Your bed is supposed to be a warm, inviting place to rest and recover from the day. But if your Forsyth, Georgia home is infested with bed bugs, your cozy and comfortable bed may be anything but.
The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a resilient, persistent, rapid-spreading pest that has hounded humans for at least three thousand years. In the developed world, bed bugs were largely eradicated in the years following World War II, but pesticide resistance has allowed them to come back, and countries worldwide are now facing bed bug epidemics.
This month, we’ll look a little more closely at bed bugs, why they’re so hard to get rid of, and what techniques your Forsyth, Georgia, pest control company can use to eliminate the threat and have you sleeping easy again.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are tiny parasites that feed on blood. Their preferred diet is human, but they are known to infest pet bedding, livestock barns, and chicken coops, as well as human habitations. Adult bed bugs are about the size and shape of an apple seed, while juveniles are considerably smaller, and eggs are no bigger than the head of a pin.
Most people discover a bed bug infestation from the itchy, sometimes painful welts and rashes that follow a bed bug bite. Other ways to spot them are to see the actual bugs or their eggs, see fecal smears (small black to reddish-brown stains) on bedding or furniture, or – in the case of extreme infestations – detect the bed bugs’ sweetish-smelling pheromones.
Myth: Bed Bugs Only Infest Homes With a Hygiene Problem
There’s a common perception that bed bugs are exclusively the province of disadvantaged or unhygienic homes. Many infestations go unreported simply because those in the infected household don’t want to be perceived as dirty or squalid.
In actuality, a household’s level of hygiene has almost no bearing whatsoever on whether or not they are susceptible to bed bugs. Some of the world’s finest hotels and most glamorous homes have dealt with infestations, and bed bugs are not at all picky about where they settle down.
Can I Get Rid of Bed Bugs Myself?
Maybe. If you catch an infestation early enough, you may be able to wash the infected bedding or other fabric in boiling water, dry it on the highest setting possible, and eliminate a small infestation. Over-the-counter insecticides may also provide some relief – but getting rid of an infestation that’s even started to become established in your home will probably require expert assistance.
Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard to Get Rid Of?
Bed bugs are incredibly resilient creatures. They can go almost an entire year – 300 days – between feedings. When conditions get too cold, they can burrow deeper into the mattress, couch cushions, pillows, etc., for warmth. If conditions become too unbearable, they can enter a state of dormancy and survive for well over a year. Their eggs and young are almost entirely transparent and impossible to see without knowing what you’re looking for.
In addition to that, the little parasites have developed resistance to a wide variety of pesticides. When DDT was first released as a pesticide during WWII, it proved remarkably effective at killing bed bugs. By the time DDT was banned in 1972, bed bugs had been all but eliminated in the developed world – but even then, the chemical’s effectiveness was already decreasing.
How Does My Forsyth, GA Exterminator Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
As the science of pest control has advanced, we’ve developed new ways of tackling the bed bug problem. Today’s pest control company relies on integrated pest control, the practice of using multiple techniques in coordination to remove pests and keep them away over the long term.
While your pest control company may use some chemical treatments to combat an infestation, few chemicals available today are effective enough to eradicate bed bugs completely, so an additional tool is required. Fortunately, bed bugs have one very exploitable weakness: heat.
Heat treatment is not only one of the most effective ways to combat a bed bug infestation, it’s also:
- Relatively inexpensive compared to fumigation or other treatments
- Environmentally sound
- Inherently safe for your family and pets
If exposed to air that’s been heated above 120 degrees, bed bugs and their eggs die quickly. To heat-treat a home, technicians will set up special hot-air blowers, fans, and other heat sources in your home. If your infestation is localized, the infested area may be tented off and treated separately. The hot air circulates through the house for at least 90 minutes, killing off the bed bugs and eggs so that they can be cleaned up and washed away.
Good Night, Sleep Tight… You Know the Rest – Let National Exterminating Handle Your Pest Control Needs. Call Us: 478-922-1410.
National Exterminating’s licensed pest control professionals have the tools to keep bed bugs away if you’re trying to eliminate an existing infestation or prevent a future one. Call us today at 478-922-1410.
Recent articles: