be the fecal matter from bed bugs. It is not uncommon, though, for mattresses to have scuff marks from where the mattress slid against something black while being brought into a house. Bed bugs droppings will be sticky to the touch and, many times, you'll see the bugs there as well.
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Use a flashlight to examine backboards and any upholstered furniture in bedroom areas.
How to protect your home or business from bed bugs
Use the above inspection methods any time you take a trip and stay overnight, even if you stay in a Five-star hotel. Bed bugs get into homes by hitchhiking in luggage, bags, and clothing. Always check the seams on your bags, and always wash and dry clothing on the hottest temperature when returning home.
How to remove bed bugs
There are many ways to remove bed bugs. Human inspections from a trained technician or K9 bed bug sniffers are your first step. Locating bed bugs is important to fast and effective eradication. If you catch these bugs early, you can kill them quickly and discreetly without a heat treatment. Mattress covers will usually be put on all the mattresses to seal bugs in or keep them from getting in. Chemicals will be sprayed on infested areas. And technicians will return to see if activity continues.
If the infestation has already gotten too large, it will be necessary to heat your home or business. Some heat treatments can last days. Be sure to get a company that has experience with bed bug heat treatments and be sure to remove all sensitive objects from your house before treatments begin.
Hopefully, you are now more informed about how to protect your home or business from bed bugs. These bugs are horrible to get, but proper prevention and understanding how to treat these bugs early can make things a lot easier.
