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All You Need To Know About Bed Bugs

Treat Bed Bugs – Learn How to Eradicate These Minute Blood Suckers

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Bed bugs are considered to be the most frequent household pest which needs a great deal of attention from homeowners. Various establishment owners and private firms do suffer from the ill effects of bed bug infestation.

Treating the bed bugs is an herculean task to deal with since these house pests are so hard to annihilate. If you want to treat bed bugs at your home or business location, you must prepare yourself for a tedious battle with these minute and annoying blood sucking pests.
If you want to get rid of these bugs for good, you must start by gathering important insights regarding the various processes done to eradicate these bed bugs. In reality, there are a lot of household owners are asking themselves for the most potent and effective method of treating bed bugs for life.
Come to think of it, if your house has been properly assessed with be bug infestation then treating the bed bug infestation can be done methodically. Bed bugs should be approached in a manner that would include steps and proper planning; otherwise these sly household pests will learn your art of annihilating them. Another thing to keep in mind when you are to treat bed bugs at home is the fact that there is no specific treatment for such infestation. Instead, there are several steps and processes to be followed in order to put the bed bugs to a halt.
If you want to achieve best results for your bed bug treatment, then keep in mind that professional pest control can really do the magic trick. Professional pest control firms do have the technology in properly diagnosing your home with infestation. After which, these pest control firms know which treatments should come first in order to foster a more effective bed bug control system.
Have you hear of DDT? This DDT or Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is a colorless insecticide use to protect the crops from various insects in the year 1940s. This was also used to eradicate the existence of bed bugs at home by spraying this chemical around furniture and rooms.

However, this chemical insecticide has been banned in the United States as early as 1970’s. This was considered to be a very dangerous insecticide when it brought a lot of health concerns to those who come in contact with this insecticide. When treating bed bugs, the treatment regiment should be target specific so to prevent the proliferation of these type of bug.
Thorough inspection and surveillance of the house play and important role in carrying out effective bed bugs treatments. If your entire home is under inspection, you must prepare your entire home.

You must also think that cleaning the entire house will not yield much result on the bed bug infestation at home.

You can also utilize vacuum cleaners so that the bed bugs can be physically removed after treatment. The vacuum should be used in sucking out seams, surfaces, crevices together with a rough brush to finish off the eggs being dislodge.
These are just a few of the bed bug treatment which I can share with those who would want to eradicate these minute blood suckers.

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Do Hotels Have Bed Bugs?

By Janet Wilson MCIJ | No comments
Bedstead, 1880, ebonized cherry, veneer inlays.
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Bed bugs have been eradicated on the soil of the United States right after World War I because of the widespread use of DDT (which is now banned for use). But bed bugs are making a comeback. And it may reach your own household if you checked-in in a bed bug infested motel or hotel.

– Hotel Infestations

Hotel bed bugs are not uncommon. In fact, hotel and motels are the perfect place for hotel bed bugs transmission. Immigrants that had lived in a country and place with bed bugs infestation are suspected to be the people who brings back bed bugs in the US through their luggages. And of course, it is in motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and hotels that immigrants and international travellers stay and unpack their luggages with bed bugs hitchhikers.

Once hotel bed bugs infested a single room, these hotel bed bugs crawl on to the next room, create a new colony, and then crawl to another room, and then create another colony.

People have their wrong notion about hotel bed bugs; they thought that hotel bed bugs infest only those hotels and motels that are filthy. This is totally untrue. Hotel bed bugs do not dwell on a place because they are filthy (like cockroaches or rats) but because they are attracted to carbon monoxide (which humans exhale) and their human hosts from where hotel bed bugs withdraws blood from.

So, this means that even ritzy and posh hotels may have hotel bed bugs.

** Common location of hotel bed bugs infestations

Hotel bed bugs are reddish brown, oval shaped (like appleseeds), and are very flat which allow them to hide and lay eggs in tiny crevices. A small crack or hole can harbor hotel bed bugs.

Hotel bed bugs are nocturnal insects. They feed during the night and are generally more active an hour before dawn. Some hotel bed bugs feed during daytime, especially those who haven’t fed for a few months. An adult hotel bed bug may last eighteen (18) months without feeding. Their regular feeding cycle (when a host is present) is five to ten days.

If you want to check out the hotel for hotel bed bugs, go to places where a human being might stay, such as in bed, sofa, chairs, carpets, and furniture nearest to the bed. Check the crevices of these furniture including the mattress interiors and seams and bed frames.

The edge of a bed mattress and under it, are often the breeding ground of hotel bed bugs.

** Telltale signs of hotel bed bugs infestation

- Heavy infestation have the offensive, sweet, musty scent.

- Edges of upholstery or mattresses have brownish dark lines. These are the excrements of hotel bed bugs.

- You feel itchy an hour after you stayed on the bed and even after you left the bed

- Hotel bed bug bites are more itchy than mosquito bites and the itch lasts for hours.

** Size of hotel bed bugs infestations

If you have seen one or two crawling hotel bed bugs, this is an indication that the infestation might be heavy. Hotel bed bugs are rarely seen. But the moment you see hotel bed bugs crawling near you, it means that there are many adult hotel bed bugs and they are fighting over a single host.

– How to avoid hotel bed bugs hitchhikers?

Hotel bed bugs are like hitchhikers, they will hide on your luggages and they will start breeding on your home.

To avoid hotel bed bugs hitchhikers on your luggage try these following tips:

- Buy a non-gel type insect spray. Gel type don’t last and may not kill hotel bed bugs. The night before you leave your hotel room, spray on a non-gel insect killer on your luggage bag. Be sure you have removed your clothes and other things first. Don’t put your clothes on the bed.

Wipe the bath tub dry and put your things there. Hotel bed bugs won’t try to breed on bath tub crevices since people don’t usually stay there.

- Check your items one by one before you pack them. Check for any moving, appleseeds sized hotel bed bugs. They are visible from the naked eye.

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How To Exterminate Bed Bugs

By Janet Wilson MCIJ | No comments
DDT
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Bed bugs are tiny little creature that suck blood off their human prey. Often dismissed as a nuisance, bed bugs are now a serious problem both at home, in the offices and luxury establishments.

Why the infestation? There are two reasons for the increase in the number of bed bugs found in homes and other establishments recently. One of them is the increase in the number travelers and immigrants who stay in motels and unknowingly bring these insects along with them back home.

The second reason is the possibility that bed bugs have now become immune to the pesticides being used. It was in the 1940s and 1950s that the exterminating of bed bugs began. An insecticide called DDT was used and was highly effective in killing the bed bugs population.

However, the exterminating of bed bugs was discontinued when the DDT was banned in the 1960s for its harmful effect to the environment. Since then the bugs have been waiting patiently to return to our homes.

Wholesale spraying of beds, walls, floors, furniture, etc. with DDT was the solution in exterminating bed bugs. However, law does not permit this kind of remedy anymore. Exterminating bed bugs now require the more thoroughness as bed bugs become cleverer.

Bed bugs hide in the cracks of furniture, in the mattresses, throw pillow, beneath the sofa and everywhere else you can think of. This is why exterminating of bed bugs is tedious work. All the possible places for the bed bugs to live in are searched and turned over before beginning the actual process of exterminating of bed bugs. This is to ensure that there will be no more bed bugs left once the treatment is complete.

It is wise not to do the exterminating of bed bugs on your own. You may end up harming yourself rather than taking the problem away. But you can do the following to help in the exterminating of bed bugs:

The clothes, bed sheets, line, pillowcases, blankets and the like must be washed before the treatment begins.

Wrap mattresses in a huge black plastic bag then put it under the sun.

Vacuum all the nooks and crannies visible inside the home.

Seal any gaps in the furniture, floorboards and cracks where the bed bugs can hide.

After that, step side and let the professionals start the exterminating of bed bugs in your home.

The process of exterminating of bed bugs continues with the application of insecticide spray on the furniture. There are different types of spray for every kind of equipment like mattresses or carpets. Some of these chemicals for the exterminating of bed bugs are odorless and has leaves little to no residue on the furniture. A professional does the exterminating of bed bugs with the proper protective gear.

Exterminating of bed bugs infestation is tedious work and requires a lot of patience. These pests live in cracks that are difficult to reach with pest control products and can survive months without food. By making sure that all the areas have been sprayed properly, the exterminating of bed bugs will be more effective.

After the exterminating of bed bugs through spraying of insecticides, the next process is to use insecticide dust. This dusting is very important in exterminating of bed bugs because this is what kills the bed bugs. The insecticide dust reaches for those areas that have the spray has left behind.

The entire process of exterminating of bed bugs can last three days to weeks, depending on the infestation. Normally, the exterminating of bed bugs was quicker with the houses being sprayed with DDT. But now the process is more targeted, meaning slower but thorough.

This doesnt mean that the new procedure for exterminating of bed bugs is less effective. The business has changed over the years and now professionals must be considerate of the clients needs for being careful with their possessions.

Homes are not the only ones fighting for the exterminating of bed bugs. Hotels, vintage shops, motels, dormitories and apartments all have a war with exterminating of bed bugs. Maintaining proper hygiene on these properties can great reduce the bed bug infestation. And if push comes to shove, the pest control number is in the yellow pages.

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All About Bed Bugs

By Janet Wilson MCIJ | No comments
Bedbug 4 mm length 2.5 mm width (Shown in a fi...
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Bed bugs were rarely seen because of the widespread use of DDT during the 1940’s and 50’s to exterminate all sorts of pests in the United States.

However, bed bugs are making a comeback. Hotels and motels are among the places that suffer from bed bugs infestation.

According to studies, bed bugs’ comeback may be attributed to international travelling of Americans to countries with bed bugs infestation on hotels and motels and the immigration to the States by people from countries with bed bugs infestation.

You will not be even sure if your own household is bed bugs free. If you haven’t seen one but suspects that a bed bug hitched on your clothes and has started a colony on your home, try to know the basic things about bed bugs so that you would know if you need to treat your home from infestation.

– Genera and species of bed bugs

Bed bugs are small, brownish in color, flat, nocturnal insects. Bed bugs belong to the family Cimicidae that live by feeding on human and animal blood.

Bed bugs with scientific name Cimex lectularius are the common household bed bugs. They are the species of bed bugs that feed on humans and have adapted to human environments. These type of bed bugs are found in temperate climates. Believe it our not, they are the same bed bugs that torment people from the ancient times.

There are other bed bugs species such as Cimex hemipterus which are found in tropical regions like Florida. These type of bed bugs also infests poultry and bats. Another bed bugs species, the Leptocimex boueti which are found in the tropics of South America and West Africa infest not just humans but bats as well. Bed bugs species with scientific namen Cimex pilosellus and C. pipistrella primarily infest bats. A bed bug species of North America, the Haematosiphon inodora, primarily infests poultry.

– Physical characteristics of bed bugs

Adult bed bugs are small, oval, flattened, reddish brown, and wingless. Many people think that bed bugs are so small and move so quick that they are not anymore visible to the naked eye. Adult bed bugs grow to 4 to 5 mm in length and although they move fast, they are not as fast as other perceive them to be. People do not see bed bugs because bed bugs stay still on bed, sofa or matress crevices and bite people only when they are still (such as when we are sleeping).

Newly hatched bed bugs nymphs are translucent. Their color become become browner as they reach maturity. Their size are often compared to appleseeds.

– Feeding habits of bed bugs

Bed bugs can live more than a year without feeding. But when a host is present, they feed regularly every five to ten days.

Although bed bugs may attempt to feed on human blood anytime of the day, they are generally active and feed only at night. An hour before dawn is bed bugs peak attack.

Bed bugs, like any other insect that feed on human blood such as leeches, inject anesthetics on the skin of their hosts so that piercing and blood sucking won’t be felt by the human host.

This is made possible with the two hollow tube of bed bugs. One of their hollow tube releases saliva that contains an anticoagulant and anesthetics while the other tube withdraws the blood.

Bed bugs feed for about five minutes and immediately return to their hiding place such as the bed matresses and pillows.

– Health effects of bed bugs bite on humans

Unlike other blood sucking insects such as mosquitoes that carries Malaria and Dengue Fever (Yellow Fever), bed bugs are not known to have to cause transmission of any diseases that are transmitted through blood, such as Hepatitis B, HIV, and other diseases.

They are not regarded by scientists as a medical threat, although they may cause severe itching and skin marks on the bitten part of the skin. Skin infections and scars may precipitate due to scratching a bitten part and this may require medical attention by a dermatologist.

A calamine lotion may subside redness and itch of the bitten part. Wash with warm water and germicidal soap first before you apply a calamine lotion.

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How To Deal With Bed Bugs In Hotels

By Janet Wilson MCIJ | No comments
World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Image by Jeff Kubina via Flickr

The number one carrier of bed bugs in hotels is the mattress. This should not be a surprise, as bed bugs are known to lurk in the bed, hence the name bed bug. The growing number of complaints from travelers about bed bugs in hotels where they stayed have been steadily increasing.

Why the infestation? No one exactly knows but there is a rumor about bed bugs in hotels becoming immune to the regular insecticide used on them. A sort of mutated generation of bed bugs in hotels, if you like. Although this could make a great horror B movie, the truth may shock you.

Infestations of bed bugs in hotels were common in the United States before World War II. But the improvements in hygiene, and the widespread use of DDT dusting during the 1940s and ’50s, the bed bugs in hotels vanished. The specie flourished in other parts of the world like Africa, South and Central Europe and Asia.

The bed bugs in hotels have now returned. This is blamed on the increase in tourists and immigrants staying in their establishments and unknowingly leaves behind a souvenir. Just one female bed bug can produce five eggs a day and could leave three generations of bed bugs in hotels.

Some scientists believe that the reappearance of bed bugs in hotels is due to the cutback on the quality of pesticides. DDT was banned in the 1960s and it was the only insecticide used which effectively killed the bed bugs in hotels.

One cause for concern regarding the bed bugs in hotels is that they just dont flourish in cheap, musty motels. Even the expensive ones are being infested. Because of this, these establishments are losing money fast with court appearance for cases filed by unsatisfied patrons.

The bed bugs in hotels are the same bed bugs at home. They are small, nasty, brownish, round and flat insects that closely resemble a tick. These insects choose no one. It is happy just to find a warm place to live and breed in, somewhere near their food source people.

Bed bugs are patient insects. They can live up to a year without blood meal. And their size makes it hard for people to see them. Their victims dont feel even their bites. Bed bugs feed by piercing the skin with its elongated beak and they inject a small amount of anesthesia- like substance that makes them undetectable. The only sign youve been visited by a bed bug is if you have an itchy, swelling welt the next day.

The bed bugs in hotels are becoming a nuisance for the management. It tarnishes their reputation and leaves a bad impression on the customer. But whats more appalling is the way they handle bed bugs in hotels.

Instead of having to provide remedies for the patrons, the staff often just dismisses the incident. This has incurred the wrath of some patrons and the bed bugs in hotels now enter the courtroom. There was one case were bed bugs in hotels were too much that they decided to sue the hotel for damages. They content that because the management did not disclose their problem with bed bugs in hotels, they risked the health and well being of the patrons. The court found the hotel guilty.

Thats the problem with bed bugs in hotels nowadays. Although they bed bugs do not only appear in hotels, the fact that the establishments do not resolve their infestation is what irks patrons.

It is their duty to provide with good service and a clean environment, free from bed bugs in hotels. Or should they really have a bad infestation, there are available pest control experts that can remedy the bed bugs in hotels situation.

As a traveler, you should take the precaution whenever going to hotels. Always bring along an anti-itch cream just in case. Before you check-in, you can ask around about how clean the hotel is. The Internet is a great source of information, with hotel reviews and ratings. Look for comments regarding the patrons personal experience. It can help you decide on what hotel to go to on your next trip.

Now should the hotel misinform you about their bed bug infestation, you can use that as grounds for making a complaint and shutting the place down.

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