Daily Archives: December 23, 2013

The Bed Bugs Handbook is committed to providing information on how to recognize that you have a problem and how to remove these pests from your home or apartment. We also provide advice for how to avoid bringing them into your home from other places, such as when you are on vacation, traveling or bringing used or new items such as furniture or a mattress into the home.

According to a a 2010 study conducted by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the University of Kentucky, If you have bedbugs in your home you are not alone. There has been an 81% increase in bedbug calls since the year 2000. The study goes on to state that we are on the threshold of a global bedbug pandemic. It also states that bed bugs are harder to treat than cockroaches, ants and termites.

Bed bugs have been found everywhere including hospitals, daycare centers, college dorms, religious institutions, homes, apartments, libraries and even theaters. No location is immune. It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, if someone carries a bed bug into your home, they will multiply quickly.

Bedbugs are small insects that are technically not wingless, although they do not fly. They hide in narrow crevices near the feeding area, such as a mattress seam, bed frame, and other furniture, although they can be found in any room or area of a home.

There area many different kinds of bedbugs. One type in particular likes to feed on the blood of people, but they will also feed on pets.

Having bugs in your home does not mean that your home is unclean. The bugs can ride into your house on clothing or crawl out of luggage carried from an infested hotel room. You may even bring them into your house on used furniture. Be especially cautious of used mattresses and bed frames. Finally, your house or apartment could already be infested when you move in or if they moved from another apartment into yours.

The length of time a bed bug can live is dependent on temperature and how recently they fed. Cooler temperatures result in a longer lifespan. It is possible at the right temperature and feeding schedule, that a bed bug could live for 1 year without feeding again.

Many people do not realize they have an infestation. They may even have bites from bedbugs, but not realize what is biting them. Bed bug bites are an allergic reaction that can vary from person to person. For most they take the form of raised red bumps. There are usually multiple bites in the same area, but a single bite is possible. Bumps are usually larger than a mosquito bite. Larger reactions or hypersensitivity to the bite can result in the formation of blisters. Bites do not normally require any treatment and will go away on their own in a few days. Bites can be itchy, with any over the counter treatment for itch due to insect bites providing some relief.

Adult bugs are about a quarter of an inch long. Young bed bugs are called nymphs, of which there are 5 stages in the bed bug life cycle followed by a 6th adult stage. A nymph is approximately 1/32 of an inch or 1 mm long. A bedbug egg is approximately 1 mm long.

Getting rid of the bugs can be quite a chore. Removing an infestation involves washing all clothes and linens, treating mattresses and cracks and vacuuming all areas of the room. See our guide for specific steps on how to kill bedbugs.

More:
Bed Bugs Handbook on How to Get Rid of Bedbugs

Below is a story about a woman who hired pest control companies like Terminix, Orkin and others to help her find bed bugs and in the end, it was the bed bug sniffing dog that solved the problem! Its a must read for those that think they have bed bugs but are told by exterminators they dont! Thank you Mimi for sharing your story:

My nightmare started exactly 2 weeks ago today. That is when I caught my first bed bug on my body around 2 am. I feel lucky that I caught the little *#%@ because I had suspected there may have been an issue a couple of weeks prior but could not find any of the evidence in my room or on/around my bed, sheets, box springs, night stands, curtains, picture over my bed, light sockets, etc.

Late November I had to go to Cincinnati for business and about 2 weeks later I received my first spider bite. It was the worst bite I have ever experienced! Red, extremely itchy, and swollen. About a week later, low and behold, I got another spider bite. a few days later 3 in a row on my elbow. I even went to my doctor because my boyfriend said it looked like MRSA. After the Dr swabbed the infected area, I told him I thought it could be bed bugs. He said Mimi, you do not have bed bugs.

Well, a week later is when I caught the thing red handed biting me in the middle of the night. That night it woke me up because my neck was itching so badly. I got up to see what was wrong with my neck when I spotted her on my white t-shirt. I freaked when I caught it because blood squished out of its body! Thats when I knew what the hell I had. I put her in a plastic container and looked up images on the internet.

Terminix Bed Bug Extermination Fees The next day I had Terminix come out to inspect my home. After inspection he said he could not find evidence of bed bugs. I then showed him my container and he said Yep, thats a bed bug alright! Even though he could not find evidence until I handed it to him on a silver platter, he said well, you definitely have bed bug eggs and I can treat your house for $1,150. I also had to sign a 1 year contract to have my house sprayed for the following 12 months in addition to the $1150.

Orkin Extermination Fees I next called Orkin. That guy said if the Terminix guy identified the bed bug in my container, then he would be happy to treat my home for $1,000. This is sight unseen as he wouldnt even come to my home since I told him another company had come out.

OPC Pest Control I next called OPC because they treat using thermal radiation (Heating the house). I did not let him know about having a competitor check my home 2 days prior.

This guy did a very thorough inspection and also could not find evidence until I showed him my trophy in the plastic container.

Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs Worked! So next I called this guy in northern Ky who has dogs that smell live bed bugs and their eggs. His dogs identified only 1 bag that contained my down comforter (I madly cleaned, vacuumed and bagged everything the day I found the bed bug).

I also threw out my comforter that the dogs identified, bagged the rest of the bedding, encased bed, box spring, and pillow sprayed Rest Easy, and put glue traps around the legs of my bed.

Excerpt from:
Bed Bug Sniffing Dogs